342 BaseballBiz

Mark Corbett: . [00:00:00] Welcome to BaseballBiz on Deck. I'm Mark Corbett. Of course, with me is Mr. Mat Germain, as we thumb through the Rolodex of the players that are supposed to be playing at the World Baseball Classic. And who's supposed to be playing for USA? I don't know. And I don't know if their manager did either.

De Rosa, uh, had, had presumed that they had already gotten their place in the, uh, world Baseball Classics. Think, I guess, in the quarter finals there, but. Come to find out after most of the way through a game that, no, that was not the case. They did not already have a lock in there. So I don't know if that's what we wanna talk about much today, Mat, but it, it's one of those things, it's just unfortunate.

And what do you do? 

Mat Germain: Well, do you remember we were talking to Larry about the, uh, the rings at the Trop and how the umpires didn't know the rules about those? I kept thinking about that. I was like, how is [00:01:00] it that people in these leadership positions and, and important positions don't do their homework? It would be as if you're in charge of a convention or something like that , and you don't,, do the research, get things set up the right way or whatever.

And if it's that important to you and your career is on the line and your reputation is on the line, et cetera, like you've gotta know that you're under a microscope of some sort. While you're there, you're representing the country, right? Even if it's not Mark himself, somebody on his staff should have said, Hey, by the way.

Mark Corbett: Thank you. I mean, a bench coach, I believe they actually, these teams have general managers too, for that matter. I mean, somebody should be putting a pencil to paper and saying, Hmm, you know, we've never done one of these before, have we? With, uh, round robin and all that? I don't know what to do 

Mat Germain: next. Uh, but call on people.

Mark Corbett: Talking about keeping your eye on the ball. Somebody wasn't., It was, it was sad. It, and, , I've gotta tell you, Matt, , there's a lot of folks [00:02:00] that are not pulling from the USA this year, and it's a lot of people in the SA aren't they? , They're, I, I'm wanna be political for half a minute, I'll just simply say that they don't wanna see a visit to the White House.

But 

Mat Germain: you know, that would be interesting to see how many players would actually go, like they didn't have the whole hockey team go, so 

Mark Corbett: did they, 

Mat Germain: what would happen in the, in the baseball version? 

Mark Corbett: Well, De Rosa would show up. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. It be, you know, in a way this can kind of bind a team too though. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Because if they.

If they do get in, which I think most people are assuming that, the percentages are in their favor, even though this happened and it did jeopardize things, the percentages would, would have to work out. So basically Mexico would have to score four or fewer, runs more than Italy in this one in order for the US team to, to get into the next step of the tournament.

But, 

Mark Corbett: and I'm, I'm looking right now live and it's the bottom of the fourth. [00:03:00] And Italy is leading two to zip and Randy has just struck out, so, 

Mat Germain: . Uh, Jonathan, Aranda, that the previous time up had hit a double, a really good one off the, you know, the left, uh, center field wall. So they, they. In these kinds of games because you're flipping through pitchers so much.

The later innings almost matter more than the early innings. Uh, because they did face Aaron Nola there to start the game. , That's gonna be tough and is, he's a, , a really good performer. But once he's gone and who is coming up next, I think that's where Italy. Challenges are, is, is, especially once you've used a lot of these pen guys against the US and, and had a really emotional game.

There tends to be a few more, holes to, to play through. But I, I think the, the, the, the thing that I'll say about the US as well is. It's not the first year the tournament is played. No. Like you had research that you can do. [00:04:00] Right? Yeah. And you, this is the, not the first time that these kinds of qualifiers that happened, it's, it's a lack of preparation.

Like, and again, I think we've spoken about this with the Yankees. It's the same feeling I get with the Yankees. There's an entitlement. Issue. 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: With that sort of frame of mind, like, oh, we're supposed to be in, what do you mean we wouldn't be in like this? That's preposterous. 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. Oh 

Mat Germain: gosh. Yeah. 

Mark Corbett: I mean, you get to the point where they, you can take things for granted and I think that may be what De Rosa as well.

But my gosh, brother, uh, I mean, he was even chatting with his boys on MLB network like the day before, and neither one of them said, oh, uh, by the way. You might wanna think about, you know, neither Harold Rains. I forget the other guy's name said anything. And I was reading John Hayman's article and it mirrored the same philosophy that on on Tuesday.

It's like, uh, yeah, look. Looking back with Wednesday. What? I wonder what he said. [00:05:00] Can I, can I delete that? Can, can I take that out? I, now here's something funny. I heard, uh, that the MLB network did start trying to fiddle faddle with some of the comments and what was said and the misspeaking. And 

Mat Germain: just like, 

Mark Corbett: Hey, it's out there.

Come on. Once it's on the internet, it's out there. Just don't, don't worry about it. I, I don't think this is critical to anybody's career. I hope not. It's silly if it is, but it's, it's a little bit of entertainment of, uh, what's going on with, uh, the world baseball Classic above and beyond what's on the field.

And my gosh, what have we got on the field? Uh, well, okay, buddy, I'm gonna ask you, Mr. Team Canada, you have, tell me what's going on, brother. 

Mat Germain: So the, I, I think I mentioned before where I, I wasn't expecting very much this year. 'cause you never know how the pitching is gonna show up. Right. Especially with a team like Canada.

Mm-hmm. Where they do have guys that. Have MLB experience, but generally it's the guys after that that have been really kind of up and down and, [00:06:00] and hard to kind of get in the right form. The shortstop that I had said could have shown up and been a, a factor, decided to stay in spring training with the Tigers.

, Freddie Freeman wasn't showing up this year. There was a lot of things that were playing kind of like to a tone down Canadian roster, but the, the guy that, that Freddie Freeman had mentioned in the Last World Baseball Classic that he was hoping to play with and he was pumped about who didn't end up showing up 'cause get injury issues going on, was Abraham Toro?

Hmm. 

