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Speaker 1: Welcome back to the exter nding postgame show with Bill Laska.

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Speaker 1: I'm delighted to bring my desk on. He's entering his

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Speaker 1: second year as a hitting coach of the Sacramento river Cast,

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Speaker 1: so let's bring my friend in, PJ Peltier. PJ, how

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Speaker 1: are you today?

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Speaker 2: I'm doing great, Bill, Glad to reconnect with you this season.

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Speaker 3: Well, PJ.

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Speaker 1: Spring training is almost over. Of course the Rivercasts and

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Speaker 1: a Giant's playing an exhibition game coming up. But tell

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Speaker 1: me a little bit about spring training. Pretty busy this year?

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Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I mean it's uh, you know, there's there's.

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Speaker 2: A lot of excitement in the air, everybody excited to

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Speaker 2: get a new season on the way. And it's been

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Speaker 2: a really good experience, at least for myself, you know,

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Speaker 2: getting to get to.

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Speaker 3: Know some new representatives on the major league staff and get.

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Speaker 2: Back to work with players that I had last year,

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Speaker 2: and you know, just get that experience of working both

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Speaker 2: on the.

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Speaker 3: Major league side and now back to the minor league

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Speaker 3: side over at Papago. Well, PJ.

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Speaker 1: The Sacramento Rivercasts is the only team bringing back their

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Speaker 1: whole coaching staff, which I think is pretty cool. Day

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Speaker 1: Brun did you coming back for his tenth year. Of course,

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Speaker 1: Hobert Cabrera, and then you have Alan Keano and you

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Speaker 1: have yourself along with Rob Riggins. Tell me a little

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Speaker 1: bit about that whole group.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a great group.

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Speaker 2: I mean, very fortunate, like it doesn't happen a lot

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Speaker 2: in you know, today's baseball where you can be with

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Speaker 2: the same group of coaches.

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Speaker 3: Or players for that matter, multiple years over.

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Speaker 2: So, you know, obviously, being the new guy last year,

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Speaker 2: it was it took some time to develop relationships as

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Speaker 2: it should. But we've been able to hit the ground

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Speaker 2: running as a staff and we're pretty close, pretty close

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Speaker 2: knit unit that is looking forward to another challenge of

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Speaker 2: helping guys get better and get into the big leagues

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Speaker 2: and help out the big club this year.

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Speaker 1: Well, PJ, you have a little help and Sacramento Rob

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Speaker 1: Riggins being your assistant for the second year.

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Speaker 3: What does he do for you?

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Speaker 1: What does he do for certain players? Tell me what

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Speaker 1: his role is?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so, I mean even though he's an assistant entitle

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Speaker 2: I tell him that he's assistant in title alone. We

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Speaker 2: try to we try to spearhead the hitting department and

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Speaker 2: Sacramento together as a units. We make it very clear

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Speaker 2: to our players that you know, we are one and

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Speaker 2: the same. Yeah, we are different people with different voices

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Speaker 2: and different strengths, but at the same time, we work

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Speaker 2: together as a unit. And I couldn't be more blessed

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Speaker 2: and happy to have someone like Rob to be in

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Speaker 2: the you know, on the ground floor with me every

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Speaker 2: single day in the cages and putting together scouting reports

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Speaker 2: and and trying to improve our guys, whether that be

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Speaker 2: through you know, deep dives with analytics or biomechanics or

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Speaker 2: just approach work. It's just it's just really nice and

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Speaker 2: I'm really fortunate to have someone on my side that

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Speaker 2: I can can talk to about these guys now we

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Speaker 2: can make them better every day. So Rob's a tremendous worker.

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Speaker 2: We I think we go together so well because our

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Speaker 2: strengths and weaknesses kind of balance each other out. We're

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Speaker 2: not the same person, so I think it's a really

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Speaker 2: really nice end and the players seem to really enjoy

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Speaker 2: us too, So that's really what it's all about.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that force you hear on the Excedarning postgame show.

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Speaker 1: My good friend who's a hitting coach and soccer metal

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Speaker 1: for the Rivercats, PJ Pell Tier PJ. Your resume is elite.

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Speaker 1: Four years at the major league level with the New

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Speaker 1: York Yankees, three years with the Colorado Rockies at the

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Speaker 1: major league level. Now you're coming back into Triple A.

