Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: It's the Dodgers and Rangers, a split squad game today
Speaker 2: here in Arizona, and we're joined right now by a
Speaker 2: man that has a great connection to Andrew Friedman, going
Speaker 2: back to his playing days with the Tampa Bay Race,
Speaker 2: fresh from managing with the Twins, and now the Dodgers
Speaker 2: are very fortunate to have Rocco Baldelli and his beautiful
Speaker 2: bald head part of their front office. Rocko, thanks a
Speaker 2: lot for the time and great to have you in
Speaker 2: Dodger Blue.
Speaker 1: Thank you. That might be the greatest intro that I've
Speaker 1: ever had in my entire life. But no, it's wonderful
Speaker 1: to be here. It's a It's been a fantastic spring
Speaker 1: training and being here with the new group has been
Speaker 1: really eye opening and pretty awesome for me. Right now.
Speaker 2: What's it like for you to see these group of
Speaker 2: players coming off back to back championships seemingly ready to
Speaker 2: go day one is spring training?
Speaker 1: Yeah, The one thing that I noticed really early with
Speaker 1: this group was the level of focus and intensity and
Speaker 1: desire coming off of two World Series. You know, it's
Speaker 1: not like, you know, everyone's coming in without those world series.
Speaker 1: Those world series have been have been one great moments experienced,
Speaker 1: but still coming in with that really exceptional high level focus, ready,
Speaker 1: ready to roll, ready to work every single day, ready
Speaker 1: to get better every single day, and you can see
Speaker 1: why so many of these players have had the success
Speaker 1: that they've had.
Speaker 2: I see you floating around camp. Have you kind of
Speaker 2: gravitated towards one group of players or just trying to
Speaker 2: zone in on what they do to prepare for not
Speaker 2: only each day here but for the season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, most of my time has been spent with the
Speaker 1: outfield group, and specifically a lot of the young outfielders,
Speaker 1: a lot of the guys that are that haven't yet
Speaker 1: made their debut, a lot of the guys that are
Speaker 1: at the Double A and Triple A level, and there's
Speaker 1: a there's an extensive list of very talented young men here.
Speaker 1: Probably one of the the depthiest groups of outfielders that
Speaker 1: I've ever ever seen prospect wise in one organization. So
Speaker 1: that spent that's taken up a lot of my time.
Speaker 1: It's been very enjoyable working with this group, but I
Speaker 1: didn't want to get to spread out watching too many
Speaker 1: different things. I mean, getting a view of the organization
Speaker 1: as a whole has been important. I mean, it's a
Speaker 1: new place for me, so it's going to take a
Speaker 1: little time. But as far as when I'm stepping on
Speaker 1: the field, most of my attention and my eyes are
Speaker 1: set on those young outfielders.
Speaker 2: Is it a stretch to say the Dodgers have potentially
Speaker 2: six young outfielders that could be major leaguers in the
Speaker 2: next year or two.
Speaker 1: I mean in the next year or two, probably, So
Speaker 1: I would say that the list is even much longer
Speaker 1: than that when you extend it down into some of
Speaker 1: the younger players. There are guys that are appearing in
Speaker 1: major league camp that are doing really a heck of
Speaker 1: a job up and down the ladder. Not all of
Speaker 1: them are even at the Triple A and Double A levels,
Speaker 1: But yeah, normal you don't see a half dozen guys,
Speaker 1: you know, you start I could, I could start naming
Speaker 1: a bunch of names here, but like you're gonna end up,
Speaker 1: you know, missing guys too. But in major league camp,
Speaker 1: you know, you had Tibbs and aar Hard and those
Speaker 1: guys did a really nice job. And Ward has had
Speaker 1: some some some real success at the minor league levels
Speaker 1: and put up a lot of UH, some really good
Speaker 1: numbers KG, Kendell, George and Depaula and and Zyer Hope
Speaker 1: and the list is UH is good and long, and
Speaker 1: you know what, You're gonna need all those guys at
Speaker 1: different points in time. UH, and you just gotta wait
Speaker 1: and see how they develop. But the talent is there, Rocco.
