 Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay home. Stay with us. Remember. Yes, we're here I'm here with John Flaherty. We're gonna take a trip down memory lane with flash His career he was picked in the 25th round back in 1988 by the Boston Red Sox First and foremost John just how did it feel to be selected and have your culmination of all your hard work come to fruition Well, there are a lot of different emotions that day Chris First of all, I was told I was going to get drafted a lot higher than the 25th round So when I heard 25th round, I was disappointed I had a pretty good idea the Red Sox were interested. I had a good relationship with Bill Rossi The scout who eventually signed me But very quickly that disappointment went away and it was the excitement that a big league team wanted to give me a Chance and it was a chance I took them up on and the first time you get called up It's a new york kid and he gets called up to new york's Yankee stadium as a member of the Boston Red Sox. So what and I know there's a story behind that. What was that like? Well, the backup catcher to Tony Pena was John Marzano and John had a had a bad shoulder in spring training So I was getting plenty of repster in a spring training games but I was the last player cut in 1992 and I actually drove a 1984 Chevy Cavalier mini wagon with wood paneling down the side From Winner Haven, Florida to Rockland County, New York Yeah, I was that it's the only thing I can afford being a 25th round pick I feel you I showed up in my younger brother's high school baseball game I went out with a few buddies that night and had maybe a few too many sodas because I overslept the next day Which in hindsight turned out to be a blessing General manager of the Red Sox Lou Gorman called my house and asked me how long it would take me to get to Yankee Stadium And I said I'm only about 35 minutes away And he said you need to get there for opening day Red Sox Yankees where we're putting you on the active roster Now opening day. There was a lot of traffic Chris I got stuck on the major Deegan where I could look off to the left and there's Yankee Stadium the place I watch games as a kid. It's right there and I'm sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic at about 12 30 for Yeah, and I actually got out of the car I went up to the one of the police officers and I explained the situation He looked at my car and obviously didn't believe that I was a big player So I had to take my catching bag out. I showed him I was a member of the Red Sox He stopped traffic the wrong way down a one way and I made my way down a left into the players parking lot I took a baseball out. I throw it back up to the get to the cop and I walked into Yankee Stadium and signed a contract And was introduced about 10 minutes later by the great pop shepherd opening day in 1992 What a whirlwind. I mean you get into the stadium you get your uniform on you run into the clubhouse Then you run out to get announced when did it actually finally settle in like I made it I'm here and not only am I here in the big leagues I'm in my home ballpark as a member of the Red Sox Yeah, it took me a few hours Chris I mean I'm standing next to Frank Viola after Bob Shepard introduced me and I'm looking at 56,000 people and I I'm like I was just in bed two hours ago And here I am and to tell you the truth that it didn't hit me until probably about the 6th or 7th inning I was out in the visitors bullpen And I had a couple of hours to kind of digest everything and as I looked out at the old Yankee Stadium and 56,000 people It finally hit me that you know what nobody can take this away from me. If this is the only day I spend in the major leagues What a great day it was going to be, you know Being introduced and being part of opening day in the stadium that I watched games as a kid And as we know that wasn't the only day you were in the major leagues You had a long fruitful career behind the dish as a catcher for five different teams But let's talk about your major league debut first and that Kind of a funny story too only five times in the history of major league baseball flash has this happened a major league pitcher Throws a no-hitter But his team loses the game and this happened with you and the Red Sox and Matt Young A lot of crazy things happened that day Chris and if you remember it's 1992 they actually had scheduled double headers So we were playing the Cleveland Indians And I show up and Tony Paine is a starting catcher and he got to pick what picture he wanted to catch that day It was either Roger Clemens or Matt Young. He obviously chose Roger Clemens And I was left to catch Matt Young and Matt had a great arm He was a lefty through hard at a nasty slider, but he could not throw the ball to first base His pick-off move is he would just show the ball, right? But he couldn't he couldn't actually throw. He had some sort of a phobia. So And he's a lefty. I mean It was strange and Kenny Lofton was on that team He ends up walking on four pitches steel second steel third brown ball one nothing comes up again Same thing sacrifice fly. So There were a lot of good news and bad news that day, right? I mean, we ended up losing the game There were six stolen bases against me and I was supposed to be known as a defensive catcher So those were the bad news the good news my first major league at bat I had a double off of Charles Nagy who I actually played with in the Cape Cod League So I got the first big league hit out of the way But it was kind of a tough way to lose a game catching a no-hitter I want to ask you about that major league hit and you see this God almost every time a big leader gets that first major league hit They look into the dugout and there's that sheepish grin and and you had that sheepish grin