WEBVTT - Contact King Jays convo + Gavin Williams joins FT talking no-no bid 0:00:05.320 --> 0:00:07.920 Hot corner time. The Toronto Blue Jays are having a 0:00:07.920 --> 0:00:11.520 banger year. They've been great, They have been surprisingly great. 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:14.360 The offense has taken a significant turn. We've seen the 0:00:14.440 --> 0:00:17.720 names on paper for several years and this year it's 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:20.280 all coming together for them, Trevor. One of the big 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:24.560 reasons for that is the drastic turn in their contact rate. 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:27.680 So let's look at the strikeout numbers for the Blue Jays, 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:30.319 because they stand out a ton Blue Jays today with 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:33.159 this tweet, the Jays are averaging six point five eight 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:37.440 strikeouts per game, the next best team six point nine 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:41.760 to oh they said, that's frankly ridiculous. Dave Popkins actually 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:43.920 might be a hitting wizard talking about their hitting coach. 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:46.000 That might not seem like a large number, but that 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:49.159 is a very massive difference six point five eight to 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:50.680 six point nine to zero when you have this many 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:53.479 baseball games. Right, we're over one hundred games into the season. 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:56.040 I think one ten, maybe even a little bit more 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:59.320 than that one fifteen. So anyway, your thoughts on how 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:01.520 the Blue Jays are turn things around? Six five eight, 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.000 And just to give everyone a little more context, the 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:06.600 Kansas City Royals are next and they are often contact 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:09.400 Kings in that category six point nine ohks per game. 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:12.560 Then the padres at seven point oh two, and then 0:01:12.600 --> 0:01:14.919 there's another big drop off to Saint Louis and Houston 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:18.920 both at seven point seven to seven strikeouts per game. 0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:21.200 What are you seeing with Toronto and how annoying is 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:23.039 it for pitchers to face them right now? 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:27.800 Well, it seems like this is a very conscious effort 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.440 to not strike out as much, especially because they had 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:34.959 last year no power and that was a major issue. 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:38.000 That's why they went on and senttender like they wanted 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.080 to bolster that power side. You just didn't know, you know, 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:43.959 Boba Sheet has been on or off, you know, up 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:46.000 to this point in his career in terms of on 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:48.000 the power side. And you can't just only rely on 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:51.880 Vladdie for all of your power. So if you can't 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:56.480 rely on power driving a lot of your production, you 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:58.360 got to do all the little things and you got 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:00.480 to make sure that at least we're not giving away 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:02.200 at bats and at least we are putting the ball 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:05.200 in play and letting athleticism take over because the game 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:07.880 is also we all the rule changes have shifted towards 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:11.799 really putting pressure on teams defense defensively needing to be 0:02:11.840 --> 0:02:14.280 able to make plays that they're maybe not positioned as 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:17.120 well for so leaning into that makes a lot of 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:19.800 sense your team. If you're a team that doesn't strike 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:21.919 out a lot, like the number two team, for example, 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:24.800 Kansas City on this list at six point nine, Like 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:27.320 they don't have a lot of power either, right, and 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:30.440 they they don't score a lot at the moment, but 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:33.960 they don't just get dominated and just struck out by 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:37.520 these really good pitchers that we see everywhere. Strikeouts are 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.600 the way here in baseball. Everyone wants to get strikeout. 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:45.040 So if you can just frustrate strikeout pitchers top to bottom, 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:47.800 if a guy goes into an outing thinking this is 0:02:47.880 --> 0:02:50.600 gonna suck, and I even if I throw zeros, they're 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:52.640 gonna make me work for it, and this isn't gonna 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:54.760 I'm not gonna have any of these nine pitch you know, 0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:58.240 immaculate innings. Probably I'm gonna have to be making my 0:02:58.280 --> 0:02:59.960 good pitches and be okay, and I'm not getting swim 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:04.280 and misses and not letting you know, outing or batters 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:06.440 get to ten pitch out at bats, but they're doing that, 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:08.760 and they're doing it regularly. They're doing it one through nine, 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:11.000 and I think that has put them in a really 0:03:11.040 --> 0:03:14.239 good position to wear great pitching down and be a 0:03:14.280 --> 0:03:16.760 little bit of daunting, even if they're still not just 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:18.520 hitting the cover off the ball over the fence all 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:21.920 the time. That combined with you know, guys like George 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:25.760 Springer having the year he's having and an increase of 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:30.040 the power at the same time, has really translated them 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.320 leading that that division. Like there's no ifs, ends or 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:34.119 buts about it. 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:36.840 So I'm going to take this to the next step 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:40.400 because for Blue Jays fans, they're looking forward playoffs. If 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:42.280 this team keeps this up, they're going to be playing 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:44.840 some October baseball. They haven't gone as far as they 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:46.880 wanted to go, even when they had, you know, some 0:03:46.960 --> 0:03:49.240 better times a few years ago, and then even going 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:51.680 back ten years, right, like, how does this team get 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:54.120 past the American League, which in my mind is still 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:56.720 down like it was last year compared to the National League. 