 Hello again everyone and welcome to another edition of Yes We Are Here. My name is Jack Currie and today I'm joined by Mike Gallego, a slick fielding versatile major league infielder. He spent three seasons with the Yankees and Mike as we get started. I want to welcome you in, but first and foremost I also want to ask you how you and your family are doing during this trying time. I appreciate Jack. Thanks for having me. My family actually is doing very well. My son is one son is in New York actually. He's a resident at Yale University right now going through some residency there and then my other son's a coach at UCLA. So he's in LA and my daughter lives in LA as well. She's a professional hairstylist so all of them are doing well. They are you know getting, I don't want to say used to wearing a mask, but you know there's, I guess there's one by their door as they walk out making sure that it's part of their life now, the new norm and you know it's obviously something that we're all trying to deal with at the best that we can but you know at the same time we hope that we all battle through this together and do what we have to do to make things right again. So I do have to ask you one question about the son who is in New York. Has he shared any videos with you or told you about what has become a tradition here at 7 p.m. where it's just a an onslaught of applause and clapping to thank all of the folks on the front lines? Yes, he has he has sent a couple videos of that from his apartment complex actually and and you know people outside you know standing outside are waving outside the windows and yelling and screaming and you know celebrating everyone that's helped during this pandemic. It's pretty impressive to see you know the citizens of New York once again stepping up and doing what's right and being very supportive of all the people that are risking their lives every single day for all of us. Mike I mentioned you're three seasons in New York you had a 13-year major league career if I asked you to reflect on your own career what are you most proud of? Well there's you know there's actually quite a few things to think back about that. I mean the first thing that jumps out at me is obviously allowing you know my wife my kids and my family to experience all these memories and great times that we had you know with the playoff teams and just to just to you know say that I've been in the game for this long is very impressive to myself you know I never you know obviously it was a boyhood dream but for me to still be in the game and earn the respect that I did I believe I did from my teammates and from the opponents you know it was it was something that you know that you know being you know being a representative for players and kids of my stature for one thing was something that I was always proud of you know I mean when I when I you know sign an autograph for somebody and and you know the kid would sign I'd sign something for a kid and he'd go back to his mom and dad said wow I'm taller than him you know that was that was something that you know that I was proud of you know because obviously it I think I let people know let kids know that if you worked hard enough and you're determined if you wanted something bad enough and you're willing to put the work it's possible and I think I proved that for a lot of the young kids coming up you're the bench coach for the angels now and obviously if I go to baseball reference there is a height that is listed so Mike since you brought it up what was your height for all those years what was it was it legit or what is Mike Gallego checking in at well depends if you measure me with my cleats on or with my cleats off you know obviously that gave me an extra inch or so a quarter of an inch but my my my height right now is five six and three quarters and I think back to my cards some of my cards might have said five nine I don't know how that got on that there was somebody reversed that six but you know it was you know I I always felt that I was six feet tall when I played on the field you know when I was between the lines my height never bothered me actually it enhanced my my strike zone for sure so it was a smaller strike zone I was lower to the ground on ground balls and that was what I was known for was catching the ground balls but you know it to me it always mattered what mattered was the size of of your heart you know your brain and and your attitude that you brought to the ballpark every day and and I think I I carried a pretty good size of all those three Mike I know your focus now is on trying to make sure that the angels become winners but you were in the heart and in the middle of those powerhouse A's teams three straight world series 88 89 90 what do you remember about being on those teams and the second part of the question is this do you take incredible joy out of the one win or is there sometimes where you feel pain out of not getting those other two because David Cohen's got five World Series rings and he still talks to you about 1988 with the Mets where he thought they should have gotten to a World Series and wanted so joy out of the one win or do you still think about the ones that got away oh well there's there's no doubt you know we felt that if there was ever an opportunity for for a team to be a dynasty uh those were the teams and since we only won one you know we we look at ourselves as we didn't we didn't we didn't succeed let's put it that way and yes you know the Dodgers in 88 the Kirk Gibson home run I you know we still see that every once in a while and that that definitely hurts and then uh uh you know Rio and and Sabo with the Reds in 90 I mean that team just all of a sudden got hot and you know they they pretty much handed to us so but in 89 