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Some Future Day evaluates technology at the intersection of culture & law.
Join Marc Beckman and his esteemed guests for insider knowledge surrounding how you can use new technologies to positively impact your life, career, and family. Marc Beckman is Senior Fellow of Emerging Technologies and an Adjunct Professor at NYU, CEO of DMA United, and a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets.
Marc Beckman: Steve Garvey, it is such an honor and pleasure to have you join me today on Some Future Day. How are you?
Thanks, and thanks for having me. We have mutual friends, uh, uh, that we, uh, love dearly and got us together and I look forward to it.
Absolutely. Alan Hamill and Suzanne Somers, the late, great Suzanne Somers. Wonderful, wonderful, salt of the earth people. But, um, Steve, I understand, although you're a California person and you're a West Coast guy for most of your career, that you have roots here in New York.
Steve Garvey: Yeah, Long Island, uh, Glen Cove, Hempstead, uh, Wanta, um, uh, Uniondale, uh, you know, family's roots were there, uh, and, uh, you know, I chatted briefly that, uh, ironically, my, uh, my grandfather on my father's side was a, uh, Brooklyn policeman. um, history goes deep. I remember, uh, it's a longer story, but, uh, um, we ended up in, in Florida, my dad and mom and my, uh, mom's, uh, parents, uh, grandparents. And, uh, so every year at Thanksgiving time, my mom and dad would take their vacation, would go up to New York and spend five or six days. And grandpa would, uh, would always take my dad and I to Ebbets Field and he knew all the guys there and they would let them in. Of course, it was pretty chilly at Thanksgiving in New York at that time.
Some years there'd be snow on the iconic Ebbets Field. Other times the pigeons would be flying around and it'd be a decent temperature, but you could feel The ghosts of Ebbets Field and the great Brooklyn Dodgers, and you could almost hear the echoes of the Giants and Dodgers in 51, and the Yankees playing the Dodgers, what, five or six times at least at Ebbets Field.
So, I kind of grew up with a basic understanding of, uh, of the Dodgers. Mom was a Yankee fan, so she gloated a lot back then.
Marc Beckman: All right.
Steve Garvey: Starting in, uh, 1956, uh, we had moved down to Tampa, Florida. Uh, my dad was a Greyhound bus driver and he came home in late March, which is spring training time. uh, had dinner and I was sitting, dad, dad came in and immediately looked at me.
He said, do you wanna skip school tomorrow? And I said, dad, wow. Why? He said, well, I got a charter tomorrow to pick up the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Tampa
Marc Beckman: Wow.
Steve Garvey: that flow over from, uh, Vero Beach Spring training to play the Yankees in an exhibition game. Well, dad and two other gentlemen had just started the second little league in Tampa and, uh, we were going to start four days later, uh, and I had my brand new Rawlings Heart of the Hide glove and, uh, I said, dad, really?
He said, yeah. He said, maybe you'll get a chance to bat for it. Well, next day it all came together. It's a longer story of meeting Campanella and Hodges and Farrello and Jackie Robinson and Snyder. And getting a chance to bat boy
Marc Beckman: Wow.
Steve Garvey: and falling in love with the game that night. So, um, it's amazing the course of history that, uh, that God puts us on.
Marc Beckman: Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously you're legendary and, uh, the teams that you played on, not just the Dodgers, the Padres too, are, are, you know, to a certain extent, legendary. I know it's not the Yankees. Um, I say that with love, but, and being a little facetious, but, Well, let's talk
Yeah,
Steve Garvey: and Yankees.
Marc Beckman: before we go there, you mentioned Jackie Robinson and I was, you know, it's kind of interesting because, um, I didn't realize that you had that experience with Jackie Robinson and I was thinking how like, you know, for me in my entire lifetime, my, my dad, my grandfather, like baseball has always inspired us and instilled a sense of pride in us.
In my family. Yeah. and then if you look at like America, it's done so like through the civil war, through, uh, world wars, it goes on and on and on. And, you know, baseball really did do a lot in pushing America's culture forward. For example, when you mentioned Jackie Robinson, it really helped to a certain extent with integration and to defeat a certain level of racism in the United States of America.
Um, so I'm curious, like from your perspective, like who, who in baseball most inspired you as it relates to those types of like social justice issues that, that you, um, you know, I guess experienced
Steve Garvey: also? so I just, you know, I spoke at a fundraiser in Bakersfield, California last night. Uh, the ranchers and the, and the farmers and the oil men there, uh, big Dodger fans, bunch of Giant fans, which was always the great rivalry, whether it was East Coast or West Coast. and I talked briefly about the one true constant in America. over the last 150 years has been baseball. If you think about it, uh, the beginnings of baseball in the, uh, 1800s and the evolution of the game and the emergence of, of Babe Ruth and the Yankees and then, uh, ironically um, it really went with, uh, the turning became with Branch Rickey, Rickey and his development of the minor league system when he owned the, uh, Brooklyn Dodgers. And of course we know when, uh, on April 15th, 1947. Jackie Robinson took the field opening day and broke the color barrier. And just like you said, you look at, uh, turning points in America and that day was a defining moment and of course, you know, there's Just society itself dealing with integration, segregation, but I think the, uh, the spotlight was on baseball. And when I look at my years with the Dodgers and I, and I look at the players that I, great players I played with and against, there's no, there's not been a sport that's been as inclusive as baseball. If you, you look throughout the years, obviously, but look through all sports, uh, and today, take the Dodgers, for example, uh, black men, white men, Asians, Hispanic, uh, a true blending of America.
And like I said last night, I mean, you know, you can, you can go to Japan and live there and not be Japanese. You could go to China, you'd go to Germany. when you come to America and you come here the right way and you integrate into America, you become an American, regardless of your history and your initial culture.
So that's why I love baseball so much that I was a part of it for 20 years, part of the great Dodger organization. And five of those 20 years were spent in San Diego, history with that great franchise. had a whole different story of coming of age in 1969 and having this iconic businessman by the name of Ray Kroc by the team and, uh, and start to begin the history there.
So, you know, I've been blessed. I've been blessed to reach heights of the mountain beating those Yankees in 81 and, uh, Falling off a few times in 77, 78, obviously, uh, but, uh, I think when it's all said and done, it's, uh, it's the fiber of America. And like you were saying, it's also local, so, and territorial.
So if you live in the New York area, or of course, like the history of the Yankees, you know, that will be part of, of your history and your families, and
Marc Beckman: Truly. Yeah.
Steve Garvey: the 30 teams, 29 teams.
