WEBVTT - AJ Pierzynski 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.520 I'm about to blow your mind here, Aj. I used 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:08.200 to regularly watch you play baseball in Minnesota. I was 0:00:08.280 --> 0:00:13.760 based in Minnesota. I'm blowing your mind until two thousand 0:00:13.760 --> 0:00:17.280 and three. I was there. I was doing theater until 0:00:18.360 --> 0:00:20.119 maybe you came to watch me if you tried to 0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:21.480 get cultured once or twelve. 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:23.680 Now, the only the only theater I went to is 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:25.680 I went to a pink concert once in a theater there. 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:26.680 I don't know what theater it was. 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:29.640 I don't think that's the kind of theater that I 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:30.600 was doing. 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:41.120 Hi, I'm Aj Berzinski, and I fucking hate the Georgia Bulldogs. 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:52.680 Howdy folks, and welcome to another episode of Off the Beat. 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:57.560 I'm glad you're here. This is your host, Brian Baumgartner. Now, 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:01.720 when people say that they've done something thousands of times, 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:07.839 usually they're exaggerating, right, Well, not my guest today. Baseball 0:01:08.000 --> 0:01:13.600 legend AJ Prazinski. AJ retired from the major leagues back 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:19.600 in twenty seventeen with over two thousand games played, all 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:21.960 as a catcher. By the way, the stat he says 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:25.919 he is most proud of he got over two thousand hits. 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:31.480 So many hits and as a catcher. No less, He's 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:34.560 a World Series champion, a two time All Star Silver 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:38.160 Slugger winner, and this is a very special one. He 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:44.280 was voted most hated by his colleagues in MLB. That's right, 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:49.280 but he's proud of that as well. Now, he may 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:52.120 have caused a few stirs in his career, but if 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:56.360 he asked me, it speaks to his grit, his competitiveness, 0:01:56.400 --> 0:01:59.639 and well just how seriously he takes the game. Yes, 0:01:59.920 --> 0:02:02.560 I watched him, I hated him, but getting to know 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:05.840 him now I respect him all the more. Plus he's 0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:08.080 got a very good sense of humor about the whole thing, 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:11.079 at least when he's off the field. We're going to 0:02:11.120 --> 0:02:16.079 talk about that, his bad boy reputation, his very impressive stats, 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:20.880 and of course his thoughts on the upcoming baseball playoffs. 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:24.400 Playoff Baseball, there is nothing like it. You also can 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:27.560 see him doing his thing as a game analyst on 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:33.000 Fox or on his incredible new show, foul Territory, which 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:36.920 he hosts every single day of the week. Now for 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:40.120 your listening pleasure, everybody here, he is the most hated 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:48.280 man in the game. My pal aj Persinski, Burble and Squeak. 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:55.320 I love it burble and squeak, Ana, burble and squeak. 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:59.760 I cook it every mon lift over from the nine before. 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:12.440 What's up? Aja? What's up? 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:13.519 Brian? How are you, buddy? 0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:15.560 I mean, I'm good. How are you? 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:18.679 I mean I am just working my rear end off 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:20.440 and trying to keep up with you. That's about it. 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.080 I was wondering if you were on suicide watch this 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:26.200 week after your little football game last weekend. 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.160 I wiped it right from my memory banks already. See here, 0:03:29.560 --> 0:03:31.640 here's the problem. I have like a Gator helmet, and 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:33.320 I have Gator duct tape, and I have all these 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:36.080 Gator jerseys. But you can't see me, so there's no 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:38.160 reason for me to have all these props hanging around. 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:41.120 Well, you see my shirt. 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:43.760 I wore this, Thank god, I cannot see that. 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:48.480 I wore this for you today. Bulldogs started out okay, yeah, 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:51.680 so is Florida. They're going to be terrible, right. 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:54.840 I mean, I hope not. I mean I don't want 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:56.520 them to be terrible, but I would like for him 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:59.400 to be decent. You know, listen, I get it was 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:01.200 a tough way to in Utah and all that, but 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:03.360 I mean, first play of the game two defenders run 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:04.920 into each other and you give up a seventy five 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:07.480 yard bomb, It's usually not a good omen for a 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:08.120 good season. 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:11.400 That was a great start. God, that was so good. 