um you know it was the earthquake series you know so you really still don't even think about the A's as the team itself you talk about it as what happened during the earthquake and uh so uh you know although we're very proud to obviously have a World Series championship under our belt um and during that World Series the earthquake was I mean you know there's thousands of stories of of the devastation but to me I always felt that that day we actually you know there's a lot of you know a lot of lives that were lost but I felt that that day we actually the game actually saved a lot of lives due to the fact that there was more people at home or in a restaurant or a bar watching the game between the A's and the Giants as opposed to being on that Nimitz Freeway at that time normally that Nimitz Freeway the Bay Bridge is bumper to bumper and because of the games that were going on in the area I felt that there were a lot of people off the street so and you know no disrespect to the lives that were lost but there were a lot of lives that were saved at the same time due to the fact that this game was you know in the Bay Area the Bay Bay Bridge series so um there was a lot of memories obviously uh from that um uh there was uh some proudness that uh you know we continued through we waited but and we battled through it we there are some guys a lot of us helped Red Cross during during the devastation and and until Tony took us to our spring training site here in Arizona but um it's something that you know when you when you ask people where were you and they at the earthquake series people remember that series so it was it was definitely proud we're definitely proud to be a part of that yeah 30 years later some very insightful and thoughtful memories from you to talk about those those lives that were saved you're such a fixture on those Oakland teams but you elect sign a three-year free agent deal with the Yankees they offered about a million dollars more than the A's did I remember on your conference call you said look at those numbers wouldn't you guys wouldn't you guys take that deal what else attracted you to the Yankees Gene Michael and Buck Shaw-Walt that were running the show at that point you thought you could come to New York and help build a winner I imagine well you know the the funny story is is uh you know in order it takes a special breed to play in New York as far as the player is concerned because that you know there's so much expectations from the organization and from the fans and uh you know that that can be intimidating to some players but it also you know you you get an opportunity to play in New York um you know this could make you or break you as a player and um to be honest with you when my agent was going back and forth I was so in intense and and determined to stay with the Oakland A's because I came up through the organization I'm California boy it's close to home my agent kept saying New York's interested New York's interested well at the time they had like three or other second baseman sacks and and Velardi and and Pat Kelly there's a lot of second basements available so I was not thinking the Yankees I was thinking the Mets so when my agent told me hey you know the Yankees are you know they really need a decision here I go wait a minute the Yankees the Yankees want me to play for them are you serious and they want me to play shortstop as well I just I just felt that I earned all the the respect that I could ever expect to get when the Yankees were calling so for me it was something that I was very very proud to be able to say you know what I wore the pinstripes I worked for Mr. Steinbrenner I was a player for the New York Yankees and that's something that um you know you can never take away so all those World Series championships with Oakland those were fantastic don't get me wrong and I was very proud to be a part of of that that rock group we were we were rock stars over there but you know when people ask me hey what teams did you play for and I say the A's the Yankees and the Cardinals and they're like you played for the Yankees no one even talks about the other teams but you know it's something that you know once you're a Yankee you're always a Yankee and I mean look it you're you're asking for an interview I haven't asked for it no one's asked me for an interview like 10 years now and here you are giving me a call and asking for an interview because I was part of that team so yeah you know it was something that um I will always be proud to say that I was a Yankee and and I played with Don Mattingly and and Wade Boggs and and war number two before Derek Jeter you know so that's something that I'm very proud of as well so it was it was something it was um you know it was when I became a Yankee it was like wow this is what the big leagues is all about no disrespect to the A's or the Cardinals but it was just a little different saying you're you're a Yankee no doubt you just stole one of my questions might because I was going to ask you do you enjoy being the answer to a trivia question you wore nine and your first go around with Oakland how did you end up with number two when you got to the Yankees was that just Nick Priori handing that to you or did you request number two do you remember well obviously if you do remember Nick Priori number two was the smallest uniform in in the in the closet so he just threw that at me and said here this one will fit you um I believe it I believe it I guarantee it was you know once I once I got the number and understood what the number meant you know the single digit you know it was it was wow I mean it was I you know I was not worthy of that number let's put it that way that's believe me that's Derek Jeter's number you know and and I said that you