PHOENIX — Sports radio host Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo is betting his career on the Phillies beating the Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
"I would not be stunned if they (Diamondbacks) won tonight, I would be floored," Russo said Monday on his show, Mad Dog Radio. "If they win, I will retire on the spot."
Tuesday, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo took a moment to respond to the comments in a pre-game interview.
"I would love to see him quit if we won today. You know what I mean? There's nothing better than a wise guy New Yorker saying something and then having to chomp on those words," Lovullo said.
"I just know that there's an under riding theme here that we, A, don't deserve to be here, B, that we're going to get our butts kicked and C, there's bullies all over the National League that can manhandle us. It really excites me to know that we're playing in Game 7, and we're right on the verge of doing something that's unbelievable, and we love proving naysayers wrong."
If history is any indication, the Arizona Diamondbacks have a great chance at making MLB's Fall Classic.
Looking back at previous postseasons, one glaring fact seems to stick out.
Since 1981, all teams that played the Milwaukee Brewers in a postseason have gone on to play in the World Series. Let's look at the numbers:
- 1981 Yankees- Made World Series
- 1982 Cardinals - Won World Series
- 2008 Phillies - Won World Series
- 2011 Cardinals - Won World Series
- 2018 Dodgers - Made World Series
- 2019 Nationals - Won World Series
- 2020 Dodgers - Won World Series
- 2021 Braves - Won World Series
Up next are the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks. They defeated the Brewers in the Wild Card round of the MLB playoffs and are now a win away from the team's second World Series appearance since 1998.
Will history repeat itself? We'll know soon.
Digital executive producer Gabe Trujillo contributed to this report.
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