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:16.040 That was so good. Listen. I'm rooting for you guys 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:18.800 to at least be somewhat respectable so I can I 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:22.039 can get down there to Jacksonville again. That was That's 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:22.960 always entertaining. 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:24.720 Are you going to show your face this year at 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:25.160 the game? 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.160 I mean it kind of depends right there, worth be 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:31.040 traveling across the country to see a fifty two to 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:32.320 seven drumming? 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:34.840 Those are the best ones? Are you kidding me? I 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:36.880 remember for years that was the best part about going 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:39.520 to Florida Georgia. Florida fifty two Georgia seven. 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:43.520 Right, well, listen, good luck the rest of the year. 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:47.039 I appreciate that. I do want to ask, are you 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:48.280 not a Tennessee fan? 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:51.920 I am not a Tennessee fan. They're my second favorite team. 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:55.960 You were recruited to go to Tennessee, as I understand, 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:59.720 and play baseball. You didn't do that, but you have 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:01.400 no allegiance there because of that. 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:03.640 Yeah, I have no allegiance other than I mean my 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:07.000 claim to fame for my Tennessee allegiance is that I 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:09.120 went on a recruiting trip and Peyton Manning was there 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:11.159 the same weekend. I mean, other than that, there's really 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:14.240 nothing to my Tennessee fandom. I mean I got to 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:16.280 meet Peyton Manning when he was in high school. But 0:05:16.320 --> 0:05:17.200 other than that, it was. 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:20.520 Oh, you were there the same weekend being recruited. 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:23.040 Oh yeah, we were there on our official visits the 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:25.040 same exact weekend. I mean we kind of you know, 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:27.560 this is this is Peyton Manning. I'm like, who the 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:29.720 hell's Peyton Manning? And he's like, who the hell are you. 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:31.000 I'm like, yeah, we're on the same. 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:37.719 Team, all right. Unbelievable. So let's go back to Little 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:41.359 AJ's early days. So you were born in New York, 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:44.359 which I did not know that, But then you you 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:48.040 went before high school down to Florida. What why Florida? 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:49.240 Why did you go down there? 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:52.120 Well, my parents moved when I was two, so I mean, 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:54.640 I don't know, I don't even remember being in New York. 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:58.600 I consider myself from Orlando. Honestly. We moved because my 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:01.200 dad was a builder, and that was right when Disney 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:04.080 World hit and so it was a big building boom. 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:06.240 So we moved down there and then my parents end 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:08.960 up being divorced real young and they both still are around. 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:11.640 They're both still around the Orlando area where I live. 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:13.280 But i mean, yeah, people were like, oh, you were 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:16.000 born in the Hamptons, you must be rich. I'm like, no, dude. 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:19.119 My parents were Polish potato farmers that you know, had nothing, 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:21.360 and my dad was a contractor that had to move 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:23.479 to Orlando to make ends meet. My mom worked at 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:24.240 the phone company. 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:28.880 Right. Were they into baseball? Were they into sports? 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:31.040 My dad definitely is. My dad played rugby at a 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:34.680 very competitive level. He also played basketball, Like my dad, 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:37.480 you know it, played basketball and did a bunch of 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:40.200 stuff in high school. My mom, you know, was around it. 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:42.039 You know, back then, women's sports were a little different. 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:45.240 It wasn't as easy, but my dad definitely was involved. 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:48.360 And yeah, my dad was still. My dad's like seventy 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:50.920 seven years old now and he's still like, is fighting 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:53.080 to play rugby. I mean he's got two knee replacements 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:55.240 and all kinds of broken bones, and he's like, I 0:06:55.240 --> 0:06:56.800 want to get out there again. I'm like, Dad, like 0:06:56.880 --> 0:06:57.400 that's time. 0:06:57.839 --> 0:06:59.680 It sounds like you actually. 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:02.400 Well, I don't think. I don't think I want to 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:03.599 play rugby anytime soon. 