Host Bill Donohue welcomes former New York Mets manager Art Howe and former first baseman Dave Magadan for conversations about the game and their careers.

Howe talks about his path from player to manager and how those experiences shaped his approach—especially the importance of building trust, confidence, and respect with players. Magadan shares his journey from college standout to the big leagues, including what it was like being part of the Mets during the memorable 1986 season.

They also get into the pressure of playing and managing in New York, where expectations are always high, and how teams handle rebuilding while trying to stay competitive. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at baseball, both on and off the field.

Takeaways:

• Art Howe reflects on his journey from childhood idolizing Roberto Clemente to managing in the major leagues, highlighting the profound influence of his early experiences on his career.
• Dave Magadan shares his initial struggles in the big leagues, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and making the most of limited opportunities.
• The conversation delves into the transition from traditional baseball management to a more analytical approach, with Howe expressing concerns about the loss of instinctual decision-making.
• Both Howe and Magadan recount their experiences with legendary players, illustrating the impact of mentorship and leadership in shaping their own careers.
• Howe discusses the challenges he faced while managing the New York Mets amidst organizational changes, underscoring the complexities of rebuilding a team in a competitive environment.
• Magadan elaborates on his coaching philosophy, drawing inspiration from various mentors and emphasizing the need to balance statistical analysis with a player's instinct.

The views expressed in the following program do not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of wgbb.

Live from the WGBB studios in Merrick, New York, this is Sports Talk New.

The Oakland A's during the legendary Moneyball period.

Like to welcome to the two Sports Talk New York tonight, Art Howe.

Art, good evening.

Good evening, Bill.

Thanks for having me on.

Great to have you with us, Art.

Now, I want to ask you right off the bat.

Thank you.

Growing up in the Pittsburgh area, can we assume that you were a bucko's fan when you were a kid?

Most definitely.

Most definitely.

Now, who were some of your favorite ballplayers?

Well, my idol was Roberto Clemente.

You know, I mean, he was the best as far as I was concerned, especially growing up.

And then Willie Stardew was another one.

And I was actually lucky enough to play alongside Willie for a year or two there in Pittsburgh.

So, yeah, those two were my two favorites.

Did you spend a lot of time at old Forbes Field?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

I used to sit in the 50 cent bleachers down the left field line whenever I could afford it.

And sometimes after the seventh inning, they would open the gates and we could sneak it run in and sit almost anywhere.

So.

Oh, yeah, I actually pitched the high school championship game at Forbes Field.

So that was a throw and a half, to be honest.

Wow, that's great.

Great story.

And I guess that down the left field corner, that's where old Kiner's corner was.

Yes, it was.

He was a little bit before my time.

Right.

You know, I.

You know, I knew of him, obviously, because he was a legend, you know, before I got old enough.

But yeah, Ralph Kiner, quite a hitter, and got to meet him a little bit there when I was with the Mets and when he was announcing for the Mets.

So that was very nice.

Yeah, great man.

A great man.

And he is sorely missed around here, Art, I'll tell you that.

Now, you attended the University of Wyoming on a football scholarship?

Yes, I did.

Tell us a little bit about that.

Well, I went out there on a football scholarship, as you mentioned, and I actually played baseball also my freshman year.

So I would go from football practice to baseball practice at night in the armory, where they had the lights set up and we had to hit indoors.

Army Wyoming is a little chilly, by the way, so the only time we got to play outside actually were conference games, and we always had a spring trip for baseball.

But my freshman year playing football in the spring, I hurt my back again, which I had hurt in high School, and that was it for me as far as football was concerned.

So I concentrated on baseball, and I earned a scholarship playing baseball the next year.

Nice.

And you made the right choice.

Now, when you signed with the Pirates, that must have been a dream come true, huh?

Oh, it was.

I mean, I can't tell you how excited and how nervous I was.

You can imagine growing up in the same city and all these players are.

You're.

You know, you've listened to them on a radio playing, and you kind of idolize them and you.

And now all of a sudden, you're in the same clubhouse with them, and.

Oh, I mean, I'm telling you, I was so nervous and so excited.

But at the same time, back then, you know, I was the 25th man on the roster, so I was to be seen and not heard.

And that's exactly what I did.

I tried to keep a low profile, but as I said before, Willie Stargel was one of the guys on the team.

I think he won the MVP the year before.

I got called up, and he kind of took me under his wing, knowing that I was the 25th guy on the roster, and he.

He wanted to have me try to fit in.

You know, he'd take me down to the cage and make sure, you know, we would hit together.

And, God, here I am with the best player in the whole major league, as far as I was concerned, and he's taking care of me, and, you know, he would make sure that I hit first, you know, things like that.