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Speaker 1: We talked a little bit about last year progression. How

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Speaker 1: you teach hitters. You're learning about them as way as

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Speaker 1: they are learning about you. Now you're coming into a

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Speaker 1: full spring training with a lot of new faces, a

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Speaker 1: lot new hitters. What are some of the things you're

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Speaker 1: trying to teach them.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's I mean it's a tough situation

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Speaker 2: at times, because you know, if it's a new hitter,

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Speaker 2: you want to develop a relationship first with the guy,

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Speaker 2: and you know before you just want to start attacking.

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Speaker 3: The areas of improvement.

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Speaker 2: But at the same time, there's not a lot of

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Speaker 2: patients we are at the Triple A level because you know,

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Speaker 2: we have to have these guys ready to go. I mean,

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Speaker 2: we know that the margins or razor thin at the

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Speaker 2: major league level, and you know, if we send some

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Speaker 2: some players to the big leagues, we want them to

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Speaker 2: not only contribute, but we want them to stay. And

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Speaker 2: like those those margins be and so raised thin. We

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Speaker 2: want them to contribute and compete to the point that,

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Speaker 2: you know, helps push the major league club past that

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Speaker 2: eighty one and eighty one mark.

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Speaker 3: You know, if they can help the team win a

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Speaker 3: game or two here and there.

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Speaker 2: That could be the difference between making the playoffs and

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Speaker 2: missing the playoffs. So it's definitely difficult. But at the

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Speaker 2: same time, you know, here at the Giants were a long,

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Speaker 2: long story franchise with a lot of tradition and a

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Speaker 2: lot of expectation, and expectation is a good thing. So

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Speaker 2: you know, the new players that come on board, they

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Speaker 2: need to understand what's expected of them, and I think

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Speaker 2: we do a really good job from the major league,

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Speaker 2: from the major league level down all the way down.

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Speaker 2: So it's a rookie ball of you know, it's it

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Speaker 2: means a lot to wear a Giants uniform and a

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Speaker 2: lot's going to be expected of you. But why would

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Speaker 2: you want it any other way? You want to go

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Speaker 2: out there and try to win and get better.

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Speaker 3: PJ.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk a couple of things about hitting techniques. You

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Speaker 1: talk about lower half, the bottom part the hips, how

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Speaker 1: you drive the ball, where the power comes with your legs.

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Speaker 1: Why is that so important to you in teaching hitters

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Speaker 1: that way.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I think you know, in today's game bill, like,

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Speaker 2: you know, a lot of fancy stuff gets talked about,

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Speaker 2: you know, exit, VLO, launch, angle, a lot of stuff.

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Speaker 2: I mean it's I mean, it's really not that fancy.

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Speaker 2: It's a part of our game, right, So I try

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Speaker 2: to explain to hitters, like you know, in simple terms,

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Speaker 2: like let's break these these numbers and data down into

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Speaker 2: the simplest terms possible. Uh, you want to have a

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Speaker 2: good exit velo, I mean, and hit the ball as

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Speaker 2: hard as possible. You want to hit it on a

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Speaker 2: line or in the air.

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Speaker 3: You got to use your legs.

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Speaker 2: Like if we're if we're just going to use our

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Speaker 2: upper body, our swings are going to be slower. So

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Speaker 2: we're going to not have the plus bat speed that

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Speaker 2: we're seeking either, and we're gonna get a lot of

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Speaker 2: balls on the ground and we're gonna be really rotational hitters.

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Speaker 3: So I'm such a big believer in the lower half

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Speaker 3: starting our swing.

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Speaker 2: If we can get these guys bought into using the

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Speaker 2: legs to bring their hands to as I say, bring

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Speaker 2: their hands to the party, we're going to be more

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Speaker 2: athletic as hitters, and we're going to have much longer

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Speaker 2: time in the zone with our barrel, which is going

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Speaker 2: to allow us not to have to be so perfect.

