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Speaker 1: What's Up, Mets fans, Welcome back to another episode of

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Speaker 1: the Mets Up Podcast. We've got a very awesome interview

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Speaker 1: for you guys today. We talked to Mark DeRosa all

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Speaker 1: the way back in September.

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Speaker 2: It was a few months.

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Speaker 1: Ago, definitely, but it's finally coming out now, manager of

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Speaker 1: Team USA in the WBC World Baseball Classic starting this weekend.

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Speaker 1: We're excited for you guys to hear.

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Speaker 2: James.

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Speaker 1: What you think about the interview with DeRosa.

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Speaker 3: I mean, you gotta rack my brain a little bit,

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Speaker 3: but I do remember having a lot of fun with

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Speaker 3: Mark Durosa, and I think we interviewed him right on

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Speaker 3: those couches MLB Central.

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Speaker 4: Correct.

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Speaker 1: Yes, we were right on the stage. We were looking fancy,

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Speaker 1: all professional. We honestly, we haven't seen this video in

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Speaker 1: like two months, three.

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Speaker 3: Months, way, two months, two months ago. It was January.

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Speaker 1: You forget wow, oh my god, baseball season this year.

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Speaker 5: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: So again, interview from a while ago, but we thought

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Speaker 3: it'd be timely the hold on to it for d

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Speaker 3: before the World Baseball Classic started because, as Mark said,

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Speaker 3: Mark Theurosa is a manager of a Team USA. We

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Speaker 3: also talked about things like Mark's upbringing playing baseball in

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Speaker 3: New Jersey, growing up his career, how he saw the

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Speaker 3: Mets as a road player, when he was a member

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Speaker 3: of the Braids for a long time, and then some

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Speaker 3: other things that, you know, we just had to cut

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Speaker 3: out because it wasn't timely anymore.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, shout out to Veto for doing a fantastic job

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Speaker 1: on the edit. We're excited for you guys to listen

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Speaker 1: to this interview. So much more content coming at you.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna drop a spring training episode a little bit

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Speaker 1: later this week so we can round up what's going

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Speaker 1: on there in you know, Florida with the Mets, as

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Speaker 1: well as some interviews with guys like Tyler McGill, Drew Smith,

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Speaker 1: David Peterson, Joey lou Casey, Dan Volgelback, Keith rad the

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Speaker 1: new radio voice for the New York Mets, and a

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Speaker 1: lot more. So make sure you guys are following us

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Speaker 1: on all our social media so you can stay up

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Speaker 1: to date when those episodes drop, as well as make

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Speaker 1: sure you're following and subscribing to our podcast feed Mets

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Speaker 1: up on Twitter on Nope, not Twitter, Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

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Speaker 1: Google Podcasts, whatever it is drops a rating download subscribe

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Speaker 1: and enjoy the Markeduro's interview.

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Speaker 2: Get Up, What's Up? Guys?

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Speaker 5: Welcome back to another bonus episode of the Mets Up Podcast.

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Speaker 1: We're sitting here today with former Big League Here MLB

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Speaker 1: Central hosts Coach a Team USA, Mark de Rosa.

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Speaker 2: Marks, thank you so much for coming out and talking

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Speaker 2: about us.

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Speaker 4: Actually we came out. I think we no crush red velvet.

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Speaker 4: Here we go, right, So.

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Speaker 1: We want to start off with some we know you're

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Speaker 1: a new Jersey guy, some icebreakers. Okay, so the first

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Speaker 1: one is going to be pork roller tailor hand.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, for me, it's Taylor hand. Of course, I've been

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Speaker 4: in this argument. I think South Jersey like, I've talked

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Speaker 4: to Todd Frazier about this. I've had different guys, Mike Trapp.

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Speaker 2: This.

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Speaker 4: The further south and closer you get to Philly, it

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Speaker 4: turns into pork role. It's Taylor hands.

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Speaker 5: Next one Jester John's Cowboys.

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Speaker 1: Wow, No, cowboys were football stuff too.

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Speaker 4: Like I shared a room with an old My brother

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Speaker 4: was six years older than me. I shared shared a

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Speaker 4: room with him. My dad was a huge, giant guy.

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Speaker 4: He wanted to be a pain in the neck, so

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Speaker 4: he went he went the other way. Thank god he

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Speaker 4: didn't go Redskins or now it's Commanders or Eagles. He

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Speaker 4: went cowboys. So like in my room I grew up,

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Speaker 4: you know in the Star were you his Cowboys success?

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Speaker 4: I write my pocket. I took a lot on the

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Speaker 4: chin in grammar school because the giants were animals back then,

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Speaker 4: Mark Varro phil Simms. But then right in that ninety

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Speaker 4: two ninety three that was right when I was like sixteen,

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Speaker 4: seventeen years old. Way, yeah, just my guy, all.

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Speaker 2: Right, gar Stake Parkway or New Jersey Turnpike.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm a turnpike guy.

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Speaker 2: Sixteen w We were talking about that earlier drive here

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Speaker 2: on the Turnpike.