Mark Corbett: And 

Mat Germain: Abraham Toro is having an outstanding World Baseball Classic. Him and Owen Caissie have both really put the team on their shoulder and it's adding a really good thump to the lineup that has Josh Naylor and a lot of other guys that are not going to, they're not going to give up many. Bats without working hard and, and trying to pressure the other team through them.

They're doing a great job of hitting clutch. They had the one messy game where they were [00:07:00] kind of playing sloppy d, so they did lose that one game. But if I would've told you before the tournament started that they would beat Puerto Rico and Cuba back to back. You would've been pretty stoked about that, right?

Like, God, 

Mark Corbett: how I would've thought, well, okay, Matt, I'll give you the can will win one of those. They, they're not gonna get both of those. That would've definitely been my response to you on that because, you know, we're, we're looking at some very high talent and, and you're talking about Naylor is there and some other ones.

Was it Caissie, how young is he? Is he's still at prospect level. 

Mat Germain: He, he was treated from the Cubs to the Marlin. So you're, you know, our friend Lou is gonna get to enjoy him all year round and they're gonna, you know, they treated a heck of an arm and, and Eduardo, uh, Edward Cabrera to go and land him.

But I would say there's more risk in, in Cabrera staying healthy. I would've kept Caissie if I was the Cubs because I have a 

Mark Corbett: feeling 

Mat Germain: he is going to be a heck of a player. , He's hitting 500 for the tournament, so seven for 14 leads the [00:08:00] WBC and hits. , And he's only 22, I think, or 23 years old, I can't remember which.

, He's gonna be with Canada for quite a while. He'll be a good leader for them to have a board and, . Yeah, it's, it's great to see new talents come through. It doesn't mean anything for the season, but it does show that he can perform under pressure, right? Like the WBC is a little bit more of a amped up version of spring training, if you wanted to put it that way.

. All throughout the, the, the tournament, you're seeing young talents and some old talents come through, and it's a great tournament for that. Just to, it's almost like a sandlot feel to it. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, yeah. 

Mat Germain: When you think about it like a like. Not, the crowds aren't always there, like depending on which teams are playing and where the game is actually located.

Some of them have been really hyped up and pumped, like, uh, you know, the ones over in Asia. And, , I think the most USA, uh, games have been pretty, you know, upbeat Dominican Republic [00:09:00] games have been upbeat. Um, so the feeling around the WBC is fun. It's fun. And it's great to have right now. 

Mark Corbett: . I mean, absolutely.

And you look at these teams, and you and I both have talked about the Dominican Republic. You know, I, I was at a game the other day. I, I went and saw the, uh, Tigers. Alright, this is Monday. I wake up. I thinking, huh? Spring training games. There's tires that are just down the road. 20 minutes. Oh, I wonder who they're playing today.

Oh, they're playing the Rays. Okay. So I get online and I, I look up for, uh, some tickets and lo and behold, I find some reasonable ones and it's like, oh, 27 bucks. I buy myself a ticket for that. So I, I get the ticket and I get down there. And I'm, I'm looking at the ticket. I says I'm in row cc, so I figured, you know, got past A through Z and then ABCs cc.

But CC was the [00:10:00] third row back from the field next to the Tiger's dugout. 

Mat Germain: Sweet. 

Mark Corbett: Oh yeah. And, and so put the cherry on top. I got to see Shane McClanahan pitch two in a third innings, you know? No, man. And it was, it's, it's so much, so spring training's still going on. I didn't wanna get completely away from the World Baseball Classic.

But I gotta tell you, it's, it's just exciting to see so many great players. But I'll also tell you that. There was a lot of, I said, who is this guy? Who, who is this fella? You know, I don't see Aranda, I don't see, uh, Yandy. I don't see, well, you didn't see a lot of people, but it was interesting. Nonetheless, there were some really good players out there and something to look forward to the future there.

Uh, the Rays have already seen a few cuts from the teams, maybe a couple people that were not expecting a couple of pitchers, but, uh, DeLuca's looking really good. And Wow. 

Mat Germain: Yep. I, I, I want to start like here just because I think it's fun. [00:11:00] Right. So the Blue Jays had quite a run last year, right? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: They, they went to the World Series.

They gave about as close. Of a World Series type win as you could get without actually winning it. Right? They got the closest you can possibly get like one Miguel Rojas home runaway from winning it. Um, and they finished the spring. I don't know if you remember this. Probably you don't 'cause you're not that nerdy.

I don't think they finished the spring with an 18 and 10 record leading MLB. Right. So we, , we like to say that spring training is not, , an indicator , of what the season is going to be like because it's, again, like so often it doesn't end up playing out. You can go year after year after year, you know, and, and point out the.

The ones that didn't make it through that kind of train of thought. But the year before that, the Baltimore [00:12:00] Orioles had a heck of a spring as well. They ended up winning the 91 games that year in 2024 and they made the playoffs and they, they really made a good run of it, right? I think. Sometimes we underrate the importance of having a strong spring.

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: Because it's, it, it, you know, it's one of those things that can indicate a lot of things. It can indicate health, it can indicate competition. Uh, it can in indicate depth and the amount of people that you have to lean on through that season. There's a lot of ingredients. In spring training that we underrate constantly, I believe, and, and what I like to see and the reason that I brought it up because it's one of those things that I've, I've said over and over and over again on this show, but the Pittsburgh Pirates are a team that I felt bad for forever and right now.

They're sitting there at 12 and six, you know, and, and they're basically one game behind the Braves for top spot, uh, in spring training [00:13:00] so far. So I love to see that the, the teams that they're, that they're competing with are the Braves and the nationals, like it's not just the Dodgers, it's not just the Yankees.

, The Yankees are doing well this spring as well. But, but I wanted to highlight the Pirates because Connor Griffin, , I know people online have been talking about, , whereabouts they're drafting them because he's so hyped right now. , And if you watch him play, you know, it's sort of like watching Paul Skenes, like they've lucked out and getting two phenoms back to back in terms of , their potential.

And, uh. I have a feeling that, that Connor Griffin will be, oh, e essentially the similar kind of bat as putting Aaron Judge at shortstop. And so if you're able to get Aaron Judge in a, in a fantasy lineup at short stop, why wouldn't you? Right? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. I can't, yeah. Really. 