You know, he was just such a class guy and the best team leader I've ever been around.

Nice.

That's the great Wilver Stargel, folks.

Pittsburgh Pirate hall of Famer that Art speaks of.

Now, not long after Art, they traded you to Houston for Tommy Helms.

I don't remember Tommy Helms being with Pittsburgh, but I looked it up and he sure was.

Yeah, he was there a year or two before he retired.

I think probably after that.

But when I went, it was a tough adjustment for me because the two years I spent with the Pirates in the big leagues, we won our division.

And then I go to Houston.

In the year before I went there, they lost 105 games.

So I went from first place to last place.

And it was a tough adjustment, to be honest with you.

We're speaking with Art Howe tonight on Sports Talk.

New York now with the Astros.

Art, you played all four infield positions.

Which.

Which did you prefer?

Well, I would say third base.

I like third base the most.

You know, the old hot corner as they say.

But, you know, I played that in college.

That's where I came out of college.

I played shortstop when I was in high school on that.

But I kind of like third base because I played there four years in Wyoming.

Got used to it.

And that's where I got to the big leagues with the Pirates playing third base and, and went over to Houston.

And originally I played some third, me and Ray Knight.

At some point, Ray got traded over to the Astros, and then that's when I went to first base start playing some first base.

But I was played second originally.

When I first started playing with the Astros, that was my first chance, you know.

You know, to make the Astro team because I came up basically as a utility guy and finally got a chance to start playing on a regular basis.

Understood.

Now, in your playing career, Art, what would you say was the highlight?

Oh, man.

Well, first of all, just getting to the big leagues, I can't tell you what a thrill that was, you know, walking into a major league clubhouse for the first time.

I don't care what you say.

I mean, that's a huge moment in your life to finally make it, you know, to the show, as they say.

But, you know, as a, as a player, it probably was game 163 against the Dodgers.

The Astros had never won the division because we were stuck in the same division with the Dodgers when they were so powerful.

I had a big day at the plate in game 163, had three hits and hit a home run and drove in four runs.

So as a player, that would probably be my highlight as a manager, it was probably winning the division for the A's.

So that was a thrill, you know, finally getting that done as a manager.

When did you decide that you'd like to manage Hart?

Well, believe it or not, as a player, I was managing in winter baseball.

I was still playing in the big leagues with the Astros, but I went to Puerto Rico as a player.

When I was with the Pirates early on, Jose Pagan was my manager in winter ball and he was a third base coach for the Pirates when I first came up.

So Jose wanted me to, you know, come and play for him in, in Puerto Rico and, and get a chance to play for him, which was great.

But that back then, I don't know if it still exists, you.

You could only play for five years as an import.

Well, I played Four years.

In my fifth year, I broke my finger the last month of the season with the Astros, and I couldn't go play.

So I missed that winner, and my eligibility went haywire, you know, went down the drain.

But the GM who I played for, Roberto Inclin, he asked me, he said, art, you know, you know, this league, since you played here four years in a row, would you consider managing?

Because, you know that the.

You know, the native players so well, and, you know, would you like to, you know, take a shot at managing our club?

And Jose, at that time, quit managing?

So I said, sure, I'd love to, because I wanted to stay in the game and hopefully get a chance to manage someday.

But I was thinking, you know, I was going to have to go down in the minor leagues, and who knows how long I'd be down there trying to work my way back to the big leagues as a manager.

And I. I thought, well, if I can prove that I can manage a winter ball, because my manager at that time was Bill Verdon, who had managed in Puerto Rico at one time.

So I asked Bill about it, and he says, yeah, you know, go for it.

You know, it might help you get to the big leagues quickly as a manager.

So I ended up managing, what, at least four years down there in Puerto Rico, and then a few years later, I went to the Dominican and won a championship there.

So I made the playoffs every year except one year in Puerto Rico.

And so I was pretty successful at it.

But, you know, you have to have the players.

You know, I don't care what you say.

You could be Houdini.

If you don't have the players, you can't win.

But fortunately for me, we had some quality players.

I had a lot of my ex.

My own teammates play for me when I first started off in Puerto Rico because they had a working agreement with the Astros, and, like, Denny Walling came down and played for me.

Dave Smith, Billy Smith, Frank LaCourdi.

So I had a lot of teammates who actually played for me in winter ball, but then we were teammates when we came back for spring training.

So that was a unique experience.

Yeah, interesting art.

Now, anybody along the way who may have influenced your managerial style?

Well, I think all the managers I played for in some way, what I tried to do is take their strengths and their strong points and kind of incorporate that into my style of managing.

So each of them had strengths.

And obviously, we're all human.

We have.

We make some mistakes along the way, and I knew some of theirs the way, you know, the players you know, we talk, they what the heck is he doing this?

