EXCLUSIVE: KWAR Interview with New Warriors GM Ricky McCoy

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EXCLUSIVE: KWAR Interview with New Warriors GM Ricky McCoy

#1 Post by DrewV »

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Exclusive Interview: KWAR Color Commentator Dean Alexander Interviews new Warriors GM: Duluth, MN
(The following transcript is provided courtesy of ClearView Broadcasting and KWAR Sports).

D: We’re back on 101.7, WAR RADIO, you’re listening to Tuesday Talk, I’m your host, Dean Alexander. Folks, you’ve heard the news by now. Unknown Army baseball fan tapped to rule over the Warriors dynasty. You’ve got questions. You’ve got concerns. We’ve got the answers. Or, at least, we’ve got the Colonel. Mr. McCoy, sir, welcome to the program.

M: Happy to be here, Dean.

D: Before we begin, I just want to say, my son was an Intelligence Officer in Iraq. I thank you for your service to this great nation.

M: Thanks, Dean. But let’s see if you want to thank me after 2028.

(laughter)

D: Ricky, I’ll cut right to the chase. The fans don’t trust you.

M: Sure.

D: No offense, of course, but you’re an outsider with no experience. This is a great franchise. There were a lot of qualified folks looking for this job. Half your staff among them.

M: Yeah.

D: How do you reconcile that? What would you say to, say, a subordinate coach who questioned your knowledge of the game?

M: Well, Dean, let me start by saying the staff has been incredibly professional and welcoming from the moment I landed at Duluth International. I know both Kijiro and Shunen from the Korean League.

D: No kidding?

M: Oh yeah, it’s true. KT, you know, like the Korean Verizon, was big on baseball, especially when it could get the ROK government onboard to sponsor events with the US. So, as the All-Army coach, I had our guys getting annihilated in Tokyo or Seoul at least three times a year.

(laughter)

D: And you met Kijuro Yushida and Shunen Kokowa through that?

M: Yeah, and I mean we had each other’s cells. Small world. Baseball brings people together, Dean.

D: You’re fortunate, then, that your All-Army coaching got you networked in PEBA.

M: Sure. It’s not coincidence. I mean, the Bong family didn’t pick a name out of a hat, Dean. Let’s not kid ourselves. In that Army, when I chaired these big committee meetings with all the brass, I’d tell everyone, “Let’s ignore the slides.” And what I mean by that, is let’s cut through the B.S. Let’s have a real conversation. Your concern is I am unqualified.

D: Well, if you put it that way—

M: Listen, Dean, if you’re thinking this is crazy, this is unorthodox, this is dangerous, you’re not alone. And that’s ok.

D: Go on.

M: The Bong Family knows the problem. It’s not a secret. The management bet too big on the 2026 success, without fully comprehending the 2026 losses in personnel, and management complications for the next two seasons put the franchise in jeopardy.

D: Well….you heard it here first, folks…
(laughter)

M: I’m serious. Look, Dean, this team needs work. I won’t “paint the slides green,” as we say in the Army. We have some problems we need to fix. That’s why the Bong family brought me in. This team needs leadership.

D: Would you elaborate on those problems?

M: Sure. Let’s talk budget. We’ve dropped nearly 50% in ticket sales in one year. That’s astronomical. Why do you think that is?

D: Losing games?

M: Losing games. It happens. Slumps happen. Dean, no one’s immune to slumps. But when you spend like a dynasty and bet the farm on one good year, you get the reaper’s due.

D: So you favor a more conservative approach?

M: I favor a more logical approach. We’re talking foundation, Dean. We’re talking what makes a team great—and it’s not a lucky season and Game 7. It’s culture.

D: Culture?

M: Culture.

D: Will you elaborate?

M: Sure. The difference between a dynasty and a League Champion, Dean, is the behavior tolerated in the clubhouse.

D: You really believe that?

M: yes.

D: I think we need to know more.

M: Look at it this way. I’d rather go .150 in a season than win the league championship by accident.

D: Okay.

M: I mean it. I’d rather lose with an honest team than win with a lucky one. Here’s why: That lucky team won’t get lucky again. Judge things by decades. Think of baseball in terms of dynasty. You need the foundation of a moral and trustworthy team if you want to add more than one win to your resume.

D: Okay. Alright, I think I understand. So let me ask this, before we go to the callers: If your assessment is that the Warriors have been a “1-championship-focus” sort of club, how will you fix it?

M: that’s a great question, Dean. And not an easy one. The honest answer is I don’t know yet. But I can tell you this—and understand, Dean, you’ll only get honesty from me—we are spending too much.

D: too much?

M: Too much. We don’t have the revenue to drop thirty million on a contract. That’s logic. That’s command discretion. I talked about betting the farm. We bet the farm, Dean. And lordy, did we lose.

D: You mean Mercer, right?

M: Mercer’s an outstanding sportsman. He’s done everything expected of him.

D: But you’re gonna trade him?

(laughter)

M: I didn’t say that.

D: Only one Warrior makes thirty mil, Ricky.

M: What I mean is when you’re playing sub .400, there’s a reason, and an all-star slugger won’t help you.

D: You said we’d get honesty, Ricky. What will you do about Mercer?

