WEBVTT - Miguel Rojas (7-20-26)

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

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<v Speaker 1>A man that has the eye of the Tiger, a

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<v Speaker 1>man that has risen to the top but is still hungry,

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<v Speaker 1>and that is the one and only World Series Hero

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<v Speaker 1>Miguel Rojas and Philadelphia. Miggy, thanks a lot for the time.

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<v Speaker 1>I always appreciate it.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you, thank you very much. It's always nice to

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<v Speaker 2>come here to Philadelphia. I like playing here. I play

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<v Speaker 2>here a lot of games when I was with with

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<v Speaker 2>the Modelings, and obviously the last couple of years it's

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<v Speaker 2>being meaningful, many ful games in the stadium. So it's

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<v Speaker 2>nice to come back here. We had a really good

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<v Speaker 2>time last October when we want to two games right

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<v Speaker 2>here before before we clinch our seat to.

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<v Speaker 3>Go to the Championship series.

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<v Speaker 2>So looking forward for this series, for sure, you can

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<v Speaker 2>appreciate this.

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<v Speaker 1>Everybody only talks about the World Series, and rightfully so,

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<v Speaker 1>but that Philly series and the NLDS. You guys are

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<v Speaker 1>starting the playoffs on the road and the Wheel Place

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<v Speaker 1>seems to be the moment that kind of stands out

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<v Speaker 1>along with tay Oscars home run.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean a lot of things in that series

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<v Speaker 2>happened for us to uh to be in a good

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<v Speaker 2>shape going into the championship series. But definitely we knew

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<v Speaker 2>when you know, when we got when we got the

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<v Speaker 2>chance to play in the playoff again, that we were

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<v Speaker 2>gonna face that team again at some point because we knew,

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<v Speaker 2>as we knew in twenty twenty four that the Passers

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<v Speaker 2>was going to be a really good team and a

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<v Speaker 2>tough one to be the Phillies were gonna be that team.

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<v Speaker 2>In twenty twenty five, we play against them in the

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<v Speaker 2>in the during the regular season.

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<v Speaker 3>It was tough, you know, it was really hard to

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<v Speaker 3>play here in.

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<v Speaker 2>Philadelphia, and they got a bigger, better seat than us,

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<v Speaker 2>So we knew we was gonna have to come here

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<v Speaker 2>and at least winning two games then to go back home.

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<v Speaker 2>So it was pretty special because it lacked. It made

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<v Speaker 2>us locked in on on what we needed to accomplish

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<v Speaker 2>at this time. And uh show hill Toney starting that

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<v Speaker 2>game one and going six setings and throwing one.

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<v Speaker 3>Of the best balls that he threw the whole year.

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<v Speaker 2>Then obviously the being clutched as he used to in

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<v Speaker 2>the playoff.

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<v Speaker 3>It was really cool. But that play that.

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<v Speaker 2>You just mentioned changed the dynamics of the series, and

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<v Speaker 2>it was really cool to see that a team that

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<v Speaker 2>is always knowing for the offense and the big arms

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<v Speaker 2>and the boop and all that were able to do

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<v Speaker 2>that kind of play in that moment. It was pretty

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<v Speaker 2>cool to watch. I wasn't playing that game, but then

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<v Speaker 2>I saw I saw it happen, and I saw how

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<v Speaker 2>Mookie took the moment and kind of like, let monsign

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<v Speaker 2>know and and Bessie I did an amazing job delivering

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<v Speaker 2>the ball to home play and it was a great play.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, I'm glad you said that you weren't playing. But

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<v Speaker 1>Miguel Rojas was a big part of that because after

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<v Speaker 1>the game, Mookie bet said he heard your Venezuelan voice

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<v Speaker 1>in his head to get everybody organized to pull off

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<v Speaker 1>that play. I know you have a future ahead of

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<v Speaker 1>you in the dugout. I mean, I guess that's step

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<v Speaker 1>one right where players on the field are remembering what

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<v Speaker 1>they learned from you.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, that's one of the things that I'm

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<v Speaker 2>not looking for any confirmation for from from other players,

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<v Speaker 2>but it's always nice to to hear that from Mookie

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<v Speaker 2>and from the guys that are kind of like they

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<v Speaker 2>they remind like a couple things that happening here. Early

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<v Speaker 2>in the year, we run this play in a regular

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<v Speaker 2>season game against the Angels and it worked out. So,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, we already have it on our playbook even

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<v Speaker 2>though we don't practice.

