The DHC Podcast
Ever wondered what it’s like to be truly involved in sports? Wonder no more!
On this podcast, I’ll sit down with players, GMs, owners, and passionate fans like you to uncover how they fell in love with sports. We’ll dive into their unique journeys, explore the business side of the game, and discuss the endless possibilities that the sport offers.
From behind-the-scenes stories to deep conversations about the sport, I’m here to explore it all—while having a ton of fun along the way!
The Dad Hat:
Twitter: https://x.com/thedadhat216
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedadhat216/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thedadhat216
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPk7lmGqgfNZNS4IM-M8XVw
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedadhat216?lang=en
The DHC Podcast
5 Questions: From Wichita Fury to Baseball Influencer
Eric Proffitt reveals his hidden past as a summer collegiate baseball player for the Wichita Fury, a surprise revelation despite years of friendship with the host. His baseball journey spans from childhood to podcasting, with unique experiences like playing and working at historic Lawrence Dumont Stadium.
• Co-hosts the Earn Fun Average Podcast focusing on minor league and summer collegiate baseball
• Played summer collegiate baseball for the Wichita Fury in the now-defunct River City Victory League
• Worked for the Wichita Wranglers in 2003-2004 when 19-year-old Zack Greinke pitched there
• Follows baseball traditions including collecting ice cream helmets and stadium pins
• Participates in "Baseball Around the Clock" - 11 games in 33 continuous hours
• Aims to attend 100 baseball games annually (already at 74 games this season)
• Values baseball's slower pace for building friendships and conversations
• Learned scorekeeping from his mother, contrary to the typical father-son baseball narrative
• Played on Lawrence Dumont Stadium's unique turf infield/grass outfield configuration
Make sure to follow the Dad Hat Chronicles: https://linktr.ee/TheDadHatChronicles
Welcome to my show, where I'm giving you all the stuff you've never heard and you've known me for like five years now.
Speaker 2:We've known each other for a long time and I just found this out on my new section of the podcast of Five Questions. This is insanity.
Speaker 1:I can't wait until everybody hears this. Okay, let's go.
Speaker 3:All right, welcome everybody to, I guess, five Questions, and today we have my good friend and fellow podcaster and co-host also of the DHC Sports Show, eric Prophet. How are you doing today, my friend?
Speaker 1:I'm doing well. Appreciate you having me on Ed.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, so before we go on, if you don't mind telling us a little bit about yourself, as far as your podcast and all that fun stuff, so everybody can know all about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I co-host a podcast called the Earn Fun Average Podcast, part of the Curvebroom Media Network with you. I do it with my good friend, Johnny Bolin and it comes out every Wednesday morning. Talk a lot about minor league, summer collegiate's kind of our big thing right now. We love the good summer collegiate teams out there, independent professionals, so have on some friends, have on some GMs. We've had some head coaches and so talk a lot of baseball. But yeah, Earn Fun Average is Johnny and I's podcast that we do.
Speaker 3:You really have found a niche in collegiate summer. Man Like you really have a good niche there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we love summer collegiate and we've gotten a little bit. It's not all summeregiate up in Canada, but we started to get some teams from Canada to come on as well, that's pretty cool, so we like to call ourselves Canada's Podcast.
Speaker 1:But yeah, we seem to just really enjoy any time they come on Summer Collegiate, I don't know for whatever reason. Their episodes seem to do the best. They're loyal fans that go to the games. They tune in when they team shares the podcast on their socials and so, yeah, we've not solely, uh, strictly uh, summer collegiate, but that's kind of a big thing of what we're doing. We really enjoy it. A lot of fun getting to learn about kind of these smaller teams. We've also done some of the bigger Northwoods Leagues and the Cape and the Coastal Plains.
Speaker 3:League. I was just going to say you've done.
Speaker 1:Coastal Plains Leagues as well. Yeah, so we've done some of the bigger summer collegiate, but also some of those smaller ones that people aren't familiar with. Yeah, just a lot of fun getting to learn about them.
