Episode 242
Tony and Ric Oliva; Long Island Native Mike Tice
In a deeply engaging dialogue, host Bill Donohue welcomes the esteemed Tony Oliva and his son Ric, exploring the profound narratives encapsulated in their upcoming children's book, "The Amazing Story of Tony Oliva." This book transcends traditional biographical storytelling, aiming to inspire young readers through Tony's remarkable journey from a modest upbringing in Cuba to his illustrious career in Major League Baseball. The discussion illuminates the core themes of resilience and determination, as Ric articulates the motivational underpinnings of the book, emphasizing the importance of creativity and resourcefulness in overcoming obstacles. Listeners are invited to appreciate not only the historical context of Tony's life but also the universal message that, regardless of one's circumstances, success is attainable through perseverance. Furthermore, the conversation delves into the father-son dynamic, highlighting their shared commitment to uplifting youth through storytelling, making this episode both heartwarming and informative.
As the episode progresses, the focus shifts to Mike Tice, a prominent figure in the National Football League, who shares his own narrative of triumph and challenge. Bill Donohue engages Tice in a comprehensive exploration of his journey from a talented athlete at Central Islip to a successful coach in the NFL. Tice reflects on the influence of his formative years, attributing much of his success to the guidance of significant mentors in his life, including his high school coaches. The discussion offers listeners insights into the evolving landscape of professional sports, touching upon the dynamics between coaches and players. Tice's candid reflections on modern coaching reveal the cultural shifts that have impacted the way young athletes respond to leadership, making for a thought-provoking segment that resonates with both sports enthusiasts and those interested in personal growth and development.
Takeaways:
- In this episode, Bill Donohue engages with former NFL tight end Mike Tice, discussing his journey from Central Islip to the NFL and coaching.
- The Olivas family, specifically Tony and his son Ric, introduce their children's book titled "The Amazing Story of Tony Oliva," emphasizing its inspirational message.
- Ric Oliva elaborates on the purpose of the children's book, highlighting the importance of overcoming obstacles and not being constrained by circumstances.
- Tony Oliva shares insights into his early challenges as an immigrant, illustrating resilience and determination in pursuing his baseball career.
- Mike Tice reflects on the significant influence of his coaches during his formative years in sports, emphasizing the value of mentorship and guidance.
- The podcast underscores the transformative power of storytelling, particularly in inspiring young individuals to pursue their dreams despite adversity.
Transcript
The views expressed in the following program do not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of wgbb.
Speaker B:Live from the WGBB studios in Merrick, New York.
Speaker C:There space Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A:Good evening.
Speaker A:Hello again everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome welcome to Sports Talk New York on WGB here in Merrick, Long Island, New York.
Speaker A:Bill Donahue here.
Speaker A: rd day of February: Speaker A:Our engineer Brian Graves is with us as always behind the glass.
Speaker A:We've got a great show lined up for you tonight.
Speaker A:Up first we'll speak to the Olivas son Rick, father Tony, talking baseball and talking about the new children's book that they're going to have out shortly.
Speaker A:In the second half of the program we will welcome in former NFL coach and Central Islip native Mike Tice.
Speaker A:So sit back, relax, get yourself a drink and a snack.
Speaker A:Get comfy.
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Speaker A:Well, our first guests father half of our father son duo was an eight time All Star, three time batting champ.
Speaker A:That's what it is.
Speaker A: champ, rookie of the year in: Speaker A:All his achievements culminated in his election to the National Baseball hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Speaker A: That was in: Speaker A:His son Rick, he's written a new children's book no e Problema the Amazing Story of Tony Oliva.
Speaker A:Rick writes of his father's Tony's journey from a small farm in Cuba to the National Baseball hall of Fame.
Speaker A:I welcome to Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A:Tonight Tony and Rick Oliva.
Speaker A:How are you guys doing?
Speaker B:We're doing great.
Speaker B:Thanks for having us on.
Speaker A:No worries.
Speaker A:Everything's great.
Speaker A:We have the Olivas aboard.
Speaker A:Where are you guys located tonight?
Speaker A:Who's where?
Speaker D:Well, Ricky, he is in Minneapolis.
Speaker D:I here and spring training for Minnesota Twin and for Maya Florida if you don't believe the weather being beautiful for a little bit in the cold side.
Speaker A:Well, I hope it stays that way, Tony, because I'M coming down next week to follow the Mets around the, around the East Coast.
Speaker A:I don't think you guys will see the Mets this year, but what's your role down there in Fort Myers?
Speaker A:What do you guys do?
Speaker D:Just say one right here in the spring?
Speaker D:I my role is simple.
Speaker D:Every time they want me to do, I try to do it.
Speaker D:But I try to help the young players and the young players, you know, to give a little bit cup of tea of my spirits and have a good time, having a great time for those young players here and the veterans and try to make everything simple and better for everybody.
Speaker A:Understood?
Speaker A:Tony?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I know you're with your roomie Rod Carew down there and I want to mention to people, ROD carew, US Marine this is the anniversary of the United States Marine flag raising on the island of Iwo Jima on Mount Suribachi by the United States Marines.
Speaker A:And just want to mention that because we know Rod is a proud U.S.
Speaker A:marine.
Speaker A:And you folks should take note of that day because it's a great date in U.S.
Speaker A:history.
Speaker A:So now we'll get back to baseball.
Speaker A:Now.
Speaker D:Rajkaru and me, we here in springtrainia, we send same builder here.
Speaker D:Are we living every morning 6:40 in the morning for the field?
Speaker D:Believe it or not, we had a wonderful time.
Speaker A:You guys are busy down there.
Speaker A:Yeah, you sure are.
Speaker A:Now your father, Tony, he worked in a tobacco factory and he was famous for rolling the best cigars in Cuba.
Speaker D:I don't know who rolled better, my father or my mother.
Speaker D:I think my mother was the best tobacco.
Speaker D:My father was the best one to put the tobacco together for between day two.
Speaker D:They make good things.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:Now Rick, you are the youngest son of Tony.
Speaker A:You are also a musician.
Speaker A:Along with you being an author, you're a sequel server, dba.
Speaker A:You're up there in Minnesota and you spent your last 30 years writing, recording, performing.
Speaker A:I know you sent me a link that your band will be playing soon.
Speaker A:You really strive to inspire others through your words as well as your music, don't you?
Speaker B:Yeah, I really find a lot of enjoyment out of really inspiring other people.
Speaker B:I was a guitar teacher for a really long time.
Speaker B:I still have a couple of guitar students that taught at a college that's no longer around here in St.
