On the most recent Baseball is Dead podcast, the crew is joined by WWE commentator Corey Graves to talk all about his beloved Pittsburgh Pirates.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This podcast contains adult language. Viewer discretion is advised.
Right off the bat, Jared feels compelled to apologize to Corey. You see the last time he saw Corey, at Survivor Series in Boston in November, he made a comment at Corey’s entrance move of folding his hands if Corey was doing that because he’s secretly praying for winning Pirates season. And lo and behold, here were are — the Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place in the NL Central (the Pirates are +850 at the time of publication to win the division on DraftKings Sportsbook).
Corey didn’t expect this quick a turnaround and has been a Pirates fan long enough to not get too excited too quickly, but he’s not here to spoil anybody’s fun and he’s having a great time with the hot start. All that said, Corey is waiting until after the All-Star break before really buying in, even noting that he may even look to pick up some season tickets since he’s so close to PNC Park. Speaking of PNC Park, Corey is really loving the vibes there thus far.
.@WWEGraves talks about his love for the game of baseball and the vibes at PNC Park this year. pic.twitter.com/RPEmzWm7tD
— Baseball Is Dead (@baseballisdead_) April 27, 2023
Corey also said that signing Bryan Reynolds to an eight-year $106 million contract extension makes him cautiously optimistic about the Bucs’ future. Dallas points out that this type of contract extension is not something we’ve seen from this Pirates ownership group before, but Corey said the team bringing back Andrew McCutchen already made the fans and the city hyped.
Jared asks Corey to compare what WWE crowd could match the Pirates’ 2013 Wild Card game crowd, and Corey said that his favorite WWE crowds are the European crowds. He said the environment is nuclear, with the European fans being on another level. He also said last month’s Wrestlemania crowds at SoFi Stadium were also pretty impressive. Jared throws out the Montreal crowd for Elimination Chamber when Roman Reigns defeated hometown hero Sami Zayn and Corey noted that sometimes he will actually take off his headset so he can hear the organic crowd noise. He said it’s tough to describe if you’ve never lived through it.
Jared wonders how, if you’re the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, can you not see that there’s such a community of baseball fans in that market. He says the fans are there, they just want a product to be proud of. Corey notes that Pittsburgh loves anything Pittsburgh. He says if you’re winning, Pittsburgh people will support you in full effect. But the Pirates are the one team where people have learned not to get too excited. Corey says if the Pirates can manage to shed that reputation, the sky is the limit.
Listen to the podcast or watch the video below for the full discussion!
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Talking Buccos (Feat. Corey Graves)
- Today we’re joined by special guest WWE commentator Corey Graves to talk Buccos! Graves is a lifelong Pirates fan and he’s fired up about the Pirates hot start. We talk with him about his expectations for this year’s team, his favorite memories and moments in Pirates history, the signing of Bryan Reynolds, his love for the game of baseball, and more! Check out his podcast “WWE After The Bell” where he and Kevin Patrick break down the hottest topics from WWE each week. After we finish up with Corey we’re getting to White Sox voicemails. Other topics today include: Zac Gallen’s scoreless inning streak, Ronald Acuña Jr. chasing an MVP, the Astros breaking the Rays home winning streak, and rapid fire nugs from Jayhay. Enjoy!
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VIDEO:
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