Coach Cobb & Ky Bourbons Softball - what it takes to build a World Series team

Coach Cobb and Kentucky Bourbons Softball

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: A few notes before we begin this episode of Baseball Biz On Deck with Coach Cobb of the Kentucky Bourbons. We had a few challenges technically while recording this, but man, am I glad we got to speak with Coach Cobb. I apologize for any lack of sound quality through this, but you'll find the Coach Cobb interview well worth it.

Let's get started.

[00:00:32] Mark Corbett: Welcome to BaseballBiz On Deck. I'm Mark Corbett, your host and with me today I have the famous coach Cobb of the Kentucky Bourbons Coach. Cobb has done so much over time, but the thing I remember the most is the Kentucky Bourbons is I was growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, and my younger brother, Chris Cor. We spent a lot of time, you know, following the bourbons.

It was, I think it was between 1977 and 1982, but Coach Cobb now is also an analyst on the [00:01:00] Jerry Eaves show. Coach Cobb is also a Hall of Fame awardee in the World Sports League of Slow pitched Softball. Yeah. Is that right, coach? 

[00:01:10] Coach Cobb: Yep, that's right buddy. It's good talking to you and relive these memories of the bourbons.

I mean, you know, best of times of my life, mark, to be honest with. We've never had the best players, mark, but we had the best team. 

[00:01:25] Mark Corbett: Well, I couldn't believe that. Cause you guys geed together, you really worked well together 

[00:01:29] Coach Cobb: as a team. Yes, and we had a tremendous defense and always had good pitching and we played the five, kinda invented it when that league started, five infield.

And it was a, you know, it was a thanks for us. We led the league three years in a row and double play turned each game. We turned almost four. And that was a big deal to us. You, our park was Big Mark. It was three 20 down the line, three 30 and left by 3 45. [00:02:00] Place to hit it outta. Yeah, 

[00:02:01] Mark Corbett: it was. Well, you know, and that's the thing too, people don't realize, you know how, how far that is.

Let's see, one of the things I was thinking too, you were talking about the, was it four men or five man out? We 

[00:02:11] Coach Cobb: played a five man infield and the freeman out. The reason I did that, mark, for the first year when we had the team, I had two greyhounds in left center, right center, and they was always running and stop beside each other.

After, well, I started thinking, I said, well, I, I'm going first. I started just playing a rollover guy out there in the outfield somewhere, and then I, I had the best stop in the league, great Woodlock and I, somebody in the. Doing that. And man, that thing just took off. I mean, we, the defense, only thing we won, it would basically call our defense.

Well, 

[00:02:51] Mark Corbett: you know, and that's something too, people are just thinking about baseball and they're thinking about nine people on the field out there playing defense. But with softball, you've got 10 [00:03:00] 

[00:03:01] Coach Cobb: and you have, you noticed some of the, you've done a lot of this stuff now, you'll bringing out. You know put out infielder, the outfield and, and one side, which I did a, some guys couldn't do nothing.

Ball. Right.

Well, 

[00:03:28] Mark Corbett: and and that's the thing too. I mean, you've had to think outta the box. You, you know, in baseball, like you said, you see some. Doing shifts. They pull guys in, they pull them out. You know, do I need to have four out fillers there? Being a, a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays, I certainly see that. There's no doubt.

I mean, you were doing it back then. 

[00:03:44] Coach Cobb: I'm always trying to get an edge mark. That's what, that's what I always, always told everybody. And I'm not, but I always, I'm not gonna let nobody, I, and I would try myself as a coach to steal three or four apps a game by doing moves like this, you know? And [00:04:00] it was a big deal and.

I enjoyed it and we played, like I said, some of the best places in the world and some of the worst places, which she thought would've been good Places like New York, New Jersey, they just draw people. Pittsburgh didn't draw nobody, but my god, Cincinnati and Detroit, Milwaukee, I mean they and Cleveland, they all are good, good crowds.

Well that's, 

[00:04:22] Mark Corbett: that's amazing. Cause I'm thinking that in those larger cities you might have more traction. What was it like on, on the road? How did y'all deal with travel, you know, going to these different cities? 

[00:04:31] Coach Cobb: Well, the first, the first year we took a Miller bus. Second year when Mr. Gatti got involved in it, we had a charter plane.

We just, you know, fly or where as soon as the game was over. He owned the McDonald's, so we'd always go to McDonald's to get food and get on the plane with a bunch of, you know, hamburgers and french fries and stuff, stuff everybody would eat and we'd just fly back home on the plane and was kinda [00:05:00] getting like the movie airplane.

I mean, guys were, when first started and all a sudden showing up, you know, on Blue Jeans and it was a lot of fun, but it wasn't what you visualized as a plane. And we after that, yeah, we went back to the bus thing. We traveled a lot home, except when we went to like New England somewhere, we would fly Detroit, Cincinnati and Lima and Cleveland.

We would take a bus and Milwaukee, we took a bus there. 

[00:05:32] Mark Corbett: Well, that had to be an exciting time. And I mean, as far as the team getting well, especially everything on the bus, you have so much time to kind of gel together. Oh, 

[00:05:39] Coach Cobb: man, we, that was the one thing about our team, like I, I told him all what I took over.

I said, we're a team. I don't wanna hear nothing about what he does. We all wanna do it all together. And that's one of the things I said, I don't if ever a fight breaks out number one. Better be involved in it. [00:06:00] We gotta, we gotta defend each other and stand up for each other. And that was a thing, man. I mean, for team, we had, like I said, we wasn't over, we've been on, we couldn't overpower everybody.

