Episode 136 — Alex Goldberg: An Anticlimactic No-No, A Bold Move at Fenway, & Sometimes the Good Guys Should Lose

[00:01:52] Anna: What’s up bucketheads? Thanks for tuning in and welcome to episode number 136 of the Baseball Bucket List Podcast. I’m your host, Anna DiTommaso, and each week on the show I speak with a different baseball fan about their favorite memories, what’s left on their baseball bucket list, and what the game of baseball means to them. 

This week, I sat down with Alex Goldberg from Burbank California. Alex is a long-time Baltimore Oriels fan who grew up in the DC area. He’s also a playwright, screenwriter, and director who I spend some time trying to convince to work on a baseball project. We hear stories about the three world series games Alex has seen across three different decades and a less-than-dramatic no-hitter featuring a clueless Craig Kimbrel.

We also discuss why the best baseball movies don’t always have happy endings, and hear a hilarious story about Alex and his wife disagreeing over if they should root for a perfecto to happen against one of their favorite teams while in enemy territory. 

Alex was a lot of fun and this interview is a good one, so let’s get right to it. Now, without further ado, sit back, relax, and enjoy some baseball banter with Alex Goldberg.

[00:01:52] Anna: Alex, thank you so much for joining us today on the Baseball Bucket List. How are things in Burbank, California?

[00:01:58] Alex: Uh, things are great. We just had a couple of days of rain, which of course terror, terrifies everybody in Southern California. Uh, but we’ve emerged from it. We’re okay. We’re going to, we’re going to make it. uh, but otherwise, it’s great.

[00:02:11] Anna: Yeah, I would imagine rain’s not like such a big thing there and, you know, we just talked a little bit. I live in the Dallas area. When it rains here, people do this thing where they turn their flashers on, on the, on the highway because they’re, you know, they’re so afraid to drive in the rain. It’s just the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.

[00:02:29] Alex: It’s, it is bizarre. When I first moved to Los Angeles, we used to make, because I’m from the East Coast, and I spent a lot of time in New York and upstate, so I’m used to weather, and, uh, saw that people were crazy driving here during rain, and initially were like, oh, it’s Southern California craziness, but also the roads are just terrible when it rains.

[00:02:44] Alex: They’re just instant floods, instant huge puddles, so like, I, I, I proceed with caution more, and I’m much more, uh, kinder to my fellow drivers.

[00:02:53] Anna: Sounds like the right thing to do. Yeah. So let’s jump right in. You know, the question I’m going to start with is how is it that you fell in love with the game of baseball?

[00:03:03] Alex: I grew up in the D. C. Area back in the time when the Orioles were the local team. So from living in northern Virginia to get to a game in Baltimore was about a little less than an hour. Not so bad. But so we used to go up there and we had family friends. So I would go. We would go a couple of times a summer back to the old Memorial Stadium.

[00:03:23] Alex: Um, I, you know, played little league with some degree of success, but I’m not a born baseball player, but I just loved it. Uh, I always had and my love expanded and, um, uh, it’s always been a part of me. So, you know, season starts until season ends. I’m, I’m all in.

[00:03:42] Anna: So, you’re from the D. C. area, grew up an O’s fan, is that still, I mean, so now you’re on the West Coast, you’re, you know, as far away from the O’s as you can be, is that still your team?

[00:03:53] Alex: Yes, it is. You won’t be able to see the shirt I’m wearing, but it does say party like it’s 1983 on it. Uh, yes, I, and I actually moved out of, Uh, the D. C. Area to New York City before the Nationals came, and it was like invasion of the body snatchers. All of my friends like the O’s hats were gone and the Nats hats were there.

[00:04:13] Alex: And so people ask me, like, who don’t know that I had already moved. They’re like, Oh, are you a Nats fan? And I always say, uh, you know, I have no opinion about the Montreal Expos, and that hasn’t changed. So that’s basically, you know what it is. But so I remain an O’s fan. There’s a couple of my friends there who have been O’s fans, and I haven’t been able to go to a game.

[00:04:32] Alex: Um, in Baltimore, probably for about a decade, just for timing and my wife and I have small children, but, uh, I do every year they come to Anaheim once a year and I go make the pilgrimage down to Anaheim, which is arguably the worst stadium in baseball and but I get to see the O’s play. So that’s a lot of fun.

[00:04:49] Alex: So yes, I still hold up and it’s easy to sort of adopt the Dodgers as a local team because it’s National League and I didn’t really have any big National League affiliation when I lived in DC or New York. So, uh, yeah, I’m, I’m happy with the Dodgers. They’re, they’re fine, but it owes all the way. And, uh, as we were talking before, my wife’s from Texas.

[00:05:07] Alex: So I’ve also adopted the Rangers as like a, another team to follow. It’s always good to have, you know, a list of who you’re backing.

[00:05:14] Anna: That’s right, then you never have to deal with the dreaded off day. You know, Someone you care about is always playing, it seems like that way. But it’s funny what you said, invasion of the body snatchers, because I was in college up in North Carolina, which, you know, the two closest MLB teams to North Carolina are obviously the the Braves and the O’s and it was during that time that the the Expos folded or relocated to D.

[00:05:40] Anna: C. and, you know, the Nationals became who they were and, uh, it was funny, you’d start to see the, the curly W kind of pop up around campus here and there and, I went to Nationals Park that first year that it opened, finally, when, when they got the team in there to play actual games and, uh, it was so interesting to me because You know, obviously that team had come from Montreal.

