WEBVTT

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Thank you for being here, for subscribing to

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the Dan Time Podcast, a place where you can find

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me talking with fellow Dans of the world in sports,

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music, business, and more, as well as some non

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-Dans from time to time. At Dan Time Pod across

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the socials, dantimepod at gmail .com. Please

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rate and review the show if you're enjoying the

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ride through the Daniverse. I appreciate you

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as a listener. Hope you enjoyed last week's episode

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with long -time Birmingham Barons broadcaster

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Kurt Bloom. A few weeks ago, we had Major League

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Baseball pitcher Dan Winkler on the show. What

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a great guy. And today, it is an honor to introduce

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to you MLB right -handed free agent pitcher Dan

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Straley. Dan finds himself in unfamiliar territory

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for the first time in 15 plus years as a professional

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athlete. As we near the end of April, he is without

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work on the baseball diamond. But Dan, also referred

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to as the red -bearded wonder, is committed to

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finding a suitor, a team that will give him a

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chance so that he might finish his career in

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the big leagues. Dan talks about DriveLine, the

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premier data -driven baseball player development

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organization in the world. Dan realized that

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what was once working for him as far as pitch

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execution just wasn't working any longer. He

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tells the story in our conversation about what

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led to his connection with DriveLine and how

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he raised his pitch velocity and learned to throw

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outlier pitches once again. Dan grew up in Eastern

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Oregon, pitched at Thurston High School, then

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attended Western Oregon and later walked on at

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Marshall University. He was drafted in the 24th

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round by the Oakland Athletics in 2009. Speaking

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about his career, Dan said, I'm really proud

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of it. And I just don't feel like it's over.

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In the same breath, I just don't. And finally,

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Dan talks about what matters most of all, and

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that's his family. All right, let's get to the

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conversation now folks. It is Dan Strayley time

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I'm really happy to welcome Dan Strayley free

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agent Major League Baseball player Dan also appears

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and let me just say this first I don't want to

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get too deep in the episode without mentioning

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this you guys stop what you're doing pause this

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show and download the journeymen podcast I've

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been having a blast listening to those episodes

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the past week or two, but Dan Strayley, how are

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you doing today, man? Thanks for making time

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for the podcast. Absolutely, Dan. Thanks for

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having me. On quite a few podcasts in my day

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obviously you mentioned I have a co -host one

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myself about just you know the journey of baseball

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and not told from the eyes of the way the media

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presents it or the big media presents it in terms

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of I just like the top players but just kind

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of everybody surrounding it from the ball players

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like myself who are fighting for jobs to the

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guys washing the cleats. between games to the

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guys running the clubhouse. I've had a guy running

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a team, you name it. We just kind of try to talk

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about baseball from all different angles. But

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so I said, I've been on a lot of podcasts. A

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lot of them, the prerequisite for me is, you

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know, talking about baseball. We're talking about

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my job, my career, my stuff like this. This has

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got to be the first time I've ever been on a

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podcast that the only prerequisite is that my

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name is Dan. And I am stoked to be here when

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that when I saw this email come in, I was like,

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I can't say no to this one. This is just going

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to be fun. yeah I think this project of mine

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when I reach out to people you know most people

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respond some people don't I just have to wonder

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like and maybe it's a good thing the people who

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don't choose to come on the show or say hey thanks

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but no thanks I want people on this show who

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get the joke and yeah you know me I haven't really

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scoured the internet maybe there's a Josh time

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maybe there's a Jacqueline time I don't know

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but But Dan time is just something I thought

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would be pretty cool. Celebrating the Dan's of

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the world. The older I get, and I hope you're

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okay with this too, Dan, I just think that the

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Dan name is, it's neighborly, it can be distinguished,

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it can be kind of goofy if you want it to be.

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You can really play around with the name. And

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so that's what I'm here to do in my little corner

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of... of the world here is to celebrate the dance

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as dan harrison once said doing great things

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in the world there we go there we go i love it

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i love the concept it's good but i've been enjoying

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doing some research on you following the journeyman

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podcast and i know that you're you're in a chapter

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of your life here where some people get you know

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they veer off they lose track of their plan they

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uh start picking up habits, they overeat, they

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just sleep in, and they do things that are not

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really conducive to moving forward, but I just

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love, the more that I listen to these episodes,

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I wrote some of this stuff down. Like, all I

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want is a chip in a chair. I love that poker

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reference. And basically, you essentially said

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that there's two things to do. Move forward,

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I'm not saying this very eloquently. You can

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pick it back up there. I think you know where

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I'm headed with this, but. I think the quote

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is, there's really just two options. You either

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quit or you don't. Yeah, that's it. Yeah, you

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keep going or you don't. It's, yeah, for those

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of you listening that don't know, this is my

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16th year being a professional baseball player,

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and this is the first time I made it past the

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month of January without a job, and here we are.

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One day after tax day in April and I'm still

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down here training, working hard and chasing

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my dream. And it's become almost just like this

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mission of years ago, I said, I wanted to play

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in a major league game when my son would remember

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it. Well, my son's at that age and all he remembers

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is me playing overseas in Korea, which was great,

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which was great. I love playing in Korea, love

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the culture, love the people, love the games,

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the stadiums, everything about it was awesome.

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But, you know, I'm excited that hopefully I get

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to finish my career over here in the States and

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just keep going with it. And baseball has blessed

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me to the point that I can chase this dream and

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I don't have to go, you know, worry about paying

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the mortgage this month. I get a chance to just

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keep chasing it. And then I don't take that for

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granted. Like you talked about, like falling

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off the wagon or falling off course there, you

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know, a lot of people when you're faced with

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adversity, you know, it's tough. It is really

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hard. But I feel that it would be a massive disservice.

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And to all the people that wish that they could

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play baseball at age 35, if I didn't take this

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seriously, if I didn't, it's like basically slapping

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everybody in the face that that wants this or

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wish they could have had this that that got cut

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from their high school team that got told no

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in college that got released after a half a season

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of baseball. It's bigger than me. And it's like

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I'd be doing every like all of them. a disservice

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if I didn't push through and finish this thing,

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you know, God gave me a gift of throwing a baseball

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and having the mental fortitude to withstand

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these pressures and it'd be slapping in the face

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if I didn't keep going with this mission that

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I'm on. Will I succeed? Define success. That's

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really how I look at it. No matter what, I'm

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showing my son that you chase your dreams, that

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you work hard, that you don't quit, that you

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push through adversity, that you just keep going

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forward. And don't look over your shoulder and

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start doing the shoulda, coulda, woulda thing,

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but just keep going forward. And that doesn't

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matter that if it's baseball, if I was, I grew

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up in a family that was all firefighters and

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you know, it's like same thing there. Like those

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guys, like they're trying to climb the ladder

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and provide for families and doing this. And

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I watched my dad have good days and bad days

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and just keep pushing forward. And it's no different.

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I just happen to do something that is played

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on TV at seven o 'clock at night, most places.

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And I just, I just don't take that for granted.

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I like what you said there about Your son being

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involved and anybody that's got kids young kids,

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especially By the time they reach well I would

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say by the time that you look across the living

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room and they lock eyes with you. That's a pretty

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powerful moment I remember that happening with

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my My oldest when he was two, but I guess dan

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doesn't this become kind of bigger than you It's

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it's more of an example that you want to set

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and to maybe inspire other people Whether it's

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your son or yeah or your network or friends,

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you know, give them some inspiration to keep

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pushing hard Yeah, yeah, it's really tough for

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me to look my friends and my family or anybody

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in the face and and tell them to just keep pushing

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through hard times if I don't do it myself right

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and so it is I'm on a mission to to prove to

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the world that I still have it to prove to the

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baseball world that I still have what it takes

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to get out to the major league level and You

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know only time will tell if that's the case or

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not if someone gives me my my shot my chip in

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my chair as you mentioned But you know, there's

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a lot of sayings like that in baseball. You only

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need one fan. I only need one one member, what

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decision making member of a front office to like

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me, to want me on their team, to bring me on

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as their insurance policy, whatever you want,

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however you want to phrase it, however you want

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to look at it, I just want my chance. And you

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just keep going. And like I mentioned, you know,

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with baseball for me, I've worked really hard.

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I talk about it in my most recent episode of

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The Journeyman, but I've worked really hard at

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not putting my identity in baseball. And I think

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that that's gone a long ways for me, especially

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right now. You know I'm in this we call it the

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hallway season where I'm in this hallway just

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walking down it and I don't know which door is

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going to be my exit. You know, it's like I pass

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these doors and I knock on them. I check them.

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I try to push them open. It's locked. I just

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keep moving. Well, I've been in that season for

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about eight months now and it's kind of a rough

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place to be. We've all been there. I don't care

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what you're doing in life. I don't care what

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your career is, what you're, we've all been in

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this situation where we just, we just don't know

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what's, what's going on or like what the next

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step is. What the next, you know, the opportunity

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is, whatever it is. And so we're just kind of,

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we're kind of making our way down through this.

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But not having my identity tied to baseball,

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but having my identity tied to working on being

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the best husband and the best father and the

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best friend, the best business partner, the best

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whatever it is. I think that's my goal. you know

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as to you know many many many years from now

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when when I'm taken from this earth I don't want

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to be known as Dan the baseball player but all

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these other things that are quite frankly much

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bigger and and more important in life. Being

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an entertainer is great. Like let's not, let's

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not phrase being a baseball player is anything

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else because that's all we are is we're entertainers

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and it comes down to dollars and cents for that

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business. It's an entertainment industry. Uh,

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it's one that I'm blessed and proud to be a part

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of for so long, but that's what it is. And you

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know, you only get to do those things for so

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long, especially when you're, you're asking the

00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:17.620
human body to, to twist and move and throw and

00:11:17.620 --> 00:11:19.799
do all this stuff. You can only take it for so

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long. You can only be the best at it for so long.

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There's a reason there's not any 50 -year -old

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baseball players out there, right? And so, yeah,

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it is bigger than me. It's a huge part of my

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life, but it does not define who I am as a person.

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Isn't that the truth? One thing I like, Dan,

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from listening to you with the quad on the Journeyman

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podcast, you guys are funny. I mean, you guys,

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folks listening, if you need a new show to carry

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you on your... you got a 45 minute commute somewhere,

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you're going to love it and you're really going

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to hang on what Dan's talking about because he

00:11:53.940 --> 00:11:56.639
gives you some inside stuff. One of the things

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I found most fascinating, reaching out to your

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network, I think some people in life are kind

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of a little tentative about, hey, I got that

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guy's phone number, but I don't know if I should

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call him or if I should call that guy that works

00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:12.960
for him and ask him to give him that message.

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And you're not afraid, you know, once an AGM

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called you or sent you a message or something,

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Hey, I'm adding him to my network. And if I'm

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trying to get, seek employment, why don't I just

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reach out to the general manager? I'm going to

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take that shot. Speak to that a little bit, just

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kind of, Hey, why not? Yeah. So there's one thing

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I've learned in baseball. I was teammates with

00:12:35.809 --> 00:12:38.690
some, some very great players over our generation

00:12:38.690 --> 00:12:41.710
and one that comes to mind is like Ichiro Suzuki.

00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:43.799
Right? You say that name and like, everybody

00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:46.080
knows who Ichiro is if you followed five minutes

00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:50.500
of baseball in your life. And when I met Ichiro,

00:12:50.899 --> 00:12:55.960
yes, he is the biggest name for a long time in

00:12:55.960 --> 00:13:00.200
the game of baseball worldwide, worldwide. And

00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:03.679
when I met him and got to know him, he is just

00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:07.080
a man. He is a man that is extremely gifted,

00:13:07.299 --> 00:13:09.580
extremely dedicated, extremely everything, but

00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:12.240
he, we're all just. We're all just people trying

00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:17.039
to make our way in life, right? And so when I

00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:19.460
go into baseball and go into the clubhouse, go

00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:23.139
into there, it is a group of people that are

00:13:23.139 --> 00:13:25.799
trying to accomplish one win for that day. We

00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:27.019
all have different jobs, we all have different

00:13:27.019 --> 00:13:30.100
things. But at the end of the day, my bosses

00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:33.879
are guys just trying to do the best at their

00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:37.360
job, just like us on the field. And so being

00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:39.940
afraid to text those people now that are in power

00:13:39.940 --> 00:13:43.539
other places, like, why not? Why not? If I run

00:13:43.539 --> 00:13:48.000
into Mike Elias at a restaurant, half the people

00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:51.440
there might not know who Mike Elias is. 95 %

00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:53.120
of people might not know who Mike Elias is when

00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:55.799
you're there. Maybe 99%. But I know who he is.

00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:57.519
And he's the general manager of the Orioles.

00:13:57.539 --> 00:14:00.059
So why would I not text somebody like that when

00:14:00.059 --> 00:14:02.639
I'm looking for a job? He's a decision maker.

00:14:03.019 --> 00:14:06.539
And there's only 30 people 30 employers for my

00:14:06.539 --> 00:14:09.179
work in the entire world. Think about that. How

00:14:09.179 --> 00:14:12.139
many jobs have 30 possible employment opportunities?

00:14:12.940 --> 00:14:15.919
There's 150 major league starters right now.

00:14:16.179 --> 00:14:19.120
150 people in the entire world get to do what

00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:22.259
I'm trying to get back to. And I got to do that

00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:25.759
for over five years at the highest level. And

00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:30.720
so those people are just normal people. I promise

00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.100
you, they're just normal guys. They have wives,

00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:36.779
they have kids. They watch Shark Tank. They do

00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:39.480
all the stuff that normal people do. I just quoted

00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:41.480
everyone. The normal person watches Shark Tank,

00:14:41.500 --> 00:14:44.840
because I do. But my point is that we're all

00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:47.659
just human beings, right? Just because someone

00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:50.559
has a fancy job title or has a lot of decision

00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:54.100
-making power, I'm going to know their name just

00:14:54.100 --> 00:14:56.000
as much as I'm going to know the guy who's helping

00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.759
wash my shoes between games. Just as much as

00:14:58.759 --> 00:15:00.419
the guy who's doing my laundry, just as much

00:15:00.419 --> 00:15:03.360
as the guy who's... You know coaching first base

00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:05.399
or my pitching. Yeah, it's like all these guys

00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:08.399
are just baseball guys. And so, um, yeah, I have

00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.379
a handful of gms phone numbers. Um, a lot of

00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:13.740
them are agms assistant assistant general managers

00:15:13.740 --> 00:15:15.600
for those who they don't know They're the ones

00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:17.679
dealing with a lot of the roster stuff below

00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:19.139
the major leagues and things like that which

00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:20.820
is what i'm trying to get into trying to get

00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:25.019
a triple a job and Those guys were all agms now.

