WEBVTT - Alex Call (5-26-26) 

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

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<v Speaker 1>We're joined Ryan now by one of my favorite guys.

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<v Speaker 1>He's always prepared. You can make a pawn on his

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<v Speaker 1>last name, first call, last call calls all the time.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the one and only Alex call. Thanks a lot

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<v Speaker 1>for the time.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Dave, you you goot answering the call, You've got

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<v Speaker 2>last call, you know, whatever it is there is, I've

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<v Speaker 2>heard them all pretty much.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, you answer the call all the time. I watched

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<v Speaker 1>you today. So much preparation goes into a day when

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<v Speaker 1>you're not even starting, taking the ball off the bat

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<v Speaker 1>and batting practice, all three outfield spots, taking batting practice,

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<v Speaker 1>facing live BP to help Evan Phillips and Brock Stewart.

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<v Speaker 1>Is this just a Dan the life of Alex call.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah it is.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, it's a blessing to be able to be

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<v Speaker 2>on this team and play Major League Baseball and do

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<v Speaker 2>what I do.

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<v Speaker 3>And there's just so much that goes into it.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, everybody, every single kid wants to be in

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<v Speaker 2>my position, and you can't take that for granted. You

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<v Speaker 2>have to go and attack every day with the mindset of, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>I got to earn my keep today, I gotta find

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<v Speaker 2>a way to get better. I gotta find a way

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<v Speaker 2>to prepare myself for the next opportunity.

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<v Speaker 3>That's gonna be be my way.

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<v Speaker 1>You know.

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<v Speaker 2>Bottom line is, you know, I I don't always know

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<v Speaker 2>what I'm gonna play, when I'm gonna get called on,

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<v Speaker 2>when I'm gonna start, And because of that, this game

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<v Speaker 2>is about results. This game is about how you produce

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<v Speaker 2>on the field. So it doesn't matter when they call you,

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<v Speaker 2>what the game situation is or what's going on. It's

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<v Speaker 2>my job to produce at a major league level. And

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<v Speaker 2>you know, if you don't do that, then you leave

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<v Speaker 2>the door open for you know, something else. And so

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<v Speaker 2>preparation is the most important thing. And understanding that and

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<v Speaker 2>taking that to heart and just being having it be

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<v Speaker 2>a part of your U team and your day makes

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<v Speaker 2>it easy and keeps you focused.

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<v Speaker 1>What goes into why you go out to the out

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<v Speaker 1>field in the corners and center field to take you know,

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<v Speaker 1>shag during while your teammates are taking batting practice.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well as the outfield, like the best work you

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<v Speaker 2>can do is live reads off the bat in batting practice.

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<v Speaker 2>So this is a cherished time. I would say, because

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<v Speaker 2>it's really the best practice you can do. And you know,

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<v Speaker 2>nowadays with how they evaluate outfielders, how they evaluate everybody

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<v Speaker 2>on defense, there's never been more data.

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<v Speaker 3>Available for every single play.

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<v Speaker 2>Every single play gets graded, every single play can carry

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<v Speaker 2>an enormous weight for the amount of value that you

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<v Speaker 2>provide for the team. And so trying to get the

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<v Speaker 2>best reps possible via the best means of practice with

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<v Speaker 2>batting practice live reads off the bat is how you

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<v Speaker 2>can get better, stay sharp, and be ready for the game.

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<v Speaker 2>So understanding like, hey, every single ball off the bat

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<v Speaker 2>is an opportunity for me to create value for the team,

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<v Speaker 2>and I have to be ready for every one of

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<v Speaker 2>those in every position, So I like to rotate around

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<v Speaker 2>all three. You know, might not get all three one day,

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<v Speaker 2>but over the course of the week, try to try

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<v Speaker 2>to touch all three.

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<v Speaker 1>Alex, Since you played for the Nationals and now you're

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<v Speaker 1>with the Dodgers, we've heard so much about the Dodgers

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<v Speaker 1>research and development department being able to position infielders and

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<v Speaker 1>outfielders where they don't have to cover as much ground.

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<v Speaker 1>They're really good at scouting the opposition and positioning you

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<v Speaker 1>guys in the right spot. Have you found that to

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<v Speaker 1>be a big difference from where you were before.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean we in Washington, there was you know,

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<v Speaker 2>there was data that we had, We had the card,

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<v Speaker 2>we had the information, and you know, I guess whose

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<v Speaker 2>information is the best?

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<v Speaker 3>You know, I don't really know.