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<v Speaker 3>That since spring training, you know.

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<v Speaker 2>And that was really cool to see Mookie that he's

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<v Speaker 2>on his second year playing shortstop every single day in

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<v Speaker 2>a playoff game. That means a lad and kind of

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<v Speaker 2>like have impact over like the full season and for

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<v Speaker 2>a for an aspiration of winning the World Series.

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<v Speaker 3>Uh.

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<v Speaker 2>He was able to slow the game down and kind

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<v Speaker 2>of like tell the tell the guys around the infield,

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<v Speaker 2>this is what we want to do. And that what

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<v Speaker 2>That's what makes me really proud that h the things

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<v Speaker 2>that you trying to kind of like teach and kind

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<v Speaker 2>of like the experience that you have in the position

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<v Speaker 2>to having on your teammates when they're out there by themselves,

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<v Speaker 2>and they were able to pull it off, and it

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<v Speaker 2>was amazing to.

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<v Speaker 1>Watch two times World Series champion Miguel Rojas. Is our

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<v Speaker 1>guest all right, the here and now in Philly is

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<v Speaker 1>Christopher Sanchez, and you've been one of the best hitters

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<v Speaker 1>on the Dodgers against left handed pitching. What is the

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<v Speaker 1>game plan against Sanchez? Is it similar to yesterday with

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<v Speaker 1>Cam Schlitzler, where you want to get the pitch count

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<v Speaker 1>up and get them out.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean that's that's obviously what you want to do,

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<v Speaker 2>regardless of who's in the mound. You know, you want

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<v Speaker 2>to get into the open as soon as possible. Uh,

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<v Speaker 2>you want to grind out of bats. But I mean

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<v Speaker 2>that's going to present himself when when the game starts.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, like you never know what kind of bats

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<v Speaker 2>you're going to have right now. I mean, you can

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<v Speaker 2>have all these preparations in the plan, but if he's

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<v Speaker 2>attacking the strike zone, you're gonna have to swing the

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<v Speaker 2>batting and gets on hits. You know, we have a

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<v Speaker 2>pretty good plan ready for him. We face him a

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<v Speaker 2>couple of times last year. This is gonna be the

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<v Speaker 2>first and only time that we're gonna face him during

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<v Speaker 2>the regular season. But this is gonna be a good

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<v Speaker 2>test for the group and for everybody. I think we've

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<v Speaker 2>been We've been facing a lot of good pitching lately,

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<v Speaker 2>even before the break with the Diamondbacks. They threw the

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<v Speaker 2>boat really well, and then we face a really tough

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<v Speaker 2>Toup stuff in the against the Yankees fresh coming out

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<v Speaker 2>of the break, and then this is gonna be a

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<v Speaker 2>good challenge for us. I feel like Christopher has been

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<v Speaker 2>great the last two or three years, and uh, we

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<v Speaker 2>know we're gonna face him in the playoffs if they

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<v Speaker 2>ended up making and we're making it.

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<v Speaker 3>So this is gonna be a challenge.

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<v Speaker 2>But at the same time, were trying to gather information

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<v Speaker 2>for the future.

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<v Speaker 1>Nickie, thanks a lot for the time. Always love talking

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<v Speaker 1>baseball with you, and I love seeing you in the

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<v Speaker 1>dugout just taking it all in. It looked like you

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<v Speaker 1>were visualizing being in the moment, taking like you said

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<v Speaker 1>at the beginning of the year, just taking all this in.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean is there's some places that kind of

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<v Speaker 2>like bring you some memories and and some some really

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<v Speaker 2>good good things that happened in your career, and I

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<v Speaker 2>think this place is one of them for me. A

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<v Speaker 2>lot of good plays, a lot of good hits, a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of moments in this place that I remember. So

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<v Speaker 2>that's why I wanted to come out here early and

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<v Speaker 2>kind of like take a look, because, uh, this might

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<v Speaker 2>be my last time sitting in this uh in this

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<v Speaker 2>dog out in this stadium, So I really like to

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<v Speaker 2>appreciate moments, and moments like this kind of gave me

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<v Speaker 2>the piece of knowing that I did everything that I

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<v Speaker 2>could to uh to play this game for long, but

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<v Speaker 2>now I'm just focusing on continue to help the team.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you for allowing me to interrupt that I'll back

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<v Speaker 1>out so you can enjoy this. So thank you for

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<v Speaker 1>the time.

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<v Speaker 3>Not probably any time. Thank you