00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:27.220
They're gm. Some are still agms. I just text

00:15:27.220 --> 00:15:30.059
them I text them some videos some numbers. Hey

00:15:30.059 --> 00:15:33.730
You know, hey So and so, uh, it's been five years

00:15:33.730 --> 00:15:36.389
since I said hi, but how's it going? And just,

00:15:36.450 --> 00:15:37.889
you know, I don't be awkward with it. I just

00:15:37.889 --> 00:15:39.590
very straightforward. These are very busy people.

00:15:39.789 --> 00:15:42.129
I do respect their time, but it's just like,

00:15:42.570 --> 00:15:44.799
Hey, It's I say my name in the text just to make

00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:47.240
sure if they didn't save my number. And here's

00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:49.379
videos. Here's a here's a report of what I've

00:15:49.379 --> 00:15:51.340
been doing. I'm I'm still here. I'm back from

00:15:51.340 --> 00:15:53.220
Korea. I'm searching for a job in the States.

00:15:53.539 --> 00:15:55.799
And I got to believe that there's only a couple

00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:58.200
of people in the world that are built up to 100

00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:00.179
pitches that have Major League service time under

00:16:00.179 --> 00:16:01.740
their belt that are willing to go to triple A

00:16:01.740 --> 00:16:04.259
baseball right now. And so I'm just praying that

00:16:04.259 --> 00:16:07.480
somebody needs my services. Right. And so it's

00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:09.940
no different than you put your job application

00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:13.480
in at whatever. store you want to work at and

00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:15.299
a week goes by and you come back in and just

00:16:15.299 --> 00:16:17.879
check in. Ask to see the manager, introduce yourself

00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:20.480
so that you can put a face to this piece of paper.

00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:23.100
And it's no different except there is no job

00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:25.159
seeker for us in baseball. That's our agent.

00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:28.600
That's what that's what he does. So yeah, it's

00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:31.679
I just I'm a big believer in, you know, you can't

00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:34.039
be told no if you don't ask. And quite honestly,

00:16:34.259 --> 00:16:36.279
two of the guys that I reached out to flat out

00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:39.360
were just like, Hey, Dan, wish you the best of

00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.360
luck. But we're not looking right now doesn't

00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:44.080
mean it could change down the road but we're

00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:46.039
not looking right now my response is hey thank

00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:48.399
you so much for for getting back to me like best

00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:50.240
of luck to you guys this season and and hope

00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:52.440
the family's good you know like just as simple

00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:55.440
and move forward but like being told no we've

00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.299
all been told no we've all been told no i got

00:16:58.299 --> 00:17:00.759
told no as a freshman in high school you know

00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:03.240
what i mean like and then i did this for professionally

00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:05.779
for 16 years It doesn't mean that my freshman

00:17:05.779 --> 00:17:07.619
baseball coach was wrong. It just means that

00:17:07.619 --> 00:17:10.559
I got better at something. So it's just a matter

00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:14.140
of not being afraid to put yourself out there.

00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:15.880
And no matter what the, like I said, whatever

00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:17.900
the career is, we're just happy to be talking

00:17:17.900 --> 00:17:19.519
about baseball here, but whatever the career

00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:22.519
is, whatever the idea is, whatever you're looking

00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:24.539
for, you can't be told no. You'd be surprised

00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:27.740
how many people of power really appreciate somebody

00:17:27.740 --> 00:17:30.980
humbly coming to them and just saying, hey, these

00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:33.339
are my goals. This is my ambition. Do you have

00:17:33.339 --> 00:17:36.829
time to help me? Learn what it'd be to be in

00:17:36.829 --> 00:17:38.390
a position like yours or yeah, we just like whatever

00:17:38.390 --> 00:17:40.650
it is. But like you said, you just, why not?

00:17:40.829 --> 00:17:42.569
What do I have to lose? Worst case scenario,

00:17:42.690 --> 00:17:44.049
these guys know I'm close to the end of my career

00:17:44.049 --> 00:17:45.869
and maybe they'll offer me a job doing something

00:17:45.869 --> 00:17:48.470
else in baseball. Who knows? That's one of the

00:17:48.470 --> 00:17:50.829
things that my dad has always said is he's like,

00:17:51.029 --> 00:17:53.079
son, it's all about the network. He's been saying

00:17:53.079 --> 00:17:55.480
that since I was like 22 years old and was like

00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:57.279
barely paying attention to what he was trying

00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:59.960
to impart on me, but he continues to say it and

00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:03.640
I'm like, okay, I get it now. What you said really

00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:06.660
translates to people who are running a business

00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:09.019
or maybe they're trying to grow their business,

00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:11.299
they're in sales, and they're trying to just

00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:15.579
get through doors, get to know people. And like

00:18:15.579 --> 00:18:19.079
you said, you do it a few times or do it over

00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:22.400
the course of a few years. getting the rejections,

00:18:22.500 --> 00:18:26.500
I think the word rejection sounds harsher than

00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:29.359
what it actually feels like. You just kinda,

00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:32.660
okay, that's a no, or that's, I'm not gonna be

00:18:32.660 --> 00:18:34.859
able to pass through there, moving on, moving

00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:38.700
on. But, you know, you do have a plan in place,

00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:40.799
and I like that you're in a program that I really

00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:42.420
wanna highlight before we get too far in the

00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:45.380
episode here. Talk a little bit about driveline,

00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:49.380
and how that has, you know, Helped you in this

00:18:49.380 --> 00:18:51.500
quest. I know that you you had a goal maybe a

00:18:51.500 --> 00:18:55.240
few years ago of Getting your I guess your fastball

00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:59.079
the floor from from 88 up to 91 Right. No drive

00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:03.039
lines a very I mean, it's it's a the world's

00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:05.980
best baseball training facility. That's my opinion

00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:08.940
I'm sure that they don't agree. They don't disagree

00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:11.720
with that, but they I came to these guys back

00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:14.539
in 2015 I don't know what happened. My shoulder

00:19:14.539 --> 00:19:17.200
just like started hurting Like all the time,

00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.960
like I'd go throw a game and you start baseball

00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:21.220
games. For those of you who don't know you as

00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:23.140
a starting pitcher, you pitch every fifth day.

00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:26.420
So I'd start a game on a Sunday and then I'm

00:19:26.420 --> 00:19:27.980
not pitching again in the game until Friday.

00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:30.599
And so I would spend Monday through Thursday

00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:32.259
or basically Monday through Friday, just trying

00:19:32.259 --> 00:19:36.960
to get my arm to be not sore by the time Friday

00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:38.940
rolled around. Right. And like, that's a really

00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:40.900
tough way to be a pitcher. Cause that's all you

00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:44.079
need is your body. And so the season ended and

00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:46.670
I just, I was talking to my my pitching coach

00:19:46.670 --> 00:19:49.390
in Houston. He's the Arizona pitching coach now,

00:19:49.410 --> 00:19:51.609
but my pitching coach in Houston. And I was like,

00:19:51.710 --> 00:19:54.150
Hey, there's this like weighted ball program

00:19:54.150 --> 00:19:56.170
up in Seattle that I've been kind of looking

00:19:56.170 --> 00:19:58.349
into. And he just like, Oh, drive line. Yeah,

00:19:58.410 --> 00:19:59.690
I know Kyle, but he's a really good friend of

00:19:59.690 --> 00:20:01.769
mine. So we ended up going to Seattle to play

00:20:01.769 --> 00:20:05.509
the Mariners. And the that day I was out in the

00:20:05.509 --> 00:20:08.289
bullpen before the game and the pitching coach,

00:20:08.430 --> 00:20:10.710
Brent Strom introduced me to the founder of drive

00:20:10.710 --> 00:20:13.549
line. And we just started talking and started

00:20:13.549 --> 00:20:15.529
talking about like what drive lines all about.

00:20:15.769 --> 00:20:17.549
And, you know, he said some things that really,

00:20:17.849 --> 00:20:20.950
uh, really got me excited about it. And one of

00:20:20.950 --> 00:20:22.670
them is like, I don't even remember exactly the

00:20:22.670 --> 00:20:25.190
way he put it, but he basically said like, listen,

00:20:25.230 --> 00:20:27.849
if you're not going to put the work in, we're

00:20:27.849 --> 00:20:29.450
not going to let you put your name behind this

00:20:29.450 --> 00:20:31.009
business. Like we're not going to let people

00:20:31.009 --> 00:20:33.710
that don't work in our doors. So like, if you

00:20:33.710 --> 00:20:36.650
don't, if you kind of have do this, like we're

00:20:36.650 --> 00:20:39.690
not going to, we're not going to be working together.

00:20:39.789 --> 00:20:42.130
Like kind of thing where it's like, we can't

00:20:42.130 --> 00:20:44.650
afford when we're trying to build ball players,

00:20:45.210 --> 00:20:48.309
a guy that has his name tied to us. That's not

00:20:48.309 --> 00:20:52.029
working. If you work hard and fail, that's baseball.

00:20:52.309 --> 00:20:55.269
That's life. If you don't work hard and you fail,

00:20:55.369 --> 00:20:57.769
you just set yourself up for failure and they

00:20:57.769 --> 00:20:59.859
don't want to be tied to that. And that was super

00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:01.720
early on. This is back when these guys were in

00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:03.980
like a 2000 square foot space. Now they're in

00:21:03.980 --> 00:21:06.599
a 40 ,000 square foot space with two locations,

00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:09.880
one in the Seattle area, one in Scottsdale, Arizona.

00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:13.240
And it's just like, it's its own like drive line

00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:15.599
is like just. part of baseball, any baseball

00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:17.099
person you say driveline, they probably know,

00:21:17.099 --> 00:21:18.380
they know exactly what you're talking about.

00:21:18.819 --> 00:21:20.259
But these guys just have a different approach.

00:21:20.259 --> 00:21:22.960
It's all about biomechanics and how each individual

00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:24.900
throws and it's not like a cookie cutter. There's

00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:27.319
only one way to do things. It's just trying to

00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:29.839
figure out how to get the most out of what is

00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:31.660
God given in each individual that walks through

00:21:31.660 --> 00:21:34.420
their doors. And it is, it's just a hard, it's

00:21:34.420 --> 00:21:37.000
a lot of hard work. You train or you assess,

00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:39.880
then you train for six weeks and you assess again.

00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:42.539
Train for six weeks, assess again. trained and

00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:45.220
just keep repeating that process. And so, yeah,

00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:48.180
inevitably you do get better. Just overall, you

00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:50.240
just get better. And so it's been a really fun

00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:52.220
journey. It's been really cool to know the guys

00:21:52.220 --> 00:21:54.940
that own the place for so long and just watch

00:21:54.940 --> 00:21:58.519
them develop as a business and as people and

00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:00.759
to see how they've transitioned from being this

00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:04.920
kind of small unknown shop to this multi multi

00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:08.660
million dollar company over the last. 10 years

00:22:08.660 --> 00:22:10.779
or so and they've been doing it longer and but

00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:12.220
the whole thing they started is they were just

00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:15.039
trying to figure out like how can they help in

00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:18.279
this like elbow injury problem in baseball which

00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:20.339
is ironic that we're going through it again so

00:22:20.339 --> 00:22:22.740
no one solved it but if anyone ever does figure

00:22:22.740 --> 00:22:24.579
out how to solve the elbow issue in baseball

00:22:24.579 --> 00:22:27.480
then uh they'll be far richer than than most

00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:29.700
people we know because they'll be saving the

00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:31.299
billionaires a lot of money on their athletes

00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:33.880
insurance so there's a there's a whole lot of

00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:35.460
stuff going on behind the scenes up there where

00:22:35.460 --> 00:22:38.009
these guys are just just collecting data points

00:22:38.009 --> 00:22:41.190
and they're just a Kyle's just a big computer

00:22:41.190 --> 00:22:43.690
nerd. Like he'd much rather just be at his desk

00:22:43.690 --> 00:22:48.269
at 2am, typing, coding, doing research, that

00:22:48.269 --> 00:22:51.170
kind of stuff. But ultimately, like he's just

00:22:51.170 --> 00:22:53.150
really good at what he does here. And so it's

00:22:53.150 --> 00:22:55.089
just really how to get the most out of each individual.

00:22:55.490 --> 00:22:57.490
And they just like I said, they track everything,

00:22:57.589 --> 00:22:59.250
they develop their own software, they develop

00:22:59.250 --> 00:23:02.039
their own everything. Everything they have is

00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:03.579
theirs. I don't think they outsource like anything

00:23:03.579 --> 00:23:05.279
anymore. They just make everything internally.