John Flaherty when you looked into that dugout of red spool of Red Sox players. It's just that special moment It's like a coming-of-age moment. What was that like when you hit second and by the way Catchers don't have speed baloney. Flaherty was hustling out of the box and got a double on that hit Well, a lot of things went on I knew, you know, Charles I caught him so I knew he had a good sinker and he was probably gonna try to run one in on me And I was able to keep it fair right off the third base that actually popped up out of the reach of Brooke Chacoby But when I got the second base, I mean Carlos Bayerga said a nice hit He said was that your first one and I said, yeah, my first at that But to your point I look in the dugout and there's guys that I came up through the minor leagues with Tim nearing Scott Cooper Phil Planteer and they had all had some success in the big leagues already but you know every player even to the the year the last year of my career you always appreciate that kid who gets his first big league hit it's a huge moment and One you never forget. Yeah 194 played appearances until you got your first career home run and that was in 1995 Where did the power come from John and what was that feeling like? I know the feeling for your first hit But what about your first big league home run? Well, I have to take you back to 94 during the strike I actually got sent down to triple a sparky Anderson sent me down and said, you know This strike isn't about you go down to Toledo play a couple of weeks And in those two weeks Larry Parrish my manager completely changed my swing and Had me hit the ball out front a little bit more and really just try to be more aggressive and hit doubles and home runs And I ended up hitting seven home runs in that two weeks span And one of those home runs was against Mariano Rivera. It was pitching for Columbus who was a starting pitcher at that point But anyway fast forward to 1995 I get a chance to be the everyday catcher and the Tigers are expecting some power from me And it took me a while to get that first big league home run. It was against Pat Henkin Cy Young Award winner at the old slouch. That's for sure. Yeah. Yeah, he threw me I'll never forget it a cutter on the inside part of the plate It just got out over the plate a little bit more than he probably wanted it but They hit your first big league home run and the old Tiger Stadium was pretty cool And ended up having a nice first half that year with Detroit It was a banner year for you coming out of the strike John as you said you got the power Not only that you went from backup To starter and you were started with the Tigers in 95 and then they dealt you to the Padres So what were some of the challenges? You know, you become a starting catcher, but now mid-season You're going from an American league team To a national league team. So what kind of challenges did that bring? Well, there were a lot, you know, I think back to that trade, you know in Detroit We were really struggling and they were rebuilding. It wasn't the same team From 95, you know, Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammell, all of these guys Cecil Fielder You know, they were all trying to get rid of them. So as a younger team I was splitting time with the young catcher named Raul Casanova Who was a big prospect for them So I wasn't real happy with the current situation. So when I got traded I couldn't wait to get to San Diego, you know a team that was winning But the biggest challenge for me was trying to get to catch that pitching staff in the middle of the year For a team that had playoff aspirations So it was kind of learning on the fly learning some of the personalities But it didn't take that long. I got pretty comfortable pretty quickly out there You come on to the Padres and While boom, you have a 27 game hitting streak Which John is the second longest in Padres history just behind Benito Santiago and just ahead Of Tony Gwyn for crying out loud It doesn't sound right Chris. It doesn't sound right when you say it's Calais, right? Now I was swinging the bat pretty good in Detroit before I got traded But my first 10 at bats with the Padres, I didn't get the ball out of the infield And Merb Bretman, their hitting instructor, great guy, great hitting coach He just suggested that I move my hands a little bit more and move them earlier Getting ready to to hit and it was one of those moments Chris that it felt like everything slowed down I mean, I was picking up the baseball so early. It felt like I had so much time And I got on a I got on a run. I got hot. I got lucky. I got hot And I knew I was in trouble because Tony Gwyn we just talked about as long as hitting streak Was 25 games and when I got a hit in my 26th game I sat next to him in the dugout and he said well kid, you just blew me out of the water And I'm like, what are you talking about? He said my longest was 25 And I remember thinking to myself this this is not right playing This is this is gonna end. I should not be hitting getting hitting streaks longer than the great Tony Gwyn And I had one more game with a hit and an owl lighter shut me down What about being the first catcher in Tampa Bay double raise history? 