WEBVTT - Max Muncy (2-17-26)

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<v Speaker 1>And now an exclusive interview with David Vasse for Dodger Talker.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to Dodger Talk David Vasse with you until

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<v Speaker 1>eight o'clock tonight here on AM five to seventy LA Sports.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm here with a man that continues to keep

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<v Speaker 1>my name alive on social media, a man that finds

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<v Speaker 1>a way to keep my name alive when it comes

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<v Speaker 1>to Champagne celebrations. Even Elizabeth Olsen has taken notes. That

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<v Speaker 1>is the one and only Max Munsey who is back.

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<v Speaker 1>Has signed back with the Dodgers to be part of

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<v Speaker 1>the vass A Magic for two more years. Thanks a

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<v Speaker 1>lot for joining us, Monsei, appreciate it.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know what you just said, but sure we'll go.

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<v Speaker 3>With that, Monsey.

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<v Speaker 1>I offered to do at least five pushups to prove

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<v Speaker 1>to you that your claim yesterday that went viral, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>got more attention than Miguel Rojas saying Blake Snail's the

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<v Speaker 1>weakest guy on the team. I am here to prove

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<v Speaker 1>it to you, Moncie, if you'd like.

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<v Speaker 3>See.

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<v Speaker 4>The thing is, we've done this challenge before and you

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<v Speaker 4>falter after one and a half push ups, so I

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<v Speaker 4>know where you stand on this.

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<v Speaker 3>There were a lot more people watching.

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<v Speaker 1>You dragged me into the weight room, and there were

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<v Speaker 1>professional athletes demanding that I danced like a monkey in there,

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<v Speaker 1>and I felt the pressure.

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<v Speaker 3>I couldn't get all the way down.

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<v Speaker 4>Exactly like I said, I've seen you do it before,

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<v Speaker 4>so I know where you're standing.

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<v Speaker 1>Is here's another thing. Even your wife mentioned this the

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<v Speaker 1>other day. Yeah, do you think I need to do

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<v Speaker 1>five push ups right now? Miguelas Lake Snail is out there,

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<v Speaker 1>you can actually go against him.

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<v Speaker 2>I think I'm putting my money on you.

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like I'm in better shape. I'm in better

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<v Speaker 1>shape coming into camp than snail Zilla.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a bold statement. I won't say anything about that.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of hot mics around here. I guess, Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>nobody knows how to take a joke.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a bold claim. That is a bold claim.

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<v Speaker 1>David, Oh, Max, what's it like to be sitting next

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<v Speaker 1>to a guy that you both had such big.

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<v Speaker 3>Moments in the postseason.

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<v Speaker 1>Miguel Rojas, obviously locker mats with you last year tied

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<v Speaker 1>the game up your home run. How much more are

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<v Speaker 1>we allowed to reflect on last year?

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<v Speaker 4>You know, we can give it a couple more days.

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<v Speaker 4>But now that we're getting going for this year, the

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<v Speaker 4>focuses on this year. You know, today in our meeting,

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<v Speaker 4>we had a nice video that showed kind of the

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<v Speaker 4>highlights of last year and it's really cool to watch.

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<v Speaker 2>It gives you chills.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, just you kind of replay the whole year

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<v Speaker 4>in your mind while it's going on, and you just

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<v Speaker 4>you think back and go, man, that was a pretty

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<v Speaker 4>special year. But now that we're here for this year,

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<v Speaker 4>you kind of have to flush that. You can't be

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<v Speaker 4>focused on last year if we focused on this year

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<v Speaker 4>and once ahead of us and you know you've heard

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<v Speaker 4>me say it a million times. Our focus is on

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<v Speaker 4>each each and every day. How are we getting better

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<v Speaker 4>for that day and how are we focusing on that day?

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<v Speaker 4>And you know, me and Miggie, we've we've been here

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<v Speaker 4>for a while and that's one of the things we

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<v Speaker 4>try to harp on with the infielders is we got

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<v Speaker 4>to get better every single day. What we're doing, How

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<v Speaker 4>are we communicating, how are we feeling ground balls? How

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<v Speaker 4>are we throwing? Are we doing all that with intent?

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<v Speaker 4>Are we doing that with you know, the focus of

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<v Speaker 4>getting better? And if we're not we got to call

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<v Speaker 4>couple people out, you know, and sometimes that includes us.