00:23:05.299 --> 00:23:06.960
They got a great group of people working there

00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:08.940
and it's kind of cool because it's mostly former

00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:11.680
ballplayers. There's a lot of former ballplayers

00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:13.940
out there that maybe their career was all the

00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:15.440
way through college. They got to play that long

00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.960
and now they're computer programmers and they're

00:23:17.960 --> 00:23:19.960
working at driveline or they played in pro ball

00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:22.160
and now they're back working at driveline. It's

00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:24.519
just a great way for guys to stay in the game

00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:26.720
that they love so much when their body doesn't

00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:29.880
allow them to keep playing it on the field. These

00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:32.299
guys have been a part of my journey for the last,

00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:34.700
I mean, the majority of it, right? They've been

00:23:34.700 --> 00:23:36.359
around, they've been a part of my career for

00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:39.680
the majority of it. And it's been a lot of fun

00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:44.069
to see them progress, myself progress. and they've

00:23:44.069 --> 00:23:46.130
helped make me a lot of money by helping me like

00:23:46.130 --> 00:23:48.450
you said bring my floor up it was you know for

00:23:48.450 --> 00:23:50.170
it's not about always just throwing harder at

00:23:50.170 --> 00:23:52.869
the top side of your your velocity you know i'll

00:23:52.869 --> 00:23:55.150
never be a guy that threw 95 miles an hour but

00:23:55.150 --> 00:23:57.230
i went from a guy that was kind of averaging

00:23:57.230 --> 00:23:59.569
like the 88 89 to a guy that's averaging the

00:23:59.569 --> 00:24:02.289
90 91 and that's a big deal in baseball to be

00:24:02.289 --> 00:24:05.349
able to throw that little bit harder and so it's

00:24:05.349 --> 00:24:07.309
not just that it's you know it's it's pitch shapes

00:24:07.309 --> 00:24:09.089
and pitch quality and just a lot of different

00:24:09.089 --> 00:24:11.349
stuff that they they dive into but you could

00:24:11.349 --> 00:24:13.750
go in through a whole long podcast just about

00:24:13.750 --> 00:24:16.690
what those guys do but they've been awesome people

00:24:16.690 --> 00:24:19.069
to work with and I'm just proud to say that you

00:24:19.069 --> 00:24:21.589
know my name's up on their wall in a couple places

00:24:21.589 --> 00:24:24.049
some articles and whatnot that were written early

00:24:24.049 --> 00:24:26.430
on just because I was a believer in them before

00:24:26.430 --> 00:24:29.549
the the world really knew who they were yeah

00:24:29.549 --> 00:24:30.910
I remember hearing you were there when there

00:24:30.910 --> 00:24:33.869
was like you and maybe two other guys there wasn't

00:24:33.869 --> 00:24:35.630
anybody beaten down the door to get in there

00:24:35.630 --> 00:24:39.269
and now right you probably see players from all

00:24:39.269 --> 00:24:42.579
levels and all age groups oh yeah Yeah, they

00:24:42.579 --> 00:24:44.839
have stuff from up in Seattle areas called the

00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:47.279
driveline Academy and they have I want to say

00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:51.299
like 10 year olds up to 35 year olds like myself

00:24:51.299 --> 00:24:55.519
in there and They just it's high school players

00:24:55.519 --> 00:25:00.059
junior college players D1 athletes minor leaguers

00:25:00.059 --> 00:25:04.059
Latin American players You name it baseball players

00:25:04.059 --> 00:25:06.000
their Japanese guys are flying over Korean guys

00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:08.059
are flying over in the winners like they're they're

00:25:08.059 --> 00:25:10.059
doing it They got a lot of cool stuff going on

00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:12.519
a lot of players come in there And they're not

00:25:12.519 --> 00:25:14.259
just, you know, helping guys in the off season,

00:25:14.299 --> 00:25:15.740
they're helping guys in the season too, which

00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:18.799
is a really cool aspect of it. And yeah, like

00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:20.460
you said, they, they have the, it's called the

00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:23.420
track ID. And so like everybody's name that comes

00:25:23.420 --> 00:25:25.920
into, into their, through their doors has a ID

00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:28.160
number associated with them. And I, I want to

00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:31.680
say those numbers are in like the, the, the a

00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:34.059
hundred thousand range, or I think maybe, maybe

00:25:34.059 --> 00:25:36.480
that's wrong. Maybe it's 10 ,000 range, but my

00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:39.240
track ID is like 397 or something like that.

00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:43.160
And the first like, 200 of those were testing

00:25:43.160 --> 00:25:45.900
numbers like they weren't even like like any

00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:47.640
of those were just like them trying to test their

00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:50.200
systems and then so the real numbers started

00:25:50.200 --> 00:25:52.240
around 300 so I was one of the first hundred

00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:54.880
guys or so inside the doors which is you know

00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:57.940
just I guess I saw something in them before the

00:25:57.940 --> 00:25:59.700
world did but at the end of the day like I needed

00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:03.000
them they needed athletes and we started just

00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:04.970
getting to know each other and They took me on

00:26:04.970 --> 00:26:06.849
a few trips where they went to different conventions,

00:26:07.109 --> 00:26:09.109
and I was an ideal player because I trained from

00:26:09.109 --> 00:26:12.529
home. I trained remotely. And so I would come

00:26:12.529 --> 00:26:14.809
up and get what I needed to get from them testing

00:26:14.809 --> 00:26:16.849
wise, and then I'd go home and train. And so

00:26:16.849 --> 00:26:19.769
it was just a great relationship. And they showed

00:26:19.769 --> 00:26:22.930
me how to get the most out of my career, which

00:26:22.930 --> 00:26:25.349
has been, like I said, a blessing. And I will

00:26:25.349 --> 00:26:29.809
be forever grateful for those guys. I continue

00:26:29.809 --> 00:26:31.609
to love the story the more that I hear about

00:26:31.609 --> 00:26:34.420
it. It's not just a guy who doesn't want to give

00:26:34.420 --> 00:26:36.960
up on the game and his career, but it's like,

00:26:37.059 --> 00:26:40.759
how can I be creative about this? What resources

00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:43.279
can I involve here? And like you said, at the

00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:47.299
time, it's outside the box. What pitches in particular,

00:26:47.579 --> 00:26:50.660
are you trying to refine your slider or do you

00:26:50.660 --> 00:26:53.619
have, are you working on the whole arsenal and

00:26:53.619 --> 00:26:56.240
how much repetition is this like hours and hours

00:26:56.240 --> 00:27:00.940
each session? No, it's all about training economy.

00:27:01.059 --> 00:27:03.759
So you only get so much. that your body's willing

00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:07.799
to put out each day. And so that's all calculated.

00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:11.079
But then that's weightlifting, that's running,

00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:14.359
that's throwing, that's walking around the mall.

00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:16.500
Your body can only take so much each day, right?

00:27:16.579 --> 00:27:18.640
Whatever you're doing, golfing, walking your

00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:21.839
dog, pushing your kid's stroller. So all that

00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:25.200
stuff is thrown into their system. And so some

00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:27.099
days are a lot bigger workloads than others.

00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:30.410
They do a lot of train hard. day of recovery,

00:27:30.569 --> 00:27:33.470
train hard day of recovery, back and forth. And

00:27:33.470 --> 00:27:36.970
it's, yeah, everything's measured. Everything's

00:27:36.970 --> 00:27:38.630
accounted for. There's certain days you go in

00:27:38.630 --> 00:27:39.910
there and they're like, Hey, don't throw this

00:27:39.910 --> 00:27:42.789
pitch over this speed. And you're like a fastball.

00:27:43.069 --> 00:27:44.730
I have to keep it under 80 miles an hour. Like,

00:27:44.809 --> 00:27:46.549
come on, man. Like, it's like, I'm not even trying,

00:27:46.670 --> 00:27:47.990
but like, that's the point. Like you're just

00:27:47.990 --> 00:27:50.210
working on stuff. Um, but no, I went there this,

00:27:50.410 --> 00:27:52.910
uh, this last off season and basically just said,

00:27:53.170 --> 00:27:56.470
like, let's get assessed, but Let's take a deeper

00:27:56.470 --> 00:27:58.569
dive away from my mechanics and everything else.

00:27:58.589 --> 00:28:00.230
And let's take a look at like my pitches, my

00:28:00.230 --> 00:28:01.849
numbers and my pitches, the metrics, how are

00:28:01.849 --> 00:28:04.009
they grading out? And we kind of just figured

00:28:04.009 --> 00:28:05.829
out like, hey, Dan, like the stuff that you did

00:28:05.829 --> 00:28:08.349
for so long was great, but it's not working.

00:28:08.470 --> 00:28:10.950
That's what baseball is telling me. So what can

00:28:10.950 --> 00:28:14.150
we change so that I throw pitches that are outliers

00:28:14.150 --> 00:28:18.549
again? Outliers means, you know, there's a huge

00:28:18.549 --> 00:28:20.910
group, the average, right? That's where the average

00:28:20.910 --> 00:28:23.029
is good. We're talking about the best. throwers

00:28:23.029 --> 00:28:24.470
of baseballs in the world but the average is

00:28:24.470 --> 00:28:26.150
good but how can I make my pitches not be average

00:28:26.150 --> 00:28:27.730
because I can't make them above average speed

00:28:27.730 --> 00:28:30.789
because I throw below the average speed so how

00:28:30.789 --> 00:28:35.170
can I make them unique in other ways so vertical

00:28:35.170 --> 00:28:38.150
horizontal movement all these types of things

00:28:38.150 --> 00:28:40.049
is what we're kind of searching for so we just

00:28:40.049 --> 00:28:43.529
found ways of we set up a designed a pitch arsenal

00:28:43.529 --> 00:28:46.430
for me stuff that would play well together and

00:28:46.430 --> 00:28:49.130
got to work at finding the grips that allow me

00:28:49.130 --> 00:28:51.430
to just essentially throw the baseball without

00:28:51.430 --> 00:28:54.170
thinking about it and letting the ball come out

00:28:54.170 --> 00:28:56.089
of my hand different ways so that the pitch is

00:28:56.089 --> 00:28:57.970
moved in different shapes like that's the whole

00:28:57.970 --> 00:28:59.529
point of baseball if you really want to boil

00:28:59.529 --> 00:29:01.990
it down is you're throwing a ball as hard as

00:29:01.990 --> 00:29:04.190
you can and having it do different things at

00:29:04.190 --> 00:29:06.670
different speeds but all you're doing is throwing

00:29:06.670 --> 00:29:08.430
it as hard as you can each pitch it's just like

00:29:08.430 --> 00:29:11.769
a really odd concept but they have the technology

00:29:11.769 --> 00:29:13.549
they have the high -speed cameras they have all

00:29:13.549 --> 00:29:15.490
the motion capture stuff that you need to do

00:29:15.490 --> 00:29:18.509
all that and so yeah it's it is a lot of sweat

00:29:18.509 --> 00:29:20.529
a lot of time spent away you know this facility

00:29:20.529 --> 00:29:22.990
I go to is five hour drive away from my house

00:29:22.990 --> 00:29:25.849
and so every other week I'm gone you know I'm

00:29:25.849 --> 00:29:27.690
down in Arizona right now doing some work down

00:29:27.690 --> 00:29:31.049
here just getting in the heat getting ready for

00:29:31.049 --> 00:29:32.990
gonna pitch tomorrow and it's just like you know

00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:34.900
I'm away from missing my kid's first little league

00:29:34.900 --> 00:29:36.859
game today. You know, it's just like, it sucks,

00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:39.079
but I get to go on Saturday. I've never been,

00:29:39.220 --> 00:29:40.779
you know, it's he's seven. I've never seen him

00:29:40.779 --> 00:29:43.279
play baseball. And he told me the other day,

00:29:43.319 --> 00:29:44.960
he's like, dad, this is my turn. You get to watch

00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:47.279
me now. And so like, I'm actually, I'm actually

00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:49.680
really excited about that. But yeah, it's just

00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:51.900
like you put all this time and all this effort

00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:55.210
into this craft. And these guys just help make

00:29:55.210 --> 00:29:57.349
sure that you're not just like throwing stuff

00:29:57.349 --> 00:29:59.430
at the wall and seeing what sticks, but you're

00:29:59.430 --> 00:30:01.529
you're it's calculated. You're not wasting pitches.

00:30:01.650 --> 00:30:03.410
You're not just wasting energy. You're not wasting

00:30:03.410 --> 00:30:05.210
effort. You're putting it towards what you need

00:30:05.210 --> 00:30:06.789
to get better at, because I know what I'm good

00:30:06.789 --> 00:30:09.390
at. I know what I'm bad at. We put the effort

00:30:09.390 --> 00:30:11.769
towards maintaining the good and bringing the

00:30:11.769 --> 00:30:13.589
floor up of what I'm bad at. That's really what

00:30:13.589 --> 00:30:17.150
it what it boils down to. Well, Dan, I want to

00:30:17.150 --> 00:30:20.289
touch on here just may bounce around the timeline

00:30:20.289 --> 00:30:24.779
a little bit, but. 2019 is a particularly Odd

00:30:24.779 --> 00:30:27.559
year difficult year, maybe even some dark some

00:30:27.559 --> 00:30:30.400
dark times They're the first first experience

00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:32.680
where you've been in the big leagues between

00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:35.980
when the A's drafted you to the Marlins the Reds

00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:38.680
the Cubs about a week I think with the Padres

00:30:38.680 --> 00:30:41.700
I wanted to ask him about I wanted to ask about

00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:45.400
that I was gonna forget but this happens sometimes

00:30:45.400 --> 00:30:47.980
players get traded and then they get designated

00:30:47.980 --> 00:30:50.259
for assignment almost immediately afterwards

00:30:50.259 --> 00:30:52.220
and then and then they're out of the system.

00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:55.019
Where did you actually report for them? When

00:30:55.019 --> 00:30:56.859
that happened and you get the news of going to

00:30:56.859 --> 00:30:59.359
San Diego, did you know that Bartolo Colon's

00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:02.160
coming back and you're not going to be involved

00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:05.460
or are you thinking, hey, I'm... Bartolo was

00:31:05.460 --> 00:31:09.779
with the A's. This situation was, we had a catcher,

00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:11.640
Max Dasty, broke his handmaid bone with like

00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:13.779
a week to go in spring training. They traded

00:31:13.779 --> 00:31:16.019
me to San Diego for a backup catcher named Eric

00:31:16.019 --> 00:31:19.240
Kratz. I flew from Florida to Arizona with a

00:31:19.240 --> 00:31:21.380
couple days left to go in spring training. pitched

00:31:21.380 --> 00:31:23.539
for him for four innings on the backfield game.

00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:26.240
And, you know, I didn't go to, they asked me

00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:27.599
if I wanted, or they told me I was not going

00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:29.640
to the AAA city to go play an exhibition game,

00:31:29.660 --> 00:31:31.079
but I was just going to go to San Diego with

00:31:31.079 --> 00:31:32.420
the other starting pitchers to get ready for

00:31:32.420 --> 00:31:35.619
the season. We'll see you in a few days. I actually

00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:39.700
sat next to like the GM's assistant on the flight,

00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:42.259
like just a random like Southwest flight that

00:31:42.259 --> 00:31:43.940
I got. jumped on to go over there. I ended up

00:31:43.940 --> 00:31:45.880
sitting with her next to her and she was talking

00:31:45.880 --> 00:31:48.400
about the city, talking about places to live

00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:50.240
and all this kind of stuff. And the next morning

00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:51.900
I wake up and my buddy had texted me and was

00:31:51.900 --> 00:31:53.980
like, dude, what the heck? Like no context, no

00:31:53.980 --> 00:31:56.220
nothing. And one of the top baseball writers

00:31:56.220 --> 00:31:59.160
had tweeted out that I was like, I was DFA'd.