Speaker B:Paul called McNally Smith College of Music.
Speaker B:But yeah, that was my dream was to be a rock star and to be on stage.
Speaker B:But I really found teaching others and seeing that light bulb moment where they've been practicing, practicing and all of a sudden they can play a song that they thought they could do before.
Speaker B:I really got a lot of joy and, yeah.
Speaker B:Pleasure out of being able to do that.
Speaker A:Get a lot of pleasure out of it, Rick.
Speaker A:That's for sure.
Speaker A:We're speaking with Rick and Tony Oliva tonight on Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A:It's either a bat or a guitar is a kid's dream, Rick.
Speaker A:So you made it with one, so you're doing good.
Speaker A:And Tony made it with the other.
Speaker A:Now, the book, it's currently in development, it isn't just a biography filled with facts and figures, is it?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:So the book.
Speaker B:And I've been asked, you know, why not?
Speaker B:Why a children's book, right?
Speaker B:And the thing is, with his story, there's already been biographies written.
Speaker B:You can go online, you can read about all of his stats, you can read about where he grew up.
Speaker B:And like, Tom Henninger just did a biography about him a couple of years ago, and it's very excellent, very thorough.
Speaker B:But what the purpose of the book was to inspire young kids to not be limited by whatever situation or whatever obstacle they're trying to overcome.
Speaker B:And so for me, growing up, hearing all my dad's stories about how they didn't have money to have, you know, they didn't have equipment, they didn't have bats and balls, so they would go take a branch off of a tree and carve it up, and that became their bat.
Speaker B:And they would take a rock or a piece of cork and they'd wrap it with string and tape, and that would be their ball.
Speaker B:And I heard all these stories about how it doesn't matter what you have, you can make it work.
Speaker B:And so that's where no I pro blema comes from, is, well, no problem.
Speaker B:It doesn't matter that we don't have a baseball bat.
Speaker B:We'll just make one.
Speaker B:We'll make our own bases.
Speaker B:We'll do that.
Speaker B:And so that's where his story comes in and why I wanted to write an inspirational children's book to really show these kids, like, it doesn't matter if I'm poor, if I grow up in the country, or if I grew up in the city, if I'm black, if I don't speak the English, don't speak the language, if I'm an immigrant, if I'm.
Speaker B:Whatever situation you find yourself in and whatever obstacle you see, you can overcome with determination and grit.
Speaker A:That is so true, Rick.
Speaker A:And there you go, folks.
Speaker A:No eye problema.
Speaker A:Tony Oliva's motto.
Speaker A:No problem.
Speaker A:As you say, you don't have a bat, cut a branch from a tree.
Speaker A:Tony did that when he was in Cuba.
Speaker A: the book, you came to you in: Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I initially thought about writing the book when my oldest son, who's now 20, was born.
Speaker B:And I said, you know, all these stories that my dad's been telling me, I need to write those into a book and have a children's book.
Speaker B:Because I read all these books to my kid.
Speaker B:You know, little Johnny went to the store, little Johnny saw a dog, little Johnny, you know, whatever.
Speaker B:And so I was like, I could.
Speaker B:I could put all of my dad's stories into that and make a children's book.
Speaker B:And so it's funny because I had the first idea of it 20 years ago, and then I didn't know how to do it.
Speaker B:I didn't know how to make it come to life.
Speaker B: And finally in: Speaker B: It's my bucket list of: Speaker B:No one's going outside.
Speaker B:I'm just going to do it.
Speaker B:And so I wrote the story and self published it using Amazon Kindle desktop publishing.
Speaker B:I think it was called kdp, but it was just a story and it wasn't illustrated.
Speaker B: And if, you know, in: Speaker B:And so then, what do you know, I released the book, and a year later he gets to call, oh, by the way, you're in the hall of fame now.
Speaker B:So I said, well, we need to update the book.
Speaker B:We need another chapter, right?
Speaker B:And so I'm working with a local publisher here called Wyzink Publishing and a great illustrator, and we're making the book come to Life.
Speaker B:We are 99% of the way done with it, and it looks absolutely amazing.
Speaker A:That is great.
Speaker A:That is great, Rick.
Speaker A:Now, as you say, the book had to take a different turn when Tony got the call from Cooperstown that he was an immortal.
Speaker A:And I just want to say that Kevin Cannon, who was the illustrator, really brought your father's journey to life through his artwork.
Speaker A:He really did a tremendous job.
Speaker A:Now, why is this book important?
Speaker A:Rick, give us a rundown on that.
Speaker B:For a lot of people right now, they feel like the American dream is out of reach and that whatever it is that they're facing, they can't get a leg up in this life, right?
Speaker B:And so I just wanted to show people, like, look, this man that came from Cuba, the little kid out in the middle of nowhere, was able to come to the United States, was stranded In a country where he didn't speak the language.
Speaker B: He came in April of: Speaker B:And if you're a history buff, you'll know that's right when the Bay of Pigs happened, he was actually released from the team, got a second chance, navigated through those waters, had to figure out the language, had to deal with racism and segregation.
Speaker B:You know, he couldn't catch a fly ball to save his life.
Speaker B:He worked and worked and worked and worked and worked, worked.
Speaker B:Ended up getting a Gold glove, got a, you know, became this major league baseball legend, got a statue in front of the stadium and then made it to the hall of Fame.
Speaker B:So it's like you can't, no matter where you're coming from.
Speaker B:I wanted to show people that there is a pathway for you.
Speaker B:And so that's where I think the real importance of this book is.
Speaker B:It's not a made up story, it's not a fantasy story.
Speaker B:This is a living, breathing person that's alive today, living in modern times.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:It really, it really shows that stories like Tony's, they're crucial in inspiring young folks to believe that a little setback here and there won't define their future.
Speaker A:And Tony is a great example of that.
Speaker A:Tony, you, you, you encountered racism in the minor leagues, didn't you?
Speaker D:Yes, yes.
Speaker D: But I will say, back in: Speaker D:Ricky was Rick.
Speaker B:He called me Ricky.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker D:Probably went to Cuba.
Speaker D:We went to Cuba.
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker D:I remember the first day we went to Cuba, there was a whole bunch of kids, you know what you say, kids outside the house between the two apartments playing baseball.
Speaker D:And they don't have a bat, they have a branch, they have a ball, they make a, you know, piece of wrap and that.
Speaker D:And the first thing they ask, Rick.
Speaker B:Rick, Rick, come here.
Speaker C:Play.
Speaker D:Play.
Speaker D:For most.
