Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: All Right, the Dodgers and Red Sox have a long
Speaker 2: lineage and intersections over the course of the last twenty
Speaker 2: five years, and there's another one at Dodgers Stadium. Jim Tracy,
Speaker 2: former Dodgers manager in the early two thousands, has a
Speaker 2: son now managing the Red Sox. And I know on
Speaker 2: the East Coast they believe that everything starts and ends
Speaker 2: over there, but this guy right here is a proud
Speaker 2: Pepperdine wave. Not many on the East Coast know that
Speaker 2: this guy right here won the WCC Player of the
Speaker 2: Year while living the good life out there in Malibu
Speaker 2: and going to the Malibu in and having a great time.
Speaker 2: Chad Tracy is our guest. Thanks a lot for the
Speaker 2: time and great to have you back at Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 3: That's cool to be back, David, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2: So what was when is the last time you were here?
Speaker 2: I'm just curious. You've been grinding, so I'm wondering when
Speaker 2: was the last time you came here.
Speaker 1: To be honest with you, I was thinking standing out
Speaker 1: here during BPSJ try to think of when was the
Speaker 1: last time I was at a game here, and I
Speaker 1: truly think it was probably when my dad was here.
Speaker 1: It's probably been twenty years since I've been to a
Speaker 1: game here, unless I'm missing one in there somewhere. But
Speaker 1: it's been a really long time and really cool to
Speaker 1: come back and see the stadium.
Speaker 2: They obviously have done some renovations to the ballpark, but
Speaker 2: it feels like they've kept the integrity. Have you noticed
Speaker 2: the changes?
Speaker 3: Definitely see the changes, for sure. It doesn't.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the integrity part feels the same when you like
Speaker 1: stand out and center and look around.
Speaker 3: And see it. It doesn't.
Speaker 1: They didn't mess with any of what makes it so great,
Speaker 1: which is cool. And I know there's additions and things
Speaker 1: that I've seen around that make it modernized in some way,
Speaker 1: But when you look at the stadium itself, it's just
Speaker 1: as cool as it always was.
Speaker 2: When your dad was managing. You were in high school.
Speaker 3: And college, Yeah, a combination of the two.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So what do you remember the most being around
Speaker 2: a big league clubhouse when you were in high school
Speaker 2: in college?
Speaker 3: That was the cool part about it.
Speaker 1: I was old enough to like be here, come here,
Speaker 1: and like hang out here and take VP, and I
Speaker 1: remember catching, you know, Ganye and Mota would throw bullpens.
Speaker 1: I'd help out the bullpen catchers and catch pins because
Speaker 1: I was obviously a catcher. I was kind of when
Speaker 1: I would come in, I'd kind of just immerse myself
Speaker 1: and stuff that was going on because I was old
Speaker 1: enough to do it, you know, So.
Speaker 3: It was it was obviously it's Dodger Stadium. It's really cool.
Speaker 3: But I was old enough to remember all of it.
Speaker 1: I was old enough to like engage with the guys
Speaker 1: and the players and take ground balls and just do
Speaker 1: different stuff, and it was just a really really cool,
Speaker 1: cool chapter in my life.
Speaker 3: For sure.
Speaker 2: I actually do remember you coming to the ballpark and
Speaker 2: lugging that big Pepperdine catchers back around.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was, I was doing it. I was probably
Speaker 1: doing it a bit less. So once I was the
Speaker 1: first cup I see one, two, and three, I was
Speaker 1: still in high school, which was way easier to get
Speaker 1: over here and spend time with her. Once I got
Speaker 1: to Pepper nine, and like the requirements of baseball in
Speaker 1: college and stuff like, I was probably doing it less.
Speaker 1: So at that point still fell over some. But like
Speaker 1: the high school years, for sure, I was here quite
Speaker 1: a bit.
Speaker 2: So I've heard a lot about you and your brothers
Speaker 2: when you guys were growing up and your dad was
Speaker 2: managing here, So maybe you could set the record straight
Speaker 2: on a couple of things. The Beat writers that covered
Speaker 2: your dad said he used to refer to you and
Speaker 2: your brothers as Marmaduke and Cheeks. Which one were you?
Speaker 1: I don't I was probably Marma Duke. Mark was probably Cheeks,
Speaker 1: but I don't they had. He had plenty of weird
Speaker 1: nicknames for us and we were growing up for sure.
Speaker 2: All right, here's another one for you. Rick Monday, who
Speaker 2: is still broadcasting Dodger Games segment.
Speaker 3: He still likes chili when you see him today? Is
Speaker 3: he still like chili?
Speaker 2: That's exactly what I was gonna bring up to you.
Speaker 3: He likes chili. He's a big fan of chili.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he said. You brought it up as well, and
Speaker 2: he started to bring chili cans down to the office
Speaker 2: for you.
Speaker 1: I figured when you said Rick Money, the first thing
Speaker 1: comes to mind, is he really likes chili.
Speaker 2: I thought, maybe you guys love chili the way he.
Speaker 3: Said a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So what was that about? Did he actually bring
Speaker 2: you down cans of chili?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 1: I'm sure he did, but it was just something that
Speaker 1: he said, I have a getch some chili, So it's
Speaker 1: just something that I remember him saying all the time.