00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:02.500
Well, they DFA'd me right after I pitched. And

00:32:02.500 --> 00:32:04.660
so, but they didn't tell me. And so I flew to

00:32:04.660 --> 00:32:06.839
San Diego. I worked out the next day or they

00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:08.579
worked out the next day. Then I flew to San Diego

00:32:08.579 --> 00:32:11.079
and woke up and found out I only, she only had

00:32:11.259 --> 00:32:15.339
three hours left of DFA limbo but I'd flown with

00:32:15.339 --> 00:32:17.119
this assistant sitting next to me and she was

00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:18.940
talking about the city and all these places she

00:32:18.940 --> 00:32:21.019
filed the paperwork probably you know what I

00:32:21.019 --> 00:32:24.599
mean like she's and I get it that she's not in

00:32:24.599 --> 00:32:26.579
position to but like you don't need to like tell

00:32:26.579 --> 00:32:29.960
me about where this where to live like you think

00:32:29.960 --> 00:32:32.779
after a subject a few minutes pass you take a

00:32:32.779 --> 00:32:37.039
breath and say hey listen Dan I let me sit Why

00:32:37.039 --> 00:32:39.400
don't I just tell you? No, she can't. No, she

00:32:39.400 --> 00:32:41.180
can't. She can't. I know that. I'm not saying

00:32:41.180 --> 00:32:44.039
it. I know I have a few of those where people

00:32:44.039 --> 00:32:46.880
knew what was going on and I didn't. And they

00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:49.599
just led me on different directions. But anyway,

00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:53.619
so I got DFA'd and they called me and... You

00:32:53.619 --> 00:32:55.960
know earlier we talked about you know being super

00:32:55.960 --> 00:32:58.460
polite and this and that and and being nice to

00:32:58.460 --> 00:33:00.539
these guys And this it's a business all right,

00:33:00.559 --> 00:33:02.740
and I get it like it's not about feelings. Nothing's

00:33:02.740 --> 00:33:05.019
personal in this business It's really not but

00:33:05.019 --> 00:33:07.920
this one of the AGM's called me and was like

00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:10.500
hey the Padres AGM's call me He's like hey Dan

00:33:10.500 --> 00:33:13.019
unfortunately for us, but good for you You know

00:33:13.019 --> 00:33:15.619
we DFA'd you the other day and unfortunately

00:33:15.619 --> 00:33:17.319
for us good for you You were you were claimed

00:33:17.319 --> 00:33:19.900
by the Reds, and I literally was on the phone

00:33:19.900 --> 00:33:22.690
with him, and I was like wait What did you just,

00:33:22.869 --> 00:33:25.950
uh, unfortunately for you, you think I care about

00:33:25.950 --> 00:33:28.109
you trying to take me off the roster and slide

00:33:28.109 --> 00:33:32.349
me through waivers? Dan, that's not what I'm

00:33:32.349 --> 00:33:34.329
saying. That's not what I'm saying. And I'm like,

00:33:34.329 --> 00:33:38.150
dude, I don't care about you. Like you just tried

00:33:38.150 --> 00:33:41.349
to like change the course of my career because

00:33:41.349 --> 00:33:43.549
you thought that you could slide me through waivers.

00:33:43.710 --> 00:33:45.710
Right. Just don't. And he was, and he was just

00:33:45.710 --> 00:33:48.450
like, Hey, I didn't mean it that way. And then,

00:33:48.490 --> 00:33:49.829
and he's like, someone from red is going to call

00:33:49.829 --> 00:33:53.720
you soon. I got to go by. like Okay, whatever

00:33:53.720 --> 00:33:56.779
dude I didn't save that guy's number just for

00:33:56.779 --> 00:33:59.059
the record no need to talk to no need to talk

00:33:59.059 --> 00:34:02.680
to him again, but the point is is that yeah,

00:34:02.859 --> 00:34:05.859
we At any any moment in life I used one of my

00:34:05.859 --> 00:34:08.699
buddies at the time was working for just like

00:34:08.699 --> 00:34:11.019
a beverage distributor where we lived in Eugene,

00:34:11.039 --> 00:34:14.420
Oregon And he was just like dude. This is crazy.

00:34:14.440 --> 00:34:17.260
This is confusing and I was like dude Just imagine

00:34:17.260 --> 00:34:18.860
he worked for a company called Bigfoot and I

00:34:18.860 --> 00:34:21.610
was like just imagine like bigfoot calls you

00:34:21.610 --> 00:34:24.889
today and goes hey you know we sold your contract

00:34:24.889 --> 00:34:27.070
to columbia you're actually going to be slinging

00:34:27.070 --> 00:34:30.389
pepsi now instead of coke or the opposite and

00:34:30.389 --> 00:34:32.989
uh you know thanks for everything best of luck

00:34:32.989 --> 00:34:36.869
see ya and now when you walk into work tomorrow

00:34:36.869 --> 00:34:40.690
you have to drive three hours move your family

00:34:41.279 --> 00:34:43.280
You go to work here instead of there and I was

00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:44.619
just like trying to describe it. They're like,

00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:45.920
yeah, that's kind of tough I'm like, what's the

00:34:45.920 --> 00:34:48.340
industry I'm in? I know it's part of it. So yeah,

00:34:48.340 --> 00:34:51.099
I was a Padre for three and a half days I don't

00:34:51.099 --> 00:34:52.639
even think I have a jersey. I don't think I have

00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:54.619
an undershirt I literally took everything that

00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:57.320
they gave me and left it in the locker room flew

00:34:57.320 --> 00:34:59.039
across the country through the worst bullpen

00:34:59.039 --> 00:35:00.920
of my life in front of the Reds front office

00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:02.480
and their pitching coach and the manager and

00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:04.059
afterwards the manager touched me on the back

00:35:04.059 --> 00:35:06.820
shoulder and goes Well, then congratulations.

00:35:06.900 --> 00:35:10.949
You made the team and I was just like Wow Like

00:35:10.949 --> 00:35:13.289
God has a plan that I do not understand and I

00:35:13.289 --> 00:35:16.329
am here for it. And Yeah, it was just kind of

00:35:16.329 --> 00:35:17.849
crazy. It's just part of our business, you know

00:35:17.849 --> 00:35:19.550
The first time I got traded was kind of the same

00:35:19.550 --> 00:35:21.269
way, you know You feel like your high school

00:35:21.269 --> 00:35:23.530
girlfriend dumped you or something you just like

00:35:23.530 --> 00:35:25.369
thought you're gonna be together forever and

00:35:25.369 --> 00:35:28.510
just that's just not the case kind of deal and

00:35:28.510 --> 00:35:32.630
It just really it was weird time, you know, and

00:35:32.630 --> 00:35:34.730
you're talking about the 2019 season is what

00:35:34.730 --> 00:35:37.900
kind of led into all this and so Another uncomfortable

00:35:37.900 --> 00:35:39.780
situation, you know, I signed an arbitration

00:35:39.780 --> 00:35:42.119
deal that I was supposed to be paid five million

00:35:42.119 --> 00:35:44.599
dollars Which you know coming from a kid that

00:35:44.599 --> 00:35:46.619
grew up on an Indian reservation in Eastern,

00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:50.340
Oregon in a town of 12 ,000 people It's unfathomable

00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:53.199
and just to spoiler alert like I didn't get that

00:35:53.199 --> 00:35:57.320
money. So it is unfathomable and I signed that

00:35:57.320 --> 00:35:58.900
contract though and there's like little tiny

00:35:58.900 --> 00:36:00.400
clauses throughout all these different things

00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:02.159
in Major League Baseball and one of them is an

00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:03.780
arbitration. If you don't make the opening day

00:36:03.780 --> 00:36:05.900
roster, you're not entitled to the money. So

00:36:05.900 --> 00:36:07.539
with the day to go, spring training, the last

00:36:07.539 --> 00:36:09.980
day, 12 hours before rosters need to be set,

00:36:10.019 --> 00:36:12.699
they released me. And at least they were man

00:36:12.699 --> 00:36:15.280
enough to, when I asked them why, they were man

00:36:15.280 --> 00:36:18.639
enough to say it was to save money. And so I

00:36:18.639 --> 00:36:20.519
ended up going home. Trying to figure out what's

00:36:20.519 --> 00:36:22.699
going on. 15 days later, I signed a major league

00:36:22.699 --> 00:36:24.599
deal with the Baltimore Orioles. I fly out there.

00:36:24.599 --> 00:36:26.360
I haven't pitched in two weeks and I'm trying

00:36:26.360 --> 00:36:28.420
really hard to fight for this thing and I feel

00:36:28.420 --> 00:36:31.079
good pitching wise, but it's tough. Took two

00:36:31.079 --> 00:36:33.019
weeks off and come in and face the Yankees. Like

00:36:33.019 --> 00:36:35.960
it's not, not an ideal situation. And then things

00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:39.880
just got worse when I tore my meniscus and the

00:36:39.880 --> 00:36:41.780
medical staff just kept telling me that it was

00:36:41.780 --> 00:36:44.179
just inflammation. I was fine. One of the worst

00:36:44.179 --> 00:36:46.320
things I heard actually was there was the medical

00:36:46.320 --> 00:36:48.260
coordinator. I came in and I was like, dude,

00:36:48.260 --> 00:36:50.059
my knee is hurting so bad. And he's like, are

00:36:50.059 --> 00:36:51.320
you sure it's just not because you pitched bad?

00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:54.079
And to me, like, it took a lot of stuff within

00:36:54.079 --> 00:36:57.280
me to not throw some fists in that situation,

00:36:57.280 --> 00:36:59.619
to be honest with you. That's a that's a that's

00:36:59.619 --> 00:37:01.539
something you just don't say. That's something

00:37:01.539 --> 00:37:03.519
he probably didn't even know he said, you know,

00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:06.239
just one of those people. So we all work with

00:37:06.239 --> 00:37:09.159
those people. We all know those people. But anyway,

00:37:09.179 --> 00:37:11.119
so tried to pitch through that. Then it goes

00:37:11.119 --> 00:37:12.940
so great. Get home at the end of the season.

00:37:13.539 --> 00:37:15.960
The Phillies were willing to fix my knee. I said,

00:37:16.019 --> 00:37:17.900
no thanks. I'll go home and have it done at home.

00:37:18.599 --> 00:37:20.699
And just had my, it's a simple procedure. Three

00:37:20.699 --> 00:37:22.340
weeks later, I was moving around, no problem.

00:37:22.840 --> 00:37:25.760
Signed a deal to go to Korea and spent parts

00:37:25.760 --> 00:37:28.260
of four years over there. So, you know, I got

00:37:28.260 --> 00:37:30.280
to spend COVID overseas, which was interesting.

00:37:30.679 --> 00:37:33.199
But at the end of the day, it's all part of my

00:37:33.199 --> 00:37:35.340
journey. It's all part of my career. It's all

00:37:35.340 --> 00:37:36.960
part of who shaped me as a person. It's just

00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:39.280
all part of my life. And like, I'm here for it.

00:37:39.559 --> 00:37:41.820
That hasn't been the most straightforward career.

00:37:42.190 --> 00:37:45.570
It hasn't been the most successful career in

00:37:45.570 --> 00:37:48.170
terms of on -field success. It hasn't been a

00:37:48.170 --> 00:37:51.630
lot of things, but it's also been a lot of things,

00:37:51.710 --> 00:37:54.070
right? It's been a lot of success. It's been

00:37:54.070 --> 00:37:57.329
a ton of happy moments. It's been a lot of accomplishments.

00:37:57.510 --> 00:38:00.809
I've done things that 12 -year -old me couldn't

00:38:00.809 --> 00:38:03.269
fathom. 12 -year -old me couldn't believe to

00:38:03.269 --> 00:38:05.050
dream these things. 12 -year -old me wouldn't

00:38:05.050 --> 00:38:07.889
know to even think of these things that were

00:38:07.889 --> 00:38:11.340
potential. And so... as you know my career comes

00:38:11.340 --> 00:38:13.400
to an end whether it's now or three years from

00:38:13.400 --> 00:38:16.239
now or whatever it is I've had that perspective

00:38:16.239 --> 00:38:20.199
the last few years of you know what like 12 year

00:38:20.199 --> 00:38:24.780
old me would be so freaking proud of who I am

00:38:24.780 --> 00:38:28.559
and would almost laugh if somebody told me that's

00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:32.559
what you're gonna do and it's like I said earlier

00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:34.760
I don't take it for granted I really don't and

00:38:34.760 --> 00:38:38.840
I am I'm really proud of it and I just don't

00:38:38.840 --> 00:38:41.380
feel like it's over in the same breath. I just

00:38:41.380 --> 00:38:44.179
don't. And so that's why I'm doing what I'm doing.

00:38:44.619 --> 00:38:47.179
You know, I could go on for three more hours

00:38:47.179 --> 00:38:49.360
about those types of stories and the ins and

00:38:49.360 --> 00:38:52.099
outs of this game and all the weird things and

00:38:52.099 --> 00:38:54.880
conversations and things I've dealt with and

00:38:54.880 --> 00:38:59.239
different struggles and great moments. But yeah,

00:38:59.320 --> 00:39:01.960
just to not make this three hours and just give

00:39:01.960 --> 00:39:04.059
some snippets of it and have some fun with it.

00:39:04.340 --> 00:39:07.300
Yeah, the 2019 season was the most tumultuous

00:39:07.300 --> 00:39:11.639
season that I've ever had to face. But I'd also

00:39:11.639 --> 00:39:13.539
like wouldn't trade it for the world because

00:39:13.539 --> 00:39:16.440
it taught me a lot how to face adversity and,

00:39:16.440 --> 00:39:18.840
you know, me and my wife to go through hard stuff.

00:39:19.199 --> 00:39:22.719
And we've always said whatever the situation

00:39:22.719 --> 00:39:24.739
is, someday we'll look back at this situation

00:39:24.739 --> 00:39:26.039
and be like, man, can you believe we thought

00:39:26.039 --> 00:39:29.469
that was hard? You know, we all we've all been

00:39:29.469 --> 00:39:31.030
there. We're like you're in the moment You're

00:39:31.030 --> 00:39:32.929
in the storm and you're just like oh my gosh

00:39:32.929 --> 00:39:35.150
This is the worst thing I've ever been a part

00:39:35.150 --> 00:39:37.670
of and then a few years later something else

00:39:37.670 --> 00:39:39.150
will happen and you play shit I can't believe

00:39:39.150 --> 00:39:41.369
we thought that a couple years ago was hard This

00:39:41.369 --> 00:39:43.690
is hard and then you get through that and a couple

00:39:43.690 --> 00:39:45.670
years later. However, the time span is you're

00:39:45.670 --> 00:39:47.269
like I can't believe we thought those two things

00:39:47.269 --> 00:39:49.570
were hard to this It's impossible and you just

00:39:49.570 --> 00:39:51.190
keep doing that and that's called life, right?

00:39:51.429 --> 00:39:54.110
That's called life. So I can I can honestly sit

00:39:54.110 --> 00:39:56.880
here and tell you that being 35 and not having

00:39:56.880 --> 00:40:00.440
a job on on April 16th. While it is a mental

00:40:00.440 --> 00:40:02.400
grind, it's not the hardest thing I've ever been

00:40:02.400 --> 00:40:05.460
through. It's not. There's been a lot worse.

00:40:05.599 --> 00:40:07.820
Is it frustrating? Is it annoying? Is it a challenge?

