A Baseball Coach's Tale of Comedy, Character, and Knuckleballs - Jeff Letourneau

coaches at HF channel four, five or seven, whatever the sports wants to do a live feed. Can you put your shirt and hat back on, go out in the dugout? I'm like, yeah, but I put my shirt, hat back on. When I go out in the dugout and the interviewers starts asking me about the game, it says, look, you got off to a tough start, but you really had him chasing that knuckleball again and blah, blah, blah. And I'm answering the questions the best I can. Also, I feel two hands on my shoulders like rubbing my shoulders during the interview as I'm looking this way. So all of a sudden, bill Murray takes over the interview. He says yeah, you know, jeff, we had to change a few things with his grip on the knuckleball. He was just ad-libbing and saying you know, he used to throw four fingers. I got him to using two fingers, but we really got to work and today did a nice job out there, took over the interview. Now the reporters laughing, I'm laughing, everybody's laughing, and God, I wish I could find that video.

Hello and welcome to athlete one, a podcast for athletes, coaches and parents. I'm your host, ken Carpenter, and yes, today's guest was shocked to have his interview after a game interrupted by the owner and famous actor, bill Murray. I often get asked what has been your most downloaded podcast episode, and it was episode 18. Why not me, a knuckleball or his path to pro baseball? Well, I decided to bring him back for episode 92 and be the first guest of 2024. Jeff Latterno next on the athlete one podcast.

Welcome to the athlete one podcast. Veteran high school baseball coach, ken Carpenter takes you into life's classroom as experienced through sports. Go behind the scenes with athletes and coaches as they share great stories, life lessons and ways to impact others.

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Good morning Kirk. Good to see you, buddy.

Well, hey, I see in the background there you got some golf clubs. It's Connecticut and it's January. Is that a possibility?

You know, I live on the shoreline in Connecticut so we get a few straggly days here where we can get out and play. It's cold, You've got to bundle up with the winter cap and the winter gloves. But yeah, I'm a struggling golfer, Let me put it this way. For the last 30 years I've been trying to figure this game out, and if I had dedicated that time to piano or something like that, think about how good I'd be by now. But anyway, I enjoy playing with friends and struggling around the course. It's a lot of fun.

Well, I'd like to jump right into kind of where we left off, because you were the most listened to podcast that I've had, out of 91 podcasts so far. And this is the start of year three. And you know, after being a college all-American pitcher and a seven-year professional career, you coached your son's little league teams as they were going up through and then you finally got an opportunity to become the pitching coach at Guilford High School. How's that experience been?

Oh, it's been great Guilford town I live in great bunch of kids, coaching staffs, outstanding. I'll tell you what what a coaching staff we got. We got a kid who is the head coach. He's super with kids, very knowledgeable, catcher D1 at James Madison. His dad helps out. He was a former big leager. We got another guy who knows baseball and side-out, could coach any team. He played shortstop at Quinnipiac when he played. We got a great bunch of guys and the kids are outstanding. It's a great little town and the fun I've had coaching is just teaching these kids. What took me forever to learn. You know, don't throw a 2-0 fastball down the belt and try to hump up an extra mile an hour to get by a guy and end up backing up third base. I talked to him about keeping the ball down, keeping the mechanics simple, keeping the ball off the fat part of the plate, maybe throwing something other than a fastball and a fastball count, which took me until about age 27 to learn. But the biggest thing I love working with the kids on is just for the love of the game and teach them a little bit of humility. And if you're going to play sports you're going to fail right. That's the number one thing. I can tell you a quick story. I'll jump right into a story. I'm in Sioux City, iowa, at 94, I think, in the Northern League, playing against Sioux Falls. My roommate and one of my best friends on the road, matt Connolly, big 6-6 strap-in Irishman from Queens, new York, he pitched 88,. He's a stellar ball. Okay, we're up 3-1. Well, ed Noddle in his wisdom says Lieutenant, close it out. So I come in. I got to face 9-1-2 in the ninth inning. So go right at him. Right, you're up by two runs. It's on the road in the ballpark, about 3,500 people there screaming. I get on the mound, first pitch, get over fastball the number nine hitter. He hits it out of the park. Oh boy, wow, what a son of a gun. Nine hitter. All right, get the ball back from Tom Carcyon, walk around the mound a little bit. All right, it's okay, my manager's on the top step, let's go. Let's go. Go right at him. Jeff, I got the leadoff hitter, this little lefty kid. He's a slap hitter at best. He runs. That's his thing. I throw a little. Get over curveball. Good pitch, whack Down the right field line. Fair gone, two pitches 3-3. I look at the dugout, at Matt Connelly, and he slams his water down. He's like come on, man. I'm like so Carcyon walks out to the mound. Here comes Ed Noddle. What the hell's going on? I go to the coach. I just threw two good pitches to the nine. One hitter. You could throw those guys BP for the next two hours. They would not go back to back on two pitches. I guess that's baseball. So Ed Noddle goes. All right, let's go get him kid. So the fans now are yelling keep them in, keep them in. So I go. Okay, now you would say come. It says would be throw a ball, mix it up a little bit. No, I'm going to ride this number two hitter. Little second baseman Reminding me of a young Ken Carpenter. I throw a fastball Probably 89. Good movement, whack Down the left field line, inside the chalk line, fair ball Stand up double. Here comes Ed Noddle, takes me out of the game. I threw three pitches Home run, home run. Double on three good pitches, have you? Yeah? And two minutes later I'm sitting with Matt Connelly in the dugout line. I'm sorry, man, holy crap. And what I try to, I tell that story to my players. That happens. If you don't want to fail, don't play sports, because you're going to fail, right, right. So this is the thing I like teaching kids Go at kids, go with your best stuff, challenge them. Don't throw it to. A fastball is one of fastballs, three one fastballs when they're sitting dead red and you throw 80 miles an hour down the belt. You got to learn to throw something off speed a little, get over curveball or change up something. Anyway, it's a lot of fun. It's a great group of kids, great talent, great coaches.