[00:06:03] Anna: They were the Montreal Expos, but all of the history Inside of the stadium kind of was I mean it was all about the Washington Senators Club Which are now the Texas Rangers, of course So everything was was super convoluted and very confusing and it was almost as if there was no like like poof the the Expos had just disappeared into the ether so It’s interesting to hear from someone who’s got friends who were there kind of what that transitory period was like.

[00:06:32] Alex: Yeah, I think for them, it was instantaneous. And some of them will make up excuses, like, Oh, you know, Peter Angelos, the owner of the, uh, Orioles and the Sun, he’s crazy. So I just couldn’t root for them anymore. I’m like, yeah, but you did until the Nationals came, and then you jumped ship. So, you know, I won’t be too upset.

[00:06:48] Alex: Also, the stadium there in D. C. is great. Beautiful. It’s a gorgeous stadium. It’s a great experience for, uh, uh, baseball. I love good food options, good beer options, good, you know, good game, good setting. It’s just great. So more power to them. And, and I would happily go watch games there again.

[00:07:03] Anna: Yeah, definitely. It’s a nice place to catch a game. That’s, that’s for sure. That’s for sure. So you kind of, you’re wearing the t shirt, party like it’s 1983, you kind of alluded to the fact that, uh, You know, you obviously grew up in the D. C. area and then spent some time in New York. One of the things I’m so curious to hear about is this World Series kind of trifecta that you’ve, you’ve been, uh, privy to.

[00:07:29] Anna: You, you’ve seen three different World Series games you gotta tell us a little bit about the span of the years and then the teams,

[00:07:39] Alex: sure. So the first time I went to World Series was Orioles in 1983 and I was, uh, 11 and my dad somehow got tickets. My dad at the time, uh, was an attorney for the government. And so frequently there’s. The gifts for from lobbyists that sort of thing because you know to go see a Washington football game is impossible It’s sold out.

[00:07:59] Alex: It’s only season tickets, but occasionally rarely we would get tickets to that So somehow he had strings pulled because he knew I was a huge fan Uh, and we went to game one of the that world series, which was the only game the o’s lost It was the O’s Phillies. So they lost game one and what I remember Mostly was that it was raining a lot of the game.

[00:08:19] Alex: Uh, I believe the final score was 2 1, so it was a good pitcher’s duel. Um, President Reagan was there, which was exciting, you know, for the president was there. Uh, John Denver sang, uh, Thank God I’m a Country Boy during the 7th inning stretch, which, for those who don’t know, for a long time was the O’s 7th inning stretch song.

[00:08:34] Alex: Uh, and, uh, yeah, I mean, it was just an experience. I’m pretty sure we sat, you know, just north of the nosebleeds. Um, But he was, you know, obviously it’s me and my dad, you know, and it was a great time and, you know, my younger brother was too young to go, so it wasn’t an issue, so it was just us, and so, and how lucky are you?

[00:08:50] Alex: I mean, the World Series is a rare, rare thing. The second time I was living in New York, and it was the 2001 the season started actually, uh, in April, a good friend of mine, Jack Lewis, who also lived there, we were both, like, underemployed actors and writers, and he was like, what if we tried to see every team play this year?

[00:09:10] Alex: Which in New York is not that hard to do. You have two teams. So we said we’re going to go ahead and do it. Actually, we’d already, we had this idea in late April. We’d already missed Kansas City. So we’re going to have to like scramble and do that sort of thing. We had a great time. You know, we’re bopping between parks.

[00:09:23] Alex: We made a trip down to Baltimore to see a game and that sort of thing. Um, and then I wound up booking a job. So I missed the rest of his, he completed it. He made it through and he’s like, well, if the Yankees. Go through the playoffs. I’m going to keep going. They’re great So I get came back to town before the world series and of course in between 9 11 happened, which is you know Uh a crazy time for all of us, especially those of us in New York and he’s like you want to go to the world series?

[00:09:46] Alex: I said sure of course and this being the pre heavy internet days you go Online to ticket master and there are tickets available and it was I think we spent 120 bucks for a ticket to game four and uh, And I was happy rooting for the Yankees, even though I was an O’s fan, unless they were playing each other.

[00:10:03] Alex: I root for the Yankees. Uh, I lived seven subway stops from Yankee Stadium. I would go a couple times a year. Uh, Shea was much further away, so I didn’t want to go over there too often. But, uh, so we went to game four, and that was the game where, um, the Diamondbacks had a lead. Bottom of the ninth. Tino Martinez hits a two run home run.

[00:10:22] Alex: I believe there were two outs. The stadium goes completely nuts, and then I’ll never forget this. And again, remember that this is 9 11. So it’s a very somber time in New York. Baseball was a big like George W. Bush throughout the first ball. Uh, the first game like it was, uh It was a tough time, uh, for all of us, and so baseball was a real salve, real helpful.

[00:10:44] Alex: So in the 10th inning with two outs, when we were sitting like way left field bleachers and right on the aisle, and Jeter hits the home run, and I’ve never felt an energy like this before in my life. It was like the noise was past deafening. The energy was, uh, And as soon as that home run clears the fence, like we’re all on our feet, and next to me in the aisle is a uniformed NYPD police officer, and they’re all over the place, of course, security is super tight, and he equally loses his mind and grabs me in this huge bear hug, picks me up, and I’m not a small guy, I’m 5’11 you know, average weight, maybe a touch overweight, but like, grabs me in this huge bear hug, picks me up, and just like, moves me back and forth, and um, And then puts me down and everyone’s high fiving.

