WEBVTT - Kyle Tucker (1-21-26) 

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

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<v Speaker 2>All Right, Kyle, welcome to Los Angeles. Great to see

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<v Speaker 2>you actually wearing this Dodger jersey. What does it mean

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<v Speaker 2>to you to start this new chapter in your baseball life?

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<v Speaker 3>This is awesome. I'm extremely excited.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean this, this organization is very first class organization,

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<v Speaker 1>from you know, ownership group to front office to the players.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, I think the players kind of speak

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<v Speaker 1>for themselves with their their playing out on the field,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think everyone kind of recognizes that. So I'm

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<v Speaker 1>excited to just be a part of, you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>team organization this city.

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<v Speaker 2>You said during the press conference, Freddie Freeman facetimed you

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<v Speaker 2>and said, don't do anything stupid. Does that mean he

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't want you to try to duplicate his worm dance

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<v Speaker 2>during the off season? Have you seen that?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know if that is a part of that

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<v Speaker 1>category or not, but I mean he seemed to be

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<v Speaker 1>pretty good at it, so I'm excited to ask him

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<v Speaker 1>to do it live.

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<v Speaker 3>But we'll see what happens. But yeah, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>We just talking to him on face hime for for

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<v Speaker 1>a second before we did the press conference stuff, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was like, just you know, don't do anything stupid

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<v Speaker 1>and you'll be good.

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<v Speaker 3>So I was like, oh, I appreciate it. Yeah you don't.

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<v Speaker 3>You don't have to worry about that.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you seem like you play life pretty safe.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah. I try.

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<v Speaker 1>I try to not not get too crazy with things,

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<v Speaker 1>especially you know, front of cameras and stuff. But no,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm pretty good with everything.

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<v Speaker 3>Kyle.

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<v Speaker 2>Of dimension of your game that I feel like not

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<v Speaker 2>enough has been talked about, is the running the base

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<v Speaker 2>running in your career, you've stolen eighty eight percent of

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<v Speaker 2>the bases. The Dodgers were near the bottom of that.

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<v Speaker 2>Is that just having the baseball? I qu the awareness?

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<v Speaker 2>How much is that speed? I mean what part of

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<v Speaker 2>that dimension? Where does that come from?

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean I'm not like the fastest guy, but I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not slow by any means. But I mean, if I

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<v Speaker 1>can take an extra ninety feet whenever I see that'll

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<v Speaker 1>benefit our team to possibly score an extra round, Like,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna try and do what I can with it.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, this this team's probably like if you're on

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<v Speaker 1>first base with this team, you're probably in scoring position.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's probably why that was a factor, but I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm excited to help out this team, whether it's on

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<v Speaker 1>the basis defense, hitting wise, Like, I'm really excited to

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<v Speaker 1>get things going this year.

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<v Speaker 2>I had to look how well you've done at Dodger

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<v Speaker 2>Stadium in a small sample size forty played appearances, You've

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<v Speaker 2>done pretty well. How comfortable in those small nine games

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<v Speaker 2>do you feel hitting in this ballpark? And has Dodger

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<v Speaker 2>Stadium become a hitter's ballpark?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I don't know my stats like that, but

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<v Speaker 1>I mean it's it's exciting playing here. I mean it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's a little top because this team is is very

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<v Speaker 1>good and the fans definitely back then with that, So

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<v Speaker 1>I mean it's it's exciting playing here.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean there's there's a lot of a lot.

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<v Speaker 1>Of cool stadiums around around the league, but I think

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<v Speaker 1>this is definitely, you know, at the top of the

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<v Speaker 1>list with with a lot of guys.

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<v Speaker 3>So just the history.

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<v Speaker 1>Behind, you know, the Dodgers organization and this city and everything,

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<v Speaker 1>I think definitely plays a factor into playing here. And

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's exciting to be a part that, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>eighty one games of a year now.

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<v Speaker 2>Kyle Tucker is our guest. He's the newest Dodger wearing

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<v Speaker 2>jersey number twenty three. This is Dodger Talk until eight o'clock, Kyle.

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<v Speaker 2>A lot of players always talk about free agency. You

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<v Speaker 2>want it for so long and then once you're there,

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<v Speaker 2>it's a long winding road. How tough was the process

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<v Speaker 2>for you and when did you start to know that

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<v Speaker 2>the Dodgers may be the team?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, you know, it was tough. I didn't try

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<v Speaker 1>and like kind of over analyze anything or you know,

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<v Speaker 1>put too much pressure on, you know, any decision. But

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you know, over the last couple of weeks

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<v Speaker 1>or so from today, is is starting to get there

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<v Speaker 1>with everything with the teams. I mean, there's a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of really good teams and organizations out there, but you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I just I just felt comfortable coming to LA and

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<v Speaker 1>playing for the Dodgers organization. Like I said, their first

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<v Speaker 1>class organization. This this team's phenomenal team, and I'm excited

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<v Speaker 1>to be a part of that. So, I mean when

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<v Speaker 1>I kind of my wife and I kind of factor

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<v Speaker 1>all that in to each other, I was like, I

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<v Speaker 1>think this is a landing spot for us.