I mean, we had some home run hitters, you know, I mean, Gaddy led the league and home runs. I'd hit. You know, 1820 and Rick Wilson Knowed what we had would hit some. Chuck Wes got bless past. Now my, I've been around and but it was a, it was a great team. I just really, really enjoyed watching Arrest. We got to the World Series twice before we won it, and we should have won it.

Milwaukee beat us. That was our fault. We, all we had to do was get round. And we couldn't even score a ru with going out. We had runners in first and third, oh boy. Hit ball back to the pitcher and they got outta the inning. Ended up beating us in the last seven game. But, um, [00:07:00] then we come back to beat new England in the World Series and I knew we was going to win it going into that World Series.

And we lost the first game mark at home. Right? They beat the hell out of us. It always. Yeah, when I went back to the locker room in between games, we had a 40 minute break. I mean, I was curious and I told them, I said, I don't know what the hell all y'all guys are going do, but I know what I'm going do. And I just, I was on a roll.

I hit two home runs the first, first game at home. The next game I come back to get three. And that was a big thing for, you know, we beat the hell out of the second game and then we won the next. And then we went to New England and we ended up finishing it there. And it was a, it was a big deal. It was real big, I remember of when it was over and we had a great banquet and it was just really rewarding because we had put so much in it, that thing for six or seven years, you know, I [00:08:00] mean, I worked with butt off out winter, we was in the gym working, you know, I wanted to get a edge before we got started.

And then the guys really, really performed. 

[00:08:10] Mark Corbett: Well, that, that's something I wanted to ask you about too. Everything y'all did to achieve that, to get to the World Series and to win it. But you had that team where, how did that come together? Where did all these 

[00:08:21] Coach Cobb: athletes come from? You knew how it all started.

The first two guys were signing the league was me and Bill. Okay. We signed and we knew once we signed, we were being eligible for amateur ball. We had to set out a year or. So, but we went ahead and signed cause it sounded good. There wasn't a pro baseball team in town at the time. You remember? You remember?

Oh, yes. And we were the main cover, I mean we were in the paper it seemed like every day about something. They'd come to practice on Wednesday and film our practices and best practices. And then we started adding players from out of the state. We picked up Fred Miller from [00:09:00] Florida, and I got Kenny Parker from Milwaukee.

At the time, he was one of the best, the league, but he had issues with the teams he'd been on. And when I brought him in here, I told him, I said, Kenny, I don't need any problems. I need somebody that's going help the team. And he called me Rock and he said, whatever you want, rock. And we just had the best relationship.

And then he picked up another guy, pat Paulson from New England, which we played in the championship one. And he played well for us. And we, you know, my second basement Nick, Nick Nikk was the out You ever been around? A guy that he gets on all the time, but he never hits the ball outta ballpark. He just find plays to get on.

Oh yeah. And, and he's, you might remember Nick, he's five nine maybe, but he played the heck outta second. Him and Greg, the plant short, I, if you hit it up through there, you were dead with Schreyer and Steve, Kurt pitching, I mean, we had tremendous metal. I've always been a. That [00:10:00] believes in the middle. You have to have good metal in softball, shark, stock center, filter and ion.

So basically, especially in the pro league, you could do all that bacon, the mounds, five feet farther back bases were farther and it was amateur and you could still, after first year when we first started this same morning, there were teams besides ours would pick some guy up the kitchen with six foot seven like big Fred.

Pittsburgh, he was 6 7, 3 30 pounds. And I told at the meeting after first, you know, I, you can't just put a big slot cause he can hit it over the fence back there and ask for another, he can't bend over the, and then they put steel in it. Well, and I had plate that up for stealing. You know, we fake the swing or swing and miss if we needed an advanced runner.

You know, in the bottom part of the innings, and that become a big part of our offense. I mean, we've worked on everything [00:11:00] and that's 

[00:11:00] Mark Corbett: what it takes. The other day I was listening to an interview with Nelson Cruz and here Uhhuh. Here he is, and he's talking about, he's there in his hotel room and he takes a batting tea with him.

He, he goes in there and during the day long before they ever go to practice a field or anything, He's in there and swinging at that. I mean, it takes that com kind of commitment, obviously that's what the bourbons had. 

[00:11:23] Coach Cobb: Yes, we did. We didn't have guys we, we had one guy that was wild. We picked up CI fever, but he was probably as good as it was at field, but I had to put a hole drawing.

Soon as the game was over, he had a girl everywhere we went and he would go out and that year in a world. Mr. Caddy said, what do we need to do? I said, we need a guard sitting outside this door. He won't stay in. We end up hiring a guy to sit outside the door. He said, I can't believe you're doing this. I said, I gotta do it.

It hurts the team. If you're not, you know, at your best, you [00:12:00] need you to be at your best. Right. And he bought into it and we ended up winning. And he come from Cincinnati, which we had a great rivalry here with him for years. And him and Michael Bryan. Mike got the hit and the, we were down in the seventh inning against Cincinnati at Hall in the first round of playoffs, and they had a boy named Tony, Tony Sony, that played second.

I'm coming off the field, coming on the field, and he looked at me, he says, we're gonna beat you all over the World Series, down your own field. I saw you. I, and we go the dugout. First guy gets a hit. Well, Bill's up next. Of all things you know, bill very never hit when you needed to. He was always great under pressure.

