WEBVTT - Sizing up Gunnar Henderson's struggles 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:07.640 Birdland. 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:10.399 Welcome in another edition of Birdland Territory. I believe we're 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:13.440 up to show thirty two. It's moving fast and this 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:16.000 season's flying along. The Eros are about a week away 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:19.480 from the actual midpoint eighty one games, so at the 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:21.720 thirty four and thirty nine, getting ready to start this 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:25.160 West coast trip as we take this Tuesday morning before 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:28.240 they play game one at Seattle, they'll also play the Dodgers, 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:32.040 they'll also play the Angels. Challenging trip. So guys, we 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:34.800 want to start today with Gunnar Henderson. We've talked about 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:39.160 Gunner a lot and a lot of analysis, a lot 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:42.239 of words. Here what it comes down to in the 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:46.199 numbers right now. At his peak performance, which I think 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:48.480 if we look at his track record was obviously twenty 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:51.560 twenty four, fourth for the MVP. That year he was 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:54.440 among the best players in baseball with an eight ninety 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:58.480 three OPS. So now he's seven point fifteen via the 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:01.760 stats of twenty twenty six. That's about league average. Actually 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:06.800 seven seventeen is MLB average OPS Gunners at seven fifteen, 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:09.480 But we all know we expect better than that, and 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:13.720 he does too. So for me, it comes down to 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:18.760 some basic things, not to oversimplify it. He's chasing too much, 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:23.000 leading to too many strikeouts, leading to fewer hard hit balls. 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:26.640 That that doesn't explain at all, But that's a lot 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:28.759 of what's going on right now. He's not hitting right 0:01:28.760 --> 0:01:33.840 handers as well. There's just challenges for him. Long winded 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:37.479 open to say, is this who he is this year? 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.440 Or with more than half the season to go, can 0:01:41.520 --> 0:01:44.520 this get fixed? If that's the proper word. 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:46.240 Here, Yeah, I think so. 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:49.440 I think we like we watching him on a daily basis, 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:52.600 it's everything is there. All the components to him to 0:01:52.600 --> 0:01:55.040 be the player we expect are there. I just think 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:56.600 he's not getting the results right now, and I think 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:58.640 a lot of it has to do with not staying 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:00.680 up the middle of the field. I think when Gunner's 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.320 at his best, he's using the left side of the field, 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:05.960 going left center field, and we really haven't seen that, 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:07.680 I feel like, in over a month now watching him, 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:10.400 it's been really poor happy. We saw that earlier in 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:12.480 the season too, when he hit a bunch of homers 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:14.639 to start the year. He was really poor happy and 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.840 we were kind of, you know, wary of that because 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.440 we know he's at bet he's at his best when 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:23.480 he's going to center and left center, and I feel 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:25.160 like it's just been really poor happy this year. And 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:26.959 I feel like he's just too good of a hitter 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:30.160 to only use one side of the field, and he's 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:31.960 been working a lot. They've shown a lot of clips 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:34.200 of him early doing work in the cage with the 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:36.320 hitting coaches, and I just feel like it's going to 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.080 turn around. He's got way too much talent, and I 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:40.880 just I would love to see him just start using 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.240 the middle of the field, go left center again, because 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:44.960 I feel like that's really when he gets locked in. 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:49.960 It's it's been a really bizarre year for Gunner, right. 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:54.040 You see these flashes, You see these glimpses of him, Okay, 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:56.560 maybe he's turning it around, and then he's back down 0:02:56.600 --> 0:02:59.959 again and he just hasn't been able to really sustain it. 