So I tried to learn from that and like I said, put whatever strength they had and incorporate that.

And more than anything, just remember as a player, you got to be on the player's side.

You gotta build confidence in them that, you know, you respect them and there's a respect back.

And I think the fact that I played and then I coached also before I actually got to manage in the big leagues, I think that went a long way for me.

Hopefully my reputation as a player who plays as a team guy and would do anything, you know, to help the team win, I think that went a long way for me to be successful.

Art Howell with us tonight on Sports Talk New York.

Now, you were an assistant to Bobby Valentine in Texas when you retired.

How was it working with Bobby?

He's going to be inducted into the Mets hall of Fame this summer up here.

As well he should.

Bobby was great.

I thank Bobby for giving me my first coaching job.

He was coaching, think for the Mets at third base at the time.

And I was winding down my playing career.

Obviously, I was 39 years old and I was playing third base for the Astros and actually for the Cardinals probably by then.

And, you know, we would talk between innings because he was a third base coach.

And I guess I said some things he liked because I know Sooner was let go by the Cardinals.

Within a month, I got a phone call from Bobby.

That's when he got his opportunity with the Mets, I mean, with the Texas Rangers.

And he asked me if I was finished playing.

And I said, as much as I wish I wasn't, I think, yes, definitely, I'm done.

Yeah, I guess you guys, he felt.

Good, because I'd like to hire you as my coach.

Yeah.

And what an opportunity.

And when you got the Astros job, Art, you had guys like, well, future hall of Famers, the Killer Bees, Bijio and Bagwell.

Tell us a little bit about those guys when they first hit the majors.

Well, first of all, you know, they were both great athletes.

We actually traded for Bagwell my second or third year.

I was with the Astros.

Bill Wood was a general manager at the time.

And we traded, I think it was Larry Anderson for him and la, he was a good setup band for us.

But so we didn't know anything really about Bagwell.

We got him out of the Boston organization.

He was aaa, and when he came over, we had Ken Caminetti as our third baseman.

And that's what Bagwell was in the minor leagues.

He was a third Baseman.

And we had Louis Gonzalez also as a third baseman on the club.

So I have all three of these guys trying out in spring training.

And as you know, Cam and Eddie had a cannon for third.

Oh yeah, for an army.

And I'm seeing Bagwell getting two hits in every game that I would play him because I couldn't play them at the same time.

And the same with Louie.

Louie's a left handed hitter and he's having a good spring.

And I'm thinking, God, I gotta figure out how to get all three of these guys on the field at the same time.

We need them all.

Yeah.

And so that's when I moved Bagwell to first and moved Louie Gonzalez to left field and the rest is history because they, all three of them were outstanding players.

Biggio, on the other hand, when I came to the Astros, he was a young catcher on the team and you know, he was, he wasn't a big kid.

And back then, you know, players could run the catcher over at home plate if they wanted to.

Right, right.

And Dave Parker was kind of notorious for that.

And we had to play those guys a lot.

And as things turned out, you know, Biz really didn't have a cannon for an arm.

What he relied on was his quick release at, you know, throwing guys out at second.

But I just.

And my problem with Bidge was he was really a great athlete.

He could really run, he could steal bases.

But by mid season, his legs were so heavy from squatting behind the plate that he quit stealing bases, you know, and that hurt the team.

In my viewpoint, we needed him to continue to steal bases.

So I talked things over with Matt Galante and you know, during batting practice, Bid, you would be out at shortstop with his, with his catcher's mitt on and he's catching ground balls off the bat off a live guys hitting balls as well as guys with infield gloves.

And I'm thinking, geez, you know, where can I get this guy in the infield?

And sure enough, second base was a spot I thought would be perfect for him.

And as they say, history shows.

I guess I made a right decision there because he's a Hall of Famer.

Right?

And they both are hall of Famer.

They both went on to have amazing careers.

And as you say, Art, they're in Cooperstown now.

And all due to you guys in Houston.

Now, when you moved on to Oakland, Art, did you feel a little intimidated?

You're replacing hall of Famer Tony La Russa out there.

What were your thoughts?

Well, first of all, what Helped me was I played AAA ball with Tony in the Pirate organization.

We were both in Charleston West Virgin.

So I knew Tony personally.

I knew what kind of guy he was, great guy, you know, so that kind of made things a little easier.

Plus, I went to spring training for Tony when he was with the White Sox right at the end of my career before the Cardinals picked me up out of spring training.

People don't know that I was with the White Sox in spring training and that's how I got to St. Louis.

I was traded from the White Sox during spring training to St. Louis and Tony helped me out by doing that because I wasn't going to make the White Sox team, as it turned out.