He hit the foul ball, that they catch the foul territory. Oh, and they get him out. So I'm the next batter Greg [00:13:00] Dave Whitlock has made in the output. We have two outs, gray steel. Second, I'm the next batter. I remember daddy grabbing. And he had like a, he was ringing wet and had like a tear in his eyes and he says, you've gotta get hit.

And I said, if you let my arm, I will. And it was just a moment, you know, like you're talking about moments. And I hit a, I wasn't gonna swing for a home run the time before I hit a home Ramada. He just goes back and hit, barely went out there. So I hit a line drive by the short stop. Greg stores Kaiser game up.

He goes in home head. And I wasn't the fastest guy, but I went and home the second on the throw home, I went the second hit first and I told that sole the boy playing second. I said, you ain't gonna beat us. I put Kevin Malone in. You might have heard his name. He used to be the manager. Oh yeah. He was our extra player and [00:14:00] Kevin could really run.

So I put him in for me to run in second phase. And Michael, Michael Fever, I mean Michael Bryan the left. Gets a hit, the left field and Kevin scores and we beat him. And I knew right then I said, we're definitely winning this year. We're gonna win the World Series. Wow. Such a three old, you know, um, he and Gabby have been roommates.

You know, we played with Jesse in 72. We won Jacksonville, Florida, and I mean, we had a hell of a team, best, one of the best teams in the country. Number two, creating the country all year and went undefeated that year in the. I knew we had some great players. Schreyer was on that team. He's one of the best softball players I've ever, ever been around in my life, and I've been around all of them.

Schreyer, holy old, both feet. And he would pitch and we knew we would run. His feet would turn inside, but he was so good, mark, that he could do anything. He was like a magician with the [00:15:00] bat. I mean, he could hit his right, he could hit it out. I mean, he, he was just had a Moon missile third base. He wasn't pitch.

So I mean, I picked up the right pieces and they all say, you know, their job, done their job, or we need for everybody to win. Well, to me that 

[00:15:19] Mark Corbett: that's amazing because it's all about finding the right athletes and Exactly. And, and finding people, you know, this isn't like, you know, I grew up out there in the south.

And you were lucky to find a couple of good old high school guys who did something, whether it been basketball, high school football and, and bring them in. But you, you had some people who had far beyond all that you were getting, you were finding, how did you find these guys from some of these other cities?

[00:15:43] Coach Cobb: Were you just watching? Well, I, I've seen 'em in amateur, some of them. And I remember I'm a, once I see you play and once I see you bat, I can almost tell you exactly what you're going to do each time. Wow. I really prided myself [00:16:00] in, you know, following people and knowing where they hit it. Cause I would slot 'em or I would say hit the ball the other way.

I knew he couldn't, but I would talk, I smack to him, you know, and tell 'em, I'd said, well see if hit it over. And a lot of times they'd buy hand and try to do it and make me look bad and then they'd get mad at me. Cause they, they screwed it up. I said, it ain't my fault you're the one swinging. But. Like you said, when I grew up in South End, I grew up off a new cut road, which I'm sure you know where that is.

Oh yeah. Alright. I went, I went to Fairdale when I was a freshman and I started all sports out there and I transferred to myself and I ended up getting drafted in my senior year by the twins for baseball, but there wasn't any. Baseball players around. There were some decent pictures, but there wasn't great players.

Chuck Wind was the man, he had the best arm I ever seen. [00:17:00] So I took him and then I had the only guy, other guy from here in town was Whitlock Boys. They played baseball.

[00:17:13] Mark Corbett: Now you had some other U of L folks came on too. I mean, that's where Gaddy, didn't he play football there as well? 

[00:17:20] Coach Cobb: All American football and bass. I mean, he played baseball, but he was all American football player. He wasn't, you know, he played the cold football with that league and went to punk in Florida and they kind of jacked him around.

He didn't get his money, but bill was a hell of a hitter. He's the best fire hitter to stadium outta town. Unbelievable. He hit it outta anywhere. I don't care if it's the biggest park you've ever been. I could get him all pumped up, whoever smack on, but busted outta here, you know? And I mean, he'd always respond and he ended up being that way.

After Patrol league pulled, he [00:18:00] ended up being one of the best power hitters in damage amateur ball and beat really serious money. Him and Donnie Road was just the opposite. He take the bat, I would say Donnie first, second wide open over in the four, the line drive right between second, first, like, Wow. And he'd come up next time and he hit a line drive between third sharks.

You didn't know what Donnie was going to do and he never hit home runs, which is, you know, really hard. People don't, anybody could hit a home run nowadays with softball equipment. But back then a guy that would hit, you know, for a high average, didn't hit a lot of home runs, was tough to do. 

[00:18:41] Mark Corbett: Well, lemme ask you.

Coming back to the south end. And you guys actually, you played at a field in South, was Bishop David Field out there right behind the high school Bishop David? 

[00:18:51] Coach Cobb: Yeah. Bud Gael built that. He was a sponsor of our amateur team with a beer tavern and right in front of Bishop David, there was a beer joint called Gypsies, [00:19:00] had food and, and everybody hung out there.

And that was a sponsor. He ended up, he owned a Graham back there. He took that. And he took care of it like his baby. I mean, that our was as good as you would see if you went to a pro game. Now, I mean, there wasn't no bad hops when we drew. There was three years there. We was averaging almost 4,500 people at the games out there, which, you know, people said, well, that that's a big deal of softball.