Speaker D:Well, Ricky never hit a ball on a piece of bench or something like that, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker D:And play and play.
Speaker D:One of those kids and play and try to hit the ball.
Speaker D:He got a hard time to hit it for those kids, was hitting the ball very good.
Speaker D:The next day, this hit by 8 of Monday morning or less, he was in the house asking to play baseball, to play baseball.
Speaker D:But then they found a bat in the neighborhood.
Speaker D:Somebody let them a bat.
Speaker D:And he was playing for those kids all day long.
Speaker D:I think you can see how hard is sometimes if you want to do a song, they have to do it.
Speaker D:And I remember those days.
Speaker D:I never forget it.
Speaker D:Because he never give up.
Speaker D:I never give up.
Speaker D:Yeah, I remember when he was playing and I Know, I like him to be a ball player, you know, because he was playing, he was pretty good ball player, but his dream was music.
Speaker D:I said, if your dream is music, go after music.
Speaker D:And he went after music.
Speaker D:And he did it very well in New City.
Speaker D:But, you know, I'm very proud of Ricky try to write this book because this book I think is very important.
Speaker D:It's very nice for the kids to read because I believe, I believe in school.
Speaker D:Education and baseball have a lot in common.
Speaker D:You have to do the homework, you have to try hard, and you'll be able to achieve a lot of stuff if you want to.
Speaker A:You know, the perfect example of that, Tony, is you were released by the Minnesota twins back in 61.
Speaker A: released by his ball Club in: Speaker A:The determination and the resilience of the example of Tony Oliva can really lead to greatness.
Speaker A:Tony.
Speaker D:Well, you see, I tell you one thing that I know where I confront.
Speaker D:Yes, thank you very, very much to God and my family and my friends for that, for my special attitude that I was able to have.
Speaker D:No matter what, you know, I say no problem.
Speaker D:Like I said, I tried to avoid all this thing.
Speaker D:I work hard, I started doing my best all the time, and I was able to achieve that.
Speaker D:When that reached me and the general manager in Charlotte, he said, look, I'm going to pay you all the expenses coming to the ballpark every day.
Speaker D:We have to come here and run it and come back to the hotel because I don't speak in England that they are going to sign you to the rookie league.
Speaker D:I was so happy when he gave me a second chance.
Speaker D:And it was unbelievable.
Speaker D:No matter what, I went over there rookie league, I proved to everybody.
Speaker D:I proved to the guy who gave me the opportunity a few houses General man Richard Roberto Mendoza, who pushed me a lot, helped me a lot to be able to make the ball Club.
Speaker D:And he's 400 in the rookie league.
Speaker D:That was unbelievable.
Speaker D:I blame everything.
Speaker D:I give all the credit to God.
Speaker D:I say, ricasso, man, I come from Cuba, from this country, from this farm.
Speaker D:I don't have anything be able to make it, be able to achieve all this stuff and have a statue in Minnesota in front of the stadium.
Speaker D:That was unbelievable.
Speaker D:Unbelievable.
Speaker D:But you have to believe it that, you know, if you try and you get lucky, you have some people to help you.
Speaker D:There's no limit what you can do.
Speaker A:No limits to what you can achieve.
Speaker A:Yeah, go ahead, Rick.
Speaker A:Sorry.
Speaker B:I was gonna say I wanted to add on something to my dad's story that you're just talking about is that, you know, people will.
Speaker B:Sometimes they'll give up.
Speaker B:Like, they'll.
Speaker B:They'll show up to something and they'll say, oh, the line's too long.
Speaker B:I don't want to wait, you know, a half hour to go get this thing.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So my dad talked about, oh, they gave him a second chance.
Speaker B: ou have to remember, this was: Speaker B:He black.
Speaker B:He had to stay in the Black hotel, which was five miles from the ballpark, and they only gave him $2.50 a day.
Speaker B:So he said, well, had a choice.
Speaker B:I could take a taxi to the ballpark, but then I wouldn't have food to eat.
Speaker A:I won't eat.
Speaker B:So I want to eat.
Speaker B:I'm walking.
Speaker B:So he.
Speaker B:He walked every day to the ballpark, five miles, and then walked home.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And so it's like those types of things.
Speaker B:That's the type of determination.
Speaker B:It doesn't matter.
Speaker B:Like, okay, you have this opportunity.
Speaker B:What are you gonna do with it?
Speaker B:You can say, well, I mean, I'm not walking.
Speaker B:I'm not gonna walk five miles to work for $2.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know what?
Speaker B:That's what it took.
Speaker A:That it did.
Speaker A:And it really paid off for you, for your dad.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:We're speaking tonight to Rick and Tony Oliva.
Speaker A:We have the honor of having both them with us now with the book.
Speaker A:Rick, you're doing a Kickstarter campaign.
Speaker A:Tell the folks a little bit about that.
Speaker B:So the Kickstarter campaign, part of what I learned about book publishing is it cost a lot of money to create a book.
Speaker B:In order to keep the wholesale cost down per book, I decided to do a Kickstarter campaign where people could go on, they could make a pledge to the campaign.
Speaker B:I've had a few people actually just donate.
Speaker B:They said, no, just take the money.
Speaker B:But I do have rewards tiers where you can, in essence, pre order a signed copy of the book.
Speaker B:There's even rewards tiers that include getting your name, putting into credits.
Speaker B:I looked at that as a fantastic way to raise money in order to bring down the cost per book.
Speaker B:Because if it cost you $40 a book to make it, nobody's going to pay that, especially the retail store.
Speaker B:So through the Kickstarter, I've been able to get the cost per book, a little bit of inside baseball, no pun intended, or maybe a pun is intended.
Speaker B:So that way I could bring down the cost and I could bring the book to market at a reasonable price.
Speaker B:And so that's what I'm doing right now.
Speaker B:It goes through the end of the month, and then after the Kickstarter is finished, we'll send it off to the printers and hopefully I'll have the book in hand sometime in July.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Okay, that sounds good.
Speaker A:Now, the folks, as Rick said, guys, you can get your name immortalized in this book if you choose to.
Speaker A:You could get a signed copy.
Speaker A:Is there a website the folks can go to, Rick?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So the easiest way to find the Kickstarter is you can either go to kickstarter.com and then search for Tony O book or Tony Oliva book, or you can go to my website, which is rickoleva.com with no case R I C O L I V A.com book.
Speaker B:And that'll take you to the right to the book page where you can learn about it.
Speaker B:You can see some images from the COVID inside of the book, and there's a link right there where you can either sign up on my mailing list and be notified when there's more updates about it or go directly to the Kickstarter.
