No. 919: Goodbye Baseball!

I think you're the only person I know who has actually helped by missing their job interview when you got the job here with the Mariners.

So let's start with that story.

Yeah, I was really afraid because I thought maybe I blew my chance to get to the big leagues after eight years in the minor leagues.

You know, I started washing uniforms and shining the shoes as a clubhouse guy doing three innings of play-by-play in 1975. in alexandria louisiana a good buddy of mine john dietrich who started me in baseball we went to college together he got a job as the padres double a uh general manager and hired me and then that's how i got started then went to amarillo texas for two years didn't have to do laundry anymore but i sold outfield fence signs program ads special nights and everything on the grounds crew traveling secretary.

Same thing in Memphis.

Then I had to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning for three years in Memphis and do the morning drive, you know, on the radio station.

And then you do a ball game at night.

Two years in Columbus, Ohio with the Yankees AAA team.

Same thing.

I was sports director there.

Got up at 4 o'clock in the morning.

Got downtown at 5 o'clock on the air at 6 to 10 o'clock every half hour.

In the newscast, I did a one-minute sportscast.

Then had to do a game that night.

So I averaged about four or five hours sleep for about five years.

And then here I get a chance to get to the big leagues.

And I missed my appointment with George Ardress, the owner of the baseball team.

He got down to two of us.

And the story is that the day before I was to fly out from Columbus, Ohio... to Santa Ana in California, where George Ardress had his real estate development company, Arnell Development.

And I went to a cookie-eating contest to kick off the Girl Scouts campaign that year.

And thank goodness for the Girl Scouts.

So I went along with seven other radio and TV personalities.

You know, we had a cookie-eating contest.

So I ended up eating 33 cookies in three minutes.

Gary, one of the dumbest things I've ever done in my life.