Survivor Almost Had "New York" Russell

You know those New Era commercials featuring Alec Baldwin and John Krasinski?  Well, as it turns out, season 22 of the CBS show "Survivor" almost had its own New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox cap feud.

Allow me to explain.

"Survivor: Redemption Island" featured returning favorite (and eventual winner) "Boston" Rob Mariano and his trademark Red Sox lid squaring off against one of the game's biggest villains Russell Hantz.

And as it turns out, Hantz had a particular item on his luxury item wishlist.

"My luxury item for Redemption Island with Rob (Mariano) was a New York Yankees baseball cap," the three-time contestant told fellow former castaway Rob Cesternino during a recent podcast interview.  "But they said no way."

There's no word as what Hantz (a Houston Astros fan, by the way) was allowed to bring to Nicaragua for the show...but the Yankees cap would have been a nice touch.

A Year of Talkin' Baseball

'tis the season for plenty of things...returning Christmas presents, going back to work and, of course, year-enders!

The Hall of Very Good is no different.

Next week, following the Hall of Fame announcement (read as: I'm too busy/lazy to do it now), come on back for the Top Ten Stories of the Year.

Today...it's a year of "Talkin' Baseball".  That's right, the best of what has become my favorite part of doing this site...talkin' baseball with whoever will respond to the request.  Click the BOLD text to read the entire piece!

GAR RYNESS, aka "Batting Stance Guy" (February)

Manny (Ramirez) is great to me. I’ve done pre-game shows for visiting teams at Dodgers Stadium and Manny will always scream and whistle across the field while I’m filming. “Do Ethier! Do Ethier!” I’ll then hold up a finger, as if to say, “Hold on Manny, I’ll come over there after this.” The first time that happened the Cardinals TV staff said, “wait, do you know Manny?” That’s when it hit me how weird the last two years have been.

"Diamond King" DICK PEREZ (February)

As far back as I can remember, I had a desire to draw. On the margins around my school notebooks there were caricatures of school mates and images from my imagination. After I realized that there was no way I would ever achieve my real dream of becoming a professional baseball player, I concluded that I had to choose a real life career. I chose art.

Hall of Famer GARY CARTER (May)

The loss of my Mom was a huge impact on my life as we were a very loving family that went to church regularly. I didn’t understand why a loving God would take someone away as dear as her. It helped me to understand how fragile life is.

Author GEORGE CASTLE (May), Talkin' Andre Dawson (July) and Lou Piniella (September)

Sammy (Sosa) is still too raw for Cubs fans. Worse than alleged steroid use, he walked out on the team on the last day of the 2004 season. However, I don’t feel Sammy will be regarded in the same breath as Banks, Williams, Santo, Jenkins, Sandberg. His ego exploded as he got successful, and that will stain him forever.

Talkin' Ken Griffey Jr. with KEN GRIFFEY SR., JEFF MONTGOMERY and C.J. WILSON (June)

After announcing that I would retire at the end of the 1999 season, Junior asked me if I would give him a signed jersey…which I did. The next day in our clubhouse was an autographed Griffey jersey.

Competitive Eater PAT BERTOLETTI (July)

I usually spend most of the game wandering around trying to eat at all the food stands. I think the White Sox have the best food in the league. I would only go to a Cubs game if there were free tickets and Old Style involved.

Reality Show "All Stars" JONNY FAIRPLAY (September), ROB CESTERNINO (September) and RUSSELL KOOK (December)

If I were going to start an alliance with any past Mets, first on the list would be former (and hopefully future) manager Bobby Valentine. I also am very partial to both Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez and think they do a great job calling the game and are both really interesting guys and have great baseball IQ.. And Keith, on day one, would have the greatest mustache in "Survivor" history. Unquestioned.

Outspoken Pitcher JEFF JUDEN (October)

I would still like (a 1999 Yankees World Series ring) if they have any spare change left. I have room on my middle finger for it.

Former O.J. Simpson, nevermind...it's KATO KAELIN (November)

Airline ticket to Milwaukee…$450.00. Car rental…$150.00. Tickets to game…$55.00. Sitting next to Shawn from The Hall of Very Good…PRICELESS.