know a couple years ago when Derek Jeter became Derek Jeter but it was obviously pretty cool you know something you can tell the grandkids hey who wore number two before Derek Jeter you know and and to be a part of the trivia question like that I'm not I'm not a part of too many trivia questions you know if you look at the back of my my baseball card but I was very fortunate during my career to be able to say that I played with or played against all these superstars all these hall of famers played for these hall of fame managers it's just it's just something that I am you know very proud to be able to say that I'm to this day I've been in this industry for 39 years I would have never never thought it you know and I remember just being in the backyard you know emulating Pete Rose's stance you know and you know he was my idol when I grew up I was always diving and sliding and head first and I was always dirty and you know that's just the way I played the game you know I was I would make sure my uniform was dirty by the end of the game and if I was dirty I knew I out there and I Mike you mentioned before that the A's were rock stars the Yankees are on their way to being rock stars in 1994 best record in the American League and then obviously the strike the work stoppage that season never has the opportunity to be finished I see you're shaking your head already I've had this conversation with so many people from Paul O'Neill to Buck Shaw Walter how bothersome is it that that team never got a chance to sort of have an identity in 1994 and who knows maybe maybe want to title that year yeah that that's definitely something that you know when you talk talk about it you know to these players today they're like wait a minute you guys didn't you didn't finish the season you didn't have the playoffs in the world series I said no we didn't we had one of the best records in the game we had a team that was starting to gel uh we had from top to bottom you know we had players that uh respected each other uh and we we all had the same goal every single day was to go out and do something positive to help with a baseball game and it didn't matter you know we had our big name players obviously Don Natalie Paul O'Neill Bernie Williams was coming Wade Boggs Mike Stanley but we were all so focused of wanting to just bring a winning team back to the city of New York and to get the I remember just to get in the backing of the fans getting the backing of the reporters you know feeling the excitement every time we walked into the clubhouse that we were going to go out there and and compete and and probably win another game you know uh it's it's definitely uh very very disappointing to uh sit back here and say now today wow we we never had the opportunity who knows what could have happened that year but uh the opportunity that slipped through your fingers to be a part of a championship team in the city of New York you know that's something that will will regret for the rest of our lives no doubt but uh what what a year that was and and it was a lot of fun to to be a part of that and to uh you know walk in to stadium well you're right we were basically rock stars at time I remember coming into you know opponents you know going to cities and going into the hotel we had to go into the back door there were so many people in the lobby waiting to get a hold of you know a lot of our players you know get an autograph whatever but uh that was that was a pretty special season there's no doubt and um you know when when we I just actually contacted Mike Stanley the other day and and uh it was it was good memories and and um you know it was it was fun to be a part of that team no doubt. Mike we talked a little bit earlier about how the Yankees had to change the culture around their team Gene Michael and Buck Showalter were so stressing that they added you they added Key, Boggs, O'Neill, Tartable, Spike Owen. Now some of those guys were still there when they end up winning in 96 95 you go back to Oakland 96 you're in St. Louis sticking with Tony LaRoussa I know that baseball you can play so many what-if games when they end up winning in 96 was there any part of you that played the what-if game and wondered if if you could have persisted and stayed there a couple years longer if you had been part of that oh absolutely no doubt about it but I was also uh proud to know that you know what Gene and and Buck and George the Steinbrenner family did uh to to get that team rolling hey you know that's that's part of the industry you know and and you know the the you don't see you didn't see too many players staying with one team uh you know in that in that era you know there's only a few guys that really kind of stayed that don manly stayed with one team you know uh I was happy for you know I was actually I think Don didn't make that team was he was he not there he uh right he finished the 95 division series that that lost to the Mariners that was his final majorly yeah that was that was that was a yeah that was the thing that I do recall saying that Don me missed out more than I missed out you know and and uh because 94 you know he was a part of big big part of that team and here was our opportunity to bring Donnie to the playoffs but that's that's you know I was just I was just glad to see this happening for the Yankees for the Yankee organization and and to say that I had maybe a little part to help guide that organization in the on the right path that's all I could say but it would have been fun to be part of that no doubt Mike you played for Tony LaRusa almost your entire career Jackie Moore when you first started out buck shoulder with the Yankees now you're a bench coach for a very good manager in Joe Madden what's the definition of a good bench