Now you guys had a pretty nice run last year. You know as far as the as when he comes to Connecticut baseball.

We did we. I'll tell you what the coach again the head coach Nick did a great job with these kids. A lot of talent, a couple good arms, three or four really good arms and, as you know from coaching, a nice little baseball you need that and we got to the. In Connecticut we played a D2 schedule. We got to the SCC tournament which is the D1, d2, d3, best four teams in Southern Connecticut and there's a ton. Guilford gets in it Okay, which doesn't happen all the time A D2 team gets in it. And Notre Dame West Haven, which was a D1 team, beat them, played Fairfield Prep D1 team beat them. I forget how it went. Maybe Xavier, another D1 team. We win the SCCs. The dream season continues. Now we go to the state tournament. We go all the way through the quarterfinals and the semifinals and I'm really proud of my pitchers. Quarterfinal game we won one or nothing on a home run. I want to say it was Andrew Show Show, who's now at oh God, what's the name of the school is Swarthmore, down outside Pennsylvania. Big, strong kid throws the ball hard through a shutout. Next game semifinal I might be getting this backwards Bryce Meadier, who is our ace, who's going D1. He might have pitched that one. And then Andrew pitched the second one against getting old cart. Forget these teams we played, but it was a good game. He threw a two, nothing, shutout. So we went shutout, shutout. Quarterfinal semifinal to get to the state championship. We lost in the final game to Brookfield, but the tough game we lost. I think we used to bat swear on a little cold. Last three games two, nothing, one, nothing and the quarterfinal 70 fouls on two home runs. That was it. You start to get to the finals, you start to see the best pitchers, right? Oh yeah, so the last game in the state championship we faced a tough kid and he'd beat us. I want to say three to one.

That's a heck of a run, though.

Heck of a run. Good kids and they're going to be just as good this year. We lost a couple really good seniors. This kid, sammy, I'm trying to great little ball player, he's hopefully playing at Quinnipiac right now and lost quite a few seniors. Actually I'm trying to blank. But Jack Farrar, who went to Miami, but good kids. Andrews at Swarthmore yeah, but we'll be back. Got a good group of kids, good town and good fans and good coaches, so we're back.

You know this kind of goes back to when you played as a senior in high school. You've told me you were a five, six, five, six second baseman, slash third baseman. You decided to join the army. You grew a lot and after the army you thought what the heck, I'm going to go to FSU after the military and that's where your career for baseball really seemed to take off.

Yeah, you know we named I think you named the first podcast. You know, I think it was like why Not Me? Or something to that effect and that's really what it was. I always loved sports. I think when I was in eighth grade I was best athlete in my little middle school because everybody's prepubescent and five feet tall. I was a good little hockey player, a little basketball player. You know little white kid in Bella, suburban, massachusetts who thought he was Larry Byrd at five. One Good baseball player, hockey, anything I could play, because it's all we did. We played sports, just like you did in Bel Air, yeah. And then I got to high school and everybody became young men in five, eight, five, nine, facial hair. I think my junior year I was five, three. I don't even remember if I had like sprouted yet and but I always knew I was as athletic as these other guys. I just wasn't big enough yet and it was going to happen. So my senior year I get a little bit of playing time as a third baseman, second baseman. The days of being a shortstop were over because I was five, three and just too small. Pitching really wasn't on the docket. Maybe you'll mop up here and there. I had a good arm for a little guy and I go in the army. And that's when I met you and I was just playing battalion softball having a blast. Yeah, you don't got a little mix up at second base with yours. True, you right there Second base and almost came to blows. And that's when we became buddies, thanks to our, our other buddy, rick Reynolds Give him a shout out Avon, ohio. Yeah, there you go. So he's the one who introduced us and I remember your reaction, not this guy. We are 38, 39 years later, buddies. But you know, I just always felt like I can play baseball and I took that attitude going to Florida State, which I should have been star struck, but I wasn't. These guys had just been runner up in the national championship, I want to say in spring 86. I go there and all these guys I was watching on ESPN the summer before. I'm on the field with them and I'm like these guys are good but they're no better than my buddy Chris Boeberg and Joe Lesperance guys I grew up with, but just baseball player, how good can you be at baseball? It's baseball. So I played with them and I started to believe I can play, but I was still a little. I guess. I was a little in awe. I guess when coaches started saying, why don't you go to junior college and maybe get signed? I was like signed Again with the guys on the field. I thought, well, I mean I could play as good as these guys, but I didn't. I had no idea. You know what it would be like being on a field with pros. That's a whole different thing, I thought. But as I continued to progress and I went to junior college in Orlando and I went and played at University of New Haven and Quinn Sagan in different places and I got in the minor leagues, I always had that belief like I'm as good or better than that guy and I took that attitude even into the minor leagues for seven years. And it's funny quick, quick, tangent here. I still tell my kids in high school it's easier to pitch. I would rather pitch against the Yankees tomorrow at 57 years old than against Amity High School. And you know why? Because the guys behind me make the plays. All you do is throw strikes. It's a round-bat, round-ball hit. You know these guys, you know you're going to make the plays. I'll bet up five pitch against a big league team right now and I kept the ball down and I again people watching this are going to say, yeah, right, pal. But I think they would hit it at people more than not and I'd probably get out of there with five, six innings, two runs. You try doing that against high school kids. There's a lot of real estate in the outfield. There's a lot of holes in the infield. That's not a knockout of my boys, but that's high school baseball. And that's what I try to teach these kids. Hey, don't get frustrated, just keep firing, keep working. Guys behind you are going to make mistakes. It's not the end of the world. Just believe in yourself and it's all right. If you love the game, it's all right.