M: Time will tell. Ultimately, my job is to do what’s best for the franchise. Mercer’s a legendary player who refuses to quit, refuses to sit down. He has an option. Time will tell.

D: 2029. Will Mercer be on the roster?

M: Time will tell, Dean.

Dean: Alright, alright. Let’s go to Jenine from here in Duluth on line 3. You’re live, Jenine.

Jenine: Um, yes, hello, this question’s for, ah, Richard McCoy.

Dean: Go ahead, Jenine.

Jenine: Yeah, um, Mr. McCoy, lots of fans are worried that the Bong family plans to cut spending and make us a B-league team they can still turn a profit on. You have big shoes to fill, sir, and I want to know if you think this team can win a championship again.

Dean: “Let's ignore the slides,” huh?

(laughter)

M: Jenine, I’m glad you called, and I am so happy you asked. I understand your concern that this decision is purely commercial, and that the team you grew up loving’s been sold to uncle sam to bail out a bottom line. I understand. But hear me out, Jenine. Please, I challenge you to look up my record. You find anyone I served with in 23 years as an Army Officer. Do your homework, Jenine—look at any of my evaluations, ask anyone I served with, and see if that question doesn’t answer itself.

Jenine: Okay then.

M: Jenine, I landed in Duluth on 6 July 2028. From that moment on, I’m a green-blooded Warrior. You record this interview, and take me to the dogs if I ever disappoint you.
Jenine: (laughter) alright, then.

Dean: Alright.

Jenine: But you didn’t answer my question.

(laughter)

D: Here’s a dose of midwestern brevity for you, Colonel.

M: Alright, of course. Jenine, this team absolutely can win a championship again. It can’t this year. It won’t next year. But if we change our culture, build our foundation, and tap our talent, we will win again. I promise you that.

D: Sounds like a fair response to me, Jenine.

Jenine: Fair enough, Dean. Than you Colonel. God bless you both.

D: Alright, thanks Jenine, let’s go to Anthony in Tucson.

Anthony: Hello?

M: Hey, Anthony.

D: Anthony from Tucson, you’re on the air.

Anthony: Hello, thanks for taking my call. I want to ask Ricky McCoy, straight up, will Brian Bedell be on the 2029 roster?

D: Straight up! I love it.

M: Now Anthony, that’s not something I can say definitively.

Anthony: But you probably have an idea.

M: Sure, sure. Look, Brian’s an iron man. No injuries in his career. And he’s had some all-star moments. That fight a few weeks ago hurt his credibility, there’s no denying that. But his future is not something we’ve decided yet.

Anthony: Would you sign Brian today, for the same salary he has now, for…let’s say…two more years?

M: No, I wouldn’t.

(pause)

Anthony: Okay, thanks.

D: Thank you, Anthony, for your call. Alright, folks, one more call before we go to break and leave the Colonel to his afternoon. We’re live with Danny in Minneapolis. Danny, you’re live.

Danny: Hello?


D: Hello, Danny, go for Ricky McCoy.

Danny: Yeah, thanks. I want to know if you can afford to keep any talent whatsoever in 2029.

(pause)

D: Alright, Danny, if you could be a bit—

Danny: I mean, look—even if you wanted to fire Mercer, he’s got an option no sane old man would take, and no team’s gonna trade for a has-been, even if he happens to be performing well. Are you gonna release this dude and eat the loss or what?

M: Well, you do screen the callers well, Dean.

(laughter)

Danny: The way I see it, you need to cut Mercer and half the talent in your pitching staff to even afford 2029. It’s not your fault we’ve played bad this year—it’s not anyone’s fault—but the reality is ticket revenue is down, like, catastrophically, and you have to decide what to do.

M: You’re right, Denny, we need to make serious decisions about our future, based on a number we can afford.

Danny: So this troublemaking ten-mil floaters like Bedell are off the roster, right?

(laughter, awkward)

Danny: I’m serious, man.

M: Danny, I hear you, and we’ll see. I like to give the player the courtesy of speaking before I make transactional decisions, and I’m just not prepared to decide about post-season contracts yet. Give me a couple weeks, buddy.

D: Okay, folks, that wraps up the hour here at KWAR. Mr. McCoy, can’t thank you enough for your time—it means a lot that the GM would come down and participate in a dying business model
(laughter)

M: Anytime, Dean, I mean it. You’re a great commentator and I look forward to your coverage this season.

//---END TRANSCRIPT---//
Last edited by DrewV on Sun Mar 10, 2019 3:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
Drew Visscher (GM Ricky McCoy) | Duluth Warriors
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Re: EXCLUSIVE: KWAR Interview with New Warriors GM Ricky McC

#2 Post by Sandgnats »

:clap:
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Re: EXCLUSIVE: KWAR Interview with New Warriors GM Ricky McC

#3 Post by Borealis »

This is Awesome!! I love the storyline and the military flair - that's a whole new angle here... Love it!!
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Re: EXCLUSIVE: KWAR Interview with New Warriors GM Ricky McC

#4 Post by Vic »

Great introduction! Danny and the fan base seem pretty fired up for change - it’s going to be a busy time for the Warriors!
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