And so I've been drafting them in the top 40 in my draft this year.

I play [00:14:00] Dynasty, , really deep, you know, rosters. And when you're making that kind of commitment to a young player, it can make or break your next 2, 3, 4 years depending on how you've rostered everybody else. So it's a big investment, but I really think that between him and, and assuming Paul Skenes stays healthy.

It's giving them that, that punch, like, like you would look at the Yankees and say, okay, Gerritt Cole and Aaron Judge were that punch for years and years and years with the Dodgers. It was, you know, Clayton Kershaw and whatever player you want to pick, Mookie bets, uh, Freddie Freeman, et cetera. Like there's always that balance of a really dominant pitcher and a really dominant hitter.

Yeah. Then you can have that carry your team. Right. You could say that the angels. Lacked that dominant pitcher to pair with Mike Trout all those years, even though they had Ohtani, but he wasn't really pitching, you know, to that same amount. So, so I see the, the Pirates as a really intriguing team [00:15:00] this year, and I, I'm really happy that they brought some veteran help.

Within that roster to, to give them a boost. But, , watching some of their players that they have, through the spring, I, I have a good feeling about what they're gonna be able to do. And, , I think the National League is on notice. 

Well, I, I'd like to see some things happen for him as well, especially since I felt like as a Rays fan, we've taken advantage of them too many times in the past.

Did what Did we give 'em? Archer and take Glasnow and, and some, some moves of that nature. It is like good gravy, , who's handling the purse strings. I mean, Eric Neander, we love you. You made some great calls, but I figured somebody in that, uh, it reminds me of that movie draft. Was it, uh, draft day and with cost?

Said who, who's that new young gm? They got over that one team? Well, let's, let's see if we can work a deal with him. But no, the Pirates man, that'd be great to see them actually, you know, rise up, uh, this year. So they're due. 

Mat Germain: So looking back at, [00:16:00] at the game, what are your hints and, and, and wants and needs for the Italy, Mexico game?

Do you think that it'll be Italy going through? Do you think it'll be Mexico going through? Have you watched them both play. 

Mark Corbett: I've watched Mexico, I've not really seen Italy. I did, I was watched a little bit of the results 'cause, uh, Jac Caglianone from being from Florida around here, it was . Neat to see what he's done.

Looks like he just stole a base. Musta had hit, hit earlier or walked earlier than that. And I know he had a home run the other day. Um, but you know, my heart's, wherever Randy is, let's face it. So I, I have been watching Mexico and, and Aranda's there too. Correct. 

Mat Germain: That would be a great shirt. "You had me at Randy.".

Mark Corbett: We gotta start making merch, brother. Yeah, I 

Mat Germain: think we should. Oh man. That's a good, 

Mark Corbett: you had me at Randy. I like that. Oh no, we talked about 'em last weekend about characters and about him and him coming back [00:17:00] and coming in the stands of RandyLand after he had already been traded. Yeah, 

Mat Germain: yeah. 

Mark Corbett: Don't worry about you who, go ahead.

Mat Germain: Yeah, the, I, I think, you know, like we just talked about Mark de Rosa and the awareness of, of the game and, and where it is. Like, I, I think it, it depends more on the, on the coaches than ever. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Because the, the instincts of when to pull a pitcher in what moment and what inning that's going to decide the game.

So that's why I'm asking, like, I don't know that Cervelli. Can be beat in that way. Mm-hmm. And I think that's why he was successful against the us. He pulled the right, you know, strings at the right time. So I, I actually think that, , having a catcher back there that's, that's able to, to kind of conceptualize the game and, and know the tournament well, you know, that gives them an edge, I think.

But having said that, I do think Mexico has the more, um, seasoned. [00:18:00] Roster who can come through late in the game , if they're able to actually pull off some hits and, and Alejandro Kirk behind.. Jonathan, Aranda, I mean, those are two guys that can change a game in a hurry. So, uh, we'll see how it, how it plays out.

I, as long as it's a good game and it's a good tournament, I don't care. Like, if, if the US makes it through, that'll amp up whatever quarter, final game they get to 

Mark Corbett: True. 

Mat Germain: Uh, so, you know, that's not a bad thing either. And, and if they lose the quarter final after losing that game to Italy. It almost makes it worse, right?

They're, they're not bailed out just because they make the quarterfinals, they'll still be called out for the way that things rolled out. So, uh, I think there's a lot of pressure on that team right now. 

Mark Corbett: Well, you know, you mentioned our good buddy Lou earlier and he lives in Miami. He is a Marlin season ticket holder and he does have the tickets for the WBC there.

Mm-hmm. And man, I know he is excited about it. He's gonna be going to some of those and,. [00:19:00] Certainly get down here in the quarterfinals and finals. It's interesting to see. He was telling me about the. Price of the tickets. Yeah. They've definitely gone through the roof at least 10 times., Their value is and it's just, it's stunning. Um, I'm gonna get back to, go ahead. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. I do wanna mention one last thing. Remember we had said, how active will ICE be around these stadiums? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: And, and. I don't think I've heard or read too much. I've, I've heard rumblings and hints of this and hints of that, but I haven't heard of like mass action.

. 

Mat Germain: From authorities looking to stir things up and get things going. As far as I know, so we were talking about the World Cup before, and I know Iran's already pulled out for obvious reasons, but I. That, that speaks to that tournament. So if we look at, , the World Cup now, I think if you were somebody considering going to the US to attend [00:20:00] a game, you would look at the WBC and you would be like, okay, well maybe I can do it comfortably now because I know that it worked out for the WBC.

Mark Corbett: Right, right. Uh, it is. I mean, if you live in this country and you're an immigrant, and even if you're an American citizen, uh, there has to be some consideration when you go to any public event. And certainly with sporting events, and especially with sporting events where you have a high number of folks that, uh, have, uh, Latin, uh, heritage, you know, from a, a country, whether it be South America, central America, even Europe.

