1
00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:02,880
Speaker 1: Get Up, Get Up?

2
00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:06,440
Speaker 2: What's up? Guys, Mark and James.

3
00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:09,360
Speaker 3: That's Up podcast here with Jeff McNeil, fresh off of

4
00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:11,680
Speaker 3: signing his extension with the Mets. Jeff, first off, thanks

5
00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:14,080
Speaker 3: for doing this with us, and uh, how you feeling.

6
00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:16,560
Speaker 4: I feel really good, Uh, you know, thanks for having me.

7
00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:19,200
Speaker 4: But uh, you know pretty uh you know, crazy last

8
00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:21,680
Speaker 4: week or so, but you know, happy we were able

9
00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:23,479
Speaker 4: to get this done and I get to be in

10
00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:25,520
Speaker 4: New York met for a uh you know, a long time.

11
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:27,560
Speaker 1: Was the first thing you bought after you put pen

12
00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:28,040
Speaker 1: to paper.

13
00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:32,720
Speaker 4: I haven't really bought anything yet, had do uh you know,

14
00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:34,919
Speaker 4: kind of buy an emergency suit yesterday when I got

15
00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:37,720
Speaker 4: uh to New York. Uh you know, mine wasn't fitting

16
00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:40,440
Speaker 4: too well, so uh you know, went down to Rothman's

17
00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:42,280
Speaker 4: and uh you know they hooked it up for me

18
00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,760
Speaker 4: and got me, uh got me fitted and uh into

19
00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,479
Speaker 4: a nice looking suit for today.

20
00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,040
Speaker 3: So big year for you, this past season, All Star

21
00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,280
Speaker 3: batting title champion and the birth of your son. How

22
00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:54,000
Speaker 3: how awesome was this past year for you?

23
00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:54,440
Speaker 2: Honestly?

24
00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:56,680
Speaker 4: Uh yeah, definitely, you know, one of the best years

25
00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,560
Speaker 4: of my life. Uh you know, pretty amazing year.

26
00:00:59,600 --> 00:00:59,720
Speaker 3: You know.

27
00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:01,600
Speaker 4: On the field for me and then uh you know,

28
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,920
Speaker 4: you know having you know, Lucas Bourne was uh you

29
00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,039
Speaker 4: know even better. So uh you know he's been you know,

30
00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,920
Speaker 4: pretty special to you know, having you know look forward to,

31
00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,839
Speaker 4: you know, seeing him grow and but you know there's

32
00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:17,840
Speaker 4: this extension as well, so uh, you know things, Uh yeah,

33
00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:19,559
Speaker 4: definitely could be going by it for us.

34
00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:21,160
Speaker 1: It was a huge year for you on the field.

35
00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:22,880
Speaker 1: It seemed like you made an adjustment, really really got

36
00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:24,920
Speaker 1: back to what made you the player you've always been.

37
00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,399
Speaker 1: Will you think we think helped Spred that get your back.

38
00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:29,959
Speaker 4: I think a bad twenty twenty one, you know, kind

39
00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:32,240
Speaker 4: of got me back to uh, you know who I was.

40
00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:34,679
Speaker 4: And you know in twenty twenty one, you know I

41
00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:36,440
Speaker 4: learned a lot. Uh you know, it's just trying to

42
00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:37,520
Speaker 4: you know, kind of focus on.

43
00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:38,240
Speaker 2: Hitting the ball hard.

44
00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,800
Speaker 4: And you know, in twenty twenty two, I came back

45
00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:43,520
Speaker 4: and said, you know, I'm just gonna get hits. You know,

46
00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:44,920
Speaker 4: I want to, I want to get on base, I

47
00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:46,480
Speaker 4: want to I want to hit three hundred. You know

48
00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,320
Speaker 4: that's when I you know, feel the best and you

49
00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,360
Speaker 4: know I'm the happiest. Was when I'm you know out there,

50
00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:52,760
Speaker 4: Uh you know, hitting three hundreds, so uh you know,

51
00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:55,360
Speaker 4: was did everything I could to uh you know, get

52
00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:55,800
Speaker 4: back to that.

53
00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:57,720
Speaker 2: Had a good approach the whole year.