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Speaker 4: I too.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean Garson Park was useful. You gotta use it.

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Speaker 5: They got your like utility. But it does take a drive.

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Speaker 5: This is the last one.

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Speaker 4: This is full up.

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Speaker 5: This one's where I producer John Over here. Does Central

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Speaker 5: Jersey exist?

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Speaker 4: No? Not? Not nice?

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Speaker 6: Yeah, nice?

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Speaker 4: Not really. You're either in Bergen County or you're down

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Speaker 4: the shore between all.

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Speaker 1: Right, we're not in the world or from Westfield, Union County,

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Speaker 1: So it could be South Jersey to you.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, all right, I'll go with that.

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Speaker 5: Crazy yeah, I can't have that about to go the podcast.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, for me, I didn't venture much further outside of

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Speaker 4: Bergen County until until I went to college.

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Speaker 2: That's fair. That's fair.

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Speaker 1: So now to switch common in baseball, and we thought

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Speaker 1: this was topical too, because we saw you started a

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Speaker 1: game at every position except centerfield, catcher, and Pittrick. And

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Speaker 1: now with the Rolling School Glove Award, they're adding utility

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Speaker 1: player to it.

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Speaker 2: So we had this conversation lately.

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Speaker 5: Do you know you do you like being.

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Speaker 2: Called utility player? Like as a player, was that something

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Speaker 2: that was okay? How was it view?

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Speaker 4: You know, when I first came into the league, you

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Speaker 4: didn't want to be called that. I was also honest

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Speaker 4: with myself that I shouldn't have been a starter like

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Speaker 4: Raphael for Call burst on a scene with the Atlanta

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Speaker 4: Braves and won the Rookie of the Year. I'll never

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Speaker 4: forget being on the backfield. I thought I was the

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Speaker 4: next short Savvey Atlanta Braves. Walalt Weiss was on the

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Speaker 4: way out and you know it was mine. I was

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Speaker 4: gonna take it, and then I took round balls with

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Speaker 4: for Call. I called my dad that day and I

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Speaker 4: was like, we're gonna have to rethink some things. And

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Speaker 4: Bobby Cox was just honest with me. It's like, you

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Speaker 4: can go down to Triple A and play shortstop all

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Speaker 4: you want, or we could start bouncing year around. So

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Speaker 4: that's what That's what I did. I grew to actually

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Speaker 4: enjoy it. And never in a million years did I

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Speaker 4: think like the goal was still always to play every

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Speaker 4: day at one position. But I think it started to

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Speaker 4: It started to change for me as as Buck found

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Speaker 4: ways in Texas to get me at bats. Actually a

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Speaker 4: funny story, the last game in a season in two

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Speaker 4: thousand and six, I believe Buck did call me in

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Speaker 4: the office and asked me if I wanted to do

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Speaker 4: all nine oh wow, okay, every inning try And my

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Speaker 4: answer was, and I don't know if I would have

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Speaker 4: changed it. I said, maybe somebody of importance that's ever done.

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Speaker 2: That's a good point.

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Speaker 4: I said, I don't kind of want to be a

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Speaker 4: hopey little thing.

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Speaker 6: That's kind of interesting because I feel like now the

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Speaker 6: utility positions changed. Well, it's you become something that you

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Speaker 6: more questions of wrong in gold gloves, become something of

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Speaker 6: like an n vehicle job. And we have two guys

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Speaker 6: on the mess within two of the best utilian in

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Speaker 6: baseball between Jeff McNeil and luiski Orman.

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Speaker 5: And even inside the team, they do it differently.

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Speaker 6: So kind of playing off with you said your answer

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Speaker 6: to Buck and what these guys mean to the best, Like,

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Speaker 6: what was being utility men mean the modern game?

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Speaker 5: And how has it changed?

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Speaker 4: I think I think for me it's knowing, knowing your role.

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Speaker 4: I think it's fallen in love with being kind of

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Speaker 4: a gun for hire, understanding you're giving a guy a

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Speaker 4: day off his feet. I just I fell in love

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Speaker 4: with it. When in Glenn Hubbard was was my first

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Speaker 4: base coach with the Atlanta Braves. He used to say,

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Speaker 4: de row went in to doubt be an athlete, And

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Speaker 4: I used to always say, like I didn't know how

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Speaker 4: to play baseball or know how to hit until I

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Speaker 4: was like thirty years old. Like I literally just willed

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Speaker 4: it and athleted it and tried to it wasn't going

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Speaker 4: to look pretty in the outfield, Just just catch it. Yeah, Like,

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Speaker 4: and why he's the only place I felt comfortable was shortstop,

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Speaker 4: and I knew I was never going to really play

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Speaker 4: wherever again. Yeah, so it was time to be be

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Speaker 4: okay with being uncomfortable.

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Speaker 2: That's fair. So you talked about, you know, playing with Buck.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and obviously we're a Mets podcast, so we got

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Speaker 1: to ask you what was the experience?