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Speaker 2: If I don't use my legs well, I better have

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Speaker 2: an elite sense of timing and an elite sense of

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Speaker 2: getting my barrel to the one location that that ball

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Speaker 2: is going to wind up. But we all know that

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Speaker 2: hitting isn't perfect, and very rarely am I going to

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Speaker 2: be perfectly on time to the pitching location. So if

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Speaker 2: I got a good foundation and I can use my

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Speaker 2: legs properly, it's going to give me a chance to

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Speaker 2: handle multiple locations, multiple speeds, and not have.

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Speaker 3: To be so perfect.

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Speaker 2: It's a really inexact art form that is this hitting racket.

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Speaker 1: It really is. And I was reading a whole article

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Speaker 1: about you talking about it, and the other thing you

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Speaker 1: were talking about is cutting strikeouts out, trying to put

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Speaker 1: the ball in play, changing your thoughts as the strikes come,

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Speaker 1: O one, O two in a hole? What are you

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Speaker 1: supposed to do? How do you teach that? How do

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Speaker 1: you tell hitters different counts? You have to look different ways?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's definitely a great topic and it's

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Speaker 2: something that we talk about a lot with our you know,

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Speaker 2: hitters and player development and the guys that I have

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Speaker 2: throughout the season.

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Speaker 3: But it's a delicate topic as well, because.

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Speaker 2: You know, it's I don't want to frame it as like, hey, guys,

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Speaker 2: we can't strike out or don't strike out. It's like

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Speaker 2: telling a kid not to touch a hot stove, like

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Speaker 2: they're going to touch it, right, And it creates more

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Speaker 2: of a panic in two strike situations than you really

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Speaker 2: want to have.

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Speaker 3: So we can reframe the message when it comes to strikeouts.

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Speaker 2: Of like, hey, listen, we're hunting for balls in the

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Speaker 2: heart of the plate and we're trying to hit them hard,

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Speaker 2: and you know, the first one we get, we need

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Speaker 2: to move it forward in play because you know, especially

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Speaker 2: the higher levels, my level, in the major league level,

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Speaker 2: you're just not going to get as many mistakes.

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Speaker 3: So when you get the mistake, yeah, bat needs to end.

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Speaker 2: It needs to be over, you know, which you know

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Speaker 2: we missed that mistake, we've off, we take it.

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Speaker 3: We get into later counts and as.

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Speaker 2: You know, like hitting two strikes is not the not

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Speaker 2: the most advantageous count to be hitting in, but we

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Speaker 2: want to try to.

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Speaker 3: Avoid those situations. But we don't.

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Speaker 2: Also also we don't want to avoid them by you know,

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Speaker 2: just swinging at the first pitch we see blindly and

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Speaker 2: putting it in play weekly and just giving away in

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Speaker 2: a bad either. So it's a delicate, delicate, nuanced conversation,

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Speaker 2: you know, to talk about two strike approach and and

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Speaker 2: get guys really locked into what zones they're hunting and

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Speaker 2: when a ball shows up there, we need to impact

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Speaker 2: it and it needs to be in play.

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Speaker 1: And it's so true though, but but it's an art.

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Speaker 1: It's an art to teach it, and it's an art

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Speaker 1: to accept it and try to move on with it

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Speaker 1: because different hitters stay in that same pattern and to

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Speaker 1: change it you have to listen to it and understand it.

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Speaker 1: And you just explained it extremely well right there. And

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Speaker 1: the other thing I want to talk about, not just

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Speaker 1: strike but knowing to strike zone. Grant McCrae. You have

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Speaker 1: praised him how much work he did last year, and

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Speaker 1: it's paying off spring training. I mean, he's got an

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Speaker 1: eye knowing the strike zone just perfectly. He's really worked

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Speaker 1: at that because two years ago, coming up from the

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Speaker 1: big leagues, he was a free swinger. He was swinging

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Speaker 1: and any ball that came close. He has changed that.

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Speaker 1: How does he change that approach? And how much have

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Speaker 1: you worked with him with that?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's you know, it's a it's not

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Speaker 2: just myself, it's a lot of people have put a

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Speaker 2: lot of time into Grants and no more or no

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Speaker 2: one more so than himself.

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Speaker 3: Right. You know, Grant's in a really good place mentally

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Speaker 3: right now.