54
00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:00,960
Speaker 4: If they gave me a uh the whole left side open,

55
00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:02,360
Speaker 4: you know, I was gonna shoot it that way. I

56
00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,560
Speaker 4: didn't didn't care how hard I hit it. Uh you know,

57
00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,640
Speaker 4: I'd actually kind of joke with some of the analytics guys,

58
00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,239
Speaker 4: you know, like it was expected batting average on that one,

59
00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:11,920
Speaker 4: and uh, you know it's pretty low, but uh, you know,

60
00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:13,720
Speaker 4: I uh you know, I was trying to do that,

61
00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,239
Speaker 4: and you know, I know that's my game and uh

62
00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:18,480
Speaker 4: my job is to uh get on base for you

63
00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:20,799
Speaker 4: know guys like uh Peteland or to drive me home.

64
00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:22,600
Speaker 3: Brought up the left side of the info being open

65
00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:24,639
Speaker 3: for you sometimes this year we're not gonna have the shift.

66
00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:26,880
Speaker 3: How do you feel about that as a hitter and

67
00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:27,560
Speaker 3: as a fielder?

68
00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:28,639
Speaker 2: Uh?

69
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:30,440
Speaker 4: No, I like it as a hitter, you know, I

70
00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:33,000
Speaker 4: mean I do. I think I am naturally a you know,

71
00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,400
Speaker 4: poll hitter. So you know, if I'm able to just

72
00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:38,399
Speaker 4: go out there and you know, hit without worrying about

73
00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:39,959
Speaker 4: a shift, I think I will pull the ball a

74
00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,239
Speaker 4: little bit more and It's nice knowing that there's not

75
00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:45,560
Speaker 4: going to be a defender right there, so you know,

76
00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,040
Speaker 4: without the shift, it kind of just frees me up to,

77
00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:51,079
Speaker 4: you know, go hit the ball. You know, with the shift,

78
00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:52,400
Speaker 4: you know, I had to kind of guide the ball

79
00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,000
Speaker 4: to the left side. So, uh, you know it's gonna

80
00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,880
Speaker 4: be a little bit different year, but you know, I

81
00:02:57,880 --> 00:02:59,680
Speaker 4: think it's you know, gonna be good for baseball.

82
00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,359
Speaker 1: How do you feel about losing the shift as defender?

83
00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:04,840
Speaker 1: You think that's gonna add like an extra challenge plane can.

84
00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:07,000
Speaker 4: I actually kind of love it, you know, I think, uh,

85
00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:09,640
Speaker 4: you know, it's really gonna show off you know, guys range.

86
00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:12,280
Speaker 4: You know, you can't just put three guys on the

87
00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,000
Speaker 4: on on one side of the enfield now and uh

88
00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:16,600
Speaker 4: because that's where you know they're gonna hit it. So

89
00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,160
Speaker 4: you know, it's gonna you know, bring out the athleticism

90
00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:22,400
Speaker 4: in the game a lot more, which you know I

91
00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:24,080
Speaker 4: really like. You know, it's gonna lead to some uh,

92
00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,520
Speaker 4: you know, pretty amazing defensive plays, which you know I

93
00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:28,440
Speaker 4: like as well. So you know, I think it's gonna

94
00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:30,240
Speaker 4: be you know, special to watch, you know, kind of

95
00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:31,520
Speaker 4: you know, Lindor do his thing this year.

96
00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:32,079
Speaker 2: Too out there.

97
00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:34,000
Speaker 4: You know, he uh was one of the best defenders

98
00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,160
Speaker 4: in baseball, and you know you give him more room

99
00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:37,720
Speaker 4: to uh you know, get go, get some balls.

100
00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,000
Speaker 2: It's gonna be uh you know, pretty special to watch.

101
00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:42,760
Speaker 3: Speaking of Lindor, how about the bet when won the

102
00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,000
Speaker 3: batting apparently owes you a car. Has there been any

103
00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,000
Speaker 3: you know, movement on that front. No, I haven't heard anything, so, uh,

104
00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,400
Speaker 3: you know, we'll see the screen training. But uh yeah,

105
00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:53,840
Speaker 3: you know, I think that was back early in the year.

106
00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:55,280
Speaker 3: You know we mad that made that bet with me.

107
00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:56,880
Speaker 3: I forgot, I forgot.

108
00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:58,160
Speaker 4: What was happening, but we know we're in the locker

109
00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:00,000
Speaker 4: room and I think, you know, we were talking about

110
00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,560
Speaker 4: out Uh. I think it was the All Star Game

111
00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:04,800
Speaker 4: about like the the MVP getting a car or something

112
00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:06,960
Speaker 4: like that, and he was joking around and he goes like,

113
00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:08,600
Speaker 4: you win the batting title, get you a car.