So, you know, so I owed a lot to Tony.

But I knew Tony well and, you know, so that kind of made things a little easier.

But I knew, hey, you know, he did a great job obviously in Oakland.

And when you're going in to fill in big shoes, you just do the best you can, you know, that's all you can do.

And slowly but surely, you know, I knew we were going into a rebuilding situation there and slowly but surely we did that and became a pretty good club by the time I left.

You did.

We're speaking with Art how tonight on Sports Talk New York now, the movie Moneyball.

Art, Philip Seymour Hoffman portrays you in the movie.

You were unhappy with the way you were portrayed in this film, Correct?

Correct.

Yeah.

Tell us a little bit about your feelings about the way Hoffman portrayed you and the way you were brought out in the movie.

It was not flattering to say the least.

Correct.

Well, the thing I learned about that movie was when.

When they say something is based on a true story, it's very loosely based on it.

Okay.

Ye.

That's probably the nicest way I can put it.

Probably one of, or some of the few true things about it was we did win 20 in a row and Scott Hatterberg did pinch it and hit the home run to win the final game for us.

But I have some problems with the movie because first of all, obviously if you ask any of the players that played for me, that's not the way I was.

And that was far from the truth.

But I felt bad because our three dominant pitchers that we had, actually four weren't really even mentioned in the movie.

I mean, we won 20 in a row.

You know, we had, you know, Tim Hudson was probably our ace at that time.

And then we had Mark Mulder, power left hander, and Barry Zito, another outstanding left handed pitcher.

You know, Those three guys, they were our main guys that really did well for us.

But, you know, it's just.

It's a shame that none of them got credit for the kind of season we had.

And that's.

That's one of the big drawbacks to the movie.

You know, we wouldn't have been there at all without that pitching staff.

And they were kind of overlooked totally.

And the thing with Billy Beane and his saber metrics are, and I'm a traditionalist, as probably you are, and a purist, managers have lost a feel for the game.

I think a guy like Sparky Anderson, Earl Weaver, Jimmy Leland, these guys had a real feel for the game.

They knew how to manage men and they knew how to run a ball game.

Analytics.

You lose the feel for the game with that.

And I think you'd agree with me with that, wouldn't you?

Well, I don't think managers today are allowed to have a feel for the game.

Yeah, you know, they're under orders.

You know, after 90 pitches, this guy's going to come out.

Or after one or two times through the lineup, he has to come out.

I mean, they're not managing, they're obeying orders.

They have all these gurus up here on their computers with all their numbers and whatever they want to call it.

You're not allowed to manage with your gut anymore.

You're not allowed to.

They're afraid to take a chance and do something against the book or whatever their book is, because they're going to get fired if it doesn't work out.

And if it does work out, you know, they won't get credit for it anyway.

So it's a totally different game.

I'll be honest with you.

I don't like watching the way they play it these days.

Right.

It's home run.

Home run or no count.

If you strike out, who cares?

It's a total different game.

And, you know, that's maybe people say, ah, he's bitter, he's old school, whatever.

I'm glad I played when I did, and I'm glad I managed what I did.

No, you're exactly right, Arla, and I agree with you with that.

It's tough to watch today's game.

The way that gentleman is changing the game, altering the game.

It's just.

To me, it's wrong.

But who am I, as they say?

You know, I hear you.

Now, I want to ask you, when you came here in our last couple of minutes, you came to New York.

Don't think you got a real fair shake here they went through three general managers during the time you were here.

What's your point of view on your time in New York?

Well, nothing against the general manager I played for.

I wish I had.

Steve Phillips had been, you know, had been allowed to stay throughout my tenure because he's the one that hired me, and we were definitely on the same page.

I was really impressed with Steve.

I thought he really had a good head on his shoulders.

He had a good feel for the Mets at that time.

And, you know, I'm coming from the American League, so I wasn't really familiar with the team hardly at all.

So I had to use spring training to get to know my players, you know, as much as I could, anyways.

And so that was a.

It was shortly after that that Steve got fired.

And.

Yeah, you know, I mean, I worked well with the other general managers, but, yeah, it's tough.

Yeah, it was.

It was a different climate there.

And in New York, we.

Same thing.

I felt like we were in a position to kind of start rebuilding a little bit because, you know, we.

We really, once again, we had lost over 100 games the year before I came in, and, geez, we.

We need to start putting pieces in place.

But I basically learned that you don't rebuild in New York, so.

And that's what I wanted to do, and I think that's where the problem really turned on.

I see.

Yeah.

And the present day, they're sort of going through the same thing art with not wanting to rebuild when the team was basically destroyed by the general manager and the pieces.

Well, right now, you know, they've got so many injuries, you know, that's part of the game, you know.