coach how are you helping Joe Madden during a game after games what do you feel that a good bench coach provides to his manager um that's a great question uh because I'm I'm a rookie again to tell you the truth after you're starting all over right in that role this is a new role for me and and uh you know this spring I I learned a little bit about excel I had actually learned quite a bit about excel and that was definitely a challenge for myself but um we we battled through it uh I think for me um with Joe Joe obviously is is what a great guy to to work for and work side by side with um he is he's so laid back um and and there's times that you you might think that he's not really paying attention because he'll be talking about a rock group or a restaurant and all sudden a pitch is called and he'll scream and bark at at the bad call that the umpire just made and you're like whoa what's going on back behind me so he doesn't miss a pitch which is great because of his his intensity is different from like a Tony LaRusa you know it there these guys are geniuses but they're they're they're mannerisms their way of of dealing with the players and dealing with the actual uh on-field action uh the man the umpire is a po the pony opponent managers the opposing managers um it's so uh it's so different but I think to answer your question my job my role as a bench coach is obviously to be prepared um for any question that he might ask I got to get better with my trivia because he does have a lot of trivia and and I you know I'm learning that I've learned that this spring um but the the preparation and and for me is to be honest with Joe uh that's why he's kept me around I I don't I know Joe just you know by playing you know playing against him I don't know I never knew him personally and he told me that he he hired me because of of of my experience uh because of the respect that I had in the game um and he basically said I want you to be yourself and that's why I hired you I want you to be Mike Gallego and and I went wow I think I can do that I think I can be Mike Gallego and so I my whole thing is is to be honest as I can with him and obviously to know to be smart as well and to know when it's it's the best answer is to just completely agree with what the manager's decision is uh but for the most part you know in spring training you know when we talked baseball and dealt with six situations we were um you know right on the same page so uh uh I I don't think it should be an issue with with with Joe it's definitely has a lot to do with the manager that you're working with no doubt about it Mike I'm going to use some baseball jargon to finish this out this last question I'm just putting it on a tee for you you've played with MVPs future Hall of Famers you get to see Mike Trout on a daily basis how high up that baseball mountaintop should replace Mike Trout I'll tell you what this kid is unbelievable he's um I never got a chance to play with this guy but I did see a lot of video and he's today's Mickey Mantle this guy can do everything he's a great guy great kid humble um you'll see him be part of his routine for every game is he gets out there on time so he could sign autographs to 10 to 15 kids before he before the game he has to get there on time to do his stretching to do his running but he also gives himself time to sign these autographs and he's always giving back I mean he takes care of he takes care of the coaches he takes care of the rookie players he takes care of um the fans uh obviously he takes care of his family very well but he's a guy that you know we sit there and watch every day and and are just awed by what he produces you know there's no there's when you put the numbers together and watch the records it's like which record is he gonna break if he doesn't break it today he's gonna break it tomorrow by the end of the season there's no doubt about it this guy can do it all can run can throw he's actually actually he couldn't throw very well a couple years ago and I heard the story that he went to dino uh and and worked with him on his defense on getting better at making accurate and stronger throws this kid never stops working you know and and he's the first one at the ballpark literally and the last one one the last one's leave and I'm not just saying that just to say that this guy's there at the ballpark and he he beat me every time last year no doubt about that but he's not just sitting there playing video games he's in the cage or he's in the waiting room or he's in the training room he's he's getting himself prepared for that game and uh he's he's definitely uh you know I like you said I've seen a lot of players but I've never seen anybody that that brings it like this guy every single day from the minute he walks in drives into the parking lot to the minute he drives away next time you see Mike Trout you can tell him this you called him today's mickey mannell and just like mickey mannell mickey egg award single digit number for the new york yeah I'll be glad to mention that too i'm sure i'm sure he'll enjoy that one hey mike it was great to spend a few minutes with you you're always a stand-up guy by your locker to answer questions when i covered you in new york and i appreciate that you did it again some 25 years later here well i appreciate that you're still calling and and uh you know it surprises me seriously when when you guys ask for interview or kids still ask for our kids still ask for an autograph you know it's something that uh I can't believe you know that people would still request me and want something from me but it's something that i'm very proud of and and you know the beautiful part of this business is being able to get back and and that's what i continue to try to do thank you