1998 you catch the first pitch ever in that teams history from wilson alvarez Just what was the chat? Were you excited about that going to a new organization and a new team? What was that like? Yeah, I was disappointed first of all being traded by san diego because I had a great year and a half out there But I was excited about the whole Tampa situation. I was building a house there My daughter was only three months old at that point. My two sons ended up being born in florida So from a family standpoint, it was great and the flip side of it from a baseball standpoint I was excited to be part of something starting from the ground up, right? You know to see where we could take this thing and obviously being an expansion team there was some deficiencies with the roster Uh, but it was a real exciting time. I'm just disappointed. I spent five years there We lost a lot of games 90 to 100 games pretty much every year Um, so that part was disappointing But I I was excited about the whole challenge when it began When you first got to the Yankees you're out in the bullpen And mike borzello was the bullpen catcher out there And mariana Rivera pops up and you decide i'm gonna go catch mariana Rivera. What happens john I got kicked out. I got booted You know, I had caught I had caught mo during spring training Um, but once we got into the flow of the regular season, we were out at the old Yankee stadium in the bullpen And you know, the phone rings and mo has to get loose and I jump up as a backup catcher I'm gonna warm him up and mo looks over and mike borzello the bullpen catcher and calls him over And they have a moment and borzey comes walking towards me and he was almost like embarrassed and he said, uh Mo like he wants me to warm him up. I warm him up all the time. And of course, I'm like no problem I totally get it. I mean baseball players, you know, this chris, uh, we're superstitious We like to keep the same routine. So creatures have had no I had no problem at all to turn it over to borzey Whatever mo wanted mo got so I got I got kicked out So your Yankee career starts and right off the bat You're in the ALCS the juxtaposition between what you went through in camp with, you know, losing 90 to 100 games every season Your first year with the Yankees, it's like you burst out of the water Like you were being held under water. You're in the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox the team that drafted you It's game seven Just give me a little walkthrough not the home run just yet But giabi gets you on the board with the two solo shots, but you're down five two So what's the thoughts in the in the bullpen if you were there down five two Before you start coming back in that eighth inning Well, you're nervous, right? It doesn't look real good. You got Pedro Martinez out on the mound and you know the thing I I have to go back to chris The Red Sox hated us And we hated them. I mean it was so good. Yeah, it was so good It was personal. I mean Kurt Schilling kevin malar with the cowboy up all of that stuff like We we hated each other. So it was like back in the day. It was fisk and months and it was that hatred Nobody was slapping each other on the fanny before the game and talk and no you were you were what do you want to kill each other? So it so it was great until you're down five two late in the game And you're like, you know, there's no way this is gonna happen start chipping away chipping away Jorge gets that blue double and all of a sudden you got a ball game But you know, it became a matter of ball pens, you know after Pedro was taken out And uh, I didn't like our chances when tim wakefield came in the game. I'll tell you that Poor grady little a grady little still hearing about that to this day but you're talking about wakefield coming into the game and Aaron boon leads off the 11th. So let's fast forward to then What's the feeling like in the ball pen now because I know you're out there And you're catching Someone warming up and you could fill us in on who that was and what the feeling was like out there as boonie comes to the plate Yeah, i'm warming up jose contraris who uh to be quite honest with you had nothing at that point He was shot. He was tired And our buddy mike orzela that we talked about was kind of giving me the play by play because When you're warming a guy up, you can't see anything that's going out on the field. So He's down now. Here comes Aaron boon He's done. Yeah, you know, he didn't even start that game. It was really struggling And uh, we didn't have high hopes and then all of a sudden he gets excited Because he sees a swing at the back and I look up at the old stadium I could see the foul hole and I could see the the flight of the ball and I know it's got plenty of distance I just don't know if it's fair or foul And I realized it was fair when you saw all the the fans in the crowd throw up their arms after it landed in the seat So from that point on it was a full sprint from the bullpen To the mound gear on or did you take the did you have time to take the gear off? No, I had the gear on I I think I grabbed my glove and my helmet and I always had my shin guards on But I just did a sprint towards uh Towards the pitcher's mound and we had a bat boy named Sean Iadice who his job every night was to clean out the bullpen And he would come walking past me every night. We would do this. Well on this particular night I'm sprinting and I'm screaming. He's sprinting at me and he's screaming And that's one of the most vivid memories I have of that night was running past Sean getting out to the field Mariano on the mound laying down I thought maybe he hurt himself and then I realized he was fine and I was able to have A lot of special moments with a lot of special teammates And you guys were rewarded with a trip to the world series your first ever You play the marlins and you get to game four. Sorry. I'm rushing to bid here, but this could have been Quite frankly your Yankee moment top of the 10th You come up and you absolutely rope one to right center I think everybody watching thought it was down for a double and the Yankees were in business What's going through your mind when you hit that ball? Well, first of all, I got to bring you back when uh whorehead came out of the game I had to get loose and I remember I was in the visitor's bullpen And chris my heart was jumping. I mean I