Speaker 3:The team the towns they're from. And so, hell yeah, dude, I love it. All right, you ready for question number one, my friend? Yes, sir, all right. So, and, and this one, uh, is pretty simple what? How did you fall in love with the game of baseball?
Speaker 1:a lot of people you know talk about. Yeah, I used to, you know, growing we'd go outside and play catch with you know my dad, or kind of those type of stories, and my dad was always there. He was super supportive. I played baseball basically when I was five years old, up through the year after my basically my freshman year of college. I didn't play like for college, but I did play, and not a whole lot of people know this. I did play for a summer collegiate team in a league that no longer exists here in Wichita. Wait, hold on a second.
Speaker 3:We've been friends this long and now you're just telling me this thing, dude.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I was 19. I played, as they were called, the Wichita Fury and they, right out of high school, I played for them for one season. It was the River City Victory League, the RCVL, here in Wichita and I talk a lot about like on my show and sometimes on the show you and I do about the National Baseball Congress World Series right, which at the time of this recording actually starts this Thursday and then this Saturday and Sunday is baseball around the clock. So I'm going to be doing baseball around the clock for the first time. I didn't get to do it last year when they brought it back, so it'll be the first time for me in like eight or nine years.
Speaker 1:But RCVL was a partner league with the NBC and if we would have won our league we would have got to play in the NBC World Series but unfortunately we ended up taking second in the league so I didn't get to play in the NBC. I was close, but, yeah, only one year. But I did get to play. I did play summer collegiate. So not a lot of people know about that, they're about to find out.
Speaker 3:That's what they're about to do? Dude, that's amazing. You know how jealous I am. I just wanted to play one season, that's it. Even if it was summer, I would have loved to do that. Obviously, I suck and I'm just reliving my childhood dreams right now in Sandlot baseball. But man, that's what position did you play?
Speaker 1:So growing up I pitched a lot, but in this league I played mostly second or right field.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 1:I wasn't as good with the bat but I was really good defensively and wasn't afraid to get dirty. So I made a lot of good defensive plays. But yeah, when I played for the Fury I was mostly second base and a little bit of right field. But growing up I pitched a lot, played first and even played some third. I played basically everything but even played some third. Basically I did everything but catcher. Growing up One of the cool things also kind of unrelated, but it would have been my 7th and 8th grade years and then I think even through high school not the high school team but the summer team that I played for the league we had here in Wichita.
Speaker 1:Before we got the current Wichita wind surge we had called Lawrence Dumont stadium. That was built in 1934 and was here until 2018. We actually got to play some games every summer at Lawrence Dumont stadium. So it's where. The last 10 years it was the Wichita wing nuts of the independent professional American association, but before that it was the double a, the Kansas city Royals, the Wichita Wranglers. So I got to play on that same turf field and it was really weird because when the wing nuts came in they switched it and it was all turf. But prior to that and I never really see this and I obviously I don't think many people do anymore the outfield was grass and the infield was turf. What it's really weird, that's that's how lawrence dumont was for many years. Back in the day it was. You could see the turf was really faded, this really weird green color turf, but the outfield was grass and when I played there that's what it was. So I played probably four or five years and got to play two or three games every summer at a double-A stadium.
Speaker 2:So welcome to my show where I'm giving you all the stuff you've never heard and you've known me for like five years now we've known each other for a long time and I just found this out on my new, on my new section of the podcast of five questions. This is insanity. I can't wait till everybody hears this just yo I'm gonna be like y'all wanna y'all gotta listen to this thing but just to kind of.
Speaker 1:you know, obviously I haven't really gotten to answer your question. So my parents were super supportive. They took me. You know my parents took me to all my games and you know you had on and I actually listened today Kelly Robinson and then Virgil Brooks, they scored all the games. Well, my mom kept score for all my games and that's how I learned is from actually my mom, because she kept score from my games and so she taught me. So you know, a lot of times it's like, oh, I learned from an uncle or dad or whatever, but for me it was my mom. But I do remember my uh parents, especially my dad, would take me out to like the nbc world series at lawrence dumont growing up. But for for me I have two older brothers. My brother, joe, is six years older and then my oldest brother, nick, is eight years older, and so for me I think I kind of learned and loved the game, more so for my brothers, I would say, than anything.