00:40:07.980 --> 00:40:11.420
Yes, it's all those things. But like we talked

00:40:11.420 --> 00:40:14.179
about earlier, it's a simple process. I have

00:40:14.179 --> 00:40:19.039
two options. Give up or don't. And if you haven't

00:40:19.039 --> 00:40:20.639
caught on throughout the course of this podcast,

00:40:20.699 --> 00:40:23.079
I'm not giving up. I'm going to keep going. So

00:40:23.079 --> 00:40:26.360
what an inspiration. I like what you said there.

00:40:27.219 --> 00:40:29.840
You can never reinforce that too much of, wow,

00:40:29.860 --> 00:40:33.340
we thought that was hard. If you're listening

00:40:33.340 --> 00:40:36.480
to the show and you're an athlete and you're

00:40:36.480 --> 00:40:39.420
going through something similar or you're not

00:40:39.420 --> 00:40:43.820
an athlete and you just lost your job or you're

00:40:43.820 --> 00:40:46.400
going through a breakup or you made some ridiculous

00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:48.699
financial decision that just blew up in your

00:40:48.699 --> 00:40:52.920
face and you're just feeling like, man, I want

00:40:52.920 --> 00:40:55.639
to rewind the clock. this is this is horrible

00:40:55.639 --> 00:40:58.900
just remember you get a few more years on you

00:40:58.900 --> 00:41:03.300
you'll and if you start uh if you have one child

00:41:03.300 --> 00:41:05.780
you'll realize that some of those things that

00:41:05.780 --> 00:41:10.539
you stressed out about well kind of kind of fade

00:41:10.539 --> 00:41:15.500
off but also dan um max stasi i made a note to

00:41:15.500 --> 00:41:19.519
mention his name because i'm going back to the

00:41:19.519 --> 00:41:23.440
2009 vancouver canadians The Cane County Cougars,

00:41:23.599 --> 00:41:26.619
I think the Stockton Ports. You guys are moving

00:41:26.619 --> 00:41:29.559
along. At least these first three stops together.

00:41:30.440 --> 00:41:32.679
Is that where you guys became friends? And I

00:41:32.679 --> 00:41:34.179
know you've had some great things to say about

00:41:34.179 --> 00:41:37.420
Max just being a good all around guy. Is that

00:41:37.420 --> 00:41:40.500
where your friendship formed? In the early days

00:41:40.500 --> 00:41:44.619
of the Oakland system? Yeah, he just showed up

00:41:44.619 --> 00:41:46.320
as a high school kid. We were drafted the same

00:41:46.320 --> 00:41:49.599
year. And there's just certain people that you

00:41:49.599 --> 00:41:53.840
connect with. I'd be lying to you if I said that

00:41:53.840 --> 00:41:57.619
we still had that strong relationship now. We're

00:41:57.619 --> 00:42:00.440
just at different places in life. I texted him

00:42:00.440 --> 00:42:01.860
actually a few weeks ago. I was walking through

00:42:01.860 --> 00:42:04.559
Dick's Sporting Goods and my son knocked over

00:42:04.559 --> 00:42:06.980
some catcher's gear and I picked it up and Max

00:42:06.980 --> 00:42:09.699
Stassi was on the box. So I sent a picture of

00:42:09.699 --> 00:42:11.739
it to Max Stassi. It was like an Easton catcher's

00:42:11.739 --> 00:42:14.019
gear box at Dick's Sporting Goods. I sent him

00:42:14.019 --> 00:42:15.519
a picture and I was like, it's great to see your

00:42:15.519 --> 00:42:17.199
face even if it's here at Dick's Sporting Goods

00:42:17.199 --> 00:42:19.969
in Portland, Oregon. And he responded, he goes,

00:42:20.030 --> 00:42:21.670
yeah, apparently they couldn't find anybody else

00:42:21.670 --> 00:42:24.090
to take a photo for them for their advertisement.

00:42:24.829 --> 00:42:27.369
But that's just who Max is, and he's been going

00:42:27.369 --> 00:42:30.570
through a lot. Had a lot of success on the field,

00:42:30.690 --> 00:42:33.889
off the field, got married, had a kid. They had

00:42:33.889 --> 00:42:36.349
some health stuff with their child they've been

00:42:36.349 --> 00:42:38.550
working through and just talk about putting life

00:42:38.550 --> 00:42:40.929
in perspective right there about the things that

00:42:40.929 --> 00:42:44.179
truly matter. But yeah, you just, you develop

00:42:44.179 --> 00:42:45.980
some of those relationships that you just, you

00:42:45.980 --> 00:42:48.199
kind of stick with. Tommy Malone's another one,

00:42:48.659 --> 00:42:51.300
a guy that I just always bonded with, always

00:42:51.300 --> 00:42:54.440
played with. Asher Wojahowski, another guy. That's

00:42:54.440 --> 00:42:56.460
a fun story to tell. Again, not enough time for

00:42:56.460 --> 00:42:58.340
it, but basically Asher beat me out of a job

00:42:58.340 --> 00:43:01.659
in 2015. Got the fifth job in the major leagues

00:43:01.659 --> 00:43:03.679
and I got sent to AAA and him and I became best

00:43:03.679 --> 00:43:06.139
of friends after that. He got sent down. We ended

00:43:06.139 --> 00:43:07.960
up being roommates on the road. Spent a ton of

00:43:07.960 --> 00:43:09.980
time together and became real close. Lived together

00:43:09.980 --> 00:43:12.099
at spring training a couple of years. you know,

00:43:12.340 --> 00:43:15.019
and he works in logistics and for waste management

00:43:15.019 --> 00:43:17.019
now in South Carolina. You just, you know, you

00:43:17.019 --> 00:43:20.440
don't know what life's going to bring you, right?

00:43:20.579 --> 00:43:23.059
You don't know what's coming next. But all we

00:43:23.059 --> 00:43:25.039
have is our experiences and our relationships,

00:43:25.260 --> 00:43:26.500
you know, your network, we've talked about that

00:43:26.500 --> 00:43:28.940
a few times too. And it's not about trying to

00:43:28.940 --> 00:43:32.260
grow a network to to better my family or better

00:43:32.260 --> 00:43:34.420
my financial status or my job title. And it's

00:43:34.420 --> 00:43:36.739
just about loving on people because that's what

00:43:36.739 --> 00:43:38.260
we get to do. I think that's what we're designed

00:43:38.260 --> 00:43:40.380
to do as humans is be in fellowship with each

00:43:40.380 --> 00:43:42.659
other and love on each other and help each other

00:43:42.659 --> 00:43:45.860
out. And yeah, I could keep going with the list

00:43:45.860 --> 00:43:50.179
of guys that I've been blessed to call friends

00:43:50.179 --> 00:43:53.639
and to call teammates and just different experiences

00:43:53.639 --> 00:43:56.300
and different stories throughout this incredible

00:43:56.300 --> 00:43:58.599
journey I've been on. We don't have enough time

00:43:58.599 --> 00:44:01.400
for that. But yeah, Max Stassi is definitely

00:44:01.400 --> 00:44:03.199
one that stands out. Just a young kid that showed

00:44:03.199 --> 00:44:05.480
up, worked hard. You could see it from the word

00:44:05.480 --> 00:44:09.360
go, how good his tools were. But just he faced

00:44:09.360 --> 00:44:11.360
a lot of adversity of himself with injuries and

00:44:11.360 --> 00:44:14.719
failure. And he just kept going. And he's on

00:44:14.719 --> 00:44:17.179
pace to be the last member of my draft class

00:44:17.179 --> 00:44:20.440
still playing baseball. There's me, Max Stassi,

00:44:20.480 --> 00:44:23.400
and Ian Kroll. still playing. I outlasted the

00:44:23.400 --> 00:44:26.760
first overall pick that year in Steven Schrossberg

00:44:26.760 --> 00:44:28.699
so I'm proud of that. He's made a lot more money

00:44:28.699 --> 00:44:31.800
than me but I'm proud to be playing longer than

00:44:31.800 --> 00:44:36.659
him so it's just been an incredible journey and

00:44:36.659 --> 00:44:38.820
everything else and like I said just kind of

00:44:38.820 --> 00:44:41.139
recap it like the it's all been great the on

00:44:41.139 --> 00:44:43.300
-field success has been great. you know getting

00:44:43.300 --> 00:44:45.000
those paychecks for that many years was great

00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:47.179
being an athlete and entertainer but what it

00:44:47.179 --> 00:44:50.179
boils down to is you know i love my family i

00:44:50.179 --> 00:44:52.860
love my friends and those are the people that

00:44:52.860 --> 00:44:54.559
i get to live the rest of my life being around

00:44:54.559 --> 00:44:58.400
and spending time with and i'll always have everything

00:44:58.400 --> 00:45:01.039
i've accomplished in this sport connected to

00:45:01.039 --> 00:45:04.019
me but it's not it's not who i am it's just it's

00:45:04.019 --> 00:45:07.400
just what i do dan i think that Part of why,

00:45:07.500 --> 00:45:09.420
from my perspective, why I think that you can

00:45:09.420 --> 00:45:11.900
look back on the body of work and the career

00:45:11.900 --> 00:45:14.000
and just say, hey, this is pretty cool. This

00:45:14.000 --> 00:45:15.960
is pretty colorful. Look at all these stops.

00:45:16.320 --> 00:45:19.239
Look at all these friendships that I made. I

00:45:19.239 --> 00:45:22.219
was in Fresno in 2015 and you just kind of strike

00:45:22.219 --> 00:45:24.420
me as someone that's wherever you are, you're

00:45:24.420 --> 00:45:28.719
in the moment at that place. And like what you

00:45:28.719 --> 00:45:30.699
were saying on an earlier podcast, it may have

00:45:30.699 --> 00:45:33.780
been the journeyman about maybe those first couple

00:45:33.780 --> 00:45:36.869
spring trainings in Oakland. where you're getting

00:45:36.869 --> 00:45:40.409
to know everybody, the security guards, the people

00:45:40.409 --> 00:45:44.349
that wash your cleats, or you have this natural

00:45:44.349 --> 00:45:47.369
curiosity about people, I think. I do. Wherever

00:45:47.369 --> 00:45:49.349
you've been placed, it's like, hey, I wanna chat

00:45:49.349 --> 00:45:52.949
this guy up. I wanna get to know this person

00:45:52.949 --> 00:45:56.269
on a first name basis. I always tell people,

00:45:57.309 --> 00:46:01.510
like, I don't necessarily care what you do. Like,

00:46:02.289 --> 00:46:05.210
I don't. Like, I've had a lot of successful friends.

00:46:05.500 --> 00:46:07.340
that have made a lot of money in their careers

00:46:07.340 --> 00:46:09.400
and do this like I'm not really interested in

00:46:09.400 --> 00:46:11.539
what your job title is I love to hear how you

00:46:11.539 --> 00:46:14.559
got there though I don't care where there is

00:46:14.559 --> 00:46:17.260
like where you at and where you headed I just

00:46:17.260 --> 00:46:18.800
love to hear it I love to hear people's stories

00:46:18.800 --> 00:46:22.139
I love to hear you know the the grit that got

00:46:22.139 --> 00:46:25.260
you to the spot that you're in uh we've all clawed

00:46:25.260 --> 00:46:27.980
and fought for anywhere we are right we all have

00:46:27.980 --> 00:46:31.539
a reason for why we are here today and uh yeah

00:46:31.539 --> 00:46:33.400
being where your feet are is a big part of my

00:46:33.400 --> 00:46:36.679
career so I tell guys all the time, you know,

00:46:36.699 --> 00:46:38.559
when you're 12 years old and you're playing in

00:46:38.559 --> 00:46:40.260
that little league championship game, like that's

00:46:40.260 --> 00:46:43.659
your major leagues. When you're in high school

00:46:43.659 --> 00:46:45.739
and you're playing in front of your parents and

00:46:45.739 --> 00:46:47.539
a few friends that showed up, or maybe the girl

00:46:47.539 --> 00:46:51.099
you like, that's your major leagues. And so when

00:46:51.099 --> 00:46:52.699
you go to college, that's your major leagues.

00:46:52.780 --> 00:46:54.500
Each level of the minor leagues, that's your

00:46:54.500 --> 00:46:56.860
version of the major leagues. So when I got to

00:46:56.860 --> 00:47:00.920
the major leagues, it was just, I was meant to

00:47:00.920 --> 00:47:03.860
be there. So I was prepared because I... had

00:47:03.860 --> 00:47:08.360
had that, this is my pinnacle over and over and

00:47:08.360 --> 00:47:10.639
over and over again. So I wasn't nervous to be

00:47:10.639 --> 00:47:13.260
there because when I was in AAA, that was my

00:47:13.260 --> 00:47:15.219
major leagues. When I was in AA, that was my

00:47:15.219 --> 00:47:16.579
major league. And you just keep, wherever you

00:47:16.579 --> 00:47:18.579
are. So it's just kind of, I've always kind of

00:47:18.579 --> 00:47:21.199
taken that approach to it of just being the best

00:47:21.199 --> 00:47:24.420
version of myself wherever I'm at. And it works.

00:47:24.840 --> 00:47:26.840
It truly does. If you just commit to where you

00:47:26.840 --> 00:47:28.420
are, take care of yourself and let the rest take

00:47:28.420 --> 00:47:30.000
care of itself was the advice from my pitching

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.519
coach in college. and it has been the most to

00:47:34.519 --> 00:47:36.960
date like true statement I've heard about this

00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:39.320
game of baseball and it can be applied at so

00:47:39.320 --> 00:47:40.960
many different places in life. Just take care

00:47:40.960 --> 00:47:43.239
of yourself and let the rest take care of itself

00:47:43.239 --> 00:47:46.300
and you'll like where you end up. Just continue

00:47:46.300 --> 00:47:49.460
to hang on these pieces of advice. I hope you

00:47:49.460 --> 00:47:52.079
guys listening are as well. Something unique

00:47:52.079 --> 00:47:56.760
about the game of baseball it is it's been said

00:47:56.760 --> 00:48:00.460
many times it's a game of failure. Even someone

00:48:00.460 --> 00:48:04.170
hitting 286 pretty reasonable batting average

00:48:04.170 --> 00:48:07.989
Just one metric there He's not getting on base,

00:48:08.150 --> 00:48:11.769
but about almost three times out of ten So those

00:48:11.769 --> 00:48:15.030
are strikeouts pop outs, you know, just hard

00:48:15.030 --> 00:48:18.610
hit ground balls great good contact getting out

00:48:18.610 --> 00:48:21.409
getting out throwing your out pitch hitting your

00:48:21.409 --> 00:48:25.210
location and And it sails over the fence or whatever.