 

[00:11:31] Alex: So I’ll never forget that one. That was, you know, even though the Yankees lost the series, that was an experience I’ll probably never replicate. And then I met my wife and who’s a huge baseball fan and she’s from Dallas and her family are all big baseball fans. Uh, um, and so we had tickets to the 2010.

[00:11:48] Alex: Series the rangers, uh who would wind up losing in five to San Francisco But we did catch their one winning game, which I believe so i was trying to fact check before we did this. Uh, Uh podcast today. Uh, it was the first time a baseball team from Texas won a world series game So because Houston had been in it and had swept before so, uh, that was exciting Uh, you know didn’t get to do it.

[00:12:09] Alex: Of course, obviously now that Texas has won a uh World Series I mean that was hard luck the uh 2011 when they were twice one strike away from winning the World Series and couldn’t do it. I mean, that’s just heartbreaking, but you know, 2023 happens and it’s all good.

[00:12:26] Anna: the 2001 thing is, you know, that’s, that’s, I’ve heard somebody else talk about that same game who was there that night and, uh, the just emotion of it I have to think is, is pretty wild because, you know, you mentioned that’s, that’s not long after 9 11 happens and, uh, you’ve got.

[00:12:46] Anna: Security at like Code Red or whatever it’s called and, um, I imagine it’s gotta be, like, it’s gotta be pretty somber, but at the same time almost reassuring to have baseball, you know, to have that thing that’s there for us every day as, um, you know, just kind of there, like, hey, life will go on as terrible as everything was, like, we will have normalcy to some degree and, um, So, And then for Derek Jeter to just, I mean, it’s one of those things, it’s like, I, I’ve heard people describe it, but I just don’t think I could ever understand it, you know?

[00:13:22] Alex: Yeah. Uh, and, uh, as an O’s fan, it’s easy to root for that particular Yankee cohort because a lot of them were homegrown. And that’s what you love. You don’t want to see a team that, like, everyone is a journeyman coming in. So that, that, that was a lot of fun. But yeah, I mean, it was a crazy time, and we don’t forget.

[00:13:37] Alex: And I was just thinking, like, like, the smell of, of the burning from downtown was with us in New York for, I think, close to a month. So, like, it was there. And people were dealing with knowing people who were either actively, um, involved in the cleanup or who, who, who perished there. So like, you know, it was, it was just a rough time.

[00:13:59] Alex: Baseball definitely helped with that. And of course, you know, it didn’t turn into a Yankee World Series. That would have been the victory would have been the storybook ending, but you know, you can’t, you can’t write all the happy endings.

[00:14:10] Anna: Yeah. It’s funny, the, the threads that tie there, you know, you have the, the Diamondbacks who obviously just lost to the Texas Rangers who were just another part of your story and everything kind of seems to be coming full circle and, uh, it’s funny how baseball kind of writes its own little stories like that.

[00:14:27] Anna: You’ve got some creative talents, I’d say, right? You’re a bit of a, uh, film and playwright, 

[00:14:34] Alex: Yes, that’s correct. I started off as an actor and a playwright, and then I stopped acting and I’ve moved from, uh, I do playwriting simultaneously with, uh, film writing and a little bit of TV writing, but mostly film and theater still. So yeah, so I, I definitely, uh, uh, that is my wheelhouse and that’s where I make my living.

[00:14:53] Anna: yeah. So the California connection makes a little more sense now that, uh,

[00:14:57] Alex: Yeah, yeah, and my wife is an actor, and so we were in New York, we met there, and then we, uh, uh, decided after we got married, like, maybe we’ll give Los Angeles a try, and we did a trial run, and it worked out well for us, and we’re, we’re happy here, I mean, we have our, our two boys were, were born here, and, uh, as much as we miss New York, we miss, uh, mostly the life that we had in New York before kids, like, I don’t think I would want to have my kids in New York, it would be super, we haven’t even taken them to New York yet, but, uh, I’m like, where would we stay?

[00:15:25] Alex: I can’t even imagine, you know,

[00:15:26] Anna: Right.

[00:15:27] Alex: Uh, that sort of thing. So, but like, yeah. So, I mean, our New York time is fantastic, uh, um, but being in L. A. is, definitely has its own privileges.

[00:15:34] Anna: Yeah. That makes sense. Do you think that, um, you know, I would imagine that being involved in the, the film and the theater worlds would Kind of lend itself to you know, you’ve either got a a penchant for storytelling or it’s incredibly important to you And do you think that?

[00:15:50] Anna: Baseball ties into that in any regard because you know from my perspective I like all sports, but I love baseball and one of the reasons for that is that I think it has the most interesting humanistic qualities and human interest stories I just was kind of curious reading through your background is Is that why you like the sport, or is that, you know, any part of why you like the sport?

[00:16:14] Alex: I think that’s a huge part of it. I think the, the humanist aspect, I mean, I’m an avid reader. Obviously, I’m a writer, so there’s very few writers who are not readers, but I’ve been growing up reading, and the sheer number of baseball books that I’ve read, be it fiction or, like, I grew up, uh, reading, um, like, when I was like 10, uh, uh, Tom Seaver had Uh, written his memoir of the 1969 series with, I believe it was Dick Schaap actually did the bulk of the writing, but Tom Seaver, and he was 24.