Speaker 2: I'm glad you brought up James Tibbs because the Dodgers
Speaker 2: acquired him last year. He's been traded twice before even
Speaker 2: making his major league debut, but he's been in a
Speaker 2: lot of Cactus League games, putting him on the radar
Speaker 2: for fans that are watching and listening. What stands out
Speaker 2: to you the most that makes you believe he can
Speaker 2: impact the Dodgers this season.
Speaker 1: Well, I think that one of the first things that
Speaker 1: you notice around him is he's a very intense guy
Speaker 1: and he wants to do good. He shows up ready
Speaker 1: to work every day, which is a great trait for
Speaker 1: any young player. But when he steps on the field
Speaker 1: and he starts playing, you can see that he has
Speaker 1: a good advanced approach at the plate, which stands out
Speaker 1: and you know he's not you know, it's not like
Speaker 1: He's standing six foot five and two hundred and forty pounds,
Speaker 1: but he hits the ball hard, He sees the ball
Speaker 1: really good. He's just a lot of great traits that
Speaker 1: you would want and a good young hitter, and he
Speaker 1: shows a lot of those virtually every game where he
Speaker 1: steps out there on the field. He looks like a
Speaker 1: guy who knows what he's doing in the batter's box.
Speaker 1: So that's a great place to start for a young guy.
Speaker 1: He had a lot of success once he came over
Speaker 1: to the Dodgers in the minor leagues last year, and
Speaker 1: now he's really jumping off of that this spring and
Speaker 1: continuing his success.
Speaker 2: This is your genre of baseball. You might agree or
Speaker 2: disagree with this, but when I shook his hand, I
Speaker 2: was thinking, who does he remind me of? And it
Speaker 2: struck me a day later. Casey Kotchman, who played for
Speaker 2: the Angels, different position, but he had some real meat hooks,
Speaker 2: and James Tibbs seems to have those meat hooks.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's got he's got some strength in those hands.
Speaker 1: He's got some strength in those hands. I've played with
Speaker 1: Cotch two and Cotch is an awesome dude and had
Speaker 1: a good career. I haven't seen him in a while.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure he's at these days, but I'm sure
Speaker 1: he's doing fine. But yeah, Timsy has had a good
Speaker 1: start to the spring. He's been playing a decent amount
Speaker 1: of first base. He's also pretty solid contributor on the
Speaker 1: corner outfield spots. And I think he's he just needs
Speaker 1: to go play. He just needs to settle in when
Speaker 1: the season hits, you know, obviously most likely going to
Speaker 1: the minor leagues, you know, unless something happens, I think
Speaker 1: in major league camp. But I think, you know, just
Speaker 1: being ready to show up every day and be prepared
Speaker 1: for whenever his name's called, and his name could be
Speaker 1: called soon. I'm sure.
Speaker 2: Rocco Baldelli is our guest. He's a specialist assistant to
Speaker 2: Andrew Freeman, part of the Dodgers front office now. And
Speaker 2: you know, Andrew Freeman has built something special that everybody
Speaker 2: around the league is very envious of. Can you give
Speaker 2: us some insight on what the Dodgers have now under
Speaker 2: Andrew compared to what he was like and what he
Speaker 2: built in Tampa Bay with you.
Speaker 1: Well, I'd like to say he's changed a whole lot,
Speaker 1: and you know, you know, get on him a little
Speaker 1: bit for that, but now he's the he's the same guy.
Speaker 1: Exceptionally brilliant and talented, of course, but he's he likes
Speaker 1: to laugh, he's he likes to get in there with
Speaker 1: all the people that work with him. Uh, he has
Speaker 1: great relationships. Everywhere you look, and and every organization he's
Speaker 1: ever worked with, people always they're they warmed to him,
Speaker 1: and they they they love working with him and for him.
Speaker 1: So you know, that's not totally normal probably you know
Speaker 1: everywhere in the game or everywhere in sports where you look,
Speaker 1: but he creates just an exceptional in ironment for the
Speaker 1: people that show up here every day, both the players
Speaker 1: and the staff. So you know, I've known Andrew since
Speaker 1: the beginnings of his time in professional baseball, and I
Speaker 1: feel very lucky to be working with him once again.
Speaker 2: Everybody tried to put him in this bucket being with
Speaker 2: Tampa Bay and trying to do more with less. How
Speaker 2: unique is it for him to be able to do
Speaker 2: what he did in Tampa but then now have the
Speaker 2: resources at his fingertips to build what he's have now,
Speaker 2: what he's built now with the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think one thing to note is like Andrew
Speaker 1: had to get very creative in Tampa Bay when he
Speaker 1: was there. Now he just gets creative in different ways.