0:03:56.760 --> 0:03:59.520 It's my opinion again, I've gotten knocked forward recently, but 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:01.600 last year that opinion worked out pretty well for me. 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:03.120 I thought there were about five or six teams that 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:06.080 could beat the Yankees. So this year for the Blue Jays, 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:08.840 how do they get to the World Series? Do you 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:13.200 think that this style will play well in October? There's 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:15.520 been a lot written about this, Trevor over the last 0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:16.600 five to ten years. 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:18.520 I love contact. 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:21.400 I want contact to win in October, but you still 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:24.320 need some serious slug because the pitching gets tightened up. 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:27.080 It's the best pitching and you're facing even less on 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:29.360 a staff. Right, you're going to face basically the top 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:32.880 three starters in the top four relievers ish on each team. 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:34.880 So how does that look in October? 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:38.960 Well, I think that this approach, the non strikeout approach, 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:42.760 works better than the other thing than if you're strikeout heavy, 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:45.560 but you're have big boppers. I think those guys get 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:49.599 abused by great pitchers. Running to a tear scooble or 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:51.719 something in the first round is not going to be 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:53.720 fun for anybody. But if you can go up there 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:57.200 and get the two extra pitches per per inning, and 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:00.520 so he only can throw five or you know, five 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:03.400 and a third as opposed to eight, right, you're gonna 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:05.880 get the best guys. So if you're able to put 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:08.640 the ball, bat on the ball more often, you're putting 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:10.800 yourself in a better position. Now you need the big swings, 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:12.480 you need the guys to come up clutch, you need 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:14.680 to get the big hit right. But if you can 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:18.359 grind that out. It's highly charged atmosphere. You're using a 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:20.680 lot of energy as a pitcher, and if you can 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:25.040 fight against that and the guy can't depend on his 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.279 ability to get a strikeout the way he did during 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:30.280 the regular season, you're putting himself in a good position 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:34.120 to grind guys down. As someone who pitched extensively to 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:37.280 the twenty fifteen Kansas City Royals who did not have 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:39.400 a lot of slug and nobody struck out. And it 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:41.839 was so frustrating because that was my one thing that 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:44.440 I did well. Like we saw it in the playoffs, 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:48.440 they just wore teams down. They were not a fun 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:51.400 team to pitch against. And they kept running into nasty 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:54.600 guy after a nasty guy and just fought and fought 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:56.440 and fought, and their pitching was good enough, their bullpen 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:58.360 was good enough to keep him close and ended up 0:05:58.360 --> 0:05:59.760 coming up the top. And that's how you do it. 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:02.640 You have to approach it in that way and then 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:05.360 have a couple of guys, the Vladdies, the George springers 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:08.279 the Boba Sheets like, have a couple of big games 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:10.320 here and there, and that be the difference. That is 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:11.640 probably what it's going to look like if to make 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:12.159 a long run. 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:15.560 Yeah, guys have holes in their swing. Power hitters often 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:17.120 have more holes in their swing, right. 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:22.000 Absolutely, Yeah, Well, I mean the harder you swing the like, 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:24.120 the more right you have to be on how it's 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:26.240 moving and where it is. Like you can't if you 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:28.080 drag your bat through the zone. If you're able to 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:31.000 slow and various swing speeds like Wan Soto does that 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:33.240 very well. That's why he's so good at making contact. 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:39.000 It's just more frustrating than vice versa, and making adjustments 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:40.920 in your swing is the way that you are going 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:43.640 to hit against these guys. Very few guys are just 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:46.159 going forcing fastball and a slide of them moves the 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:48.599 same way every time, even relievers. Now you reallys have 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:51.000 four pitches, so you have to be able to work 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:54.720 AB's and get these guys tired and less confident in 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:56.520 their ability to get you to swing amiss. That's a 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.360 big deal, especially for bullpens that are pretty much all 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:02.000 built around the swing, and it's. 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:03.839 Hard to string together rally, so That's why for me 0:07:03.920 --> 0:07:06.240 it's super fun to watch Luisa rise in the playoffs. 