[00:16:43] Alex: And even though it was against the Orioles, I’m still like, this is an amazing book. And I love the 69 Mets because of that. And since then, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, the books about baseball are great. You’re not going to, there’s probably some good football or basketball books or that sort of thing, but just not the same.

[00:16:59] Alex: It’s just not, it doesn’t lend itself to that type of. Storytelling, I guess. I don’t know.

[00:17:04] Anna: Do you think when you were a kid, like, part of the reason that it resonated with you was because you had already kind of developed this, you know, part of your identity that was focused on storytelling and, uh, baseball’s just It’s so descriptive and you know, it’s just I don’t I don’t know how to explain the question.

[00:17:23] Anna: I’m asking I guess 

[00:17:26] Alex: I mean, I think what you’re saying is they go a little hand in hand. I think that, uh, and it does. Like, I have yet to write about baseball. Although I really should consider that. I think that would be a great thing. Like I’m, I’m always looking for new ideas and I have a ton of ideas, but I’m always like, which ideas are you going to pick?

[00:17:43] Alex: And, and, and, and, you know, so my ideas are actually backlogged in my brain and some on paper, but like, I’ve never had the right baseball story yet. So I’m hoping to, that might be a bucket list for me. I’m sure there’s plenty when we get to that. But one of them is write the next great baseball movie, because there’s also great baseball movies and they’re written that way.

[00:18:00] Alex: I’m my all time favorite movie. Right. Bar none baseball or not is bull Durham. Just I mean, it’s got baseball. It’s got comedy. It’s got uh, um, Sex like it’s it’s a sexy funny movie. Uh, but one great thing that turns the narrative. So so I love that movie uh, my three favorite baseball movies are that movie, uh, um, League of their own and bad news bears the original bad news bears and what’s great about all three of them They have in common is that the hero loses?

[00:18:30] Alex: Like, in Bull Durham, he gets the woman, but like, he’s cut and his career ends, and he never makes it back to the show. All three of them, it turns the stereotype, and the good guy does not win the big game. And I think that’s wonderful, because life is, we all lose in life. You know, I’m no one wants to see that movie like everyone dies.

[00:18:50] Alex: Great. But like, you know, when you watch a movie and you’re like, I mean, as great as some of the other sports movies are, you kind of know that it’s going to walk off with the victory, even some baseball moves. I’m not gonna say they’re all but like, I’m I hate major leagues. I think it’s not a baseball movie.

[00:19:06] Alex: It’s a comedy. It’s not baseball. But like, you know where it’s going. You know where it’s going.

[00:19:12] Anna: Yeah, I like that too the the bit of More realistic, unexpected endings that, you know, uh, A League of Their Own where she drops the ball at the end. And then the, the viewers left to ask, you know, was that on purpose? Did that, you know, what’s, what’s the meaning behind that? And, uh, yeah, I love stuff like that too.

[00:19:30] Anna: It’s, it’s just a little, a little deeper, a little more makes you think.

[00:19:34] Alex: Yeah, they set up that sibling dynamic so well, and anyone who has siblings can relate to what it’s like to be more talented in something than the other, and what it’s like to be hungrier, and yeah, that’s a great Lady or the Tiger ending. It’s like, did she drop the ball? Did she not? Like, I’d like to think she didn’t, because she’s super competitive, uh, but I don’t know.

[00:19:57] Anna: The great debate. Um. Yeah. So speaking of good stories, uh, there’s a good one here with your dad and Don Larson. You got to share that.

[00:20:07] Alex: there’s two parts to the story, and the first part is, my dad casually mentioned as I was growing up, uh, That he was at, um, the perfect game, the 1956. He was 16. Or about to turn 16. And my grandmother was a huge baseball fan. And so was my dad. And although they grew up in, uh, my dad grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, which is pretty much near the dividing line.

[00:20:29] Alex: You were either Yankees camp or Red Sox camp. And I learned much later, my dad was actually a Red Sox fan, but my grandmother diehard Yankee fan. And she said, do you want to cut school? And go to the World Series game and he’s like high school. He’s like, yes. So they went down and his big memory of that is that, um, he was like, I can’t believe the stadium was like two thirds full.

[00:20:49] Alex: He was like, it was not a sold out by any stretch. Most of the upper deck was empty. I’m like, wow, that’s something you wouldn’t think about, especially in this day and age, but flash forward, you know, to the 20, the two early two thousands of the late 1900s, my dad, uh, had a client. Who was a huge baseball fan and went to, um, uh, you know, the fantasy camps and played.

[00:21:11] Alex: And at one point had a bat and tried to get all of the 56 Yankees to sign it. And he got all except for a couple who had passed away and Don Larson. And so he called the Yankees and he’s like, I want to get Don Larson to sign my bat. I have everyone else. And within an hour of him sending out an email to the Yankees, uh, uh, Phil Rizzuto called him directly and said, um, can you FedEx us the bat?

[00:21:35] Alex: We will insure it. Uh, completely. We would completely insure it. Can you fed us so we can And he did. And within two weeks, Phil would do the call back again and said, okay, it’s legit. We believe this bat is legit. Here’s what we’d like to do. We’d like to, bring you to New York to a game, have Don Larson, you can meet him and he’ll sign it in front of you.