But yeah, I, I have not heard of any incidents and. Way things are in the world right now. I, hopefully, hopefully that is getting toned down quite a bit, is certainly during this, because the uproar, I think from something like that and a major sporting event like this would be, would be impactful. I'll just leave it that there was other words [00:21:00] I was gonna use, but impactful is the only one I'm gonna use it at the moment.

Uh, no, no, no, no, no. But , getting back to business of baseball. They're talking about Lou's tickets. Did you see where the Rays tickets for opening day, what they're going for now? 

Mat Germain: I'm glad that you asked. It's insane. 

Mark Corbett: Oh yeah. 

Mat Germain: How do they, how do they come to that number? 

Mark Corbett: It is dynamic pricing, dude. It is supply and demand because what they have is if you bought 'em at guess, uh, six months ago, whatever you would've bought 'em at, it'd be fine.

But it goes up with supply and demand. So you could probably get those ticket tickets. Cheaper on Ticketmaster or StubHub or SeatGeek, then you'll be able to get 'em through the Rays portal. And I mean, I, I, I, I've heard give prices just four, five times more than what the, the ticket price is. And you're buying this through the ra, the Rays [00:22:00] organization.

And I, I just don't think that is a good look when you're trying to cultivate fans. And if you wanna sell that puppy up. Hell go ahead and have some crazy sale for the last day. I mean, you talked about this before. Open up the 300 level and put 'em all in there for $20 a seat, whatever. But, uh, I, I'm sorry to hear that.

It's trading like a, a stock market. 

Mat Germain: So I never did any deep dives on the Jacksonville, uh, you know, ticket price situation when in aa 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: For Ken Babby. But, , and the same thing in Akron. Like I didn't do any research on that, but I wonder if there's a, a method to the madness sort of thing where it, I don't know.

They, I could do the, the math in my head, but. If you have 15,000 fans that play, that paid four times the price, instead of [00:23:00] 20,000 fans that paid the lower price, then you're still further ahead with the 15,000 than the 20,000. Right. So, so it's kind of a ludicrous math thing to do, but I think anybody doing groceries nowadays is feeling that exact same kind of pinch.

, You're basically watching these companies, . Jack up the prices to the point where they know you're like, most of this stuff is gonna get thrown out, but they do the cost analysis and they say, well, you know what? It doesn't matter if it gets thrown out. We're still making more money in the end, so we're going to keep doing it.

And so. You know, this is the, the fallacy of business and growth and everything else that goes along with it is, it's not fair and, and it is never going to be fair so long as we live in a capitalist society. But, you know, it, it is. Like I grew up, I think I've told you this before, mark. I grew up going to Montreal at the Olympic Stadium.

We were a family of six and, and our parents could have never taken us [00:24:00] to the park or never would have if we were paying, you know, even $20 a ticket back then, like it would've been too much for the budget that they were working with. So we had the $1 seats in the nosebleeds. We had a, a cooler full of, of snacks and we, you know, we made due with that.

And so. I look at baseball nowadays and my love from baseball comes from that, comes from the family events, from the talking, from the, the whole day of it. Nevermind, you know, I didn't care if the game was five hours long. It was just an event, right. That you went to and, you know, knew that that day was, was the baseball day.

So. My heart breaks when I hear about these ticket prices and the way that they're trying to gear things because I think that it, it, it, first of all, it only makes baseball available to a certain part of society, which isn't great. And, and then you get to this, , other place where do they really appreciate it A lot of times, , [00:25:00] you 

Mark Corbett: mean, you mean the fans they appreciated or what do you say?

Mat Germain: Yeah. Yeah, the fans like, I, you know, how, how if you don't have to work really, really, really hard for something and, and earn it because you're, you're given it instead. Right. There's a lot of that series, not all of them obviously, but a lot of the fans in the stands that are able to afford those kinds of things.

You know, or in a place where entertainment is just another day of, uh, thing in life, and they don't really have to weigh the choices. They just know, okay, well, I wanna go to the game. I'm gonna go to the game. It's not really a, a passion, it, it's more of a, you know, my, I'll, I'll use this analogy. So my dad wanted a guitar when he was a kid, right?

And he worked for two years to get, to be able to buy himself a Gibson. Right? 

Mark Corbett: Yep. 

Mat Germain: So when he got that guitar, how much do you think he appreciated that guitar? Right. Do [00:26:00] you feel like the majority of people buying tickets to the opening day and spending that money would've been those kinds of people that saved up and they had to be there for opening day and it was a dream of theirs and they wanted to pay four times?

No, it's not. It's just basically wealthy people getting access to the game because. They just so happen to be the only ones that are priced in and, and then, so it kind of, I don't know. Yeah. 

Mark Corbett: Well, I think there's a prestige to go into opening day whether you really care about the game or not, or even by the game.

I don't mean that specific game, I mean about baseball or not. There's a prestige to that. But I would like to think, Matt, that that a lot of folks that are there, because they are passionate about it, I know, uh. One way I almost think of it is like, you know, do, do you come to church just on Christmas and Easter?

And then are you just doing, you know, for family obligation? So do you, do you come to the ballpark because it's an obligation a couple times or is it something you're passionate [00:27:00] about? And man, I I, I don't think we will ever be able to talk enough about engaging the youth. The, the love of the game. We know we heard some things that, uh, Jane Leavy had to say, and I still think we have to look at putting some of those in play.

And I do believe that Ken Babby has the capability , and hopefully the willingness to, uh, deploy. Some strategies like that , with the Rays, I think that there's just too much possibility for doing something else. Who was it, you said? Was Zalupski who had posted something about the old uniforms and he put the little moon eyes or whatever there, 

Mat Germain: right 

Mark Corbett: as a response.

I'm hoping that that kind of playfulness also equates to good business sense in addressing what fans, fans want and need, and that would also equate to the fan experience in the ballpark. 

Mat Germain: I saw them put up four versions and have fans vote [00:28:00] on it. So, the designs are out and they're looking at, all them have that tail or whatever.

