Rusty Greer on 96’s Brotherhood, Yankee Stadium Magic & Playing Through a Broken Neck
Rangers legend Rusty Greer joins Mike Rhyner and Michael Gruber for a nostalgic deep dive into the iconic 1996 Texas Rangers, the franchise’s first playoff team. Greer reflects on the team’s unbreakable clubhouse chemistry, playing through injury under Will Clark’s tough-nosed influence, the unforgettable 1996 ALDS battle against the Yankees, and Juan Gonzalez’s legendary postseason power surge. Plus, Greer opens up about his old weekly radio segment with the hosts, his coaching philosophy at Fort Worth Christian, and the toll his hard-nosed playing style took on his career.
Chapters
00:00:00 – Cold Open and Show Intro: Banter, lightning strike interruption, and introduction of the special guest segment on the OG.
00:00:48 – Welcoming Rusty Greer: Mike Rhyner and Michael Gruber introduce former Texas Rangers outfielder Rusty Greer, recalling his early days as their weekly radio guest.
00:03:15 – Reflecting on the 1996 Rangers Reunion: Rusty shares memories from a recent reunion of the 1996 playoff team and the lasting bond among players.
00:07:00 – Team Chemistry and Toughness: Discussion of what made the ’96 Rangers special, including Will Clark’s leadership and the team’s toughness culture.
00:12:03 – Coaching Lessons on Chemistry: Rusty explains how he teaches team chemistry and servant leadership to his players at Fort Worth Christian.
00:14:03 – How the Radio Show Began: Rusty recalls how he first connected with Mike and Michael for the weekly show and Will Clark’s advice about staying on good terms with the media.
00:20:49 – Front Office Class Acts: Rusty praises Doug Melvin and Tom Schieffer for creating a supportive organizational culture that trickled down to the players.
00:25:21 – Battling the Yankees Dynasty: Rusty discusses the tough playoff losses to the Yankees and the Rangers’ historic first playoff win in Yankee Stadium.
00:28:42 – Juan Gonzalez’s Legendary Playoff Run: Memories of Juan Gonzalez’s dominant 1996 playoff performance and his character off the field.
00:33:05 – Knowing When to Walk Away: Rusty reflects on the injuries that led to his retirement and his no-regrets approach to playing hard.
00:36:31 – Sign-Off and Thanks: Closing remarks, well wishes, and thanks to the guest and production team.
Read Transcript
Nobody would have thought that I would be the one. Ryder, sports talk. Baseball. Baseball. Baseball. Baseball. Baseball. Baseball. Oh, with the big mic. Oh, okay. Alright. Yeah. Okay. Now I get it. We got a lightning strike, boys. What happened over there, Grego? We had a little lightning strike right outside the window. Alright. Alright. Here's a tip for all these Americano League teams. Don't what? You said tip. Yeah. Tip. Okay. With a p. Keep jamming. The the ticket colon. Nothing but a big X jerk off set. This is a cool night or what? I wish somebody would hear that and go, bullshit. I'm back. I'll teach you soon. This is the Hello to all of you out there in the land of the podcast. We're glad to have you with us Today on the OG, it's gonna be a pretty special episode because today, we have finally succeeded in getting a guy that I've wanted to get on here all along. And let the record show that on this, the August 26, we have done just that. The guy that I wanted to get all along by the way, Grego is here with me today. Hello, Grego. Hello. And the guy that I wanted to get on here all along is a guy that was a very crucial player back in the early days when Gregor and I were on the radio today, or back then, we were just we're not on the radio today, but back then we were. And we were just getting started down our road, and it was baseball season. And we needed a guy, you know, a guy to have on for a weekly in the business. It's what they call it. And we started looking around. We didn't know who to get, but we kinda like this new guy that the Rangers had. He was an outfielder. He seemed like he was gonna be a pretty good hitter. Seemed like he was gonna be a a real hard nosed fan favorite of a player to us, and he at that very, very young time, at that very, very neophyte stage of his career and ours for that matter. And as it turned out, we were right on all counts. He is the great Rusty Greer. And via the miracle of Riverside, he joins us today. Good day, sir. How are you? I'm good. How are you guys doing? It feels like old times, doesn't it? Friday Friday at 03:10 after the after we all get together and and you wouldn't believe how how I go back to those times and and talk about our the radio show we did. And then it was fun. I enjoyed it. So thanks for having me. Well, thank you for doing this. Like I said, I've been wanting to get you on here for a long time. I've had a number of the other guys who came through at the same time you did on, but all the time, I said, man, we've gotta figure out a way to get Rusty on here. And today, it finally happens. I gotta tell you, I was hit pretty hard in the fields the other day because the Rangers got the 96 