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Speaker 4: Like? You know, I loved everything about the way Buck

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Speaker 4: went about it. Maniacal in his preparation. I mean down

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Speaker 4: to like asking us if we like to carpet in

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Speaker 4: the clubhouse it really yeah, asking us if we wanted

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Speaker 4: Sunday sweatsuits for eating or travel, if we all wanted

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Speaker 4: to dress it. He was on top of every little thing.

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Speaker 4: We practiced. Plays that would probably pop up once or

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Speaker 4: twice in the entire season, but he wanted to know

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Speaker 4: that we were prepared for it. But also quick wit humor.

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Speaker 6: I was.

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Speaker 4: I was into what he was selling, and he gave

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Speaker 4: me a chance. He gave me a chance to play

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Speaker 4: every day. So he believed in me. That's big. Like,

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Speaker 4: so he holds a special place. I went Actually when

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Speaker 4: when I got named and manager for Team USA, he

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Speaker 4: was one of the first calls I made, and two

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Speaker 4: weeks ago I went in and kind of shadowed him.

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Speaker 4: Cool and uh, I wanted to get into weeds. He

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Speaker 4: wasn't giving me any of the Mets secrets. I'm like, no,

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Speaker 4: give me, like, how you handle a bullpen, how you

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Speaker 4: second and third? What, what's your what's your philosophy is

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Speaker 4: on all these different things. He's like, I'm not giving

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Speaker 4: you all. That just kind of threw os MOS's pick

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Speaker 4: up on a few things. So, yeah, I enjoyed my

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Speaker 4: time playing for him.

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Speaker 6: From shadowing him, did you notice anything different than you

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Speaker 6: remember him?

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Speaker 4: Nothing? On top of everything, the analytics guy comes in, check,

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Speaker 4: nutritionists check, trainer check. He's got his hands in everything,

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Speaker 4: and that's how you know, if done right, I think

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Speaker 4: that's how it should be, you know. I think I

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Speaker 4: think in today's game, the players are so much more

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Speaker 4: knowledgeable on who they are and why they're there and

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Speaker 4: how what makes them successful that I think you've got

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Speaker 4: to have your hand in in in a myriad of

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Speaker 4: different positions throughout the course of the organization, from from

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Speaker 4: the pr to the analytics department. But then you can't

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Speaker 4: lose that human element side. So so that's that's the

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Speaker 4: biggest thing for me. That blend.

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Speaker 5: That blend you mentioned the big Union that shipped away

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Speaker 5: from the Mets. We saw that was your first.

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Speaker 6: Ever major League baseball there against Randy Johnson, as a

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Speaker 6: pitch hitter for Greg Maddis. Yes, if you walk intough baseball,

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Speaker 6: you walking through young Marcuro's's mind and.

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Speaker 5: You're stepping up to the plate against the unit.

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Speaker 4: Well, young Mark Deuro's had never thought he was getting

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Speaker 4: called up at that point. Nineteen ninety eight, getting dressed

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Speaker 4: in Zebulon, North Carolina after a double A game. That's

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Speaker 4: real place, right, yeah, and playing the Mudcats were in

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Speaker 4: a double wide yeah, double wide trailer that kind of

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Speaker 4: was our visiting clubhouse. And and ended up getting told

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Speaker 4: I was going to the big leagues by just an

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Speaker 4: awesome one of my awesome minor league managers, Randy Angele,

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Speaker 4: and and calling home and telling my dad and he

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Speaker 4: he was like, you're not ready. That was his first line,

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Speaker 4: You're not ready. I said, well, I'm not ready, but

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Speaker 4: I'm going. Didn't have a helmet, my bats hadn't come

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Speaker 4: up yet, hadn't been shipped up yet. I just remember shake,

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Speaker 4: wondering if people could see me my legs shaking. That

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Speaker 4: was first I was like, man, you gotta stop shaking.

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Speaker 4: And second thinking like, well, this is kind of perfect

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Speaker 4: because no one expects me to get a hit. This

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Speaker 4: is like wind men, So I'm just gonna let it go.

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Speaker 4: I'm just gonna let it go. I remember fall in

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Speaker 4: one back. I remember it follow one back and stepping

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Speaker 4: out and going, man, I think I might be on him,

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Speaker 4: Like maybe I'm on him. And then he threw me

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Speaker 4: a nasty slider in the dirt that got away from

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Speaker 4: the catcher. I swung and missed, and and I'm running

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Speaker 4: down the first base going, oh my god, Jeff Bagwell.

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Speaker 4: So like I was, like I was being a fan

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Speaker 4: more so than realizing that I actually was in the game.

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Speaker 4: And when I came off, it took me that month

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Speaker 4: of September. I got three at bats, I went one

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Speaker 4: for three. It took me that month to get over

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Speaker 4: being like not intimidated. I wasn't. I was just in

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Speaker 4: awe of like being there, especially with the Braves at

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Speaker 4: that time. It was like you're on the plane and

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Speaker 4: you're surrounded by Hall of famers with the expectation of

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Speaker 4: we win to at three, three out of four every

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Speaker 4: series we go into, which helped me as I moved

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Speaker 4: on in my career, but just being in awe every year,

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Speaker 4: it was like who's coming to Spring Gary Sheffield. It's

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Speaker 4: just got traded over. It was somebody every Andre Scalaraga.