Marc Beckman: Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting. Um, Steve, like you're, you've seen so much and you've, you've, um, you grew up, uh, with Major League Baseball during such interesting times. So The fact that you highlight how on the field it's been so diverse and, and almost like a melting pot is interesting. Something I was talking about with one of my friends here in New York City, we get the sense that, uh, New York City and perhaps even the United States today is more divided, um, than in my lifetime by, by religion, by race, by gender and beyond, but yet if we go to Yankee Stadium and I'm sure the same thing would apply if you were in Dodger Stadium and you're in the fan zone.
The Modern Hotelier, David Millili, Steve Carran, Stayflexi, CRM, CEO, LodgIQ, Dr. Elizabeth Haas, Pierre Gervois, Revinate, CRM, CEO, LodgIQ, Dr. Elizabeth Haas, Pierre Gervois, We start to hate each other again. I don't know if you've seen that phenomenon, but maybe, maybe there's something to it, like maybe someone like you, a true leader, a United States Senate candidate should, um, think in terms of like, why is it that these, these fans could sit in these stadiums every, you know, every day, basically, and they're best of friends.
They're all together. They're all aligned. And then the second we leave, we get back into like this weird, uh, tense hate mode.
Steve Garvey: Well, you know, as my career developed in September 1st of 1969, I was called up to the Dodgers. That's when they, the teams are allowed to bring four or five minor league players up. So Bobby Valentine from. Stanford, Connecticut, Tom Fischert from Hamstramck, uh, uh, Michigan, and Billy Buckner from Vallejo, California, and Bobby, you know, and myself all came up and it shows the diversity of, of, of areas and, and cultures, you know, an Irishman, an Italian, another player of Polish descent. Um, But, but that's what, like I said, through the years the constant has been baseball. And it's the one thing that has tied people together and been the fiber of, of, of cities and, and, uh, in this country is, uh, you attach yourself to the team. And the great thing about baseball is for, 180 days, 162 games in about 180 days with off days and so forth and then playoffs. You get a chance to wake up in the morning and see how your team did you attach yourself obviously to the team, uh, but then there are individual players that you like. And just like last night, you know, men came up to me in their 60s and said, I want to thank you. I grew up with you and you set an example for me in hard work and dedication and sportsmanship.
And I said, that's the ultimate compliment for those of us that play the games, that we affected people in a positive way. And I've always said, you know, we're in the memory business and people will come up and, uh, and say, Oh, I remember going with my grandfather and sitting in the bleachers at Dodger Stadium. And those were the best of times.
And we would
Marc Beckman: Yeah.
Steve Garvey: together and peanuts. And Grandpa would teach me about the game and how I became a fan of it. even to today, and now I keep score. Which probably is the ultimate fan
Marc Beckman: Yeah.
Steve Garvey: there. But that's what baseball does. And I think that through the years when I would I would sit in the stadium or stand in the stadium during especially pitching changes, which can be boring. And I'd look up and in different nights would have different, uh, different cultures to them, you know, Friday night would be, uh, the end of the week, you know, Thursdays, you know, thank God it's Thursdays, chance to get out early and Saturdays would be date nights and Sundays would be family day and you know, probably Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday would be the season ticket holders that were So, you know, I always say, even though I played football at Michigan State and loved football and
Marc Beckman: Yeah.
Steve Garvey: basketball as a kid, baseball was the one sport that I think I was very blessed to play and who played with the greats because I was in that transitional period of the 60s into our group that was probably 70 to 90. Uh, that era, but the Mantles and, and the Mays and the Marises and, um, you know, those were the guys that were from the late 40s, 50s into the 60s who were just happening to, to linger on. Then I had a chance to play with him for, you know, a couple of years in the early 70s.
Marc Beckman: Yeah, that's pretty cool. I mean, did you, when you use the word hard work, I know that you in particular were, um, an extremely hard worker, really diligent on the field. Um, especially with your, um, I guess we could say like your Ironman streak. I think it was about 1200 games, a little bit more than that.
Right. That was like incredible. Yeah. And then didn't you go, um, was it a full season with the Dodgers where you never missed a game? Was that, was that it? Or, or more than that, I would imagine then,
Steve Garvey: well, seven and a half years straight, I didn't miss a game, 1207 consecutive games, uh, the National League record, number four all time,
Marc Beckman: Amazing. Behind, of course, you know, Cal Ripken and, uh, uh, Lou Gehrig, uh, and Everett Scott. Not too many people have ever heard of Everett Scott, but he was another first baseman to play, I think, about.
Steve Garvey: 1, 100 games. uh, yeah, and I took a lot of pride in it. When people say, uh, what accomplishment, uh, has been the most important to you? And I say, well, if you play a team sport, to win a world championship is, is the ultimate, because it's, it's, it's the team effort. It's a long journey from the beginning of spring training to that final out.
And, uh, and of course we did it at Yankee stadium, which people say, um, Was that important to you? I said, it was. I mean, we could have done it at Dodger Stadium in front of our home fans. That would have been great. we couldn't, to do it at Yankee Stadium, and especially with my roots of family being from, from Long Island and New York, and Grandpa being a, a Brooklyn policeman,
Marc Beckman: It's great.
Steve Garvey: done it there, was, uh, was very fitting for that chapter of my life that culminated with winning a world championship.
But, but really on a day to day basis, individually, the consecutive game streak made a statement for my commitment to, uh, to the game, uh, to the fans. Obviously the Dodger organization and then probably the last 15 of those consecutive games were in San Diego. But, uh, going from a bad boy at the age of 7 and doing that for probably 6 7 years in spring training, uh, to reaching the heights of the game of baseball, um, says a lot for not only sports in America but, uh, about our society.
Uh,
Marc Beckman: sure.
Steve Garvey: like you and I are talking about. What, what weaves us together, uh, as people. Uh, is sports.
Marc Beckman: Yeah. It's interesting. You know, Cal Ripken Jr. was a client of mine for a long time as he went into the hall of fame and Cal, similar to you, um, was. was positioned where he was in between the old and then the next generation, A Rod and Jeter and those guys. And I remember with, I was with Cal at one point and he was talking about how you inspired him, um, as it relates to work ethic and, and all, it was a very memorable conversation with me, uh, with, that I had with Cal.
Steve, do you, if you look back to the generation before you, I mean, those names are, are just incredible that you named. Were any of those people, Were any of those athletes, uh, specifically inspirational to you as it relates to your work ethic or perhaps even overcoming adversity? Because I know I could imagine for years and years to be on the field, there must've been those moments in time where you're like, I just, I'm not up for it today.
I need a break. This injury is nagging me and I can overcome adversity. And maybe it was one of the guys that preceded you that inspired you.
Steve Garvey: Well, you know, when I was growing up and I was an only child, ironic, I have seven children, seven grandchildren now, so,
and a lot Nice. which balanced me out.
Marc Beckman: Congratulations.
Steve Garvey: Thank you.
Marc Beckman: It's very nice. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. but I would, when I was growing up, to, to be able to sit on a bench when I was bat boying with, with those iconic dodgers, so Gil Hodges was, was very special.