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:02.880 But Steve, you mentioned it last year, and Granny he 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:05.480 was heard, and we know he had the intercostal strain 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:08.600 during spring training and then he had the shoulder impingement 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:11.519 which rapped him of his power. But he really struggled 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:14.600 against left handed pitching last year, where this year he's 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.600 got a higher ops against left handed pitching. Than right 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:21.760 handed pitching. And one of the stats that really jumped 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:24.600 out to me and Steve when we were doing the 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:28.280 show locally on the fan, when he is a head 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:31.680 in the count. When Gunnar Henderson is ahead in the 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:35.920 count this year, he's batting one forty six and has 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:40.080 an ops of six forty six. And you compare that 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:43.880 to his career average when he's ahead in the count, 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:47.720 he hits two eighty one with an ops over one thousand. 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:51.040 So it's a night and day difference there for Gunner. Now, 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:53.720 if you are looking at it from a glass half 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:58.440 full perspective, this month of June, while he's not exploding, 0:03:58.520 --> 0:03:59.760 he's not taken off. 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:03.240 He does have more walks than strikeouts. He's got nine 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:06.160 walks to eight strikeouts. You have seen the on base 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:09.320 go up a lot is on basis four oh seven 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:10.520 in the month of June. 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:14.680 So maybe he's seeing the ball better, but he's just 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:17.799 not doing the consistent damage with his back. 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:21.120 A lot of things we can look at. I looked 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:23.600 at hard hit percentage when Gunner was in the top 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:27.919 three percent of baseball in twenty twenty four Elite. Now 0:04:27.960 --> 0:04:33.640 he's sixty eighth in percentage, So still a little bit 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:36.400 above average, but not elite like he once was, and 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:39.360 exit velocity is down this year. A lot of things 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.400 are just different for him. Here's what you have to remember. 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:45.560 He was eighth one year for the MVP. He was 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:48.520 fourth the next year. He's been the Rookie of the Year. 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:51.599 He's been a Silver Slugger, he's been an All Star. 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:55.120 He's got a career eight fifteen ops. Even with the 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:57.880 slower numbers this year that obviously dragged that down from 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:02.560 opening day eight fifteen. He's all star caliber talent. I 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:05.080 just gotta believe it's going to find its way there 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:08.640 at some point. But when you get seventy games in, 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:11.719 I can see where why doubters have the doubts they have. 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.640 Yeah, it's definitely not a small sample size to this point. 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:18.320 And like Tim said, I think this month his approach 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:20.840 has definitely gotten better. I just think when you look 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:23.479 at struggles against righties, when you're a lefty hitter, a 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:25.599 lot of times they're going to exploit you inside. We 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:27.720 had talked about this in the series of Miami. It's 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:30.240 probably six weeks ago now. At this point, he was 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:33.240 really getting beat inside by fastballs on righties. And to me, 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:35.240 when I'm doing a scarting report and I'm going after 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.400 a hitter and I'm trying to think, how am I 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:39.640 going to go after a lefty? I think, to me, 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.600 it's he's getting beat to the inside part of the 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:45.320 plate with fastballs and then they're using the slider to 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.600 his back foot to really exploit him trying to. 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:49.159 Pull the ball. 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:50.919 And I think all this stuff is just kind of 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:52.720 the perfect storm at this point, and I think it's 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:54.880 kind of making that adjustment. I think a lot of 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:58.320 times pitchers are really wary to go inside on him, 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:00.880 But now right now seeing the show, I think that 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:02.880 might be taking away what I was just saying before 0:06:02.880 --> 0:06:04.919 with the up the middle and the other way is 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:07.320 because if you can attack inside, it's really hard to 0:06:07.320 --> 0:06:10.679 stay inside out of the baseball when you're not able 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:14.080 to get to that pitch and really exploit those pitches 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:15.480 he used to do a lot of damage on. He 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:18.760 would always say balls into the flag court and Oriel Park, 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:22.320 campy yards, and it's just just not seeing him get 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:24.040 to that pitch as much. And I really think pitchers 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:26.320 are just trying to exploit that area of the plate. 