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Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.

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Speaker 2: Miguel Rojas will forever live in Dodger and baseball history

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Speaker 2: for his improbable home run with the Dodgers down to

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Speaker 2: their final two outs in Game seven of last year's

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Speaker 2: World Series. Rojas hasn't been embracing the celebration ever since

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Speaker 2: the Dodgers clinched the World Series in Toronto. The celebration

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Speaker 2: continued at Dodger Fest on Saturday. Here is the Great Miguel,

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Speaker 2: Here is World Series Hero Miguel Rojas. It's hard for

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Speaker 2: me to get time with you, Miguel. Everybody wants a

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Speaker 2: piece of you.

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Speaker 3: It's being overwhelming, but uh, in a good way. You know,

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Speaker 3: when you prepare for moments like that, and you what

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Speaker 3: your your entire career and your entire life to get, uh,

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Speaker 3: to get to the highest point that you're saying, you

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Speaker 3: never think about realizing that moment twenty years after you start.

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Speaker 4: Your professional career.

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Speaker 3: But that's what happened to me in Game seven. But

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Speaker 3: obviously there's no Game seven without Game six.

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Speaker 4: And that's why I'm so proud the way that I play.

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Speaker 3: Game six, because I got in there because of my defense.

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Speaker 4: I got in there because.

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Speaker 3: Of my energy and the things that I can bring

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Speaker 3: to the thing other than the hitting a home run.

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Speaker 3: And it's crazy to believe that now everybody's going to

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Speaker 3: remember me for hitting a home run in the game

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Speaker 3: sevens all wards ears for me.

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Speaker 4: Not being a home run hitting my whole career.

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Speaker 3: But I mean, things happen for a reason, and I'm

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Speaker 3: not gonna walk away from it happened to me because

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Speaker 3: I prepare and I got ready for the opportunity. And

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Speaker 3: I'm glad that the Dodgers got the chance to win

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Speaker 3: the Ward Series again.

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Speaker 1: Everywhere you go around Los Angeles, kids of all ages

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Speaker 1: are wearing Dodger jerseys the championship hats. How does it

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Speaker 1: feel to be a role model for all these kids

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Speaker 1: by example to never give up on yourself and never

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Speaker 1: not be ready for the opportunity whenever it comes.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it's it's really cool to uh to be able.

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Speaker 3: Through the the experience that you get in life and

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Speaker 3: and in this sport, you can teach a lesson to

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Speaker 3: a lot of people, not just the kids, but the

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Speaker 3: partners as well.

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Speaker 4: You know, not everybody is going to be shown and not.

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Speaker 3: Everybody's going to be a Hall of Fame like Freddie

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Speaker 3: Freeman and Mookie Bets.

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Speaker 4: But teams are our bible.

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Speaker 3: To kind of have a lot of different characters on

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Speaker 3: a team.

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Speaker 4: And I feel like if you're willing to work.

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Speaker 3: Every single day and sacrifice a lot of things, uh

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Speaker 3: to do what you want to do, uh, You're going

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Speaker 3: to have good results. So I feel like a lot

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Speaker 3: of people can actually look theirselves in the mirror and say,

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Speaker 3: I got an opportunity to be a Miguel.

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Speaker 4: Row has in whatever I do, Uh, come in uh.

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Speaker 3: When the people needs me, and when the opportunity is

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Speaker 3: given to me, and and don't make sure you're ready

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Speaker 3: and make sure you are you're taking everything into consideration

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Speaker 3: to be ready for that chance.

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Speaker 1: All your teammates have always told me nobody has hands

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Speaker 1: like Miguel Rojas. But in game six, when you took

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Speaker 1: the short hot from Key k Hernandez, that looked more

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Speaker 1: difficult than it appeared. Then you made it look And

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Speaker 1: then the play that you made with the infield in

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Speaker 1: to be able game of inches to throw a strike

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Speaker 1: to Will Smith, what was the more challenging play to

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Speaker 1: be able to pull off?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely Game seven play because it's a do or

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Speaker 3: that plays a backsack and said, well, you know you're

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Speaker 3: playing in field in right there, wishing for something that

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Speaker 3: they hit right at you, and it wasn't definitely was

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Speaker 3: hitting a right at me.