114
00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:10,440
Speaker 2: I think it was still kind of shut me up

115
00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:11,320
Speaker 2: a little bit or something.

116
00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:13,000
Speaker 4: I was I was going on I ran or something

117
00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,800
Speaker 4: and like deal and uh, you know, media media heard

118
00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:19,280
Speaker 4: about it, and uh, you know ended up winning the

119
00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,320
Speaker 4: batting titles. So you don't see what but what happens

120
00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:22,839
Speaker 4: in the spring training.

121
00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:25,240
Speaker 1: If he comes through love spring training and be getting

122
00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,240
Speaker 1: down the floor than a few weeks here. We know

123
00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:28,920
Speaker 1: you're excited to get down back with the team baseball

124
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:30,680
Speaker 1: and everything, but how excited you to get back on

125
00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:31,279
Speaker 1: the golf course.

126
00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:32,479
Speaker 2: Yeah.

127
00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:34,640
Speaker 4: No, I've actually been playing a you know, decent amount

128
00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,400
Speaker 4: of golf. You know, live in California, so you know,

129
00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:39,559
Speaker 4: great weather, you know, year round. I was actually playing

130
00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,680
Speaker 4: our city Championship a couple of weeks ago. I had

131
00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,839
Speaker 4: the lead and blew it. So yeah, yeah, there's a

132
00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:48,600
Speaker 4: there's a really good tournament. I think I shot a

133
00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:51,560
Speaker 4: three under the first day, shot sixty eight, and then

134
00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,680
Speaker 4: uh and then the second day I had it to

135
00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,800
Speaker 4: three under through six, so six under for the tournament,

136
00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:01,560
Speaker 4: leading the tournament, and uh, I saw the live leader

137
00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:03,360
Speaker 4: board and you know, kind of freaked out and you know,

138
00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:06,320
Speaker 4: went far over, and so I think I ended up

139
00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,560
Speaker 4: getting six or seventh. So still a pretty fun tournament.

140
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,360
Speaker 4: You shot under par for a couple of days, and yeah, happy.

141
00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:13,920
Speaker 2: With my results.

142
00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,000
Speaker 3: Probably obvious that you're the best golfer on the team.

143
00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:17,640
Speaker 3: Who would you say the second best golfer.

144
00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:20,320
Speaker 4: Is second best golf from the team. That's a good

145
00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:25,800
Speaker 4: question because I have no clue. Erlander probably now yeah, yeah, compact.

146
00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:28,200
Speaker 4: We got Berlander now. So I heard he's a you know,

147
00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,599
Speaker 4: pretty good stick. So I'm sure we'll be out of

148
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,520
Speaker 4: the golf course and in spring training quite a bit.

149
00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:35,640
Speaker 1: Another thing funny that you do talking about your hitting

150
00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,000
Speaker 1: before the novels bat? Where'd that come from? Like? Where

151
00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:40,040
Speaker 1: is the inspiration with advantage? Does that give you as

152
00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:40,360
Speaker 1: a hither?

153
00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, you started using that in twenty fifteen. Uh.

154
00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:44,800
Speaker 4: It was you know, just kind of placed it in

155
00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:47,760
Speaker 4: my hands by U, my hitting coordinator. You know, he

156
00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,039
Speaker 4: had some laying around and we were messing around in

157
00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:51,760
Speaker 4: the cage and.

158
00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:52,320
Speaker 2: You know, I really liked how it felt.

159
00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:53,719
Speaker 4: You know, I like a really bounced bat out like

160
00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:55,640
Speaker 4: a really thick handle with a you know, kind of

161
00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:57,520
Speaker 4: a smaller barrel so it you know, it feels really

162
00:05:57,600 --> 00:05:59,840
Speaker 4: light in my hands. I think the first one he

163
00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,160
Speaker 4: it was a thirty five thirty three, so technically a

164
00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:05,240
Speaker 4: really big bat, but it didn't feel that big, and

165
00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,000
Speaker 4: it actually was it felt nice because you know, if

166
00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,560
Speaker 4: you just barreled it, I think the way to the bat,

167
00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:11,840
Speaker 4: you know, it was kind of you know, take care

168
00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:13,800
Speaker 4: of the you know, the distance, and you know how

169
00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:16,200
Speaker 4: hard it came off, So you know, I really liked

170
00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,080
Speaker 4: how it felt in the cage, and uh, I think

171
00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:19,760
Speaker 4: my first and bad scring training hit homeer with it,

172
00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:21,840
Speaker 4: so I was like, all right, that feels good. I'm