Oh, yeah. And that would pack that place up, up and down both sidelines, I mean, ooh. And they couldn't wait to get there. Like when we played Phil Walker here, Cincinnati, we always had these on both sides. The third first base line where they would get on them players and them teams and then, you know, they'd do us, when we went to their place, it'd be the same way.

But when the league started, everybody that owned the team, like Mike Gill owned Detroit Caesar. And that was a pizza place. Well, Caesar. So when we would get done [00:20:00] eating, he would fill the our locker room up pizza. And when they would come here, Mr. Gaddy would, you know, take care of him, send a bunch of stuff from McDonald's in there to eat when the game was over in the locker room.

So it was all programmed pretty good. We had Whitey four one year lead president. Wow. Yeah. And then they broke. You might not remember this, mark, they brought a bunch of Pro Jim, I think it was Detroit Tigers had four guys that were really big names of baseball. And Minnesota had two guys that were big in baseball and Houston brought a guy in here.

Billy White Shoe Johnson was a football player faster than hell. So they're warming up and he's running up and down the foul lines to getting loose. I said, what you doing? He said, I'm getting ready to steal. I said, you gotta remember one thing, Billy, you gotta get off before you can steal. And he couldn't yet.

I like that. [00:21:00] He never, it was something between me and him and he said, I ain't never hit the double play. I said, well, we'll see about that. So boom, boom, he hits one back up through the middle and I'm playing over the middle and Grace told me the ball. We turned double play and I mean we're, I'm strapping it on off.

Coming off the field, you know you ain't that bad,

but you never forget them. Things such a car wreck I've had. Everybody says, boy, you got a great memory. I said, you remember everything that really meant something to you. That's the way I looked. I said, I can remember everything about them birthday games. I could tell you everything about each one. It's just, just something I'll never forget.

[00:21:44] Mark Corbett: Well, when you have that com camaraderie with folks, I. It. I, I think it sticks with you, the things you do with friends and that's, that's what they have to kind of become too. I mean, if you're gonna have to work side by side 

[00:21:56] Coach Cobb: all the time and we had everything mark on this team. Our picture besides sch [00:22:00] was Steve.

Everybody made fun of him cause he was always the bus be reading lawyer books, be a lawyer. Well he ended up being a prosecuting attorney for Jeffersonville, Indiana. 10 or 12, 15 years over. He is number one. You know, prosecutor over there. I said, y'all made fun of him, but look what he's doing now. I mean, that all paid off for him, you know?

And then Chuck wind, our left builder. God bless him. Tremendous. He ended up being the number one driver in sports car out here at the Speedway in little. He won the title out there. More wins than anybody. Wow. He sponsored a team with McDonald's. That's what he wore on his team of racings, McDonald's.

We all stayed together after, you know, any, no matter what. I had a birthday five weeks ago and I better had at least. One. I think I had seven of them, my old players there. Wow. And it almost brings tears to [00:23:00] your eyes when you see 'em. You know, they still come and man, like you say, we stay top for or meeting tomorrow to watch a football game.

I mean, like you said, that camaraderie is just, you can't, can't duplicate stuff like that. You can't make it up until you either got it or you don't. 

[00:23:20] Mark Corbett: Well, when you lived through special moments, like you all did, you know, with the bourbons and, you know, the, the great years and the years that maybe weren't so great and the challenges and, and well, I'm gonna go back to fans for just a minute too.

The appreciation that I and, and a lot of other folks have, when I look at some of the, you know, you can fat folks if you don't know, you can find these games on YouTube, some of the Kentucky Bourbons games, and, and you look out there and you. Back in centerfield, kids hanging on the other side of the placards trying to be able to watch the game.

You know, they're not in there. Oh yeah. And 

[00:23:53] Coach Cobb: I, I absolutely, yeah. Yeah. It was crazy. I absolutely love it. It was a pro thing for years. The last four [00:24:00] years that league, it was, it was run like a pro league. We, we just couldn't find three more teams to replace the ones that didn't draw, or we'd have had a contract and that thing would've been going.

I mean, that's how strong it, but I really believed in that. And it was bad, but I mean, it almost broke my heart when it, when, you know, when we couldn't keep it together. But, um, it was such man, my mom and dad and my sisters, I mean, everybody come to them games. It was like, you know, the thing to do on the weekends.

The food was tremendous. It was a great entertainment. Didn't cost much to get in. I don't even know what the tickets were. Probably five per person. So, like you said, she is hanging on that building out in the left field over there, building and hanging on the fence and we throw 'em a ball, you know, wherever any something.

It was a big deal and I, I got a big kick out it Well, I, I know as 

[00:24:56] Mark Corbett: a fan I did and my brother Chris did as well. And it was always, it was always [00:25:00] fun watching you guys out there. Tell me a little bit on, on the technical side of the league itself. Was the last few years. Did, was there another owner who wanted to kind of pull some of the teams aside to a separate 

[00:25:12] Coach Cobb: league?

They started another pro league and Lexington ended up starting the team in Lexing. Well, we're hearing from Lexington. So he gave it a shot with that team in that other league, which it wasn't nothing like our league, but it kind of just fell apart. The last, last two or three years. It was, we had to get rid of two or three teams.