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:08.200 But yeah, all right, well fair enough. Did you play 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:10.200 other sports besides baseball growing up? 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:13.119 I did. I played basketball till my sophomore year high school. 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:15.200 I never played football, though, which is kind of weird. 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:17.520 I don't know why, but I played. I was on 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:19.440 like the golf team in middle school, and you know, 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.920 did some other flag football and stuff like that. Never 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:22.920 tackle football. 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:28.240 I never did either. It's so funny because I feel like, 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:32.000 as a kid we played football all the time. But 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:34.880 I don't know if if organized football wasn't as big 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:35.880 then or something, I. 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:39.760 Didn't either, So for me, it was more I always 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.640 liked baseball and so like when it came to tackle 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:45.800 football time. I mean, growing up in Florida, you played 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:48.120 baseball year round, so there was a fall season and 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:50.320 then we went right to basketball in the winter, and 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:52.320 then in the spring it kicked into baseball and you 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:54.600 played that till the end of the summer. So it 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:57.640 just never was an option. And then when I moved, 0:07:57.720 --> 0:07:59.600 I lived in Orlando. Then I moved to a little 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.880 small town called Brooksville, which not a lot of people 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:05.200 have heard of and it's outside Tampa. And it was 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:07.360 a very tiny little town, which is great when you're 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:09.360 ten to fifteen years old to grow up in, right, 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:12.520 I mean, you know, everybody, everybody knows you, and so 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:14.880 it just never was a thing. And then when I 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:18.280 moved back to Orlando my sophomore year high school, I 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:20.040 was like, oh, I'm gonna try out for the basketball team. 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:22.480 And you know, in Brooksville, you know, I was six 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:24.680 foot one and I was like, okay, I'm pretty good. 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:26.080 And then we got to Orlando and I went to 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.800 a school with five thousand kids and they had these 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.080 six foot six dudes jumping over me. I'm like, yep, 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:32.480 time to focus on baseball. 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:38.320 You know, my family is from Orlando too. My mom 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:40.439 grew I didn't know that. 0:08:40.480 --> 0:08:41.600 Where'd she go to high school? 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:45.520 She I don't know, I don't, I mean, but like 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:48.920 Orlando proper, like she was from there and then went 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:50.520 to Florida State. 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:53.320 Oh so she's like my wife. I'm so sorry. 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:57.240 Well I don't know if my mom is like your wife, 0:08:57.240 --> 0:08:58.439 but well no. 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:00.200 I mean she went to my wife went to Florida State. 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:01.280 In Florida State. 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:04.960 Yeah, I mean, I'm thinking, like I mean, I'm guessing 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:08.200 your mom is about my parents' age. My stepdad went 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:10.880 to like Boone High School or Clonal. 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:12.280 I think that's it. 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:16.320 The Boone Braves probably, I think that's it. That would 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:18.640 probably be like the main one that's been around here forever. 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:22.240 Yeah, I honestly think that's it. I think she went 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:22.800 to Boone. 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:25.440 Yeah, I need to get her name. I'll ask my stepdad. 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:27.520 Maybe they was, you know, they went to prom together 0:09:27.600 --> 0:09:28.120 or something back and. 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:31.960 Then maybe maybe they did. Yeah, I mean, my grandfather 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:35.320 was one of thirteen kids, you know. I mean he 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:37.720 was born in Georgia's so a bunch state in Georgia, 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:41.360 but a bunch actually migrated down with my great grandparents 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:43.240 to Orlando. Yeah, okay, Yeah. 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:46.040 My stepdad's family was all born in like Moultrie, from 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:48.880 South Georgia, and then they moved down. My stepdad's dad 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:53.200 owned a service station and down area called South Street, 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:55.679 which is like dead downtown now, but back then it 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:57.520 was kind of like the suburbs. 0:09:57.080 --> 0:10:01.079 Right, and they ran a motel, not a hotel, a 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:05.040 motel okay, and had a restaurant. Right, I'll look this up. 