team or as many of them as as they possibly could, which was most of them, altogether again. And the 96 Rangers were the first ones to ever make the playoffs. Postseason baseball was something that we were it was a foreign concept here in our Fairburg until then. But they got them all together, and man, it was so cool to see everybody. I can only imagine what that must have been like for you. You know, it's you don't realize it when you're going through it, the times that you're having and what fun times those are. And that's on the field, that's on the plane rides, that's in the clubhouse, that's doing radio shows, but I think it's a testament to if you if you listen to most all of those guys talk about that team and how we all got along, I think it's a testament to that statement based on how many guys showed up thirty years later. A lot of these guys went to a lot of effort to get to the ballpark. And I think that's just a good testament to how tight knit we were, and and it was really great to see everybody. We had everybody was doing double takes when people walked in the in the door because nobody looks the same, obviously, but it was it was a good weekend. And I told John Blake and Tony Taylor, and I know it's a lot of work for them, but it was well worth it. And so, yeah, it was a great time. It was an awesome thing for sure. Really, the only ones that I can think of that weren't there were Will Clark. He wasn't there because his daughter is miss Louisiana or something like that and involved in that kind of thing. And Wanda wasn't there, but I didn't figure Wanda would be. But everybody else was. And, man, it just seemed like once you guys got together, the chemistry that you had just kind of locked back in place right away. I agree. It's you know, I haven't seen some of those guys in literally thirty years. And I told my wife, I said, this will be probably the last time I see some of these guys. I see Bobby Witt and Jeff Russell and and Kenny Hill and Darren, of all those guys that live around here, but the Damon Bufords and and and and Kevin Grosses and those guys, I don't I don't really ever get to see them. And to kinda pick up where you left off thirty years ago, it it was kind of cool, and we we went right back to talking about the things we did back then, and that was the the Kevin Gross with Hunting, Damon Buford with his businesses. It's just really cool to see and and spend the time with those guys. I I didn't I didn't want it to end because I know that when it ended, it would be over that that would be the end of me seeing some of those guys for the rest of time. It's really unusual that that the chemistry would lock back into place like that because, I mean, it was it was something that those of us out of the audience could pick up on. You know? I mean, we'd always heard just what a together bunch you guys were, and it it was it was really apparent to me, at least. Well, you know, think in today's game, I think that chemistry is the the overlooked the overlooked marker when it comes to team success. I think a lot of a lot of what is based people think based or wins and loss are based on are just strictly numbers, and but I believe that there is a a a real big percentage of a team success that's ingrained in that chemistry of a team and how well you get along and what do you what do you do off the field with each other? And that particular team, we literally did everything together. Not all the time. You had you had groups that go here and groups that go here, but then and you guys have heard the stories. Doug Melvin and Johnny Oates and Tom Sheaver were invited to Bobby Witt's house to have a party, and they showed up. Now they left early, thank God. But, you know, they showed up and had a good time and hung out with the team, and I bet if you go back I told somebody this the other day, I said, I don't remember a ton about anything after '96. I can recall plays in different years and success and things of that nature, but I can tell you a lot about 1996 from, from playing, from bus rides to plane rides to things that were set in the clubhouse, people getting into it, you know, in each other's face. I can remember that year, and part of that's due because I was a young player, but at the same time, it's just, it's kind of burned into my brain in 1996, and I think it is for a lot of those guys as well. One of the things that struck me about that '96 team was just how tough you guys were. I mean, you you had some tough guys on that team. You know, Mickey Tettleton and Dean Palmer, yourself, Will Clark, of course. And how would that equate to today's game, Rusty? I mean, have have having that type of of of just I don't even know what to call it in the clubhouse. Just toughness. Toughness, moxie, that kind of deal. Yeah. You know, I'm sure that there's guys out there in today's game that would do the things that we did to play. I don't know that there's a full squad of those guys, and and I think that Will Clark was kind of the ringleader of that. But you go to Mickey