Steve Garvey: A lot like my dad, six three, uh, very strong guy. Good family man. Uh. You know, quiet to a sense of, of I would catch him studying the field. I remember one time on the bench he was, he had Pee Wee Reese next to him. uh, again, it was the end of spring training, a meaningless exhibition game. And he was watching the Yankee pitcher on how he would wind up.
And if he, if he had his thoughts, fingers this way, it would be a fastball, and if he turned his hand this way, it'd be a curveball. So instead of talking about where they were going to dinner that night, or, uh, did, uh, are y'all set for the season with a, an apartment in Brooklyn, they were talking about the possibility of facing this pitcher in, in, in the World Series in October.
Marc Beckman: Amazing.
Steve Garvey: on the line, Reese and Hodges would know that if he started to wind up like this, it was going to be a curveball, and that one little. Uh, advantage could be in the game. So it was a, it was a great example of, um, not wasting time, taking advantage of, of when you're at a game, especially if you're playing, to watch the field, uh, watch the opposition, remember how they pitched you, you know, if you're a batter,
Marc Beckman: Amazing.
Steve Garvey: out, how they pitch, uh, the guys in front of you who might be comparable in terms of power and the type of hitter. So if you were to say, uh, what was the one virtue that I think, uh, It really was a reason for my success and longevity is that my, my true interest in watching those people that were successful, watching, uh, because the game is so difficult, uh, what you're given. In other words, in terms of maybe a pitcher, how the outfield, outfielders are playing so that you can take advantage of the situation, put it in your memory bank and, and, uh, use it when the time is appropriate. The athletes who have the great, talent and ability, but, but can't think they're sport are usually ones that fall short in reaching their potential. Others who may not have the same amount of physical ability, but really study the game and analyze it and put that into their memory bank and execute it when, when, when they're The lights are on, so to speak, are the ones that sustain, have longevity, and you might admire because they have a complete game, both mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Marc Beckman: That's so interesting to me, that intellectual piece of it. Which other, um, professional baseball players during your generation do you think had that heightened level of intellect as it, as it applied to the game, where they were able to get an advantage because they were so intelligent on the field?
Steve Garvey: Yeah, you know, there's, there are a number of them, obviously, but Hank Aaron was one that I watched. I got a chance to play against Hank. I was on the field for 7 15, uh, which was a monumental moment, and A
Marc Beckman: Wow.
Steve Garvey: my career in life,
Marc Beckman: Amazing.
Steve Garvey: Willie Mays, watching Willie Mays at the end of his career, somehow, some way, getting to a ball he probably shouldn't have, but because of his experience and his mental ability and acuity, he would get to a ball, he robbed me a few times, so, even at 39, 40, he wasn't that old, he made up for it with that mental ability.
But,
Marc Beckman: Amazing.
Steve Garvey: Rose was another one who got a tremendous amount out of that, What was, you know, probably average to a little better than average physical ability. But he worked so hard, and you know what, he had probably two consecutive game streaks of over 700 games. So he was right up there with those of us who thought it was important to play every day and almost every inning. But Pete
Marc Beckman: And he was rough. He, he like, beat his body up.
Steve Garvey: Yeah. And he, and he, he did, yeah, those headfirst slides take their toll. Uh,
Yeah. if, if I With somebody who didn't have the great ability of the gentlemen I just mentioned, but maximized that to arguably have more records than anyone, and probably when it's all said and done should be in the Hall of Fame, was, was somebody. So I watch, and I watch pitchers. I watch pitchers who would go out every day, watch the Bob Gibsons and the Tom Seavers and Jim Palmers and men like that and, and how they would set up hitters and, and think about when I did face them. And a lot of those, you know, guys I, I would face in all star games or probably, possibly post season. But, um, you know, and learn from our professions. The more we study it, uh, the more we, we watch the people that are very good at what they do, uh, and to be around, for me, to be around Vince Scully and, uh, uh, Al Michaels and people like that. And I've, I've done enough, uh, in terms of, of media and radio and television to see how they approach the game.
And, um, and, and I said this last weekend, we had a great weekend in Los Angeles. Uh, on a Friday night, Dusty Baker was, uh, inducted into our Legends of Dodger Baseball, which is a Dodger Hall of Fame. And I was to be part of the first class. And then on Saturday, we had 35 Dodger Legends on the field. I was
Marc Beckman: Wow.
Steve Garvey: and looking around, and the only other time that I felt comparable was to be back for a couple of Yankee old timer games. Um, you don't see any games anymore because we're truly old timers.
Marc Beckman: Ah.
Steve Garvey: And we, uh, we can't get out there, but I think it's, you know, people seeing these legends, whether it's Dodgers or Yankees, uh, one more time, and to elicit those memories that have been the fiber, like I said, of
people's
Marc Beckman: sure.
Steve Garvey: Uh, is, is, uh, is so special to see,
uh,
Marc Beckman: For sure.
Steve Garvey: to listen to Vin Scully for 63 years uh, and, and Al Michaels and all the, all the great ones and every team has them. Become part of your family and have a great influence on us.
Marc Beckman: Steve, you may, I heard you, um, in an interview before a talk about Pete Rose, you, in one interview, this goes back maybe 10 years, you had said Pete Rose was the most competitive, like the best athlete that you ever, uh, faced on the field.
Um, Yeah, yeah. And, um, you, you had mentioned just now that he should be in the Hall of Fame.
Why don't they just put him in the Hall of Fame already? Like, is there something bizarre about that when it seems like there are other people that have been inducted by the
selection committee that, um, perhaps could be, um, you know, they have an asterisk, right? They could, they could be sidelined like Rose.
Like, why don't they just put the guy in?
Steve Garvey: Well, you know, there's, uh, there's Pete Rose on the field and off the field and he's always had this wonderful Almost childish personality that's very engaging and, you know we love him for that. And of course, he had a problem with gambling, obviously, an addiction to it. he made mistakes and, uh, and he paid for them. You know, in our society, when, uh, when we, you know, when we fail and, and in his case, you know, Brock you know, rules with, with baseball and so forth. and we get the opportunity to pay our dues. And we pay those dues. We give back to that debt to society. I think we should be allowed to, um, to get back into, uh, a situation where we can resurrect ourselves by, by how we live the rest of our lives and, and how we learn from our mistakes. uh, and I think Pete's done that. So, especially at a time when, uh, when all sports are invested in gambling. Which I think is ironic, and when I say bested, owning 25 percent of gambling entities like FanDuel and DraftKings, and
now
Marc Beckman: point.
Steve Garvey: MGM Sports and all these things, you know, I think it's time to allow him to be on the ballot. uh, to let them be voted on, and, uh, if, if there are known steroid users that are in the Hall of Fame now,
Marc Beckman: Yeah.