173
00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:24,000
Speaker 4: gonna use that for a while. And then over the

174
00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,440
Speaker 4: years it's been modified just a little bit. I went

175
00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,520
Speaker 4: down to a thirty four kind of thirty two, sometimes

176
00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,479
Speaker 4: at thirty one, and we'll just kind of tinker with

177
00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:36,440
Speaker 4: it a little bit here and there, and you I

178
00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:40,080
Speaker 4: think I used that in eighteen, nineteen and twenty and

179
00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,080
Speaker 4: twenty one, and then this last year, about halfway through

180
00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:44,520
Speaker 4: the year, I went back to the thirty five. So

181
00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:46,400
Speaker 4: that's why it looks like I'm choking up so much.

182
00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,880
Speaker 4: It's a thirty five inch bat uh, but it's just

183
00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:51,920
Speaker 4: got a little bit bigger barrel. And I liked the

184
00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:54,599
Speaker 4: feeling that that's so the thirty five worked, and it,

185
00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:56,800
Speaker 4: you know, kind of propelled me to you know, that

186
00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:57,440
Speaker 4: batting title.

187
00:06:58,000 --> 00:06:59,159
Speaker 1: If it's working, don't change it.

188
00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,560
Speaker 3: Speaking of your career as a whole, you talked about

189
00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:03,880
Speaker 3: spending a lot of time in the minors during the

190
00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,560
Speaker 3: press conference. How does it feel to go through what

191
00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:10,320
Speaker 3: you've had to go like experience and finally get that contract.

192
00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,360
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was definitely a uh you know, tough time

193
00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:16,160
Speaker 4: in the in the minor leagues. You know, how to

194
00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:20,880
Speaker 4: you know, a bunch of injuries, work some you know,

195
00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:22,840
Speaker 4: pretty odd jobs, you know, trying to make some money.

196
00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:24,680
Speaker 4: You know, I had my my wife, who you know,

197
00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,000
Speaker 4: been you know, super supportive through this whole thing. Uh.

198
00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:28,400
Speaker 2: You know, she was fantastic. She knows.

199
00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:31,040
Speaker 4: She was kind of, you know, the breadwinner in our family,

200
00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:33,720
Speaker 4: you know, providing for us and you know, kind of

201
00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:35,720
Speaker 4: paying the rent for me to you know, be able

202
00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,440
Speaker 4: to go out there and chase my dreams. So uh yeah,

203
00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,200
Speaker 4: definitely works some odd jobs. Worked at Dick Sporting Goods,

204
00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:43,760
Speaker 4: worked at a worked at a gym, work landscape. You know,

205
00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:45,680
Speaker 4: I did it all, you know, just trying to uh

206
00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:48,400
Speaker 4: you know, make some money and you know, to see

207
00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:50,280
Speaker 4: that all you know, kind of payoff now and you know,

208
00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:51,160
Speaker 4: get this contract.

209
00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,120
Speaker 2: You know it's uh yeah, it means a lot. And

210
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:54,440
Speaker 2: you know it means that you have me to flock

211
00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:55,120
Speaker 2: to the whole family.

212
00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:57,920
Speaker 1: Another very cool achievement that came down the pipe recently.

213
00:07:57,960 --> 00:07:59,520
Speaker 1: You're gonna be playing with Team USA in the World

214
00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:01,640
Speaker 1: Baseball was like, how does that feel? And what are

215
00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:02,760
Speaker 1: you excited about for the tournament?

216
00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:05,680
Speaker 2: Uh? Yeah, it feels you know, pretty incredible.

217
00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,280
Speaker 4: Uh you know the same thing, you know, coming from

218
00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,640
Speaker 4: the minor leagues and and and what I what happened there,

219
00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,640
Speaker 4: you know, to to go to you know, teams says

220
00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,760
Speaker 4: you know pretty specially notes Yeah, you know when they

221
00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:20,000
Speaker 4: when they annouced the World BASEBA Classic was gonna happen.

222
00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:22,200
Speaker 4: And you know it's something I, you know, really wanted

223
00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:23,680
Speaker 4: to be a part of. I think it's you know,

224
00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,600
Speaker 4: fantastic too. Uh, you know, represent my country. So you know,

225
00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:29,680
Speaker 4: I really wanted to be there. Uh. I didn't care,

226
00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:32,320
Speaker 4: you know, what my role was, you know, or second base,

227
00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:34,640
Speaker 4: in field, outfield, there was didn't didn't care what it was.