We'd fly all the way to New England. They wouldn't have 200 people there. My God. You think going there or or of New Jersey or somewhere that they draw? The places that drew the people were the smaller towns. They fly Ohio, our place, Milwaukee. I mean we packed that place when we went to to Cincinnati. I mean that place packed.

And they got on us pretty good and we'd go up there and when they came here they got the same [00:26:00] thing. But the fans took a lot of trips with us. Mark, we had the. We'd have like 30, 40 seats open for, for the fans and we'd always fill it up. Some of them fans would go where, wherever we went, they'd be there.

That meant a lot to have that following where people just believed in what you were doing. They would follow you all the way to Bill something that, you know, meant a lot to us. We felt like we didn't wanna let him down. You know, I took Johnny McGrath on the team. And Johnny was a football player from Kentucky, and Johnny's a warrior.

He's a, he played softball with football mentality. He's a, you know, NFL on net doing it 15 years. But I knew he had that firing and when I used Johnny, he would always come in and give you everything you'd. And I'll never forget that about him. You know, he, he wasn't a great football player, but he was a great [00:27:00] warrior to have on your team.

Well, and you 

[00:27:03] Mark Corbett: gotta have people like that to make a difference. 

[00:27:06] Coach Cobb: Hallelujah. You, you hit it. Right on. You're exactly right. 

[00:27:14] Mark Corbett: Well, let me ask you a little bit more about the proud, you said the fans that were on the, on the. I I, I seem to remember sometimes being out there, Bishop David, watching the game. Some fans get a little rowdy, even though if I recollect right, more than just booing the opponents out there.

Oh 

[00:27:29] Coach Cobb: yeah. I mean it outta hand went Milwaukee. One year my went, everywhere we went and this guy had been riding us and riding me, especially behind the back stop. So I had to play first and I got ejected. The only time I ever got thrown out of a game, an amateur ball or the was up there. So when I got thrown out, I went in the dug, Mr.

Calmed down, sat [00:28:00] down, blah, blah, blah. I couldn't calm myself down. So I went up there in between inning and grabbed this cat. I said, you've been running your mouth for about the first five innings. And we had a few words. It turned in where I hit him and we get ready to get on the bus mark to go leave, come home.

And the crowd's out there. Rick Wilson was on our team. You remember basketball player from Bell? Oh yeah. Nba. And Rick says, look out cop, here he comes. And this guy's 15 feet from me with a bat getting ready to hit me with it. Shit. And Rick pulls his shirt over his head. Hit him in the mouth three or four times.

Bloods everywhere and fight breaks out. My mom gets knocked down during the fight. We get her on the bus, we get back to motel and she, I can't get up. She broke her hip. Oh my gosh. Yeah, so I had, we had, miss Daddy rented a plane the next morning of Six Cedar. We had take seats up. Oh, she wouldn't [00:29:00] have nobody look at her.

But Dr. Ellen, she was a doctor for U of L and Doctors for the purpose. Wow. I remember him down, yeah, down in Method Hospital and I, they went down on and operated on it or. We were stiff, but I mean it was terrible. I felt unbelievably bad when it happened, but I'd never even seen her get hit or knock down.

But that happened cause the crowd surrounded our, but we couldn't get out of there. So anytime we went back after that, the Milwaukee, we would park behind the left field fence to come in field, throw everything at the bus, pop car, tomatoes, anything they can throw and hit. But that was one of the things I think that made the league, you know, we were involved in a lot of fights, suburbans a lot of, I don't think we lost any, but we were involved in quite a few, but we always stood up for each other.

And like you said, the fans. [00:30:00] We played for the fans. Yeah. I mean, that's really what we did. And you 

[00:30:05] Mark Corbett: mentioned it. I, I was thinking too, growing up in the south end, even in high school, it, it wasn't unusual to see, 

[00:30:10] Coach Cobb: see fans and where'd you go to high school? Mark? How stop, where'd you go? Well, 

[00:30:14] Mark Corbett: I, I went to Butler for a little while and then I got in too many fights there, so they, they had to send me to Saint X, but I grew up in 

[00:30:21] Coach Cobb: Chaley.

Okay. Yeah. Cha Yes. Yep. Right over. I'm not being nosy. How old are 

[00:30:25] Mark Corbett: you? Oh, gee. 60. 

[00:30:29] Coach Cobb: Okay. They had some really good baseball player. Butler O one boy was really good, named Benny. Mike Campbell played all this Butler. Yeah, I remember Mike and that was a good school. It still is a good athletic school. He worked q well in a football scholarship, hell of a golf.

Town. 

[00:30:49] Mark Corbett: My, my brother plays with him now and then he used to, he won the fall cities there one year, 

[00:30:54] Coach Cobb: so yes he did. And Jody Mud and Eddie, they went to Butler. Yep, yep. You know, [00:31:00] Jody was a pro for years. I mean, they were, you know, their dad, same thing. They put a lot of time in the golf and they ended up being, you know, the best of town.

Same thing we did with the, well, I remember many, many times. In February and March, I'd be, I have 'em after practice. We'd be outside, it'd be 30 degrees, 27 degrees, but we got ahead at everybody at the start. I mean, we were always in the best shape and pushing from the start after that. I mean, we were, we were really, really good on, like I told you, with side of it.

[00:31:38] Mark Corbett: Well, let me ask you, when you look back at all that you achieved and your team achieve, And you're looking at a, at a young man or young lady today who's, you know, entering either softball or some other sport, what kind of advice you give them as they're just coming up? 

