Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker. Well,
Speaker 1: nothing's fishy today in Colorado as the Dodgers are wrapping
Speaker 1: up this four game series, and I'm joined right now
Speaker 1: by today's starting first baseman, the one and only Dalton Rushing.
Speaker 1: Thanks a lot for the time, appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm happy to be on with you, David always.
Speaker 1: Hey, I can't believe how much people made a big
Speaker 1: deal about you just pointing something out in observation.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I'd like to say on air that
Speaker 2: there was there were no cheating scandals. Kind of jump
Speaker 2: into conclusion there, and we know the hitting guys over there,
Speaker 2: like they're just doing whatever they have to do to win,
Speaker 2: and we respect that.
Speaker 1: And you know this better than most. Will Klein told
Speaker 1: me that he was aware that he was tipping, and
Speaker 1: tipping is part of this game.
Speaker 2: Now, correct, Yeah, I mean every team does it, every
Speaker 2: team takes advantage of it. If you don't, you're kind
Speaker 2: of behind the eight ball. And honestly, hots off of them.
Speaker 2: They played the game the right way and I'm sorry
Speaker 2: that it came off the way it did. No hard
Speaker 2: feelings to any of those guys. But I'm glad we
Speaker 2: could create some team morale for them.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt, no doubt boosting morale from La to Denver. Hey,
Speaker 1: speaking of boosting morale, I've never the reality is your
Speaker 1: chances to start at this point are far and few
Speaker 1: between what you did yesterday to allow Ryan Ward to
Speaker 1: have the start at first base is one of the
Speaker 1: most unselfish things I've seen a teammate do. Can you
Speaker 1: take us through two nights ago when Dave Roberts approached
Speaker 1: you and how you knew this was all starting to formulate.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I had caught that night and it was a
Speaker 2: day game turnaround. He had let me know a couple
Speaker 2: of days in advance that I was planning to play
Speaker 2: first base the next two days after I catch, and
Speaker 2: so yeah, I knew that was the plan. But as
Speaker 2: soon as I saw him walking up to me, I
Speaker 2: kind of knew where it was going. There were obviously
Speaker 2: there were no hard feelings whatsoever. That's that's an opportunity
Speaker 2: that guy's been waiting for for over six years now,
Speaker 2: and rightfully so, he deserved every bet of it. He
Speaker 2: deserved to get out there and scrap him to knocks
Speaker 2: and RBI and have a really good debut, honestly, and yeah,
Speaker 2: it was. It was just, honestly, just paying back the
Speaker 2: game that he's played over the last six years and
Speaker 2: deserving the right to be out on the field yesterday.
Speaker 2: I felt as if he's, like I said, he earned
Speaker 2: It wasn't a handout to him more so than anyone else. So, yeah,
Speaker 2: it was a cool moment. He had family coming in town.
Speaker 2: There's there's no reason for me to take a day
Speaker 2: like that. It's so special for him take it away
Speaker 2: from him at all.
Speaker 1: Did you really finish Dave Roberts's sentence before he could
Speaker 1: finish his own?
Speaker 2: I did. He was. He came up and approached me
Speaker 2: and said, hey, this is what I'm thinking. And before
Speaker 2: he even told me what he was thinking, I was like,
Speaker 2: I know where your head's at and he deserves it.
Speaker 2: And he was like, I appreciate you being so open
Speaker 2: minded about it and obviously giving him that opportunity, And
Speaker 2: like I said, he he made the most of his opportunity.
Speaker 2: And I was just so happy for him to be
Speaker 2: able to see him get his first one at this level.
Speaker 2: Every single first one at this level was pretty special,
Speaker 2: and just for him to get it after so many
Speaker 2: years of grinding in the minor leagues was pretty special.
Speaker 1: How well do you know Ryan Ward?
Speaker 2: I've played. I played a good hand but of or
Speaker 2: a handful of games with him. He's one of my
Speaker 2: favorite teammates that I've actually got to play with. He's
Speaker 2: such a good dude, same guy on the field off
Speaker 2: the field, always down to have a good time, whether
Speaker 2: we're on the field or off the field. I think
Speaker 2: that's what you love most about players, the openness to
Speaker 2: just be themselves regardless of how the game's going, how
Speaker 2: things are going personally, and that's something I'll never forget
Speaker 2: about him as a teammate.
Speaker 1: So much is made of the Dodgeress payroll, but yesterday
Speaker 1: the right side of the infield was guys that played
Speaker 1: together in Oklahoma City, Ryan Ward and Alex Freeland, and
Speaker 1: then you have Hayesng Kim and yourself who got at
Speaker 1: bats yesterday and playing regularly. Do you feel like you
Speaker 1: guys don't get enough credit for being part of the
Speaker 1: fabric of this team. And it's not just throwing dollars
Speaker 1: at the big name guys.
Speaker 2: No, I wouldn't say that. I would say it's it's
Speaker 2: honestly more for the people on the outside looking in.
Speaker 2: Everyone thinks that we buy our team, and I think
Speaker 2: the beauty of it all is, Yeah, we got some
Speaker 2: big contract guys on this team, but at the same time,
Speaker 2: those big contract guys buy into the youth. They buy
Speaker 2: into teaching the young guys the way it goes, the
Speaker 2: way they came up, the way they taught the game,
Speaker 2: the way they learned the game. I think that's what
Speaker 2: makes this team as good as we are. Obviously, as
Speaker 2: special as we are. Having guys like Freddy Mookie talk
Speaker 2: will all these guys around a clubhouse and just to
Speaker 2: be able to share their experiences, share their ideas with
Speaker 2: us as young players, it's pretty special and it allows
Speaker 2: us to kind of maximize our potential down the road.
Speaker 1: Dalton Rushing is our guest. He's starting at first base
Speaker 1: in the final game of this four game series. I
Speaker 1: watched you actually take more aggressive ground balls at Dodger
Speaker 1: Stadium before you left for this road trip. So how
Speaker 1: comfortable are you ready to go today?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm ready to go. I've had some time there
Speaker 2: in the past, obviously it's been a couple of years,
Speaker 2: had a handful of games there, last year. But it's
Speaker 2: just a game of baseball. You get one pitch at
Speaker 2: the time. You treat it like fundamentals or everything out
Speaker 2: there and even more so out there of them behind
Speaker 2: the play.
Speaker 1: Are you having more joy and enjoying yourself more this
Speaker 1: year than you did last year?
Speaker 2: David, I think you know the answer to that. Obviously.
Speaker 2: It's been pretty fun here early on, and successes came
Speaker 2: my way. I'm taking better at bats, I'm carrying myself
Speaker 2: with more confidence on the field. But uh, at the
Speaker 2: end of the day, it's we still gotta win baseball games,
Speaker 2: and that's that's the main thing about being a Dodger,
Speaker 2: and the fact that we've done so to a certain
Speaker 2: extent so early is pretty special. But we need to
Speaker 2: get out here and get another one today.
Speaker 1: It's great being around you. You're wise beyond your years.
Speaker 1: You're more mature than I am, and you're double you're
Speaker 1: I'm double your age. You're way more mature than I am,
Speaker 1: and I can learn a lot even from Dalton Rushing.
Speaker 1: So thank you for the time and keep it going
Speaker 1: and keep that smile.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Thanks past. It's always good to talk