WEBVTT - Theo Epstein Shares Keys to Legendary Career; Talks Breaking Two Curses 0:00:01.480 --> 0:00:04.760 Hey everyone, and welcome to the latest edition of Dirt 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:07.960 from the Dugout. Justin Musil Carl Ravitch, How you doing, buddy, 0:00:07.960 --> 0:00:08.560 How was the week? 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:10.920 Oh it was good, man, it was good. You know, 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:14.240 it's a busy time of year. Obviously, baseball is rolling. 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:16.680 You know how it goes, Buddy, you're busy too. I 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:22.560 know you're excited from your two under par today probably right, Yeah. 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:25.079 There was not. Let's see, it was a scramble, so 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:27.400 you can actually go under. But this was for the 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:31.640 Miracle League in a town nearby where I live, Waterford, Connecticut. 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:34.640 So it's again it's promoting the sport of baseball. It's 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:37.640 for kids who need some help doing it, and just 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:40.240 a phenomenal cause. You know who I saw there today 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:43.919 was Raj Davis. Of course home runs and yeah the 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:49.479 Cleveland then Indians now Guardians against the Chicago Cubs. Memorable 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:51.839 home run. Really really a good guy. So it's good 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:55.560 to see Raji Davis and catch up with him. It's interesting. 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:58.320 You know, we're starting to gain some traction with Dirt 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:02.480 from the Dugout, and you know he's involved, he was 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:04.680 involved with Major League Baseball. He now got his own 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:09.800 deal going where he's helping current players who are struggling 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:12.840 and not necessarily with their skill set, but you know 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:16.839 that a guy who's hitting one seventy is probably more 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:19.959 capable of hitting you know, two seventy, three hundred or 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:23.360 we're driving the ball, and he's doing a good thing here, 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.000 I think, and try to assist these guys to maximize 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:29.119 their potential as a former player, trying to tap into 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.759 some of the things that can bring out their best. 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:33.560 So it was good to talk with Raja and maybe 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:35.480 someday we'll get him on dirt from the dugout. 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:39.640 Yeah, man, I mean, he's obviously pretty well known for 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:41.080 the big home run, but. 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:43.000 Great to hear that he's still involved. 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:45.640 And it's always exciting when you can be involved in 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:48.280 things that are really positive, right like that, And that's 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:50.560 a big part of why we're doing this. And I've 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:55.680 gotten so many dms and emails over the last two 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:58.640 weeks with our start with this, so it's really cool 0:01:58.640 --> 0:01:59.680 to just hear from people. 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:02.000 And that's that's what we're trying to do. 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:02.240 Man. 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:05.520 We're just trying to reach people and teach teach a 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:07.559 lot about the game and doing it the right way. 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:10.480 And you know, the leadership stuff and just being a 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:13.600 good person and all the things that I'm excited to 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:14.799 talk to THEO about tonight. 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:17.520 Yeah, one of our guests, theo Epstein's going to join 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:20.239 us and in just a minute here. So we've had 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:22.680 Mark de Rosa on, we had Roger Clemens on, and 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:25.280 tonight we're going to have theo Epstein on. And you know, 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:27.600 just a little background with me. I've known THEO a 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:30.920 long time. I consider him a friend, but I consider 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:37.880 him somebody who walks into a room and without demanding respect. 0:02:38.000 --> 0:02:43.480 He commands respect. That comes from his approachability, it comes 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:47.480 from his education, it comes from his ability to relate 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:52.520 to the clubby as well as the superstar player. He's 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:56.000 very authentic, He's very human, and over the years in 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:59.200 my dealing with him, I got a real appreciation for 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.480 his eclectic nature. This is not just a one trick 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.600 I'm only into baseball type of guy, and we'll learn 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:09.560 about that over the course of the next forty five minutes. 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:11.799 But those are the some of the things that just 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:14.639 impressed me most about him. He's a guy that could 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:15.200 do anything. 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:15.400 I know. 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:17.160 It doesn't like to talk about himself. I know it 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:19.120 doesn't like to listen to what I'm saying right now, 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:22.639 but those are all those are all truisms. And you know, 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:25.960 I can't wait to hear his story and his journey. 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:28.320 And it's not a conventional one. I mean, this isn't 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:30.200 a guy that you know played at the highest level. 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:33.079 He's not a he's not a future Hall of Fame player. 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.360 He's clearly a Hall of Fame executive. So it just 0:03:36.400 --> 0:03:39.520 again shows you know, parents out there who have kids 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:43.200 that are interested in sports, not just baseball, but all sports. 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:46.520 There is nothing linear about the path that you are 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:51.000 currently on, whether your child is five, fifteen or twenty two. 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:55.160 And THEO is a great example of that, justin Yeah. 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:57.800 Man, all that, all that and more. I love that. 