[00:21:52] Alex: And, uh, then we’d like you to give us the bat and we will, um, give it to, uh, Cooperstown, to the Hall of Fame. And in exchange, we will give you, season tickets for the rest of your lifetime. And for the rest of your children’s lifetime, they will have Yankee season tickets, and once a year, you will have access to the owner’s box. So he’s like, yes, I will, I will do this. I didn’t know the story at the time. All I know, my dad was in town, he’s like, Hey, a friend of mine has Yankee tickets, it’s Old Timers Day, do you want to go to the game? I’m like, sure, and we’re sure enough, we’re in a box. And like, players are coming in and out, and Don Larson came in, and uh, Sign the bat and Larson was a jerk.

[00:22:31] Alex: Uh, apparently he does not like his legacy of being a mediocre player who had one great, great, great game. So, and the Yankees always trot him out. Once a Yankee, always a Yankee. So he came in, didn’t speak, signed the bat and left. But I didn’t know this story until after I’m like, we were sitting in. You should have given some warning that we’re in, you know, one of Steinbrenner’s boxes.

[00:22:49] Alex: Um, so that was a fun experience and, uh, and now that guy has season tickets for him and his kids for forever.

[00:22:55] Anna: Man, that’s awesome. I’m going to have to start, like, trying to collect memorabilia to, you know, haggle with some, uh, some teams down the line.

[00:23:03] Alex: Yeah, but I mean, that’s, uh,

[00:23:04] Alex: yeah, it’s not gonna be the same like, you know, if you’re like, Oh, I got some, uh, four Colorado Rockies to sign this hat. They’re gonna be like, nobody cares. Like, you know, in Colorado they’re gonna care, but like Cooperstown’s not like salivating over that

[00:23:16] Alex: hat. 

[00:23:17] Anna: Exactly. Exactly. man. So my follow up question was going to be like, did your dad talk to Larson about the game and everything? But it sounds like that was just not even a possibility.

[00:23:27] Alex: No, and uh, I didn’t actually meet him. I mean, the, the, the owner’s box is seat like, you know, like 15 to 20, and there’s like food and drink and all that sort of stuff, which is great, but like he just kind of snuck in the back, and we’re watching the game, and we saw him there, but like, again, you know, he didn’t look like he wanted to be approached, and so we didn’t approach, and I didn’t have that much of a Desire to be like, Oh, I’ve met Don Larson.

[00:23:52] Alex: Like I’ve been, you know, I’ve been in show business long enough to be like, sometimes people are approachable. Sometimes they’re not. And, you know, let’s give them some respect.

[00:23:59] Anna: That makes sense. So your dad saw the perfect game I mean that is like top of the bucket list for for many many people obviously something you can’t control But you know, you’re not you’re not too far off. You did see a no hitter

[00:24:12] Alex: I did. And it was the most unceremonious no hitter that you could possibly imagine. It was, uh, a couple of years ago, it was Dodgers Cubs. I went with my brother and, um, it, the Cubs got the no hitter. And, um, but there was so many walks. I, there was like seven or nine walks that game. The starting pitcher was out of the game by the fifth and they went through four or five pitchers.

[00:24:36] Alex: And Craig Kimbrell closed the game and I have a video of this, which is great. And obviously it’s quiet. Cause it’s like half filled and Dodger fans are not rooting for this no hitter. And, uh, um, like he gets the last out on a strikeout and he’s like rushed by the rest of his team. And he’s looking around in bewilderment.

[00:24:53] Alex: Like he has no idea what’s going on because he didn’t know. There were so many bass runners that nobody knew, that he had no idea he was coming in to pitch a no hitter. And you could see it on the video, he’s like, why is everyone running at me? But, you know, they got the no hitter. So I’m happy to have it, I’m obviously not, um, you know, being overly glib about the fact that like, I did get to see a no hitter, it is a lifetime event, I’m thrilled, but like, be careful what you wish for is the answer, you know.

[00:25:17] Alex: The flip side is, when I was living in New York, um, my boss’s son’s Uh, first two Yankee games he saw in person were the Wells perfect game and the Cone perfect game. That’s the first two baseball games he saw in person.

[00:25:32] Alex: And I’m like, that is, how is that possible?

[00:25:35] Anna: Yeah, one, I’ve heard stories of people, the first game they go to is a no hitter, or it’s even a perfect game, but two, back to back like that, I mean, no. That’s just, you know, that kid should buy a lottery ticket, or should’ve, probably too 

[00:25:48] Alex: You should have, yeah. Also, no one’s going to believe it. You know, that’s one of those stories. Like, I mean, my boss had no reason to lie to me. And I’m like, you know, I don’t think he’s a huge baseball fan either, the kid. I think he just happened to go, 

[00:25:58] Alex: you know, so. 

[00:25:59] Anna: I think that Kimbrel story is super hilarious too because like that’s one of the the downsides of like not talking about it Right is you know, of course nobody wants to jinx it or anything But you get more than more than one person involved and like maybe nobody knows what’s going on and it reminds me of the the 2020 year when the Rays threw a combined no hitter But it was only seven innings because it was one of the doubleheader games and, you know, they were all celebrating on the field, but nobody was giving them credit for it.

[00:26:30] Alex: Yeah, sure. I mean, that’s, and that’s the technicality that’s great about, like, you know, whenever I go to, a few times I’ve gone to a Dodgers Giants game here in LA, the Giants fans who showed up are very quick to remind Dodger fans that their World Series win was for that, was it a 50 game season in 2020?