Speaker 1: And you know he has a mind that's always going
Speaker 1: to be searching for something new or more effective or different.
Speaker 1: And you know what he's built here. I mean when
Speaker 1: I first showed up, he I've only been here a
Speaker 1: short time, but you know, I realized this is a
Speaker 1: this is an immense this is a massive operation here
Speaker 1: in LA and it's not what I've been used to
Speaker 1: because I've worked with smaller market clubs in my career.
Speaker 1: But the way that it functions together is extremely impressive.
Speaker 1: You don't lose that that personal touch and that really
Speaker 1: you know, pointed, very good, you know, well thought out
Speaker 1: programming that you get when you have a smaller group.
Speaker 1: It operates the same way, except that it is a
Speaker 1: bigger group here and everyone works together very well. It's
Speaker 1: very well coordinated, it's very well organized, and to me,
Speaker 1: it almost felt like a college campus atmosphere when I
Speaker 1: showed up here for spring training, you know, which isn't
Speaker 1: necessarily the field that you get in most camps.
Speaker 2: Now, that's a great compliment, Rocco. Before I let you go.
Speaker 2: Joe Madden told me once that Andrew is not only
Speaker 2: great at what he does building the infrastructure and using analytics,
Speaker 2: but he is a really good baseball man now a
Speaker 2: great baseball scout. Have you seen that transformation?
Speaker 1: Truthfully, I think that was always in Andrew because Andrew
Speaker 1: was Andrew played. You know, Andrew you know, was a
Speaker 1: member of the two lane baseball team back in the day,
Speaker 1: and I always thought he was like the last guy
Speaker 1: on the roster, very possible, very possible. No one can
Speaker 1: verify it, so there's no way to really there's no way.
Speaker 2: To really know.
Speaker 1: But no, you know, he has a background in the game.
Speaker 1: You know, he didn't just show up and you know
Speaker 1: pick up baseball. I mean that it's something that he
Speaker 1: has a long history with. And I think he has
Speaker 1: a great appreciation for melding all parts of this game
Speaker 1: in the best possible ways. And he knows that you
Speaker 1: need you know, exceptional you know, an exceptional plan or
Speaker 1: you know, really good information. But he he he really
Speaker 1: compliments that with bringing in the right people and people
Speaker 1: that he trusts and people that he wants opinions from.
Speaker 1: And you know, everywhere you look here, there's really really
Speaker 1: really awesome, talented people in every department, and he the
Speaker 1: way they come together, though, is the key, and the
Speaker 1: way he utilizes everyone is always going to be the key,
Speaker 1: and he's the best at that.
Speaker 2: All Right, before I let you go, I'm gonna tap
Speaker 2: into some Andrew Friedman sense of humor here for Rocco Baldelli.
Speaker 2: When I was driving in today to Camelback Ranch, I
Speaker 2: saw a bald headed dude in a Dodger hoodie with
Speaker 2: a beard double over as he was trying to run
Speaker 2: the whole ranch. Was that Rocco Baldelli?
Speaker 1: It was?
Speaker 2: And it's all I have.
Speaker 1: It's all I've got, and I got nothing more to give.
Speaker 1: But yeah, you're lucky I didn't take a picture for Andrew.
Speaker 1: You know what, he would use that picture forever. It
Speaker 1: would go rate in that that file that he keeps
Speaker 1: on everyone, and he'd have a good picture. Now, I
Speaker 1: was absolutely gassed out here, But you got to do something.
Speaker 1: You got to get out there and keep moving.
Speaker 2: Hey, I'm I can only say that to a certain
Speaker 2: extent since you can see I'm a skinny, fat guy,
Speaker 2: So I can only go so far on you same
Speaker 2: saying that's that you can talk into the same thing.
Speaker 2: Hey Rocco, thanks a lot for joining us. It's great
Speaker 2: to share you with Dodger fans. You have so much
Speaker 2: to offer the game and the Dodgers are lucky to
Speaker 2: have you in the organization. So thank you for the time.
Speaker 1: That's truly a pleasure to be here. Thank you.