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<v Speaker 4>Sometimes we need to be called out. We've if we've

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<v Speaker 4>had a bad day. You know, maybe you'll come up

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<v Speaker 4>and be like, hey, what's going on. You know, it

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<v Speaker 4>didn't look like you were focused out there, and you know,

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<v Speaker 4>you just have honest conversations with each other, and that's

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<v Speaker 4>you know, one of things is so special with this

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<v Speaker 4>clubhouse is that everyone's open to I would necessarily call

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<v Speaker 4>it criticism, but we'll just.

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<v Speaker 2>Use that word to make it easy.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, everyone's open to that and they don't take

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<v Speaker 4>it the wrong way because they know it's coming from

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<v Speaker 4>a place of love and that it's coming from a

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<v Speaker 4>place that we want to be good and for everyone

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<v Speaker 4>to be as good as possible, we have to hold

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<v Speaker 4>each other accountable.

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<v Speaker 1>With that being said, Dave Roberts mentioned to us that

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<v Speaker 1>Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz, two of the newest guys

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<v Speaker 1>in this clubhouse.

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<v Speaker 3>Stood up and spoke what was the mood in the.

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<v Speaker 1>Clubhouse when two new guys comes into a team that

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<v Speaker 1>already has a lot of veterans that went back to

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<v Speaker 1>back championships.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, Dog likes to do that early in spring hit.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, with the new guys, he likes to give

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<v Speaker 4>him a chance to speak, and you know, it helps

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<v Speaker 4>everyone in the clubhouse learn who they are. And you know,

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<v Speaker 4>the message they sent was great. They came here to win,

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<v Speaker 4>they want to win a ring, and you know, they

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<v Speaker 4>heard of how great organization is, how great the players are,

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<v Speaker 4>how great the clubhouse is. You know, how great the

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<v Speaker 4>front office is in terms of how they treat the

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<v Speaker 4>players and the families. And they both had very similar messages,

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<v Speaker 4>and you know, it's exciting when you hear that.

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<v Speaker 2>And for a lot of the guys that have, you know.

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<v Speaker 4>Been here for several years, you don't forget, but it's

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<v Speaker 4>always refreshing when you hear, you know, other players talk

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<v Speaker 4>about what they see from from Afar about you know,

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<v Speaker 4>just the first class organization that we are and that

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<v Speaker 4>you know, it's special to be here, and.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's just it's just refreshing to hear that.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes you fall into that category as well. You signed

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<v Speaker 1>it to year extension. You're going to be here for

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<v Speaker 1>at least three more seasons, including this one. It seems

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<v Speaker 1>like a lot's been made out of the numbers that

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<v Speaker 1>you took. But how do you react to all the

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<v Speaker 1>attention that you've gotten to re sign with the team

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<v Speaker 1>for two more years.

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<v Speaker 4>You know.

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<v Speaker 2>Where else would I would rather go?

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<v Speaker 4>You know, this is the best organization in baseball, where

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<v Speaker 4>the best team in baseball. Why would I want to

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<v Speaker 4>go anywhere else? Because I'm greedy? No, that's not who

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<v Speaker 4>I am. You know. I know we get we get

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<v Speaker 4>paid a lot of money to play this game, and

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<v Speaker 4>obviously that's comforting to know that we make a lot

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<v Speaker 4>of money. But I never really got into this game

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<v Speaker 4>for that reason. I got into because I love the game

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<v Speaker 4>at baseball. I love to compete. I love to win,

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<v Speaker 4>and there's no better opportunity to do that than here.

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<v Speaker 4>And on top of that, this organization and the city

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<v Speaker 4>really has become my family. And that was one of

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<v Speaker 4>the key deciding factors for us was my family.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, my kids were born in LA. They they

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<v Speaker 2>love Lay, They love everything about it. They love the Dodgers.

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<v Speaker 4>They you know, they know the all the landmarks driving

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<v Speaker 4>to the stadium. They when we get to the stadium

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<v Speaker 4>and they know exactly where they're going.

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<v Speaker 2>They love it.

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<v Speaker 4>Every time they see the color blue, they say that

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<v Speaker 4>that's Dodger blue. And that's dadad Blue, and you know,

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<v Speaker 4>I'm not going to rip that away from them because

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<v Speaker 4>I'm greedy, and like I said, that's just not who

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<v Speaker 4>I am. So for me, it was such an easy

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<v Speaker 4>decision that, sure, maybe I'm leaving money on the table,

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<v Speaker 4>there's no way of actually knowing that. There's no way

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<v Speaker 4>of knowing what other organizations might offer you out there.

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<v Speaker 4>But for me, it's it's more than enough money for

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<v Speaker 4>me and my family, and you know they're set, and

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<v Speaker 4>it's a chance to stay here and win every single year.