And, and I think they're the gRays, so it's just a matter of how the writing is, what colors are where, that kind of thing. , They definitely want to. Involve fans, which is great. And I will say this about the ticket prices. I looked beyond opening day and they do calm down quite a bit right away. So it definitely is an amped up version for the opening day.

But I do remember when I was a kid, like. At the Olympic stadium, I would go and, and on the opening day, it was a tradition of ours. We would skip school and we would go and the, the whole stadium would be shaking, right? Because there's 55,000 fans at the, at the time in Montreal on opening day. Um, so I.

There's a feeling, there is a feeling about that opening day. Like, and, and we didn't have to out like stretch our wallets at the time. I think it might've cost us 10 bucks instead of the $1 to go in the, uh, in [00:29:00] the outfield at the time. Wow. So, yeah, I think. The Rays are gonna run a lot of promotions.

They're gonna do a better job, I think, of interacting with fans overall. Like I definitely get that feel from this, uh, front office, the design that they came up with for the stadium, assuming it gets built. I saw some news about it coming out this week. , Like things are rolling along and they're getting approvals and they got the gifted lands and they have the, , the construction companies actually lining up, , and getting things sorted out.

So,, I don't think it's gonna take long for them to start digging into the ground. I, I think that they're gonna lock this up because their, their lease at the Trop ends after the 2028 season. Right? That's 

Mark Corbett: right. 

Mat Germain: So they building wise, like, yes, you can be efficient and you can do things at a certain speed, but when you're doing a unique design the way that they are and there's such a huge area that they're developing, yeah.

Like, that's not something you do very [00:30:00] quickly. Um, so I'm hoping that we hear that very soon. And, and, you know, let, we're talking about fans, we're talking about attendance. Getting that locked in will draw people in. Just that in itself, it, it'll get people actually off the couch into the stadiums because then they know the, the team is staying there.

It's going to be built there, . And I think, 

Mark Corbett: well, they feel like it's a commitment, man. I mean, they, they feel like the Rays have made a commitment when they, when they see that happen.. So many people feel, I think like they're living in some kinda limbo about having a team, and that's time and again.

Well, you know, keep saying when they put the girders in the ground, that's what I'm going to say. Okay. 

Mat Germain: I do have one question though. This is a fun one. Okay. Something that's come up in a lot of cities, major cities, Toronto is one, when they were going for the NBA championship, they had watch parties in in the streets, right?

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: So let's say the Buccaneers or the Lightning are in the playoffs. [00:31:00] Could you not use the entertainment area at the new stadium as a watch party area and sell tickets to it and split that with the other teams. Like there, there is a whole, whole, uh, you know, especially in Florida, like you're in a war warm environment, it's gonna be dry.

You're in a, you can make such a fun time of it. Oh my goodness. Like drinks flowing and Oh, yeah. Games and, and all that kind of stuff. But you're in the, I, I can see. What they're building, attracting that kind of event, through a playoff, through a series and, and making it a more steady thing.

Another one is the Winter Fest. I know the old Trop used to do this as well. You guys had the, uh, I, I don't know what it was called, but it was almost like a, a constant, uh. 

Mark Corbett: You'd walk through. There was Christmas trees. Yeah. All lit up. This, this whole fair that you could walk through like a, I guess like a winter wonderland.

I never actually went to it, but, uh,, it's something for [00:32:00] the community. Because that is a place where people can gather and without rain.

Hey, that's always good. And the heat, you know, it is gone. I've talked before about my visit to Fenway a couple years ago and somebody said, oh, oh, so you got the Tropicana field, huh ha. And like that day was 42 degrees and s sleet was coming down. And I was like, yeah, Tropicana Field 72 degrees. ,

No rain, bro. So, 

Mat Germain: but the other thing is, is like the security of the, of the citizens in Tampa. Yep. So we saw in, in, in Houston when you used the stadium, this area that you're talking about, 22 acres, you can fit a lot of people in 22 acres of land. Yep, 

Mark Corbett: yep. 

Mat Germain: Like. That's a substantial place for hurricane evacuations.

People that can be evacuated if they actually want to use it for medical purposes, and if they have it set up with solar power and water, et cetera. All the basic necessities you would need. I I, I've talked about that on d Rays base so many times like about. [00:33:00] The linking of stadiums with what society actually needs in that city to make it a focal point of that, that city in a heartbeat of that city.

Like you can involve it at so many different levels that they don't do enough of right now. , But in your case, like there's nothing, no better example than saying, Hey. It tore the roof off of our last stadium. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, I wasn't gonna say that. I mean, you know, Larry was talking about that a couple weeks ago too.

It was like, well, you know, I don't know. I look at all those cots down there and don't know if it's gonna be the best choice, but, wow. So do you have plans for opening day? Do you, do you, have you and the family gonna gather around the tube and watch a specific team and what's, what's your ideas for that day?

Mat Germain: For, for opening day, I, I generally hop around channels a lot, so I generally like to watch it on my own just because I feel like if I'm with a whole bunch of people, they're not gonna wanna [00:34:00] watch all the games that I wanna tune into. 

Mark Corbett: There 

Mat Germain: you go. There's players, certain moments, et cetera. But I do have,, my kids watch baseball with me to teach them about the game as much as I can.

That's really, it's not always easy, but you, you do what you can when you can. And, , I think they've gotten to know the game, pretty well, , for the amount of time that they haven't played it 

Mark Corbett: well being around you, dad. I can't imagine how they, they wouldn't, and, uh, geez man, these, I know opening day.

Since the Rays won't actually have their opening day until almost like two weeks, I think, into the season. 

Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. 

Mark Corbett: I'm going to an event at the Tampa Baseball Museum, and Joe Maddon and Matt Joyce are gonna be there, and so that'll be fun. Rather limited crowd, mostly just 'cause the space there. So I think it's pretty well sold out, but that'll be kind of neat seeing some gas from the Rays earlier on. Maddon and Joyce [00:35:00] and there's potentially elements are gonna be there as well.