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Speaker 4: Was a couple of steps to my right. You know,

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Speaker 4: I have to go there.

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Speaker 3: I have to get on my knees, glove the ball,

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Speaker 3: get back on my feet and make a good throw

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Speaker 3: home play.

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Speaker 4: I think if I don't make that play.

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Speaker 3: Doesn't matter what else you know, like what else you

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Speaker 3: can do to help the team until that point, it's

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Speaker 3: all it's all kind of like battling through all the

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Speaker 3: indies that we have to play during that series. There's

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Speaker 3: no Joshioyamamoto MVP. I mean a lot of peop but will

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Speaker 3: remember him still for what he did. But uh, I mean,

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Speaker 3: if I don't make the play, he's getting over and

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Speaker 3: and we're not.

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Speaker 4: Celebrating, and we're not back to back champions.

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Speaker 1: If you don't make those plays, if you don't hit

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Speaker 1: that home run, the Dodgers would be going home all right,

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Speaker 1: back to back champions. Now, Miguel, how do you guys

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Speaker 1: stay hungry for that three.

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Speaker 3: P Yeah, for for this moments like this, seeing the

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Speaker 3: fans excitement around this building like always you know.

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Speaker 4: Uh, these people know.

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Speaker 3: How to pack this place every single night for six

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Speaker 3: three months, you know.

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Speaker 2: Uh.

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Speaker 4: And then when you have.

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Speaker 3: The key of the chain on top, make him move

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Speaker 3: to make your team better and compete again for for

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Speaker 3: another championship and not being okay.

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Speaker 4: Just because we won the last two. Uh.

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Speaker 3: I think that's that give you the motivation to go

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Speaker 3: to the sprint training, to fight for the spot and

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Speaker 3: to fight for for.

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Speaker 4: Something that that is bigger than.

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Speaker 3: Jose yourself, is a is for the whole city, for

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Speaker 3: the whole community, and for the organization.

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Speaker 1: Uh.

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Speaker 3: We deserve the opportunity to go back together to that

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Speaker 3: sprint training plus guys that wants to be here and

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Speaker 3: wants to be part of this uh.

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Speaker 4: And I think we're gonna.

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Speaker 3: Have a chance to have a real chat to threepeat

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Speaker 3: something that not everybody can say that got the opportunity.

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Speaker 1: To the run it back for that three peat. Miguel

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Speaker 1: Rojas is such a big part of this Dodger team,

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Speaker 1: not only last year, but the last three years. All Right, Miguel,

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Speaker 1: I had to explain some backstory. Miguel Rojas is our

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Speaker 1: guest because I was asked about Team Venezuela and you

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Speaker 1: not being able to get the insurance to play in

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Speaker 1: this year's World Baseball Classic. I was asked this past week,

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Speaker 1: and I had to give some context. I'm not sure

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Speaker 1: all these reporters that were asking you about that remember

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Speaker 1: the fact that you sacrificed not playing for Team Venezuela

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Speaker 1: and the World Baseball Classic because of your responsibility to

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Speaker 1: be able to stay with the Dodgers, because of just

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Speaker 1: how your body was feeling and the opportunity. Does that

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Speaker 1: make it even more frustrating that you have this opportunity

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Speaker 1: and for some reason they won't allow you to play.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, the whole situation is frustrating to me.

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Speaker 3: And going back to twenty twenty three, I was in

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Speaker 3: a totally different position. You know. I was kind of

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Speaker 3: on the prime of my career and even though I

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Speaker 3: got to the Dodgers, I wasn't supposed to be the

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Speaker 3: every day short stup until something happened to Gavin Locks

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Speaker 3: and they decided to kind of like gave me the

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Speaker 3: opportunity to play every day.

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Speaker 4: And I feel like playing every day in the big leagues.

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Speaker 3: Requires a really little a little stream preparation when it

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Speaker 3: comes to at bats in spring training and getting ready

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Speaker 3: for that.

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Speaker 4: At that moment, my opportunity to represent.

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Speaker 3: Venezuela wasn't going to be to play every day as sure.