was as it should be. Yeah Nervous excited everything and actually didn't know if I was going to be able to you know do it I was so so nervous got behind the plate caught a first warm-up pits threw it back and said, okay I'm fine, but then fast forward to that at bat and pudger Rodriguez was behind the plate pudge and I Played in the american league together pretty much at the same time our whole career. So there was plenty of history I knew he was not going to give me anything inside to try to pull I was a pull hitter and I knew everything was going to be a way off the plate And I took a shot said let's try to drive on the right center field And when I hit it, I thought the same thing. I said this is going to be a double Um, I might have a Yankee moment here as I'm getting the first base. I'm thinking this is going to be a leadoff double We're going to end up scoring a run Moe is going to close it out and we're going to have a commanding lead in this series Um, as I got to first base and beyond Uh, the center fielder makes an unbelievable play up against the wall And all of the excitement quickly turned into a disappointment as I thought maybe that would be uh my one Yankee moment in a post July 1st 19 or 2004 excuse me, um That was your Yankee moment and it happened to come in the same game That Derek Jeter launched himself into the stands like a missile and and this goes back to what you just said, John about how these two teams hated each other and how Heightened the competition was didn't matter if it was april or october You guys were going for each other's throats. This is the top of the 13th inning runners on the corners Two outs are where were you when jeter dives in to save that inning and get that third out I was in the bullpen I was able to be watching the game because I wasn't warming anybody up and I was looking through that little window And I could see the flight of the ball and I could see Derek going to get it And I knew he was going to have time to make the play I didn't realize how close he was to the stands and the next thing you know He just gets engulfed as he disappears into the crowd And obviously we knew it was bad, but being on the bullpen We didn't get a firsthand look at it But it really had a feeling when he did that that there's no way we can lose this game We got to find a way to win it. I might have misspoke there. I said this I might have said the 13th. It was the 12th inning when he went into the stands It was the 13th inning when the red sox took the lead and then miggy kairow ties things up And then all right set the scene for me set the stage. What's going on? Well, I was actually in the bullpen and at the old yankee stadium They would have the lineup, you know who was coming up on what number And I saw tanion sturz was going to be hitting fifth if we ended up getting to that point So I hustled my way from the bullpen into the yankee clubhouse And I walk in and john lever picture is taking swings off of a tee into a net And he let me take some swings and I remember thinking if joe tory sends a picture up there to hit Instead of me being the last position player It's time for me to get on the major deegan and call it a career. It's time to go Uh, luckily joe sent me up there and I remember I made a change with don manningly our hitting instructor that day where he wanted me to get a little bit taller and I actually Pointed the barrel of my bat down towards my back and the first pitch from lascanic I didn't swing at it. It was a strike and I remember thinking Wow, I saw that really well And I ended up getting a 3-1 count and looked over on deck gary sheffield is standing there And I thought to myself well lascanic doesn't want him He's going to come right at me and he threw a little cut fastball out over the plate And I was lucky enough to keep it fair Well, remember I said you make your own luck. What was the count? What was the count again? 3-1 3-1 you you worked it to a 3-1 count You got your pitch and you didn't miss and could I I know it wasn't the world series But when you were getting to first and you were pumping your fists Were you saying that this was my Yankee moment? I don't know if I was thinking that at that time what what I do remember Is knowing manual Ramirez for some reason was playing me to hit the ball the other way which I never did I was a full hitter so I knew it was going to be a hit and when I got around first base And I saw all of my teammates coming towards me That was the the greatest part of that night, you know the The gary sheffields the alex rodriguez jeter wasn't there because he was in the clubhouse Pasada all these guys who did it day in and day out The feeling of being a backup player and you have one moment where you pick those guys up and they're mobbing you Um that made that night just so much more special Moving forward, you know you played for the Yankees for three years Uh, it took you a while to get back home. You got back home How difficult was it for you to know that you weren't going to come back to the Yankees and be with the Yankees organization And you went up back to the red sox everything went full circle And you went to be tim wakefield to catch you with that knuckleball So first what was it like to be not coming back to the Yankees first and foremost? Yeah, it was disappointing. I mean, but I understood it, you know cash told my agent They were they were going to go in a different direction and I did not have a very good year in 05 offensively So I understood it And I was getting calls from teams that wanted me to be that veteran backup to help the young staff And I wasn't interested in that but when the red sox called about catching tim wakefield good team back where where it all began for me and Close enough to home my family was going to stay