So there'll be a lot of swapping of stories while the game may be on a TV and being playing on some radio out out there as well. I think the conversations are gonna be a big part of, of that event. So we'll see how that plays. , I may find myself also in a bar with 27 screens trying to watch as much as I can.

Who knows? 

Mat Germain: ESPN Zone was fun for that., It's a perfect kind of atmosphere for it too, but , I think the season in baseball is great. When you have opening day, everybody is zero, zero. Everybody has the, , the hopes and dreams of all the new prospects and new players they acquired, , the freshness , of the season.

You know, you haven't had all the pain of it yet, so you're, you're sort of, uh, you're glossy eyed and, and thank you. And there's something good about that, like, uh, refreshing. , But I do feel. For some reason because the CBAs coming up this year, and I don't want to bring it up in a negative light, but I [00:36:00] feel like it, it could be Mark, the last 162 game season that we ever watch.

I'm just gonna throw it out there. I think in the next CBA, there's going to be some sort of adjustment and I don't know to what level, but I, I feel like there's a good chance that they'll snippet a couple of them for playoff. Increase. 

Yeah. 

Mat Germain: And also once they actually get the expansion completed, which I know is still on the radar for a lot of people, it'll make more sense to do it that way and to, you know, instead of having the shorter, , wild card, they'll have, , a regular series for everybody.

Basically, if you make the playoffs, you get a regular amount of games. , But I feel like that's coming and , and so it's kind of a weird season this year is to know that you're in a CBA year. That could be volatile and it could be the last time, like we've seen some rule changes, but the games ones has been pretty consistent all the way through.

So yeah, something to look out [00:37:00] for. 

Mark Corbett: I would welcome. Fewer games for the players' health as much as anything else. And let's face it, they've kind of expanded the postseason as far as how many teams could come in, I mean, and how many more games they're gonna have to play. So there's, uh, there's been a more stress on the team postseason,, and you expect these guys to be healthy the time they come back for the following season.

Yeah, I, I, I can see where that could be a critical part of negotiations. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. I remember when we had Larry on, I looked at when him and Lou were with the Reds and actually made the playoffs. 

Mark Corbett: Yep. 

Mat Germain: Or, or didn't make the playoffs. They just missed it.

Right. They had won, uh, I think 90 games or 91 games. Can't remember which. But then I looked at what actually happened in the playoffs and it was so few games like it. Lightning fast, right? Yeah. It was four teams that made the playoffs. That's it. And then there was two series, but the first series was very quick, and then the last one was very quick as well.

[00:38:00] So I think it was something like. Nine to 13 games, something like that. Total, all the playoffs, and I'm looking at that in comparison to today and people still complaining. There's too many teams today. I'm looking back at that. I like it explained so much about Montreal. Yeah. And all the times that we missed out on the playoffs, because we were always just the second or the third or the, you know, you never could get yourself up to that level.

So. I'm so happy baseball has moved on from that timeframe. Like so many careers were shorted from not having exposure to the playoffs through those decades just because, you know, they didn't have the right team to, to make it in there. So, um, yeah, I, I think. The playoffs is gonna be an interesting change in 2026.

The other things I kinda look forward to is the, the introdu introduction of the ABS system. I think that's a revolutionary [00:39:00] system. It's gonna actually, we've talked about that before where there's less. Managers kicking sand on the umpires anymore. They're not getting face to face and spitting on each other anymore as much, if any at all.

I don't remember any, , last year. Did anybody get into an umpire's face to that point? I mean, 

Mark Corbett: I don't recollect. Well, I have to dig through the future to see, but no, I don't really remember much of that. No. 

So 

Mat Germain: they keep toning that down, right. And so. The, the rule changes are kind of intriguing and they, they're, they're pointing in the right direction, they're doing the right things.

, But again, I think there's still that next level to reach for. And, and the WBC is fun because it shows you that, right? All the re allegation things like the. We talk about and, but here you're talking about the amount of runs that you score actually impacting whether or not you make it in. Well, [00:40:00] one of the, I, I'll give you an idea that I'm thinking of for the CBA, right.

Let's say Major League baseball would give a player $2,000 for every stolen base. 

Mark Corbett: . So you're saying the the league gives that, that's not the team the league is giving it, so they're encouraging excitement, 

Mat Germain: tax money. Yes, exactly. So let's say you're, you're a golfer. You have to earn it with a performance, right?

Mark Corbett: Right. It's 

Mat Germain: the same kind of idea where you earn it with a performance. If you steal a base, you get $2,000 from the league. And I, I did the calculations. It would, it would've cost them for 2025, about 6.8 million to pay all of the stolen bases. Right. Is that worth it? 

Mark Corbett: Oh yeah. I mean. 

And there's so many things that, there's so many things you can do with that.

'cause if you're a Kyle Tucker or somebody, you can say, okay, and each one of those are going to this charity this week, this charity this week. And [00:41:00] if nothing, but a lot of folks too, winning, stealing those bases. That count is something, but there's nothing like a little cash to go with it to make it, you know, feel like an achievement.

Same 

Mat Germain: true. Think about the young players though. Mark. Think about the young players that come up from AAA and they don't have as much money and they, and they steal a couple of bases. Boom. That's a little bit more money in their pocket. Think about the guys that are sitting there on first base and they haven't really been told to steal a base, but they're like, oh, I, I'd like to get that money, or whatever.

And so my, my point is, it, it, it could have taken that what would've cost them 6.8 million up to eight, 8.5 million. You know, like, so let's say it's adding 15, 20, 30% more stolen bases. You've achieved what you wanted to achieve. Yeah. And all it cost you is $8 million. Like really, like you're getting a more, you know, exciting product on the field.

Same thing with triples, I would make every triple $3,000 [00:42:00] for obvious reasons. 

Mark Corbett: Oh wow. 

Mat Germain: And so every triple, so now you're getting a guy that's going for the double and he's looking around, he is like, I can get that, that 3000 Right. And, and again, you're, you're, you're increasing the excitement of the game because the guys know.