Steve Garvey: think, uh, put a tremendous stain on, on baseball for that period of, say, the end of 80s till 2004 or 5, then it's time for him to go on the ballot and be voted on.
Marc Beckman: Yeah, I think so too. I think the selection committee seems like from an outsider's perspective to have poor judgment because honestly, like your career is just immensely, I mean the achievements that you had, you'd come into Yankee Stadium and I was afraid of you, Steve. I was like, Oh God, this guy's going to kill us every single time.
I think even in like 1977, game six, first inning, you already like slapped me around and like, right, you, you, you hit that, um, I think it was like a, uh, you drove in one run, it was maybe a double or something like, yeah, triple, right, a triple, exactly. Um, so I, you know, I, I'm not going to ask you to comment on it, but I think it personally, I think it's absurd that you're not in the Hall of Fame.
It's, to me, that's just absurd,
Steve Garvey: thanks, you know, and, absurd, really. year, maybe this is the year I'll, uh, I'll win the, uh, double of, uh, my U. S. Senate race and going in the Hall of Fame, and
Marc Beckman: That would be it. on the ballot again, and, you know, I may be, I may have the most times being on a ballot of any player in history. I think
It's just illogical. There are so many athletes there.
Steve Garvey: yeah,
Marc Beckman: There are fantastic athletes in the Hall of Fame, but there are so many that don't have the career that you had, like, not just with, you know, ending up in, in the fourth place with regards to most consecutive games played, but, you know, MVP, all star appearances, your batting average, like everything is just there, like full on, like amazing defensive, golden glove winner, just an incredible, incredible athlete.
Steve, let's go to the New York City, let's go to Yankees Dodgers rivalry just for a second because we touched on it, if we may. So like, um, I always thought from an, again, a Yankees perspective, I was like, wow, that guy Tommy Lasorda is wild. Like I would look at him and I'd be like, we have, we have, we Billy Martin.
We have like craziness on our side, but those guys like are equally like they're right there with us. Like Tommy Lasorda is an incredible person. And I remember he used to always say, you gotta believe he was like so inspirational. So I was curious, like, could you share a story maybe that you haven't shared before about Tommy Lasorda?
He's like such a special, iconic person. And I was thinking like, what, what? What story could you think of off the cuff? Like, was there anything like really hysterically like funny or just totally wild that you didn't expect that LaSorda did while you guys were traveling or something?
Steve Garvey: Well, you know, um, a lot of us, we signed, uh, like I said, Valentine, Buckner, Shorrock, and I, to Ogden, Utah, where Tom was managing them. And it was, uh, 68 was his third year at Ogden. He had been a scout. He had been a journeyman pitcher. He always said his claim to fame was he was on the Dodger roster in 1955, uh, when the Dodgers signed Sandy Koufax. and gave them, I think, 2, 000. Well, the rule was then, that if you signed a bonus contract for 2, 000, you had to be put on the Major League Team, uh, for the season. So, lo and behold, they signed it for 2, 000, and who do they take off the roster? Who finally made it was Time of the Sorting. Tommy would always say that the reason for Koufax's success is that he let him go onto the roster, and
Marc Beckman: I love it.
Steve Garvey: went down to, uh, It's a triple A. uh, you know, but Tommy, I mean, from the beginning, um, his enthusiasm, his love for the game, love for the Dodgers. Uh, it was contagious. And I think that era, like I said, from 70 to, especially with the Dodgers to 85, a big reason was that many of us were Tom's, Tom's boys. And of course the iconic Walter Alston was there until 77.
And you talk about, you talk about management styles, Walt was, was 6'3 strong, um, relatively quiet, uh, that silent leader. Uh, If he said, I want to talk to you, it meant that he had studied something or watched something and he was going to say something in relatively few words that was going to make you a better player, a better person.
Or, like with Bill Buckner, he had such a temper that Walt would talk to him once in a while about how to control that temper to put your energy on the field instead of doing things extraneously. So, um, but Tommy, as time went on, he became like a second father to all of us. Bye. a couple of us were always the, uh, players that he would want with him late at night when we'd come in to, say, Chicago, uh, and we'd be on the bus and Tommy would say, uh, hey Garth. Uh, get Russell and Hooten and stay back, you know, and then come with me and, uh, we're going to get something to eat, which was always the code word. We were going to an Italian restaurant. It probably had 50 to a hundred people who would be
Marc Beckman: That's great.
Steve Garvey: for a six course meal,
Marc Beckman: Amazing.
Steve Garvey: in the morning.
And
Marc Beckman: Amazing.
Steve Garvey: Chicago and New York, especially because, uh, uh, Jilly, Jilly's In Chicago, New York, of course, Tom knew Frank Sinatra quite well. So, this one time we come in, we played the Pirates, we were on a pretty good streak. We get in, we have this dinner, I look up, it's 3. 30, I said, Tom, we've got to play the Cubs tomorrow, in the day game at 1 o'clock, we've got to be just a few more minutes. So now we get back
to the Hilton at 4. 30 in the morning, we've got to get up at 8. It's one of those hot July days in Chicago, and the warm air is just is, is blowing in from off the lake and batting cratches and we're sweating and now the game, you know, we, we, standing there for the national anthem and, uh, and I feel like I'm underwater and I look at, at, uh, Russell and he's looking at me like, uh, and, uh, And we're standing there, we have our hats over our hearts, and Tom looks at me, I'm next to him, and he says, you don't look very good. I said, I don't look very good. I said, you kept me out until 4. 30. I had to
Marc Beckman: Amazing.
Steve Garvey: at 7. 30. I come out here, it's 90 degrees, humidity's 80, and I don't, I don't, I don't feel great either. He says, listen, you should get a couple hits, driving some runs. You can go back to the hotel and you can go to bed.
I said, it's Chicago. I'm like, I don't want to go back to bed in Chicago. We only have five off nights on the road all year long. I want to go out. And he started laughing. He was chewing out his tobacco, that was Tommy,
Marc Beckman: So he was like
Steve Garvey: the
Marc Beckman: the social leader too then,
huh? he was the P. T. Barnum of baseball.
Steve Garvey: It was, uh, it was a three ring, uh, circus with Tommy. It was, uh, on the field actions, uh, off the field dealing with the press and, and, and the fans. Uh, and then, you know, Tommy himself, um, understanding that his destiny was to be a manager, and lo and behold, this journeyman pitcher ends up being in the Hall of Fame.
Marc Beckman: What an incredible, incredible human being. So it's funny, like, the summer of 77, in comes this Los Angeles Dodger team, um, incredible powerhouse team. Meanwhile, for us, it's the Bronx is burning. you might remember, like, Son of Sam, the serial killer is, like, all over the news. I was afraid of the Son of Sam.