00:48:25.210 --> 00:48:27.789
I'm not saying it in the best terms, but what's

00:48:27.789 --> 00:48:30.139
it like when you're Versus a quarterback that

00:48:30.139 --> 00:48:33.280
throws a pick six and as soon as it happens,

00:48:33.360 --> 00:48:35.480
he's trotting off the field with the offense

00:48:35.480 --> 00:48:39.639
Basketball it's moving really fast baseball You

00:48:39.639 --> 00:48:43.139
could walk two guys back -to -back Then give

00:48:43.139 --> 00:48:45.900
up a base clearing double You're not getting

00:48:45.900 --> 00:48:49.179
the hook yet. It's the second inning. Maybe you

00:48:49.179 --> 00:48:50.780
fart your team started giving you four or five

00:48:50.780 --> 00:48:53.820
runs So you got a little bit of a leash then

00:48:53.820 --> 00:48:55.980
you give up another Single then you get a pop

00:48:55.980 --> 00:48:58.019
-out. You're just hanging out there going through

00:48:58.019 --> 00:49:00.619
all those emotions. That's a really long -winded

00:49:00.619 --> 00:49:03.960
question But what's it like for people listening

00:49:03.960 --> 00:49:06.719
that haven't been in that situation where you're

00:49:06.719 --> 00:49:11.780
on the mound and you are just frustrated Confused

00:49:11.780 --> 00:49:14.860
you're thinking man. I felt great today What

00:49:14.860 --> 00:49:17.579
is happening here and but you can't fall apart

00:49:17.579 --> 00:49:21.099
because as we know right the pitchers got the

00:49:21.099 --> 00:49:22.920
center field camera on him. He's got those first

00:49:22.920 --> 00:49:25.780
and third base dugout cameras zooming in on his

00:49:25.780 --> 00:49:28.400
expression, how he's handling this moment. Are

00:49:28.400 --> 00:49:31.679
you guys? Yeah. Speak to that a little bit. Yeah.

00:49:31.800 --> 00:49:35.820
So, uh, when we have a bad day at work, the world

00:49:35.820 --> 00:49:38.539
notices, right? The audience that's watching

00:49:38.539 --> 00:49:41.380
you notices. So that's my mom before I think,

00:49:41.699 --> 00:49:43.400
but like, mom, you had, you have a bad day at

00:49:43.400 --> 00:49:45.159
work. Like you might go home and think about

00:49:45.159 --> 00:49:48.380
it, but like your boss isn't going home and thinking

00:49:48.380 --> 00:49:51.380
about your bad day at work. No one else might

00:49:51.380 --> 00:49:53.559
even know not even know it's a bad day at work

00:49:53.559 --> 00:49:55.940
We have a bad day at work the whole world notices

00:49:55.940 --> 00:49:59.760
and when I was overseas in Korea, I heard the

00:49:59.760 --> 00:50:06.420
perfect saying about these days I'm gonna say

00:50:06.420 --> 00:50:07.920
the same first and then I'll tell you the backstory.

00:50:08.579 --> 00:50:14.300
It's not broke It just doesn't work Let me say

00:50:14.300 --> 00:50:17.780
that again, it's not broken, but it just doesn't

00:50:17.780 --> 00:50:20.690
work And what that was referring to was an air

00:50:20.690 --> 00:50:25.010
conditioning unit in the weight room. It was

00:50:25.010 --> 00:50:28.969
98 degrees outside. The air conditioning system

00:50:28.969 --> 00:50:33.250
had zero airs. Zero airs on it. It was pushing

00:50:33.250 --> 00:50:36.429
air. It was not cooling the air to the temperature

00:50:36.429 --> 00:50:40.590
that we wanted it to be inside. It was 94 degrees

00:50:40.590 --> 00:50:42.190
it felt like inside the weight room because there's

00:50:42.190 --> 00:50:44.690
30 of us in there lifting weights. They bring

00:50:44.690 --> 00:50:47.090
all these technicians in. They're searching everything.

00:50:47.519 --> 00:50:51.880
There's nothing wrong with the system. But today,

00:50:52.800 --> 00:50:56.639
it is just not working. Today, the air outside

00:50:56.639 --> 00:51:00.559
is way too hot for our system's capacity to cool

00:51:00.559 --> 00:51:04.440
it off by the time it gets to your room. When

00:51:04.440 --> 00:51:08.119
the air outside cools off, that air that passes

00:51:08.119 --> 00:51:10.960
through the system will be cooled to your desired

00:51:10.960 --> 00:51:14.119
temperature of whatever, okay? When you're on

00:51:14.119 --> 00:51:16.239
the mound, you don't get to the major leagues

00:51:16.239 --> 00:51:18.260
by sucking. You don't get to the major leagues

00:51:18.260 --> 00:51:20.900
by failing. Anytime you watch an athlete on TV,

00:51:20.920 --> 00:51:22.360
you're watching someone that has poured their

00:51:22.360 --> 00:51:26.519
heart and their soul into that profession. Now,

00:51:27.940 --> 00:51:29.659
because people buy tickets to these sporting

00:51:29.659 --> 00:51:31.820
events and pay for these TV packages and this

00:51:31.820 --> 00:51:34.519
and that, right? They're entitled to their whatevers.

00:51:34.920 --> 00:51:37.440
You can say what you want according to them.

00:51:37.920 --> 00:51:40.920
But I always remind people, we're just people.

00:51:41.280 --> 00:51:45.139
We're just like you. And some days I show up

00:51:45.139 --> 00:51:48.440
to work, and the air outside is too hot for my

00:51:48.440 --> 00:51:52.519
system to cool it off. I'm not broken. I'm not

00:51:52.519 --> 00:51:55.019
gonna go hit the panic button after this game

00:51:55.019 --> 00:51:58.940
and figure out what I need to change. It just

00:51:58.940 --> 00:52:01.719
didn't work today. One of my favorite examples

00:52:01.719 --> 00:52:05.000
of this is Joey Votto. If you follow baseball,

00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:08.219
you know who Joey Votto is. And I played with

00:52:08.219 --> 00:52:13.230
Joey in 2016. And at the end of May, So we're

00:52:13.230 --> 00:52:14.989
pretty far into the season. At the end of May,

00:52:15.090 --> 00:52:19.030
I think it was, Joey was hitting like 202, which

00:52:19.030 --> 00:52:22.829
is not Joey Votto. It might've even dipped below

00:52:22.829 --> 00:52:24.989
200, but I don't know exactly where. It was around

00:52:24.989 --> 00:52:29.510
200. And Joey said to the media, if I finish

00:52:29.510 --> 00:52:34.650
this season under 200, I will retire and give

00:52:34.650 --> 00:52:38.369
back the rest of my contract. I think Joey was

00:52:38.369 --> 00:52:41.639
serious, by the way. And so I was really paying

00:52:41.639 --> 00:52:44.619
attention to Joey at this point. How does a superstar,

00:52:45.420 --> 00:52:48.880
how does a superstar deal with failure? How does

00:52:48.880 --> 00:52:52.599
a superstar get out of this hole that he's in?

00:52:53.539 --> 00:52:57.940
And what I noticed was that Joey Votto changed

00:52:57.940 --> 00:53:03.219
nothing. Joey Votto showed up every single day

00:53:03.219 --> 00:53:08.360
and did his work diligently the same way, the

00:53:08.360 --> 00:53:12.500
same effort. day in, day out, never failing,

00:53:12.699 --> 00:53:15.659
never faltering, never distracted, never woes

00:53:15.659 --> 00:53:19.719
me, showed up and worked. The season ended, Joey

00:53:19.719 --> 00:53:22.500
finished second or third in the American League

00:53:22.500 --> 00:53:26.039
MVP voting and hit over 400 in the second half

00:53:26.039 --> 00:53:28.619
of the season and finished batting 325 on the

00:53:28.619 --> 00:53:32.059
year. He did the same routine, the same drill,

00:53:32.219 --> 00:53:34.380
the same everything, the same warmup, you name

00:53:34.380 --> 00:53:36.800
it, it was the same when he was hitting 200.

00:53:37.300 --> 00:53:39.380
versus when he hit over 400 in the second half

00:53:39.380 --> 00:53:41.460
of the season. What Joey was doing in the first

00:53:41.460 --> 00:53:44.280
half, the first part of the season, was not broken.

00:53:45.019 --> 00:53:49.420
It just didn't work. But he believed in his process.

00:53:49.500 --> 00:53:52.460
He believed in the outcome. There's a huge difference

00:53:52.460 --> 00:53:56.079
in baseball in being result -driven versus process

00:53:56.079 --> 00:53:59.340
-driven. A result -driven person is going to

00:53:59.340 --> 00:54:02.000
be higher than high when they're doing great

00:54:02.000 --> 00:54:04.739
and lower than low when they're doing bad. And

00:54:04.739 --> 00:54:06.480
that is a tough place to be as a professional

00:54:06.480 --> 00:54:09.530
athlete. because it is so full of failures and

00:54:09.530 --> 00:54:12.849
success that being a process motivated a process

00:54:12.849 --> 00:54:16.230
driven person and just trusting laying down your

00:54:16.230 --> 00:54:19.070
process knowing it is a good process and trusting

00:54:19.070 --> 00:54:21.070
your process to just show up and put the work

00:54:21.070 --> 00:54:25.070
in is all you can ask of yourself and you'll

00:54:25.070 --> 00:54:26.769
sleep great at the end of the day knowing that

00:54:26.769 --> 00:54:29.590
i gave it everything i had and win lose or draw

00:54:29.769 --> 00:54:32.170
it wasn't because I did something different.

00:54:32.250 --> 00:54:34.889
I put in the same thing all the time, that consistency

00:54:34.889 --> 00:54:37.909
we look for in baseball. And so when you see

00:54:37.909 --> 00:54:39.650
an athlete on the mound struggling, when you

00:54:39.650 --> 00:54:42.469
see a hitter in an 0 for 20 slump, just know

00:54:42.469 --> 00:54:46.570
that that person is feeling that more than you

00:54:46.570 --> 00:54:49.449
watching. That person is feeling that stress,

00:54:49.690 --> 00:54:53.030
that strain, embarrassment, and whatever emotion

00:54:53.030 --> 00:54:56.699
is associated with it in that moment. They're

00:54:56.699 --> 00:54:58.500
frustrated. They're confused. They're all these

00:54:58.500 --> 00:55:01.659
things but the good ones like we don't sit back

00:55:01.659 --> 00:55:04.739
and go man I suck this like I got to change everything

00:55:04.739 --> 00:55:08.099
it goes No, it wasn't me today. See you guys

00:55:08.099 --> 00:55:13.059
tomorrow That's how it works. I love the Kind

00:55:13.059 --> 00:55:17.420
of reset the day mindset Yeah, I hope everyone

00:55:17.420 --> 00:55:19.940
can put that into practice. Just reset the day

00:55:19.940 --> 00:55:22.139
try to get a good night's sleep Try to take care

00:55:22.139 --> 00:55:25.320
of your body try to do all these things systematically

00:55:25.719 --> 00:55:27.900
And you're gonna have bad days just like everybody

00:55:27.900 --> 00:55:31.159
else. You're gonna spill something on your nice

00:55:31.159 --> 00:55:36.820
pair of pants. Whatever, but reset the day is

00:55:36.820 --> 00:55:42.320
something I like to adhere to. Wow, that is just

00:55:42.320 --> 00:55:45.519
a really, really interesting perspective, especially

00:55:45.519 --> 00:55:48.619
the fans watching either on TV or in the stands.

00:55:49.059 --> 00:55:51.659
And they're booing, and they're upset, and they

00:55:51.659 --> 00:55:54.820
paid a lot of money to watch. Right this guy

00:55:54.820 --> 00:55:57.659
not strike out or not give up that grand slam.

00:55:57.840 --> 00:56:01.480
What have you put? Yeah, I just have always admired

00:56:01.480 --> 00:56:03.360
baseball players for being basically you're hung

00:56:03.360 --> 00:56:06.239
out to dry your I can't think of another sport

00:56:06.239 --> 00:56:08.780
where every position position players are spread

00:56:08.780 --> 00:56:11.099
out Everyone's kind of on their own island if

00:56:11.099 --> 00:56:14.619
they make an error In the playoffs in the World

00:56:14.619 --> 00:56:17.980
Series and you're just standing there Yeah, those

00:56:17.980 --> 00:56:20.079
cameras got good lenses. They can zoom in really

00:56:20.079 --> 00:56:24.750
far Yeah They can, and Twitter's ex is relentless

00:56:24.750 --> 00:56:29.329
too. So yeah, you name it, I've heard it. At

00:56:29.329 --> 00:56:31.349
the end of the day, I don't care about your fantasy

00:56:31.349 --> 00:56:34.309
baseball team. I don't really care how much money

00:56:34.309 --> 00:56:39.889
you lost in a bet. Don't gamble. Don't gamble

00:56:39.889 --> 00:56:41.349
what you're not willing to lose. That's just

00:56:41.349 --> 00:56:43.449
my perspective of it. But it's just all these

00:56:43.449 --> 00:56:45.429
things. I've heard it all. I've had death threats.

00:56:45.510 --> 00:56:48.269
I've had death threats on my family. And you

00:56:48.269 --> 00:56:50.329
know what my thought is, honestly, for those

00:56:50.329 --> 00:56:54.380
people? is, you know, God help them. I really,

00:56:54.539 --> 00:56:57.360
like anybody that feels the urge to reach out

00:56:57.360 --> 00:57:00.300
to another human being and make a threat on their

00:57:00.300 --> 00:57:02.260
family, their children, their wives, themselves,

00:57:02.440 --> 00:57:04.639
whatever it is, you know, I pray for those people

00:57:04.639 --> 00:57:08.139
because that's, talk about fighting some demons.

00:57:08.280 --> 00:57:11.139
And so I try to take that same, whenever stuff

00:57:11.139 --> 00:57:12.780
like that happens, don't get me wrong, I report

00:57:12.780 --> 00:57:16.460
it and make sure that I'm safe. But, you know.

00:57:16.750 --> 00:57:19.190
I just really pray for those people that they're

00:57:19.190 --> 00:57:21.750
fighting their own demons and they feel the urge

00:57:21.750 --> 00:57:24.869
that they need to attack me for giving my best

00:57:24.869 --> 00:57:27.849
effort at something. But anyway, yeah, it's really

00:57:27.849 --> 00:57:31.329
hard for me to watch guys experience failure.

00:57:31.469 --> 00:57:34.289
I cringe with them. But it's also really easy

00:57:34.289 --> 00:57:37.150
for me to rejoice with the guys that do great.