Well, you know, you've admitted. You know you were a small guy in high school. What advice would you give a young high school player getting ready to start up here in the spring and you know he's dreaming of just some. Some guys are just hoping to hey, I want to be a high school baseball starter, and that's it. Some guys want to maybe go on to play at the college level. What advice would you give that young player?

I see it every day and my advice I give him is just keep working hard and play hard and love the game. You're going to grow and it doesn't matter who's the best player at 16 or 17. Once in a blue moon you get a kid who's 18 or 6'4". You've coached them. They throw a 93 and they get a D1 scholarship. They get scouted. That's not the typical kid. I'm actually dealing with it with my son, colin. He's a freshman in high school at Guilford High School. He's a goalie. He's a late bloomer, like I was. The other son, michael, was 5'2 or 5'3 his freshman year. He's now 6'2". He plays an Ole Miss club hockey. He's the strongest kid on this team. So don't worry about where you reign against your peers at 14 and 15 and 16. Keep working hard. Believe in yourself. Please play a long toss. Build up your arm strength. Don't worry about the mound right now. I told you the story last time. I think I played at college baseball with this kid, tanya Sturz, who some people listening may know his name. He spent 10-plus years in the big leagues. He was our right-fielder at Quinn-Sigaman. He was 6'5", 170 pounds. Now I was like the NJCAA region. Whatever I was region, worcester Maths, pitcher of the year. I threw 88 with a good hook. I was nasty. I thought Scouts would come to the game. They weren't watching me, they were watching the skinny right-fielder who was 6'5", 17", 18", throw the ball to third base during infield outfield. Now I'll never forget he got signed by JP Richard. He has a pitcher, not an outfielder. I remember Tanya was like JP, I'd rather play a position. Jp was like listen, you're 6'5", you got a can for an arm. You're going to turn into a man by the time you're 23 or 24. You're going to probably throw a 95. Sure enough, played 10 years in the bigs and old Jeff Latterna was still throwing 87 with a curve ball. Don't worry about where you're ready to get your peers at 15. Because everybody grows at different paces. And so and I'm dealing with Colin right now you know he's five, three. He's in net. He's a great little goalie and he loves the game, but he doesn't cover up much in the net yet. He's got to really learn to come out and get angles and block the net. And someday maybe he'll be six, two and his big padding and body will block the net more. Right, but don't compare yourself to kid who's six, one right now.

Well, you became a D2 All-American at the University of New Haven and you know the talk you hear in the summer is you know I need to get exposure. I got to get in front of the college coaches and got to go to the best tournaments and everything. And you know that's it's not 1980s, but it wasn't necessarily your case. And you have a great story where a umpire saw you pitch and then you go for a tryout because he knows the coach at the University of New Haven. Can you share that story?

Yeah. So now I'm 20 years old, maybe 21, out of the Army, I've gone to Florida State, I've gone to Valencia. I'm home for the summer playing in a STEM usual league, which is like a Dwyer league or wherever you live in the country. So basically, 18 plus league, you get a. You get an assorted group of baseball players. You get some college kids who are playing summer ball. You get some guys that are 23, 24, that are done. You get some guys that are 30, that just love baseball and don't play softball. So I'm playing for this team in Worcester Mass under the lights and I'm starting to get pretty good. I'm throwing 88, really good club. Two different curveballs, one to get over, one on nasty, one in the dirt, strike you out. And in the Worcester STEM usual league that's pretty nasty, okay. So I think after seven innings I struck out 14. I'm walking in the car. We're going to sit in the parking lot with some of the guys, maybe have a beer or soda, whatever. Shoot the breeze. The umpire walks over to me by my car and says hey, jeff, nice job today, pal. I said thank you. He goes. I'm Wade Bovar, I go. Oh, nice to meet you, wade. Jeff, where did you play high school ball? Are you from around here? I said, oh yeah, I went to Grafton High Wade says I've been on firing in this circuit for 20 years. I don't remember you. You played for Dick Coleman, by the way. It was a great coach. He made me love baseball. What a great coach. You talk about the impact a high school coach could have. Dick Coleman, grafton Maths. He says to me he goes where do you? I don't remember you playing. I go, cause that's because I was five, three and I played second base, maybe a little shortstop third. He goes yeah, wow. So how did it? What happened? You grew, where'd you go to school? I told him the story. I went to the Army, you know, at the Florida State. Now I'm currently at Valencia Community College, being a closer. And he says to me did you ever hear University of New Haven? I said no, cause. Again, I wasn't a kid who was a high school stud looking at colleges, so I didn't know who University of New Haven was. I think that's in Connecticut. But division two school. He said, jeff, they're probably the best NCAA program in the Northeast. They usually go like 20-0 against D1 teams in the fall and then go to the NJCA. I mean NJCA NCA division two world series every year in Montgomery Alabama, 13 straight years. Coach Vieira is the best. He's a buddy of mine. I'm kind of like a bird dog for him and I'd like to give him your name and number, if that's okay. I'm like sure, thank you, that'd be great. Next day I get a call from coach V. Hey, can you come down Saturday A little workout we're having, I'm like sure. So me and my mom drive down. My mom loved baseball more than I did. She never missed a game, watched the Red Sox every night in the parlor. So anyway, she's giving me a pep talk, cause I'm driving down there. How to work the ball. You know throw breaking balls. I'm like okay, mom, so we get down on there. We get down there and they have like eight guys on the field. You know taking infield, outfield, taking some BP. All the guys got their New Haven stuff on this. Coach, big strapping guy, new Haven chargers T-shirt, new Haven chargers shorts hat. Big strong guy. Hey, jeff, nice to meet you. Coach and equilary. I'm like hey, coach, he goes. All right. Listen, I should go get stretched out, warm up down the bullpen, like okay. So I'm throwing a little bit running a little bit throwing down the bullpen. I don't know a sole there. These guys are all NCAA division two schools from New Haven. I'm down on the right field throwing a pen. All right, jeff, why don't you come on in and throw a little bit? So I run over, I jog over the mountain and I'm facing guys and I'm doing what I did against the guys from the Sam Uzi League I'm striking them all out. Basketball Z-88, nasty hook. There's this guy in the stands with no shirt on, with a beer can, mind you, it's noon in June and he's, you know, he's yelling at all the players. I'm like, who the heck is this guy in the stands, right? So I thought he was just a local idiot, baseball lover, whatever. So after I faced like 10 hitters, I'm in the dugout taking my spikes off. All the guys like, hey, nice job, jeff. I'm like I like this place. This place is pretty cool. I'm picking off my boots, getting on my running shoes and this guy in the stands with his beer is like, hey, fat ass, let's turn it off. Excuse my language. He goes here, he goes. Get out there and shag some fly balls. If you want to be a chargey, a son of a bitch, I'm like this guy. I look over Coach Anquilera. Like who's this guy? Coach Anquilera, you better get out in that field right now. Well, come to find out. The guy with no shirt on and the bleachers was Coach V. He was the legendary coach Vieira, all-time winningist, I think, d2 coach, 13 straight NCAA programs, multiple players in the big leagues and drafted every year. Oh my God. So anyway, welcome to New Haven. So that was it. Actually, I got done. This guy took me and my mom into the office. His office talked about coming to New Haven, how he had just lost a number one. He gives me a scholarship until I graduate. So I guess that said, I'm coming to New Haven, connecticut. And I told you this story last time because this really hits me right here, because if Wade Bovard hadn't have come up to me in the car right and decided to say, hey, nice job, where you from, Jeff, let me give this guy, coach V, a call on your behalf. And I didn't get down there, colin, emily, michael, none of them would be here. I wouldn't know my wife of 28 years. Yeah, this whole life would be totally different. I ended up going to New Haven, met Mary, three kids, Did it find out how life works?