We had blackouts, we had fires, and I'm just, like, thinking about, like, Culturally, baseball was probably different there. Like you guys are thinking like, we're going to go in, we're going to beat Reggie Jackson and these guys, but we're going to enjoy New York City too. And I think Studio 54 opened that spring in the spring.
I think it's April of 77. So I'm curious, Steve, like during the World Series, did you guys go out at night? Were you guys like, we're in New York City. We're like these cool, beautiful looking LA guys. Let's, let's take advantage of it. It was a different day and age, I know, but like, did you guys go out?
Steve Garvey: I like that depiction. You know, cool looking guys, pastel,
Marc Beckman: You were.
Steve Garvey: the coast. No, um,
Marc Beckman: It's true. It's true.
Steve Garvey: we had been frustrated in 74, um, even at, we were very young in 74. I had just, you know, I started playing first base in 73 and, and, uh, Lopes and Russell and Say and myself, which formed arguably the greatest infield in history.
And then we, we picked up a Jimmy Wynn and so forth, but we, we were too young. 77, we were, know, starting to get into our prime. And I always have always said 77 was probably the best team I ever played on. We'd put teams away by the fourth inning. Pitching staff was solid reliever. uh, by the, By the time that we had realized that we were going to play the Yankees, it was very special for me. And I would talk to the guys in history, and the writers would write about the history, and the old writers in New York were still around, you know, Dick Young, Ed Foley, and those guys. like I said before, if the players are the author of the game, by what we did on the field, the poets are the writers, and the press, and the Radio and TV announcers that that brought us to life and in terms of human beings and so forth, But that was and you know, Peter Guber did a great 30 on called the uncivil war Yankees versus Dodgers focusing on 77 78 and then Uh, very proud of him, thankfully, because he's a part Dodger owner now, of, uh, of making sure he got the 81 World Championship in.
But it
Marc Beckman: Yeah.
Steve Garvey: special, and, and there was so many components, and, and Peter used Reggie Jackson as, as the Yankee. know, personality and he used me as the antithesis and West Coast guy and so forth. And that's really the way the two teams were. It was East Coast versus West Coast.
Marc Beckman: Yeah.
Steve Garvey: It was the characters as the managers, but great baseball men, great X's and
Marc Beckman: Amazing. It was the best. It was really the best.
Steve Garvey: And Steinbrenner, you know, he, he was another personality that, that, that fed, you know, this rivalry. So we had everything, and to this day, I, every year, I, people say, who do you, who are you picking? I said, I hope it's Yankees, Dodgers, and the World Series,
Marc Beckman: Yeah, that's awesome.
Steve, I want to move on to your, um, campaign. But before I go, I just have to ask you one question really for self serving purposes. Um, did you have a chance to get to know Thurman Munson? I always was so enamored with Thurman Munson for so many different reasons. And, you know, um, although he was the captain.
Big personalities like Reggie Jackson really dwarfed him in certain ways. And I'm curious if you knew him and if so, what was he like as a person? Oh,
Steve Garvey: You know, we, we talk from time to time, because again, being contemporaries, and having a tremendous amount of respect for each other, being, um, more of, uh, quiet leaders. Obviously, um, uh, at first base, you don't have the same engagement as, as a catcher does in leadership, like Roy Campanella was, with the Dodgers.
You always think of Peavey Reese as being the captain, but Roy Campanella was just as much a captain as, as Peavey Reese. Um, so I admired how he handled himself, uh, how he played the game, the quiet leadership. the things he did, uh, that, uh, would bring out an affection by the fans, because it was a hard working, blue collar approach to the game. I think he was from Ohio, and I think he was a great example, if you were a father, to say, okay, son, watch Thurman Munson, how he plays the game. And I think that goes back to Pete Rose, when I, I talk about, you Pete's dedication. I've always said, if you were a father and you wanted your son to pick one person to watch on how the game should be played, it was probably Pete, but Thurman was up there the same way.
And I think that the reason for their success, and I say this in 77, the three home runs, obviously, and so forth, but I think that we had every reason to win that World Series. And probably because of, of their leadership, we didn't. And, um, and magic moments, home runs.
Marc Beckman: that's interesting.
Steve Garvey: again, I think that that was why Yankee Dodgers have always been, uh, the epitome of, of, uh, of a World Series is because of the history of the personalities. and the engagement of the two great cities of New York and Los Angeles.
Marc Beckman: Yeah, for sure, for sure. So it's interesting because baseball, I think maybe used to be America's pastime, but in this day and age, maybe politics has become America's pastime. It seems like every part of my life, whether it's going to the baseball game, going to the restaurant, in my classroom, in my career, it's politics, politics, politics.
Steve, Has politics become America's pastime?
Steve Garvey: That's a great question. Um, working on a book now, uh, called When Sports Became Politic and Politics Became Sport. And, uh, I think that's exactly what you're talking about.
Marc Beckman: Yeah. if you think about it, sports has become so political. and politics is truly a sport. If you think about it, if you think about a campaign like my campaign against, uh, Adam Schiff, I mean, this is a sport.
Steve Garvey: This is, is, is two, two starting pitchers and a great team around them, uh, trying to, uh, To knock out the opposition, uh, and I think that all the, all the skills and, and, and all of the competitiveness you learn playing sports, and I, and I wonder sometimes about Congress. Has anybody played a team sport in Congress? Have they all been golfers and tennis players and bowlers? That they can't get together for the sake of America and, uh, and, and, and talk about different policies, but come together for the good of this great country. And I've, I've been preaching this throughout my campaign now, because, you know, it, the one thing, like I said, that brings us together is sports. And if we think of politics as a sport, why can't we use the same ingredients to bring, you know, politicians together on both sides of the aisle? For the sake of their individual districts and, uh, and states in this country, for the good of, of preserving our country, because if I can just mention this briefly, we've been to the Hoover Institute a couple of times now and spent six hours and had great presentations from Condoleezza Rice and General Mattis and General Ellis and the top Educational minds, uh, that tell us that the two things right now that are, that are most demanding is number one, we've, we've never been in more danger, uh, than we are now, both domestically and, and, uh, and around the world, nor do we have a lack of leadership now of people who Uh, who have been running for power and money when they should be running for the people and the voice of the people. So, um, you know, we could probably talk about that, but that's why, you know, I've been conceptualizing and putting this book together because they become so similar, that it's about America in the 21st century.
Marc Beckman: Yeah. It seems to me, unfortunately, that a lot of politicians today are there for their own fame because they want to become rich rather than the old fashioned way of really serving the community. And you talk about your competitor, Representative Adam Schiff, I mean, he was the 25th lawmaker in history of the house to be censured.
And yet it seems like it's not covered in the news. I haven't seen it anywhere. I did a deep dive in, in, uh, California local media and nobody talks about it.