Let's say that you throw out a runner at third base, you get a certain amount of money for that, right from the outfield. Same kind of thing. If you throw out a runner that's trying to steal, you get a certain amount of money, so you start monetizing the game in the different way. Now, the thing that sucks about it is that unlike other sports, you can't pay the player.

Right now what we're doing is we're, we're paying the players before they actually have to achieve it, 

Mark Corbett: right? 

Mat Germain: Based on the past, right. What I like about the, the system that I'm proposing is that it would be paying for the future, which is way more motivating, right? So it's essentially the carrot [00:43:00] dangling in front of them instead of the stick hitting them in the back saying, you're getting paid this much, you're supposed to perform, right?

It, it's the opposite kind of feeling to it. So. I think that there's validity to it. Like just like we see, we saw with, , players making certain demands, right? Like where, , you had, , them blocking trades. , When they're signing with a new team, , you have the, um. What was the new, the deferrals of contracts, right?

Things get put in and start getting used. I don't think it would take long for that to take off. All it takes is one or two teams to put it in and for it to work for all the sudden the rest of the league to go, well, you know what? We'll do it. So internally, let's say you're a team like the Raid. The Rays are the perfect example.

If you, if you have a team that's willing to push the boundaries of something, it's the Rays. And so let's say the Rays looked around the roster and they said, you know [00:44:00] what, Chandler, we know you're gonna steal a whole bunch of bases, but. Even knowing that we're gonna give everybody that steals a base, I don't know, 250 bucks, you know, it doesn't have to be the same amount that I said for the league, but let's say they come up with an amount and they put that out there.

'cause you don't have to have it done before the contract if you're giving it away for free. Right. It's the carrot dangling in front of them and you say every home run is uh, 500 bucks every this, every that. And they put that system in place. How much would that change the outcome, you know, of the Rays?

Could it be the next big thing, like for them to actually gain an edge over other teams? 

Mark Corbett: Wow. No, I, I like it. I, I was just, my mind was running too. Would you even think of putting this with AAA team some sort of, uh, incentive as well, 

Mat Germain: and at a lower rate? Yeah. 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. At a lower rate? And, you know, maybe that [00:45:00] would help you define a little better, uh, what are some talent is.

I mean, if you, if there's a way to, uh, I guess. Give them an in, incentivize them at a earlier uh, level, but I don't know. But I like that. I like it a lot actually. So I keep thinking you need to be in those M-L-B-P-A, M-L-B negotiations, brother, you know, you need to be sitting down there with this pencil and.

Scratching all that and passing the paper across the table. I'm the guy. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. I'm the guy. They put in that room, that padded room and, and they say, you know what, just brainstorm and write it all over the walls. And then you walk in the room after and you're like, oh my God. What, what is this? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Nothing like being in a padded room.

Yeah. Oh my gosh. Oh, no. I, I, no, I had more of this, you know, executive room with me writing down a number on a. Scratch a paper and you turn over and you just slide it across the table to the other folks and 

Mat Germain: yeah, 

Mark Corbett: see if they'll take it. But my gosh. Yeah, man. I would love to see that though with some incentives for stealing [00:46:00] bases and such man that keeps the game exciting without having to change the game.

Mat Germain: And another thing I want Mark, is I want a drone. Following the base dealers or the base runners around? I do. There's no reason to not have drones involved anymore, like we have them, like, don't gimme the old camera angles, the, the camera behind the pitcher and the catcher set up behind them, and I want.

Action. Like think of it from a director's point of view, right? And you're, we've seen it in the Olympics. We've seen it at WBC. We've seen it all over the soccer does it a really good job. Yeah. Football did a great job during the Super Bowl. Like there's a reason why it people like it because it gives you such a complete different angle to it.

Like imagine an action shot. Following along with Chandler Simpson as he's going around first and around second, then over the third, like that would be an awesome thing to get to live through, you know, and, and the chances of [00:47:00] anybody knocking down a drone with a ball with like throw in from the el field are like lint to none, right?

Especially if you do it at certain heights. Train your people. Do it the right way. And, and you can make such a great marketing tool by doing it that way and selling the game. 'cause I do think they need to focus more on, on how the game feels and looks from a field level. And so get the fans in there, get dirty and, and they'll love it.

Mark Corbett: No, I'm ready. I'm ready. Sign me up. 

Mat Germain: Hmm. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, you know, I mean, I went to my first NFL game this year and watched the Bucks play. I saw when I'd seen some of 'em were watching games on TV before about the cables and the cameras that just go down these cables, you know, and try to, to catch those special moments and track as a, as a player's running from one end of the field to the other.

And I thought that that had to be such a step up from the Goodyear Blimp.[00:48:00] 

Mat Germain: Oh man. Awesome. Yeah. The, and 

Mark Corbett: you know, but seeing the, and when they play that on the big screen there, while you're there at the game, it's not just a scoreboard, but they turn it to a screen where you can see a play. Mm-hmm. I mean, to me that is huge. That's, that's another thing I like to see. Yeah. Um.

Coming back to the minor leagues just for a moment. At that game when I saw the Tigers and the Rays play, there was, you know, there's the simple things like they'll have something put underneath the hat on the screen and you gotta figure out the three items, which, which hat it's under, and those little things in between innings.

Well. I thought it was another game that was coming up on the screen and it said Rays challenge. I thought, oh, cool. It was a challenge for the Rays. How's this work? Oh, I didn't realize somebody had tapped the top of their hat or whatever, and they were questioning, a call from the, umpire.

And I loved it because once I realized what they were doing and they were showing on the [00:49:00] screen. Inside that stadium, you know, where the ball came, it was being questioned, whether it was a ball or a strike, and to sit in the stands. How many times have we seen umpires or just questions on the field that we never hear about?

You know, if we're in, if we're at the game, and sometimes even the, the announcers don't know necessarily what's going on on the. Field, but this, I love this 'cause of, uh, the ABS system. It's right there on, in the field, on the screen showing me what's going on. And it's like, I, I, I like that there's just one more thing to like about baseball these days.

So I, I appreciated that as a fan at the, at the game. 