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:10.079 So you decide basketball is not your thing baseball. Now, 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:14.800 at what point, I like to ask people this. You know, 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:19.199 we all do activities as kids, sports or the arts 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:24.800 or whatever. At what point for you is there a 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:30.839 transition between like I'm a kid hitting a ball to like, oh, 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:34.360 this is what I really want to do or did 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:37.760 you just suddenly realize you were just better than everybody else? 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:43.560 Honestly, it was kind of the fall of my junior year. Okay, 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:46.640 I mean I played JV freshman and sophomore year in 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:48.679 my high school. I say school was gigantic, so you 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:51.360 have to understand how big it was. And I was 0:10:51.400 --> 0:10:53.120 on JV and I was there was a good chance 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:55.000 I was going to be on JV my junior year 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.920 again because we had a senior catcher and he ends 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:02.160 up getting hurt. And I also grew like four or 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:04.800 five inches and put on like thirty or forty pounds 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:08.319 between my sophomore and junior seasons. But I also was young, right, 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:11.320 So I didn't turn sixteen until the middle of my 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:15.040 junior year, So I'm December thirtieth. Wow, So I turned 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:18.800 sixteen December of my junior year, so I mean it 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:20.560 was already so I was actually a year ahead of 0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:22.240 my parents liked me so much it made me start 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:24.520 school a year early, right, They couldn't wait to get 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:28.240 me out of the house. So like, I graduated just 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:30.840 having turned seventeen, as opposed to most people are eighteen, 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:33.959 some kids are nineteen now. And so I was a 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:36.280 little bit of a later bloomer. And then I put 0:11:36.320 --> 0:11:39.040 on a bunch of way and grew between my sophomore 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:40.720 and junior year, and then the kid ended up getting 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:43.760 hurt and it was like whoa. When I came back 0:11:43.800 --> 0:11:45.760 to school, the coaches were like, wait a minute, are 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:47.720 you the same kid that was here last year? And 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:51.360 so once I got the strength was when it kind 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:55.160 of started clicking a lot more. And I'll never forget 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:59.040 my junior year. We started playing a tournament and I 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:01.040 don't know, I do okay, Like I get like one 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:03.440 hit in like ten at bats or something, and my 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:05.880 best friend's dad, I'll never forget this to that day. 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:08.400 He comes up to me and kid I grew up 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:11.720 with forever and his dad comes up to me. His 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:14.360 son had just graduated from the school, and he comes 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:16.440 up to me and goes, man, you know what you know? 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:17.800 You need to use the phone? And I was like 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:19.560 for one, He's like, you need to call one hunter 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:21.960 get a hit, and I was like, oh okay. It 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.000 was like that right, And I've never forgotten this day 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:27.320 and that day. That day we had a game and 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:29.560 I hit my first high school home run and I 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:32.719 was like okay. I was like basically fuck off now 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:35.680 as I'm running around the bases and you know I now, 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:37.520 And then from that moment on, I was like, okay, 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:39.600 I can do this, like I can I belong now. 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:41.559 But it was like one of those things where he didn't. 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:43.160 I mean, he meant it as a joke, but I 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:45.520 was still like pissed because I was like, who are 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:46.400 you to say this to me? 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:52.800 You were high school teammates with I did not know 0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:54.079 this With Johnny Damon. 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:56.520 Yeah, he was way better than me though, like I said, 0:12:56.720 --> 0:12:58.920 he was a senior. I was a sophomore. I was 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:01.640 on JV, he was on he was number one prospect guy, 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:04.440 Johnny Damon and super good. And then you had me 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:06.439 on JV flailing along. But yes, we were at high 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:08.520 school the same time. We're still super close. And I 0:13:08.559 --> 0:13:12.520 actually saw him yesterday you did, yeah, ran into him randomly, 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:14.520 saw him at sushi. I went in to get sushi 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:16.360 and he was sitting in there with his wife and 0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:18.640 his seventeen kids. 