Steve Garvey: Yeah,
Marc Beckman: And it's almost like the citizenry doesn't care that he was censured for lying. Over and over and over again about the, um, Trump, uh, Russia situation or Russia hoax, right?
That's what everybody calls it.
Steve Garvey: mm
Marc Beckman: But, why, why, I guess my question is twofold. A, do you agree with this assessment? Like the new politicians are doing it mainly for, Um, uh, themselves, like they want to become rich. They want to be famous, uh, maybe AOC and these types of people. And then on the second side of it, you think people are just happy to look the other way?
They don't care if their own representative has been censured for lying over and over and over again.
Steve Garvey: I think that you have struck the nerve that, that, uh, is probably the reason I decided to run. Um, about 14 months ago, I, uh, woke up one morning, turned the TV on, and, uh, and saw a dysfunctional Washington, snarkiness between, politicians who were supposed to be working for the people and working to build consensus. And uh, and we've seen this for a long time now. uh, I tapped my wife on the shoulder and, and I said, honey, and she's a pretty savvy gal, I've loved her my life. And knowing that the Feinstein seat was open. And, uh, said, you know what, let's run for the U. S. Senate. And, uh, as any dutiful wife would do, she looked at me and smiled and turned over and just woke up. then about 10 seconds later, she turned back and she looked at me. She said, don't you think you're a little young? And
Marc Beckman: I love it.
Steve Garvey: at 75? I said, yeah, maybe. And then it reminded me of the, uh, the Reagan quote about overcoming, uh, his youth and inexperience.
Right.
Marc Beckman: Yeah,
Steve Garvey: uh, and it took
Marc Beckman: I know.
Steve Garvey: months to see if there was a pathway for arguably the most difficult seat for a moderate in California. And, um, we put together a great team and there's a very narrow pathway and we've, we've stayed in our lane uh, we literally tied Schiff in the, uh, in the primary, in the general election, and we beat him by 300, 000 in the, uh, Temporary seats. So, uh, even though there's a big disparity in registered Democratic voters to Republican, probably 28%, I think it would be, and we, we knew that even though I, I got 4 million votes, that we'd probably start about 20 percent down if you just aggregate the votes, Democrat, Republican. the, um, the tremendous momentum of people in California uh, I start talking about this malaise here, when you wake up in California, and the weather is great, you look out, and the mountains, and the ocean, all these things, you do end up with this malaise that, oh, it'll get better tomorrow. Oh, well, the next election, it'll get better. it, it hasn't for over a generation now, because it's been a one party state. When you have a one party state, you only have one voice. that's why California is now that one shining state with all these great environmental virtues and great leaders in history been a place where people are looking at now saying, well, I wanted to go to California, but why have over a million people left there? uh, and then you start to explain to them regulations and all the things that have strangled businesses and technology. And when, when an Oracle leaves and, and when a, Tesla leaves and, and, uh, Chevron leaves, uh, it's, it sends a tremendous wave of what's happening in California that, that affects the, the dining room table every morning. And, uh, and, and corporate America and our positioning in the world where bad decisions are being made and people look around the world at, at America every day. And when they see the picture, The people struggling like in a great state like California where 85 percent of the people every day are going to break even or lose money because of an economy and inflation that's strangling them and nobody's doing anything in the state and national level. So, um, so I'm running kind of a similar, I don't need a brand. I've got this name that people know. Steve Harvey 1.0 was the baseball player who, who, um, loved the fans. I never took the field for Democrats, uh, Republicans, Independents. I took the field for all the fans. And now I'm the only. Candidate running for all the people because they've had that relationship. uh, and we've got 80, 80 ish days now, to win. I'm not sure how right now, but I do know one thing. The people are standing up and coming up to me every day and saying, Steve, thank you for running. Um, Our prayers are with you, we too don't know how you're going to do this, but the big thing is, uh, when a giant fan comes up to me and says, Garv, I hate the Dodgers, I'm voting for you, I think that's a huge step, uh, on our way to,
to the
Marc Beckman: That, that is, that is actually pretty incredible, Steve. Um, but it's interesting, like you, you talk about this uniparty in California, and I was talking about people looking the other way with regards to, uh, Schiff. Um, I think this is what I, this all falls into what I categorize as the age of dumb. I feel like people aren't doing the legwork.
There's an issue that I see with politicians here in New York City, for example, where they continue to implement the same policy over and over again, so it becomes a generational issue. For example, think in terms of, um, low income housing communities, like the projects here in New York City, where
a lot of people would like to break out of the projects, they specialize, they're entrepreneurs, they want to open the next awesome restaurant, they want to open the next hair salon.
But because New York City is so heavily regulated, they can't even open a retail shop. It's impossible. Why don't politicians today try new things? Why aren't they willing to like break out and say, perhaps like for the underprivileged communities, we're going to deregulate so much to allow for them to break
out of the inner city, um, bind.
And perhaps if some new businesses. come out of it, all of that value for the local community will benefit the broader community as it relates to quality of health care, quality of food, and beyond. It just seems like politicians keep going to the same playbook over and over again, Steve, across our whole country, local, state, and federal, and they're not trying new things.
Why is there a reluctance for our politicians to, uh, innovate?
Steve Garvey: Well, you've hit the nail on the head, so to speak. It's about power and about money, about control, uh, and, and you've seen this, this, that's why I'm, I'm more concerned about an implosion from within in this country that I am from extraneous. enemies around the world. And, uh, and if we don't, we start, don't start to unify and think of terms of the small business.
And you mentioned that America is built on small businesses. It's not built on, on, uh, corporate America that, uh, you know, is, is now valued at billions and trillions of dollars. It's built on small businesses where you have the chance to dream. And I always say about California, when you think about California back in the seventies, when I first started, it was a place that was. A heartbeat of America. You dreamed about coming to California, starting a small business, building, building the business and growing your family. Uh, the schools were, were great for the kids. They were going to get a great education, the next leaders of, of this country. And uh, and over the years when you, when a one party takes over and starts to, uh, to do things like controlling education. and making only a liberal education, uh, the one thing that, that students hear. Uh, then once this generation starts to take control, it's very difficult to get it back. Uh, and it takes political courage. And I talk about that. Uh, like I said before, I'm at a wonderful time in my life. I've had a great life, uh, to do this now.
People have said, are you sane? You know, have you been tested? I said, I think so. I said, but I remember when in the eighties, early eighties, when I used to introduce president Reagan during his campaigns, uh, and then I would go back, be invited back to the white house. And I remember one state dinner for the president of Ireland and, uh, and the good fortune to sit at. The President's Table, uh, and it was, I think, Mrs. O'Reilly from Ireland, and then it was Sandra Day O'Connor on one side and Maureen O'Hara on the other. I mean, what dates?
Marc Beckman: Wow.