[00:26:46] Alex: It’s like, it’s not a real season. It doesn’t count. Well, it still counts.

[00:26:50] Anna: Right, the half season. I think everybody says it doesn’t count except for the one team that won it, so, but that’s how it would, that’s how it would be regardless of who had won. But uh, yeah, that’s pretty funny. What comes to mind if I ask you what your favorite baseball memory is? I mean, you’ve already shared some good ones here.

[00:27:07] Alex: So when I met my wife, she is a, also a huge baseball fan. And that, that was a great, you know, starting point for us in addition to the, you know, being attracted to each other, but like baseball was great. And it was easy to, uh, adopt our, cause she’s a Rangers fan. So like, it was easy to adopt, um, our partner’s team as like a secondary team, because there’s no like Orioles Rangers, bad blood or history.

[00:27:32] Alex: You know, it’s just not so, so I can approve for the Rangers. She’d root for the O’s. And we’ve been dating about six months and we had, uh, we were on vacation together. So we, you know, went to Rhode Island and to Boston. And I had a good friend, uh, from college, his name’s Brian Gordon, who lives in Boston.

[00:27:46] Alex: He’s like, I know you’ve never been to Fenway. So I’m going to get you tickets to Fenway. We’re going to go. And he came and happened to be the Rangers were in town, which was great. So he came through, he had a friend. Whose family has had season tickets since Fenway opened. So, they’ve, so we’re talking, a hundred years. Um, and it was, I mean, the seats were great. Like, I could literally rest my beard on the Red Sox dugout, like on the corner of the dugout. It was like, Stephen King was ten rows behind us. Like, that’s how great these seats were. And, naturally, I’m wearing, you know, a ranger’s hat, my wife is a huge ranger fan, and we had, you know, we pre gamed, and we’re there, and we’re, we’re drinking, and it’s, and eating, and having a great time.

[00:28:29] Alex: and the Red Sox have blown the Rangers out. It’s like, I believe it was Five, six, nothing early on. And, but the one wrinkle in this was we were into the sixth inning, going into the seventh inning, and it was also a perfect game, so it was, you know, and it’s quiet and it’s, you know, and, you know, we’ve had a few drinks and my wife looks at me and she says.

[00:28:54] Alex: You’re rooting for the perfect game, aren’t you? I was like, yes. And she’s like, how could you not be with me on this, this journey? And I was like, it’s a perfect game. And this is, so we had gotten to this huge fight. And of course, having a couple of drinks didn’t help. And she rightfully was like, well, this is, you know, a betrayal of, of loyalty.

[00:29:13] Alex: Of course, but me rightfully is like, it’s a perfect game and we’re in the sixth, they’re in the going into the seventh inning and, um, the one memory where I was like, and I already was head over heels in love, but like the sink, the cinch that we’re going to get married is, uh, in the seventh inning with one out, the perfect game is, is over.

[00:29:33] Alex: It’s a clean, clean hit. The whole air out of the stadium deflates, and it’s silent. And my wife, who stands up, and she pumps her fist and goes, Yeah, it’s about effin time! And, she didn’t say effin she did say the f word. And, uh, and like, of course, we’re all like, oh no. And, you know, we were like, thank, thank goodness you’re cute, cause, uh, this could have ended, like, if it was me.

[00:29:56] Alex: Uh, I might have had a beer thrown at my head. And we had, you know, that fight carried on for a little while and, uh, we’ve, we’ve reached a detente, so to speak, where, uh, we’re both right and wrong and, uh, uh, and we’ll never speak of it again except on podcasts in front of people and our friends. But, uh, yeah, so I mean that was like a real test and a fun, that game will always be, uh, I’ll never forget that one.

[00:30:18] Anna: That’s hilarious. that’s a bold move, a bold choice to do in Fenway Park is to, to stand up and effectively taunt the, uh, the hometown pitcher there after he blows a perfect game, uh, in front of all the, the Red Sox faithful there. But, uh, yeah,

[00:30:36] Alex: and we’re by the dugout, like we could hear them talking, like when they’re in the, uh, when they’re stepping out of it, we hear conversations normally, so like, they clearly heard this and, uh,

[00:30:47] Anna: You’re right. If it had been you, it probably would have had a different ending. I 

[00:30:50] Alex: yes, yes, and you know, it’s, uh, you know, it was all fine, it was really a great night, you know, it was a fantastic, uh, introduction to Fenway, it was really beautiful, I mean, and also, I’m like, this is not a comfortable park, like, I appreciate its history, but I’m like, every seat faces, you The field so like you’re turning to, you know, look at the plate and it’s crowded, but obviously it’s a heritage site and it should remain so for, you know, as long as there’s baseball.

[00:31:16] Anna: Yeah, I see both sides of it too though, right? Like if I’ve always wondered You know, last season I found myself at a Rangers game and, um, Detmers of the Angels took a no hitter into the 8th inning. And, you know, I went to that game. I like the Rangers. If I’m at the, if I’m at Globe Life Field and the Rays are not there, I want the Rangers to win.

[00:31:40] Anna: That’s just how it is. But, uh, I started to get a little more persuaded that maybe I should see some history and, uh, you know, kind of found myself rooting against the Rangers and, you know, silently like pumping my fist when, uh, when they’d strike out or something like that. So, uh, I definitely see both sides of it and I, I wonder what I would have done if, uh, If that had been my team there.

