# Royce Clayton: I Idolized Ozzie Smith...Then I Took His Job

An episode of [All The Smoke](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1483638752), 8 Jul 2026, 59 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/DFT3644795086.mp3

All The Smoke Baseball sits down with 17-year MLB veteran Royce Clayton. Royce opens up about growing up in Inglewood, getting drafted in the first round by the Giants, and the pressure of replacing his childhood hero Ozzie Smith in St. Louis. He shares stories about Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire's legendary batting practice, playing clean through the steroid era, and winning it all with the 2007 Red Sox. Plus: coaching his sons to a CIF championship, playing Miguel Tejada in Moneyball, and the real story behind the infamous clubhouse fight with Chad Tracy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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