Speaker 3:That's awesome dude. And obviously I know one of your brothers, joe, which he's an awesome dude. You know, love hanging out with joe, he's hilarious. Oh my god, I cannot believe. Almost five years, five years.
Speaker 1:And then you just decided to just drop this bombshell on me, jesus that's right, so we would always go either just outside in our front yard or there is a park. It's still there. That was, oh, probably five minute walk from my parents house growing up, and my mom still lives in that same house, so it's still right over close to actually where I live now, uh, but we would always either walk or ride our bikes to the park yeah and there was a a field there.
Speaker 1:Obviously it was not a very good field but it had a backstop and dirt. Or we a field there obviously it was not a very good field but it had a backstop and dirt or we would go out if it was being used. We would go out into the big grassy area and would use our bicycles as bases, yeah. And then so we'd run and have the bicycles and we kind of step near it or kind of touch the tires yeah, yeah for the bases.
Speaker 1:But yeah, for me I think it was more kind of with both my brothers and then so I have two older brothers, as I mentioned, but then next door there were three boys, and so I was the youngest of the six, between both my brothers, myself and then the three boys next door.
Speaker 1:My brother, nick, was eight years older. So between me and the eight years older there were six of us within the eight year range. So we'd always go outside and play wiffle ball or whatever, and then across the street there was two more boys, so there's basically eight of us, so we'd always just go.
Speaker 3:You almost had almost a whole full team dude.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I'd say more so for me instead of you know. Obviously, like I said, my parents were super supportive and took me to all my games and stuff, but I think more so with my brothers and then the neighbor boys next door and across the street growing up.
Speaker 3:That's cool as shit, dude. I love that. That's awesome. I know you say you have two brothers. I've obviously never met their oldest one, but met Joe. All right, give me a couple stories, man, of you going to games or growing up. There has to be something that's just really you gravitate towards the game, because obviously we both have plenty of stories.
Speaker 1:So give me a couple of them yeah, like I mentioned so with the uh, wichita wranglers. They were here from the late 80s up until 2007, so I remember going to the ballpark quite a bit and logo, something that I think I've mentioned before. But also another thing that may shock you, if you don't really know, is that I used to work in minor league affiliated ball. So I used to work for the Wichita Wranglers back in 2003, 2004. And when I was there they had Zach Granke. You know big MLB All-Star, cy Young winner. He pitched here for Wichita. He was 19 years old at the time. Jesus, that was right before he went through his cycle, whatever, he had to leave the game for a few years and then he came back. I remember that, and when he came back he was back with wichita. So then again in 2006, and then in 2006 that team had, like alex gordon, billy butler, so some of the guys that went to the world series yeah, so it was fun getting to watch them.
Speaker 1:Uh, so I think one of my fun stories was when I was working for the the wranglers. I did a few different odd jobs, but mostly I was an usher, but I was kind of the main usher right behind the home plate and so I got to have a walkie talkie to talk to like the main whoever you know that I was working for, main boss or whatever, but the Wranglers had won the division and so they were down on the field celebrating and most of the time you know, you see them celebrating in the locker rooms but they had the champagne down on the field, yep, and at the time, grinky in 2003 was only 19. And so the security guard police officer right next to me goes hey, somebody watched number 13. He's not old enough to drink or something. Just kind of joking around, but that's always a memory that stuck with me.
Speaker 1:And then that that 2006 team they end up losing the Texas League Championship Series. But I just remember going to those games going to the playoff games where they were right there about to win a championship was a lot of fun. And then when Lawrence Dumont, they tore that down 2018, my brother I think both my brothers were there. But I remember specifically my brother Joe and I were there and just kind of the nostalgia of being up, growing up at that ballpark and knowing they were going to tear it down, and just all those memories we had. And then so like afterwards we went outside and took pictures with the stadium behind us and stuff.
Speaker 3:And did you get to keep one of the seats?