Exactly.

You know, I know that.

I know the Met fans are kind of down in the dumps or whatever, but, you know, this is a marathon.

This is no sprint, you know, this is just 16 of the season.

And they got 5, 6 to regroup.

And once they start getting healthy, you know, get a Lynn door back in a lineup and, you know, start getting people back in place, you know, I think things will change, but, you know, they got their hands full, you know, and obviously you never want to start off the way they did.

But if I'm not mistaken, the year we won our division with my last year with Oakland, when we won the 20 games, we started off very poorly the first month, and we ended up winning division.

So the season's not over.

We just hang in there and give the troops a chance to heal up and get things clicking, because they've got a heck of a lineup when they're.

Healthy from your lips, Art.

Like they say, let it be done.

Let's hope that happens.

Well, Art, it's been a real pleasure.

I thank you for taking time out of your Sunday evening to spend some of it with us up here in New York.

I wish all the best to you and your family and I thank you once again.

Thank you, Bill.

And do me a favor.

Sure, Maggs.

I said hello.

Okay, I certainly will.

Yeah, I got him.

He's texting me right now.

I will definitely give him your regards.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

That's Art How Ladies and gentlemen, up next on Sports Talk New York, we'll welcome in the great Dave Magadan.

So why don't you just stick around, folks?

Foreign.

You are listening to Sports Talk New York.

Sports Talk, you're listening to Sports Talk New York on Long Island's wgpb.

And now back to the show.

All right, folks, we're back with Sports Talk New York on WGB AM FM radio live from beautiful downtown Merrick, Long Island, New York.

You usa, North America, Planet Earth, Milky Way galaxy.

If you can't find us from that description, you're really lost, folks.

Anyway, hope everyone is well, I hope you're enjoying the program tonight.

The Mets win a series today, beat the Anaheim Angels.

Nice game.

Nice game.

Clay Holmes pitched a gem and hopefully they'll continue moving on to Colorado where it's supposed to snow this week.

So we'll keep an eye on that.

Let's move forward with our next guest.

Won another World Series ring in the process.

Hi, welcome to Sports Talk New York.

Tonight, Dave Magadan.

Dave, good evening.

How are you?

Bill?

Doing wonderful, Dave, Glad to have you with us.

I just want to tell you right off the bat, Art Howe sends his regards.

Art's one of my favorite managers that I ever had in the big leagues as a player.

He was always very fair to me in Oakland and gave me opportunities to play and he's very even keel and, and he's one of my all time favorites.

Nice.

Yeah, he wanted me to send his regards to you and we did that and I'm glad that you guys have such a great regard for each other.

He preceded you on the show.

A great guy.

Yeah, great interview and we had a nice chat.

Well, growing up in the Tampa area, Dave, who were your teams and your sports heroes when you were a kid?

Well, I was always a big Reds fan.

They had spring training here in Tampa back then and we used to skip school and go over there to Reds land and watch them play on those on the at Alope Field.

And so I was always a Big Red Machine fan.

Loved Johnny Bench.

He was always one of my favorite players growing up.

Tony Perez, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, you know, Dan Dreeson.

And you know, it was hard not to root for that team.

But I always, you know, being that my cousin is Lou Piniella, I was always a big fan of whatever team he was on.

Obviously when he was with the Yankees and they were very good in winning championships and he was a big part of that.

You know, we would always go in the summers and when I was a little kid and we would, you know, go to different spots when he was playing in the minor leagues, my father and and my mom were very close to Lou, his aunt and uncle.

And then eventually when he got to Kansas City, we went up there and watched him play.

And then eventually in New York.

Yeah, great choice.

Great choice with the Reds too.

I remember they were in Tampa at Al Lopez Field.

Then I believe they moved down I4 to Plant City if I'm not mistaken.

But yeah, hard not to root for those Reds, Dave, that's for sure.

Now, 17 year old, you're drafted by the Red Sox in high school.

You didn't sign with them though.

What happened there?

I didn't feel like I was ready to play.

I was very young, 17 year old actually, when I eventually went to Alabama that next fall.

I was 17 when I got to school.

So I was very young for a high school senior.

Hadn't really grown into my body.

I was 6 3, but I was probably 175, 180 pounds.

I didn't feel like physically I was ready for professional baseball and probably not emotionally.

So I felt like going to Alabama, getting an opportunity to play in the sec, Having a chance to mature as a person and as a player and going there in the fall and eventually getting my feet wet.

I always thought that schooling was very important too.

I wanted to work towards that.

So I think the Combination of those two things physically and emotionally, not ready to go into pro baseball.

And then the opportunity to play at Alabama in the SEC was something I couldn't pass up.