Tettleton, you go to Dave Valley who never played, but when he got the opportunity, did so. You you know, Pudge played every day. Mark Macklemore, Daryl Hamilton, myself, Dino, they have put in a full squad of those guys together. That that would be tough in a day's game. And, you know, for me, I think it comes down to when the expectation is set by your veteran players, which it was, specifically Will, then everybody tries to meet that expectation. And and I think he was the poster guy for playing through injury and and playing hurt and and expecting you to do the same. I can remember coming to the clubhouse one day and saying, hey, man. I I can't go today. My back's hurt. Blah blah blah. And he looked at me and said, you're a three hitter. We need you in the lineup. And I said, yes, sir. And I went and played. And and so so it's just things like that, but putting a full squad of those guys together, I don't know that it could be done today. And and the other part of it is, I think we wanted to play because we didn't wanna let each other down. And and that is what I'm what what we're talking about chemistry. That's part of that chemistry too. Standing there side to side by side with the guy next to you in your locker and not letting your teammate down. I'm right there with you on the chemistry thing because over the years, I've seen for myself what a big factor it is in any kind of, like, group effort or anything like that. Let me ask you this though. As you were driving up out there the other day, did you expect to go in there and just kind of I mean, it was almost like you guys picked up right where you left off. You know? Were you expecting that? I don't know that I was expecting that, but I I was expecting to see some good friends. Even though you don't see them for a long time, they're they're still really good friends because you you went through the war together in 1996, the ups and downs, and you partied together, you did all that stuff together, so there's that common bond. Now picking up where we left off, I wouldn't have seen that coming, but as soon as we walked in there, you know, I see Dean Palmer and he slaps me on the back and I see Damon Buford who I haven't seen literally since 1997, and it just it was just it was just a great day on Friday, and then an even better time on Saturday when we got to spend, you know, two, three hours during the game together. It was just it was really cool. What do you tell the guys you coach, the kids that you coach? Because you're coaching baseball at Fort Worth Christian these days. And what do you tell them about chemistry? How do you how do you how do you try to impart the power of chemistry over to a bunch of young guys like that who may not really understand it yet? Well, it's that that is part of my job is because we have at the private school level, you can have guys that transfer in, transfer out. So you're gonna have new guys coming in. Fortunately, last year, I had a bunch of veteran guys that understood me, and and they were all a tight knit group. This year, we have a few new guys. So part of my job is to build build that chemistry, and part of the way I do it is is servant leadership is what I preach to them is is how can I make your day better? Even if I'm a bench player, I never play, or I'm a starting shortstop, what can I do to make your day better? And I also believe that when you go through struggles together, when you suffer together, when you get barked at by the head coach, there's a common bond there. There's, you know, there's a reason you hear the brotherhood of the firefighters and and the military and and police officers, that that kind of brotherhood. Not that we can build that tight knit of a group, but when you suffer together, you you become closer. And so that's part of what I do is I I try to how can we make each other's day better and then hold those guys accountable and not just the worst player on the team, but the best player on the team, hold them all the same, and then I kind of become the bad guy or their common antagonist. And once I get to that point, I've got them. And and it's it's it's very easy to see, and and when I can bring them together, I'm willing to be the bad guy, and that's part of the head coach's job, I think. Let's go back to your rookie year. And, you know, it's 1996. You were just breaking into the game. You went to spring training and kind of caught some of us by surprise when you, number one, made the team. Number two, turned out to be as good as you were. But do you remember the first time that John Blake or somebody like him came up to you and said, hey. There are these two yahoos on the radio that wanna have you on every week. Well What did you think about that? Well, yeah. Actually, my first big account was '94, and then Yeah. Ninety four, I guess it would have been. Ninety four, got cut out of camp there, but got caught up in May. And then obviously, the strike happened. Came back in '95, three weeks late because of the strike, and I was a platoon player with