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Speaker 3: My at bats and my opportunity were going to be

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Speaker 3: limited if I go to the WBC. And that's why

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Speaker 3: I make the decision that I needed to get at

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Speaker 3: bats because I was coming out of the surgery from

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Speaker 3: my wrist and I needed to get the bats.

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Speaker 4: I needed to get my timing.

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Speaker 3: Down for a full season, and I ended up playing

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Speaker 3: one hundred and fifty close games for the Dollyers that

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Speaker 3: that year and we went to the playoff, we won

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Speaker 3: one hundred games, and I think I made the right

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Speaker 3: decision at the moment.

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Speaker 4: Definitely was a really tough one because you always want

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Speaker 4: to represent your country and that's.

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Speaker 3: Gonna be kind of like in the top of the

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Speaker 3: priorities for the player.

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Speaker 4: But at the end of the day, I thought, I got.

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Speaker 3: Another opportunity in twenty twenty six to represent my.

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Speaker 4: Country, and it's a it's such.

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Speaker 3: A bomber that I'm not gonna be able to do

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Speaker 3: it just because I'm I'm thirty seven years old and

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Speaker 3: you're thirty seven I guess, I guess thirty seven years

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Speaker 3: old and I'm still playing for the best team, and

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Speaker 3: you never went to pay a L last year ever

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Speaker 3: went on the I L and that we need a

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Speaker 3: little bit more of clarification on the on the teams

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Speaker 3: that are going on, you know. But I'm really sad,

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Speaker 3: not just because of me, but I'm saying the news

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Speaker 3: of other players like the hotel too. For our country,

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Speaker 3: a guy that has always been there, always being representing

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Speaker 3: our country, it's being one of our best representative no

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Speaker 3: matter what if it's a WBC, the Big Leagues and

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Speaker 3: the World Series and MVPs and all the I think

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Speaker 3: everybody who wants to represent the country should have the

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Speaker 3: opportunity to do it, especially if you know you're healthy

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Speaker 3: and you can contribute to with the whole.

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Speaker 1: Thing without a doubt, without a doubt. The World Baseball

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Speaker 1: Classic has a lot of holes to be able to

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Speaker 1: be taken as seriously as they want to be taken.

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Speaker 1: So I'm gonna be happy to see you in spring

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Speaker 1: training because your energy, your leadership, you need that and

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Speaker 1: there's not gonna be Key k Hernandez at the beginning.

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Speaker 1: So you know, you guys, you guys made things go.

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Speaker 2: For a lot of guys last year.

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Speaker 1: So the Dodgers need you. This is not just a

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Speaker 1: victory lap, right, Miguel Rojas means business.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Definitely, we're gonna show up to the sprint training

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Speaker 3: this year with the same attitude and the same hunger.

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Speaker 3: You know. Definitely we're gonna enjoy The sprint training is

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Speaker 3: gonna be a regular one this year. We're gonna We're

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Speaker 3: gonna be there for six weeks and we wanna work

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Speaker 3: on everything that we need to work on to be

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Speaker 3: ready for sprint for for opening Day. Definitely, you mentioned

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Speaker 3: a name that it's really valuable for us. Kick he

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Speaker 3: Ernandez is part of this and hopefully he can be

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Speaker 3: part of a group that wants to compete for three

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Speaker 3: times in a row World City Champions And I know

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Speaker 3: he will be a great addition to this team and

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Speaker 3: everybody in this club out one Kick to be back,

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Speaker 3: So first he needs to take care of business and

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Speaker 3: and get back to one hundred percent healthy. I know

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Speaker 3: his arm and his work Kait is going to take

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Speaker 3: him there. But I'm really I'm really hopeful that Kick

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Speaker 3: is going to be back with us, no doubt.

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Speaker 1: Miguel Rojas world serious hero.

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Speaker 4: Thank you, brother, a champion to the people.

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Speaker 1: Los Angeles loved him, but now forever his new home

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Speaker 1: will always be Los Angeles. Thank you for the time,

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Speaker 1: and of course you know you always have a place

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Speaker 1: in our hearts, even before that home run.

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Speaker 3: Of course, come on, it's been a twelve year relationship,

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Speaker 3: yes right here, ever since twenty fourteen.

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Speaker 4: Oh yeah, I know him when