Ryan Dempster plays talk show host at Cubs’ convention (Video)
Now that Ryan Dempster is retired from baseball, he has a lot more time to do what he does best: Be Ryan Dempster.
So far, that has led to a stint as an analyst on MLB Network and a new gig in the Chicago Cubs front office, where he’ll serve as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer. Now he can add late night talk show host to his resume, as “Friday Night with Dempster” debuted at the Cubs annual fans convention in downtown Chicago.
Based on the video, the premiere episode was a star-studded event. Among his guests were new Cubs manager Joe Maddon, pitchers Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta, All-Star first baseman Anthony Rizzo, former Cubs Mark DeRosa and Rick Sutcliffe, and his new bosses, Epstein and Hoyer.
There were several sketches and videos too, including wiffle ball with Rizzo, Dempster’s Harry Caray and Chris Farley impressions, and a look at his daily duties with the Cubs, which mostly consisted of him fetching coffee for Theo Esptein.
We’ll spare you the impressions, but here’s the wiffle ball battle.
Of course, no late night talk show is complete without a Top 10 list. Though it’s not seen in the video, here are Dempster’s Top 10 reasons the Cubs hired Joe Maddon, thanks to MLB.com’s Cash Kruth.
10. “We misheard and thought he knew (actor) Eva Longoria.”
9. “We’re trying to set the Guinness Book of World Records for most fired managers.”
8. “We needed someone who would take the leftover Harry Caray glasses.”
7. “The Cubs’ bus keeps breaking down so we figured, ‘Hey, we can use his RV.’ “
6. “Most managers take shots from the media; Joe Maddon buys shots for the media.”
5. “We have a young team here in Chicago, and if 60 is the new 40, well, we need someone to manage all of our toddlers.”
4. “(Model wife of former Cub/current Rays OF David DeJesus) Kim DeJesus told us to.”
3. “He’s the son of a plumber and, let’s just face it: the Wrigley bathrooms need a ton of work.”
2. “We just feel bad for anyone who lives in Florida.”
1. “Well, because of all the other managers we tried to tamper with, none of them called us back.”
Not bad for a first-timer.
The show reportedly went on for 2 1/2 hours, but so far no one is saying it overstayed its welcome. Either Cubs fans are extremely giddy about the prospects of 2015, or they’re a far more patient group than we give them credit for. That’s not to say the presentation wasn’t entertaining on some level, but man, 2 1/2 hours? Where’s the Pace of Game committee when you need them?
All kidding aside, if the fans had fun, that’s all that matters. With that in mind though, perhaps they should have saved this segment for AFTER the bleacher news.
BLS H/N: Cut 4
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