Jack Voigt and Candy Maldonado. And so platooned with them, and then the last day, we played the Mariners, and Johnny Oates caught me in the the tunnel. You remember the old ballpark, there's a tunnel and there's that little, what do you call it, foyer right there before you went to the clubhouse coming out of the tunnel. And so he stopped me and said, I know you're not a platoon player. I'm gonna move one to right, and I'm putting you in left every day next year. And at that point, I'm saying, Okay, whatever. And so came into spring training in 'ninety six, and I was a left fielder and was there every single day. And so performed well in spring training, and coming out of camp, knew I was going to be starting left fielder, and then they came to me and said, or John did, and said, Hey actually, Bo McKinnis, my agent, had talked to you guys. John Blake had mentioned it to me, and your reputation was somewhat of the hard line, you know what I mean? And so I was a a bit and you can probably go back and remember, I was a bit hesitant. We got on the phone on the phone to begin with. I wasn't as forthcoming as I probably could have been because I didn't wanna say anything wrong because the reputation was you guys would take it and run with it. Right? And so it took a while, for sure. It took a while, 100%. We did that radio show for four, five years, right? Yes, we did. And so the first year was kinda, it drugged because I just didn't wanna say anything. As I got comfortable with you guys and realized you guys weren't gonna hose me, we opened up a little bit, but and and so I and that's one of those things where I wish like I said, you you when you're in it, you don't you don't really enjoy it. I wish I could go back to that radio show and just be, you know? But then a little bit different game now than then. You say something you shouldn't on the radio, then you get drilled. Now it's just funny, and it's, you know, it goes on social media. And so but no, I had a great time with that show, and I still talk about it to this day, about the two dudes. And I'll tell you this too. I never told you guys this, but Will, you know, Will was a master at understanding the media, controlling the media, and he told me when you guys before we did the radio show, you guys came up, you were talking to me, and he was sitting there and I was answering the questions. He said, Hey, let me tell you something. He said, There's people that and I learned a lot from where he said, There's people that you need on your side. And he said, Those are two guys you need on your side. And so I said, Okay. And so I kind of took this when I got the opportunity to do the radio show. Go, Okay, Will says I might need these guys on my side, so let me jump into this. I can always get out, but if I can get these guys on my side, man, it could be great. And so I think that I think that we we wound up being pretty good on the radio, and I think people look forward to that show every week. I know that I did. There was a couple of times I forgot, and I but but I but I enjoyed that show for sure. You know, you you you kinda answered your your question from a minute ago, And that is that you didn't have time to be media friendly. You you were a baseball player and serious about your craft. And that does surprise me about Will Clark, but it also goes to show how you guys were so together, and you looked out for each other, because Will Clark hated us. He did not like me and Ryan's at all. And for him to say that he Now, did he hate us, or was that just an act? Well, it it was probably an act, but he it it was an act he had to play. Yeah. And for him to say that, I've never knew that. That's Yeah. It's kinda remarkable, but it just kinda illustrates the closeness and the toughness of you guys. Well, and Will, obviously, Will Locker next to him for five years, so he was kind of my mentor, even though he wasn't kind of, he was. And so I paid attention to a lot of what Will did, and Will, he would the best memory I've ever seen in my life. He could see a reporter, wouldn't matter if he was a radio guy, who it was. In spring training, the person wouldn't show up for one hundred days and they'd come back in and call his name, Hey, how you doing? You know? And was amazing for me to sit there and watch that. I also saw this about Will, and you guys can attest to this, is it does not matter what he did in the game, zero for five with five punch outs, we lose, we win, he's five for five. He is the one guy sitting at his locker answering questions when the game's over. He had his cruise lights sitting there and answering questions. And so I saw that as a leadership, not trade, a leadership role that he had in his team. Obviously, he was probably our our leader, but that's what leaders do. They stand up, they talk to the media. Even if they don't like a media member, they engage with that media member. Now, as I said, we'll control the media. If you guys are just standing around, he wouldn't get your job done and leave, you know? Or if you came