FOX MLB Analyst Alex Rodriguez breaks down the World Series between the Rangers and Diamondbacks. You can catch Alex alongside Kevin Burkhardt, David Ortiz and Derek Jeter during tonight’s coverage of the World Series of FOX beginning at 7:00 PM ET.
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00:00 I'm Robin Lundberg, joined now by Alex Rodriguez,
00:02 who you can catch on the World Series on Fox coverage
00:05 alongside Kevin Burkhardt, David Ortiz, and Derek Jeter.
00:09 And A-Rod, when it comes to this World Series,
00:11 one of your former teams is there.
00:13 You won an MVP on a last place Rangers team.
00:17 What's it like to see them in this position now?
00:20 - Well, it's great to see them.
00:22 There's such a great baseball town.
00:24 And I gotta tell you, I'm a little jealous
00:27 'cause that new stadium's beautiful.
00:30 And I wish I had a roof to play on there
00:32 'cause it's absolutely magnificent to watch.
00:36 It's exciting.
00:37 Look, they have a great team, a fun team to watch.
00:39 And the way they've built it
00:42 with Chris Young and Bruce Bochy,
00:44 not only are they favorites,
00:47 but I think they're also fan favorites across the country.
00:50 - You know, I recently saw you say
00:52 that they could almost, in a way,
00:53 serve as a blueprint for the rest of MLB
00:56 because they've got baseball people running things.
00:58 Can you elaborate on that a bit?
01:01 - Yeah, sure.
01:01 I think they have both, right?
01:02 You need a hybrid, and you need a hybrid
01:05 not only in baseball, but every other sport.
01:09 And I'm sure they have a really strong analytics team,
01:12 but they have baseball people.
01:14 And when you look at Chris Young,
01:16 he went to Princeton,
01:17 he pitched over 10 years in the big leagues.
01:20 He's a fantastic guy with high character.
01:24 And then he's got surrounded other great baseball people
01:27 around him, like my good friend, Michael Young.
01:30 They have a great ownership group.
01:32 And then they went out and got baseball people
01:35 in the dugout to lead the way.
01:36 And no one better than Bruce Bochy and Mike Maddox.
01:39 I mean, to think that Bruce Bochy was sitting on the couch
01:42 for two or three years without a job
01:44 after being pushed out of San Francisco,
01:47 it's pretty remarkable.
01:49 - You know, as far as the playoffs have gone,
01:53 some changes in MLB,
01:55 how do you think those have worked out in the postseason,
01:57 the pitch clock and everything else?
01:59 - Yeah, no pun intended, but it has been a home run.
02:01 I mean, it's been a great year for baseball.
02:05 We've had spikes in attendance, about 9%, viewership.
02:10 The quality of the game has improved
02:12 with eliminating of the shift and the time clock.
02:15 And the cadence of the game has gotten to be much better,
02:18 much more fun.
02:19 And I gotta tell you,
02:21 I read a stat, Robin, that there was about 395 games
02:26 that were over three and a half hours.
02:28 And there was something like five
02:30 that was over three hours this year.
02:31 It was an incredible stat.
02:33 And the numbers show, and it's been very exciting.
02:37 - You know, there's always people asking for more change.
02:39 One thing that went viral this week,
02:41 I saw Nate Silver had tweeted out
02:43 that perhaps the playoffs should be contracted
02:45 to give the regular season more meaning.
02:47 What do you make of that suggestion?
02:50 - Well, I think it's fluid right now.
02:51 I think that the game is, you know,
02:54 it was very resistant to make moves for decades and decades.
02:58 And then we've made a number of moves.
03:01 They've worked out and I would expect more.
03:03 But at the same time, you know,
03:06 part of being fluid and flexible is that
03:08 if something is trying and it doesn't work,
03:11 you can easily take it back
03:12 and you shouldn't be afraid of that.
03:14 - Now, you guys look like you're having fun.
03:16 You mentioned it being fun season on the broadcast.
03:20 With, you know, guys that you played with, right?
03:22 I mean, peers, somebody you went against,
03:25 against David Ortiz, a teammate in Derek Jeter.
03:28 What's that make the experience like for you
03:30 as far as getting to talk about the game with those guys?
03:33 - Well, it's been great.
03:34 And, you know, it helps that I have
03:37 almost a 30 year relationship with both Poppy and Derek.
03:40 And Kevin has been a dear friend for the last 10 years.
03:44 I can't believe it's my ninth year at Fox.
03:47 And of course I know Kevin Burkhardt
03:48 when he was doing interviews as a young stud prospect,
03:53 sidelines with the Mets.
03:55 And he built a young, great reputation.
03:57 And now he's one of the best in the game,
03:59 both in football and hosting and baseball.
04:02 So we have a blast.
04:03 It makes it easier that we have some talent
04:06 all over the place that we get to talk about.
04:08 And we get to highlight all the great things
04:09 that's good with Major League Baseball.