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:01.200 You know, we'll talk more about this, but just with 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:05.200 the background, he did bring in a unique approach to 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:08.440 how baseball was done too, And uh, you know, you 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:10.400 and I have both heard a lot of stories and 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:13.320 and I know THEO is not interested in diving back 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:15.880 into you know, some of the specifics of those and 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:18.760 and uh, but there's there's a parent in there too, right, 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:21.279 He's a dad. So it's it's gonna be really interesting 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.960 to talk to him about just just his kids and 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:27.320 and what they're doing, and and the journey there too, 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:29.080 and and what he's passing along too. 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:31.160 So just really excited to talk with him tonight. 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:34.599 Rabbi, all right, let's uh, let's bring in our guest 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:37.480 of honor tonight. He is the senior advisor part owner 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:40.560 of Fenway Sports Group and now joins us on Dirt 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:43.680 from the dugout. That is uh my buddy, Theo Epstein THEO. 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:46.240 Thanks so much for doing this. We really appreciate and 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:48.760 uh and welcome to the program. 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:50.640 Rabbi justin, thanks so much for having me on. 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:52.599 I've been looking forward to this, but you're trying to 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:55.120 get me post traumatic stress disorder right off the bat 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:56.640 by talking about Roger Davis. 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:57.559 That's that's cool. 0:04:57.680 --> 0:05:00.839 I know I turned out well, did turn out, and 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:04.440 I did see him today. 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:07.120 GRAB went a little bit long on the Raja Davis 0:05:07.120 --> 0:05:09.760 thing there. I didn't know what the slant was there, and. 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:12.880 I was getting the sweats just thinking about it. But 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:15.520 he is a great guy and a terrific ambassador for 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:18.800 the game. A great development story too, Yeah, working his 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:20.600 way up to the big leagues and having the career 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:22.640 that he had and is always looking to give back 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:25.440 through the role at MLB and and all over the place. 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:27.320 So we'll talk ROI anytime. 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:31.400 Good, Uh, let's talk THEO for a second here. And 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:34.480 I know and everybody who's watching this nose and you 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:37.080 know you're the curse breaker, et cetera. But I know 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:39.560 you back from your days and I didn't know you then, 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:42.039 but I know your upbringing. Why don't you share a 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.960 little bit about the the sort of the way that 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:48.719 you got into sports and what the development of theo 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:51.320 Epstein was really like. Not that you have to take 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:52.960 me through to where you are today, but what it 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:54.440 was like growing up theo Epstein. 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:57.839 Yeah, I mean breaking into baseball. 0:05:57.880 --> 0:05:59.480 I was just a kid growing up kind of in 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:01.800 the shadow Famway Park, grew up less than a mile 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:05.320 from Famway. Was one of the tens of thousands of 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:08.120 New Englanders who thought he was going to play shortstop 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:10.960 for the Red Sox some day. And uh, I threw 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:13.600 too many through way too many curve balls in uh, 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:15.839 in Little League and in high school. So that's that's 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:18.360 one thing we have to cover today, is to follow 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:21.000 the protocols and save the break and stuff for when 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:22.920 you're a little bit older because my arm was hanging. 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:23.560 Uh. 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:26.480 But what I really got it was it was elbow 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:29.200 and shoulder by the time I got done with my 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:32.200 high school career. So best scouting report I ever made 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:33.120 was on myself. 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:35.680 I got to college, took a look around and realized 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:39.839 I couldn't Unfortunately, could couldn't compete at that level. But 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:41.720 it ended up being the best thing for me because 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:43.839 I was from the time I was like two years old, 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:45.560 I was always so passionate about baseball. 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:47.640 I was telling my parents, I'm going to stay in 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:48.440 this game forever. 0:06:48.880 --> 0:06:51.719 And so at that point, my only options were to, 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:53.760 you know, try to try to get a job with 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.680 the team, not playing in the front office. So I 0:06:56.720 --> 0:06:59.640 wrote letters to every major league team, got a lot 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:04.040 of action letters, got nothing crickets back from a lot 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:07.479 of teams, but got a phone call from Calvin Hill, 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:10.960 Grant Hill's dad, who was a great NFL player, and 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:13.960 he was working for the Baltimore Orioles at the time, 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:17.080 and he invited me down for an interview and interviewed. 