San Francisco Giants' Biggest Fan ASHKON DAVARAN (December)

I had a chance to meet Steve (Perry) before the World Series Parade, and he seemed to be pretty cool with it. I thanked him for writing one of the best songs of all time…he said thanks and that I did a good job with it.

All in all...a great year for talkin' baseball.  Sure, I'm biased and I wish I could add more of my favorites (for example DANIEL NAVA, GARRETT WITTELS and MATHER ZICKEL from "The Bronx is Burning"), but since most lists are "Top Ten" lists...I decided to keep it at ten.

Which was your favorite?  Please let me know below!

Friday 5: Rob Cesternino

Yesterday, one of my favorite "Survivor" cast members shared his "All-Time Baseball Heels" .

Not to go down memory road, but another one of my favorites is the same guy that host Jeff Probst once called "the smartest player to have never won Survivor”.

Taking time out from his website Rob Has a Website, Rob “Rob C.” Cesternino re-dons his "Survivor" buff and takes on the challenge that is...the “Friday 5”.

HOVG: Alright man, you’re a New Yorker. Right out of the gate, I’ve gotta know…Mets or Yankees?

ROB C.: I've been a long-suffering Mets fan for as long as I can remember. The last few years have been pretty brutal and it looks like we're going to have to blow the whole thing up and start over again while the Yankees look like they're headed to a second straight World Series. Not fun.

HOVG: If you could play "Survivor" and have a Rich Hatch-like alliance with any three of your beloved Mets (past or present)…who would they be?

ROB C.: If I were going to start an alliance with any past Mets, first on the list would be former (and hopefully future) manager Bobby Valentine. In addition to being a strategic mastermind who was able to take a mediocre at best 2000 Mets team to a World Series, "Bobby V." was very charming and able to outsmart opponents with crazy disguises! I also am very partial to both Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez and think they do a great job calling the game and are both really interesting guys and have great baseball IQ.. And Keith, on day one, would have the greatest mustache in "Survivor" history. Unquestioned.

HOVG: "Survivor" has seen a number of former professional athletes (Guatemala’s Gary Hogeboom, China’s Ashley Massaro and, currently, Super Bowl winning coach Jimmy Johnson) take part. Is there a Major Leaguer that you would like to see out there? If so, who and why?

ROB C.: We may not ever see a Major League Baseball player on "Survivor" but there actually a couple of Phillies that have very close ties to "Survivor". One of the women from my season, Heidi, is now married to Cole Hamels and Shephanie LaGrossa is engaged to Kyle Kendrick! If I was going to pick any Major Leaguer to watch on "Survivor", I think the guy that would be the most entertaining to watch might be Manny Ramirez. In fact, I don't understand why Manny doesn't already have a reality show...every episode would be see TV.

HOVG: In one of your podcasts, you compared two-time "Survivor" contestant Russell Hantz to former slugger Mark McGwire. Care to explain what you meant again?

ROB C.: I certainly don't mean to imply that Russell Hantz might be using performance enhancing drugs. Russell, is similar to McGwire or any of the modern day sluggers who hit huge home runs and strike out a ton. They are all incredibly entertaining to watch, much more so than someone who always plays it safe and chokes up on the bat. But Russell, literally swings for the fences with every bold move he makes in the game. And much like hitting a baseball, that isn't necessarily the best approach to take on EVERY swing. Also, it's not always the best way to win baseball games. So while I think Russell will always be entertaining to watch as a fan, I don't think his strategy will ever work because he will always burn too many people along the way to the end to ever get the jury votes he would need to win in the end.

HOVG: Lastly, and I know it isn’t a baseball-related question…but who are you picking to win "Survivor: Nicaragua"?

ROB C.: I am loving seeing Jimmy Johnson on "Survivor" this time around but I think both he AND the Cowboys might not have what it takes to go too far this season. I really like Marty. Marty seems like he has a great understanding of the game and seems like he is savvy enough to go the distance. But in baseball terms, it's only about the top of the second inning in the game, so there's a lot of "Survivor" left to play.

Rob Cesternino appeared on two seasons of "Survivor"…Amazon (where he finished third) and All-Stars (where he finished 15th). He currently can be found online waxing poetically about "Survivor" and other reality shows and on iTunes as host of the popular “Rob Has a Podcast” podcast. He can also be found tweeting away as @robcesternino.