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:24.320 Seventeen kids, that's right. So at what point do you 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:27.800 start thinking about playing baseball beyond high school? 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:31.640 Well, it's kind of after that, Like after the summer 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:34.440 after my junior year was when it like really got 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:36.080 crazy because then all of a sudden, you start hearing 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:38.719 from these schools. Right, And this was back when you 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:40.920 had to actually send mail. There was like no emails 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.520 and there were like cell phone I'm going to Instagram 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.280 you or DM you and Twitter or whatever, so you 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:49.439 had to get you got mail. And my high school 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:51.000 coach was like, hey, there's a lot of schools that 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:53.040 have seen you and they really are interested. What do 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:54.200 you think? And I was like, well, I don't know 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:57.120 anything about it. And I went to this thing that summer. 0:13:57.320 --> 0:13:59.880 There's a company now called Perfect Game is like the 0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:04.040 industry leader, I guess you'd say, in like recruiting in 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:07.200 youth baseball. There's a few of them, but Perfect Game 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:08.440 was kind of the first one. They used to be 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:10.800 called Team One, And I went to this thing in Cincinnati, 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:14.400 Ohio called Team One National Showcase, and they brought basically 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:17.440 like the top, like seventy sixty five players in and 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:20.200 we did a workout and then we played games. And 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:22.680 after that, I mean, every school is called, like they're 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:24.000 all like, you know, we want you to come here. 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:28.960 I want you to come here, and like we already 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:30.600 kind of talked about. My school I want to go 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:32.280 to was Florida, Like I mean, I was like, I 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:34.280 grew up a Gator fan. My family went there that 0:14:34.560 --> 0:14:36.600 had lived in Florida. And I was like, you know, 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:38.720 I want to go to University of Florida. And the 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:41.480 coach calls me I'll never forget my junior year and 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:43.600 says summer in my junior year, says, hey, I can't 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:46.120 recruit you. And I was like what. He's like, yeah, 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:47.840 three kids in a row from your high school have 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.360 signed here and they all signed professional. I'm on the 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:52.360 hot seat. I can't take the chance of you not 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:55.000 coming here. And I was like, listen, there's only one 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:56.840 school that I promise you I will go to. It's 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:59.280 University of Florida, and will I'll give you my word. 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:00.960 He's like, I can't take chance. I've heard that from 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:03.560 Johnny Damon before and then he signed right and I 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:06.320 was like, well, I mean I respected that, but at 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:07.920 the same time, I was kind of pissed about it. 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:09.520 You know, I was like, well, if I can't go 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:11.840 to Florida, I'll go to their biggest rival, which is Tennessee. 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:14.680 And you know if I play them and we could 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:15.800 kick their ass? 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:20.040 Did you mean it? Do you think? By the way, 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:23.880 spoiler alert, he signs a letter to go to Tennessee 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:26.760 and never goes because you get drafted in ninety four. 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:28.680 But with Florida, you would have gone. 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:31.320 I really believe I would have gone. Yes. I mean 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:34.320 I can't say a million percent, but listen, if there were, 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:35.920 like I said, if there was one school that I 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:38.400 would have said yes to and I would have gone, 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:39.960 it would have been Florida. That was the only one. 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:42.840 Because once I signed with Tennessee, like my heart was 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:46.000 there kind of, but it wasn't like I'm invested. I 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:48.560 grew up as a fan of this team. I rooted 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:50.760 for this team. I go to football games for this team. Right, 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:52.560 it was like, Okay, I went there once on a 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:55.240 visit and they played University of Georgia and they killed 0:15:55.280 --> 0:15:57.320 them by like fifty two points. So I mean I 0:15:57.400 --> 0:15:59.240 rooted for him. Once, but other than that, I didn't 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:00.000 really care about him. 