Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker.
Speaker 2: Well, we're joined right now by a guy that was
Speaker 2: a very special part of last year's World Series team,
Speaker 2: a teammate that was beloved by everybody in that clubhouse.
Speaker 2: And when the Dodgers were in Anaheim, they presented Kirby
Speaker 2: Yates with this twenty twenty five World Series ring with
Speaker 2: his walkout music the boombox. The entire team came to
Speaker 2: celebrate a guy that wasn't on the postseason roster, and
Speaker 2: Kirby h joins us right now. He is part of
Speaker 2: the Halo's bullpen. Great to see you and same style glasses,
Speaker 2: but different color, different.
Speaker 1: Color, different color. Yeah, thanks for having me. You know,
Speaker 1: a special special moment for me. Is very neat to say,
Speaker 1: all those guys come and do that for me. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm meant a lot, and you know something I won't
Speaker 1: forget and just you know, unbelievable memories that I generated
Speaker 1: here in one year. That's awesome.
Speaker 2: How unexpected was to have that type of celebration of
Speaker 2: you in Anaheim when the team gave you the ring?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I you know, I didn't know who would show
Speaker 1: up or who was good do it. You know, I
Speaker 1: figured it'd be a couple of bullpen guys just because
Speaker 1: you know, our homies. But you know, I got along
Speaker 1: with a lot of guys in that clubhouse. I made
Speaker 1: a tremendous amount of friendships and relationships that I feel
Speaker 1: are gonna last for a while. And you know, it
Speaker 1: was I it was such a fun year. You know,
Speaker 1: I hadn't pitch grade at all for you know, second
Speaker 1: half of the year or whatever you want to call it, after.
Speaker 2: I got hurt.
Speaker 1: But and that was really tough for me. But you know,
Speaker 1: I'm thankful for those guys because you know, they made
Speaker 1: it fun every day coming in the field anyway, and
Speaker 1: you know, we wanted to want a ring and that
Speaker 1: was you know, it's it's why I went came to
Speaker 1: La is why I came to the Dodgers to win
Speaker 1: a ring. And we did that and just you know,
Speaker 1: super proud of those guys. And something I'll never forget.
Speaker 2: Kirby, what can you tell us about the postseason the
Speaker 2: workout days, because my understanding is that's where the greatest
Speaker 2: appreciate of you throwing on those workout days to hitters
Speaker 2: to keep them sharp. Really came from. Can you explain
Speaker 2: to us what was taking place and why you decided
Speaker 2: to be that guy for the team.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it was part of me too, right.
Speaker 1: I was trying to get healthier and see where I
Speaker 1: was at, see if I could contribute in any way,
Speaker 1: and so I was trying to throw and do it
Speaker 1: for me too, to see what I was capable of.
Speaker 1: And you know, if I'm getting healthier, if I'm feeling better,
Speaker 1: just all of that. But you know, I wanted to
Speaker 1: help them as much as I can. I didn't want
Speaker 1: to be a distraction. I didn't want to be, you know,
Speaker 1: a guy that people were talking about in a bad
Speaker 1: way or a negative light or anything like that. You know,
Speaker 1: I didn't want to do anything to get them out
Speaker 1: of their routine. I tried to help them as much
Speaker 1: as I could, just to if it took pressure off
Speaker 1: them in any way, something I could do, something I
Speaker 1: could say. Just tried to do anything I could to
Speaker 1: help us in any shape or form. And that's kind
Speaker 1: of just what it boiled down to.
Speaker 2: What do you remember the most about Game seven, other
Speaker 2: than the benches clearing a little brew haha that you
Speaker 2: were involved in.
Speaker 1: I just remember It was the absolute best roller coaster
Speaker 1: ride I've ever been on, ups and downs. You know,
Speaker 1: it was just I never had nerves. I wasn't. It
Speaker 1: might have been worse that you're not playing, I don't know,
Speaker 1: but because I had, I was so nervous the entire time.
Speaker 1: And I mean it was surreal. Once the double player
Speaker 1: was hit at the end and Freddie caught the ball,
Speaker 1: I mean it was, you know, just joy. I couldn't
Speaker 1: stop crying for a while, a lot. I shed a
Speaker 1: lot of tears and just you know, just a surreal
Speaker 1: moment and just like a proud moment for everybody. And
Speaker 1: you know, I couldn't believe that, you know, I could
Speaker 1: call yourself a World Series champ.
Speaker 2: That's what Kirby Yates is. And he was a big
Speaker 2: part of it as far as being a great teammate
Speaker 2: and obviously contributing in his way now Game seven, obviously
Speaker 2: the Rojas home run, I was trying to spot you
Speaker 2: where you were? Where were you when Ohas hit the
Speaker 2: home run.
Speaker 1: I was probably right next Toican Pordo. I think we
Speaker 1: jumped the rail, you know, unbelievable moment and you know,
Speaker 1: waiting for him the top step of the dugout and
Speaker 1: just you know, pumped for me that essentially, you know,
Speaker 1: just to Meggie did it just like it was so
Speaker 1: fitting and so good for us. Just such a crazy,
Speaker 1: crazy moment too, just like one of that's the roller
Speaker 1: coaster I'm talking about, just the roller coaster emotions. But yeah,
Speaker 1: top step hopped over the rail, went over, you know,
Speaker 1: probably hit him in the head a couple of times. Excitement,
Speaker 1: but you know, so cool.
Speaker 2: All right, Kirby eats before I let you go. Now
Speaker 2: that you've got the ring, how many times have you
Speaker 2: tried it on? How many times did you look at it?
Speaker 2: The day you got it? In Anaheim, I was so nervous.
Speaker 1: When I got it that I put it right into
Speaker 1: a safe And then finally my family came over the
Speaker 1: last couple of days, so you know, I showed them
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, it was cool to share that
Speaker 1: with them and have them see it and put it on.
Speaker 1: You know, I got a niece and nephew that put
Speaker 1: it on. They were like, wow, this is so cool.
Speaker 1: It's so big and it's surreal. Hard to imagine that.
Speaker 1: You know where I came from, what I did that.
Speaker 1: You know, I have a world series ring, and I
Speaker 1: always be proud of it, and I think it's very neat.
Speaker 2: Whenever they had the reunion for the twenty twenty six
Speaker 2: world champion Dodgers, Kirby Eights will be there. What will
Speaker 2: be the one thing that you would want us to
Speaker 2: remember about that team?
Speaker 1: Ooh? You know, just the expectations and you know the
Speaker 1: kind of the c saw of the season that you know,
Speaker 1: in terms of what we were supposed to d be
Speaker 1: and what we did, and you know how people were
Speaker 1: kind of writing us off and all of that, and
Speaker 1: yet we still finish in first. You know, that team
Speaker 1: went through a lot last year. I don't think people
Speaker 1: really realize how banged up the entire team was. Guys
Speaker 1: were playing through things, and yeah, we still came out
Speaker 1: on top, and I just think that was I meant,
Speaker 1: it's an incredible team.
Speaker 2: Do you think these guys can three pet?
Speaker 1: Well, I'm on the other side, so I can't say,
Speaker 1: but I think they have all tools, and you know,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't put it passive.
Speaker 2: Thanks a lot for the time, lovely living last year
Speaker 2: with you and all those guys, and certainly you mean
Speaker 2: a lot to all of us. So continued success, Stay healthy,
Speaker 2: and watch out for your traveling secretary over here with
Speaker 2: the halos Well