Steve Garvey: The greatest ever. Uh, and
Marc Beckman: Amazing.
Steve Garvey: shot, you know, with, when, his assassination attempt on Reagan.
And Tip O'Neill. And uh, and to listen to Tip O'Neill and, and, uh, president Reagan banter back and forth and knowing that they were probably 180 degrees in, in ideology, but they were bantering back and forth and kidding each other. And then knowing that these two guys were gonna get together frequently and talk about what's good for the country, and they, the two of them Id ideology, uh, opposed, were gonna make America pretty doggone good in, in, in the eighties. and create a, a we can do this feeling of philosophy. And that's maybe the foundation of my campaign now is.
Let's start getting people back together. I said, I've said this and people look at me. When I'm the next elected U. S. senator from California, The first thing I'll do is start to meet with the other 99 senators. I'll go to their office, it's going to take me obviously a few weeks or a couple of months, and go in and stick my hand out and tell them, I want to work with you for the best interest of my state, your state, and this country. I think it's time. And I think I'll get an audience. I think people who don't know much about Steve Garvey will want to sit down. And because I've done something that's truly unique in political history is Being a rookie and coming in and winning this U.S. Senate that they'll start to be a movement,
but
Marc Beckman: I agree. I agree, Steve.
Steve Garvey: conservative voice in there to, to start to neutralize the uniparty in California.
Marc Beckman: Yeah, I agree, Steve. So when you go in there and start meeting, um, and trying to bring people back to the center a little bit, you know, it's funny in looking at your platform, you have the ability to, in many ways, modernize the Republican Party, like your position as it relates to climate change and, um, you know, natural resources, uh, Um, and other issues.
They're, they're really, uh, really compelling. I'm sure that the constituency in California appreciates that too. But would you start with, you know, what people are talking about over the dinner table, their wallet, their bank account? I mean, right now, America's fiscal policy is problematic. Inflation is just hitting, you know, food and gasoline prices.
Um, in California, it's even more difficult with regards to the regulations that are hitting. What would be your priority? Would you start with, with the economy?
Steve Garvey: Yeah, absolutely, Marc. Um, you know, when we first started, uh, putting our policy together, uh, last August and we announced, uh, October 10th. Obviously never a good time to announce because the Israeli war broke out on the 7th, but we still were able to message to I think 15, 18 million people that I was running. Um, and there were 10 issues back then, and it was housing and healthcare and education. Uh, and, and, and, But the three that seemed to always percolate and start to rise to the top all the time, uh, was crime, uh, the economy and inflation, and the border, uh, especially for border states like California. And, uh, and now, you know, people will say abortion is the issue. Sure, the get up everyday issues are those three. If you're not safe in your neighborhood, in your city, or wherever you travel in this great country, then you're going to always be over, over your shoulder thinking, can I do this or can I, can I not do this? And that puts a restriction on being an American and being able to have free will. Then you get to the border and you realize, and I've been at the border a couple of different times now. Uh, how literally a disaster it is. And that always numbers 10 million, 12, 15, who knows, probably more, uh, are coming across the border, unvetted. creating a fentanyl crisis like never before, human trafficking, uh, the cartels who established, uh, uh, presence in, in America. And all these then, then as, as we now become all border states, and as you know, uh, uh, And even going back east and how, what a disaster New York is right now, that opening up the borders and it was probably for the reason of future votes and so forth, um, has been a disaster. So that, takes you to the two issues of crime and safety, but getting up every day in this economy now with this inflation and you get lied to every day, well, it's down to 2. 9. Well, that's good. But it was double digits for four years. When you aggregate everything
Marc Beckman: Yep.
Steve Garvey: uh, and it stifled free market capitalism, uh, where small businesses can, can grow and survive. And that's our foundation there. Uh, when 1. 2 million people have lost, left California, a lot of them have been small businesses that were pushed to the brink and they couldn't survive. So they had to leave California. Who would ever think a million people would leave California this vibrant
Marc Beckman: Remarkable. Yep.
Steve Garvey: survive there. Uh, from. 30 to 50% increase in, in, uh, in food to gas prices that are 35% up, um, to inability to save, uh, to the inability for people who, who wanna be able to have their golden years and be able to, to have money to provide for those are now having to go back to work a year and a half after they retire.
Teachers
Marc Beckman: That's right.
Steve Garvey: years in a position now having to, uh. go to work instead of being able to retire. But, uh, we need to get back to that supply side, uh, that capitalism that gets money back into the, uh, into, uh, our society and allows people to make the decisions, not government. I believe that there is climate change, but I believe that the rush to, to, uh, this whole climate change platform, uh, about doing away with gas and oil vehicles in 10 years. Uh, has caused an existential crisis and, and that, that whole economy has been, been different by, uh, what has been done to energy, by turning off gas and oil. And that's caused a ripple effect from, from transportation to commerce. Uh, to the kitchen table. So we've got to get back to, to common sense.
Marc Beckman: Yeah. Steve, it's interesting. You mentioned a couple of things that I don't even think should be political footballs. Like for example, when you mentioned fentanyl, my cousin's child died of a fentanyl overdose and sure he probably was messing around, but you know, over a hundred thousand people over the past couple of years, a hundred thousand Americans have died of fentanyl and arguably it's coming through the Southern border.
Why is that a political issue? Isn't it really simple and common sense? Like we don't want fentanyl coming in to poison our children, to poison our people. Why is that a left and a right issue? Shouldn't it just be an area where everybody could come together and find common ground?
Steve Garvey: Absolutely. It's a common sense, compassionate issue, uh, that, that has become actually a civil war on the ground concerning, uh, uh, the life and safety of, of American people. But it's happened because when you open your borders and you don't know who really is coming in. And when, if you had 1300 come in three years ago, and you've got 33, 000 coming in this year. There's something wrong there Venezuela's crime is going down because their criminals have been released out of prisons and sent to the United States to infiltrate this great country. Uh, human trafficking is, uh, is how many billion dollar business? And I hate to put it that way, but all these things are putting pressure on, on the United States when it shouldn't be because of failed leadership. Because of career politician doing exactly what you and I talked about, running for power, running for money, running for control. Um, and when you said before about my opponent, Adam Schiff, uh, two things I said in the first debate, uh, when I was starting to become attacked. And when he said something about me and they started to go to another question, they said, excuse me, you know, when you're mentioned, you're allowed to rebuttal. And I said, uh, you, sir, Mr. Schiff, lied to 300 million people, and you'll never be able to take that back. And 11 million, we got 11 million hits on, on social media, but I followed it up by what you said. Only one of a handful of, of congressmen ever to be censored in the history of Congress. In the history. So that's who I'm running against. Uh, somebody who blatantly lies, who's running for power. And it's supported by Aunt Nancy and Uncle George, Soros and Pelosi, and put out there. And it was only known for impeachment after 25 years.