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<v Speaker 2>Why would I want to go anywhere else?

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<v Speaker 1>Do you feel like you have that perspective, because when

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<v Speaker 1>the Dodgers called, you didn't have a job at that

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<v Speaker 1>point in time. So you've seen what it's like to

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<v Speaker 1>be close to being out of the game to being

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<v Speaker 1>at the pinnacle a three time World Series champion.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, there's a little bit of loyalty there for me.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, they took a chance on me when I

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<v Speaker 4>was basically retired and I was pretty set on retiring,

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<v Speaker 4>and they kind of, you know, pulled me out of

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<v Speaker 4>the dumpster, and you know, they helped me relearn who

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<v Speaker 4>I was and and become the player I am and

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<v Speaker 4>for that, I'm always going to be grateful, and you know,

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<v Speaker 4>because of that, I want to show a little bit

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<v Speaker 4>of gratitude towards them and not you know, I'm not

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<v Speaker 4>trying to burn any bridges there, and it's you know,

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<v Speaker 4>it's just a it's just a respect between both of us,

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<v Speaker 4>the front office and me, like we've we've had such

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<v Speaker 4>a good relationship over the years and it's going to continue.

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<v Speaker 4>And you know that that was also another factor in

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<v Speaker 4>deciding that I want to stay here is I've made

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<v Speaker 4>you know, I've been very open about how i want

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<v Speaker 4>to end my career here, but just building the legacy

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<v Speaker 4>that I have here when I'm done playing, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>whatever I want to do, the Dodgers are going to

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<v Speaker 4>let me do. And you know that's something that kind

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<v Speaker 4>of meant a lot to me also to just know that,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, if I want to work for the team,

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<v Speaker 4>if I want to, you know, just have a little

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<v Speaker 4>side role with the team, or if I want to

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<v Speaker 4>be a coach, or if i want to you know,

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<v Speaker 4>be in the phone office, They're going to give me

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<v Speaker 4>an opportunity to do that because of the relationships that

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<v Speaker 4>I've built here.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's something that means everything to me next months.

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<v Speaker 1>He's been a big part of the fabric with the

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<v Speaker 1>Dodgers since he burst onto the scene in twenty eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>and has not rested on his laurels. Yourself and all

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<v Speaker 1>the guys that were part of the team last year

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<v Speaker 1>have come into camp ready to go day one. What

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<v Speaker 1>did you do with your off season training to be

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<v Speaker 1>able to be ready for this year and as you

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<v Speaker 1>evolve as you get later in your career.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, you know, it just it was a big focus

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<v Speaker 4>on health for me, you know, trying to just do

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<v Speaker 4>everything I can to make sure I'm healthy this year.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, I dove a lot into the issues that

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<v Speaker 4>I had, and I feel like we figured a lot

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<v Speaker 4>of them out. I've done some you know, pretty crazy stuff,

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<v Speaker 4>but you know, I've coming to the camp in great shape.

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<v Speaker 4>It's the lightest I've been since, you know, twenty eighteen. Really,

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<v Speaker 4>I feel great. And you know that was part of

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<v Speaker 4>the reason that you know, we had good, good discussions

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<v Speaker 4>with the front office was you know, we both understand

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<v Speaker 4>that if I want to be here, I have to

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<v Speaker 4>be able to.

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<v Speaker 2>Pay third base.

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<v Speaker 4>And for me to be able to pay third base,

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<v Speaker 4>I just have to be healthier, and so you know

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<v Speaker 4>that was kind of the key deciding factor is just

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<v Speaker 4>I want to be able to perform. I want to

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<v Speaker 4>be able to be an All Star again. I want

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<v Speaker 4>to help his team win a couple more World Series

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<v Speaker 4>and that's just the end goal, all.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, Muncie.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks a lot for the time, Glad I got off

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<v Speaker 1>the hook of doing any push ups today. Maybe week

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<v Speaker 1>two of spring training.

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<v Speaker 3>I'll be ready.

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<v Speaker 2>I know you're scared about it. Don't worry. I won't

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<v Speaker 2>put you in front of the camera.

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<v Speaker 4>I know you're scared about doing push ups, but yeah,

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<v Speaker 4>for everyone out there, it's just all.

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<v Speaker 2>Love between me and David. But I have to give

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<v Speaker 2>I have to give a little call out every now

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<v Speaker 2>and then, no doubt.

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<v Speaker 3>You got to keep me humble. Thanks a lot for

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<v Speaker 3>the time, of course,