WEBVTT - Tommy Edman (6-16-26) 

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

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<v Speaker 2>We are joined right now by the NLCS MVP of

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty four. They call him Tommy Tanks, but he's

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<v Speaker 2>finally active for the twenty sixth season. Tommy, thanks a

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<v Speaker 2>lot for the time.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I'm excited.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been been a too long, been a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>months that I haven't gotten to play, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>just been best cheerleader I can be, and now I

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<v Speaker 1>get to actually contribute.

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<v Speaker 2>I was concerned about you wandering in Oklahoma City for

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<v Speaker 2>forty days and forty nights. How did you survive?

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<v Speaker 1>You know, a lot of a lot of prayer and meditation,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, but yeah, I know it was it was fun.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, it was fun to just get back to

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<v Speaker 3>playing again.

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<v Speaker 1>They've got a great group of guys down there, a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of good players, and you know, it was just

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<v Speaker 1>fun to get back to playing baseball again.

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<v Speaker 2>Tommy, this ankle has bothered you since before you were

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<v Speaker 2>traded to the Dodgers. To finally have it taken care

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<v Speaker 2>of and behind you, is that somewhat of a relief

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<v Speaker 2>more than anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you know, it's kind of obviously something that I've

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<v Speaker 1>dealt with the past two years. So getting the surgery

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<v Speaker 1>was a tough decision because I knew I was going

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<v Speaker 1>to be out for a little bit. But you know,

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<v Speaker 1>after speaking with the doctor, you know, we kind of

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<v Speaker 1>determined that it was gonna have a high success and

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<v Speaker 1>high probability of getting back to one hundred percent. So,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I just decided to go through with it,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, it's feeling great now. It took maybe

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit longer than I expected, but you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm back to feeling feeling normal again.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>How long has it been since you felt normal? Can

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<v Speaker 2>you put a time on how long that's been?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>You know I had a stretch last year, like the

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<v Speaker 1>beginning of the season where I felt pretty good until

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<v Speaker 1>I sprained it again end of April and before that,

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<v Speaker 1>kind of going back to the twenty four season when

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<v Speaker 1>I sprained it for the first time.

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<v Speaker 2>Will you wear a brace like you were before the surgery?

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<v Speaker 2>Are you pretty confident this thing is strong enough to

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<v Speaker 2>hold up?

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<v Speaker 3>I'm confident strong enough. I'll still wear a brace.

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<v Speaker 1>Last year, I had to tape it up pretty heavily,

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<v Speaker 1>and I won't have to do that this time.

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<v Speaker 3>Around, just just kind of a regular brace.

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<v Speaker 2>You played a handful of games at a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>different positions in the minor leagues. On this rehab appearance,

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<v Speaker 2>when you come back to the starting lineup, do you

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<v Speaker 2>feel like second.

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<v Speaker 3>Base is the spot? Are you prepared.

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<v Speaker 2>To play all those positions that you did before.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I talked to the guys and sounds like I'll

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<v Speaker 1>bounce around a decent amount.

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<v Speaker 3>I think I'm at third base tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure I'll play second obviously as well, and then

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<v Speaker 1>mix it in the outfield as well. But you know,

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<v Speaker 1>that's kind of what what I've expected and come to

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<v Speaker 1>expect over my career is just filling in wherever needed,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, playing a bunch of different.

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<v Speaker 2>Spots, which's been the most challenging part of all this.

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<v Speaker 1>I think just patients, you know, just with surgery, you

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<v Speaker 1>know a lot of times it doesn't go It's not

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<v Speaker 1>a super linear progression, so you know, just having some

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<v Speaker 1>ups and downs, and you know, just having the faith

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<v Speaker 1>that it.

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<v Speaker 3>Was going to be going to get back to one

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<v Speaker 3>hundred percent eventually, and just.

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<v Speaker 1>Having the patience to let the whole process play out.

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<v Speaker 2>When guys go through an injury and a surgery like this,

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<v Speaker 2>They say physically to get over the hump is one

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<v Speaker 2>part of the equation, but the bigger part is the

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<v Speaker 2>mental hurdle to trust that the injury the ankle is

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<v Speaker 2>going to be able to do what you wanted to

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<v Speaker 2>do and trust that it's not going to get injured again.

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<v Speaker 2>What point did you have that trust in your ankle

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<v Speaker 2>that you could have it do the old Tommy Edmond

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<v Speaker 2>type of things.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean, I think that's why it was good

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<v Speaker 1>to have a three week rehab assignment because you're definitely

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<v Speaker 1>a little tentative the first week getting back to playing

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<v Speaker 1>baseball again, going full speed around bases, and then by

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<v Speaker 1>the third week, I definitely felt totally comfortable, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>especially a rounding basis, because that's that's how I ended

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<v Speaker 1>up doing it the second time last year in August,

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<v Speaker 1>So you know, it definitely got a lot better in

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<v Speaker 1>the first couple of weeks, and then by the time

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<v Speaker 1>the third week came around, I felt totally normal.

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<v Speaker 2>When you have to focus on getting this ankle through

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<v Speaker 2>surgery and recovery, how much does that take away from

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<v Speaker 2>the baseball preparation for a season? And d you feel

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<v Speaker 2>like you've gotten enough of that to be ready for

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<v Speaker 2>the season.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, fortunately, pretty early on in the process, I

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<v Speaker 1>was able to take swings, so I was able to

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<v Speaker 1>get a good amount of hitting in before I actually

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<v Speaker 1>went out to play game. It was pretty much just

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<v Speaker 1>like the running and cutting standpoint that I wasn't able

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<v Speaker 1>to do at the very beginning. So you know, just

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<v Speaker 1>getting back to game action that was, uh, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>that was kind of the big step, just the unpredictability

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<v Speaker 1>of you know, what might happen during a game, whether

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<v Speaker 1>it's a weird play on defense or a weird play

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<v Speaker 1>on the base paths. So I think just getting comfortable

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<v Speaker 1>with that was a was really important for me in

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<v Speaker 1>these last few weeks. And you know, I had some

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<v Speaker 1>interesting scenarios kind of come up where I had to

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<v Speaker 1>you know adjust and and you know, do some quick

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<v Speaker 1>change of direction, and you know, I felt good with those,

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<v Speaker 1>So I passed that.

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<v Speaker 2>Step without you Pat has never collided with k.

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<v Speaker 3>That's right, that's right. Absolutely saved the World Series.