Oh yeah, it's amazing. That kind of leads into my next question, because you talk about players getting their opportunities to play at the next level and Coach V asked if you knew of anybody else that could possibly play, and if you could, this ended up being a lifelong friend for you.

Yeah, this is one of my favorite stories. So I'm playing, I go to New Haven, I pitch in the fall and now I have to go. I get called with Coach V to the NCAA eligibility office Like what the hell is this about? So I go there. My grades are good. Debbie Chen says to me Jeff, did you play at Florida State? Did you go to Florida State? I'm like yes. Did you go to a junior college in Orlando, valencia? I'm like yes, she goes. Did you graduate from that junior college? And I said no. She looks at Coach V and says he can't play. Now I'm 21 years old. I was in the Army with you for two years. I've been traveling around from Florida State to Valencia. Now I'm at New Haven. I'm finally gonna get to play and show off my arm. I'm 21, but I'm really like 18 baseball age right, I mean my right. I haven't really pitched much yet. I'm excited about the opportunity. I think I just beat Sacred Heart in a fall game. Part of the team. They tell me I can't play. This was devastating. So my choices were sit out at 21, go back to Valencia in Orlando, get my last two sciences with a lab and get my degree Because I had good grades. I just didn't. You can't go from four-year school to a two-year school, back to a four, and the NCAA put this in place, I believe, is so if you're playing football at Miami, you flunk out. You can't go take a class at Dade Community College for one semester and then come back. Yeah, so, but that wasn't my case. I literally was chasing baseball Again, being a dreamer and following this baseball dream, and so, anyway, I have to sit out. So I said, what about going to Quinn Sigmund Community College in Worcester? I haven't lived with mom and dad since I was 17 when I went to the Army. So, yeah, I can go home, live with mom and dad, mom can go watch baseball. I can pitch for this junior college in Worcester I think they got a pretty good program, I heard. So, anyway, I go to Quinn Sigmund, I'm pitching for Barry Glinski, great baseball guy, and make some friends. You know, I got 20 buddies. We're hanging out, we're playing, we have a good team. So there was this one kid on the team, our centerfielder, eric Klein, who drew the day, and I played with you, karp, with 540th Indian Air Battalion. I played with guys who were in the big leagues. This is the best baseball player I've ever seen. Every time he got a pitch he hit it on the screws. He could run better than anybody, he had a better arm than anybody but for some reason Scouts just he was all-American two years at New Haven, bad at third. Anyway, let me get back to the story of why. That was my favorite story. I'm pitching for Quinn Sigmund in the NJCA regionals against CCRI Community College of Rhode Island. This was a big rival. You probably saw it on a ESPN, I don't know. Coach V and Coach Anke from New Haven come watch me pitch because we had had a deal that I was coming back after. I went and got my associates going to come back for my last two years at New Haven, so they hadn't seen me pitch all year. We stayed in touch. They drove off from New Haven to Rhode Island to watch me pitch. I ended up losing two to one. We get knocked out. I pitched okay, made a couple stupid mistakes because again I think I challenged our number three hitter with a 2-0 fastball at 87 right across the belt, and he hit it out of the park and that was the two runs they got. Again, I didn't know how to pitch yet, even though I was 22, 21. After the game, we're getting ready to get on the bus we lost. Coach V comes on and he goes. Hey, pretty good you threw the ball well. Oh and thanks, coach, he goes. Hey, we're looking forward to having you back at school in the fall. I said me too, coach, I can't wait he goes. Hey, just between you and me, any of these kids on your team worth can you play ball? I said, coach, that's center field that we got. Eric is better than anybody you got. And New Haven had just gone to the World Series. Like every year, a couple guys drafted Okay, he was like coach, equal area. It gives me this look. Now they only saw a baseball game. I think Eric might have popped up and flew out the center. Didn't get any chances in center field. So how the hell do they know? Right? I said, coach, this kid is better than anybody you got. He runs better. He could lead off third or fourth for you. He has the power. He never doesn't hit the ball right in the screws, he never strikes out. He's a great kid. Blah, blah, blah, coach V. And Coach Aint give him a, I think, half scholarship on my word he has, it being my roommate, not to mention Danny Lynch, our catcher, who I also threw a quick plug in. Danny, me and Eric lived together for two years. Danny was a hell of a ball player. He was our catcher. Everybody loved Lynch. He was a leader, ended up playing pro ball, becoming a scout for the Angels. Anyway, these are lifelong buddies and I feel like I almost did a Wade Bovart thing there. I said, talked about Danny and Eric, the coach V and Aint on the spot. If I hadn't said that, if they hadn't had come to the game to watch me pitch and I hadn't had the opportunity to talk about those two, they wouldn't have got scholarships to come to New Haven, we wouldn't have had that experience, they wouldn't have been at my wedding. They wouldn't be lifelong buddies, right? But Eric Klein, to the day, is the best baseball player I've ever played with. I'll continue to tell the story.