Speaker A:Outstanding.
Speaker A:That is great.
Speaker A:Now, I want to ask you, Rick, with all the things Tony has attained, what.
Speaker A:What incident or what makes you most proud of your dad?
Speaker B: tile environment in the early: Speaker B:Like there was a.
Speaker B:He could tell you the exact story, but like there was a place where they'd play where people would be saying, and we're this and we're that, throwing stuff at him, yelling, go back and play with the monkeys in the jungle.
Speaker B:All this kind of stuff.
Speaker B:And so they.
Speaker B:But it was no I pro blame his.
Speaker B:His coach said, you know what?
Speaker B:We'll put you in center field.
Speaker B:You won't be bothered by those people.
Speaker B:For people that are fans, they know he's a right fielder.
Speaker B:And I'm just like, could you imagine that happening today?
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Like, you would be walked out of the stadium, banned for life.
Speaker B:Like, the things that these guys had to put up with in the 60s is just absolutely insane.
Speaker B:And so for me, the thing that makes me most proud is I look at it as his way that he still has a smile on his face, still has a positive attitude.
Speaker B:And is able to not hold on to those events in terms of just being bitter.
Speaker B:I just read an article, someone had done a story about him, had interviewed my dad and he said, you know, when the guys and I, we look back in those days, we just laugh because it's unbelievable.
Speaker B:And I'm like, how do you laugh?
Speaker B:Like, I look at it and I have tears in my eyes.
Speaker B:Like I can't believe that you had to deal with this.
Speaker B:And so that for me, that's the most touching part of the story is that is what he had to go through and he made it out still positive.
Speaker B:And then just to see how the world has changed.
Speaker B:The world used to be like that and now he has a statue in front of the target field.
Speaker B:I mean it's.
Speaker A:Imagine that.
Speaker A:Amazing.
Speaker A:I want to ask Tony a question, Rick, if you don't mind.
Speaker A:What pitchers gave you the most trouble, Tony, during your career?
Speaker A:I know during that time in baseball, I remember it when I was a kid, you had so many great pitchers, some hall of Famers, many borderline could be in the hall of Fame.
Speaker A:Who gave you fits when you came to the plate?
Speaker D:Well, really the one that pitcher gave me hard time to get a basis.
Speaker D:But the tough picture for me that really analyzed to face one the very, very hot and very wow.
Speaker D:And the next speech was Norah Ryan.
Speaker D:Oh, boy, you know, everybody know he was very, very well.
Speaker D:But he said to the boy for 120 miles per hour, the boy looks like if he hit you and go through your.
Speaker D:Through your body.
Speaker D:Those two guys, I don't like your face if you don't have to.
Speaker D:But in those days you don't have a choice.
Speaker D:You have to face it.
Speaker D:You have to face the best.
Speaker D:You have to face everybody.
Speaker D:But those are the two guys I say, hey, if I don't demonstrate to them good.
Speaker A:Two great Nolan Ryan folks and the Great sudden Sam McDowell both threw very hard.
Speaker A:And Sam has an inspirational story.
Speaker A:We've had him on the show.
Speaker A:A great man who goes on to as Tony does, set an example for kids and for grownups too.
Speaker A:A great story from him now.
Speaker A:You guys going to be in Cooperstown this summer?
Speaker D:Yes, I hope so.
Speaker D:I have a chance before I get to the hall of Fame.
Speaker D:I have a chance being the Cooperstown a few times, but now they invite me every year.
Speaker D:I can go and relax now and sit down there, enjoy myself in that beautiful hotel on Lake oh, the ODA saga.
Speaker A:Yeah, my dream and my wife, we want to get into the ODA saga someday and you never know who stayed in the room you were in.
Speaker A:I mean, every year it's packed full of immortals.
Speaker A:And the back porch, I would like to get on that back porch, sit in a rocker and just dream.
Speaker D:I tell you, if you get in touch with my song, I could be there and maybe be able to give you a pass or something.
Speaker D:You'll be able to go enjoy that, at least for a short time.
Speaker A:That would be amazing, Tony.
Speaker A:I'll tell you now, Rick, what is the next step for no Eye Problema?
Speaker B:So the next step is Friday night, the Kickstarter ends.
Speaker B:We will compile all the names of the people who wanted to get their name put in the book.
Speaker B:So I can send that over to the publisher.
Speaker B:They'll finish up adding the acknowledgments and the thank you pages.
Speaker B:We'll go through with a fine tooth comb, make sure that we dotted our I's and crossed our t's and dotted the lowercase J's.
Speaker B:You don't want to forget about those.
Speaker B:Make sure that everything looks perfect.
Speaker B:And then we'll send it off to the printer.
Speaker B:I'm hoping to get it to the printer by April 1st, but, you know, it will happen when it happens, but it'll be soon.
Speaker B:It'll be within the next six weeks is what we're shooting for.
Speaker B:And then once it goes to the printer, we wait for the books to get in hand.
Speaker B:And if you don't mind me telling just one last story, for sure, go right ahead, Rick.
Speaker B:Yeah, for anyone.
Speaker B:That's that, you know, still playing baseball or has a kid in Little League.
Speaker B:I asked my dad once, like, so what do you tell as a coach?
Speaker B:What do you tell someone to ask the face of San McDowell or Nolan Pitcher?
Speaker B:Like, how do you.
Speaker B:How do you hit that picture?
Speaker B:And his response was, you don't hit the pitcher.
Speaker B:You hit the ball.
Speaker B:Watch the ball.
Speaker B:You hit the ball, right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, that makes sense.
Speaker B:He goes, don't worry about who's throwing it.
Speaker B:Just watch the ball and swing the bat, like, all right, well, I can.
Speaker B:I can do.
Speaker B:Well, I don't know if I can do that.
Speaker B:I can take that advice.
Speaker B:So make it easy.
Speaker A:Very simple.
Speaker A:As you said, very easy.
Speaker A:Rick and Tony certainly succeeded at it, winning three batting titles and rookie of the year and just.
Speaker A:Just an amazing ballplayer.
Speaker A:Rick and Tony Oliva, it's been a real pleasure having you with us tonight.
Speaker A:Thanks for taking time out of your Sunday night to spend it with us here in New York.
Speaker A:Wish you guys all the best.
Speaker A:With the new book, folks, again, that's called Noe Problema the Amazing Story of Tony Oliva.
Speaker A:And where will it be available?
Speaker A:Rick, Just let the folks know.
Speaker A:Will it be available on Amazon or any place they can order it like that?
