 Welcome to another edition of Yes, We're Here. I'm Jack Curry and today I'm joined by Charlie Hayes, former Yankee. He was part of the 1996 championship team and he was a third baseman who pitchers wanted the ball to be hit to because Charlie was the kind of guy who was gonna scoop up everything at third and Charlie as we get started. First of all, thanks for joining us. Second of all, how are you and your family handling this challenging time during the pandemic? Well, we pretty much just got each other. Key Brian, the baby son that plays ball, he lives differently from where we at, but he's not coming into contact with anybody but us. Me and my wife and then the other boy Tyree, we brought him into the house and advised him to stay with us. And then I've got a baseball academy. No one can come out here. We cleaned it up really, really well. So Key Brian comes here, we hit. So he's fortunate to have a place where he can work out. But other than that, we're all doing good. We're probably getting a little tired of each other, but I guess if that's the worst thing that can come out of it so far, then we'll take that. I'm gonna ask you about Key Brian in a second. Obviously one of the top prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, but I gotta start with dad. I'm not gonna start with the son. I wanna start with Pops. You have a distinction that very few major leagueers have. You caught the final out of a World Series. Obviously 1996, Game 6, Yankees Braves at Yankee Stadium. How often do you think about that moment, Charlie? Well, personally, when it happened and then you reflect back on everything that got you to that point, I thought about that quite a bit, probably the first 10 years after that. But being around the Yankees and doing a lot of PR stuff, it never goes away. I would think now after 20, whatever, 30 years or however many it is, it would count it and went away, but it kinda just stuck to me like a nickname, I guess. And I tried to interact with the fans and doing a lot of the Yankee stuff. I see a lot of people that love the Yankees and I've made friends with a lot of them. So there's not a day that goes by someone doesn't post that thing or make a comment through Messenger or something where we became friends through social media about that. So it's kinda wild. I tell people all the time, I try to keep things in perspective, but a couple of friends of mine said, man, you always sign everything. You just stop and I say, well, one day they're not gonna want my autograph. So that's how I look at it. Yeah, well. You're a smart man, Charlie. Now when you catch Lemke's pop-up, I think you would admit to me that was a routine pop-up. On the pitch before, you almost ended the World Series with a miraculous catch. You go flying into the Braves dugout and got your hand on that pop-up. How close did you come to making that play? And wow, that would've been quite a great end of World Series. I still don't believe to this day that I missed it. What happened was, my right hand was resting on the camera. And I guess the camera guy spun around and when he spun around, he spun me right on down in the dugout. It just kinda like grazed my glove, but I still think I should've had it. I didn't get in there far enough. That would've been great coming running out of the dugout with the ball, but I'll take what happened. A lot of people forget about that, but when everything was over with, my finger was broke. My baby finger, my right hand was broke. So I don't know if I broke it when I fell in the dugout. I think I did. So when I'm running back out there before the next pitch, I just felt a sharp pain, but I never looked down. And then you get caught up in the moment. Being on the Yankees where a dream come true. Planning Yankee Stadium was another dream come true because those fans made that place rock. I remember going out in the seventh inning of that game, I rode the bench, I tell my parents out here at my baseball academy that all the time, hey, see, just because you're not a starter, that doesn't mean that you're not gonna get an opportunity or you won't be you. So you gotta stay in the right frame of mind. And that's how I was. The history was I was going out there in the seventh inning anyway. So that was a good thing by playing with Mr. Tory. You knew your role and he was gonna use everybody. So, you know, it was a routine pop-up. And everybody's like, what was you thinking? And I was thinking I was going to Disneyland, but I wasn't at the MVP and I never would have been the MVP with that group of guys, but it was one of the defining moments in my career from a standpoint that everybody remembers me as that. Charlie, when you got to the Yankees in 96, they got Wade Box, Future Hall of Famer at third base. How did you make that adjustment to know that you were gonna have to share playing time, you're gonna have to figure that out? How did that go? When I got traded, I thought I was going to the mix because I already knew the Yankees had a box. So I was thinking, why would I be going to the Yankees? And then when I got to Anaheim, I was in the room. It had to be, I don't know, six o'clock and Joe Tory called my phone. He was like, where are you at? I said, I'm in my room. He was like, there's a car downstairs waiting on you. I'm thinking I just got up, stayed up all night, just got up that morning, flew all the way from Pittsburgh across to LA. I'm not gonna play till the next day. So I get in the limo or whatever the car service, I get to the stadium, I'm running up the tunnel and the clubhouse guys meet me with a uniform. And I'm putting it on, I'm running, I get some swings and then I run out for the National Anthem and I played the game. I think I went like two from five or three from five, had a couple of good RBIs. And Joe Tory had told me that he thought I was gonna be in there every day, at least this series, because they had a whole bunch of lefties and stuff like that. But I guess the next day, Boss played, he was supposed to have been out. But all of a sudden he played and that's how it took off. But I just tried to make the most of it. Baron or Duncan was there. I had played with him in Philly. He took me on his wing and made sure I was comfortable. And then he knew I was just gonna play baseball and whatever role they gave me, I was gonna do it the best I could. It was just a great opportunity for me. I went to sleep 20 something games out and I woke up two up in first place. So I had to make some changes. I had to call my guy and tell him, I'm not gonna need the boat right now because I'm gonna be playing some meaningful baseball, which he was always meaningful every day because I was a professional. I wanted to switch gears and ask you about Key Bryan. 23 years old, he's a terrific defensive player, very good hitter, he's right on the cusp of being a major leaguer. Give us your scouting report on your own son. First of all, good kid. I think I have to cut my hair low so you don't see all the great. But I don't think he put one of them in my head. Out of three, you have one that does all the right things. And it's been him so far. He's just been that kind of kid. He never wanted attention on him. I think he's growing out of that now. And I think he's ready for the major leagues now. It's hard to tell a kid, you're not doing something exact because with hitting, there's a fine line and all that. But when you successful, it's hard to change. Last year was the first time that he scuffled a little bit. And he realized that he needed to make adjustments because I told him all the time, that's what pro ball is. You got to constantly make adjustments from back to back, pitch to pitch. You got to be like an elephant. You got to remember everything and you pertain all the stuff that gonna help you and make you a better player. Charlie, it's so cool to hear you talk about Key Bryan and the rest of your family and your love for baseball and your passion for it. I really appreciate you giving us some time today. I know we're all hoping that baseball gets back in some form. I know you want to see Key Bryan play in 2020. So like you, we're saying our prayers and I want to thank you so much for giving us some time today. Yeah, thank you, Jack, for having me.