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Speaker 4: There was just star after star walking through that clubhouse

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Speaker 4: that it took a second.

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Speaker 1: Who would you say in your career had outside Randy

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Speaker 1: Johnson since we just spoke about him, any other pitcher

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Speaker 1: that you were like, Wow.

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Speaker 2: I can't believe I'm facing him.

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Speaker 4: I remember Roger Clemens in spring train was always a treat. Yeah,

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Speaker 4: because to me, I never faced him in a regular

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Speaker 4: season did to all those guys that I grew up,

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Speaker 4: Mike Usina, Andy Pettitt. I'm just kind of watching these

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Speaker 4: guys careers. Yeah, right. I faced Tom Glavin when he

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Speaker 4: came back and came over to Mets. That was kind

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Speaker 4: of surreal to see him go over to the Mets

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Speaker 4: season then and then have to face him. But yeah,

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Speaker 4: the guys that that that were there before before I

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Speaker 4: actually came up, the guys that I, you know, my generation,

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Speaker 4: I just I was in awe of certain guys being

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Speaker 4: so talented. I remember the first time facing Justin Verlander

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Speaker 4: in America Sunday Day game, him throwing the first pitch

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Speaker 4: and being like, oh my god, I didn't see that,

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Speaker 4: you know, like I had that or Stephen Strasburg in

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Speaker 4: twenty twelve in a sim game on a backfield in

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Speaker 4: in spring training with the Washington Nationals and the entire

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Speaker 4: organization is standing behind it. By screen watching, I'm like,

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Speaker 4: I'll throw my hat in the ring, and it was like,

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Speaker 4: what the hell is this?

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Speaker 6: Like?

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Speaker 4: Those are that some of the stuff that I remember?

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Speaker 4: But you know, for the most part, I felt good

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Speaker 4: in the box.

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Speaker 6: It's fascinating to hear you talk about your career because

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Speaker 6: you spanned so many years, like being able to face

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Speaker 6: against Verlander and Strasbourg, also face against a Clemens Johnson

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Speaker 6: just like kind of like end of the.

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Speaker 4: Nineties all the way until yeah, twenty thirteen. And the game,

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Speaker 4: the game, it has, it's evolved, it's changed. I don't

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Speaker 4: know if good, bad, and different. I mean I'll go

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Speaker 4: with good because it's it's the way they want to

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Speaker 4: play it, and I'm there for it. I see it.

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Speaker 4: I have a twelve year old son, and I see

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Speaker 4: the way he gets his content. It's completely different than

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Speaker 4: the way I did. So it's either yeah, it's either

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Speaker 4: buy in or or get left behind.

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Speaker 6: What do you think the biggest change you've see in

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Speaker 6: the game, either from when you play to now or even.

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Speaker 4: The sheer velocity this stuff these guys have. The way

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Speaker 4: they train you. You don't see fours and fives and

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Speaker 4: rotations featuring eight ninety two with decent breaking ball. I mean,

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Speaker 4: that's where we had to feast, right, they don't feast

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Speaker 4: on anything. I mean there's guys I've never heard of

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Speaker 4: coming out of bullpens. I sit there last night watching

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Speaker 4: Doggers game, first Arizona as I'm closing my eyes and

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Speaker 4: Arizona's bringing out a reliever that I haven't heard of,

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Speaker 4: and he's sitting ninety eight with a split falling off

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Speaker 4: the table like we didn't have. We didn't have. That

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Speaker 4: was that was Billy Ware. That was like, that was

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Speaker 4: your closer, that was beneath that's coming in like that's

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Speaker 4: who you saw, and they're seeing them just run through

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Speaker 4: the game. So that's the biggest thing for me would

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Speaker 4: be the pitching, and then the way this shift has

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Speaker 4: impacted the game. We shifted Barry Bombs, Yeah, that was it.

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Speaker 4: I remember playing short right field in what was called

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Speaker 4: pack Bell at the time. What's in that oracle? I think, yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 4: he was the only guy we really shifted. Yeah, you

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Speaker 4: take two steps right or left. I remember, I remember, like, oh,

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Speaker 4: you don't want the team to see you moving. So

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Speaker 4: the way we went about it, I don't know if

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Speaker 4: it was cal Ricken who I read this, he would

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Speaker 4: be like, turn around and tell your outfield how many

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Speaker 4: outs and then slowly veer two steps to your right

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Speaker 4: or two steps to your left so they don't pick

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Speaker 4: up on it.

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Speaker 1: Now, it's like, so that's funny to think about like

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Speaker 1: picking up on it because now, like you said, there,

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Speaker 1: they'll just leave the entire side of the field open.