[00:31:54] Coach Cobb: Well, you know how they do things nowadays, which I don't agree with.

They want you to play one sport in high school, [00:32:00] you know this. Yes. And just concentrate on either football or basketball or you know, baseball. Back when I grew up, when I was a male, I played all. Very seldom do you see that now where a guy does it? The one thing I would tell everybody now, don't get locked down on just carrying yourself from one sport.

If you're an athlete, an athlete to me is somebody that can play basketball, football, baseball, softball, whatever, anything with the ball that's an athlete. There's a lot of guys with great. Crazy football, but they can't play the other, other sports. I tell all these young boys that I've given information to 'em around here.

I said, have a good attitude. Play for your team, but always play as hard as you can play when you leave there. You can't feel bad if you gave it all, even if you lose. But if you don't give it all, you're letting your teammates down. And that's one thing I try to tell these young guys nowadays. You know, I mean, equipment [00:33:00] softballs now is so.

Oh God, I can give anything. Be will play. Now these bats, I mean everybody gets home runs. I mean you, what they pay for these bats is incredible. $400 for a softball bat. 

[00:33:12] Mark Corbett: That's insane. Coach Cobb, I gotta tell you. And, and I look at sometimes what happens with, with the travel teams too and I was like, guys, I remember like you're saying in Haskell and I looked, when I went to Butler in the junior high and I looked up and saw Mike Campbell there he is doing basketball there he is doing football.

There he is, you know, at, at. And he, like you're saying athlete. Yeah, you athlete first. You know, he wasn't tied down to, to one sport. He was an athlete 

[00:33:39] Coach Cobb: first. I can, exactly. And that's what I tried to get when I recruited, even in the amateur ball. I never went for, well this guy's a great home run hitter.

Can't play nowhere in my mind, so I wouldn't take it. Well, give me the guy in center field that's hitting almost 700, catches everything down and runs like a gisele. That's the guy I want. [00:34:00] Got to find the pieces. You can't overpower nowadays or any days just on par. You can't send 11 guys up there to just try to hit it out.

They can't catch it. You can't knock in seven and give up eight. You're not going to win. You gotta find a position for all them playing. You know how it was in the early days in softball, everybody tried to hide the worst players in second base for right field. Cause they could hit, they try to hide 'em.

Hope they didn't hit it there. Well, I got where I would move them. I knew guys hit second. I had somebody out there wouldn't swift in field. I was swapping right before he bat. I moved the third basement over there. I put him to third and they looked at me and I said, well, you can't hit us third. You're gonna hit the ball towards the right side.

And that's something I'm proud of myself in doing that. 

[00:34:51] Mark Corbett: Well, coach Cobb, you know, having a strategy, I mean, is, is, is a key part of the game. Knowing the, the pieces or the players that you have out there, you win to play them, [00:35:00] where to put them. I think a lot of folks think of each as a player is a fixed piece, you know, they can only do one thing and Exactly.

That's where 

[00:35:08] Coach Cobb: they're at. Yeah, you're exactly. Well, he's a great hitter. I said, well, he can be a great hitter. He can't catch it. I think I was saying, you've got to be able to play both sides of the ball. And I tell all these young boys, I said, if you think you're just gonna walk up here and knock the heck out of each time, either hit a home run or nothing, that ain't gonna help.

You've got to be able to use the field, hit the ball, left center, right there down the right field line. They throw you outside, you to be a great player. You can go out here and just, you know, fool. Anybody can hit a softball, but nobody, everybody can't hit it. Good. You gotta learn what you can handle the back with.

And I preach that all the time, these guys. I said, hell, you walk up there, I can get anybody stance to hit it you to throw it in there, but can you hit it good? They said, well, that makes sense. And I try to tell 'em the right. [00:36:00] And the wrong thing. I said I was hard to play with. I refused to lose when I played.

And I was a problem sometimes. I, I was overbearing and I learned a lot from that. And I tell these young coaches nowadays, I said, you've got take things in stride, but you gotta work at it. Just don't come out here. Right line. I think that's going to get it done. You've got, helps your team. 

[00:36:23] Mark Corbett: Well, I get that.

Coach Cobb, I, I think, yeah. I hope a lot of other folks out there listening to this too, as far as. You know, developing a team, being, being a good coach and manager, you know, as far as not just coming down and working up a lineup and to see what happens. It's, it's something where you gotta be 

[00:36:38] Coach Cobb: flexible.

That's what most of 'em, 70% of just turn line in, let's do, score the most. Well, that ain't how it goes. Not in my mind. Yeah. And I'm not bragging or nothing, but I've had a lot of success in coaching a lot. I've coached the best players and softball in the world, Brett, Elmer Wakeman, and all them. I've been around them all.[00:37:00] 

They all say one thing. Well, when you play his team, you better bring it. It ain't gonna be easy. I love it. Well, I didn't want it easy. I, I, you know, I didn't want nothing easy. You just come out here. 

[00:37:13] Mark Corbett: Well, let me ask you something, coach. Um, looking at the day, since this is BaseballBiz On Deck, I have to ask you a base baseball question.

Are you looking at what's happening right now? Getting closer and closer to post? Do you see any 

[00:37:26] Coach Cobb: teams? Yes, I'm, I keep up with it cause of the show. Me and Jerry do. And like I told you other night, I'm good buddies with Adam Duo. He went to, he plays left field now for the Braves or right field, wherever they playing.