Well, that's a great story. Now let's jump a little bit ahead. Now you were within the Montreal Expos organization and talk about what happened. That cost you a chance to pitch at the major league level, and this is really, in my opinion, it's a great lesson for players when things don't go your way.

Touche this, my god, if I could go in a time machine. You know, my son always says dad, if you had a time machine, if you go back, what would you do? Would you go back to you know, 1939, stop Hitler. What would you do? So there's a lot of things I think about. I would probably take that over what I'm gonna tell you. But I'm with the Expos. I'm lucky enough to sign with the Expos during the replacement thing. So basically I'm a scab. But I didn't care this. No, I wanted a shot. I'm 22, 23 now. I didn't have the conventional road to the minor leagues into the big leagues. If someone's gonna give me a chance, I'm gonna go try to get some exposure. So I'm down to spring training in West Palm with the Expos having a pretty good spring. I think I had six starts in the Great Fruit League and now I was on my knuckleball. I was no longer a fastball curveball guy, I was a mix, mix-up guy like almost an RA Dickie. I would throw a knuckleball. I could throw it for strike, no spin. It didn't move quite as much as Wayfield, charlie Huff and the Neacro brothers but it it was a good knuckleball and I could still throw 88 with a hook, strike you out. So I started to turn some heads with the Expos. I had six starts. I think Peter Gammon's did an ESPN preview of the NL East. If anybody could find this video I'd love to see it. But I remember watching ESPN in the hotel with all my buddies with the Expos and Peter Gammon said this preview about when the Expos head north to face Pittsburgh at Three Rivers. It won't be Mark Langston and Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez, it'll be knuckleball Jeff Leturneau and Link Mickelson and some of these other guys who were us. We're all sitting there in the hotel room watching, laughing and I think if the first pitch of replacement baseball season hit started, that's Sunday night and I don't know if it was the Marlins against the Dodgers or whatnot. Every guy who was on the replacement roster was gonna get a hundred thousand dollars signing bonus. Now I had just gotten married or I was getting married May 95. This was like March, april 95. So I was getting married like a month. My wife was doing all the planning while I was down in spring training in West Palm with the Expos. So that day I pitch against the Dodgers and Vero Beach and I'm coming back to my hotel and we get a we get like a phone call, joe Carrigan, who I think passed away, pitching coach for the Expos, former big league manager for the Red Sox and pitching coach. He says to me we're gonna send you to Ottawa, you're not going on my trail. Ottawa's trip to a trip away internationally. Now, instead of being who cares, I'm gonna get a chance to play organized baseball, triple A with the Expos. As a knuckleballer I'm thinking shit, hundred thousand bonus these guys in my hotel room again that money I'm not figures. I put my beer down and I smacked the hotel bed board where I were on my bed. Look like a piece of ball. So was. I didn't think I was gonna break my hand off so I wasn't trying to do that. I played sports my whole life and I would broke a bone. My roommate link says well, you get that pretty hard. Like yeah, I did when got some ice, put some ice on, but again, I thought it was probably bone bruise. Next day we go off of practice my hands all puffy. I put I try to hold the ball like this and keep my peeky out. So it wasn't impacted. I picked up the ball and just dropped it out. I had broken my fifth metacarpal. My, but like a boxing fracture they call it did not a fight, did not punch. So so three, four weeks later I'm in a splint in extended spring, after having a great spring training. Kevin Malone, the GM, neil Huntington this you know, my leg director turned some heads. I'm an extended spring with a split in the minute my splint comes off, they give me my release for being a jackass. If you, if you think about the entire road I took, which was very non-traditional and all I'm finally gonna get to pitch in Ottawa. Who knows, maybe I have four or five good stars. They get called up, or another team notices me in trades for me, but nope, I was pissed about going to Ottawa instead of Montreal. I'll pitch at three rivers to get a hundred grand and I think, in thinking little instead of thinking big, picture just being immature and young and dumb. Right, wow, that's punch. The bed board got released, amazing, amazing. So, kids, if you're listening, let that be a lesson to you well, you know, what's funny is.

You know all the conversations we've had over the years. You, you ended up getting a job at ESPN. Yeah, and if you could just share that story where you were in the cafeteria and it walks Peter Gammons yeah, this was.