Speaker 1:No, that's one thing I regret. So they actually had it before they tore it down, where you could go and get a stadium seat. But they said, oh yeah, you have to bring your own tools. And I didn't have anything with me at the time. I was up there at the stadium because they had like a local media versus some kind of fun little celebrity softball game. It's kind of like the last little hurrah that they did. And while they're there, like, oh yeah, if you guys want seats and I didn't, I should have just had somebody that was there, just get one for me. So absolutely.
Speaker 1:Unfortunately, that's one thing I regret I did not get a seat from that stadium. I wish I would have.
Speaker 3:Same with me with Municipal Stadium. You know, obviously I got there when you know the Indians at that point were moved into the new where it is progressive field right now. I don't know if you know that, but it's called progressive field. You only have one sign, only one, not six or seven up front. But I regret not getting a Muni lot stadium seat I would have been cool, yeah for sure.
Speaker 1:Another big memory that kind of jumps to mind just because it was somewhat recent, so three years ago. So you know, as I said, I grew up I enjoyed watching baseball, but I never really traveled until I kind of met this little group of friends through social media. So, 2022, everybody has this. You know our friend Anna with the baseball bucket list. Everybody says I want to go see baseball in Hawaii. This you know our friend Anna with the baseball bucket list. Everybody says I want to go see baseball in Hawaii.
Speaker 1:Well, I had a little bit of advantage on that, just because my wife's, her sister and family live. They were at the on the big island at the time. Now they're in Honolulu, but in 2022 February, to start the season, I flew out to Hawaii to see her family and then went over to Honolulu and got to see the university of Hawaii. They were playing Washington state university, so I got to see a baseball at less more commie stadium and then from there came home, went down to Frisco to see the Frisco classic down at Frisco, texas, where the rough riders play, and then ended up in 2022 was basically the first and last time they had all three at the triple a championships.
Speaker 1:So the international league, the uh pacific coast league and then the ultimate triple, a national championship.
Speaker 3:So ended up, 2022 saw my first hundred baseball games in one season this dude, I'm telling you guys, this dude, what goes through so many trips, so jealous right now, like I mean, oh god, I'm just trying to still trying to work on booking my flight to vegas for in september yeah, that ballpark is gorgeous. I'm scared, I'm scared to book in my flight.
Speaker 1:I'm not lying. If you get there, though, that I love. I've been there five times now, yeah, and I've yet to see the aviators play at their home ballpark.
Speaker 2:I know, but you've seen everybody else.
Speaker 1:Because I went last year to the AAA National Championship between Sugarland and Omaha, which is a lot of fun getting to see the Royals AAA. And then we actually went two years ago. They have a thing called Enchant Christmas and it's a bunch of Christmas lights and Christmas trees and they have an ice skating rink and sledding and vendors and stuff. So we actually went out there and went to that at the ballpark, didn't see a game, obviously it was December. It was a lot of fun getting to go there and then the three games then in 2022. So I've yet to see. Now this year Vegas has won the first half, so they're going to host the championship series and then if they win that, then they'll be able to host the national championship game.
Speaker 3:But it's funny how I've been out there and yet to see the actual home team game. Yeah, an excellent aviators. Yeah. And for those of you that don't know when I say that I'm nervous is I was supposed to go last year, but a hurricane completely destroyed those plans. It pushed my flight, they canceled my flight, then they switched my flight and then they said oh, by the way, you don't have a seat, you got to go back in, and so it was a whole ordeal just to get in there and it was just. I was just, I was disappointed, I was sad. So I'm trying to get back this year. It's going to be interesting, but we'll see. All right, okay. So question number three my friend, give me some of your traditions that you follow, that you do as far as baseball. I know for one of them that you truly do love is doing the wave at baseball games.
Speaker 1:So please indulge me in your traditions so if this is, uh, not only audio but video, you can tell that ed was not serious about that. Because there's two things that I cannot stand with baseball. The first one is the wave, yeah. The second one is the shift. Now they've kind of gotten away from being able to do the shift, but they still can, because you can basically have the shortstop play right up behind second base. Yep, and funny quick story. So last week. So we here in wichita have season tickets to the wichita wind surge, and I know our friend patrick will love that. I say that here, all right, because he's like oh whoa, you have season tickets, but he's not.