04:12 And we get to introduce it to a national fan base
04:15 and where for the next seven or eight days,
04:17 we're gonna be storytelling on what's great
04:19 about two great franchises,
04:20 the Diamondbacks and the Rangers.
04:22 - You know, as far as that goes,
04:25 those experiences obviously,
04:27 it probably leads to some reflecting
04:28 on your career a little bit.
04:30 Yankees, Red Sox.
04:31 I saw you recently talk about your desire
04:34 to have your jersey retired by the Yankees.
04:36 If that were to happen,
04:38 is there someone that you would want to enshrine you
04:41 or, you know, introduce you?
04:45 - Oh man, I guess those things are more emotional
04:49 'cause obviously you go through life
04:50 and you go through your ups and downs,
04:52 but those kinds of celebrations are good to share
04:55 with your family, my mother, my daughters,
04:58 and loved ones.
05:01 And my time in New York was great.
05:03 My time in Dallas, Texas,
05:05 and the Metroplex area here in Arlington was fantastic.
05:09 And then I had about seven good years in Seattle.
05:12 So, you know, I almost played 25 years
05:15 and played in only three markets.
05:18 And I take that as a pride of honor.
05:21 - Yeah, I guess, you know,
05:22 that opens you up to a lot of things, right?
05:24 It's why you could be a New Yorker with a cowboy hat.
05:26 (laughs)
05:29 - Yep.
05:30 - All right.
05:31 As far as baseball goes after this World Series,
05:34 Choheo Otani has been a storyline.
05:36 Do you have any advice for him
05:38 as far as how he should continue his career
05:40 given he was pitching and hitting and suffered that injury?
05:43 - Well, I can't give him any advice
05:46 'cause I don't have a lot of information.
05:48 I mean, the fact is I don't know how serious the injury is.
05:51 I'm not sure how he's recovering.
05:54 He's one of the brightest talents the game has ever seen.
05:58 And, you know, when you look at the history of the game,
06:00 that's well over 125 years,
06:03 is a two-man class with him and Babe Ruth.
06:06 And that's it.
06:08 So Babe's not around to give him advice.
06:11 I'm certainly not in a position to give him any advice.
06:14 The only thing I would say is, you know,
06:16 money's not the most important thing is, you know,
06:19 especially for a guy like him who has to pitch and hit.
06:23 And that's a routine that I can't relate with.
06:26 It was hard enough for me to be a shortstop,
06:29 third baseman and a hitter.
06:31 You know, to think that you have to pitch
06:33 is pretty incredible.
06:34 So I do think that the chances of him staying
06:37 with the Angels at least another year
06:39 increases by the injury because of familiarity
06:42 he has to that market.
06:44 - Now, obviously you really love the game.
06:46 So you're super excited for this World Series,
06:49 the Diamondbacks and the Rangers.
06:51 What would your message to fans be out there
06:53 who maybe haven't seen as much of these teams
06:56 or aren't as familiar as to why this World Series
06:59 is going to be one to really watch?
07:02 - Yeah, I mean, Rob, we just talked about it.
07:03 I think with the Rangers, an obvious story is you have
07:06 the epitome of what a 2023, excuse me, team looks like
07:11 with, you know, high octane power,
07:16 big time pitching at the front of the rotation
07:18 with Montgomery and Nathan, one righty, one lefty.
07:21 And then you have a front office that can play
07:24 both the analytics game and the field game.
07:27 And then you have a manager who's, you know,
07:30 on a one-way ticket to Cooperstown,
07:32 three-time world champion trying to bring home his fourth
07:34 and his first here to the Rangers.
07:37 And the Diamondbacks remind me
07:39 of the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals.
07:42 They're going to run you out of the building
07:43 like a track meet if you don't let them.
07:45 I think they've benefited tremendously
07:48 from the rule changes because now putting the ball in play,
07:52 athleticism and actually stealing bases
07:56 is something that's a great tool.
07:58 And most teams are not prepped because they don't bunt,
08:01 because they don't steal much.
08:03 They're also not prepped on the other side
08:04 to stop that type of thing.
08:07 And I would say this, with the Rangers,
08:08 the one trap you got to be careful for is, you know,
08:12 game five was one of the most emotional games
08:14 in World Series history.
08:15 And to go then go on the road
08:17 and beat the defending champions,
08:19 the question is, do they feel satisfied?
08:22 And is there a certain degree of like,
08:24 we already won the World Series
08:26 'cause we beat our arch rivals, Houston.
08:28 Don't sleep on the Diamondbacks because before you know it,
08:32 you can be down two-oh.
08:34 - Do you have a pick for the World Series?
08:36 - Yeah, but you got to tune in to Fox.
08:39 - All right, well, that's a good enough segue for me.
08:42 World Series coverage on Fox.
08:44 You can catch Alex Rodriguez there
08:46 alongside Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Kevin Burkhardt.
08:50 A-Rod, appreciate the time.
08:52 - Thank you, Robin, continue the good work.
08:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]