Speaker B:Yeah, it'll be on Amazon once it comes out.
Speaker B:The publisher works directly with distributors to get it into bookstores, but I think the easiest place would be to either check back on my website, rickoleva.com or check Amazon when it comes out.
Speaker A:That sounds great.
Speaker A:Well, thanks again, guys.
Speaker A:Tony, say hi to your buddy Rod Careu for us.
Speaker A:We'd like to have him back.
Speaker A:We'll be talking to Rhonda and he may set that up for us.
Speaker A:But give him all our best and enjoy Fort Myers and the Twins camp.
Speaker A:Tony.
Speaker D:Okay, thank you.
Speaker D:If you're here, you know, next couple of weeks, we make sure you can say hi to Rockaroo and Peso.
Speaker A:That would be wonderful.
Speaker A:That'd be great, Tony.
Speaker A:I thank you guys so much and all the best with the book.
Speaker A:You take care.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:Appreciate, appreciate the opportunity to be on.
Speaker D:Thanks.
Speaker A:That was Rick and Tony Oliva, ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker A:Up next on Sports Talk New York, we welcome in central isolates Pride and Joy, Mike Tice.
Speaker A:Do stick around, mates.
Speaker B:You are listening to Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B: FM and: Speaker A:At WGB radio.com stay connected to sports.
Speaker B:Talk New York on WGBB by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @WGB sports talk.
Speaker B:You're listening to Sports Talk New York on Long Island's wgpb.
Speaker C:And now back to the show.
Speaker A:All right, folks, we are back with Sports Talk New York here on WGB AM FM radio.
Speaker A:We are live from beautiful downtown Merrick, Long Island, New York.
Speaker A:Well, folks, it's here.
Speaker A:No, not the end of congestion pricing and Governor Hochul's career.
Speaker A:It's spring training and I watched two games on SNY this weekend from Port St.
Speaker A:Lucie.
Speaker A:Couldn't believe it.
Speaker A:On Saturday, Juan Soto goes deep in his first Mets at bat.
Speaker A:That was worth every penny to me, folks.
Speaker A:The Grapefruit League and the Cactus League are in full swing.
Speaker A:Just what we've been waiting for all winter.
Speaker A:The countdown is over and we have blasted off.
Speaker A:Baseball is back and if you're heading south for a vacation and if you'll be stopping by any of the camps, let us know here.
Speaker A:I would love to get reports on your experience.
Speaker A:I May visit the Mets camp this year.
Speaker A:Looking forward to it.
Speaker A:Got five games planned, Port St.
Speaker A:Lucie, three games.
Speaker A:And then we're going to hit West Palm beach, the ballpark of the West Palm Beaches where the Houston Astros share that complex.
Speaker A:I don't know exactly who they share it with.
Speaker A:I'm forgetful at the moment.
Speaker A:We also plan on visiting Jupiter.
Speaker A:Not the planet.
Speaker A:I visited Jupiter in the past many times while I was in college.
Speaker A:Jupiter, Florida, Roger Dean Stadium, which is the home of the St.
Speaker A:Louis Cardinals, they share that facility as well.
Speaker A:So if anybody's going down south, let us know.
Speaker A:Maybe we can meet up, share our experiences.
Speaker A:I know Dave Burnett, one of our friends out there, is going to be down in Port St Lucie the same time that we are and look forward to meeting some of the Met fans that we encounter online and just to get meet, meet people, and it'll be a lot of fun.
Speaker A:So I look forward to that.
Speaker A:We are looking forward to speaking with our next guest.
Speaker A:He's a former American football tight end and coach.
Speaker A:He played college football at the University of Maryland, College park, spent 11 seasons in the NFL before spending 22 seasons as a coach, including four as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker A:I welcome to Sports Talk New York tonight, Mike Tice.
Speaker A:Mike, good evening.
Speaker C:Good evening, Bill.
Speaker C:How are you doing today?
Speaker A:Doing great.
Speaker A:How's everything on the other coast?
Speaker C:Well, actually, I'm on the.
Speaker C:I'm in the middle.
Speaker C:I'm in the middle.
Speaker C:I'm with my granddaughter, not my grandson, so I'm in St.
Speaker C:Louis.
Speaker A:I got you.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Now I want to ask you, growing up out in CI, who were your sports heroes and teams when you were a kid?
Speaker A:We're the same age, but I'm a Saint John the Baptist guy.
Speaker A:I want to see if we have any similarities and favorites when you were a kid.
Speaker C:Well, I grew up a Giants fan.
Speaker C:My dad had literally one season ticket that he bought with nine other friends he grew up with.
Speaker C:They all had one season ticket.
Speaker C:So we were New York Giants in my house and we were Yankees all the way.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:But, but I really followed when I was in junior high and high school.
Speaker C:Joe Namath.
Speaker C:I love Joe Namath.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah, we all did.
Speaker A:And we remember those days when the jets actually.
Speaker A:Look it up, folks.
Speaker A:Look it up.
Speaker A:You kids out there.
Speaker A:They actually won a Super Bowl.
Speaker A:And Mike remembers that as well as I do.
Speaker A:With Joe Namath at the helm, I was the opposite, Mike.
Speaker A:I was a Mets, jets guy.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So was my wife's family.
Speaker C:Her family was my wife Is also from Central and went to Central Isop High School.
Speaker C:And her family was the same as you?
Speaker A:Yeah, it seems like those two go together.
Speaker A:Yankees, Giants, Jets, Mets.
Speaker A:And they all make you suffer at one time or another.
Speaker A:Now, your high school days at CI Mike getting written up and Newsday and stuff.
Speaker A:Tell us about your high school days.
Speaker C:Well, I was blessed at that early time to have great coaches that really mentored me and, you know, taught me how to do things right.
Speaker C:George O'Leary was my high school football coach and, you know, and he went on to, you know, great fame at UCF and Syracuse and Georgia Tech and he had a great career.
Speaker C:And Ben Morrisselli, my basketball coach, who was also a teacher at Central Isop High School, was very influential to me.
Speaker C:You know, taught me how to work, taught me how to prepare.
Speaker C:So that's what I remember most about Central Isop.
Speaker C:I didn't get in much trouble in school.
Speaker C:My dad would have killed me.
Speaker C:But it was all sports back in those days.
Speaker A:That's great.
Speaker A:Now, you attended the University of Maryland, College Park.
Speaker A:You played quarterback in college.
Speaker C:I did.
Speaker C:Can you believe that?
