WEBVTT - Luis Cruz (5-4-26) 

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

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<v Speaker 1>right now he's in the Dodger Spanish radio booth. But

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<v Speaker 1>I first got to know Luis Cocchito Cruz when he

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<v Speaker 1>was wearing number forty seven, bursting onto the scene with

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<v Speaker 1>his great defense and timely hitting. Luis great to have

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<v Speaker 1>you on the show. Thanks a lot for the time.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks for the invite. Man. I'm always open to talk

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<v Speaker 2>to you about baseball, and I really love the Dodgers

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<v Speaker 2>and love baseball.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you imagine yourself sitting here when you came to

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<v Speaker 1>spring training back in twenty twelve, twenty thirteen.

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<v Speaker 2>No, I think it's from all this the things I

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<v Speaker 2>thought I was going to do when I was hired.

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<v Speaker 2>I think I never thought about being a broadcaster or analyst.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know what has been great. And I got

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<v Speaker 2>a good tea shirt with Rose Mora, a friend who's

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<v Speaker 2>been helping me a lot as an engineer audio engineers,

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<v Speaker 2>so I'm really happy. I'm still learning. But the good

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<v Speaker 2>thing is that I love baseball. I still have passion

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<v Speaker 2>for the game, and it's good to like see some

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<v Speaker 2>guys that we used to be teammates still now now

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<v Speaker 2>they're old, but like it's good. It's good to go

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<v Speaker 2>down and say hi to a lot of guys and

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<v Speaker 2>you still feel part of the game.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure Dodger fans realize this. When you talk

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<v Speaker 1>about former teammates. It's not just former teammates in Major

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<v Speaker 1>League Baseball. You spent a couple of years playing for

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<v Speaker 1>LOTE in Japan, and that's where you played against guys

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<v Speaker 1>like show Hey, Otani, Saya, Suzuki, Yamamoto, Imanaga, all those guys.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, all those guys, they were younger than me when

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<v Speaker 2>when I was there as a better and I was

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<v Speaker 2>like thirty thirty three years old and they were coming up.

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<v Speaker 2>But you can see Shoi was gonna be great. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't know he was gonna be teased great because

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<v Speaker 2>he's been really good. But all those guys like Suzuki

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<v Speaker 2>say he always you can see like a stereotype of

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<v Speaker 2>big league players. And I'm really happy to to, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>go down and say hi to them and they still remember.

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<v Speaker 2>And they kind of bollowed me because I was a

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<v Speaker 2>sampipe means I was older, so they kind of like

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<v Speaker 2>say hi to you like bowling, and I really loved.

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<v Speaker 2>For a player like me, you know, it's really tough.

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<v Speaker 2>I was a utility player back then, and I wanted

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<v Speaker 2>to play every day, and I got my time in

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<v Speaker 2>the big leagues, but never had a really good chance

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<v Speaker 2>to play every day. And when I make the decision

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<v Speaker 2>to go to Japan, it's like, Okay, now I need

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<v Speaker 2>to play every day and make something for my family

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<v Speaker 2>and play. I ended up playing for fourty years in Japan,

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<v Speaker 2>and I love it.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you remember about show hal Tani in Japan?

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<v Speaker 2>I faced him in twenty fourteen spring training and uh

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<v Speaker 2>in Okinawa, and he was throwing hard, but he was wild,

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<v Speaker 2>So I'm like, oh, this is the the kid everybody's

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<v Speaker 2>talking about. At the beginning, I thought okay, but once

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<v Speaker 2>we face him during the season, he was nasty. He

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<v Speaker 2>was throwing one on one. He was he was more

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<v Speaker 2>like a thrower, like he got only fastball, clider, and splitty.

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<v Speaker 2>That's the only three pitches he had. And I mean

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<v Speaker 2>I finked him so many times that I always give

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<v Speaker 2>him a hard time, Like, remember when I hit the double,

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<v Speaker 2>he probably sucked me out like ten times, more than

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<v Speaker 2>ten times, but obviously he can remember that. I want

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<v Speaker 2>to remember the double at hit, so you can see

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<v Speaker 2>from back then twenty fourteen, he was gonna be great.

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<v Speaker 2>I make a post in my Astagram page in twenty

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<v Speaker 2>fifteen and I say, hey, remember this kid, He's going

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<v Speaker 2>to be good. And I never thought we were going

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<v Speaker 2>to be in the same team. Obviously I'm from the boot,

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<v Speaker 2>but like having the same you know, callers in the team,

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<v Speaker 2>and he's great.

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<v Speaker 1>Luis Cochito Cruz is our guest in front of first pitch?

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<v Speaker 1>Can you explain to us? I feel like we take

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<v Speaker 1>for granted the greatness of Otani and what he's trying

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<v Speaker 1>to do at age thirty one to continue to pitch

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<v Speaker 1>and also be this great hitter. What's the recovery for him?

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<v Speaker 1>And how do the Dodgers navigate whether or not giving

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<v Speaker 1>him a day off when he pitches?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think this Japanese culture is really like they

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<v Speaker 2>really work like hard, but to show I have to

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<v Speaker 2>do it like both ways, like pitching and hitting. And

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<v Speaker 2>I think what he does, he's like, that's why we

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<v Speaker 2>call him a unicorn. I mean a lot of other

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<v Speaker 2>teams complain about, oh, you guys have another extra pitchure,

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<v Speaker 2>blah blah blah, it's okay, go get a guy like Shoi.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, you had a chance to get Choi. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>like they just complain because they don't have it. So

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<v Speaker 2>I think Shoi has been great. I think he's recovery

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<v Speaker 2>is like sleep. He'll sleep most of the time. Like

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<v Speaker 2>I can see him on the boss when we're going

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<v Speaker 2>to stadium, Like if he's a fifteen minute ride, he

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<v Speaker 2>take advantage of it instead of us. We just got

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<v Speaker 2>on the phone. You know. He he knows, he got

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<v Speaker 2>his times and he know what to do to be

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<v Speaker 2>good for the next day.

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<v Speaker 1>A man of the world. Luis co Chito Cruz, thanks

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<v Speaker 1>a lot for the time, and it's awesome to have

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<v Speaker 1>you around every day. And certainly it was great times

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<v Speaker 1>with you and me in twenty twelve and twenty thirteen.

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<v Speaker 1>And we'll keep it going now.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you, David. Go dogs and go for the tripping.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's go for