00:57:37.690 --> 00:57:39.090
You know, that's the beauty of baseball. You

00:57:39.090 --> 00:57:41.190
don't know what you're showing up to watch. I

00:57:41.190 --> 00:57:43.869
showed up one day to watch my team face the Cubs

00:57:43.869 --> 00:57:46.840
and I sat in the dugout for nine innings and

00:57:46.840 --> 00:57:50.239
watched Jake Garrietta no hit us and I'm not

00:57:50.239 --> 00:57:51.679
gonna sit there and tell you that I was pumped

00:57:51.679 --> 00:57:53.360
about it in the moment but at the end of the

00:57:53.360 --> 00:57:56.599
day I've been in the dugout and seen two no hitters

00:57:56.599 --> 00:58:01.280
like as a baseball player and a huge fan of the

00:58:01.280 --> 00:58:03.860
game I clearly was more excited for the one that

00:58:03.860 --> 00:58:05.480
my team did the no hitting I watched Edinson

00:58:05.480 --> 00:58:07.980
Volquez no hit the Diamondbacks but when I was

00:58:07.980 --> 00:58:09.739
on the in the dugout watching Jake Garrietta

00:58:09.739 --> 00:58:12.960
like we are really rooting for our hit right

00:58:12.960 --> 00:58:15.139
no one wants to be on ESPN that night for for

00:58:15.139 --> 00:58:17.539
the no hitter but at the end of the day years

00:58:17.539 --> 00:58:19.519
down the road like you get a chance to like man

00:58:19.519 --> 00:58:21.800
you know what i got to be in the dugout and watch

00:58:21.800 --> 00:58:24.099
two no hitters from 120 feet away like that's

00:58:24.099 --> 00:58:28.579
pretty sweet and so you know down the road it's

00:58:28.579 --> 00:58:30.599
you know really easy to sit there and be super

00:58:30.599 --> 00:58:32.760
pumped for Jake and Super easy for me to be pumped

00:58:32.760 --> 00:58:34.619
for Volquez after being on the team that did

00:58:34.619 --> 00:58:36.519
the no -hitting But it's just part of the game,

00:58:36.719 --> 00:58:39.179
right? You know some of my buddies my college

00:58:39.179 --> 00:58:41.079
roommate his parents every year throw a dart

00:58:41.079 --> 00:58:43.619
at the calendar and Put themselves a San Francisco

00:58:43.619 --> 00:58:46.659
Giants game the day that single season games

00:58:46.659 --> 00:58:48.800
go on sale and they splurge They sit right on

00:58:48.800 --> 00:58:51.579
top of the dugouts. They get great seats and

00:58:51.579 --> 00:58:55.789
years ago They threw that dart and it landed

00:58:55.789 --> 00:58:59.030
on Barry Bonds' record -breaking home run. Wow.

00:58:59.030 --> 00:59:00.389
And they didn't know that when they threw the

00:59:00.389 --> 00:59:02.130
dart. You know what I mean? They didn't know

00:59:02.130 --> 00:59:04.010
that when they picked the game. They just, let's

00:59:04.010 --> 00:59:07.090
go down this weekend. They booked hotels and

00:59:07.090 --> 00:59:08.949
everything, and they saved a lot, because if

00:59:08.949 --> 00:59:10.050
they would have tried to go, they'd do that the

00:59:10.050 --> 00:59:12.389
week before, right? And you know, there's another

00:59:12.389 --> 00:59:14.150
one, too. You just don't know what you're gonna

00:59:14.150 --> 00:59:15.949
get when you go to the ballpark. There's a, I

00:59:15.949 --> 00:59:17.449
forget the names of the pitchers, but I think

00:59:17.449 --> 00:59:20.510
it was, I think it was Maddox and Rainey Johnson

00:59:20.510 --> 00:59:23.469
were supposed to start this game in LA. And all

00:59:23.469 --> 00:59:26.639
these fans were, Head into the ballpark. We'll

00:59:26.639 --> 00:59:29.000
get ready to watch this big matchup. The two

00:59:29.000 --> 00:59:31.619
teams were fighting for the playoffs There's

00:59:31.619 --> 00:59:33.940
a team somewhere else that if they lost that

00:59:33.940 --> 00:59:36.099
both the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers got into

00:59:36.099 --> 00:59:38.679
the playoffs and so all these fans are heading

00:59:38.679 --> 00:59:40.820
in watching this game that they're just so excited

00:59:40.820 --> 00:59:44.219
for and About two hours. I think before first

00:59:44.219 --> 00:59:47.360
pitch the team that was supposed to that if they

00:59:47.360 --> 00:59:49.989
lost both teams got in the playoffs lost So both

00:59:49.989 --> 00:59:52.190
teams scratched their starting pitchers. Let's

00:59:52.190 --> 00:59:54.489
save them for next week for the playoffs. Give

00:59:54.489 --> 00:59:57.230
them a quick break, like give them a little breather.

00:59:57.309 --> 01:00:00.070
And so all these fans showed up to this this

01:00:00.070 --> 01:00:03.869
ballpark to watch Randy Johnson and Greg Maddox

01:00:03.869 --> 01:00:08.090
and. They had to watch Max Scherzer and Clayton

01:00:08.090 --> 01:00:12.670
Kershaw. And the fans were pissed like it's funny

01:00:12.670 --> 01:00:16.309
to go back and like, look at this. It's funny

01:00:16.309 --> 01:00:19.980
to go back and look at this because. They were

01:00:19.980 --> 01:00:22.280
I think I want to say it was Clayton's like third

01:00:22.280 --> 01:00:24.440
or fourth start and Max had like the right around

01:00:24.440 --> 01:00:26.719
the same or Maybe one of them had a little few

01:00:26.719 --> 01:00:29.619
more innings than the other but it was like You

01:00:29.619 --> 01:00:31.699
just don't know what you're walking now those

01:00:31.699 --> 01:00:34.199
like if Steve said that five years ago It sure

01:00:34.199 --> 01:00:36.179
is your Kershaw everyone's like, oh my gosh marquee

01:00:36.179 --> 01:00:38.980
matchup all eyes on it, right? but that's the

01:00:38.980 --> 01:00:40.880
beauty of baseball as you go to games and you

01:00:40.880 --> 01:00:43.219
know, who's that playing and What if it's the

01:00:43.219 --> 01:00:46.019
next Mike trout, you know, right you got to say

01:00:46.019 --> 01:00:48.119
you were there for the debut You don't it's just

01:00:48.110 --> 01:00:50.590
It's so cool. And that's the beauty of this game.

01:00:50.610 --> 01:00:53.809
It's a game of failure. It's a game of There's

01:00:53.809 --> 01:00:55.650
no better way to put it It is a game of failure

01:00:55.650 --> 01:00:57.650
at every level no matter what you do you when

01:00:57.650 --> 01:00:59.409
you when you win you fail, right? You there's

01:00:59.409 --> 01:01:01.110
no such thing as a perfect game. Perfect games

01:01:01.110 --> 01:01:02.610
could be better No one's ever gone out there

01:01:02.610 --> 01:01:04.250
and thrown a hundred pitches a hundred strikes

01:01:04.250 --> 01:01:07.130
and had 27 strikeouts and everything that comes

01:01:07.130 --> 01:01:09.630
along with it Like it's just an incredible game

01:01:09.630 --> 01:01:12.090
that if you love it, you love it And if you don't

01:01:12.090 --> 01:01:14.309
understand it, you probably don't love it And

01:01:14.309 --> 01:01:18.889
it's my passion. It's been my job for a long

01:01:18.889 --> 01:01:21.110
time. It's been a lot of things. It's blessed

01:01:21.110 --> 01:01:24.630
my family with experiences. It's blessed us monetarily.

01:01:24.690 --> 01:01:27.190
It's blessed us just in travel, getting to see

01:01:27.190 --> 01:01:28.929
the world. I didn't get on an airplane until

01:01:28.929 --> 01:01:32.730
I was 18 years old. my son is like the highest

01:01:32.730 --> 01:01:35.170
level delta flyer that there is like you know

01:01:35.170 --> 01:01:37.750
i need seven so i guess just like this just a

01:01:37.750 --> 01:01:39.789
different world that it's opened my eyes up to

01:01:39.789 --> 01:01:42.269
but yeah there's i don't even remember what the

01:01:42.269 --> 01:01:43.989
question was at this point it's just been oh

01:01:43.989 --> 01:01:46.030
that's all right on another another rant here

01:01:46.030 --> 01:01:49.630
but the um yeah we just this game is amazing

01:01:49.630 --> 01:01:52.849
uh it's so deep so many different levels you

01:01:52.849 --> 01:01:54.769
know it's one of the few things in life that

01:01:54.769 --> 01:01:57.610
people running it used to play it It's just kind

01:01:57.610 --> 01:02:00.210
of the way it works. There's no really crossover.

01:02:01.010 --> 01:02:03.070
There's no NFL players coaching major league

01:02:03.070 --> 01:02:05.829
baseball players kind of deal. And some of the

01:02:05.829 --> 01:02:08.590
guys that are running it never played it because

01:02:08.590 --> 01:02:10.110
you don't have to be good at some. Just because

01:02:10.110 --> 01:02:11.250
you're not good at something doesn't mean you

01:02:11.250 --> 01:02:14.730
don't know a lot about it. Look at some of the

01:02:14.730 --> 01:02:18.519
English football clubs or some of the NFL. football

01:02:18.519 --> 01:02:21.440
clubs that we call them, right? Some of our American

01:02:21.440 --> 01:02:23.039
football clubs where, you know, some of the best

01:02:23.039 --> 01:02:26.420
coaches never played. And that's just part of

01:02:26.420 --> 01:02:30.219
it. Like it's just this melting pot of languages

01:02:30.219 --> 01:02:32.900
and cultures and diverse backgrounds. And we

01:02:32.900 --> 01:02:36.079
all come together under this common idea of playing

01:02:36.079 --> 01:02:41.599
this game. 162 of them in 184 days over the course

01:02:41.599 --> 01:02:43.780
of the most beautiful time of the year and we

01:02:43.780 --> 01:02:46.340
call it America's pastime for a reason and you

01:02:46.340 --> 01:02:47.980
know, it's just like there's so much passion

01:02:47.980 --> 01:02:49.960
I have and grew up loving this sport in this

01:02:49.960 --> 01:02:52.920
game and I hate the business but I love the sport

01:02:52.920 --> 01:02:54.840
like constantly and like all this stuff that

01:02:54.840 --> 01:02:57.280
goes into it and just super blessed to be able

01:02:57.280 --> 01:02:58.920
to say that I've been doing it for so long and

01:02:58.920 --> 01:03:01.840
just want to do it a few more years. Well, I

01:03:01.840 --> 01:03:04.440
think there's a lot left in the tank and I'm

01:03:04.440 --> 01:03:07.489
rooting for you. Dan, do you have a few I got

01:03:07.489 --> 01:03:10.070
a few kind of wild card questions here. It's

01:03:10.070 --> 01:03:12.730
just kind of fun stuff. All right. Let's go for

01:03:12.730 --> 01:03:14.230
it. I got about I got about 10 minutes and I

01:03:14.230 --> 01:03:16.329
need to call my wife back. She got off work and

01:03:16.329 --> 01:03:18.650
she's wondering where I'm at. I got to check

01:03:18.650 --> 01:03:21.610
in with her, but she knows I'm long winded, so

01:03:21.610 --> 01:03:24.730
it's all good. All right. Did you have a favorite

01:03:24.730 --> 01:03:28.730
visitor's clubhouse across, you know, man, a

01:03:28.730 --> 01:03:32.610
hell, you know? Yeah, I'm trying to think there's

01:03:32.610 --> 01:03:35.429
so many different reasons like the. The Phillies

01:03:35.429 --> 01:03:39.170
Visiting Clubhouse has a cheesesteak eating contest

01:03:39.170 --> 01:03:42.329
that's just been going forever. The Detroit Tigers

01:03:42.329 --> 01:03:45.630
have a menu of milkshakes and if you come up

01:03:45.630 --> 01:03:48.250
with this super weird milkshake, it gets named

01:03:48.250 --> 01:03:52.510
after you. There's just a whole bunch of different

01:03:52.510 --> 01:03:55.610
jokes or different things. In Atlanta, there's

01:03:55.610 --> 01:03:58.230
a Powerade cooler. that if you open it a snake

01:03:58.230 --> 01:04:01.010
jumps out and like it's been there forever. I

01:04:01.010 --> 01:04:02.269
mean it was the last time you saw a Powerade

01:04:02.269 --> 01:04:04.010
cooler but it's been the same snake, the same

01:04:04.010 --> 01:04:07.190
string, the same sign forever. It came from Turner

01:04:07.190 --> 01:04:09.690
to the new ballpark. It's incredible some of

01:04:09.690 --> 01:04:11.650
the stuff that is in Major League Club houses

01:04:11.650 --> 01:04:16.170
that has just been a part of what it is. I would

01:04:16.170 --> 01:04:18.369
say probably my favorite is San Diego though

01:04:18.369 --> 01:04:20.869
for something that you might not even ever think

01:04:20.869 --> 01:04:23.150
of as a fan and this might be giving away way

01:04:23.150 --> 01:04:25.369
too much information but the team hotel is across

01:04:25.369 --> 01:04:29.519
the street. So there's no bus. There's no hour

01:04:29.519 --> 01:04:31.079
-long commute like you're going to play in New

01:04:31.079 --> 01:04:34.780
York there's Whatever it stretches at 3 and you

01:04:34.780 --> 01:04:36.719
want to get out of your bed at 2 in the afternoon

01:04:36.719 --> 01:04:39.539
and walk over go for it No one cares be at work

01:04:39.539 --> 01:04:43.599
by 2 30. You're good So it's got to be San Diego

01:04:43.599 --> 01:04:46.679
just simply because the proximity to the to the

01:04:46.679 --> 01:04:49.119
hotel It's like legit a three -minute walk from

01:04:49.119 --> 01:04:51.739
your room down the elevator across the street

01:04:51.739 --> 01:04:55.440
through security and you're there nice How about

01:04:55.440 --> 01:04:59.780
favorite? alternate uni alternate uniform from

01:04:59.780 --> 01:05:01.480
any of the teams you played on some of those

01:05:01.480 --> 01:05:05.719
Sunday Jersey tops or yeah Did did you have one

01:05:05.719 --> 01:05:07.539
where you like? Oh, this is cool. Do guys get

01:05:07.539 --> 01:05:10.760
excited about that when it's oh very yeah, very

01:05:10.760 --> 01:05:13.940
excited when you know about it enough time You'll

01:05:13.940 --> 01:05:16.340
get custom gloves custom cleats custom everything

01:05:16.340 --> 01:05:18.760
we're talking $500 gloves that you're like, yeah

01:05:18.760 --> 01:05:20.260
I'm gonna wear it twice this year, but I'm gonna

01:05:20.260 --> 01:05:23.070
look good and like you're willing to do that.