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:31.280 And I think what really illustrates that point, Brad is 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:36.520 he crushed fastballs. Last year, he batted over three over 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:38.640 three hundred. He had a batting average of three h 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:42.960 five in twenty twenty five against fastballs, where it's plummeted 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:46.400 to twenty eight this year. So you're talking about a 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:49.479 difference of almost eighty points. And I think it's illustrated 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:52.359 with those pitchers pitching him in and that's kind of 0:06:52.400 --> 0:06:54.240 caused that significant drop off. 0:06:56.279 --> 0:06:58.760 It's fled in other parts of his game. For instance, 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:01.080 you're not on base as much, you can't steal as 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:04.520 many bases. He's still thirty bases last year, thirty. He's 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:08.200 got six right now. And Dustin Lynde, one of the 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:12.920 Oil hitting coaches, gave stats that I would imagine only 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:16.200 the team can have, and I'll explain here, he said 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:20.240 when talking to media Sunday. When Gunner stays in the zone, 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:23.040 his batting average this year is three h five and 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:26.120 his OPS is nine hundred. So obviously the team is 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:28.840 looking at data. What does he do when he swings 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:31.920 at the strikes? So that is an all star player. 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:35.880 So every hitter is never gonna not swing at a 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:39.040 pitch that's not a strike. That always happens. Pitchers are 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:42.240 trained to do that to get you out. But it's 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:46.080 saying that Gunner's just expanding a little bit. He's just 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:48.320 he's just not quite there, locked in with his own 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:50.120 But he did have a three walk game the other night. 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:52.400 Every time we see this, we all think this is 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:54.960 going to be it, and then that doesn't happen for him. 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:57.240 And here's the last point I'll make. Guys, I want 0:07:57.240 --> 0:08:00.320 to hear your take on it. He's twenty four years old. 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:03.280 He turns twenty five June twenty ninth. We forget how 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:04.000 young he is. 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:05.000 There. 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:08.120 It must be pressure when you're twenty four with his 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:12.240 resume that not many having baseball at twenty four, you're 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:17.320 supposed to carry the load. So that's pressure that another 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:20.840 player not as decorated I don't think carries. 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:23.920 Yeah, And you know it's also too I just kind 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:26.840 of look at like, how much baseball has changed even 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:28.600 since I've been done playing. In the last four or 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.000 five years, these guys are getting called up as opposed 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:33.280 to twenty three, twenty four to twenty five, it's now 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:37.040 nineteen twenty twenty one, and you're still you're learning your body, 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:39.760 you're learning what works for you, and it's just twenty 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:41.720 four is so young. I mean I was called up 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:43.240 at twenty five years old and I had two and 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:45.360 a half years in the minor leagues. I just couldn't 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:49.440 imagine being his spot, having the top top five MVP finished, 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:52.040 having the Rookie of the Year, having the Silver Slugger, 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:54.760 all these expectations and you're still just figuring out the 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:57.280 kind of player you are. It's baseball has just gotten 0:08:57.320 --> 0:08:59.280 so young so fast that I feel like there is 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:01.120 a lot of this I sure put on these guys, 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:02.480 and they're not blind to it. 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:02.920 They know it. 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:05.640 And he knows the expectations that the fans and the 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:07.320 team have for him, and I think a lot of 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:10.240 times he's he's such an emotional player that I think 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:12.439 he burdens a lot of that on himself, and he's 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:14.360 trying to go out there and get it as opposed 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:15.880 to letting the game come to him. 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:17.840 A lot easier said than done. And you can go 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:19.080 through struggles throughout that. 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:21.560 Your entire career, even if you are a superstar, there's 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:23.160 gonna be times where you try to go out there 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:25.559 and take the game as opposed to letting it come 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:27.400 to you, and that's I think that's just kind of 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:27.760 what it is. 0:09:27.800 --> 0:09:29.120 And I think that's how he's always been. 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:31.680 He's a player that's going to go out and try 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.840 to do his best and almost force it at times. 