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Speaker 4: So there's no hits on the ground for a lot

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Speaker 4: of guys, and then you're facing guys that are throwing

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Speaker 4: ninety eight with nasty stuff. So it's like the strikeouts

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Speaker 4: are going to be up. But with the new rules,

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Speaker 4: I do hope. I hope because you don't know until

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Speaker 4: it's instituted that we get back to more of more

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Speaker 4: of like what the Mets have and what I still

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Speaker 4: think the great lineups. There's a flow to it. You

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Speaker 4: know thy role right, me hitting two twenty with twenty

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Speaker 4: four homers, it's really not impacting us in this six

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Speaker 4: seven hole. But if I if i'm my on basis

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Speaker 4: three eighty and I'm constantly teeing the Pete Alonzo's of

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Speaker 4: the world up and giving them a chance of driving runs.

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Speaker 4: We're gonna be better for it.

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Speaker 2: Definitely.

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Speaker 6: That's kind of the most beautiful things about this Mets team,

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Speaker 6: because even though they do play like one of the

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Speaker 6: biggest ball parts of baseball, the hardest wants to hit

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Speaker 6: the ball out, it seems like.

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Speaker 5: They found a way to kind of counteract that. Yeah,

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Speaker 5: but talk about the park.

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Speaker 6: You mentioned coming and playing against Tom Bob and that

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Speaker 6: a couple of times feel weird. What was like for

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Speaker 6: you to visit Queens the Mets as a visitor, Chase Stadium,

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Speaker 6: City Field later on?

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Speaker 4: How would you? I always felt I was at home

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Speaker 4: because the deli meat was different, it was better, everything

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Speaker 4: was different. I knew my family was coming, I knew

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Speaker 4: we were going to go to dinner in the cities.

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Speaker 4: You grab some Italian somewhere amazing. So I always felt

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Speaker 4: super comfortable in Shaye Stadium, and the infield left galow

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Speaker 4: to be desired. And there's a couple of bad Hawks

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Speaker 4: out there, but I thought it played small, it carried.

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Speaker 4: I still say to go to City Field now, I

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Speaker 4: think is one of my best fan experiences. For me,

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Speaker 4: it's easy and easy out. The place is awesome, the

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Speaker 4: food's awesome. Like I just I just enjoy going to

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Speaker 4: City Field. But yeah, Shae Stadium was It was just

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Speaker 4: an easy place for me to come feel comfortable. And

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Speaker 4: I mean I had thirty forty people there every time,

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Speaker 4: so that was always huge.

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Speaker 1: You talked about coaching Team USA in the World Baseball

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Speaker 1: Class that coming up. How excited are you for that event?

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Speaker 2: Yeah?

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Speaker 4: Mine, I mean I'm not allowing myself to think about

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Speaker 4: it all day long for the next six months. But

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Speaker 4: that's the way, that's the way my brain brain cooks

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Speaker 4: a little bit. I pick my spots with it. Honored, humbled,

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Speaker 4: blown away with the opportunity, so looking forward to it,

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Speaker 4: but also not going in like happy to be there.

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Speaker 4: I want to win the thing and want to create

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Speaker 4: an environment that these guys walk away saying, hey, d

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Speaker 4: ro knows this stuff and had us on lock. And

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Speaker 4: because at the end of the day, it's about that.

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Speaker 4: It's not like I'm going to make these grandiose managerial moves.

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Speaker 4: I mean, the pictures are going to be on strict

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Speaker 4: pitch counts, not gonna not gonna really hit and run

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Speaker 4: with many people maybe. I mean, I'm sure I'm gonna

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Speaker 4: want to put guys in motion, but it's gonna be

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Speaker 4: predicated on how they feel at that time. I know.

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Speaker 4: And in two thousand and nine when when I did it,

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Speaker 4: I mean I attacked it differently because I was a

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Speaker 4: utility guy. Whatever you need, skip, but their feeder and

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Speaker 4: David Wright handled it a little bit differently. So I

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Speaker 4: completely understand that if if if Mike Trout wants to

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Speaker 4: do a certain thing, and Mike Trout's going to do

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Speaker 4: that certain thing, Yeah, I'm sure with Bryce Arbor and

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Speaker 4: gold Schmidt non that on the line.

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Speaker 5: I was going to ask you to preview the team.

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Speaker 5: They just mentioned David Wright.

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Speaker 6: So if you talk about it were me's podcast is

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Speaker 6: it's kind of like a rulesone mentions David Wright, and

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Speaker 6: you have to talk about David right Moore, did you

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Speaker 6: mention any Yeah, I uh, Captain America.

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Speaker 4: Captain America two thousand and nine WBC Getting a chance

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Speaker 4: to be in the locker room with him, Well, first off,

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Speaker 4: he's a better human being than he was a player.

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Speaker 4: And that's hard. That's hard because he was a just

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Speaker 4: unbelievable player, and he's the only guy I always I

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Speaker 4: always used to ask him like he swiveled his hips

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Speaker 4: when he hit. I've never really seen anyone really do that.