Speaker C:Yeah, I played quarterback at CI Was recruited by a good number of schools and some for athlete and some for quarterback and some for, you know, telling me right away they were going to move me to a different position.
Speaker C:I tried Maryland.
Speaker C:They were close enough for my dad and mom to drive to the games.
Speaker C:It was only, you know, about a little under a five hour drive.
Speaker C:They certainly, they certainly weren't going to be able to afford to fly to schools that were far away.
Speaker C:So we kind of limited.
Speaker C:I limited my, my options.
Speaker C:I really enjoyed Maryland.
Speaker C:I played quarterback there.
Speaker C:I got hurt in the spring game of going into my junior year.
Speaker C:I started my junior and senior year.
Speaker C:I wasn't very good.
Speaker C:I wasn't as good as Boomer.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C: they moved me to tight end in: Speaker C:Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker A:Now, speaking of Boomer Esiason, Mike, was there much interaction between you guys at CI and Boomer at East Islip?
Speaker C:Well, Boomer was a great player.
Speaker C:Really good basketball player, too.
Speaker C:And outstanding pitcher.
Speaker A:Basketball too?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:But I remember my brother John, who also played at Maryland and went to Central Isop.
Speaker C:We recruited Boomer and his dad down to Maryland.
Speaker C:Boomer, I think at that time, and he could correct me if I'm wrong, you know, he will.
Speaker C:He only had one other offer, which was at the Boston University to play baseball and football.
Speaker C:But we hope we had something to do with convincing him to go to Maryland, where he went on to great fame.
Speaker C:And he went on to great, of course, a great career in the NFL and in the media.
Speaker A:He certainly did a great career.
Speaker A:From Boomer es and another local kid now going on to coaching.
Speaker A:Was there anybody that you met along the way?
Speaker A:I know you told us about your high school coaches who influenced your style of coaching.
Speaker A:Was it those guys at Central Islip?
Speaker C:Well, it was really Chuck Knox at Seattle.
Speaker C: I played for Chuck from: Speaker C:He had great influence on me as a player.
Speaker C:I was an average player, a backup tight end for many years.
Speaker C:I actually played 14 years in the NFL and most of the hats I wore were backup blocking tight end.
Speaker C:You know, quarterback to blocking tight end.
Speaker C:That's a great transition.
Speaker C:And Chuck Notch really mentored me, too.
Speaker C:He knew that when I retired, I wanted to be a coach.
Speaker C:And he really taught me how to prepare again, how to prepare, how to work, how to set goals, you know, how not to make silly mistakes, mental mistakes.
Speaker C:And he was the biggest influence, I believe.
Speaker C:But I also played for some great other offensive.
Speaker C:Worked with some other offensive line coaches and Joe Bugle with the Redskins and Jim Hannifin.
Speaker C:Those are two great names in the offensive rank offensive line annals of the National Football League.
Speaker C:And I had a fortunate time to spend with those two guys, and they were very helpful.
Speaker A:Well, you learned from some of the best, Mike, that's for sure.
Speaker A:Now, you were an offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, also a head coach.
Speaker A:Now, is offensive coordinator any more difficult than a head coach?
Speaker A:More stressful?
Speaker A:What do you think?
Speaker C:Well, when you're the head coach, what you say is what goes on in the building, what goes on in the room.
Speaker C:When you're an offensive coordinator, you're dealing with offensive players that some of who don't like the way you're doing things.
Speaker C:And when you're the offensive coordinator, there's always one guy above you that they could go to if they don't like putting you doing, and that's the head coach.
Speaker C:So I didn't really.
Speaker C:I didn't really enjoy being an offensive coordinator with the Bears.
Speaker C:I did enjoy being a head coach for four years with the Vikings, and I certainly enjoyed being an offensive line coach most of my career and working with the guys that, you know, are the heart and soul of the offense.
Speaker A:Yeah, I can see how it'd be more stressful.
Speaker A:Mike.
Speaker A:Mike Tice with us tonight on Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A:Now, among other guys, you've Coached two great wide receivers.
Speaker A:Brandon Marshall, Randy Moss, to name two.
Speaker A:What were the differences and maybe similarities in the styles of those two guys?
Speaker C:Well, Randy Moss, of course, was one of the most explosive players to ever play in the National Football League.
Speaker C:Brandon Marshall, very intelligent, great size, great hands, knew how to get open.
Speaker C:Both players, you know, made a lot of plays for us.
Speaker C:Randy scored a lot of touchdowns.
Speaker C:Yeah, and that's.
Speaker C:That's really big.
Speaker C:And I really enjoyed being around them.
Speaker C:I was around a lot of great receivers in my career, not only as a player, as a coach.
Speaker C:I was fortunate to be teammates with hall of Famer Steve Large, and I was fortunate to be teammates with Chris Carter.
Speaker C:I was also fortunate to be teammates with Art Monk, Washington Redskins, another great man.
Speaker C:And so, you know, those guys are the cream of the crop, and those, those guys do the things the right way.
Speaker A:Yeah, what an honor to be associated with those guys.
Speaker A:Mike, that.
Speaker A:That's a definite.
Speaker A:Now, if you were to return to head coaching now, which I don't think you do, what would you do differently if you went about it this time?
Speaker C:Well, you know, we had a good run there in Seattle.
Speaker C:I mean, Seattle, we had a good run there in Minnesota.
Speaker C:We just.
Speaker C:We didn't have the ownership that they have there now with the Wilfs, where they're behind the coaches in the organization monetarily in a big way.
Speaker C:You know, we didn't have that.
Speaker C:And we won.
Speaker C:You know, we went 500.
Speaker C:We won a playoff game in, in Green Bay.
Speaker C:And I was proud of the way we did things.
Speaker C:And so there's probably some things I would do differently.
Speaker C:But right now, off the cuff, I couldn't spell them out to you.
Speaker A:Okay, now, you have said, I believe you said, that today's player doesn't want to be coached.
Speaker A:Can you tell us about that?
Speaker C:Well, it is what it is.
Speaker C:I mean, young kids and young men are different than they were when I was playing.
Speaker C:When coaches were screaming at you and coaches were yelling at you, you know, repeating in pads, banging on Fridays in pads, in full pads, goal line.
Speaker C:It's a different game nowadays.
Speaker C:And so players are a little bit more temperamental when you try to correct them.
Speaker C:And again, I haven't coached in, what, seven years, six years.
Speaker C:So it's hard for me to say what kind of players are in the locker room right now.
Speaker C:But all you have to do is look at society and see what's out there.
Speaker A:It's a lot different.