[00:32:04] Alex: I can give you an answer to that. It’s similar. So my father in law is a diehard diehard baseball fan, too. So we bonded over that. He’s a Mexican immigrant. He came, you know, settled in Dallas, loves. The Rangers can’t stand the Cowboys. It’s fun to, cause he really hates the Cowboys, but loves the Rangers, loves baseball, grew up with it.

[00:32:21] Alex: And, uh, he was at the no hitter that the Rangers lost like a year or so ago. And I remember my wife and I were watching it on TV here in LA and she’s texting her dad and I was like, I bet you he’s rooting for the no hitter. And she’s like, he would never, he would never. And so when the game ended, he responds by texting back tonight.

[00:32:38] Alex: I witnessed history. And I was like, I see, see, even he, he may not have been actively rooting against the Rangers, but now that it’s over, he’s like, I got to see a no hitter. So

[00:32:48] Anna: Yeah. Yeah. It’s one of those things. I have a feeling I would be like, yeah, let’s, you know, we’re going to lose the game anyway, so let’s just do it. But that’s, that’s funny. I love 

[00:32:59] Anna: the 

[00:33:00] Alex: Yes, 

[00:33:02] Anna: front of 40, 000 people.

[00:33:05] Alex: it was. It was a I mean, it’s always sold out in Fenway, which is great. So it was definitely a big crowd. And it just had the feeling like, because it was so silent that everybody in the stadium is turning to look at us. I know that probably wasn’t the case. But I’m sure a couple hundred people were like, Who is this crazy lady in a ranger’s hat?

[00:33:21] Anna: Yeah. That’s awesome. I also really appreciate that that’s like what sealed the deal and you were like, okay, we’re getting married because you’re just as crazy as I am and you love baseball just as much as I do.

[00:33:31] Alex: Yeah, find your crazy. Yeah, I mean, they always say like, a good key. One of the good keys to relationships is like, Do you have the same hobbies? Do you have the same vices? Do you have the same politics? If you don’t have to have them all the same, but like, you gotta have something in common. Uh, with your, your partner or else you’re just living separate lives together.

[00:33:47] Alex: Uh, so we definitely have, uh, baseball in common. Among other things, but yeah.

[00:33:51] Anna: That’s awesome. So what’s then left at the top of the baseball bucket list? Like what’s, what’s the one thing you want to see, place you got to go, person you got to meet, something like that.

[00:34:00] Alex: Uh, there’s a couple. I’ll try to, uh, be quick about it. One is, uh, when I graduated, uh, high school, the superlative, because I, I was big in theater in high school and I also, uh, my friend and I hosted a lot of, uh, um, Uh, events at school, like the talent show and like we were the funny guys. And so I was voted at the end of the year, most likely to be the voice of the next Washington baseball team.

[00:34:22] Alex: Uh, which obviously hasn’t happened yet, but I would love to call a game. I’d love to be in a booth somewhere. I had a dream of having a. Like if pitching to HBO, uh, an R rated like game of the week where like the, the hosts are possibly drinking, they can say whatever they want. That’s a little, you know, that you can’t say on network television and like a once a week game.

[00:34:44] Alex: So like that, that is my dream. If I become more successful that I can go pitch and be like, all right, let’s do R rated baseball night. Um, so there’s that one as an O’s fan. Um, uh, I would love to be famous enough that I could. catch a game with one of the few O’s celebrities in showbiz. I know we got Joan Jett, but I’d really love to hang out with Ed Norton.

[00:35:04] Alex: He’s a big O’s fan. I’d love to catch a game with him. So those are two of my bucket lists. I don’t know if I want to do every stadium. I would love to, but that strikes me as very tiring right now. I have two small kids. I’m like, I don’t care. The planning just exhausts me. I’ve probably been to seven or eight stadiums.

[00:35:20] Alex: I would love to catch a game in Japan and Mexico. So that too.

[00:35:23] Anna: I like those ideas. I mean, those are all really good ideas. I like the, uh, the baseball after dark, so to speak, and then, uh, you

[00:35:30] Alex: There’s a better title, Baseball After Dark. Thanks. Now sign this release form that you didn’t come up with that idea. Thank you.

[00:35:35] Anna: Right. And then, uh, you know, I think, um, International baseball, like that’s, that’s something I haven’t had the opportunity to do yet, but it’s on my list for sure.

[00:35:44] Anna: And then, one question that just popped into my head, you mentioned your two kids, you got, you as an O’s fan, your wife is a Rangers fan. Obviously she’s living that high life right now, but, uh, you know, are your kids, I don’t know how young they are, but are they showing any tendencies to, Towards being baseball fans, and if so, you know, who is trying to persuade them to join the, uh, the ranks on, you know, which team they’re supporting.

[00:36:08] Alex: They, uh, they are baseball fans. My oldest is nine, and he’s a, he’s a fan. My youngest is five, and he’s a fan and also playing t ball. He’s, he’s into it. My older kid was not into the sports, and that’s totally fine. He doesn’t have to be. Um, but they, you know, we’ll watch, we have the MLB package, so we’ll watch Ranger and O’s games with some frequency.