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Speaker 4: I just remember his walk off knock. I'll take you

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Speaker 4: behind the scenes two thousand and nine WBC LA. My

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Speaker 4: wife and daughter at the time. Come out. My daughter's

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Speaker 4: two thousand and nine, she's six. Knock on the door

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Speaker 4: in the hotel room. He had gone to get muffins,

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Speaker 4: muffins and coffee for himself and whoever, and he saw

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Speaker 4: that I had my family there and he's like, I

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Speaker 4: figured your daughter would want some muffins, would you know,

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Speaker 4: cookies sugar? And he closed the door. I was like,

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Speaker 4: nice as that, right? And then he gets to walk

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Speaker 4: off knock against Puerto Rico and we that's where we

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Speaker 4: became a team because it's a feeling out process. I'm

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Speaker 4: sure for a lot of guys like who's the alpha

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Speaker 4: male in the room, because at the end of the day,

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Speaker 4: the team is a little league team, right. I was

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Speaker 4: to get back to that, you know who the best

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Speaker 4: player is, you know.

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Speaker 7: Who we're kind of garion, and you try and create

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Speaker 7: an atmosphere where everyone kind of falls in line, knows

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Speaker 7: their role and I always felt like for the w

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Speaker 7: b C, it's like, if you can eliminate that super

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Speaker 7: quick and create more of a chemistry and in the

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Speaker 7: locker room, you're better off.

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Speaker 4: I felt like that broke the ice for us. We

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Speaker 4: fell in love with each other after that knock, we

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Speaker 4: were going no, it's he was going nuts. So yeah,

436
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,200
Speaker 4: anytime I get a chance to see him, I don't

437
00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:21,840
Speaker 4: see him much. I remember hanging with him at Ryan's

438
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:28,160
Speaker 4: I'm Dating myself Brian Zimmerman's wedding. Wow, yeah, good invite, solid,

439
00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:30,399
Speaker 4: solid guest list. But getting a chance to see him

440
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:35,240
Speaker 4: there was awesome. And then occasionally run into him.

441
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, imas he's busy, but if.

442
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,000
Speaker 4: He wants to come walk through and talk to the

443
00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:42,480
Speaker 4: boys talking about yeah, I.

444
00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:44,840
Speaker 2: Mean let him know the podcast.

445
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:47,879
Speaker 6: I missed him at a at like like a New York,

446
00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,760
Speaker 6: New Jersey bar and like Santa Monica was staying with

447
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:52,640
Speaker 6: friends over the sprint during March Madness.

448
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:53,840
Speaker 5: I was wearing my Mets hat.

449
00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:55,840
Speaker 6: Some kids like, are you a Mets fan? I was like, yeah,

450
00:21:55,880 --> 00:22:01,600
Speaker 6: it was my half hour. I almost fell over start crying.

451
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,440
Speaker 6: He's like that's like it's like my heart, but yeah.

452
00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:07,359
Speaker 1: Well you also played with Albert Pooles for a season.

453
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,120
Speaker 1: It can like, can you believe that he's still doing?

454
00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:11,440
Speaker 1: Like how great is the film this year?

455
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:12,160
Speaker 2: How nuts is.

456
00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:15,600
Speaker 4: That I say this? He's He's the greatest, greatest hitter

457
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:17,480
Speaker 4: I ever had a chance to share all offer room

458
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:23,600
Speaker 4: with his preparation. That kind of like sometimes it gets

459
00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:27,080
Speaker 4: over blown for certain guys, like no one works harder

460
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,760
Speaker 4: than him. We all work hard, Like there are a

461
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:32,040
Speaker 4: few guys that are a little bit lazier than others,

462
00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,240
Speaker 4: but for the most part, but I cannot line. Every

463
00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:37,640
Speaker 4: time I got to the clubhouse, this dude was full

464
00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:42,320
Speaker 4: dripping sweat and nick Cage perfecting. He knew how much

465
00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:46,119
Speaker 4: he meant to our team, the fans, the game, Like

466
00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:52,560
Speaker 4: I don't know that weight. I just always used to say,

467
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:56,199
Speaker 4: I'm gonna show up, bust my ass for four abs.

468
00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:57,959
Speaker 4: I'm gonna play as good as defense as I can

469
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,000
Speaker 4: possibly play. I'm gonna try and put my little slip

470
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,359
Speaker 4: in there and help us win games. And he he

471
00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,480
Speaker 4: was carrying a franchise, and he was well aware of it.

472
00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:10,280
Speaker 4: So I always I go back to this story. When

473
00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:14,679
Speaker 4: I got traded there end of June, right mid July,

474
00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,480
Speaker 4: We're in Cincinnati. It's one of our first road trips

475
00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:19,480
Speaker 4: that I'm a part of the team. We're losing by three.

476
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,560
Speaker 4: It's the eighth inning, top of the eighth, and we're

477
00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:27,360
Speaker 4: warming up our closer bases loaded. We're losing by three.

478
00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:30,080
Speaker 4: We're warming up our closer bases loaded, and the entire

479
00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,879
Speaker 4: dugouts like he's going the Grand Slam and we're bringing

480
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,760
Speaker 4: our closer in. And that's the way this guy hits.