This was great. I got some buddies like rich favorite Tom Peters, mike Bracco few of the guys. I'm working at ESPN where John Friedman, scott Atkinson great, great place to work, not making any money. I mean, I had a college degree I think I was making $20,000, but it was at ESPN, how cool, right. I was working in the commercial operations department and you know, getting 30 second ads and scheduling air time and anyway I'm in the cafeteria and all the guys knew that I played baseball but they thought I was probably a little full of shit too. And we walk in the cafeteria. One of the guys I think Tom Peters goes hey, maternal, there's Peter Gammons, think he knows you. I'm thinking I'm gonna say I met him. Once I get lying behind him and to get food through the through the cafeteria, I said, hey, peter, he tried to look to me. He was Jeff, how you doing pal? Because the face on Bracco and Peters and Faber's face was priceless. They were like he does know you, he goes. Hey, you're not throwing a knuckleball anymore. I'm like nah, nah, time to move on. But it was a hell of a run. But Peter Gammons, so that was. I went home with a skip my step that night well, you know it's.

It's amazing is there are some people that just have that, that memory, that they can remember people like I'm the complete opposite I can't remember a name, but I can always remember a face. But for him to be able to, yeah, I see that's amazing yeah, well, I mean, let's see so that he didn't even know who I was until spring of 95 and this was, yeah, 96, so it was only like six months later, wow, I'm working at ESPN you know, let's, let's jump around, because you've had a great career as far as it goes professional baseball seven years and you decided to take an opportunity and in play overseas and you know, for me this podcast is if I can get guys to tell great stories and this is one of those ones that I really enjoyed and, yeah, you were on the mound and if you could kind of just take us through what happened in that that one game so I'm playing for the Amherstford quick in the Dutch league and it was, I think, eight teams at the high level and one American or international player per roster.

Most the guys were a rule book here or so, which were Dutch properties, good baseball, probably like a D1 baseball little bat and probably got a thousand people a game. To come to the games. It was a team in Rotterdam, amsterdam, harlem, then hog, amherst, fort, so anyway, we got to play the same teams a lot. So there was this kid who played for, I think then hog I Forget the name of their team but he was a good player. It was a lead-off guy who was just Irritating to pitchers. He could steal, put the bat on the ball, but if he walked he was the kind of guy that Sprinted at first base, yeah, and immediately took a big lead, was moving his feet around you, like this guy's a pain in the neck. So he's on first base and I'm at my set and I'm looking over and I step off a couple times. Like this guy we go. If I throw over a couple times he's got good speed. So you got to respect them. The name is Edwin fuck up fokke, with a couple dots over the ear, something like that. He was a Dutch, dutch kid. So Now the people in the stands like, come on, let's go turn the page pitch. And I'm throwing over a few times getting him to dive back. I'm like I'm gonna get him back a little bit. Now. He's on second, first and second, like nobody out, or one now, and he's doing the same thing. He's bluffing like he's gonna steal 30s over by the shortstop, banging his feet. I'm doing the inside move, I'm stepping off. I Just thinking to myself I could really can't stand this guy so fast forward. I'm having a hell of an ending. He's a third base and I'm at my set now because there's one out or nobody out, bases loaded. I'm looking at him. A third because I'm a right-handed pitcher and I'm facing him and he looks at me and he goes Come on, pussy. Well, I step off the mountain. I said what did you say? I Think I might even said something like you, little Dutch blank which, in hindsight, kids, you're in a hipster dam. Yeah, that's not a smart thing to say, but I was just like I was gonna fight this guy. So I walk over to the benches clear, yump tires, like what the heck's going on? The benches are all I, one of my third baseman, this guy from Kurosawa, jackie Jacoba, looks at me, goes Jeff, jeff, what do you say? He called me a pussy. Screw him. Let's go pal. Trying to get to the guy. This kind of reminds me of me and you're a little altercation at second base game, but anyway, he looks at me like I have two heads. Come to find out. The guy was saying come on, bossy, because the guy at the plate's name was Frank boss, bos, oh my god, do you talk about? Never mind, I felt like a gencast. After the game, though, having a beer with the guy in the can't data, we'll laugh because, like you're crazy man, I'm like. I thought you called me a pussy. That was a funny story. We became friends. Everybody had a nice laugh. They thought the American guy was a little hot.

Yeah, well, you know what? That's a great story, but another one I think is even better is and you're bouncing around through the different professional systems You're in, I believe, sioux City yeah, your, your team makes it to the playoffs and. You're probably the only baseball player out there. I know that you're being interviewed by the local TV and the owner of the team and Famous actor Bill Murray decides to. I wouldn't say photo bomb, but he interview, bombed your interview. Tell us about that.

Yeah, I'm actually playing with the St Paul Saints 96 and we're playing Fargo, fargo more head again. You probably heard of him. Hello, but team, that's the five playoffs. And Bill Murray the comedian was co-owner of the St Paul Saints and that's a great place to play baseball, probably my favorite place ever as far as entertaining. We used to out draw the twins because the Minnesota twins were terrible. It's summertime in Minnesota and they play in a dome. We were playing outdoors. Yeah, the stadium seated 6500 people. It was full capacity, people tailgating to come watch outdoor baseball. Probably five bucks to get in. Mike Vech, the owner, son of Bill Vech, bill Murray, they had pigs bringing out the balls to the umpire. I'm sure a lot of you listeners have heard about St Paul Saints. It's really a cool place there's.

there's actually a a um On Netflix right now. There's a documentary about the St Paul, saints and, and yeah. Bill Vech in the whole it's a.