Speaker 1:He hasn't been on the on the five questions podcast I know he's gonna be, he's gonna be mad about that, but last tuesday night a week ago, tuesday the wind surge were at home and the game was tied with San Antonio nine to nine in the ninth inning I think, two to two, and they had a runner at first and maybe a runner at second, and a second baseman was shifted over towards the first baseman where he was pretty close to the first baseman and I said I told my son, Zach, I'm like he needs to move to his right. The hitter is going to hit the ball right up the middle. He's not going to be able to field it. They're going to score move.
Speaker 1:He goes no analytics say this left. He's going to hit it right to him at playing just past first base or whatever. I'm like he needs to move to his right. Sure enough, first pitch right up the middle. If he would have moved over to his right like two steps, easy field ground ball and gotten out of the inning, could have gone in and maybe walked it off. Instead gave up two runs in the inning and lost like four to two or whatever. I was so frustrated and I'm like so yeah the shift and the wave are not my favorite.
Speaker 1:One thing I will do when I go to the games now uh, like our good friend paul, I'll get a ice cream helmet, uh, with whatever you know logos they have on there. I also started because of our friend charles dennis. I will collect the little lapel pins, yes, and put those on the map. And then I also have been doing the passport stamp and so I have been doing the passport.
Speaker 3:The one I'm doing the same with you is the pins I the last couple of for the corporate media meetup. We didn't get to have those, which was kind of sad. That was like oh man yeah.
Speaker 1:so I uh had started that in 2022 because, uh, charles was doing that, so I had them from pretty much all of my games. Now they're only at my minor league, affiliated and then major league, but so, like the university of Hawaii, when I went to the college game they didn't have it like that but they had all the others. So I got them at like the triple, a national championship and stuff for Las Vegas ballpark. So I've had, I've had multiple because I've run out of spaces, but basically I've done a passport stamp book at all the stadiums since 2022. And then I wasn't huge into if I'm here at home we usually eat dinner before we go to the game, but because of our friend Val, now if I'm traveling somewhere I have to get what the exotic or whatever food local beer or whatever foods they have.
Speaker 1:We got Donnie and I got deep fried moon pie when we're at the ashville tourist game and that was phenomenal.
Speaker 3:It was so delicious. So many calories, but sounds delicious. See, that's the thing, though it's like we have all, we have all been influenced by, um, some of the people that we have met, uh, across social media, right, uh, on some of the things that we do. Like you said, charles dennis, you know what, um, what uh val does, what you know all these people do, just because we talk, and I was like you know what, that's actually a pretty good idea. You know, like, as far as major league baseball hats come for me now is I, if I don't visit that ballpark, I won't get a major league baseball hat from them, like I just won't yeah, I have.
Speaker 1:So I'm a kansas city royals fan and I have a few of the royals hats but for the most part any of the hats I have are either summer, collegiate or minor league affiliated. I have almost all of the wichita windsurge 59, 50s they've had out over the other five years that they've been in existence and. But yeah, I'm just, I go to. I have nine, I think, mlb stadiums left and I just don't really get any hats from them. Just I don't. I I enjoy going to the ballparks and stuff but, like I said, I have a few royals but I don't even have that many. I have maybe three or four. So my majority of the hats that I have are all minor league affiliated or summer collegiate or independent professional.
Speaker 3:Some of those yeah, I can see that I unless I got a bunch of um durham bowls, that's like. I think I have almost every single one of the like the dad had versions of the what the hell durham bowls have put out there. Uh, just because every time I go I pick something else. You know, it's just you know. You know how that goes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I've that's kind of funny this where you're at now. So I've been to the Durham bowl, the bowls athletic park, what three times now. So it's a fun ballpark and I have a few of their hats, but, yeah, local teams, usually you try to get as many as you can, just cause it's pretty accessible for the most part, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:So what other traditions you got?