481
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:38,200
Speaker 4: This is the way this guy rolls. And he did

482
00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:42,879
Speaker 4: and we did. And I can tell stories about the

483
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,840
Speaker 4: Wolls being in spring training not knowing who he was,

484
00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:48,800
Speaker 4: and I was playing third and I'm kicking a dirt

485
00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:51,639
Speaker 4: even with the bag and jose O Kendo was the

486
00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:55,679
Speaker 4: third base coach and he's like, hey, back up, and

487
00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,360
Speaker 4: no one knew how. But at the time he hadn't

488
00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,960
Speaker 4: been in Bailey, And I'm like, man, come on, you

489
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,359
Speaker 4: know because you're always like Willie Bond. I mean, he

490
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,960
Speaker 4: wasn't what he lives now. He was he felt and thin,

491
00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:12,159
Speaker 4: and I'm like the worst thing in the world for

492
00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:14,280
Speaker 4: me trying to make a team is if a guy

493
00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:16,520
Speaker 4: lays a bunt down and Bobby like I don't make

494
00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:18,679
Speaker 4: a play on it. So I was like, kind of,

495
00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,840
Speaker 4: He's like no, no, no, no, no back up. He could

496
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,240
Speaker 4: kill you. And he ended up Disney like hitting the

497
00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:28,680
Speaker 4: clock and then went on to be unbelievable.

498
00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,560
Speaker 6: We had one of our like like comes to realization

499
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,240
Speaker 6: moments when we first got this gig. We started hanging

500
00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:36,359
Speaker 6: on the field batting practice. One of our first series

501
00:24:36,359 --> 00:24:40,560
Speaker 6: that worked was Mets Cardinals, and he just like walked by.

502
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:42,480
Speaker 6: I think each of us like almost like fellow, like

503
00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:43,040
Speaker 6: you feel.

504
00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:49,080
Speaker 4: I only have. I didn't green fly anybody really in

505
00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:52,119
Speaker 4: the big leagues while I played. I didn't ask for

506
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:54,200
Speaker 4: a ton of autographs. If I if I went back,

507
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,520
Speaker 4: I don't think I'd do it differently, although there are

508
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,640
Speaker 4: some that I want, But he was one. My son

509
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:04,400
Speaker 4: has two jerseys in his room. He's got Buster Posey

510
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:11,320
Speaker 4: and Al he can work on. But those were the

511
00:25:11,359 --> 00:25:16,240
Speaker 4: two guys that that I played with that we're game.

512
00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,520
Speaker 4: I mean obviously Chip for Dylanta Braves, Chipper Jones like

513
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:24,919
Speaker 4: really impacted. Like I'm on one hand, the guys who

514
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,200
Speaker 4: impacted my career the most. He would be be on

515
00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,920
Speaker 4: there just the way I shared a locker next to

516
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,200
Speaker 4: him for six years, watched him have to again carry

517
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,520
Speaker 4: a franchise and and kind of the power and the

518
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:37,080
Speaker 4: weight that that comes with that.

519
00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, Tripper Jones is like the first villain.

520
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,600
Speaker 4: It's like he had a respect for it. Yeah, but

521
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,040
Speaker 4: he embraced he embraced it. But I'll tell you kind

522
00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,320
Speaker 4: of behind this. I couldn't get him out in New York.

523
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:55,879
Speaker 4: Like I'd be like, come on, let's go to dinner.

524
00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:02,600
Speaker 5: He's like, I can't. Ye, it was a murder.

525
00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:03,439
Speaker 6: Oh man.

526
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,360
Speaker 5: A couple of questions last year really had a half hour.

527
00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:07,320
Speaker 5: That's incredible.

528
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:09,560
Speaker 6: Well played a lot of different teams in your career,

529
00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,359
Speaker 6: and you mostly held consistent with the number seven.

530
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:13,920
Speaker 5: Is there anything I guess that number?

531
00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:14,760
Speaker 2: No?

532
00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:21,560
Speaker 4: Actually I was sixteen playing college football Joe Montana six

533
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,520
Speaker 4: foot one, No, you know, limited mobility. I was proud

534
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:27,800
Speaker 4: of myself on trying to be like him. So I

535
00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:29,840
Speaker 4: was sixteen with the Braves when I first came up

536
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,760
Speaker 4: and when I got got picked up by the Texas Rangers.

537
00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,879
Speaker 4: Eric Young, the now first base coach of the of

538
00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:39,439
Speaker 4: the Braves, e y shiggy shiggy quack quack that we

539
00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,560
Speaker 4: used to say, slamm his cards down. And ended up

540
00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:43,440
Speaker 4: playing with him.

541
00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:43,960
Speaker 2: But what.

542
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:46,000
Speaker 5: Texas?

543
00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:48,960
Speaker 4: He oh when we were playing, like whatever, you know,

544
00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:52,680
Speaker 4: dealer's choice on the plane and uh, when I got

545
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,119
Speaker 4: to Texas, I was like, what's open? They said, you

546
00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:57,359
Speaker 4: know it's funny. Seven just came up and I said seven.