It's a circus. There's nuns giving massages, you can get your haircut. There's, you know, dizzy bat races between every inning. It's a fun place to be. But meanwhile there's a baseball game going on background with some pretty good players. When I played we had Glenn Davis, jack Morris, darryl strawberry. So there's some big leaders that are trying to you know, it's like they're farewell, they're swan song to keep playing. Maybe get picked up like Darryl strawberry, get picked up back to the Yankees. Had like another six, seven years niggas. But the typical players, like just somebody who's you know looking to play a little more baseball, get paid to do it. So after the game, I think I beat Fargo three to one or something. I threw seven or eight good innings as a knuckleball in the game to at St Paul. So I'm in the locker room and all of a sudden the one of the Coaches at HF channel four, five or seven, whatever the sports wants to do a live feed, can you put your shirt and hat back on? Go out in the dugout? I'm like, yeah, I put my shirt, hat back on. When I go out in the dugout and the interviewers starts asking me about the game, it says look, you got off to a tough start, but you really had him chasing that knuckleball again and blah, blah, blah. And I'm answering the questions. That that's like can. Also, I feel two hands on my shoulders like rubbing my shoulders during the interview as I'm looking this way. So All of a sudden, bill Murray takes over the interview. He says yeah, you know, jeff, we had to change a few things with his grip on the knuckleball. He was just ad-libbing and saying no, used to throw four fingers. I got him to using two fingers, but we really got it working today, did a nice job out there, took over the interview. Now the reporters laughing. I'm laughing, everybody's laughing, and God, I wish I could find that video. So if anybody watching can find that video, it was, it was probably September 96, st Paul, minneapolis, local sports. There you go.

That's a that's a great story. I I enjoy that. Now I drew a thing at the end here where I like to do a rapid fire with you, and there are questions that may not necessarily High into what you do with baseball, but I like to have fun with it in. The first one I'm gonna start off with is when I say the name Brock party quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers what comes to mind?

Well, first of all, I love this guy and you know here's a guy Mr Irrelevant I think they double him last pick again. Probably just believed in himself and said I can play wherever you put me. Right to the San Francisco 49ers last pick, probably thinking he was gonna get a little bit of camp and get released. He proves he's. Once he gets there, he proves he's better than Trey Lance Jimmy Garoppolo. Now the guy may get the MVP I think he was just named the Pro Bowl but my Connection to Brock Purdy was when I'm living in Orlando to send me Florida with you and Rick and I'm playing for Valencia Community College. One of my teammates was this guy, sean Purdy, who Ended up having two boys, and I don't know if I haven't stayed in touch with Sean. I wish I could find him on LinkedIn. He may have more kids in the two boys, but Brock plays football from the San Francisco 49ers. His other son, nick name, is Chubba. Chubba plays quarterback for Nebraska. I want to say he was a Florida standard. He changed from Nebraska but anyway. So Sean Purdy and he live in St Cloud was at the town right next to Kassemi, yes, so I used to pick him up, take him to practice every day, drop him off because the school was in Orlando, but a half-hour drive from St Cloud to Semi. So I became friends with Purdy and he was a hell of a pitcher. What an honor. I'm not surprised this kid is in the NFL. Yeah, yeah, I think he went to University of Miami afterwards, got a little bit of cup of coffee, maybe with the angels or somebody, but so, yeah, I was watching football one day and I'm like Brock Purdy that's a funny spelling, purdy and I googled him and Parents and sure enough there's Sean. So I haven't talked to Sean since 1988 and if he ever watches this podcast, hey, I'm rooting for you, kid, and nice to see you. I'm glad things are going well. Go 49ers.

Or you know, you growing up in the Northeast and your whole family being big Red Sox fans. If you go to a game at Fenway Park, where's the best place for you to sit, and what are you having to eat and drink?

I, we go. We try to go once a year with the family and I love going to Fenway, I think it's. I've been to a lot of all-powers. I think it's the best ballpark not if you're over six feet tall, which forced them 511. It was not a lot of leg room. Okay, I mean I'm my knees are up against the guy in front of me and I'm 511. I would say sausage and peppers or maybe like a Fenway, frank, you know, and I've sat at different places. I would love to sit on the wall in the left field monster. I never got a chance to sit. That was, I know, my mom used to springing up. My mom again. She used to go to the. She used to go to the. She used to go to the wall and sit there a lot. She used to go to every Patriots day when they did the marathon. She used to go to opening day. She went to couple postseason games. She sat all over the place. The bleachers are great too, though Boston fans are something else. Yeah, and I was fortunate enough to play with John Siruti in Albany Colony in 95. John Siruti played the big leagues with Detroit in Toronto and he passed away For great man. And John Siruti told me he played in the AL East his whole career. He used to tell me playing in Yankee Stadium is nothing compared to playing at Fenway. As a visitor you play in Fenway. Those fans are Unbelievable. Yeah, the stuff they yell at you in the dugout, I mean in the bullpen, because the bullpen's right in this, right in the right field. Bleachers, have you ever?

been to Fenway Never, never been. I've got a kid there sometime.

Well, I live in Connecticut. You and Susan Jake need to come visit me and we need to go to Fenway. Yeah, we'll do it, maybe this summer it is a great place to see a ballgame. There's not a bad seat in the house, be just the environment. The atmosphere is awesome, yeah. So, oh, I would tell you quick story. Also, my mom, before she passed away game 2013. She was a quintessential Red Sox fan. She bought a brick. So in Fenway Park, in the Tom Bernansky section of underneath, when you buy your Concessions and your t-shirts and stuff yeah, these different sections, the Tom Bernansky section there's a brick there that says Emily, michael and Colin would turn. You could buy a brick. I want to save a 500 bucks, so it's there forever. Wow, that's great. So now three kids have a brick. There you go and no, yeah, it's, it's my mom. She did that for us and we have a copy of it. Shoot me, you have a copy of the brick, but it's also at Fenway and it's there forever. And Real quick. I know we're off short on time card, but I love to tell this story. My grandfather Really taught me to love baseball. He was he was the quintessential Red Sox man. He was born in 1919, died in 2003. He lived the 86 years the Red Sox didn't win the World Series, oh, and he was buried in his casket with his Red Sox, had the suspenders and he was wait till next year. Jeffrey will get him next year. He never missed the game and I spent my entire childhood watching baseball with him in the dead. My grandmother would walk in him the echo, you know, and a sandwich. And me, my Pepe and my dad and everybody watched the game. And but one time I'm at a hockey rink and I'm telling this guy who's got a Yankee hat, he ain't, he sweats you about my grandfather. And he says to me he goes Babe Ruth wasn't the curse, your grandfather was the curse. That was funny. But my grandfather boy, he taught me to love baseball.