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.680 A Stephen Kwan in the playoffs to counter things right, 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:12.120 even against you know, the number one starters right at 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:14.880 schoobl Like, it's still really hard for Terrek Schooble to 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:16.640 strike out Stephen Kuan, And if Kuwan can make a 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:19.240 little contact and get on base, suddenly things change. He's 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:22.560 not just bulldozing the entire lineup. On the other end 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:24.360 of that, I mean, Aaron Judge is a complete all 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:26.160 round player, but man, they found a hole. 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:28.320 They exploited it. Then he started losing confidence. 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:31.000 Looking at Aaron Judge last year in the playoffs, that's 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:33.280 the best player, top two player him and Otani in 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:35.960 our sport. And Aaron Judge was was terrible really for 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:38.240 most of the postseason. Kind of found it a little 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:40.040 bit towards the end, then had the big drop. But 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:43.840 it can happen to anyone. AJ I'm on my phone 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:46.360 right now in Arena Club and I'm looking at the 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:49.160 Emerald Slab packs and I see in the grail a 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:52.920 Bobby wit Junior twenty twenty Bowman Chrome Prospect Auto Gold 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:54.080 Refractor card. 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.000 Give me that, Give me your phone. I'm gonna I'm 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:57.480 gonna get. 0:07:57.360 --> 0:07:58.800 You to well, you gotta buy it to me. 0:07:58.960 --> 0:07:59.560 I don't have it. 0:07:59.600 --> 0:07:59.960 You got it. 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:02.280 You get a slab pack. No, I don't have that, 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:03.440 and give me your slab pack. 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.080 That card's worth you buy slab pack, Scott, so I 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:09.360 can get the Bobby Wit Junior Gold Refractor twenty twenty 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:10.840 Bowman Chrome AUTI. 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:12.760 Because that sounds awesome and it's worth a lot. 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:15.200 It's worth a lot. He's a stud, he's not going down. 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:18.280 Get a grill. Get a grill. I want a gril, Scott, 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:19.280 give me the holy grill. 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:20.000 You do it. 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:23.080 To do that, you must get yourself a slab pack 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:24.600 in Arena Club or if you want to get it 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:26.520 for a friend, you can do that too. And right 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:29.200 now you can get twenty percent off your first slab 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:31.720 pack or your first card purchase if you're going on 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:33.760 there and just like, hey, I want a specific card. 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:35.800 I find it there on a grab it for my 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:39.720 showroom Arena Club dot com. Slash foul and use the 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:41.480 code foul. 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:43.120 Here we go. 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:46.000 We've got Guardians Starter Gavin Williams joining us right now, 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:48.840 coming off a big week, a huge outing, carrying a 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:51.080 no hitter into the ninth against the Mets. Gavin great 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:53.480 to have you on, Scottie Brown here and Trevor May. 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:55.000 How's the week going for you? 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:57.160 Oh? The week's going good. 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:00.319 I mean it started off by getting a one one 0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:04.160 card for me for myself from a fan, a Mets 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:07.480 fan actually just traded a jersey had got them some 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:08.280 tickets to the game. 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:11.839 So it's been a good week for me. Wait tell me, wait, 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:13.800 so what did you get? What did you what was 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:14.200 the deal? 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.360 So you got a one to one chrome saw something 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.400 it's like an orange or some some kind of barrier 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:26.560 to it. And then somehow got up with our public 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:30.800 public relations people and then they asked me if I 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:33.000 wanted to trade anything for I was like, for sure, 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:34.680 I'll definitely. 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:36.959 Take a one on one of myself. So it was 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:37.520 pretty easy. 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:40.240 Just had to sign a jersey, wrote a little letter 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:43.000 to him on there, and that's about it. 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:46.960 So are you like a are you a big card 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:49.360 I'm assuming you're a big card guy. That's uh, that's 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:52.640 something that I honestly, no one ever approached me about that. 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.120 So you you big card collectors? Just like one of 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:57.240 your big things. 0:09:57.600 --> 0:10:00.240 I wouldn't say card I've been collecting more base us 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:04.120 on baseballs and stuff like that. First, I got a 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:07.480 good collection going so far. Baseball's I mean, I got 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:12.360 Miguel Cabrera, I got Tito, got Mike Treill, Bobby with 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:15.160 I got, I got some big names in there. So 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:17.000 I'm gonna I'm I'm gonna keep going on with that. 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:21.319 So do you are you a send the clubhouse guy 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:23.400 over or do you like to personally ask for the 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:25.359 for the autograph. 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:28.040 I've done a little bit of both. Usually it's just 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:31.680 the clubhouse guy going over. I feel like that's the 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:33.480 easiest way to do it. 0:10:33.679 --> 0:10:38.240 Safest, definitely the safest. It's a little weird asking sometimes 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:40.000 it's a little weird asking guys you're sharing the field with, 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:42.160 or you gotta strike out later to sign a baseball 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:43.719 for you. I totally get it. I totally get it. 