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:36.360 And I just think it's been a little bit of 0:09:36.400 --> 0:09:38.760 a prolonged period here where he's really just trying to 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:40.960 force the game as opposed to just kind of letting 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:42.160 these pitches come to him. 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:46.360 Ultimately, Gunner is a victim of his own success. He 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:50.720 experienced success pretty much right away. I remember he got 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:52.920 called up in that Cleveland series. I think he homered 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:56.080 in his first game, and you know, he had the 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:59.480 little struggle in the first month of twenty twenty three, 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:02.480 remember that murmurs, oh, should they send Gunner down? And 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:04.959 then he just took off from there and just has 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:08.719 been fantastic, And even last year we've talked a lot 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:11.160 about it on the podcast, like that that was Gunner's 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:14.840 down year, but there were still so many great aspects 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:18.560 of that season, like the thirty stolen bases, Steve like 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:20.960 his defensive ability. I think he had one error in 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:24.120 his final ninety two games or something crazy like that. 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:28.760 So Gunner was still doing things at exceptional levels. It 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:32.520 just wasn't the prolific power that we've seen this year. 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:37.040 What's made this season more difficult for him. I guess 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:39.280 you could say he's hitting the home runs again with 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:43.440 fourteen home runs already, But I don't know if Gunner's 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:45.000 doing anything at. 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:48.720 An exceptional level this year. 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:51.720 Maybe base run you could say that, but it just 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:55.760 hasn't been the impactful season that we've all expected. 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:01.480 Now, furthermore, your point about behind it account. In twenty 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:04.160 twenty four, of the great year, his OPS when batting 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:07.160 with two strikes was six forty nine. That doesn't sound great, 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:10.280 but that's not bad. When it's two strikes, you know, 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:13.120 the pitcher's really done most of the heavy lifting, and 0:11:13.200 --> 0:11:16.080 so he was still reasonably productive six forty nine. This 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:18.800 year it's three forty eight, three hundred point different. So 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:20.760 when he gets down this year, they get him out. 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:23.560 You know, he's just behind the eight ball, and he's 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:26.360 got to figure out a way to get better count leverage. 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:29.280 Some people have mentioned he may be taking too many 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:32.680 first pitches, very hittable. Maybe he's got to attack more, 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:36.160 ambush mode more, and so count leverage is big for Gunner. 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:39.000 Let's see how that goes for him on this road trip. 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:42.400 Glad you're with us today. Hope you subscribe to the channel. 0:11:42.400 --> 0:11:45.720 We're closing in on a thousand. It's been a uphill 0:11:45.720 --> 0:11:48.040 climb those some days, but we're going to get there, 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:50.720 and so Birdland, We're glad you found us. 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:53.840 Glad you watch us here on Birdland Territory. 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:57.040 Please subscribe if you can, get notified when shows come out, 0:11:57.120 --> 0:11:59.840 follow us on the podcast outlets and networks as well, 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:02.800 and a lot more to come today as we roll 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:09.560 on on the Birdland Territory. 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:12.880 It's summertime. You don't want your summer to be boring 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:15.560 and forgettable. Heck no, you want this to be the 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:18.840 summer of your life. So I implore you to go 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:20.720 out see the Orioles play. 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:22.960 And it doesn't just have to be at Camden Yards. 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:25.920 If you're traveling out west, haven't gotten tickets for the 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:29.760 Dodgers series, I would suggest looking into Saturday's game because 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:33.720 it seems like Yoshinobo Yamamoto is lined up to start 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:36.280 that one. And make sure you use seek Geek when 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:40.040 purchasing them. With over thirty five million downloads, see Geek 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:42.880 is the number one rated ticketing app. There are more 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:47.880 than seventy thousand events listed on sea Geek. Concerts, sports festivals. 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:51.880 You can find everything there. MLB's in full swing, World 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:56.080 Cups underway, NFL and college football seasons. Their schedules are 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:58.680 out you can look ahead get your tickets now. 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:01.240 For those I love using seat Geek. 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:03.960 I use the app to see Dave Chappelle at CFG 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:05.920 Bank Arena last Friday. 