WEBVTT - Alex Freeland (6-29-26) 

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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 a join right now by Dodgers second basement.

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<v Speaker 2>A young man that is coming of age for the Dodgers,

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<v Speaker 2>and that is Alex Freeland, great stash, great beard, great edge.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks a lot for the time, Thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, Dave Roberts is coming up on one thousand career

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<v Speaker 2>wins and on the last homestand there was a teaching

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<v Speaker 2>moment he had with you and Ryan Ward. What do

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<v Speaker 2>you remember about that conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>Us about situational hitting, just having a plan and trying

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<v Speaker 1>to execute a plan in certain situations, you know, like

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<v Speaker 1>bases loaded or running around third less than less than

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<v Speaker 1>two outs, like you know what you gotta or you

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<v Speaker 1>gotta know what you're looking for, and like that's the

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<v Speaker 1>stuff that wins ball games when you execute the little things.

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<v Speaker 1>So that those majority of the conversation.

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<v Speaker 2>As you get older, you'll learn what I did. It's

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<v Speaker 2>not what you say, it's how you say it. For

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<v Speaker 2>him to have you on the bench, Ward on one

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<v Speaker 2>side of him, you on the other side of him,

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<v Speaker 2>and deliver it the way he did, does it hit

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<v Speaker 2>home more?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah? Man, I mean it shows he cares, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's nice to have as many people as possible in

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<v Speaker 1>your corner. And it feels like he's in our corner

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<v Speaker 1>every single day. So like I appreciate him just going

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<v Speaker 1>out of the way to to teach us, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean we're younger guys. Yeah, so he doesn't have

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<v Speaker 1>to do anything, you know, like he can leave it

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<v Speaker 1>up to the other coaching staff, but you know, he

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<v Speaker 1>goes out of his way to make sure that that

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<v Speaker 1>we've learned from it and and to not let it

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<v Speaker 1>eat us alive. You know, like me and me and

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<v Speaker 1>Ward being young, like we want to provide when when

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<v Speaker 1>we can, and sometimes you don't get the job done,

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<v Speaker 1>but like even if you don't get it done, like

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<v Speaker 1>there's stuff to learn from it. So you know, it

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<v Speaker 1>feels nice that he's in my corner.

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<v Speaker 2>Were you surprised that he cared that much?

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<v Speaker 1>Know, I'm not surprised because I know he wants to

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<v Speaker 1>win more than anybody on the team. So you know,

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<v Speaker 1>like like I said, like those situations like they matter

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<v Speaker 1>the most. You know, like could win a ball game

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<v Speaker 1>by one run and you know if you execute right there,

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<v Speaker 1>like that's where you won the game. So no, I

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't surprised that he was that amped up to be

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<v Speaker 1>talking about it.

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<v Speaker 2>Alex Freeland is our guest. We're on the grass on

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<v Speaker 2>the field here. This is where Alex Friedland lives. On

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<v Speaker 2>the grass. You're a baseball rat. You love the game,

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<v Speaker 2>and I'm wondering, after last year's experience and you playing

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<v Speaker 2>virtually every day this year, do you have a better

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<v Speaker 2>understanding of what it takes to get through a full

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<v Speaker 2>major league season.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, definitely. I mean it's tough, it's long. You got

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<v Speaker 1>to pace yourself and take the breaks when they're given.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know what, I'll do this until I die.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. So yeah, what have you learned the most about

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<v Speaker 2>how to get through it? Not get on that roller coast?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah? You can't ride it, like you can't ride the

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<v Speaker 1>ups and downs. I mean, because there's gonna be ups

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<v Speaker 1>and downs regardless. Like I don't care if you're Freddie

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<v Speaker 1>Freeman or or some no name, Like everybody's like Alex Freeland.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah exactly, exactly, So like everybody's gonna gonna have the

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<v Speaker 1>highs and lows, and it's just all about like perspective

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<v Speaker 1>from on how you look at it. And it's you know,

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<v Speaker 1>you just can't get too high, I can't get too low.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, when you look at other left handed hitters in

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<v Speaker 2>this lineup, obviously they're not going to pitch you the

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<v Speaker 2>same way they pitch Freddy and Otani. Is there anything

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<v Speaker 2>you could take away from at bats ahead of you,

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<v Speaker 2>from Tucker and Munsey that can help you when you

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<v Speaker 2>go to the plate.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. No, I mean it's nice to see a good

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<v Speaker 1>amount of lefties go before I do, so I get

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<v Speaker 1>somewhat of an idea of how the how the pitcher

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<v Speaker 1>is gonna attack. But you know, everybody's different, everybody's got

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<v Speaker 1>their own game plan. But I mean it's just nice

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<v Speaker 1>to to see another lefty in the box. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's helpful, all.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, before I let Alex Friedlin go. You know where

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<v Speaker 2>I see you have the most fun is around second

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<v Speaker 2>base because you're sneaky, really good at doing some magical

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<v Speaker 2>things around the bag. And it seems like MOOKI has

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of joy playing with you. How much fun

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<v Speaker 2>do you guys have with each other? Being able to

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<v Speaker 2>turn double plays, being able to think the game, talk

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<v Speaker 2>the game right there on the field.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, Mookie's a baseball junkie too. So I mean I

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<v Speaker 1>think I think he just enjoys like the little ins

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<v Speaker 1>and outs of it, and so do I. So, I

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<v Speaker 1>mean it's just fun to play with somebody. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like we're similar in certain ways, and I

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<v Speaker 1>feel like we have a good connection up the middle.

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<v Speaker 1>So I mean it's just fun. We can we can

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<v Speaker 1>have a good time. But like we're all about our

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<v Speaker 1>business when time comes, but we know how to have

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<v Speaker 1>a good time.

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<v Speaker 2>See the most humble superstar you ever played with? Freddy's

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<v Speaker 2>pretty humble Freddie.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah him or Freddy I mean, or show. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>they're all humble.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, thanks a lot for the time, Thanks a lot

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<v Speaker 2>for aligning me in your office on the grass. This

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<v Speaker 2>is really special. You're getting ready for your pregame routine,

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<v Speaker 2>So thanks a lot for the time, and let's do

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<v Speaker 2>this again soon. Hey, the coaches are noticing exactly flocking

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<v Speaker 2>to my world.