I love the Red Sox well, if you were a manager of the Boston Red Sox and you had a choice between Group A or group B, and this is your starting pitching rotation group A Roger Clemens, kurt Schilling, jonathan Papelbaum and Babe Ruth, or Group B Pedro Martinez, louis T Yon, tim Wakefield and Cy Young who you're taking?

That's a great question and play over my head, I'd probably get this wrong anyway. But I think I would go with Pedro and Tian and Wakefield and Cy, because you have four different looks. Okay, the hitters can't get comfortable. You got a guy like Tian, who I was fortunate enough to meet at a Novo Nordisk event, a big diabetes, ada Hispanic event in Boston. What a great guy. You talked about getting to tell stories, that guy, but he used to spin and face center field and throw you this big lolly-cop curveball and throw 90 at the knees. He was nasty, yeah. And then Wakefield would throw you knuckleballs that would drive you crazy. And then Pedro Martinez Was probably the best pitcher I've seen in my life. I always say Nolan Ryan because Nolan Ryan, through seven no hitters and seven one hitters and when he was hitting with his curveball, good luck. Yeah, you had no chance. Especially in that area he pitched where the average speed you didn't see was a hundred. Nowadays everybody's throw 100 balls about it. So but and I never got to see Cy Young pitch I believe he was probably a lefty big. You know off speed stuff here, I don't know.

I Should know good name to the war after him.

So yeah, yeah, yeah, he must have been pretty good. But I would go with group B because you would give hitters a different look. Every, every versus Schilling, clemens Papelbaugh. They all threw hard 95. I think it is. We'll get used to those guys. Yeah, no, knock on those guys.

Hard. Being a bit northeast guy. You can only pick one team to root for in Boston. Is it the Red Sox, the Celtics Patriots or the Bruins?

Wow, and I have a hat. I should have worth all four logos on one hat. You know, I would probably say Boston Bruins because I love the sport of hockey. I think there's nothing like it beautiful game or exciting, fast-paced. Me and my two boys watching the Bruins and the playoffs is the best. Now, having said that, 1975, when Bernie carbrough hits the home run pinch, hitting home run Against the Reds to tie it and force the game seven might have been the most excited I've ever been. In any event, as nine years old, love the Red Sox, tom Brady and the Patriots. The memories I have. Larry bear was probably my favorite athlete of any of them, but I'm going Bruins.

There you go. But it's funny. You mentioned the 75 World Series. A Big time controversial call was made with in that game up in Boston and Larry Barnett was the umpire and, if people looked it up, was just a. He Ended up. He's from a small town here in Ohio and I had to coach when I was at Buckeye Valley and we had to play on his field and he the field was named after him, the park was named after him and Me and him got into it because he didn't like the way I hit infield and he thought I was ruining his infield and we. So I got a chance to argue with Larry Barnett through the fence and nice you know, and I kind of threw a little jab. That really kind of set him off and I said well, you know you're, you're still mad about the role net, column 75. Hey, that was that was it. Yeah, believe it or not, we were when we played that school. We were not allowed to go back and play on that field again after that. So we played oh he really just like it to you.

Yeah, so I've seen that side of you with the big dog softball team. I've seen you get ejected a couple times and go hot with the umpires. The umpires like, not this guy. Yeah. Well, hey, I love a buddy to finish up.

I'm gonna take a chance here. I don't know if you're prepared for this, but Way back when we were younger, you would always do this and could you finish and this is definitely for the people of the northeast, and a lot of people will may not get this Finish with your famous boston selenix announcer, johnny most. All right, larry bear with the ball that kicks in back.

DJ, dj kicks it out to age. It's good.

I can't believe it, bell, they embarrassed, not that what a gutless, no good and a selenix and the best team I've ever seen and Go selenix, johnny most. That's classic.

Ha, no fact. I think on our apartment in Orlando and Kassemi that was our answering machine. Yes, some do. The effect of DJ kicks them all out. The bird, bird to Maxwell and bird and I can't believe it. Hey, you've reached out, ken rick and carp. No one's here right now. Leave a message. Those were, those were some good times, well oh, and then we fall that up with sunday's barbecue and get the couch. There you go, oh well everyone.

It's Jeff Latterno, pitching coach at gilford high school in Connecticut and one of my best friends. I've known you for 37, 38 years and you I don't know if I've told you this, but you are the most listened to podcast, from back on episode 18, if people want to go back and check that one out, but Wow, thanks. Thanks again for taking the time to be on the athlete one podcast with me.

Oh, thank you, Ken, and you make it. You make it fun conversation and I have no doubts I'm not surprised that your podcast is doing so well. So, uh, thanks, this has been fun catching up, but definitely take me up on Fenway park and then maybe head up to york beach and see a little lighthouse I know sues likes that. Yes so, uh, all right, good, catching up, buddy. I hope this goes well. All right, pass this podcast on to your friends. Ha ha all right.

Well, hey, thanks again and take care, all right come. Today's episode of the athlete one podcast is powered by the netting professionals. Contact them today at 844-620-2707. That's 844-620-2707. If you're looking to make your field and facilities look their best. Check out all their products and projects on Instagram, twitter and facebook at netting pros. Special thanks to our guest, jeff Latterno, for joining the athlete one podcast, and I'd like to thank all listeners who have taken the time to past two years to be a part of the athlete one family. I'm your host, ken Carpenter, and, as always, thanks for listening.