0:13:06.040 --> 0:13:09.040 It was amazing. It was an easy process and sea 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:11.000 Geek they always have your back. 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:13.960 Each ticket is rated on a scale of one to ten, 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:16.400 so you know you're getting a good deal. Look for 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:18.760 those green dots, stay away from the red dots. 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:20.319 Those are bad. Green is good. 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:24.440 Plus, every ticket is backed by their buyer guarantee. And 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.080 you know we have to have a code for you guys, 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:30.440 and we do. You can use code Territory ten for 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:33.439 ten percent off your next set of MLB tickets at 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:37.320 seat Geek. That's ten percent off any MLB tickets with 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:41.240 promo code Territory ten. Make sure you click the link 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:43.600 in the description to download the app and have the 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:46.440 code automatically added to your account. 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:48.080 So you can use it later. Thank you. 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:53.160 Seek So for the birds, it's off to the West coast. 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.240 Seattle up first, and the Oriels have played well against 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:58.720 the Maritors since twenty twenty three. We'll get to that 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:02.000 in a moment, But Brad, what is the challenge of 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:05.440 going across the country for a long West Coast road trip? 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.040 Something only one of us on this set is experienced. 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:10.280 I've been there as a media guy. A little different. 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.000 You're not playing any West coast trip is tough. I 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:16.079 think everybody knows that. How about for a player. 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:18.520 Yeah, it's just it's just different. 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:21.080 It's you you feel out of you almost feel out 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:25.600 of touch. It's your threes time zones difference you're you know, 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:28.960 in Seattle is especially different because it's so far north. 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:29.960 You it's just. 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:32.480 So far away from everywhere else. It's a long flight 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:35.800 out there, and it's just it's just a different experience. 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:38.240 I don't know, it's you know, I think by the 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:40.080 end of the road trip you get used to it 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.280 and you almost wish that it was longer. But the 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:44.520 first couple of games, it's just a different rhythm. It's 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:47.480 a different time that you start the game. You're starting 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:49.720 a game on a ten o'clock East Coast time when 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:51.960 you're used to being done. So it's just it's all 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.840 these little different things. The sleeping patterns a little bit off. 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:57.000 But at the end of the day, I mean when 0:14:57.040 --> 0:14:59.120 you go when these teams come East, it's just as 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:01.400 difficult for them because it's like they're starting at four o'clock. 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:04.880 So it's it's a it's just a different it's a 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:07.680 different aspect of the of the schedule, and you know it, 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:10.440 you always kind of start when you see it. You 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:12.120 know you have a long one coming, and you kind 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:13.840 of have it in your head to just kind of 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:14.920 change things up. 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:15.320 A little bit. 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:18.120 But it's it's it's still a major league game and 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:20.680 it's a pack ballpark against a good team, so it's 0:15:20.840 --> 0:15:21.560 it's always fun. 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:27.120 Also, you know, when I would go out for Masson, 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:31.360 you always dread the getting there, but once you're there, 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:34.200 it was exciting. I'm telling you. The T Mobile Ballpark 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:38.480 in Seattle is an amazing ballpark. I just loved watching 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:41.600 games there. Anaheim was one of my favorite places to 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:44.600 go because I'd always take a side trip to Laguna 0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:47.480 Beach and dream if I had, you know, twenty million dollars, Wow, 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:49.680 what a home I can fill here? What a what 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:51.960 a place to live and I go spend some time there, 0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:55.800 and Dodger Stadium is Dodger Stadium, right, all the history, 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:58.320 a guy got to meet Vin Scully before his career 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:02.040 ended there, all the trophies they have underneath the stands 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:07.000 are amazing. And it's so loud. Ten, it's so loud 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:10.600 at Dodger Stadium is a three hour rock concert and 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:13.920 an assault on your ears. I guess in LA that's normal, 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:17.680 but for an East Coast oh Cotcher like me, Man, 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:18.680 I needed earplugs. 