Speaker 1:well, I wouldn't say that it's necessarily a tradition, but just now, at this point, trying to get to 100 games a year, that's cool I after 2022 I was able to hit 100 games.
Speaker 1:2023 I only had 81. Last year I hit 100 and this year I think I'll I'm gonna fly over it because we just hit the all-star break, just finished the all-star break. Just finished the all-star break, I'm already at 74. It's pretty easy for me to do, just because we do have the season tickets to the wind surge. They're home this week, so that'll I'll be there tomorrow through Friday. So that's four more games and then baseball around the clock is 11 games in 33 hours. It runs from noon Saturdayurday through the uh, 6 pm. Is it 6 pm or9 pm game on sunday? And so it's noon 3, 6, 9 midnight, 3 am sunday, 6 am sunday, 9 noon3 and then I think 6 is the last one.
Speaker 1:So which will get over nine, so I'll have 11 games right there in two days, basically.
Speaker 3:So so let me ask you um well, are you going to stay the whole time?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so with baseball around the clock, basically, they have where you can pay 30 bucks to see all 11 games which, if you think of it in a normal uh aspect, that's like like really good uh you know just be that many games.
Speaker 1:Even you know summer it's the premier summer collegiate tournament, right, uh, that wichita hosts. This is the 91st season and so around the clock. Basically, you start out with the noon game on saturday and they do at least one check-in per game and if you make it all the way through they have different prizes. They have a I survived around the clock t-shirt you get at the end. So, yeah, my wife and I are doing it. Our friend terry mccutchen's coming up from abilene, he's gonna do it oh, terry's gonna be up there yeah, so he's coming up, he'll be here for then.
Speaker 1:I know, like Donnie said, he wants to do it sometime. He won't be able to do it this year but maybe in the next couple years he'd probably come and do it. But yeah, the plan is to stay there. You only have roughly 40 minutes in between each game for the next teams to warm up, where you can go out to the car or whatever. But you can't really leave because if they do the sounder and they'll say okay, around the clockers, go down by the first base dugout and check in at the check-in table or whatever, and if you miss the check-in you're technically out. Now you could theoretically still stay there, but yeah, the plan is to try to make it the entire time. Lack of sleep is gonna be a pain.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's gonna be wild. Good, god bless you. I think it'll be cool, like when donnie does go to. You know I'll try to do that, so that'd be cool just to do some like live streaming.
Speaker 1:At the same time, it's a lot of fun because in the past, when we've done it so they've changed it up so they didn't have it for about eight or nine years, just because they had changed the format of the tournament. There used to be 32 to 40 teams and it was easier to do with more teams. Now they only have 16 teams, but they brought it back last year and the format's changed a little bit. When I used to do it in the past it was 17 games in 56 hours.
Speaker 3:Jesus.
Speaker 1:So it's obviously six more games more time. So they started at 5 o'clock on Friday and ran, ran through the 10 pm game on sunday. Yeah, but they would have the last game friday night and saturday night at 12 30 am. So when that ended, 3, 34 o'clock, you didn't have to be back till the 8 am game, saturday or sunday. Well, here it just runs straight through and you don't have those breaks other than that 40 minutes, I think this one's going to be harder oh, it's 100 harder is what we would do, is we would just go home sleep for three
Speaker 1:hours and then come back, whereas this one, you don't have that break. The cool thing is so they this happened one of the tournaments we did where, because of rain and stuff, it pushed the tournament back. We saw a game that started like at 3 am. We watched the sun rise. So normally you know, you're at a ball game, you see the sunset. Because it was 4 or 5 am6 am, you got to see the sun rise from the outfield. And that's going to happen this time too, because there's a 3 am and then a 6 am game. So it's a lot of fun to get to see a sunrise of the ball game instead of a sunset. Yeah, dude, that's awesome.
Speaker 3:I'm gonna have to add that to my bucket list, right, because right now, like yeah, the uh, the midnight sun game is, it's one of my bucket list that I've just always wanted to do so I gotta find a way to do it.
