Rookie of the Year

[laughs]

What was it like being drafted number one, what was New York like at that time, and what was it like winning National League Rookie of the Year?

I, I, I think when I got drafted in 1980 out of high school, I know my mother drove me that morning to school, and she was a little nervous, and I wasn't.

I figured, "I'll probably get drafted," 'cause four players got drafted the year before, uh, in '79 after we lost the city championship to John Elway and them at Dodger Stadium.

That had to be 1981, 2.

I came up in '83.

Before I came up, um, because I won Rookie of the Year.

But I had to be, in '82 something like that, and, uh, and, and coming down the streets and I was like, "Oh my God, how am I gonna figure this out? They got one-way streets." You don't have that in California.

And that's, and that's crazy.

You say this is a guy who lit the league up as a rookie, Rookie of the Year.

Yeah.

Leads us to the NFC Championship game.

I'm happy that we can watch a good Subway Series game tonight, McLean versus Cole, to honor it.

Yeah, and hopefully push a little Rookie of the Year narrative for us as well, be nice.

Get a, get a little propaganda going.

Get a little propaganda going.

One ball and two strikes.

Kuzmin in 1968 was second to Johnny Bench by only one vote in Rookie of the Year bounty.

Bouncing ball.

Slowly hits the third.

Okay.

So who you got for Rookie of the Year?

Rookie of the Year.

See, this is interesting.

I'm still going to go with... think jeremiah love gets it together i think he will get the burn i know he's listed as rb2 right now he was a workhorse at notre dame he's used to that he had mad carries in the preseason up until that ankle injury i think they plan on using him like a workhorse i still think uh jeremiah love is is the guy there

Yeah, he's like Wandel almost.

Yeah, definitely giving that vibe.

Dark Horse for Rookie of the Year.

It's true.

But, like – Sal Stewart, J.J. Weatherholt, Rookie of the Year conversation happening right now.

Bryce Eldridge is not a part of it.

And that's fine.

You figured at 21 years old, he could come up and maybe hit his way into it.

It didn't happen.

But in a lot of other years, Bryce Eldridge would be in the Rookie of the Year conversation.

The season that he's having, the finish that he's putting on right now, the series that he had against the Cardinals.

Many thought he'd thrown away his chance at big-time basketball, but Bird found his confidence at Indiana State, carrying them to the NCAA championship game where he faced Magic Johnson in 1979.

Critics said he wasn't athletic enough for the NBA, but he proved them wrong from his rookie year, winning Rookie of the Year and transforming the Celtics.

Bird also battled through serious injuries.

During his career, he played through back pain and even finished games after smashing his head on the court.

Now, as far as FanDuel props go...

I took quite a look at some of the future stuff, and I do think that depending on the results of tonight's game between the Yankees and the Mets, Nolan McClain's rookie of the year case might be buffed to where that isn't a bad bet.

But I've done a lot of rookie of the year stuff.

So I'll discuss the under-over actually in the same Yankee-Met game on Saturday.

The under-over is currently 8.5, and I quite like the over.

It's not as if those teams individually even could not have used Eugenio Suarez.

But he's there, and I think he's definitely a worthwhile addition.

I don't think Cincinnati has a ton to play for other than trying to continue to put Sal Stewart in a position to get RBI to strengthen his rookie of the year case.