Mat Germain: Yeah, no, it's going to be great to see, , there's so much technology, so many apps, so many things that, that, that baseball is able to add. So by the time that Stadium gets built for the Rays, uh, there's gonna be a lot of opportunities for things to, to be included in there and the stadium to be built in a special way if they're smart about it, which I know they [00:50:00] will be.

A lot of those camera angles and things and wires and everything else that can help 'em. Achieve what we're talking about, uh, should be in there. There's also, remember the time, I think it was football, it might have been a couple of other ones where they had cameras really low to the ground and, and they, like, you could see it.

I think it was, well, they have them in the bases sometimes, right? In baseball. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: That's one thing they've tried to do. They had the catchers wear GoPros or the umpires wear GoPros sometimes. . But again, it's, it's the jostling around that's different. With the drone, you're getting the really steady camera view, right.

Because they're, stationary. So that's the difference. So maybe like having the drone right behind the umpire. Right. The like just a bit, off and back. But that would be also a good view 'cause you're seeing everything all at once. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: And you don't really have to move that one around very often.

So, yeah, a couple of times that it'll make a [00:51:00] great show, mark when a pitcher, you know, throws one up just a bit outside and knocks the drone right out 

Mark Corbett: the sky. 

Mat Germain: That'll make a nice little explosion for everybody to zone in on. 

Mark Corbett: Oh man. Hey, I'm, I'm jumping back here for a second, looking at the Italy, Mexico game, and right now Italy's up six to zip and bottom of the sixth.

So Mexico's gonna have to really do some moving if they're gonna get there. You know who, I wanna say one more thing about WBC when I saw Panama play the Tigers here and it put a big smile on my face when I saw one of the people from Panama. Was Christian Bethancourt. 'cause I thought you talk about a seasoned vet who maybe he isn't really playing an MLB anymore and I don't believe he is. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. Uh, Harold Ramirez , , , is one of the guys that was doing really well for Columbia as well.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Uh. 

Mat Germain: So, so he's, I think he's, he's among the leaders when it comes [00:52:00] to hits, uh, overall in the tournament. So he can still play, he can still swing the bat. Um, it, it's fun to see, like, there's so many x-Rays. Y Chang is out there too, and I know he wasn't around very long. But yeah, Harold Ramirez leads the tournament with seven hits, uh, along with Owen, Caissie and Bo.

Bo Yang Moon, uh, which is fun. Doing 

Mark Corbett: better than I am, brother. Yeah. Wow. 

Mat Germain: So, so yeah, , the game seems to be getting away , from, , Mexico a little bit. They're down six, nothing. But they took Aaron Nola off the mound and he, the new pitcher that came in, , ended up walking, uh, Joey Ortiz. So, like I said, sometimes you get a little bit of life when they start going to the relievers, and we'll see what Mexico can do over the next, uh, four innings.

Mark Corbett: Wow. Then, uh, team USA may actually have it in after all the, the absolute locked in buy-in that they thought they had. Was [00:53:00] disproven. But, uh, the way this game's going, they may have it after all. So we'll see how that plays out. And this whole thing, it's gonna pass. And a couple weeks nobody's gonna be talking about it.

I mean, literally we are two weeks away from opening day. And by then. Virtually everybody will have forgotten that there was even a World Baseball Classic. So 

Mat Germain: It's true. 

Mark Corbett: It's true. Yeah. Hey, I, I gotta tell you some fun things I've been doing lately. I've women in baseball with, you know, March being Women's Month.

I've gotten a lot of people who say, Hey, how about having so and so on the show? And so and so, well, the next thing you know, I'm like, and I apologize, Matt, usually I like to try to get you on with some of these, but I've had a, a lady by the name of. Jean , she was involved with, um, the early days of Title ix.

Bringing women into the NCAA division one. And that's gonna make for an interesting show to listen to folks, I'll tell you that one. And there is, there's some interesting things [00:54:00] going on with women in baseball. We're gonna try to get, uh, Jane Leavy back on here too, and if everybody you can think of as well, um, I've got a couple things we'll talk about after the show.

And it's, uh, it's exciting times. And then well, geez, my knees man. It really is almost here next week. Women's Pro Baseball League in Fort Myers. Yeah, there you go. Two day spring training. 

Mat Germain: That's awesome. 

Mark Corbett: Well, I'm planning on being there, so we'll see how that plays out. 

Mat Germain: Yeah, you'll have to let me know how the games are televised so I can tune in, uh, as much as I can.

And, uh. I'm hoping that they, uh, they actually, uh, do really well and, and get to pull, you know, more teams into it. Over time, 

Mark Corbett: I think there'll be a game where they actually play the Red Sox, at least a group of them will, and I wanna see that. That should be fun. I'll make sure I get that information to you and I'll put it out as well.

Any other nuggets or something that we wanna cover here? I know we've done a [00:55:00] lot, but. 

Mat Germain: No, I, the last thing I would just say is like the, the minor you were saying, some of the people were getting cut and, and demoted, you know, for, uh, for minor leagues. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: This is the time that those things start to happen.

So it's kind of fun to see who they push up to that AAA level and who they keep down at the double A level. 'cause that's usually where you're playing the most and paying attention to. So in the Ray's case, there's a lot of fights going on right now with that , so I'd be curious to see if there's a trade or two out there that they end up making because of the last calls that they make at those , levels.

And to see, , how those rosters look, I I think they, they tell you a lot about your future and, and your depth. So, uh, pay attention to those. Keep enjoying the baseball classic. And uh, like you said, spring training is almost done already. It feels like just started. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. My gosh, brother. It's, well, yeah, it, it, I've been able to get out a few more of those and I'm glad I did.

And. It is like said, they don't count, but they certainly are an [00:56:00] indicator of what a team's thinking and what they might be able to do during the rest of the year, so they count. All right, brother. Well, I wanna thank you all again for joining us here today on BaseballBiz On Deck. And remember to like us, subscribe to us, love us, send us your emails and texts, whatever, uh, and we look forward to talking with you guys again real soon.

Mat Germain: , I still have to order that gong.