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Speaker 2: You know where he was two years ago the first

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Speaker 2: time he tasted the big leagues, he probably might not

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Speaker 2: have been all the way ready, you know, and he's

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Speaker 2: just trying to survive. But I think he's done a

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Speaker 2: really good job of maturing mentally to understand like where

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Speaker 2: he needs to get better in his game. You know,

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Speaker 2: we're fired up that he that he's doing a really

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Speaker 2: good job controlling the strike zone. We're also really fired

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Speaker 2: up that he's making way more contact.

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Speaker 3: It's a goal of his. We've been honest with him

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Speaker 3: about it. He's a guy, as you know that I love.

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Speaker 2: He's a guy that can can really take honest, honest

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Speaker 2: criticism and feedback and and apply it.

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Speaker 3: You know, he understands where his deficiencies are or were,

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Speaker 3: and he.

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Speaker 2: Works tirelessly to to try to improve those areas without

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Speaker 2: sacrificing some of the strengths of his game. You know,

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Speaker 2: he can impact the baseball too for a guy with speed,

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Speaker 2: and he can hit the ball really hard. But I

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Speaker 2: really love where he's at, the commitment to focus and

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Speaker 2: concentrate on the areas where he needs to improve. And

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Speaker 2: and when you can see those when you can see

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Speaker 2: all that.

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Speaker 3: Hard work starting to go up in the in.

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Speaker 2: The consistency of the vats, then you know you really

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Speaker 2: got you really got something going.

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Speaker 3: And I couldn't be happier for anybody but him.

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Speaker 1: You know, well, you're You're so right. And and how

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Speaker 1: I'm watching him this year and watched him a little

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Speaker 1: bit last year. The dedication that he put into it,

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Speaker 1: PJ is fantastic. That voice you're here on the extra

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Speaker 1: and postgame show. Is a hitting coach in the Sacramento

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Speaker 1: river Cats his second full year, PJ pill Tier. So

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Speaker 1: I want to throw a couple of quick questions at

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Speaker 1: you to you, uh, you know, not just being a

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Speaker 1: hitting coach. You got to be a philosopher. Sometimes guys

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Speaker 1: getting slumps. How do you get him out of a slump?

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Speaker 1: How do you get him out to you know, when

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Speaker 1: you're old for twelve and you're you can't even hit

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Speaker 1: a ball out of the infield and you're struggling. What

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Speaker 1: do you do?

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Speaker 3: PJ.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it definitely comes with the with the

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Speaker 2: job title or the occupation.

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Speaker 3: It might not be under the description of hitting coach.

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Speaker 3: It can't have to be a bit of a psychologist.

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Speaker 2: And that's for sure, and that's okay, you know, as

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Speaker 2: a hitter, as a former hitter myself, like, it's always

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Speaker 2: nice to have people in your corner that can show

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Speaker 2: some empathy for you, not necessarily feel bad for you,

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Speaker 2: but can be in the grind with you. And there's

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Speaker 2: plenty of times where you know, a guy might be

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Speaker 2: scuffling and it's like, hey, tomorrow you're gonna come in,

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Speaker 2: we're gonna we're gonna work and a hit early in

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Speaker 2: finger quotes, and it might just be a discussion like

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Speaker 2: let's really let's let's really talk about some things. Let's

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Speaker 2: talk about your mindset, let's talk about your game plan,

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Speaker 2: let's talk about what you're really thinking when you're in

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Speaker 2: the box.

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Speaker 3: You know, you might not be committing to your plan.

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Speaker 2: You might be chasing the pitcher around the zone or

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Speaker 2: chasing speeds based on the previous pitch, and sometimes you

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Speaker 2: can get a lot out of just knowing where a

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Speaker 2: guy's at.

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Speaker 3: You know, he might have.

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Speaker 2: Something going on off the field and he's not completely focused.

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Speaker 3: And that's kind of the beauty of being a hitting

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Speaker 3: coach is.

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Speaker 2: Is you are afforded the luxury of really getting to

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Speaker 2: know your hitter is probably better than anybody in the building,

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Speaker 2: and you.

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Speaker 3: Can make a lot of headway by just listening to them,

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Speaker 3: and they'll.

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Speaker 2: Lead you down the path of or down the path

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Speaker 2: to some solutions to break the plump or or kind

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Speaker 2: of get out of the funk when they're when they're

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Speaker 2: in the middle of it, well.

