Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: The Dodgers are back in California, first out of the
Speaker 1: Exhibition Freeway Series here in Anaheim, and were joined by
Speaker 1: a man that came to camp with a minor league
Speaker 1: contract and performed and earned his way onto the Dodgers
Speaker 1: opening day roster, and that's former All Star Santiago Espinal. Santiago,
Speaker 1: thanks for the time and congratulations.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Thank you guys for the opportunity. Thank God
Speaker 2: first and you know, excited to be here.
Speaker 1: Obviously you knew you were good enough to make this roster,
Speaker 1: but now that it's official, now that it's here, when
Speaker 1: you look back on your spring, how did you do it?
Speaker 2: I mean just being prepared, you know, being prepared mentally ready.
Speaker 2: And also you know that's why I work in the
Speaker 2: off season as well. You know, I came to a
Speaker 2: winning organization who back to back championship. But you know,
Speaker 2: my questions that I ask myself every day is how
Speaker 2: can I add to the championship team? You know, and
Speaker 2: That's what I've been doing. How can I do it offensively? Defensively?
Speaker 2: You know, I play multiple position. I can do a
Speaker 2: lot of things with the bat two as well. So
Speaker 2: that's what we're here for.
Speaker 1: That's another part of this equation. It's not like you're
Speaker 1: joining a team that finished fourth place. You're joining the
Speaker 1: team that's went back to back championships. Obviously they believe
Speaker 1: you're a championship player too.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, and I appreciate that too as well.
Speaker 2: You know, But you know, job is not done. You know,
Speaker 2: Spring training just in the past. You know. Now, I
Speaker 2: just gotta keep doing my thing, being consistent everything that
Speaker 2: I do, you know, defensively and offensively. So we're ready
Speaker 2: for it.
Speaker 1: You obviously are aware of the situation. You're not going
Speaker 1: to play every day. How do you stay ready now
Speaker 1: to be able to contribute?
Speaker 2: You know, I've been five almost six years in the
Speaker 2: big leagues. You know, I've been doing it for a
Speaker 2: long time, I feel, and you know, all I can
Speaker 2: do is control whatever I can control. Make sure that
Speaker 2: I'm prepared whenever my name is called, make sure my
Speaker 2: name is called when my name is called. Being prepared,
Speaker 2: and that's all it is. Just be prepared.
Speaker 1: The big guy just ran by show hal Tani. What's
Speaker 1: it been like to get to experience being on the
Speaker 1: same side as him.
Speaker 2: It's been cool. You know, I face him, my love,
Speaker 2: I play against him a last so you know, being
Speaker 2: on the same team, I'll be able to watch the Homers,
Speaker 2: you know, all the loud noises and stuff like that.
Speaker 2: So it's been cool.
Speaker 1: Is it something different to see what his personality's like
Speaker 1: because he has a good sense of humor.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, I mean it's different. Also, it's different
Speaker 2: the way he prepares. He barely have time for himself,
Speaker 2: you know, so there's something something that you can pick up. So,
Speaker 2: you know, from one of the best players in the game,
Speaker 2: maybe the best players in the game. You know, he's
Speaker 2: the best player in the game. So what I see
Speaker 2: his routine, the way he prepared, he doesn't even have time,
Speaker 2: you know. So as you can see, he was just
Speaker 2: out there throwing. Now he's going inside. He probably gonna
Speaker 2: go ahead, and then by the time he's done, he
Speaker 2: probably gotta hear a little and then ready for the
Speaker 2: you know. So that's his daily you know. And I
Speaker 2: and I and I thought myself and I was asking myself,
Speaker 2: I'm like, how did he do it? You know, how
Speaker 2: did he do it? But he does it every day
Speaker 2: and it's it's crazy.
Speaker 1: Santiago Espinal is our guest before I let you go.
Speaker 1: You're a proud Dominican. Did you see the big future
Speaker 1: Hall of Famer in the clubhouse today?
Speaker 2: I saw him, but I didn't want to bother him too.
Speaker 2: So it was a cool moment though that I met
Speaker 2: him when I was a rookie. I think it was
Speaker 2: back in twenty twenty twenty one. That's when I met him,
Speaker 2: and when he was with the Cardinals again, and you know,
Speaker 2: being seeing him in the locker room to us where
Speaker 2: it was pretty cool.
Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, that's the one and only Albert Poolholes.
Speaker 1: So people still can't believe that I gave Teo Albert
Speaker 1: a hug because he was giving all the Dodgers' hugs
Speaker 1: that year, so I said, hey, big home run, I
Speaker 1: think I'm going to give him a hug too on TV,
Speaker 1: And to this day, I get the to Albert hug
Speaker 1: every time we see each other.
Speaker 2: That's cool, man, that's good, especially from a legend like
Speaker 2: that Hall of Fame and then, uh, you know, great
Speaker 2: guy and uh you know, those hulks probably have a
Speaker 2: lot of hits and a lot of homers on it,
Speaker 2: so it's cool.
Speaker 1: All right, well, thank you for the time, and I
Speaker 1: can't wait to see the Tioscar Hernandez sunflower seeds coming
Speaker 1: your way all year long.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, let's do it. Thank you.