Speaker 1:It's just speaking of midnight sun game, so that's usually the alaska goldthers from the Alaska Baseball League. Well, they are coming back for the first time in seven or eight years, so they're going to be here and they just put out the schedule today. So we get to see every team play this weekend during around the clock, but we get to see them twice. So they play the 3 pm game on Saturday and then the final 6 pm game on sunday during around the clock.
Speaker 1:Now they'll get to continue playing because they have pool play before bracket play yeah but get to see alaska for the first time and, uh, it'll be a lot of fun because we used to have multiple alaskan teams here. We used to have puerto rican national team come, chinese taipei, so they used to have when it was a lot bigger, they'd have a lot of big teams come in to play. Unfortunately it's still going not quite as many teams, but yeah, alaska is coming back for the first time in seven or eight years so it'll be fun to get to see them. But yeah, you've got to bring that and it's a lot of fun because if you do it with a group of people, then in between games you can go out and grill or just hang out, chat with friends. So, yeah, sometime, if you make it here in the next few years, you got to check it out around the clock.
Speaker 3:A lot of fun, 100 uh. Are they going to be broadcasting this like on youtube or something like that?
Speaker 1:they will be. Yeah, they always have it on youtube. Uh, nbc world series and they've partnered um, I forgot the name of who they were partnering with this year, but there's some social media team. I'd have to look it up. That's going to be. They've partnered with that. We'll be able to. Not only I don't know that there's specifically streaming the games, but they will have a lot of content. Oh, prospect dugout.
Speaker 1:So yeah prospect dugout on Twitter and they're going to be bringing like exclusive coverage and stuff. So they're going to have a lot of content. So, yeah, if you follow the prospect dugout and then just through like YouTube, national baseball Congress world series or NBC world series, they'll stream all those games.
Speaker 3:I can't wait, I want to, I'll watch it. So all right, man, we're, I'll watch it. So all right, man, we're, we're done, we're done, we've done three. We're done to two questions, my friend. All right, um, tell me how has baseball changed your life?
Speaker 1:well, for one, I've made a lot of new friends that I hadn't had previous, and one of the kind of weird things with uh getting into this group here um, I never really. I just kind of came across. It's actually started with paul yep, and what was funny is that I uh back in around 2020 or so, before I kind of got into the our twitter group where we have a lot of minor league baseball friends yep, I had, uh, maybe like one or two helmets, like little ice cream helmets, oh yeah, and it was the kansas city royals. And for work I travel quite a bit.
Speaker 1:Normally it's to a customer's office, but this time it's one of our uh satellite campus and I went out it's about 30 minutes from here and I was over there and got done with our little training or whatever, and one of the workers there had walked in their break room and that was around the time that the New Orleans baby cakes were moving to Wichita Yep, and they had a New Orleans baby cakes ice cream helmet sitting there and I mentioned to the guy that works at my company. I was like that's a cool helmet. He's like take it. He's like nobody wants it, I'm okay, so I took it.
Speaker 1:I'm like don't mind if I do. I was like, wait a minute, okay, I got the royals, I got the new orleans baby cakes, there's got to be more than this. So I just googled like ice cream helmets. Of course paul was the first one that popped up, of course, of course. So I started following him and and from there just kind of evolved. Where I started following and so you know, for me obviously that's a big thing is just a lot of friends that I've made and a lot of my friends I've been able to meet in person at the ballpark, whether they've come to Wichita or I've traveled out to see them or have gone somewhere completely separate that we've met up at. And then, obviously I've been able to start a podcast, talk a lot about baseball and just get to meet a lot of cool people authors, coaches, gms, fans.
Speaker 3:And so it's just such a long list of people that you get to meet when you're doing this, and it's so much fun. Yes, for sure it's not so much fun editing afterwards sometimes, but it's just, you know having conversations.
Speaker 1:The toughest time I had with that was when Johnny, paul and I hopped on a very early part of the podcast and we went on a Friday night for probably two and a half hours and we just kept talking and talking and Paul's like I'm so sorry I put off editing that episode for the longest time. I did not want to tackle that.