too far on the field, get off the field. But that's why I say he kinda controlled the media and took took, and took that on as the leader. But I watched him I watched him for five years, stand up when it was hard to stand up and a lot of guys would go to the training room or go eat and not have to deal with it, watch him stand up and answer some hard questions that that nobody else wanted to answer. I thought it was really cool that Doug Melvin was there the other day because I hadn't seen him in a long time, and I found myself talking to him. And it it was just like, you know, Doug and I always had some great baseball conversations, and you were around for a lot of those, Grego. Oh, yeah. But it it was just like we kinda fell right back into that place with him. I mean, he he he's I I I guess he's just that kinda guy that you do that with. Doug Melvin is easygoing. He's not he's I of course, I never knew a ton of general managers, but to me, he had the persona of a of a general manager. I'm sure he got mad at some point, but you can you can never tell it with Doug. And I think Doug is a true baseball guy and understands the game and what it takes to to win. I also believe that he hires a manager and coaches and lets them do their job. And and so that's part of the dynamic back then that made us good was Doug was the general manager. And, yeah, he had to show up in a clubhouse every now and again, but for the most part, he never showed up in the clubhouse. That was that was the veteran's role and the coach's role and the manager's role. And, I think he understood that. But as far as a baseball guy goes, I think he's he's, at the top of my list as far as understanding the game and what it takes, not just skill wise, but what it takes from a personality and a and a persona and a character standpoint to be on a team that's that wins. He was always really, really cool with us, and so was Tom Schieffer, who I enjoyed seeing the other day and tried to get close enough to him to just say, hey. But his time was being dominated by some woman, so, oh, okay. That ended that. But he was right. He he was kind of of kind of that mold too, wasn't he? Yeah, he, Tom, you know, there's a lot of reasons that I was successful, okay? And it's several fold. Part of it was I was in the right spot from a fan standpoint. The fans supported me every single day. I was in the right spot from a media standpoint. Not just media guys, just saying the amount of media folks. I was in the right standpoint from a team, from the general manager who wanted me on the team. I was in the right place for the owner who understood that you could get me at a discount, and I was a pretty good player. But I think ultimately, Tom Schieffer was along the lines of Doug Melvin. He understood that his role as an owner was to put the general manager in the best position to be successful. The general manager tried to put the team and the manager in the best place to be successful, and they stayed out of the way. Tom Shuford actually had this conversation with Tom Shuford the other day or the other night. You know, he he understood his role was not to come into clubhouse after every game or every loss or every win. That's the player's place. And I think that Tom, he was passionate about the game, and I think this goes unnoticed too, and you guys can probably remember this. But we played 82 games at home. Right? 80 a 160 or 81. Eight a 162, 81 at home, and Tom Sheavers at every one of those games until the till the last out of the ninth inning, win or lose. And from a player's perspective, you notice things like that. And so when the the owner's supporting the players in that manner, the general manager's supporting the players in that manner, then it just it sets the stage for for for a for a family atmosphere and for success, to be honest with you. Yeah. It kind of creates the vibe that starts at the top and runs all the way through the thing. Mhmm. I agree. And that's that's where that's where in that situation, I think that I think it's gotta start. It's because the players can't can't really go from the bottom up because the players are gonna support each other regardless. So when you see the top top coming down supporting you, then then you're willing to go to war and go to go to bat every day, and and that's what we did. The thing that that kind of spoiled the party for the Rangers was that you ran into a team that was on its way to becoming the team of that era in the playoffs a couple of times. Mhmm. That, of course, being the Yankees. Nobody hates them worse than me, and I hated that. But it was what it was, and that team was on its way to becoming the team of that era. I mean, did you guys reach I guess, over the years, you've reached a point where you look at and say, well, that's that's just the way it went, but I bet it wasn't that easy at that time. It was not easy at that time. And for us, that that was a I mean, that was a buzz saw, and it was obvious by the amount of World Series that that organization won in