Yeah, you had a great career at Alabama.

I remember you mentioned to me a week or so ago when you went up to Hofstra, fans were finally asking you to sign Alabama items at the card show.

Career batting average of.439, Dave.

That's crazy.

Yeah, it was, you know, it was a great three years for me there.

You know, when we were going into our first game my freshman year, I didn't even know whether I was going to make the travel squad.

Our first series was in Mobile in South Alabama, and I didn't even know whether I was going to go or not.

And a couple days before we left to go on that trip, our shortstop blew out his knee.

So the guy that was playing third base moved over to short and then that gave me the opportunity to play and I was able to hit in my first 27 games as a freshman.

So took advantage of the opportunity and was a three year starter there at Alabama.

Where do those numbers stack up in NCAA records, Dave?

Do you know?

I tried to look it up.

I couldn't find it.

Do you know where the 439 or the 525 sits in NCA records?

I'm not really sure.

I believe the 439 is an SEC record and the 525 is also an SEC record for one year, I believe, because there's so many small schools that played, you know, throughout the years that only maybe played 25, 30 games.

And I believe there were some guys that hit higher than that and those shorter seasons.

But I think for major college, I believe it's a record still.

Dave Magadan with us tonight on Sports Talk New York.

Now, your major league debut, Dave, do you remember that?

I sure do.

I sure do.

Pinch hit for Kevin Elster.

What happened?

We were playing a doubleheader against San Diego and I had just gotten into town and had no idea I had a chance to hit.

And all of a sudden Davey looks at me and goes, you're going to hit for Kevin.

So I grabbed a bat and sure enough, the guy that was hitting had, I think he made an out on the first pitch.

So I stepped up there as tight as can be and really didn't have a chance to get nervous.

Right.

Because it was like I didn't really have time to even think about the at bat.

But I worked the count to three, one off Ed Wojna, and then I lined the ball to right field.

And I believe John Kruck was a right fielder and he kind of tried to do a half dive for it and it kind of short hopped him and got my first major league hit.

I think if Tony Gwynn was in right field, I probably would have got caught.

Oh, poor John Kruck.

Yeah.

Oh, man.

One of his great lines, Dave, I remember a woman said he was smoking or something and they said it's terrible to do for an athlete, you know, and he said, I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player.

Yeah, I remember that line very well.

He played his way into being a first baseman from my field, that's for sure.

Yes.

And your first start was 9-17-86.

Three base hits and you reached on an error, two RBIs and the fans kind of went for you after that.

Yeah, it was a very humbling experience.

You know, we were, I believe we were coming back from either St. Louis or Philadelphia and we had lost like seven or eight in a row.

Well, our magic number was one.

And the Phillies kept winning and we kept losing.

So we went a whole road trip, I believe, and didn't win a game and the Phillies kept winning.

So it was still, you know, the magic number was one or.

Yeah, I believe it was one.

So on the way back from the road trip, Davey Johnson came up to me on the plane and said that I was going to get a chance to start the first game against the Cubs, you know, the game that we were going to, you know, have an opportunity to clinch the division.

And I was.

Couldn't believe, you know, I thought he was joking, but Keith was sick, he had the flu and he wasn't going to be able to play.

So I, you know, I got the start and, you know, was fortunate enough to get three hits and drive in a couple runs and, you know, got a standing ovation about the, you know, curtain call.

Came out with dug out the knee.

I didn't even know how to do that.

They had to kind of show me what to do.

But it was wonderful.

It was a dream come true and never forget it.

What were your thoughts?

I didn't want to get in anybody's way, you know.

You know, there were A few of us that got called up in September, and we just didn't want to step on any toes.

And, you know, we certainly got a small opportunity to be able to play some games and rest some of the starters because we had such a big lead in the division.

And so they were able to go in the post season rested, but, you know, just scared to death.

You know, we had a little exposure to them in spring training that spring, but, you know, I think I went down with the first cut in the spring, so I didn't spend a whole lot of time in St. Petersburg with the team, and so just very nervous.

Just, you know, just wanted to do my part and not, you know, piss anybody off.

Yeah, same thing.

Now, later on, Dave, they had HoJo at third.

Keith, at first you had to be worried about playing time.

Yeah, absolutely.

You know, it's one thing you finally get to the big leagues and, you know, it's a dream come true, but now you got to figure out a way to stay.

And, you know, Hojo ended up, you know, I made the team out of spring training in 87, and, you know, Hojo ended up getting.

I ended up getting.

Had to have surgery in the spring.

So I joined the team late in April, and Hojo just got off to a great start, you know, had his 30, 30 season, and, you know, it was just remarkable the year that he had that year.

So I had to figure out a way to stay.