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<v Speaker 3>So that's kind of what we wanted to do.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, I'm excited to get things started here

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<v Speaker 1>in spring training and then you know, opening day out here.

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<v Speaker 2>At the beginning of the off season. Did you have

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<v Speaker 2>the Dodgers in mind? Or is this something that started

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<v Speaker 2>to become more clear in the last three weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>Probably more so the second part coming, you know, more

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<v Speaker 1>clear of the last couple of weeks or so. Obviously

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<v Speaker 1>I've never been a free agent before, so I was like,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know how it works, but talking to other

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<v Speaker 1>guys that you know, have gone through the process before

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<v Speaker 1>it definitely helped. And just kind of have a having

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<v Speaker 1>a nice, you know, kind of group around me to

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<v Speaker 1>kind of you know, lead me in a direction, a

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<v Speaker 1>path that definitely helps. So I think I think we,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, made a made a pretty good decision in this.

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<v Speaker 2>You're a guy that seems to let your play do

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<v Speaker 2>all the talking, and in free agency you gotta lay back,

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<v Speaker 2>lay low. How did it make you feel when so

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<v Speaker 2>many people were speaking about you and for you? Was

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<v Speaker 2>that tough to you know, restrain yourself from hey, that's

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<v Speaker 2>not really me.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, there's you know a lot of different opinions.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, there's a lot of people out there that

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<v Speaker 1>have different opinions, and you know, obviously some fan bases

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<v Speaker 1>want you to come there and don't want you to

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<v Speaker 1>go to other organizations and whatnot, so but I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>I was just kind of treating it like a normal

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<v Speaker 1>off season, hanging out with my family and going on

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<v Speaker 1>a little vacation, playing some golf and stuff. So I

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<v Speaker 1>was like, I'm probably a big decision to be made,

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<v Speaker 1>but I was like, I'm just gonna try and treat

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<v Speaker 1>it like a normal off season. That way, I'm prepared

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<v Speaker 1>to go in spring training and have the Red mindset

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<v Speaker 1>going into the year.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, before I let you go, we are sitting

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<v Speaker 2>in Dave Robert's office. I do not have my feed

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<v Speaker 2>up on his desk for the record, even though I

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<v Speaker 2>want to. What was the call like to try to

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<v Speaker 2>get number thirty from him? You said it was a

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<v Speaker 2>shot in the dark. Did you feel like the conversation

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<v Speaker 2>was quick or it was a good icebreaker to get

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<v Speaker 2>to know your new manager.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean, obviously I kind of knew the reason

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<v Speaker 1>behind him wearing it and whatnot, but I just want

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<v Speaker 1>to at least, you know, at least get a courtesy

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<v Speaker 1>call about it. And just kind of discuss it with him,

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<v Speaker 1>and whether I knew it was gonna be not happening

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<v Speaker 1>or not, but I'd figured out at least kind of

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<v Speaker 1>reach out to him and just discuss it with him.

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<v Speaker 1>I told him I got a backup number in case, like,

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<v Speaker 1>it's totally fine.

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<v Speaker 3>I get it. So that's kind of how things worked out.

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<v Speaker 1>So he was like, don't hate me for not doing this,

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<v Speaker 1>but I was like, nah, it's it's totally fine.

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<v Speaker 3>We're all good.

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<v Speaker 1>Like I got a backup number for you, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it all works out. I was like, I don't want

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<v Speaker 1>to mess with anything we got going up here, So

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<v Speaker 1>if that's what I kind of do, we'll stick to it.

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<v Speaker 2>Twenty three. There's been a lot of great twenty threes

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<v Speaker 2>in Dodger history. Eric Carros, who you're going to see

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<v Speaker 2>a lot, and he'll remind you that's his number. And

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know if you heard about this guy hitting

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<v Speaker 2>a home run in nineteen eighty eight. He was a

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<v Speaker 2>left handed hitter, Kurk Gibson. So I know Michael Brantlee

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<v Speaker 2>is your guy, But twenty three means a lot for

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<v Speaker 2>the Dodgers.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean there's a lot of great players out there,

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<v Speaker 1>like you mentioned, and I'm just excited to you know,

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<v Speaker 1>have this one and you know, starting to new part

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<v Speaker 1>of my career here and you know, get things rolling

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<v Speaker 1>with twenty three.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, you look suited and booted, ready to go

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<v Speaker 2>for LA. Damn good hair. Tucker, thanks a lot for

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<v Speaker 2>the time and welcome to LA.

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<v Speaker 3>Thank you, guys, appreciate it.