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:44.440 Yeah, for sure. 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:46.920 I mean, I got some buddies that I'll ask, But 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:50.400 that's about it. Definitely got to send the clubhouse guy 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:50.840 over though. 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:52.680 Definitely. 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:55.520 All right, Gavin, let's let's get into the good stuff here. 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:59.920 Take me through the experience against the Mets from you know, 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:02.720 what was going on before that start? How you're feeling 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:04.120 going into that matchup. 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:05.800 All the way through your. 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:09.960 Ninth inning emotions, Soto finally breaks up the no no, 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:13.280 and Steven Vote was like, I'm letting this guy eat 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:14.720 one hundred and twenty six pitches. 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:15.760 We rarely see that. 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:18.160 I'm sure you've talked about it a lot already in interviews, 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:22.000 but our crowd definitely can tend to want to see 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:23.920 pitchers eat and they want to hear about the old 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:25.600 school experience that Steven Vote. 0:11:25.440 --> 0:11:25.959 Brought for you. 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.440 So how did that all go down and how cool 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:29.760 was it for him to let you do that? 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:31.280 Yeah? 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:33.440 I mean at that point when I went up out 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:34.880 for the ninth if it took me one hundred and 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:38.160 fifty pitches to try and get a no hit or done, 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.400 then I mean that's what I would have done. I mean, 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:45.360 the villa was still there as everyone sees, but I 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:49.160 mean it was just a surreal moment. Doesn't really happen 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:52.080 that often. Being able to get in that position and 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:54.280 stay in that position throughout the whole game and a 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:56.079 good lineup, it was phenomenal. 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:01.679 What do you think the kind of X factor was 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:03.839 arsenal wise? What was working the best for. 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:04.320 You that day. 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:08.400 What what what pitch or maybe combination of pitches. I 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:10.480 guess I never got close to throwing no hitters, so 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:13.520 I'm assuming there's probably more than one. But what felt 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:16.160 what were you most confident in throwing? What was working 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:16.600 the best? 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:20.760 Honestly, the cutter and the sinker. I felt like, I mean, 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.160 the cutter wasn't there as much as I've had in 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:25.360 the past, but I threw it and get them off 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.360 the get them off balance, and then throw them the 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:29.680 sinker the lefties and rieties, which that was the first 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:31.920 time I threw both the lefties and raeties. 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:35.280 Just just get them off, get them off the heater. 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:38.480 I knew in the pass it through like I guess 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:42.800 fiftys in games, so being able to get get the 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:45.760 guys off the heaters big. I knew it through the 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:48.080 sweeper or slide or whatever you want to call it. 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:52.280 I feel like I didn't even have that really throughout 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:52.600 the game. 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:57.200 When you mentioned the cutter. Uh, and this is something 0:12:57.200 --> 0:13:00.400 that well, a friend of mine and then the guy 0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:02.720 who follows your career pretty close that you know Sarahs 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:05.679 loves your cutter and your change is your cutter, So 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:07.199 I would be remiss if I didn't ask you, and 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:09.760 I'm glad you brought it up. So your cutter usage 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:11.200 is the highest it has ever been. You learned that 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:12.320 pitch last year? Correct? 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:15.280 Yeah, well it was supposed to be a slider last year, 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:18.000 but I was hurt so I couldn't really get on 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:22.120 top of the ball that much. So I brought it 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:26.000 back this year after I think it was the playing 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.400 the Orioles gave up five. I only had three pitches 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:30.800 like in the first five or six starts, so I 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:33.160 needed to add a couple more just to be able 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:35.120 to get the hitters off the heater, not do it 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:35.560 as much. 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:39.959 And it seems to have been working out as you mentioned. 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:43.520 So in terms of the cutter, how what has it 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:47.160 unlocked for you? And what about the pitch has got 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:49.680 you thinking? Wow? This is this is what I wanted 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.000 to be as opposed to, you know, the slider that 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:54.440 maybe you're trying to throw before. What what what made 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:56.719 you land on? Cutter is the way to go. 0:13:57.760 --> 0:13:59.200 I think it's my biggest strike pitch. 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:02.079 I feel like I can throw it in any count, 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:07.959 in front of the count, behind the count, doesn't really matter. Lefties, righties, 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.800 I can throw it at any point and know I 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:13.599 can either get a strikeout. 