So, you know what?

Literally, I think I ended up only getting a little over 200 plate appearances that rookie year, and, you know, had to make the.

Make the most of it and had to prove my value coming off the bench as a pinch hitter and being a guy that could sit for, you know, a week or two and still come out and give you good at bats and play decent defense.

And I learned at a very early age that it doesn't matter how much of a prospect you are or what you did in the morning minor leagues, you got to do things to, you know, keep yourself in the big leagues and prove that you have value up there.

So I learned that.

Had good tutors with me with, you know, had Lee Mazzilli there.

That was, you know, gave me a lot of great advice on how to hit off the bench.

I'd never really done that before.

Always an everyday player in the minor, so it was certainly a learning experience.

I think I started out that year like 1 for 18 as a pinch hitter, and I think I ended up 6 for 30.

So not bad.

I came on at the end and A lot of that was Limuzzulli helping me out.

Nice.

Did you feel pressured to live up to any defensive expectations that everyone might have for you?

Well, I knew that obviously, Keith is one of the greatest first basemen of all time, and certainly I felt like I was a good first baseman, but, you know, I had to be myself.

You know, I was not going to be able to compete with what he could do out there on defense, and I just needed to do what I was capable of doing.

I think what he was really good at was being a good leader out there, and I certainly tried to following his footsteps, you know, talking to the pitchers and, you know, pumping them up and trying to, you know, keep them confident and, you know, throw the ball over the plate.

Let us play some defense here.

We're going to make plays for you and stuff like that.

But it was great playing behind Keith because I learned a lot from him, and I think it eventually made me a better teammate and a better defensive player and a better hitter.

But I was not, you know, in any way thinking I was going to be able to replace what he could do on defense.

I just, you know, all I can do is what I'm capable of doing, and that's what I tried to do.

We're speaking with Dave Magadan tonight on Sports talk New York.

So what were your thoughts then?

Well, I couldn't blame him.

You know, in 89, I had an okay year, but, you know, for a guy that was playing the corner infield position, I didn't hit for any power.

And I think that year I hit right around 280 or 285, something like that.

And, you know, I didn't do enough for them to just hand me the job.

So I wasn't surprised they made the trade for somebody that was going to provide a little bit of thump.

But I knew in the back of my mind that Mike was a guy that was hurt a lot, had back issues, and I kind of went into that season with the attitude, just stay ready, because I was going to get, I think sooner or later I was going to get my opportunity to play.

And, you know, it was frustrating at the beginning because I didn't play very much the first month, and.

And he ended up having some stuff happen that I got to play some.

And then, you know, I had a really Good game in Chicago when he was out with his.

With a back issue and, you know, and then I never came out of the lineup after that.

Too much Belinda Carlisle, that's the problem, right?

Mike Marshall.

Look that up, folks.

Google it.

You'll see what I'm talking about.

Dave, you were moved to third later to accommodate Eddie Murray, right?

Yeah, I still played some third base on and off before Eddie came on.

And, you know, so I was still getting my time over at third base, but certainly when Eddie came in, obviously future hall of Famer at the time and proven elite major league player that, you know, I was going to have to play some more third.

And they ended up signing Bill Pakota to kind of be a platoon with me at third.

I think I ended up playing most of the time at third because he struggled a little bit and then was having a great year.

I was in over 300 and then I went like over 15, and then I got hurt and broke my hand and that ended my season.

So.

Yeah, and the rest is history, as they say now.

How did you feel about leaving the Mets, Dave?

Well, I knew I wasn't.

I probably wasn't going to come back.

You know, they.

I'd been there for six years and, you know, kind of had two.

92 Is probably better than.

Well, for sure it was better than 91, but I knew they were looking to move on.

I knew I had an opportunity to.

There were a couple of expansion teams coming in, and I was going to get an opportunity to maybe sign with one of them, if not one of the other teams.

And sure enough, the Marlins came knocking and I was able to sign with them and come back home.

Now, you're linked to Nolan Ryan in a way that people may not be aware of.

You know about that, right?

I do.

I was in Seattle.

How you're linked to Nolan Ryan, Dave?

Yeah, so I'd faced Nolan a good bit in my career when he was in Houston, then he went over to Texas to finish out his career, and I was with the Mariners and he was starting the game against us.

And, you know, obviously I saw him at his.

Pretty much the.

Not the height of his career, but when he was still putting up great numbers and punching guys out when he was in Houston.

But that day, when I think I was hitting fifth or Sixth in the lineup that day.

And he looked like he was throwing about 85 miles an hour.

I mean, the ball was not coming out of his hand very good.

And sure enough, we loaded the bases on him and the guy in front of me hit a grand slam, Dan Howitt.