Speaker A:You're right, Mike.
Speaker A:Now, was it rough going to Chicago after you were with the rival Vikings for so long.
Speaker C:Yeah, it was tough.
Speaker C:And I'm still a big, huge Viking fan.
Speaker C:That's the team.
Speaker C:I still root for the Giants, of course.
Speaker C:I root for the Jets.
Speaker C:My.
Speaker C:You know, I'm from New York, got to root for my home teams.
Speaker C:I root for the Knicks.
Speaker C:I don't wear my Knicks hat because they haven't been very good in a while.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker C:But I.
Speaker C:But I.
Speaker C:I do root for the Vikings, and it was tough, but, you know, I have two kids, I have a wife, I have homes, I got bills to pay.
Speaker C:I have to work.
Speaker C:And so at that point in my career, that was the best opportunity.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And you took it, and you did.
Speaker A:Well, as you said, good memories in Minnesota for you guys.
Speaker A:We're speaking with Mike Tice tonight on Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A:Great to have him with us.
Speaker A:Anything, as I said along the way, who really had a deep impact on your career, it would be those guys from CI, right?
Speaker C:Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:You kidding me?
Speaker C:You know, I was born and raised there.
Speaker C:My dad was born and raised there.
Speaker C:My dad graduated from Central Isop High School.
Speaker C:I did.
Speaker C:My wife did.
Speaker C:My brother, my sister, two of my sisters.
Speaker C:Two of my sisters actually graduated.
Speaker C:My other, my youngest, two sisters from East Eisen High School.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:Where Boom was from.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So, yeah, those guys had great influence because you're younger, you're more impressionable, and you tend to take what your coaches are saying for word.
Speaker C:And fortunately, those guys were good and they were right.
Speaker A:And it's probably as you say with today's NFL players, the halls of CI High School are probably much different than they were when we roamed our respective schools.
Speaker C:You got that right.
Speaker C:I've been up there a few times over the last number of years, and it's definitely different.
Speaker C:Yeah, but that's.
Speaker C:That's just.
Speaker C:Like I said, that's society things, man.
Speaker C:I just turned 66 years old.
Speaker C:Things have changed.
Speaker A:Oh, you're telling me.
Speaker A:Yeah, I know you're still 15, 20 years old upstairs, but the rest of it ain't doing the same thing, Mike, is it?
Speaker D:No, you got that right.
Speaker C:Yeah, you got that right, Bill.
Speaker A:Oh, no, the rest of it doesn't follow suit, that's for sure.
Speaker A:Now, a player who's under your tutelage, Mike, all the guys you coached, what would you expect them to say about you?
Speaker C:That I was a pain in the ass.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Yeah, but that's good.
Speaker A:That's good.
Speaker A:Like you said.
Speaker A:No, that's good.
Speaker A:And guys don't want it.
Speaker A:Don't Want to have a pain in the ass today?
Speaker C:Well, you know, the one thing they'll say is, I was honest.
Speaker C:Whether they liked it or not, I told them the truth.
Speaker C:I told them the way it was.
Speaker C:And, you know, I guess that's the New Yorker in me.
Speaker C:But if they didn't like it, it was, you know, it's tough, it's too bad, but I gotta tell you how I feel.
Speaker C:I'm trying to make you better.
Speaker C:I'm your teacher.
Speaker C:I'm your mentor.
Speaker C:If you play better, I look better, so you got to play better.
Speaker C:If you play better, we win.
Speaker C:So, you know, hopefully that's what they'll just.
Speaker C:They'll say, and they'll describe me as.
Speaker A:Do you still walk around with a pencil in your ear?
Speaker C:No, I wear glasses now, so I can't put it over my ear.
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker A:Do you miss anything about the island?
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:I was back last year for.
Speaker C:We had like a five year reunion where my class was the youngest and there was only a couple of us from my class.
Speaker C:But we went back and saw some dear friends.
Speaker C:I have two aunts that live there.
Speaker C:My mother's two sisters still live in East Islip.
Speaker C:And, you know, it was just great to see so many great friends and eat the great food that I grew up eating.
Speaker C:And I do miss it.
Speaker C:And we had a great time.
Speaker C:We stayed over in Bayshore.
Speaker C:We rented a house.
Speaker C:It was really nice.
Speaker A:Yeah, the pizza is something you would miss.
Speaker A:A bagel, a bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll.
Speaker A:Something like that, right?
Speaker C:On a hard roll.
Speaker B:Nobody knows.
Speaker C:When we say, you got bacon, egg and cheese on a hard roll, people are like, what?
Speaker A:Yeah, no idea.
Speaker C:What do you mean, a stale roll?
Speaker C:No, not a stale roll.
Speaker B:A hard roll.
Speaker A:I even was down in Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, and I ordered a bacon, egg and cheese on a roll.
Speaker A:They gave it to.
Speaker C:No, I'm kidding, right?
Speaker A:I said, no, no, no.
Speaker C:That's the way it is.
Speaker A:That's not what I'm talking about.
Speaker C:And then the pizza.
Speaker C:Just give me a good slice of cheese pie, would you, please?
Speaker A:That's all.
Speaker C:Don't put all this stuff.
Speaker C:Don't put all this stuff on top of it.
Speaker A:No pineapple, right?
Speaker A:No, that's.
Speaker C:Oh, my God.
Speaker C:No pineapple.
Speaker C:No jalapenos.
Speaker C:No jalapenos.
Speaker C:No barbecued chicken.
Speaker A:It's even changed around here.
Speaker A:You saw it, Mike, when you were here.
Speaker A:It's not the same place it was when we were in high school.
Speaker A:The people are changing.
Speaker C:Society has changed.
Speaker C:People have changed.
Speaker A:Yeah, I Mean Fire Island.
Speaker A:The whole place is different now.
Speaker A:There's a different head ruling these days.
Speaker A:And like you say, you gotta adjust with it.
Speaker A:And that's just the way it is now.
Speaker A:How about this, Mike?
Speaker A:Get ready for this one.
Speaker A:If they offered you the jets job, would you take it?
Speaker C:In a minute.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:But I'm not qualified.
Speaker C:I've been out of the game too long.
Speaker C:I'm not qualified.
Speaker C:But that would be quite the.
Speaker C:I interviewed for the jets job one time and I didn't get it, but it would have been great.
Speaker A:Who did they give it to at that time?
Speaker C:Do you remember Mangini?
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker A:Mangenius.
Speaker A:The guy they thought was the.
Speaker A:The one to lead them into the promised land, as we say.
