Speaker 1: And now, an exclusive interview with David Basset for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: Even with Tanner Scott trying to bring me down in
Speaker 2: rainy Detroit, we're joined right now by one of the
Speaker 2: relievers in that bullpen, the one and only Seth Halverson,
Speaker 2: the newcomer Seth Halverson.
Speaker 1: Thanks a lot for the time. Appreciate it.
Speaker 3: Hey, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2: Since it is raining right now, I figured, hey, we
Speaker 2: got nothing else to do except a pregame conversation for
Speaker 2: fans to get to know you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 3: I'm ready.
Speaker 1: Don't be nervous with Tanner Scott right there. Good dude.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what's it been like for you to get to
Speaker 2: know your teammates? The bullpen is a team within itself.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's been fun getting down there. Obviously, there's a
Speaker 3: lot of experience down there, so being able to just
Speaker 3: have conversations with everybody and pick some brains and just
Speaker 3: hang out and just learn by observing and just being
Speaker 3: able to compete with these guys too is fun.
Speaker 1: Has it been a breath of fresh air?
Speaker 2: To actually pitch at sea level and not have to
Speaker 2: deal with the elements of Colorado?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it's a big difference in how the
Speaker 3: ball feels on the fingers, you know, with the elevation.
Speaker 3: It just gets a little bit drier. And then, you know, yeah,
Speaker 3: the stuff plays, you know, probably a tick higher, too,
Speaker 3: when you're not in 5,000 feet. So, yeah, to be
Speaker 3: able to not be there consistently, you know, Over time
Speaker 3: from here, I'll still go back there a little bit,
Speaker 3: but not too often, not as often.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: I've heard not only just the pitch characteristics, but obviously
Speaker 2: the mental part of playing there.
Speaker 1: Is that a real thing?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think, you know, you play there for 81 games,
Speaker 3: and it's like you kind of have to, like I'm
Speaker 3: prepared to play there more consistently. And I think actually
Speaker 3: I had better splits there.
Speaker 1: Colorado.
Speaker 3: I don't know if that was just because I was
Speaker 3: prepared mentally all the time for Colorado. I don't know
Speaker 3: what the science behind that is, but to be able
Speaker 3: to not have to play their 81 games out of
Speaker 3: the years, I think as a pitcher, it's probably going
Speaker 3: to be beneficial.
Speaker 2: Seth Halverson is our guest. We're in Detroit, the Dodgers
Speaker 2: and Tigers getting set for first pitch.
Speaker 1: So you're a great guy to ask this.
Speaker 2: Everybody always wants to know, what's the secret with the Dodgers?
Speaker 2: How do they get pitchers to be their best? How
Speaker 2: have they helped you be the best version of you?
Speaker 3: It's just been, they got me back to my natural
Speaker 3: arm slot of where I kind of was in 2024.
Speaker 3: When I was at my best, it was just pretty...
Speaker 3: simple logic of just like, this is where your arm was. And,
Speaker 3: you know, when you had a high success rate in
Speaker 3: the major leagues, so let's get you back to there.
Speaker 3: And I think my pitches play better from that arm
Speaker 3: slot and everything just kind of takes a tick up. And,
Speaker 3: you know, when I'm able to just compete, you know,
Speaker 3: throwing from a spot where I'm comfortable throwing, it's pretty exciting.
Speaker 3: And so they told me that the first couple of
Speaker 3: days I was here and then just kind of been
Speaker 3: working to get back there. uh, you know, last month
Speaker 3: or so.
Speaker 1: Is it tough to get, get back to that slot?
Speaker 1: Are you even conscious of it?
Speaker 3: Uh, I think I, I started raising it, you know,
Speaker 3: slightly over the last couple of years. And so it's not,
Speaker 3: it's not like a challenge to get back or it's
Speaker 3: not like impossible to get back to my arm slot.
Speaker 3: I think I have, um, you know, I don't know
Speaker 3: if I've gotten it all the way back down, but
Speaker 3: it's been, uh, it's been pretty comfortable getting back to a,
Speaker 3: a slot that I've had thrown from for a long time.
Speaker 2: That's got to be exciting. You mentioned the word compete.
Speaker 2: Isn't that what it comes down to on the mound?
Speaker 2: Not being so caught up in arm slots or mechanics,
Speaker 2: but to trust the preparation that you've put in. And
Speaker 2: when you're on that mound, mono-y mono against that hitter,
Speaker 2: it's about coming down and competing and doing the best
Speaker 2: you can.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's a great thing for what they
Speaker 3: told me because the arm slot, the whole thing is natural.
Speaker 3: So when I go out there, I'm not really focused
Speaker 3: on that. I'll kind of focus on it before I
Speaker 3: get on the mound. And once I get out there, yeah,
Speaker 3: keep it super simple and give it everything I got
Speaker 3: to compete one pitch at a time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, one pitch at a time, one strike at a time,
Speaker 2: one out at a time. Seth Halverson is our guest.
Speaker 2: I think I'm going to nickname you Seth the Bull
Speaker 2: because you remind me of a bull on the mound.
Speaker 1: Love it. Thank you. Bulldozer. Bulldozer. That's what Tanner Scott's saying. Bulldozer.
Speaker 3: Perfect. Thanks, Tanner.
Speaker 2: More Buzz Lightyear.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I can see a little Buzz Lightyear resemblance to you.
Speaker 1: I'll take it. All of the above. Tanner Scott, acquired taste, right?
Speaker 1: He's great. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Love spending time there with him and the bullpen.
Speaker 1: Okay. All right, bull.
Speaker 2: All right, bulldozer. All right, Buzz Lightyear. Thanks a lot
Speaker 2: for the time, Seth Halverson.
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me.