those, you know, in a short time frame. And so I think in '96, getting to the playoffs and and winning, but then losing the series, I think it's, oh, we're gonna get back and get to play play them again. But then after 99, you're like, man, you know, not saying that it was in our head, but at the same time, when you when you roll in I think the frustrating part from for for most all those guys is during the regular season, played well. We won series. We did all that, and I think that shows how the playoffs are different because we swung the bats in '96, 98, and '99. '99 might have been the best offensive club or was the best offensive club I was on. '96, we swung the bats, but in the playoffs, pitching overtook the hitting. And when runs are hard to come by because you got guys on the mound on the other side that can pitch, it makes it hard, especially when that group, and I'm not speaking for the New York Yankees, but I could imagine that they had the same togetherness that we had because of the success they had. And they they play on the other side of the field from them. They looked like they enjoyed being around each other and looked like they enjoyed winning, and and we just couldn't get it done. And if we could go back, I'm sure everybody'd go back and and try again for sure. Yet you'll always be part of the first Ranger team in the playoffs to go into Yankee Stadium and That win a was Magical. That was it was magical. You know, John Burkett, what a pickup by Doug Melvin late in the season, and he goes in and wins wins the first game. And and for us, for me, I feel like if we could've we were had the lead in in game two, if we if we come out and we win that game, I think we I think we probably win that series. And and but in Yankee Stadium, as you know, there there's there it's it's a haunting place with a bunch of ghosts. And so game two didn't work out for us. And it definitely out and the rain delay in game three just god. Right. So it was just that's just the way it goes, though. Yeah. But, yeah, it was it was a good time. It was a good time, especially in Yankee Stadium going in there and win. And and and and for me, it was it was more so it was my first playoff game ever. A lot of guys' first playoff game, but the organization's first playoff game and to win that, I think that was pretty pretty cool turn. In Yankee Stadium and stunned silence. Mean, they did not know what to do with they did not know what to do with Juan Gonzalez. He was Juan was he was out of his mind when he was during that playoff series. Just locked in, focused, and I just wish the rest of us could have supported him because if we could have just done even half of what we did during the regular season, those five homers would have had a lot more impact than than than what they did. It was it it was so amazing being in that stadium that first time for the for the first playoff game. Okay. Because when it became apparent who the best player in the series was, was Juan Gonzalez, The Yankee fans are thinking that it's their birthright that they have to have this guy. How do we get Juan Gonzalez? He just kept mashing their pitchers. Yeah. He's throwing it back good. Bernie Williams is pretty good in that series too, but I think that Juan Juan stood out above everybody just because of who he was. You know, he he if I'm correct in saying this, maybe I'm not, Juan did not make the All Star team in '96, but then won the MVP. Is that right? That's true. I think that's correct. And so I think that not making the All Star game in '96 kind of made it mad, and he was he was ready to show people that who he was, and everybody knew who he was. He'd won two home run contests, but in Yankee Stadium, in the playoffs, at the ballpark, in the playoffs, to do what he did was kinda special. And I don't know that there's I don't know that that anybody could have seen that coming except the guys in in the clubhouse because they knew what he was capable of. And he and the the thing that's what's so sad about this Rusty is is he's not fondly remembered in Ranger lore. And I think that's a shame because he he was the heart and soul of those teams in the And, you know, with circumstances beyond everybody, I guess, I I just think it's it's it's just a shame. I mean, I I would have liked to have seen him there and, you know, because I I bet he's got a lot of memories he'd like to share with you guys and vice versa. Sure. I haven't seen one in well, since we were playing in the late nineties, and and the thing people know need to know about Juan is is that he is one of the best human beings you'll you'll meet. He's got a heart that's as big as the state of Texas, and and I just remember that guy. Forget his his ability on the field. Just a teammate. To me, he was he was just a heart of gold, and I miss him. I would like to see him and and talk to him, and and but he was he was one of my favorite guys on the on the squad. And and, yeah, I wish I wish he would have been there this weekend as well. You know, and kinda amplify that, once when he was on the the injured list and we're up in the press box. Remember this, Ryan? He just wandered in. