00:00What do you think, Kirk, for you was your most impressive line that you had in your career over 20
00:05years?
00:06Well, I always go back to one number.
00:09My favorite statistic, when I look back on it, was in 2001, I threw 306 innings.
00:18When you count the 48 innings I threw in the postseason, and of those 306 innings, the best 48 were
00:26the last 48.
00:27The 48 innings I threw in the postseason, I made six starts, I think, three in the World Series.
00:35Yeah, six starts.
00:36And I threw, you know, that was, that 01 and 02 were my most dominating years.
00:44I just so happy to be pitching with Randy Johnson, which was kind of fun.
00:47But I was always an innings guy because I was taught that innings were the most important statistic for a
00:55starting pitcher.
00:58And so, 35 starts, seven innings a start is 245 innings.
01:03So, that was my number.
01:04That was my goal.
01:06And it wasn't, and it was funny because, you know, Johnny Padres early in my career asked me about that.
01:10And I told him, and I told him some other, he asked me the most important stat.
01:15I said something, you know, young and naive and stupid.
01:18And he's like, no, it's innings pitch.
01:20It's innings pitch because if your innings pitch is the right number, then all your other numbers are going to
01:25be where you want them to be because you're not going to be out there pitching if you're not getting
01:29outs and pitching innings.
01:31And so, that was always my goal.
01:36And that's one of the reasons why I think, you know, I get it.
01:40The game has changed dramatically from a pitching perspective.
01:44But what we don't have anymore is the Darth Vader versus Luke Skywalker matchup, right?
01:50The antagonist, the protagonist, the Koufax versus Gibson, Randy Johnson versus Maddox, Clemens versus Pedro, right?
01:59Those were marquee matchups.
02:02You know, now the only one I can think of that I might go to see is Skeens versus Skubal.
02:07That doesn't mean there's not other good pitchers, but they've been de-emphasized.
02:14And they used to be, you know, the betting, if you look at Vegas, like the betting lines were always
02:20weighed towards the starting pitcher, skewed towards the starting pitcher.
02:24It's much less that case, not that I'm, you know, advocating gambling, but it's much less the case now because
02:31the starting pitcher is much less of a factor in the final outcome of the game than they used to
02:37be.
02:37And I don't think that's a good thing.
02:40Kurt, the ring that you have that you cherish the most, is it the Red Sox or what you did
02:47with Randy Johnson with the Diamondbacks?
02:49If you had to put one first over the other, I know they're like kids to you.
02:55Give me one.
02:57Yes.
02:59I can't.
03:00It's funny because, you know, I got asked that question after we won in 0-4 by people in Boston,
03:07and they were incredulous.
03:08They were almost offended when I said that 0-1 was as meaningful as 0-4 because 0-1, you
03:16had 9-11.
03:17You had all the things that went on with that.
03:20You had Yankees Reds or Yankees Diamondbacks.
03:23You had Randy and I in the year that we had, the team that we had, and, you know, all
03:29the things.
03:30And you add to the fact I grew up in Phoenix.
03:33Now, moving ahead to 0-4, you know, it was amazing, and it was unbelievable to be a part of,
03:39but I wasn't here for the 86 years before that.
03:42And, you know, yes, I got swept up in it, and I was a part of it, and I felt
03:47it.
03:48And I watched 3 million-plus people at the parade and the largest sports parade ever, all those things.
03:58But there was less of a personal piece in that to me than, you know, and then, you know, the
04:04ankle and all the other stuff.
04:06So I could never – I could never – if I was in a house fire and I had to
04:12take one out with me, I would stay in the house and probably burn rather than let one go.
04:18And I just can't.
04:20I can't.
04:22Absolutely here.
04:23All right, 20 seconds here, Kurt.
04:26Are you looked at as a Philly, Red Sox, or a Diamondback?
04:30You know what?
04:31I don't know.
04:32I don't – I honestly do not know.
04:35I don't have a clue.
04:37You know, I spent 10 years in Philadelphia, so it's kind of hard for people to see me without the
04:41Philly P.
04:42And then in Arizona and Boston, there were iconic things that happened.
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