547
00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,560
Speaker 4: I make it, man, I'll give me that on that

548
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:01,560
Speaker 4: and then I was able to hold it. It's pretty

549
00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:06,080
Speaker 4: good the whole way until my last year. Jose Ray

550
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:13,080
Speaker 4: came up to me and goes, Bobby, I gotta wear

551
00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:15,800
Speaker 4: and I was like, and I had more time than him,

552
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,760
Speaker 4: but I you know, I was like o that. He's like,

553
00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:20,560
Speaker 4: you want to my god, I don't want a thing.

554
00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:24,439
Speaker 4: You got it. I didn't take anything and give I

555
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:28,960
Speaker 4: took sixteen back, so I went sixteen seven sixteen at

556
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:29,840
Speaker 4: the end, it's pretty good.

557
00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,120
Speaker 5: How did they give you anything?

558
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,800
Speaker 4: Come on, I was hanging on you could have it all? Right?

559
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:39,600
Speaker 2: Well, I think that's probably time for us to wrap

560
00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:40,440
Speaker 2: it up. Or do you have one more.

561
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,600
Speaker 5: MORETT mentioned about football.

562
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,760
Speaker 6: I think most listeners won't really know that you were

563
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,320
Speaker 6: a prominent college quarterback. Pay What was it like making

564
00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,520
Speaker 6: a decision between football and baseball and even just going

565
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:55,119
Speaker 6: through like a recruiting process.

566
00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,560
Speaker 4: I wasn't prepared to give up either coming out of

567
00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:00,840
Speaker 4: high school, and that's why I went to the IVY

568
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:06,320
Speaker 4: League and the academics well yeah, obviously, yeah, you put

569
00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:08,880
Speaker 4: yourself again in the most uncomfortable positions you can put

570
00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:11,080
Speaker 4: yourself in and hopefully it works out. But that that

571
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:14,239
Speaker 4: was the big appeal. I had a couple, you know,

572
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,920
Speaker 4: scholarships for football coming out, not many for baseball at all,

573
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,680
Speaker 4: and yeah, up here you got to be something, and

574
00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:28,040
Speaker 4: I just I didn't want to give baseball up. My

575
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,800
Speaker 4: dad didn't want me to give it up, and he's like, yeah,

576
00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:33,280
Speaker 4: he was just like, keep going with it. So that's

577
00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:35,040
Speaker 4: I went to the IVY League and end up playing

578
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,560
Speaker 4: uh two years there, and I think it helped me

579
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:43,360
Speaker 4: in my career because the ability to command a huddle,

580
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,920
Speaker 4: the ability of eleven guys having to do their jobs

581
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:51,320
Speaker 4: in order for for your that play to be successful,

582
00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:53,680
Speaker 4: where it gets blown up, that that's where I kind

583
00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:59,360
Speaker 4: of like get my kind of clubhouse chemistry wise, try

584
00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,680
Speaker 4: and be more of that. And then I also use

585
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:06,760
Speaker 4: it as a mental toughness. I know that good seventy

586
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:08,800
Speaker 4: five percent of these guys that I battled against in

587
00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:10,800
Speaker 4: the minor leagues. Never had to do two a days.

588
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,160
Speaker 4: I never had to get smoked by a coach with

589
00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,000
Speaker 4: a whistle over the top of that. So I always

590
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:21,280
Speaker 4: use that like I can out tough one career and

591
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,080
Speaker 4: going back and going back to that. Yeah, so I

592
00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:29,440
Speaker 4: got six or four. I don't even know if baseball,

593
00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:35,440
Speaker 4: I just you know, I think football was controllable. I

594
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,680
Speaker 4: never woke up and just was gonna throw ducks at days.

595
00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:40,840
Speaker 4: If you could throw a sparrow, you could throw a sporro.

596
00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:43,160
Speaker 4: If you can read a defense, you pretty much can

597
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,480
Speaker 4: read a defense at least then on that level, the

598
00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:49,040
Speaker 4: high school college level, Like I get it, they're exotic

599
00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,680
Speaker 4: in the NFL, But I felt like I was gonna

600
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:57,160
Speaker 4: play well. Baseball you could do everything right and go

601
00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:59,840
Speaker 4: home over four And that drove me crazy, like I

602
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:04,640
Speaker 4: couldn't control it. So that that was the appeal to football,

603
00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:10,040
Speaker 4: especially up here high school wise, Catholic don't walk around

604
00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:15,280
Speaker 4: going hey, that guy is an awesome third baseman plays

605
00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:19,760
Speaker 4: quarterback in a good you know, So the appeal was there, awesome?

606
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think officially I don't we don't want to

607
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:24,440
Speaker 1: rush it. We could talk for hours, but I know

608
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:26,160
Speaker 1: you're busy today. Thank you so much for having on

609
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:26,800
Speaker 1: this podcast.

610
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,200
Speaker 2: We really appreciate it and hopefully we can talk soon again.

611
00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:29,720
Speaker 4: Absolutely