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I do remember that. One just one didn't talk to the media at all. And he just wandered in and sat down and started talking to us. I mean Yeah. He I bet that surprises you. Well, it it does. He he didn't he didn't talk to media much. Of course, Luis Murrell would be his interpreter, I understand why. But at the same time, he would do things like that that would catch you off guard, but he was a he he was a big supporter of mine, and and I love to go to death. And and that's just what all people want the bus, man. Yeah. They just shot the Yeah. The Hard of goal hard of goal the guy's got. Yeah. And that that I I couldn't have been more surprised. In fact, I I don't think I even knew what to say to the guy, you know, when he came out there and and started talking to us. Right. How did you know when it was time for you to quit? I wanted to keep playing, but my body wouldn't let me. And that was the point when I when I said to myself, I can I can potentially potentially play and be a shell of what I was, because I level had of expectation of myself, and when I couldn't get to when I didn't think I could meet that level of expectation, that self imposed level of expectation? Do I wish I was still doing it? Yep. Every day. You know, Jim Sundberg, he gives an analogy of a big leaguer's got a cookie. You guys have probably heard this. A cookie, and you either eat all that cookie or you don't. And I still got some cookie left. And, wish I wish I was, wish I was doing especially the way they're giving away money. You know, it's, you you you but just playing the game every day and having that camaraderie and that that place to go every day at 02:00 and try to win a game. Being the hero of the GOAT, that would be that'd be that'd be good. Nothing like it, is there? Nothing like it. But I don't I don't wanna sound don't wanna cry over spill milk either. I played the way a certain or game a way a certain way, and, you know, I can remember Evan Grant asking me, you think that your style of play is gonna shorten your career? And I but this time, I was 27 years old, and I ain't gonna shorten it. Well, it wound up shortening my career. And, again, though, I would rather have a shortened career in the respect of those guys I was with this weekend as opposed to not playing the game the ways that I knew how to play it. And that's the I'll I'll stand by that until the day I die. Do you remember one thing that happened in a game where you came off the field and thinking, oh, man. I really messed myself up here. I've really hurt myself. I do. Is there there one thing more than any other that made you feel that way? There were several that I can remember. The one that got my attention was we were in Colorado and Andres Galarraga hit a ball in the left center field. Was a line drive, and I dove for it. And my neck, my head snapped down and my, kind of my right arm, a buzz went through my right arm, and I said, man, something's wrong. And so a couple of, well, down the road, I kept playing obviously, but down the road it was my, I had herniated a disc in my neck and so it was that jar of the ground and my head snapping that but I'd done that I'd done that, you know, I don't know how many times never felt it. And then on that particular one, I just remember the ground was hard, and I hit and my neck snapped and my right arm went dull, and and I said, uh-oh. So but you go back and you keep playing for the next six innings, seven innings, and then you go out and do it again until you can't do it. So that's what I did. You didn't come out of the game or anything? Oh, no. No. No. No. No. Uh-uh. So Will Clark would've looked at Will Clark Clark would've looked at me and said, what are you doing? In that way that only he can. Right. Right. A 100%. Well, Rusty, this has been a lot of fun, man. It's really good to catch up to you. I know you got a little bit of a time crunch here, and we respect that. We respect you. And fond memories of the days of having you on the air and fond memories of watching you play, man. You were one of one. Well, I appreciate it. And I I I thank you guys because, like I said, you guys helped make me. I mean, it just wasn't me. It was all around, and I'm fortunate I was in Texas and playing for the right organization and the right people, and I'll never forget it. Let's put it that way. Alright. There he is, the great Rusty Greer joining us on the OG today. You guys call me anytime. We will. We will. We will have you back on YDC and get a little bit more into stuff. Alright. Fair enough. Alright. Alright. See you later. Rusty Greer. And that is the OG for today, folks. Thanks to Yvonne. Thanks to Beckett. Thanks to Grego. Thank you for watching. And if you like what we're doing here, as always, share us on your social media. Bye. Alright. I'm gonna go take my pants off. You're Dark Companion is a stolen water media presentation.