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:20.120 We were at Dodger Stadium. 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:22.880 It's definitely got to be a bucket list ballpark, right, 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:25.760 It's just with all the history and Dodgers Stadium. But 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:28.640 I do have to ask you, Brad and Steve. I'm 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:31.400 sure you probably covered some games there. I know the 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:33.880 A's aren't in Oakland anymore, but what was it like 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:35.440 playing at the coliseum? 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:37.840 Yeah, that was it was an interesting road trip when 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:40.400 you'd have like you played the Dodgers and you played 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:43.360 Oakland in the coliseum, it was you stay in San Francisco, 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:45.120 so you have to take that long drive to the 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:46.600 ballpark every day, and. 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:47.680 Then when you get there, you just know. 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:50.720 Unfortunately, the fan just didn't go to the game, so 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:54.720 it was it was just you had to lock in 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:56.760 because it was just it didn't have the same feel 0:16:56.760 --> 0:17:00.000 of a major league stadium. One and then the stadium 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.840 feel with less fans there, and it's just it's a 0:17:02.840 --> 0:17:05.000 stadium that was built for football, that they played baseball 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:07.920 and they transitioned into football. And the security guard would 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:10.720 always show this pamphlet of all these pictures he had, 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:13.159 and he'd show us where the goalposts were set up, 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:15.240 and that was kind of cool to envision the football 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:17.720 field being there and everything like that. But I agree 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.440 with Steve with the Dodger Stadium. The place just rocks. 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:23.359 It feels like a rock concert, like it almost feels 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:25.680 like a movie preview because they have so many loud 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:28.440 promotions in between the innings and the fans are rocking. 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.080 It's fifty five thousand people there at night. It's just 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:34.359 an awesome experience. And I mean the West Coast, if 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:36.199 you're an Oels fan, if you get a chance, you 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.120 got to check out some of the stadiums. Like Steve said, 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:40.760 Seattle is one of my favorite places to go. I 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:43.360 think it gets a bad rap. That city is absolutely gorgeous, 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:45.919 especially at this time of year. The weather's perfect. You 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:48.359 go down to the pier, grab a Starbucks at the 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:52.040 original location, you walk along the water there, check out 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:52.840 the fish market. 0:17:52.960 --> 0:17:54.880 It's just it's really cool going on West. 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:57.280 It's a different feel, but all three of these stadiums 0:17:57.280 --> 0:17:58.520 are unique, but they're really there. 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:00.280 I always enjoyed playing there. 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:02.439 Good place is to pitch, I feel like too, so 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:05.119 for pictures, it's a little less intimidating than it was 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:07.520 pitching a Cammi yard. So it's like I said, it's 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:09.520 a different field, but it's each one has its own 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:11.880 experience and I always enjoyed going out there. 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:15.479 One thing I missed about going to the West Coast 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:19.200 and Tim Scott Boris, if he saw me, I don't 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:21.520 think he'd know my name, but he'd know my face. 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:24.760 And I cover the Orioles and I would see Boris 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:27.879 at the Angels and the Dodgers games, and he was 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:30.200 in a great mood. You could walk up to him 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:32.360 and I could talk to him for fifteen minutes. Him 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:35.320 and I. You get fifteen minutes with Scott Boris and 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:35.920 I could. 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.040 Ask him anything and he would answer it. 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:40.199 There wasn't an interview, and he knew that, and I 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:43.240 wasn't gonna use that. But it was just two guys talking, 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:46.800 and I've asked him some very interesting things and he's 0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:50.560 expressed opinions and I really appreciate it. I learned to 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:54.040 like him. I guess as a baseball fan, you always didn't. 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:56.240 You know, you're a little anti Boris because he's so 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:59.920 passionate for his clients, escalating salaries and all that. 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:02.760 But I mean, I could see and. 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:05.080