01:05:23.570 --> 01:05:25.090
When I was with the Marlins, we got to wear like

01:05:25.090 --> 01:05:28.190
the throwback pinstripes. I was just like, this

01:05:28.190 --> 01:05:31.449
is awesome. This is awesome. The one that I wish

01:05:31.449 --> 01:05:33.969
I could have gotten to wear was I came up with

01:05:33.969 --> 01:05:37.230
Oakland, as you mentioned, from 09 to 14. And

01:05:37.230 --> 01:05:39.190
right before I got to the big leagues, they ditched

01:05:39.190 --> 01:05:41.849
the black top. I wanted to wear that black uniform

01:05:41.849 --> 01:05:44.269
so bad. And they got rid of the black hat and

01:05:44.269 --> 01:05:46.269
they just went with the yellow, the green and

01:05:46.269 --> 01:05:49.340
the gold. Green, gold, white, gray, yeah. So

01:05:49.340 --> 01:05:51.219
they got rid, it's not five, but they got rid

01:05:51.219 --> 01:05:52.880
of the black one, which is what the one that

01:05:52.880 --> 01:05:55.900
everyone wanted to wear. So yeah, I would say

01:05:55.900 --> 01:05:59.219
that that alternate one we wore there, I didn't

01:05:59.219 --> 01:06:00.940
get a chance to be a part of the City Connect

01:06:00.940 --> 01:06:05.360
stuff. Not yet anyway. I think that Baltimore

01:06:05.360 --> 01:06:07.719
one is really sick. Again, it's all black. I

01:06:07.719 --> 01:06:10.219
think that just looks really clean. And then

01:06:10.219 --> 01:06:13.019
it'd be really hard pressed not to want to wear

01:06:13.019 --> 01:06:15.860
the Mariner. like teal blue that they have. That

01:06:15.860 --> 01:06:18.519
seems like a pretty sick uniform too. So they

01:06:18.519 --> 01:06:20.280
all are cool in their own way. I know that MLB

01:06:20.280 --> 01:06:21.960
uniforms this year has been kind of a funky thing,

01:06:21.980 --> 01:06:24.179
but I'd still have to stick with that pinstripe

01:06:24.179 --> 01:06:26.059
Marlins throwback was probably my favorite one.

01:06:26.360 --> 01:06:31.880
Oh yeah. Okay, couple more. Have you ever played

01:06:31.880 --> 01:06:35.139
MLB the show and gotten yourself loosened up?

01:06:35.659 --> 01:06:38.619
Oh yeah. Started yourself traded for yourself?

01:06:39.579 --> 01:06:42.920
Oh, yeah Oh, yeah, I had no he always wondered

01:06:42.920 --> 01:06:47.059
like guys have to do that Yeah, my my son actually

01:06:47.059 --> 01:06:49.039
was getting on me because I only have like two

01:06:49.039 --> 01:06:51.579
games of mine And he told me I need to go on

01:06:51.579 --> 01:06:54.059
the internet and buy every game that I was in

01:06:54.059 --> 01:06:56.579
That way he can have it forever. And I'm like

01:06:56.579 --> 01:06:58.260
you're in dude. That sounds great I'm sorry that

01:06:58.260 --> 01:07:00.500
I didn't do that ahead of time but him and I

01:07:00.500 --> 01:07:02.800
started playing it'll be the show about two weeks

01:07:02.800 --> 01:07:05.719
ago and There's you know, that's actually a cool

01:07:05.719 --> 01:07:10.300
tool as a parent to we get to play on weekends

01:07:10.300 --> 01:07:13.280
and video games in our house and we use it to

01:07:13.280 --> 01:07:17.039
like learn the rules of baseball and Well dad

01:07:17.039 --> 01:07:19.559
why so I have a runner on first base and I'm

01:07:19.559 --> 01:07:21.460
like, hey bud So if I hit the ball to anybody

01:07:21.460 --> 01:07:24.039
on the infield and it hits the ground first you

01:07:24.039 --> 01:07:26.039
throw it to second base and then first base and

01:07:26.039 --> 01:07:27.619
what's that called and he's like that's a double

01:07:27.619 --> 01:07:29.619
play and Then I hit the ground ball and he throws

01:07:29.619 --> 01:07:31.559
it to first and he's like, I'm sorry. I panic

01:07:31.559 --> 01:07:34.280
I'm like, it's okay bud. Like you're good. So

01:07:34.280 --> 01:07:37.739
I yeah, I've played with myself on there many

01:07:37.739 --> 01:07:40.380
times boost my stats obviously because there's

01:07:40.380 --> 01:07:42.300
no way they they always underestimate my stuff

01:07:42.300 --> 01:07:46.039
and uh and then uh now it's just really fun to

01:07:46.039 --> 01:07:49.360
use it as a teaching tool and some uh some fun

01:07:49.360 --> 01:07:52.179
video game time for me and my kid oh yeah you

01:07:52.179 --> 01:07:55.039
will learn a lot about baseball yeah a child

01:07:55.039 --> 01:07:57.260
or an adult playing mlb the show i don't get

01:07:57.260 --> 01:07:59.900
to play it as much anymore but my favorite i

01:07:59.900 --> 01:08:03.260
don't play video games but yeah Yeah, it's getting

01:08:03.260 --> 01:08:05.460
hard. They're making it more realistic. It's

01:08:05.460 --> 01:08:07.920
not the old A -Rod version of 03 that it used

01:08:07.920 --> 01:08:09.679
to be. I think it was called Triple Play, actually.

01:08:09.760 --> 01:08:11.480
It was a different game than completely, but

01:08:11.480 --> 01:08:16.539
anyway. Okay, I guess last question. You and

01:08:16.539 --> 01:08:18.300
your son, when you guys get to carve out a little

01:08:18.300 --> 01:08:21.340
bit of time together and he wants to do something,

01:08:21.439 --> 01:08:23.800
maybe you're not crazy about it, but it's his

01:08:23.800 --> 01:08:26.319
thing, what does a day look like when you guys

01:08:26.319 --> 01:08:30.289
are just cutting out for a couple hours? So we

01:08:30.289 --> 01:08:32.329
actually have these days we call it the Jackson

01:08:32.329 --> 01:08:35.229
appreciation day So Jackson's along for the ride

01:08:35.229 --> 01:08:38.449
and so much of what we do whether you know, we

01:08:38.449 --> 01:08:41.869
got to run our errands or I got to go to the

01:08:41.869 --> 01:08:43.409
gym and work out or I'm giving a pitching lesson

01:08:43.409 --> 01:08:44.869
and he's just along for the ride So every now

01:08:44.869 --> 01:08:47.390
and then we we do these Jackson appreciation

01:08:47.390 --> 01:08:49.649
days or which we just don't say no he gets to

01:08:49.649 --> 01:08:51.390
plan where we go eat he gets to plan what we

01:08:51.390 --> 01:08:54.409
go do and like you find out pretty quick like

01:08:54.409 --> 01:08:58.670
what he really wants and what he really wants

01:08:58.670 --> 01:09:02.850
is to just spend time with us whether it's like

01:09:02.850 --> 01:09:05.329
playing Legos or he likes to dress up a lot so

01:09:05.329 --> 01:09:08.189
he'll dress up as Darth Vader and we'll do like

01:09:08.189 --> 01:09:11.050
lightsaber fights or he wants to go outside and

01:09:11.050 --> 01:09:14.090
play catch or go hit or go ride his bike or go

01:09:14.090 --> 01:09:16.130
swim and he just like wants us and all of our

01:09:16.130 --> 01:09:18.670
attention and which is this completely normal

01:09:18.670 --> 01:09:21.210
thing as a kid right and so We started doing

01:09:21.210 --> 01:09:23.729
this or just kind of randomly picking a Saturday

01:09:23.729 --> 01:09:25.909
and he wants to go eat some, some chicken and,

01:09:25.909 --> 01:09:30.250
and fries and watch, you know, an extra episode

01:09:30.250 --> 01:09:32.289
of Bluey or something. Oh, it's just like the

01:09:32.289 --> 01:09:35.329
smallest things, but with how time demanding

01:09:35.329 --> 01:09:37.689
my job is and my wife's a nurse and so her job

01:09:37.689 --> 01:09:40.210
is time demanding as well. So we're just, we're

01:09:40.210 --> 01:09:43.350
busy folks. And so we do definitely try to take

01:09:43.350 --> 01:09:45.970
time set aside and let him know that he's appreciated

01:09:45.970 --> 01:09:48.800
that we. We love him as our son. We couldn't

01:09:48.800 --> 01:09:51.439
be happier that we get to be the parents of this

01:09:51.439 --> 01:09:55.439
kid. Loves karate, loves piano, loves baseball,

01:09:55.960 --> 01:09:58.779
and just really is like just a passionate, caring

01:09:58.779 --> 01:10:03.479
person. And I am just so, so blessed to be a

01:10:03.479 --> 01:10:07.039
dad and blessed to be his dad. And yeah, it's

01:10:07.039 --> 01:10:09.239
whenever it's his time to pick stuff, sometimes

01:10:09.239 --> 01:10:11.720
it's MLB the show, sometimes it's Harry Potter,

01:10:12.220 --> 01:10:15.729
Hogwarts legacy video game. a lot of times it's

01:10:15.729 --> 01:10:18.149
let's just go let's go play in his toy room or

01:10:18.149 --> 01:10:19.689
let's you know just have some fun with these

01:10:19.689 --> 01:10:22.390
things but it's it's really whatever he wants

01:10:22.390 --> 01:10:24.489
and we let it happen we let it we let it be a

01:10:24.489 --> 01:10:26.670
thing you know sometimes it costs me a little

01:10:26.670 --> 01:10:28.609
more money than i expected in certain aspects

01:10:28.609 --> 01:10:31.489
but at the end of the day you know my father

01:10:31.489 --> 01:10:33.289
-in -law says money has no home you can't take

01:10:33.289 --> 01:10:35.789
it with you when you're gone so you make it we're

01:10:35.789 --> 01:10:37.750
going to spend it on experiences and and let's

01:10:37.750 --> 01:10:40.390
go so that's kind of what we're we're doing with

01:10:40.390 --> 01:10:43.850
our son a lot of times where it's We're that

01:10:43.850 --> 01:10:47.109
family that goes to Disneyland once a year. We've

01:10:47.109 --> 01:10:50.010
been so many times lately and my son was like,

01:10:50.010 --> 01:10:52.409
dad, how come we only get to go once a year?

01:10:53.010 --> 01:10:55.350
I said, dude, I got to go three times my entire

01:10:55.350 --> 01:10:59.430
life. I think once a year is plenty, buddy. So

01:10:59.430 --> 01:11:02.270
it's just, yeah, we're trying really hard to

01:11:02.270 --> 01:11:03.810
make sure that just to let our son know that

01:11:03.810 --> 01:11:07.449
he's appreciated and that he's just as much a

01:11:07.449 --> 01:11:10.260
part of this family as me and mom. And really,

01:11:10.479 --> 01:11:12.600
he completes our family. And it's just been awesome.

01:11:12.720 --> 01:11:15.079
Being a dad has been probably the hardest, most

01:11:15.079 --> 01:11:17.640
humbling thing I've ever had to do in my life.

01:11:18.000 --> 01:11:20.199
And like everything else in this journey, I wouldn't

01:11:20.199 --> 01:11:23.739
trade it for the world. Man, what a way to close

01:11:23.739 --> 01:11:26.699
out here. That's just a good piece of advice.

01:11:27.060 --> 01:11:30.439
If you're a dad yourself, if you're not, maybe

01:11:30.439 --> 01:11:33.800
you got a nephew, got a niece. Children, if you

01:11:33.800 --> 01:11:35.880
care about them, you give them some undivided

01:11:35.880 --> 01:11:38.380
attention. You do the things that they like to

01:11:38.380 --> 01:11:41.210
do. It's going to help their confidence. It's

01:11:41.210 --> 01:11:43.670
just nothing better, I think, for a child than

01:11:43.670 --> 01:11:46.369
to know that adults care about them, whether

01:11:46.369 --> 01:11:49.750
that's their mom and dad or their uncle or their

01:11:49.750 --> 01:11:51.449
grandma, whoever's taking care of them, spending

01:11:51.449 --> 01:11:54.010
a lot of time with them. Just a great piece.

01:11:54.470 --> 01:11:58.010
Great piece to end on there, Dan. I just thoroughly

01:11:58.010 --> 01:12:00.689
enjoyed talking to you today. I appreciate you

01:12:00.689 --> 01:12:03.569
making time. I know you got some balls in the

01:12:03.569 --> 01:12:07.289
air and I'm rooting for you, man. Really am I

01:12:07.289 --> 01:12:09.569
think that I think good things are gonna happen

01:12:09.569 --> 01:12:13.250
and like you said not sure how it's gonna materialize

01:12:13.250 --> 01:12:15.550
What's gonna happen, but but you're enjoying

01:12:15.550 --> 01:12:17.890
it. Yeah, we should circle back and see what

01:12:17.890 --> 01:12:20.229
happens down the road Absolutely. You're always

01:12:20.229 --> 01:12:24.090
welcome here on Dan time. So yeah, we'll definitely

01:12:24.090 --> 01:12:29.069
And folks any plug you want to put in I know

01:12:29.069 --> 01:12:30.909
I talked about the journeyman podcast folks,

01:12:30.909 --> 01:12:33.670
please download and subscribe you will not regret

01:12:33.670 --> 01:12:36.380
it anything else that you'd like to Put out there,

01:12:36.479 --> 01:12:40.060
Dan. I'm good. No, I'm good. I appreciate it.

01:12:40.079 --> 01:12:42.119
Thanks for letting people know about the journeyman

01:12:42.119 --> 01:12:43.920
podcast. You know, that's just like you said,

01:12:43.920 --> 01:12:46.020
there's four of us. We got a quite a diverse

01:12:46.020 --> 01:12:49.460
group of us for in terms of the knowledge of

01:12:49.460 --> 01:12:52.140
baseball and what we do in real life and everything

01:12:52.140 --> 01:12:54.760
else. But it's been a lot of fun telling the

01:12:54.760 --> 01:12:56.579
story of baseball from all the different angles.

01:12:56.899 --> 01:12:58.399
Then it's you know, it's not really just about

01:12:58.399 --> 01:13:00.199
baseball. It's just about people. So it's been

01:13:00.199 --> 01:13:02.800
a lot of fun. Dan, take care, man. We'll keep

01:13:02.800 --> 01:13:05.649
in touch and we'll do this again sometime. You

01:13:05.649 --> 01:13:07.250
too, Dan. Take care. All right, folks. We'll

01:13:07.250 --> 01:13:09.550
see you next Sunday on the Dan Time Podcast.