Speaker 2: Chad Tracy is our guest. I had a first pitch
Speaker 2: between the Dodgers and Red Sox. Obviously, even in La Chad,
Speaker 2: we know what the Red Sox have done since the
Speaker 2: beginning of June. How fun has it been for you
Speaker 2: to really see these guys play to their potential.
Speaker 1: It's been a great experience. Obviously, went through a lot
Speaker 1: over the first few months of the season and always
Speaker 1: believe that there was enough talent in the room to
Speaker 1: you know, play better than we were and see it turn.
Speaker 1: And obviously it's turned, but it's turned in even bigger
Speaker 1: fashion than a lot of us that imagine.
Speaker 3: But we've played very, very well over the course of.
Speaker 1: The last month plus and put ourselves in a good position,
Speaker 1: and it's been a lot of fun. When there's a
Speaker 1: group of players that I really enjoyed being with. I've
Speaker 1: had a lot of them in the minor leagues, and
Speaker 1: they play the game the right way, and they play hard,
Speaker 1: and it's just a good group in there, and they're
Speaker 1: meshing well and we have to just continue to play.
Speaker 3: Well, it's all it is now.
Speaker 2: I'm sure you know the history. When Tommy Lasorda was
Speaker 2: managing the Dodgers, he was managing in the minor leagues
Speaker 2: and he came up with those guys Garvey, Lopes, Russell
Speaker 2: and say, is it similar with you? Because you manage
Speaker 2: some of these guys in the minor leagues?
Speaker 3: It makes it. It makes it.
Speaker 1: I mean it's a huge transition, you know, when you're
Speaker 1: gonna come up and manage the Red Sox almost it's
Speaker 1: just about May. And there's been some struggles with all
Speaker 1: the market the way it is, like, there's there's challenges
Speaker 1: with that. But what makes it easier when you walk
Speaker 1: in and you know, like about seventy five to eighty
Speaker 1: percent of the room knows who I am, knows what
Speaker 1: I'm about, has played for me, and I know what
Speaker 1: they're about. So as far as like you know, the
Speaker 1: trust that needs to get built between coaches or a
Speaker 1: manager and players, like that's a.
Speaker 3: Huge piece of it.
Speaker 1: And I think some of that leg work had already
Speaker 1: been done in the minor league. So it's certainly helped
Speaker 1: a lot when I when I got into the room.
Speaker 2: I heard you live right beyond the outfield in the
Speaker 2: minor leagues when you were managing Triple A. So do
Speaker 2: you live right on Landsdown? Where do you live?
Speaker 3: I live a couple blocks away. I'm close.
Speaker 1: I'm close. I can see it. I'm a couple of
Speaker 1: blocks away. But yeah, I was in Worcestern. I was
Speaker 1: just behind the right field wall and I walked to work.
Speaker 1: And I do much of the same here, which is cool.
Speaker 2: That's amazing, Chad Tracy. Before I let you go last night,
Speaker 2: you exchange lineup cards with one of your dad's former players,
Speaker 2: Dave Roberts, who's a legend in Boston and obviously is
Speaker 2: cementing his legacy as a manager here in LA. What
Speaker 2: was your relationship with Dave when he was a player,
Speaker 2: and what was it like going out there.
Speaker 1: He might be cementing his legacy as a Hall of Famer,
Speaker 1: To be perfectly honest with you, he's been. His career
Speaker 1: speaks for itself as a manager for sure and as
Speaker 1: a player.
Speaker 3: But he I gave him a big hug just because
Speaker 3: I know him. I met him. He knows who I am.
Speaker 1: I was hanging around the field so and I know
Speaker 1: and he said that up there that, you know, telling him, bros.
Speaker 3: This, this guy's dad gave me my first opportunity.
Speaker 1: And there's plenty of others you know that we're given opportunities,
Speaker 1: Alex cor being one of them, Paula Duca and I
Speaker 1: got to know all these guys and watch them respond
Speaker 1: to my dad the way they did, and I and
Speaker 1: I relish in the memories of that because the team,
Speaker 1: you know, with some of these guys getting first opportunities,
Speaker 1: the team, you know, won an n OL West championship,
Speaker 1: you know, so, and I was old enough to know
Speaker 1: exactly what's going on. I was sitting right there when
Speaker 1: hit the walk off Grand Slam, and so I was
Speaker 1: very engaged with that team, and it was.
Speaker 3: Just cool to see Doc and give him a hug.
Speaker 2: Well, congratulations on the success you've had. You've worked really
Speaker 2: hard to get this opportunity. Everybody in Los Angeles is
Speaker 2: rooting for you, especially out there in Malibu. I won't
Speaker 2: call you a pepperhead, because that's offensive, I know how
Speaker 2: that's what the locals think.
Speaker 1: No, it's I actually think I might be able to
Speaker 1: see there might be some people from pepper On that
Speaker 1: might come tomorrow but it's it's.
Speaker 3: Been a while. Something back and thank you for having me.
Speaker 2: I don't have chili for you, but I have a
Speaker 2: gift card to Travis Matthew. Thank you for the time,
Speaker 2: and you'll receive a gift card to Travis Matthew. So
Speaker 2: the lifestyle you I love that.
Speaker 3: I appreciate it.
Speaker 2: I'll email it to Abby, she better deliver it for you.
Speaker 3: Chad Tracy, thank you, appreciate it.