in new york, but I would go to boston So I thought it was going to be a good situation and I got down to spring training and I caught him one game in a spring training game It was a disaster and I remember thinking I don't want to do this. This is not the way I want to go out and I went in the next day to terry francona's office and told him I was retiring and that was it I was eating breakfast at a denny's about an hour later And was mentally as relaxed as I had been my whole career Did tito try to fight you did he want you to stay he did he did he actually told me to take a couple of days stay away Um, you know figure it out. You'll be fine. And I was completely honest. I said tito I've been thinking about this for two years I said it's the right time and I said you have too good of a team to have somebody who's not 100 all in So he he said what do you want to do? You know, uh, you want to do a press conference? What do you want? And I said, you know me and I'm taking my bag I'll be gone before the meeting. I'll be at the denny's and I'm going to denny's And I had a great breakfast and uh and moved on We know that the red socks lost and let's face it major league baseball's lost with you behind the plate was the s networks gained and uh, your broadcasting career started off pretty fast after your baseball career ended So just take us through that process. How did that work from the time that you were at that denny's Until the time that you uh, we're at yes network with a microphone in your hand You know, it was strange chris because I think I retired on a monday and on tuesday I had like four or five voicemails on my cell phone From networks that wanted me to do auditions and I had never said that this is what I wanted to do They kind of came after me and I did an audition for sn y for the mets And you know, basically george steinbrenner saw me doing that audition and called up our boss john philip heli and said We're not letting him go over there Flip was very flip was very honest with me. He said we don't have any room for you You know our roster is filled, you know opening day was coming up a week later And uh, he said I don't know what i'm gonna do, but i'm gonna i'll figure something out Handed me a microphone and said go get him go interview a couple of people And the next thing you knew I was in the studio with bob lorenz trying to figure it out And the next thing I was in the booth with jim cot and michael k bobby mercer kenny singleton and kind of just showed me the ropes and Figured out my own style. So it's something I really enjoyed doing When you go into the booth with guys like michael guys like kenny guys like kitty and bobby the late great bobby mercer How much how much at ease did they make you feel? Start like breaking in with them that has to be that has to make the transition A hell of a lot easier for you having those guys in the booth. No doubt. They they were all great They all made me feel welcome wanted They involved me into the broadcast, but you know jim cot gave me great advice I showed up with a binder filled with research, you know the the old catcher and me was going to be prepared And you know, he looked at me and said what's that? I said kitty i'm ready for you I did all my research and he's like john you and I are in a bar having a beer watching a game We're going to talk baseball He said if all that research if there's something important You'll remember it and we'll we're just going to talk and that's what I try to do. I thought it was great advice I try to do my homework now and show up in the booth and just have a conversation with One person or the two people that i'm working with that night So I learned so much from all of them, but I never forgot that advice from kitty Now this is just me speaking. I don't know where your head's at according to this I know you threw your hat into the ring when the Yankees were looking for a new manager after joe giordi and I was Kind of hoping they would go in the flash direction But I I think in my personal opinion, I know a lot of the people I talked to Yes And a lot of my friends and family all thought that you could be a great manager Wherever it may be so are those thoughts still in your head or is that ship sailed with you potentially being a manager? Yeah, I think probably that ship is sailed by now chris, you know, and you mentioned I did throw my name in the ring when Joe giordi was let go I love what i'm doing and I love that I have a life outside of the broadcasting and baseball and You know, my kids are older now and they've been very supportive If I wanted to get back into the everyday coaching or managing that they would fully support that but I'm at a point now where I think the game has changed so much and if you're a manager, it's full time It's 24 7 You have to be 100 invested in it and at this point. I just don't see that that investment so Hopefully yes, we'll keep me on for a little longer and I can continue to do what I love to do and that's broadcast some games Yeah, I don't think we're gonna have a problem with that. I think you're gonna be with yes for a long time coming and you know, it kind of makes me sad because I would have loved to have seen some John Flaherty press conferences after a tough loss I don't know about anybody else, but I know I would like to see those Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you chris if you want to if you want to have me do a press conference after a bad broadcast Maybe we can set that up and you can ask well Well, that would that would never happen because you never have a bad broadcast John Flaherty, thank you so much. We appreciate the time and thank you everybody for watching Remember stay stay home. Stay safe. Stay strong and stay with us and remember always. Yes, we are here