0:14:13.200 --> 0:14:14.760 Or roll over or pop up. 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:20.120 Kevin, I want to ask you about the development machine, 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:24.080 pitching wise, that Cleveland has built. So can you take 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:26.880 me through your draft experience, which you can definitely sprinkle in. 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:29.200 I think you were drafted three times. How you end 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:31.960 up with Cleveland, What they showed you, what they taught 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:34.360 you to do, and how you've gotten to this point right, 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:36.560 what's refined? What did you learn from them? 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:38.560 Yeah? 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:41.160 I think going out in Arizona, just learning about all 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:44.840 the different kind of technology, like the edge, the track man. 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:47.880 I know, I didn't use any of that in college, 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.680 and I didn't really care about it when I got drafted. 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:53.920 And then the more I get to throwing and getting 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:57.000 off the mountains, seeing how I can use all of 0:14:57.040 --> 0:15:01.080 that and see how I can read fine all my pitches. 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:02.760 It's helped out a lot with Cleveland. 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:04.960 I mean it starts with all the tech guys and 0:15:05.360 --> 0:15:09.160 then all the the pitching coaches. I mean they're all smart, 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:13.840 They're unbelievably good and talented at everything they do, showing 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:15.560 you what to work on and what you need to 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:19.400 do to fix everything. So it's it's been a big 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:21.440 transition from the bottom up for me. 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:27.680 So you've, according to our numbers, you've thrown over one 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:32.240 hundred pitches eight times this season, which is if I'm assuming, 0:15:32.240 --> 0:15:33.680 I don't know the numbers on everyone else, but that 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:36.120 seems high. It doesn't seem like this happens as much. 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:39.440 And one twenty six obviously is a very high number. 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:42.280 But how important is it is? Is the one hundred 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:44.960 pitch mark very important for you to get to? Or 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:47.840 you know that you're doing well when you're like going 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:50.440 that long? And what was going through your mind when 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:52.280 you were like, I think I'm at like one fifty. 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:55.160 Did you realize you were at like one fifteen one twenty, 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:57.560 especially after the photo broken up. Were you excited to 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:00.080 face more hitters after that? Oh? 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:01.880 Yeah, I think in the seventh inning. 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:06.840 Came in into the dugout after that inning and Voter 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:08.640 Voter yelled out, keep going, Gavin. 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:10.720 I looked up, but I was that ninety seven pitches. 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:12.800 I was like, this dude wants me to keep going. 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:15.280 And then I finally looked at the scoreboard and saw 0:16:15.320 --> 0:16:18.520 what was going going on, and I think I got 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:21.080 to like the one to fifteen mark or one eleventh mark, 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:24.360 I was like, dang, this is I'm cooking right now. 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:26.520 Hopefully I got some more in the tank. 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:29.600 And then obviously Soda left it up just a little 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:32.040 over the plate for him, and it took a good swing, 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.440 but it was nice getting a refresher after he hit that, 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:39.360 and Carl coming out and give me a little break 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:41.680 trying to get two more outs after that. 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:45.400 Were you surprised they let you go after that, because 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:50.080 of course many organizations are freaking out soon after the 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:52.680 century mark and they're like, okay, but once the no 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:54.840 no is gone and then Soda hits the homer, obviously 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:57.080 you guys are in command still of that game. Where 0:16:57.080 --> 0:17:01.200 you surprised that they let you go after that, I. 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:03.360 Was a little surprised, but I do have two extra 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:04.040 days this week. 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:06.800 We had an off day yesterday and then off day Monday, 0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:08.640 So it. 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:10.160 Surprised me a little bit, but not too much. 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:12.920 And I also knew there was nobody warming up in 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.200 the pen at that point, so I was either gonna 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:17.280 have to finish it or they were gonna have to 0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:18.439 waste some more time for me. 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:22.719 Hey, one more on this with pitch counts. I know 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:25.280 you've talked about it a lot this week. Do you 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:29.040 think that it's something that needs to be revisited in 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:31.720 our sport? It really goes down to the minor league level, 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:35.560 where there's some starters that are baby so much for 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:37.960 a long period of time. Right, it's like, oh, we're 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:40.280 only going to let you go three innings or you know, 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:42.479 we're only gonna let you go fifty pitches, and then 0:17:42.520 --> 0:17:44.920 a few months in maybe we'll extend things. Not every 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:47.200 org's doing this, but many of them are, right, they're 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:50.000 super careful, and let's be real. I mean, the sport 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.080 definitely has an arm injury epidemic going on. So I'm 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:54.560 not gonna act like I know what I'm doing. It 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:57.080