228
00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:36,319
Speaker 4: So I just wanted to, you know, be there, be

229
00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,079
Speaker 4: a part of it, and uh, you know, experienced the

230
00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:38,439
Speaker 4: whole thing.

231
00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:40,520
Speaker 1: This team has a lot of nicknames.

232
00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:41,920
Speaker 2: You have a nickname, the Squirrel.

233
00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:43,840
Speaker 1: What's your personal opinion on that nickname?

234
00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:47,679
Speaker 4: That's growing on me, you know, Uh I got that

235
00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:49,040
Speaker 4: back in college. You know, I was I was a

236
00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,240
Speaker 4: flying squirrel, played a lot of center field and uh

237
00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:53,840
Speaker 4: had a lot of outfield college, and I was, you know,

238
00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:56,800
Speaker 4: making diving catches out there and had some teammates go,

239
00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:59,080
Speaker 4: you know, it's a flying squirrel off there, and uh,

240
00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:04,240
Speaker 4: my my roommate my first year in in uh rookie ball,

241
00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,560
Speaker 4: you know, my nickname didn't follow me, didn't follow me

242
00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:09,600
Speaker 4: here until he got he got ahold of it. I

243
00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:10,760
Speaker 4: think it was my first I think it was my

244
00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:13,040
Speaker 4: first year because I heard they call you the flying squirrel,

245
00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:14,760
Speaker 4: so you know, they started calling me that. And then

246
00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:18,199
Speaker 4: I went through the whole minor leagues with it. Wasn't

247
00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:19,480
Speaker 4: a huge fan of it in the minor leagues, and

248
00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:21,559
Speaker 4: then got to you know, the big leagues. I'm like,

249
00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:24,120
Speaker 4: all right, cool, maybe it'll go away now. And then

250
00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,120
Speaker 4: No cinder Garden found out and dropped in an interview

251
00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:30,400
Speaker 4: and then uh, you know, it stuck. So it's growing

252
00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,000
Speaker 4: on me, embracing it and uh, you know, don't mind

253
00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:33,360
Speaker 4: it at all.

254
00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:34,920
Speaker 1: I think a big piece was also that catch you

255
00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,559
Speaker 1: made in Chicago in twenty nineteen where you flew through

256
00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:37,960
Speaker 1: the net.

257
00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:40,400
Speaker 2: Yep, that was the flying score right there.

258
00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:40,640
Speaker 1: Yeah.

259
00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:42,360
Speaker 4: No, that's you know, kind of what I was doing

260
00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:44,400
Speaker 4: in college, and you know, trying to make you know,

261
00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:46,720
Speaker 4: as acrobatic catches us as I can.

262
00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:48,760
Speaker 1: We know the kind of player you are. You'll do

263
00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:50,680
Speaker 1: anything ever to help the team win, like you're grinder,

264
00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:53,040
Speaker 1: your hustler, everything, And in doing that, You've played all

265
00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:55,160
Speaker 1: these different positions in field now field the last few years.

266
00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:57,439
Speaker 1: But which if you had to pick one, like let's say,

267
00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:59,320
Speaker 1: like mamjor League Baseball started a new rule like you

268
00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:01,040
Speaker 1: can get one position in the entire season, and they

269
00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:03,320
Speaker 1: led you have the choice of it. Which is the one?

270
00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:04,199
Speaker 2: That's a tough question.

271
00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,040
Speaker 4: That's a really tough question because you know, I what

272
00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:09,760
Speaker 4: I like so much about my roles it's something different

273
00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,120
Speaker 4: every single day. It's it's second base one day, it's

274
00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:16,120
Speaker 4: left field another day. And I enjoy doing that. You know,

275
00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:17,760
Speaker 4: it kind of keeps it fresh and keeps it fun.

276
00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:19,320
Speaker 4: You know, I don't really know where I'm gonna play

277
00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,959
Speaker 4: every single day. You know, we had markte get hurt

278
00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,400
Speaker 4: this last year and Buck looks at me, he goes, can.

279
00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:25,640
Speaker 2: You go to right? Sure?

280
00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:28,360
Speaker 4: Like I played I played it right when Confordo was

281
00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:30,360
Speaker 4: down a little bit. So uh, you know, I do

282
00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:33,280
Speaker 4: love being that that utility man who kind of moves

283
00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,640
Speaker 4: around the diamond. I had to choose just one man.

284
00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:37,080
Speaker 2: It's tough.