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<v Speaker 2>I guess the results kind of speak for themselves based

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<v Speaker 2>on you know, what team has the most outs above

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<v Speaker 2>average or defensive run saved, you know, for their outfielders.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, it has to do with obviously defensive ability

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<v Speaker 2>and talent, but also a lot of the underlying metrics

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<v Speaker 2>have to do with positioning. And so yeah, I guess

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<v Speaker 2>I haven't dived too deep into, you know what, which

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<v Speaker 2>one's better, But you just you trust the organization that's

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<v Speaker 2>giving you the information and trust the data, and then

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<v Speaker 2>you also trust your eyes. You know, if there's something

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<v Speaker 2>that we see, we're free to be able to move

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<v Speaker 2>in that regard. And so but for the most part,

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<v Speaker 2>I like to just trust and get ready to make

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<v Speaker 2>the play.

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<v Speaker 1>Alex calls our guests before first pitch between the Dodgers

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<v Speaker 1>and Rockies. Got to ask you about that insane play

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<v Speaker 1>last week in San Diego. Mason Miller Aaron throw you're

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<v Speaker 1>at first base. Do you feel like you got picked

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<v Speaker 1>off there and you were fortunate? How do you look

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<v Speaker 1>back at it now that we've had a week to

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<v Speaker 1>kind of digest it all.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, I was obviously, you know, if he makes

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<v Speaker 2>a good throw, I'm gonna be in a pickle there.

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<v Speaker 2>And the odds are literally right, Yeah, the odds are

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<v Speaker 2>never favorable.

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<v Speaker 3>But here's the deal.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, against a you know, one of the best

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<v Speaker 2>pitchers in the game who's been electric, had a ton

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<v Speaker 2>of success, and nobody's.

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<v Speaker 3>Really had success off of him.

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<v Speaker 2>We got a guy on base with one out, and

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<v Speaker 2>the bottom line is, how are we going to find

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<v Speaker 2>a way to how are we going to find a

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<v Speaker 2>way to score a run? So getting those extra ninety

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<v Speaker 2>feet in a situation where we've had scouted looks, we

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<v Speaker 2>know what he looks like, we know what he does,

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<v Speaker 2>we know what his tendencies are.

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<v Speaker 3>But that's just the information.

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<v Speaker 2>The information is is the information, you trust it, but

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<v Speaker 2>no information is one hundred percent.

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<v Speaker 3>So I trusted my eyes, I trusted the read of

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<v Speaker 3>what we had, and I went with him. And it

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<v Speaker 3>didn't you know, something happened that we weren't expecting.

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<v Speaker 2>But hey, he can throw an air and throw, and

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<v Speaker 2>we were trying to, you know, not force the issue, but.

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<v Speaker 3>Hey, we're trying to win the game. We're trying to

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<v Speaker 3>win the game.

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<v Speaker 2>We're trying to catch from off balance, and maybe that

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<v Speaker 2>was just enough for him to get off balance and

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<v Speaker 2>got over to third base. And then Andy had a

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<v Speaker 2>great at bat and be able to get the sack

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<v Speaker 2>fhe So, you know, it's a calculated risk. Obviously, you

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<v Speaker 2>never want to get picked off, but in a situation

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<v Speaker 2>where hey, that ninety feet matters, we're gonna have a

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<v Speaker 2>tough time putting a few hits together on this guy.

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<v Speaker 3>Anyway, you know, let's go for it.

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<v Speaker 2>And so then you just trust the data, trust your eyes,

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<v Speaker 2>and luckily it worked out.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, nobody would break it down better than that than

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<v Speaker 1>Alex Call himself. Before I let you go, Otani was

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<v Speaker 1>out here throwing off flackgrounds. So there was a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of Japanese media hanging out while I was waiting for you,

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<v Speaker 1>and they said, who am I waiting for. I said,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not waiting for Otani, I'm waiting for Alex Call.

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<v Speaker 1>And they told me they believe that you have a

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<v Speaker 1>doppelganger out there. And they told me that they had

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<v Speaker 1>told you who they believe. Alex Call, looks like, can

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<v Speaker 1>you share that with us?

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<v Speaker 4>Was that the banjo? The young bon Jovi reference? Yes,

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<v Speaker 4>John bon Jovi. Hey, you know, at least they didn't

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<v Speaker 4>say old on job. They said young bon Jovi, young bo.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I've gotten that, I've gotten Christian McCaffrey, I've gotten

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<v Speaker 2>Leonardo DiCaprio.

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<v Speaker 3>So a few different guys that.

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<v Speaker 2>Depending on if I got the headband on or what

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<v Speaker 2>I got going on, can get a few different results.

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<v Speaker 2>But hey, I'll take it.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, Japanese media they see John bon Jovi every night

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<v Speaker 1>at Dodgers Stadium, and that's Alex Call. Living on a prayer,

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<v Speaker 1>living on a prayer.

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<v Speaker 3>What's the other one wanted dead or alive? You know

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<v Speaker 3>that one too.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks a lot for the time, Alex. Always great to

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<v Speaker 1>catch up with you.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, no problem, Dave