Speaker C:I never met him, so I can't say a word about him.
Speaker C:I don't know him.
Speaker C:I don't know him.
Speaker C:To say hi.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:Well, Mike Tice, it's been a pleasure.
Speaker A:I thank you for taking the time out of your Sunday night to spend it with us back here in New York.
Speaker A:Wishing you all the best, you and the family.
Speaker A:Mike, take care.
Speaker A:We look forward to the next time we speak.
Speaker A:And I thank you once again, Bill, my pleasure.
Speaker C:Hey, Bill, let me plug my foundation real quick.
Speaker A:I forgot to mention.
Speaker A:Yeah, let's talk about the foundation.
Speaker A:Mike.
Speaker A:Go ahead.
Speaker C:That's all right.
Speaker C:We only have one event.
Speaker C:We have a golf tournament July 13th and 14th in Seattle near Bainbridge island, which is a beautiful location.
Speaker C:And our website is themiketicefoundation.com.
Speaker C:people can go on there and keep up with what's going on, but that's about it.
Speaker C:We raised a lot of money.
Speaker C:We gave away the last two years over $160,000 a kids charities.
Speaker C:And we'll continue to do it.
Speaker C:And we do have charity in New York.
Speaker C:Two charities in New York we donate to.
Speaker A:You guys get some heavy hitters at the golf tournament, too.
Speaker A:I was looking at the guys that show up for that.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah, we get heavy hitters.
Speaker C:Yeah, we'll be better this year, too.
Speaker C:We got a heavy hit of sponsors to sponsor our belts.
Speaker C:F5 out of Seattle.
Speaker C:They're a big company, so we're excited.
Speaker A:Good talking to you, Mike.
Speaker A:Ticefoundation.com folks, check that out.
Speaker A:A very worthy charity from Mike Tice.
Speaker A:Mike, thanks again.
Speaker C:You got it, Bill.
Speaker C:My pleasure.
Speaker A:That is Mike Tice, ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker A:We'll be right back after these fine words.
Speaker A:You take care, folks.
Speaker A:Be back in a second.
Speaker B:You're listening to Sports Talk New York on Long Island's wgb.
Speaker C:And now back to the show.
Speaker A:All right, folks, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, I would just like to, in a few minutes we have left, we spoke about spring training, how great that is to experience whether you go to Florida or whether you visit the teams out in Arizona.
Speaker A:Another place dear to me, as you know, is Cooperstown, the home of the Baseball hall of Fame.
Speaker A:And as I spoke to Tony and Rick Oliva about, the Odessaga Hotel is off limits to everyone during hall of Fame weekend because that's where all the hall of Famers and their families stay.
Speaker A:It's this amazing vintage hotel, something out of the turn of the century, the turn of the last century, not this century.
Speaker A:And it's just got personality all over it.
Speaker A:The hall of Famers stay there.
Speaker A:They meet, they talk, they eat together, they laugh together.
Speaker A:And there's a back porch of this hotel made out of wood and rocking chairs there.
Speaker A:And you can just sit there and rock and look out at beautiful Odessauga Lake and just soak in the ambiance.
Speaker A:And who knows, maybe Paul Molitor is sitting next to you or Ferguson Jenkins or some other storied hall of Famer.
Speaker A: amers going into the class of: Speaker A:Mike Tice is texting me.
Speaker A:I'll get back to him.
Speaker A:Ritchie Allen, Dave Parker going in, elected by the Veterans Committee, both worthwhile guys.
Speaker A:And of course, elected by the Baseball Writers association of America.
Speaker A:Ichiro Suzuki, Cece Sabathia and Billy Wagner voted into The Class of 25 Baseball hall of Fame.
Speaker A:I should mention also that the Odessauga Hotel, the reason they can clear the unwashed masses like you and I out of there is because it's owned by Jane Forbes Clark, who is the chairman of the Baseball hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Speaker A:The hall of Fame was started by her grandfather, I believe.
Speaker A:It was not her father.
Speaker A: the Baseball hall of fame in: Speaker A:She More or less owns Cooperstown, and she owns that hotel.
Speaker A:And she could give you and I the boot so they can bring in people like Ferguson Jenkins and Paul Maldeigner and Chipper Jones and Dave Winfield for that weekend.
Speaker A:So it turns into a magical place that, as we said, you and I are not allowed into the inner sanctum.
Speaker A:But if you ever are, it's an amazing treat, and we look forward to seeing Antonio Oliva there this year.
Speaker A:Great man.
Speaker A:Great interview.
Speaker A:It was with he and his son Rick about the book.
Speaker A:No, I problema which means no problem with Tony Oliva, who faced so much adversity in his youth and in his early career in the minor leagues, staying at all black hotels, walking five miles to the ballpark on 250 a day.
Speaker A:Like his son Rick said he could take a cab to the ballpark, but then he'd have no money to eat.
Speaker A:So it's an easy choice there to see that he walked the five miles back and forth to and from the ballpark.
Speaker A:The great Tony Oliva, and he's in Red's camp and spring training himself this week.
Speaker A:The Twins train in Fort Myers on the west coast of Florida.
Speaker A:I believe they share that town with the Boston Red Sox.
Speaker A:And Tony is down there with Rod Carew and many other Twins alumni at spring training giving instruction, wisdom to the younger ball players.
Speaker A:Hopefully they're able to drink that in and know exactly who they're speaking with when they talk to a guy the caliber of Tony Oliva and Rod Carew, and hopefully everybody can benefit from it.
Speaker A:As I said, coming up, we hope to visit Port St.
Speaker A:Lucie and take in the ambiance there with the New York Mets, see Juan Soto, see Pete Alonso, all the other great Mets.
Speaker A:And my wife has messaged me to say hello to Sherry in Iowa, a very faithful listener of the program and just want to send our regards out to her.
Speaker A:She's going to spring training in Arizona.
Speaker A:She's a big Cubs fan and she'll be taking in the sites out in Arizona where the teams are really bunched all together and you could see anybody you want out there within close proximity.
Speaker A:So we look forward to hearing the stories from her on spring training in Arizona.
Speaker A:And just about that'll do it for me tonight on Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A:I would like to take the time to thank my guests once again, Rick and Tony Oliva and Mike Tice, Long island boy.
Speaker A:I will see you Next on Sunday, March 2nd.
Speaker A:I believe that's next week, isn't it, Brian?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:So we'll be back next week for more Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A:Till then, be safe, be well.
Speaker A:Bill Donahue, wishing you a good evening, folks.
Speaker A:The views expressed in the previous program did not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of wgbb.