[00:36:27] Alex: Not so much the Dodgers, because we don’t have, uh, access to, we don’t have cable, or, you know. Cut the cord so we don’t get to watch too many Dodger games, um, but, uh, yeah, so they know players on both teams, uh, which is so obscure, like our five year old is probably mentioning, like, Anthony Santander to kids in the playground, they’re like, I have no idea who that is, um, but, uh, it was a little tricky in the playoffs, and they all aligned with the Rangers during that series, uh, so I know, I know where, uh, uh, I know who’s getting cut out of the wheel, both of them, uh, but, uh,

[00:37:00] Anna: Listen, the Rangers deserve their heyday. You, you mentioned the, uh, the double heartbreak there, you know, back to back and, So they, they deserved it. I’m, I’m thankful for all the, the folks I’ve known who have lived their whole life as Rangers fans and finally got their day. But, uh, the O’s they’re coming.

[00:37:18] Anna: They’re

[00:37:18] Alex: I hope so, yeah, I mean, yeah, There’s a lot of off season chatter, like, Oh, you need more pitching, you’re not doing enough. Which they should also do, but then you have to step back and be like, They won 101 games last

[00:37:28] Alex: year. Like, they may not do that again, but this is not a bad team. They’re obviously doing something right, and everyone’s a little bit older.

[00:37:35] Alex: So it’ll be fun. I mean, it’s been 40 years for us O’s fans. And to put that in perspective, like I talked about with my Red Sox. Fan friend, Brian. I’m like, you know, if you became a baseball fan in 1980, you went 24 years without a world series. I’m not 40. So like, yes, the Red Sox went like almost a century, but like, and the Cubs and, you know, Indians are so far a long way away.

[00:37:59] Alex: So there’s obviously, you know, teams that have had harder heartbreak. The Mariners have never been, 

[00:38:04] Anna: Yeah, I’m, like, divided on it because I’m a Rays fan. Obviously, I would prefer that the Rays win the division every year and win the World Series every year, but, uh, you know, if I had to pick, putting the teams in order from my favorite to least favorite, I’m glad to see the, uh, the Yankees and the Red Sox down there and towards the bottom of the barrel for once.

[00:38:26] Anna: It’s, uh, it’s refreshing. It’s nice to see.

[00:38:29] Alex: Yeah, no one would have predicted, uh, at the start of last season that three ALA East teams would make the playoffs and it wouldn’t be the Yankees or the Red Sox. So that is also nice too. And like, yeah, I would, I, I would be easier to root for the Rays than I would the Red Sox. The Yankees, uh, you know, I’m, I’m, I’m mixed about, but cause I also grew up an anti Red Sox fan.

[00:38:48] Alex: So I was able to like be a Yankee guy, but yeah, the Rays would be fun. I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s fun that there hadn’t been too many repeat winners in the last decade, which is. Also interesting about baseball, what makes it such a tricky thing you can do. You can be, cause the Rangers are super streaky and they had a lot of like losing weeks and then, so they, but they just happened to start the playoffs and ride a big streak.

[00:39:11] Alex: So, you know, you all, you wish your team gets the streak at the right time.

[00:39:14] Anna: that’s uh, it’s always about who gets hot at the right time. And uh, yeah, it wasn’t, uh, it wasn’t in the cards for either of our teams, but there’s always next year, right? That’s what, that’s what I’m told.

[00:39:24] Alex: There is always next year, and once the Super Bowl is over, and I’m not a huge football fan, but I’ll watch the Super Bowl, and it’s like, it’s like a week or two until pitchers and catchers,

[00:39:31] Anna: Yeah,

[00:39:32] Alex: always like, that’s our Groundhog Day, it’s like, baseball players are back, so, yeah, yeah, that would be fun, I would love to, uh, uh, see the O’s go, and, uh, you know, if the Rays go back again, and then you and I can meet in the middle and go to a Ranger game,

[00:39:44] Anna: Exactly. Exactly. It should be easy. If your wife’s family’s from here, it should be easy. It should be easy.

[00:39:48] Alex: absolutely, we go, uh, at least once a summer,

[00:39:52] Anna: Awesome. Alex, this has been incredible. Thank you so much for making time to do this. Where should we send people to find you online?

[00:40:00] Alex: Well, thank you for having me here. And, uh, you know, if I do get to do baseball after dark, you’re going to have to come in and do some, uh, color when we do it, so,

[00:40:07] Alex: uh, keep your fingers crossed, uh, you can check out my work on, uh, alexgoldberg. net is, uh, my website where you can find links to, I’ve, I’ve written and directed a few feature films and I have a couple of short films that are going to be coming out in film festivals this year.

[00:40:21] Alex: So that’s where you can see all things about me.

[00:40:24] Anna: Awesome. And then when you put together the, uh, the baseball movie, the baseball play, anything like that, that’s where we’ll see it, huh?

[00:40:31] Alex: Yeah. Oh, I’ll let you know before if that’s in the works. I’m like, I’m coming back on. We’re going to talk more about baseball and movie making.

[00:40:37] Anna: Awesome. Alex, I appreciate it. I, uh, can’t thank you enough and just look forward to seeing what’s next.

[00:40:43] Alex: Thank you. And thanks for having me.

[00:40:29] Anna: And that will wrap up this episode of The Baseball Bucket List Podcast. Special thanks to Alex Goldberg for coming on and sharing those stories and memories. If this sounds like something you’d like to do, if you think you might like to be a guest on the show, head to baseballbucketlist.com/podcast and fill out an application. I’d absolutely love to hear from you. While you’re there, make sure to spend some time on the site. Sign up for a free membership. Build your own baseball bucket list, track your ballpark visits, and connect with other fans. That’s it for this week, thanks so much for listening. We’ll see you next episode.