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Speaker 1: You're absolutely right too, And and a lot of times

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Speaker 1: hitting coaches pitching coaches will listen and I think the

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Speaker 1: players and pitchers kind of tell you what they're thinking

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Speaker 1: about her, what they're trying to do, and it's not working.

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Speaker 1: And that's where communication comes. And that's the next thing

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Speaker 1: I want to talk about. You're communicating not just with

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Speaker 1: ten hitters, you're communicating with a bunch of hitters every

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Speaker 1: day and trying to figure it out. That's where we

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Speaker 1: go back to Rob Riggins's helper an assistant because you

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Speaker 1: both have to understand the good and the bad. How

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Speaker 1: do you separate this? How do you work with certain

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Speaker 1: guys at certain times and you let other guys just

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Speaker 1: slide away because they may be hitting the hell out

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Speaker 1: of the ball.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's tough.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you know I've said in in you know,

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Speaker 2: multiple you know jobs I've interviewed before, or even as

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Speaker 2: a hitting coach, you know, in a current place, like

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Speaker 2: you know, you're never going to have if you have

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Speaker 2: thirteen hitters, they're never all going to be hot at

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Speaker 2: the same time, right, So, I mean that's why we

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Speaker 2: have jobs, is if they all if they were all

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Speaker 2: raking and going great, then who they don't even need

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Speaker 2: a hitting coach, you know we joke about. But I

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Speaker 2: mean that's the challenge, right There's you don't just leave

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Speaker 2: somebody alone just because they're going well, like you try

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Speaker 2: to document and and reinforce and re encourage the things

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Speaker 2: that they're doing currently that's leading to their success.

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Speaker 3: Right. So uh, I mean, as a constant dialogue.

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Speaker 2: With guys, whether they're going good or poorly, you just

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Speaker 2: have to and and he goes back to that old

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Speaker 2: cliche and it might be over said, It's like players

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Speaker 2: are not going to care how much you know until

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Speaker 2: they know how much you care about them. And that's

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Speaker 2: kind of our philosophy as we treat it like we're

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Speaker 2: serving these guys. This is their chance to to really

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Speaker 2: realize their dreams and and and and.

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Speaker 3: Take their livelihood to the fullest, and we don't forget that.

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Speaker 2: So when a guy's going bad, he needs you, he

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Speaker 2: needs us, but he's going good, he needs us too

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Speaker 2: to stay on them and and remind them of the

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Speaker 2: things that.

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Speaker 3: That are that are getting into that success. PJ.

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Speaker 1: As we finish up here, expectations for the river Cats

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Speaker 1: this year. I know overall numbers weren't all great last year,

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Speaker 1: but there was things that you've done with certain players

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Speaker 1: that definitely enhanced them to get to the big league level.

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Speaker 1: And that's the number one priority you do. So what

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Speaker 1: are you looking for in the RiverCat offense this year?

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Speaker 2: I'm just looking for us to be a little bit

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Speaker 2: more consistent in a world and in a game of inconsistency, right,

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Speaker 2: I would like us to be a little bit more

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Speaker 2: consistent with our approach, be a little bit more dialed

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Speaker 2: in to what opposing pitchers are trying to do to

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Speaker 2: us make adjustments much quicker, and I feel like we're

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Speaker 2: going to have a good group.

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Speaker 3: We might not know exactly who's going to be with

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Speaker 3: us when the season starts next week.

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Speaker 2: But whoever it will be, we're confident in them that.

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Speaker 3: They're up to the challenge and.

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Speaker 2: We're gonna put our best foot forward and trying to

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Speaker 2: have a really good year.

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Speaker 3: I'm really looking forward to it.

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Speaker 2: I think it's going to be a special one for

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Speaker 2: us in Sacramento.

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Speaker 1: Well, I'm so happy you're back with the Rivercasts. The

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Speaker 1: Giants are fortunate to have a hitting coach like you,

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Speaker 1: goo Rpj. And we'll definitely Keen's touch all year as

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Speaker 1: we always do. And thank you again for your time anytime.

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Speaker 3: Bill.

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Speaker 1: That was PJ Peltier, the hitting coach for the Sacramento Rivercats.

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Speaker 1: More coming up right here on K and B r

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Speaker 1: D Sports Leader