Skip to main content

PhoulBallz Interview: Darick Hall answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

Darick Hall, image- Jay Floyd
HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to my posts and EXCLUSIVE interviews- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz

Normally, I post the audio of these types of out-of-the-ordinary interviews.  Many of those appear exclusively over on my Patreon page.  In this instance, the recording is poor and truly doesn't sound good enough to release the recording, so I have transcribed a fun interview with Double-A Reading slugger Darick Hall below.

The 24-year-old lefty hitting first baseman has been a key contributor in the middle of the Reading lineup all season long.  In 97 games, Hall sports a .249 batting average with 18 home runs and a league leading 62 RBI.

Hall was the Phillies' 14th round pick out of Dallas Baptist in 2016.

In the interview below, Hall chats about organizational rivalry with the Yankees throughout the minors, who may be his coolest teammate, music and more.  Read ahead for somewhat of a different interview with Darick.


-So, I asked you if you'd like to have some fun with me and you agreed, not having any idea what I'm talking about.  Would you like to answer Nine Silly-ass Questions?

Depending on what they are, yeah!

-Right.  You have no choice now.

Awesome!

-So, listen.  You're on the record.  This is official business here.  Do you like my shirt?

Yeah.  I think it's pretty swaggy.

-Thanks, man.  That is so kind.  Who on the team is the coolest guy?

It's a hard question.

-Is there a lot of cool guys (to narrow it down to just one)?

There really is.  Cool guy...I'd say, cool, just straight up cool- Mickey (Moniak).  You know, he's pretty trendy.  He likes to keep it fresh.  I'd say he's a pretty cool guy.

-I like it.  (Regarding) the Trenton team, is there a rivalry with the Yankees teams as you guys climb levels and play them in each of these leagues?

Obviously, you know.  I'm not a hundred percent certain, but I'm pretty sure that most of the affiliates aren't big fans of the Yankees.  (laughs)  Just due to the nature, but they kind of got us-- (edging us out for the first half division title), playing two less games than us in the first half, so obviously these guys are a little bit of our rivals.  

If we continue playing well, we have a chance to win the second half, then I think this is the team we'll be playing (in the playoffs).  So, we're pretty competitive with them.

-Seeds or gum?

Gum.

-What kind?  Just bubble gum, or any different flavor?

Yeah, Double Bubble. Just original.  I like that because you don't have to keep getting more.  You choose seeds, you might be done with seeds in two outs and you're not going to have a bag of them on you.

-Gum will last you longer.  That's cool.  Did you collect baseball cards as a kid?

Yeah!  I did.  I always got the Topps sets as a kid.

-So, the whole sets- did you ever unwrap them and put them in binders or pages or anything?

No, they're all boxed up.

-Do you still have them?

Yeah.  I'd have to find them.  They're in the garage.  I kind of got out of that, around I'd say, like, 12 (years old).  So, I've still got them.

-Do you keep any souvenirs from your career?  Do you have any of your own cards?

I like to keep a few, just you know, kind of as a memento of the path and just having done it.

-Excellent.  Is there anything in your music collection that you would deem embarrassing?

I would say I have an array of tastes.  I'm not gonna lie, I have a few Selena Gomez songs.  I'd say that's about as soft as I'll go.

-I wanted to ask you if there is a favorite cartoon character that you have?

Favorite cartoon character.  Let's see.  I'd take Tom.

-From Tom & Jerry?

Yeah.  I used to love watching Tom & Jerry as a kid.  That's one of my favorites.

-Now, I'm trying to remember.  It's been so long...is Tom the cat?

Tom's the cat.

-So, he gets fooled and goofed on and clowned.  But that's your favorite guy?

I just always thought he was funny.

-Okay.  It must be empathy.  A couple more here for you.  Thanks for the time.  I'm no longer counting, so we may go over nine (questions).  Talk to me about (one of the Reading mascots) the Crazy Hot Dog Vendor.  What are your thoughts?

(Laughs) I think he's hilarious.  I think we have a couple (different men that play him) and it's funny there's different levels.  We have a guy that's an expert.  We have a few beginners and a guy kind of in the middle.  But, I think it gives us energy when he runs by the dugout, yelling, hurling hot dogs, everybody gets fired up.

-Can the same be said about (friend of the team and honorary Reading cheerleader) Briscoe Disco?

Yeah!  I'd say so.  He gets it going.  He gets people going.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Heroes- Fight of the Century

VS. It's a big day for your boy, Jay Ballz . No work, X-Men Origins: Wolverine premieres, our Phillies face the Metropolitans for the first time this season and tailgating for BOTH doesn't sound all that absurd to me. Anyway, I surveyed some qualified phans and got several opinions on how exactly a fight might go down if the mutant hero Wolverine faced off against Phillies hero Matt Stairs. Well known blogger, Chris, of I've Made a Huge Tiny Mistake , kept it real and said the following- "Wolverine has adamantium ( indestructible metal substance) claws, so that's a great advantage. Stairs' Wonder Bat is neutralized there. See, the problem becomes Wolverine's ability to recover (he has a regenerative power) faster. Stairs is merely human. Sure, he has a goatee, and goatees are great, but they're great for saving sauce, not for defeating mutants. I think Wolverine takes it in a fight to the death in about 15 minutes because Stairs simply doesn'...

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 71

Gene Kelly was the radio voice of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1950- 1959. Born in Brooklyn NY, Kelly pitched in the minor leagues after graduating from Marshall College in 1941. He would soon experience arm trouble, which ended his playing days. Kelly managed to continue a career in sports by turning to radio. When legendary announcer By Saam, who pulled double duty beginning in 1939 calling both Phillies and Athletics games, moved over to the A's side exclusively, Gene Kelly was the man who would fill the void and took over as the Phillies play-by-play man. The Phillies began broadcasting their games over the air in 1936, but until the 1950's, the broadcasters only attended home games and did not travel with the team. All road games were recreated, on the air, by the announcers who read a Western Union teletype account of the games from the studio in Philadelphia. During the decade of the 50's, Kelly was partnered with several different broadcasters, including Claude Ha...

Jealous Ones Envy

Joe Blanton continues to excel and prove his worth in the Phillies pitching rotation. In his latest outing on Sunday, Blanton threw 8 strong innings, striking out 6, while walking just 1 and surrendering 2 earned runs, improving his record to 7-4. This season in July, Joe is 3-0 over four starts with 22 K's, 5 walks and a 1.21 ERA. Over his last 6 starts, Joe's ERA is 1.94. As a member of the Phillies, Blanton has a 3.84 ERA after the all star break with a 5-0 record. The Phillies are 20-12 (.625 winning percentage) in games that Blanton has started, since being acquired last July. Combined this season against other National League playoff contenders St. Louis, Chicago and Los Angeles, Blanton has a combined 1.67 ERA in 4 starts with a 2-0 record. Blanton is on such a sizzling run that the Bowling Green Hot Rods, a Tampa Bay Rays farm team, will host a Joe Blanton bobble head give away tomorrow. Bowling Green will host Joe's mother, father and sister for the event, as Joe...