Speaker 1:I've gotten a lot better since, but that was one of the first ones I remember having to do. That was like torture, just trying to, because it was just so long, trying to piece it together and I ended up putting that into a couple episodes just because it was so long.
Speaker 3:It was just so big. Yes, it's a big episode two and a half hours.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a massive conversation. But I've also just been able to grow my love of the game, you know, being able to go to some cities and towns that I never would have otherwise because, like I said, I used to watch baseball growing up here locally but never really traveled outside much, maybe went to kansas city here or there, but now obviously I travel to all parts of the country and and it's fun, isn't it Like it's just, you know, meeting all these people and, just like you said, it's like exploring and all that.
Speaker 3:It's such a fun environment that we get to do that now. So, all right, my friend, are you done for you? Ready for number five? Yes, sir, All right, so why?
Speaker 1:baseball For me. I've always been a sports fan in general. I'm a big college football fan, big NFL fan. Don't really care if like the NBA, but love college basketball. For those those games are fun, but they're pretty fast paced for the most part, and with baseball I just think it's just relaxing. And, like you know, with our show that we do Tuesday and Tuesdays and Thursday nights, I don't think there's any way that I could sit there, try to watch a football game and broadcast live like I do with the what?
Speaker 1:they're in the game. It's just the slower game now. They obviously try to speed it up as much as possible. But I just think that you have the opportunity where you can have these friendships, you can have that conversation and get to talk with somebody.
Speaker 1:So we came to Durham and we just sat at a ball game and got to chat with you and get to you know, being able to watch the game, just because it is slow enough to a point where you can just enjoy the camaraderie with your friends and that's why we try to have these meetups and stuff but just because it is gives us opportunity where we're not going to miss anything If we go and walk around, because if we were to try to walk around the football stadium or whatever, you're probably going to miss quite a bit of the game If you go to the concession stands or whatever, just because those are more of a fast paced type environment.
Speaker 1:So for me, just the being able to have those you know friendships and those conversations and still get to enjoy the game and not really miss much of it, and then just being able to, it's affordable. I know sometimes the games are can be pricey depending on if it's mlb or whatever, but even then it's more affordable than what, like, an nfl game would be, uh, basketball game, that type of thing. And then just there's way more opportunities, way more teams. You know 120 minor league teams, 119 stadiums. That doesn't include mlb. Obviously there is a lot of football stadiums, but to me I just think it's a lot more fun to go, travel and see baseball stadiums than it would be to see like an NFL or basketball state venue.
Speaker 3:I love it. By the way, kudos to you on saying 120 with 119 stadiums. That's a good little trivia there for you guys. If you guys know exactly what he meant by that, what are the two teams that play in the same stadium? I'm not going to say it, but I do know them, and so does Eric. Look it up. I know you got to look it up and put it in the comments because that is actually a really good trivia question. Good job, man, I like that.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 3:All right, thank you, eric. Thank you, eric. This has been a lot of fun. Our friend Patrick is going to be mad that he hasn't been on, and then you have. So whoopsie daisy Love you.
Speaker 1:Patrick, he'll be okay.
Speaker 3:You'll be all right, you get over it. Where can people find you? On the socials, my friend.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I have like 10 Instagram pages, but the main one to follow is just the influencer EP. So my nickname on our show is the influencer, so I go by the influencer ep on instagram. So that's where I post all my games and then, if you follow, if you're on twitter, I'm e pro 04, e pro 04. And then for the podcast uh, earn fun average. We abbreviate average avg. We're on instagram, twitter and blue sky love it, my friend.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much. And then make sure you guys are following the DSG sports show. It is every Tuesday and Thursday nights at 9 PM Eastern time. Also, I am on. I've been my lot more, a lot more conscious of where I spend most of my social media time, so it's Instagram threads and blue skies and then obviously on on YouTube as well. Well, if you're watching this episode on YouTube and then the podcast is the Data Hack Chronicles podcast, you can find it wherever you find or listen to your podcasts, and we will see you guys in the next one.