Marc Beckman: How powerful do you think Soros is specifically as it relates to California politics? I mean, it seems to me when I come to visit California, it's a mess. It doesn't matter if I'm in San Francisco, Union Square is like shut down. There are people all over the streets doing drugs out in the open. Same thing in Los Angeles.
I go to Los Angeles and some of the most beautiful neighborhoods are just, you know, You know, covered with, um, garbage and, and, um, homelessness. And it's really, really, uh, spun out of control. is that a lot because of George Soros?
Steve Garvey: Oh, I think he's probably an influence. You know, he chooses to use his money, um, and a lot of money, uh, to put candidates in that have the same ideology, which is detrimental to the, our, to our cities and, and states in this country. but it's more than just him, but he's most significant probably. And the, and the ability to pump enough money in to make two relatively unknown politicians to take the progressive Democrat and put them in positions so that eventually you'll have, like we're talking about, this one party state in California, you don't want to believe it. don't want to believe that money makes the difference, but in a, uh, probably in a presidential race this year that'll be over a billion dollars spent, a billion dollars
on a
Marc Beckman: Amazing.
Steve Garvey: um, is going to be amazing, you know, and I, know, Marc, I've got, uh, got 150, 000 small donors. Which is just amazing, and my friends in Congress who've been around 10, 15, 20 years say that's unheard of. But I've gotten people to stand up and say, remember the movie Network, and Peter Finch
Marc Beckman: Of course.
Steve Garvey: uh, uh, anchor who's being thrown out, and he's waving a gun, and the producer says, this is great reality TV. And he said, I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore. And I think the people of California and the people of this country have reached that point now, where they're mad as hell.
And, uh, I think you'll see it on November 5th and throughout the voting in October.
Marc Beckman: Steve, one last question. Um, I know you, I know you're short for time, but, um, you mentioned October 7th and we're about to get back into, uh, Um, college, you know, college kids are returning to campus. I think, in fact, that there was just a ruling with regards to UCLA in particular blocking Jewish kids on campus and all.
Um, do you anticipate that these pro Hamas movements on college campuses are going to start just like clockwork come September?
Steve Garvey: Yeah, two things. Uh, number one, I, I, I said I would always, uh, be truthful. Uh, to the people and, and the second one is I will always go where answers needed to be, need to be heard. So it was, I've gone to the border, I've gone to the inner cities, I've done ride along. And I also went to Israel for a week at the end of June to see really what had happened there, uh, up close and personal. um, and to talk to the intelligence and the generals and leadership there. And, uh, they always say, when you go back to Israel, it's life changing. And even though I'm a man of faith, it truly was, because the first day we went to where the atrocities happened at the kibbutz, near the border of, uh, with Gaza there. And then the, uh, music festival, Nova, where 3,500 young men and women, were attacked by Hamas that early morning at about six-thirty. It was a six to six, uh, concert. and to see, um, the genocide and how they were massacred. and to listen to, to the Israeli leadership and to the people, how strong those people are so that with all the things that are going on, the unrest on campuses now and the attack, the pro Palestinian attack on, on, um, on Jews and on the campuses, uh, and I call it a hate crime.
I did a press conference in Beverly Hills with Rabbi Mentz and Aaron Cohen, who's an anti terrorist And, uh, Nobody wants to say that, but when you attack Jewish students on campus, that's a hate crime, and nobody said that, and, and in talking with, a hostage negotiator in Israel, and to hear him say that their intelligence says that within 48 hours after the war started on October 7th, a hundred colleges and universities were activated in the United States, uh, with financial support for it. with a, uh, a playbook, so to speak, on how to infiltrate those campuses and start this on, on, uh, on, on Israel, on the Jews, and on these, on these students. And I said in the first debate, and I've been steadfast, I stand with Israel yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I think we should be there for every need they may, may have, but we could never tell them that they can't protect their sovereignty. Uh, and their ability to protect their history and their people. And, uh, and my opponent, even though he says he's Jewish, has asked for a ceasefire, which I don't think that, uh, will ever happen or never could happen. and he didn't vote for an armaments package about, two months ago. So you have to stand by what's the fiber of your faith is.
And, uh, and even though I'm Catholic, uh, I have a number of Jewish friends and I stand by the, uh, one of our great, uh, allies in Israel and our single outpost really in the Middle East that's protecting democracy.
Marc Beckman: So Schiff voted against the armament package for Israel and also asked for a ceasefire. When he asked for a ceasefire, did he ask for the hostages to be released too?
Steve Garvey: Well, it was part of that whole progressive movement that's, uh, that's taken over the Democratic Party. And I have a number of Democratic friends, moderate friends who are just, uh, they're swimming in a progressive ideology that, that doesn't let the, the Democratic Party, which I think if you go back to Reagan, when he was a Democrat. basically moderate democratic, uh, uh, policies now. And of course you switched over to being a conservative,
Marc Beckman: Yeah.
Steve Garvey: would work and really work for both parties. but, but I think we have to get back to, uh, to taking care of those that, uh, that are part of, of, uh, who America is, our allies. like I said before, when we've been to the Hoover Institute, uh, they've convinced me, and it didn't take long, that we've never been in more danger by our adversaries around the world, never have we been so spread thin, because we're helping all of ours, but that we, we now have to band together and, uh, that torch for democracy throughout the world.
Marc Beckman: Steve, all of my guests end the show, um, in a similar way. What I do is I lead them. The name of the show is Some Future Day. It's a James Joyce reference. And I start with that, um, at the beginning and then I let my guest, uh, finish the sentence for me. Are you game?
Steve Garvey: Uh, sure, right off the cuff, huh?
Marc Beckman: You're a gamer anyway, so you gotta be
game. right.
Steve Garvey: Yeah, So, a lot of baseball terms in my campaign.
Marc Beckman: so I'm going to give you, I'm going to give you, um, I'm going to lob this one in for you. It's going to be a softball pitch. All right. In some future day, when Steve Garvey takes that Californian Senate seat, America will be,
Steve Garvey: America will be ignited by a voice that truly is for all the people, somebody who, um, who never judges, but only to people, uh, and, and wants the very best, you know? Um, life is God's gift to us. And what was our gift to him, is how we treat other people and how we represent him. And, uh, I think when it's all said and done, hopefully people will look back and say, Steve Garvey made a difference.
Marc Beckman: Steve, that's really beautiful. And I know you referenced that. Before that, you're a religious person. You're a religious man. I was studying before our interview and I heard you say that one of the most inspirational people in your life was Pope Paul. And I thought that was really very nice too. It really does exemplify kind of who you are as a person.
So thank you so much for joining me today in this fantastic discussion, Steve. I only wish you and your family all the best.
Steve Garvey: Thank you so much.