He's in 36 home runs. He is leading league right now in rbis. He's been traded from Atlanta to to Miami. Now he's back in Atlanta about a month and a half ago. Great kid. One of the best boys I've ever been around. And I'm a big fan of Mike Trout cause he plays the game, right? W [00:38:00] gives it all runs into the walls.

That's why he's hurt head. First slides. I mean, he just gets after it doesn't have to hit a home run, but he hits 35 or 40 every year. He plays, right? I'm a big fan of them guys that just give it all. That's all you can ask Alex. You can't make somebody be something or not. Just gimme all you. 

[00:38:21] Mark Corbett: Well, it's exciting times baseball.

Yeah, 

[00:38:23] Coach Cobb: and you keep up. I'm sure you're big on baseball. I think with this whole ha thing, what he's doing this year is incredible. To be able to throw the ball over a hundred miles an hour and then hit him almost close to 50 now out the ball, hit an oven last, last night, I think outta the ballpark. And he is a from Japan, but I mean, he's just a great kid, man.

He's six foot four, got a field like a Greyhound dog and he can fly steals bases and throws them by over a hundred mile an hour when he pitch. That's something you just don't see. Nowaday a guy that hit like that pitch that way. It's incredible. [00:39:00] Well, 

[00:39:00] Mark Corbett: well, absolutely. Otani is a, is a miracle in his own way.

And you know, another thing I really like about him, 

[00:39:05] Coach Cobb: His attitude. You couldn't ask for a better teammate. I watch every time he plays. I watched the games. I've never seen him no trouble. Here's another thing, guys don't know most people, there ain't nobody gonna charge him out again. Somebody going, you know, I'm coming after.

I don't think so. He's four 40 pounds. I don't think that's going to happen. No, he, he has fun. Have you noticed that when he plays? Oh yeah. He always smiling, smile on his face. His teammates love him. They're rubbing his head and this and. Well, I mean, I liked that. 

[00:39:36] Mark Corbett: Well, even, I think it was last night, there was a couple balls thrown right by him and Onet hit him.

Now whether it was intentional or not, I have no idea, but you know, when you see him down there first base, he's not going crazy or mean or angry. He just goes down there and he smiles and having a, looks like a fun little conversation with the first basement. And I thought, yeah, that's, that's it, man. If you can do that, 

[00:39:56] Coach Cobb: that's, that's, yeah, you gotta respect and appreciate when a guy like [00:40:00] get the way he plays.

I mean, you gotta love. And then there's some guy in this league that, you know, that's, I don't know that guy from Dodgers, that fire, he's been in trouble, he's been trouble with and he's in trouble with the Dodgers that, I mean, these guys, they make so much money. They think they're bigger than whatever they're doing.

And it's not that way. No, no. And you know our room with Rod Crew one year, he's one of the best hitters that's ever been in baseball in the minor leagues, and I've room with him. The same year I got drafted, Reggie Jackson and South Bando and Rick Mun, they all got drafted. Now I'm so damn messed up. I mean, I was wild when I pitched, but I run around every night.

I screwed everything up myself instead of concentrating on baseball. And I've tried to teach that to these younger guys. Guy I drove 95 miles an hour when I was a senior on flat ground. Wow. But that ain't everything. Cause you can throw hard, you gotta be able to. [00:41:00] Where you need to put it. 

[00:41:01] Mark Corbett: Gotta be able to control it.

Yeah, 

[00:41:03] Coach Cobb: that's exactly, you're right. And I know you follow baseball and in your mind, don't you think that, and this me and you's talking, I think Mike's best baseball player in the game when he is healthy, when he is healthy 

[00:41:18] Mark Corbett: when, when he, when he is healthy. And you know, for years I've, I've thought and I thought, oh my gosh, Angel's, angel as.

You surround, this is one man. You gotta surround him with a lot of more talent to see something happen. Tani's there. There you go. Tani's there. Okay. Yeah. And there's others as well. I don't wanna take it away from everybody else, but the thing of it is, you can't have expectations for one great player to, to move forward.

You know? They read a load. Yeah. Happen. You know, and they got a new manager out there and Adam might make some difference and we'll, It may take some time, like it took, you know, took him with Chicago. But any eye high digress, but Right. And my go-to Yas Mike Trout, but you know, t's showed me a lot. I'm curious to see what's gonna [00:42:00] happen with Lagar Arrow Jr.

Over the years. There's, there's some really great players out there, so we'll see. 

[00:42:05] Coach Cobb: Oh, there's, there's tremendous players out there. And like you just said, junior, just, I mean, he's hitting the heck out of it. It's gonna go down the last two or three games on him and win the home run thing. It's a hell of a creep.

What old Connie's done? That's, that's something you'll never see again. No, no. Don't pitch him with 10 or 12 games. Pull over miles higher, hit the ball. He don't hit him outta the ballpark. He hits him up there. Confession stand and all that stuff. 

[00:42:31] Mark Corbett: Yeah, he's, he's something 

[00:42:32] Coach Cobb: to watch. I call him Home runs.

Mark. I always. When you hit him, they just swap over the fence. I call him dead fish. Why? It's one I called his shark. I said, look at that. Damn Paul. Ain't nobody in 

[00:42:46] Mark Corbett: there. No, he's 

[00:42:49] Coach Cobb: He's something beautiful. Even when he strikes, that swings beautiful. 