And then I went up the bat against him and he just, he looked like he was basically just trying to get the ball over and he got the count.

I believe he got it to 2 0, threw a strike, threw another ball, and on the ball, that fourth pitch, he walked off the mound and he never pitched again.

So I was the last guy to ever face Nolan Ryan.

Yeah, what a great footnote and what a sad end to a tremendous hall of Fame career for Nolan Ryan.

Dave Magadan with us tonight on the program.

Now, what made you decide to get into coaching?

Dave?

Well, I think it was a lot.

I think my last three years in San Diego as a player, I felt like a lot of guys came up to me and would ask my opinion about whether, you know, whether it was something they were doing wrong at the plate or maybe a mindset to go up to the plate with.

And you know, Dwayne Espy, who was our hitting coach my last couple years there, he was a great guy to learn from.

And I kind of had an eye towards maybe coaching when I was.

And after my last year in San Diego at the end of the year, Kevin Towers, God rest his soul, he was our general manager and he came up to me, he said, listen, I don't know if you want to play anymore, but go ahead and file for free agency.

We're not going to bring you back here, but see if you can get a job as a player somewhere else.

If you don't, we're going to leave our hitting coordinator job open in the minor leagues for you.

And if you want to do that, you know, we want you here as a hitting coach.

And he said, eventually you're going to be our major league hitting coach.

And sure enough, I didn't get any bites as a free agent and ended up taking the job as a hitting coordinator in the Padres minor league organization and loved it.

And the following year, as Kevin said, I ended up being the major league heading coach.

I ended up being the heading coach for the guys I had just played with two years previous.

So it was a strange turn of events, but certainly something I welcomed.

Anybody along the way, Dave, that had an impact on your career that may have influenced your coaching style?

That's a good question.

I think I had a lot of Great coaches.

I had a lot of great managers.

I think I took a little bit from everybody.

I think Ron Washington, who was our third base coach and infield instructor in Oakland when I played there, I think I loved him.

I loved the attitude that he had.

He was a guy that you wanted to play well for, and that's hard to convey as a coach, to get guys to feel that way.

And I always kind of look to him as a guy that, that I wanted to emulate as a coach.

I think Merv Retman, who was my hitting coach my first year in San Diego, he was a guy that used a lot sense of humor and was a lot more psychological about how to attack pitchers and how to get through the bad times and maybe use a sense of humor to get through it.

You know, certainly Bruce Bochy, who is my manager as a player in San Diego, and then I ended up coaching with him there.

I learned a lot from him, how he, you know, he was so good at getting the best out of his players and making the 25th guy on the roster feel like he was an important part of the team and we can't win without that guy doing well.

And he was so good at that.

So I tried to take a little bit from everybody.

Art Howe was a guy.

He was my manager in Oakland.

Just how even keel he was, and not too high, not too low.

And that's the way I was as a player, and that's the way I wanted to be as a coach.

So.

I was fortunate to have a lot of great coaches and managers.

Yeah, some really great names you mentioned there.

I remember Merv Rettman was a pinch hitter extraordinaire when I was a kid, when he was with the Baltimore Orioles.

In fact, he played in the 69 series against the Mets.

A great hitter.

What keeps you busy these days, Dave?

I play a lot of golf.

So I spent a lot of time with them that I lost out on as a coach and a player, you know, being away from home so much.

And so the little one was a very good volleyball player, so I was able to see a lot of that.

But prior when I was coaching and she was playing volleyball, I was watching a lot of that on the Internet, a lot of her games on the Internet, which was very frustrating, but so spent a lot of time and we do a lot of traveling.

Traveling that we couldn't do when I was coaching.

So we've had a few trips to Europe and the Caribbean and we're going to Hawaii this year.

So there's plenty to keep me busy, that's for sure.

Nice.

Dave.

Well, it's been a real pleasure speaking with you, Dave.

I thank you for taking time out of your Sunday night to spend it with us up here in New York.

I wish you, the family, the best and hope to speak to you soon.

Absolutely.

Thanks for having me.

Bill.

Thanks again, Dave.

That's Dave Magadan, ladies and gentlemen.

That will do it for me tonight on SPORTS TALK New York.

I'd like to thank my guests Art Howe and Dave Magadan, my engineer, Brian Graves, and, of course, you guys for joining us.

I'll see you next with the help of a few doctors, nurses, cops and the good Lord, maybe on Sunday, May 17th.

For more sports TALK New York, we're going to look at Jerry Cheevers, the Hall of Fame goaltender and the great center for the world champion New York jets from Super Bowl 3, John Schmidt.

Till then, be safe, be well.

Bill Donahue, wishing you a good evening, folks.

The views expressed in the previous program did not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of WGBB.