285
00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:39,920
Speaker 4: You know, I probably feel the most comfortable second base,

286
00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:43,280
Speaker 4: but I think I think outfield you make some pretty

287
00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:43,920
Speaker 4: cool plays.

288
00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,080
Speaker 2: That's also fun, So it's tough to choose.

289
00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:47,679
Speaker 1: Definitely, have some fun out there. It's awesome.

290
00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,520
Speaker 4: Watch yes, yes, have some fun and uh yeah, try

291
00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:53,080
Speaker 4: to make some cool catches for some pictures and say

292
00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:53,560
Speaker 4: some runs.

293
00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:55,600
Speaker 3: Building off the great season from last year, the Mets

294
00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:56,760
Speaker 3: brought in a lot of new guys, a lot of

295
00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,080
Speaker 3: good players. Team looks great. How do you feel being

296
00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:00,840
Speaker 3: part of this team? Excited for the season.

297
00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:03,679
Speaker 4: Uh yeah, you know what uh you know, Billy in

298
00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:05,480
Speaker 4: the front office has done Uh you.

299
00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:06,440
Speaker 2: Know, it's pretty pretty special.

300
00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:08,880
Speaker 4: In a note, it's tough losing, you know, to Gram

301
00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,080
Speaker 4: one of the best pictures in in baseball, but you know,

302
00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,760
Speaker 4: place them with Justin Burly Iner. So go pretty good.

303
00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:17,840
Speaker 4: You know, I like, I like our chances. You know,

304
00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:19,559
Speaker 4: I think, uh, you know, I said it. You know,

305
00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:21,120
Speaker 4: I think a couple of weeks ago, I think, you know,

306
00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:23,400
Speaker 4: our rotation did get better. You know, we lost some guys,

307
00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:26,679
Speaker 4: but we brought some uh pretty special pictures in and

308
00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:28,480
Speaker 4: you know, I'm looking forward to, uh, you know, seeing

309
00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,120
Speaker 4: what they can do. And you know, we have a

310
00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:35,600
Speaker 4: tremendous lineup, so it's gonna be another fun year, you know, hopefully.

311
00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:37,640
Speaker 4: Uh you know, we canet a little bit farthering we

312
00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:39,199
Speaker 4: did last year, and I was a little bit disappointed,

313
00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:42,120
Speaker 4: you know, losing losing that first round, but uh, you know,

314
00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:44,360
Speaker 4: we have high expectations this year and you know, home

315
00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:45,079
Speaker 4: for the World Series.

316
00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:47,680
Speaker 1: That kind of funny question for you. Not sure how

317
00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:49,439
Speaker 1: online you are. I know you guys have interacting a

318
00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:51,440
Speaker 1: few times here and there. But you rad the Rangers

319
00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:53,079
Speaker 1: game by the week or two ago, and it made

320
00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,360
Speaker 1: rounds of social media because one you read the game

321
00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:57,800
Speaker 1: John Franco, cool event, but also because some people did

322
00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,640
Speaker 1: some digging and realized that you were wearing, say, an

323
00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:01,679
Speaker 1: outfit to the Rangers game.

324
00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,320
Speaker 2: I go to, Yeah, that's my go to.

325
00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:05,360
Speaker 1: Did you realize that.

326
00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:07,080
Speaker 4: No, I had no clue, had no clues. That's my

327
00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,360
Speaker 4: my go to, Sweasher, I love that thing. I had

328
00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:11,680
Speaker 4: no clue. You wasn't that long ago that I was

329
00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:13,640
Speaker 4: at the other game. So mean, all right, it can happen.

330
00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:15,200
Speaker 4: But I think my wife sent it to me.

331
00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:17,000
Speaker 2: She goes you.

332
00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,000
Speaker 4: Guys, you see this like, oh no, that's bad, but uh,

333
00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:22,240
Speaker 4: you know, I think I can afford some uh some

334
00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,480
Speaker 4: new fits now, and uh we'll be uh we'll be

335
00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:25,520
Speaker 4: able to change it up a little more.

336
00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:27,280
Speaker 1: Just get the same one like four different times. It's

337
00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:29,040
Speaker 1: your favorite one, like rocket.

338
00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:29,839
Speaker 2: Yeah or yeah arch walk.

339
00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,240
Speaker 4: I mean it's comfortable and I'm okay with that.

340
00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:35,959
Speaker 3: Jeff, thank you so much for taking the time. We're

341
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,240
Speaker 3: excited to have you back. And congratulations again.

342
00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:39,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you, Thanks you, guys,