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:05.480 Talk me through, how aware are you that you're going 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:09.680 to be drafted professionally? Like do you know this is it? 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:12.200 Is it a crab shoot? Like like where are you at? 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.200 Because you're you're like, okay, I'm going to Tennessee, but 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.240 you're going to enter the draft. What's that process like? 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.080 So the process is you just play right and then 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:23.760 get through. You get through your senior year, and the 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:25.640 draft was different. It was like at the beginning of 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.200 June and you end your high school season in like 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:31.280 early May in Florida, mid May, and so you start 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:34.800 hearing from these teams and they're like, they're saying, we 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.160 think you're going to get drafted anywhere from this play 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:38.800 to this spot, and we're going to draft you in 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:41.560 this spot if you fall to us. And you're thinking, 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:43.600 all right, this is a real possibility. So I kind 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:46.360 of sat down my parents and said, Okay, what's the 0:16:46.440 --> 0:16:50.840 number signing bonus wise that will accept And we kind 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:52.880 of remember this was almost thirty years ago now, and 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.320 and we kind of got to that number and they're like, well, 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:56.760 you know what about school, And I was like, well, 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:59.480 they pay for school. So they'll tell you, like they'll 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:01.880 give you four years of school that you can go 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:03.800 after you're done playing if you don't make it. Even 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:05.360 if you do make it, they'll pay for four years 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:09.800 of school. So it gets time to draft time. Back then, 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:12.280 you sat there literally with like a you just sat 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:14.119 at your house. There was no again, there was no internet, 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:16.360 there was no MLB network, there was no draft coverage. 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:18.960 It was just you got a phone call. And so 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:21.120 the draft, you know, the draft starts to like let's 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:23.160 say one PM, and you're sitting there waiting. You're trying 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:25.760 to guess like where they're at in the draft, and 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:27.800 you're thinking, okay, well this team said they're gonna draft me. 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:30.000 Here did they did it? The phone finally rings because 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.280 you're like, you know, please nobody call the house from 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:35.520 like one to five pm, right, because god, you call 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:37.600 waiting or the click team calls and I don't it 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:39.760 gets a busy sign, right, are they not gonna draft me? 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:40.440 Right? 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:42.280 So I get a call and I pick it up 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:45.440 and it's the Minnesota Twins calling the GM and he says, hey, 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:47.760 you know, this is Terry Ryan and the GM of 0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:50.000 the Twins. We draft you seventieth. I think it was 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:53.040 overall third round and a Scott will be in touch 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.919 and click, oh okay, that's it. I mean that was 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.400 literally it. That was the phone call like cool, that's 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:02.920 so amazing. Yeah, we'll be in touch in the next week. Wait, 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:06.280 what what do I do? And then so you know, 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:08.760 a couple of days later, the scout local scout calls me. 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:11.359 He would watch me and convince them to draft me. 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:13.320 He shows up my house and says, you know, I'm 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:15.880 the guy who drafted you, dad, dah, here's our contract offer. 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.080 And then you're like, well, okay, it's not exactly what 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:22.320 I wanted, but little negotiation and I think within two 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:24.280 days we had figured out. I mean, I wanted to 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:25.560 go play. At that point, I was like, I don't 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:28.800 want to waste time, you know, arguing over ten thousand dollars, 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:30.840 which is a lot of money. But back then I 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:32.640 was like, you know, I'm seventeen years old. I got 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:34.919 enough money, you know, I thought last I mean, I 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:36.800 got you know, six fakers. I was like, man, I 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:39.040 am rich for the rest of my life, right, you know. 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:41.800 And my parents were good and said, yeah, if you 0:18:41.800 --> 0:18:43.360 want to go play, we support you. And they gave 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.400