[00:42:53] Mark Corbett: I'm happy to be watching the games of these times. I think there's a lot of great players, a lot of great teams 

[00:42:58] Coach Cobb: there.

Sure is that [00:43:00] with the brave. He's tremendous, tremendous baseball player. No doubt. He gotta get his attitude, you know, and get healthy again. He's a tremendous player. There's a lot of great, great players. Now, athletes nowadays, Parker, they work out year round and concentrate on just baseball. They don't do nothing else.

And I think it's, you know, they're all in. I mean, everybody's got big arms and blah, blah, blah, and it's, it's different. 

[00:43:29] Mark Corbett: Well, and I'm glad you brought up Adam Duvall earlier too. Some people who have a, what do wanna say, a bear acquaintance with baseball, you know, they see Freddie Freeman and sometimes that's where it all stops for him.

And, and to see somebody like Adam doing what he's doing after Coach Cobb. It. It is great. I 

[00:43:47] Coach Cobb: Oh. I just tickles me to death. I told him about a month and a half ago, we had him on the show one day. I said, I'm so proud of you. I mean, he walked on. He come, you know, went to Western, got [00:44:00] hurt, set out a year, and then he walked on playing second base.

Then he gets drafted by the Giants. He won't the World Series. He's on the team. The year they won it five or six years. And then he started all that back in AAA and no matter where he went, he hit 30 home runs or more every year. Wow. I think he's got 36 right now for Atlanta. That's, 

[00:44:24] Mark Corbett: well folks, if you're not paying attention there where you need to go, definitely watch Adam and and Coach Cobb like again, if folks want to hear more about what you have to say, you're see you're a radio personality on a sports show.

Where is it and where can they listen to to you? 

[00:44:40] Coach Cobb: It's on Channel 10 80 am It's on every day, five days a week. And we have some great people on there. I mean, we've had some of the best Magic Johnson, Rick Berry. I mean, we've interviewed everybody. Lamar Jackson, a boy from Ballard playing in the pros. [00:45:00] We, we've had everybody on that show, and be honest with you, we're the second best sports show in town.

That's our rating for. But you know what reason I thank everybody, listen, we're honest. I'm a Louisville fan, but I don't get on there. If Kentucky deserves credit, like right now, they're doing great. I give them their credit. And if Louisville's playing bad, like they're, they stink right now in sports and I'm on the radio, they stink and they're in trouble all the time.

I mean, I gotta get everything straightened out. But you know, everybody's got a team. Mark. Huh? Who's your team and colleagues? Oh, Uve. 

[00:45:34] Mark Corbett: But you know, I got a mixed marriage. My wife's uk so, but Oh, okay. You respect both is is a smart thing to do. Exactly. 

[00:45:45] Coach Cobb: That's what I've learned, you know, with players Kentucky out basketball and they're a hell season.

Right. See what they do. Start next week. They place nobody tomorrow, but I mean, they'll be Chattanooga, [00:46:00] but I mean, you know, their schedule's been weeks so far, but they got a really good quarterback this year. And Louisville doesn't have, they don't have no skilled players that year in football, no running backs.

They're, they look like kids back there. They're fast. I said, I don't care how fast you are, you just, you can't be fast. You've gotta find ways. The line gotta get the kids open and they're struggling. Withdrawal. Sounds 

[00:46:26] Mark Corbett: like you got some recruiting to do here in the future. Hey. 

[00:46:28] Coach Cobb: Exactly. You come from Appian.

And he's probably a good coach and a good guy. I mean, I've talked to him two or three times, but he's getting Appalachian state player. He doesn't get the studs in here. When we had Fredman and Michael Bush and all them guys back then when they had a good team tomorrow, I mean, we had good, good players, pro players or em, you know, that boys start safety for the Packers.

Z Alexander, I mean, them guys are pro players. We don't have no pro players there Now. [00:47:00] 

[00:47:01] Mark Corbett: Well, folks, I wanna remind you all again, coach Cobb is on 10 80 am that's in Louisville, Kentucky, and if you're there, you'll check it out 12 

[00:47:09] Coach Cobb: to one every day, and we're hours every day. Tell you what, I got your number here.

What I'm going do, I'm call you this. And I'm gonna get you on the show for like a 15 minute segment if that'd be okay with you. Absolutely. And I'll, I'll throw some questions at you, we'll bounce 'em around on there and everybody, you know, can follow what you're doing. You gimme the info on that and I appreciate you calling, asking about my players and team and I look forward to talking to you cause I'd love to get you on the show.

And I'll tell Jerry, he'll do you know, basically whatever I wanna do. So yeah, I'd love to do that one day. 

[00:47:48] Mark Corbett: Well, coach Cobb, thank you again man. I appreciate you joining us. Thank you for sharing the, the history of the, the 

[00:47:53] Coach Cobb: bourbons. Oh yeah, I, I'll particularly talk to you and like I said, it was all my teammates and stuff, but I'm just [00:48:00] guy to be around.

Well, 

[00:48:04] Mark Corbett: it doesn't get any better 

than that. So 

I wanna thank Coach Cobb again for joining us here on BaseballBiz On Deck. And remember, you can always find us Google Podcast. Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher. Oh, we're everywhere. Anybody look forward to talking with you all again real soon. Also, you can find us on Twitter @thebaseballbiz and online at http://www.baseballbizondeck.com

Special thanks to XTaKeRuX. For the music rocking.