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:20.400 Got an internship with the Orioles summer after my freshman 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:22.800 year in college nineteen ninety two. First year, I came 0:07:22.880 --> 0:07:25.560 the yards, kind of did a little bit of everything 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:28.280 and just dedicated myself to because I knew it might 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:32.880 be my one opportunity to stay in baseball. So befriended 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:35.160 Fred Dolman Jr. And a lot of guys in the 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:38.040 scouting department with the Orioles. Kind of like worked my 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:40.360 way a little bit into baseball operations, did a lot 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:43.080 of pr a lot of everything, so intern of the 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:48.560 Orioles my three high school, my three college summers, got 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:51.320 invited by a few of the Orioles folks who went 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:53.200 out to the pot to work for the Padres right 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:56.400 after the lockout in ninety four. I got a job 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:58.560 the day after I graduated college, went out to work 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:02.800 for the Padres. Got an unbelievable breakout there, getting mentored 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:06.760 by Kevin Towers, who at the time was just taking over. 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:09.920 He was a young general manager of the Padres, and 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:13.040 he was also newly married, and so he took a 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:15.440 liking to me because he was kind of like getting domesticated, 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:16.560 and I was. 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:18.640 Twenty one years old right out of college. 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:20.720 So he called me in his office every Monday morning 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:23.520 and say THEO tell me everything I missed this weekend. 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:26.920 And that's how we kind of hit it off. But 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:28.360 he saw something in me. 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:30.240 I think it was just my passion for the game, 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:32.880 and he would you know, we were in southern California, 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:35.080 so he was like, hey, do you know how to scout? 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:36.240 I said, no, I don't. 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:38.720 I mean I watched a ton of baseball I played 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:41.480 through high school. I still try to play when I can, 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:43.120 but no, And so he took me under his wing. 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:46.080 He'd just take me out all over southern California. We 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:48.440 saw every good player in the Pac Ten. We'd go 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:51.920 see every good high school kid up and down southern California, 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:53.280 and he kind of teach me how to scout, and 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:54.960 then he and then he'd take me down to the 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:56.840 I didn't even realize he was doing this at the time, 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:58.640 but he'd take me down to the clubhouse with him 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:03.120 and teach me how players really think, and what what 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:07.240 clubhouse dynamics are all about, and what what a winning 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:10.080 player looks like, and what a good teammate looks like. 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.079 And throughout the whole rest of my career. Really, everywhere 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:16.440 i'd go after I set out on my own left 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:20.800 the Padres, I'd meet people who I'd find out later 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:22.800 on Kevin had called ahead and my vout form. 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:24.400 Really he was a good guy. 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:27.960 Make sure you treat them right and yeah, unbelievable mentor 0:09:28.000 --> 0:09:33.000 to have. So Anyway, long story short, padres to Red Sox, 0:09:33.080 --> 0:09:35.000 Red Sox to Cubs and here we are. 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:37.920 So well, there's a there's a million things to cover there, 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:39.800 and I know Justin wants to get into the scouting 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:41.840 side of it. But before we I just want to 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.800 focus on what you said about rejection letters, because I 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:48.240 think this speaks to the entire pursuit of whatever it 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:50.360 is that you're after. I mean, i'd be honest with 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:54.960 you THEO I started in a cable station in Ithaca 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:58.160 and and tried so hard to find jobs, whether it 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:01.200 be Springfield, mass or all but any it didn't matter. 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:03.679 And it was like hitting a golf ball into a 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.040 lake when you'd send out what back then was called 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:09.280 resume tapes. I mean, I have a rejection letter. It's 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:12.720 wider than the Yellow Pages, which I know people who 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:14.199 are listening to this don't even know what they held 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:16.679 the Yellow Pages are, but let's just say it was. 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:21.480 It was thick. So what are the qualities that afforded 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:25.560 you the opportunity to plow through the rejection letters. And 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:28.160 I'm sure it connects with all the players you had 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.280 who fail all the time and keep plowing through. 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:31.840 What is that. 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:36.640 Yeah, you've drawn the first and most important parallel between 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:40.240 life and baseball, which is, it's not whether you get 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:43.400 a bad outcome, whether you fail, or whether you face adversity, 0:10:43.440 --> 0:10:47.640 because you absolutely will. It's it's built into the games. 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:51.640 It's innate in the game of baseball failure and in life. 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:55.200 There's no such thing as an easy path in life. 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.400 If you dig deep enough, I like to say when 0:10:57.400 --> 0:10:59.600 we're talking about players in their backgrounds, it's true of 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:02.160 all of us. Like if you dig deep enough, everyone's 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:04.600 life is like a Russian novel. You know, there's there's 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:08.800 there's always adversity, there's always failures, there's always disappointments, there's 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:12.720 always times you disappoint yourself. But it's in baseball in life, 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:16.800 it's it's it's how you handle failure, how you handle adversity, 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:18.800 And that's something that sometimes you have to learn. 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:21.000 And I think you've learned that through. 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:25.440 Observation of others, role models, and then also through not 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:28.280 handling it the right way. But you know with time, 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:33.440 I think in maturity, if you focus on it, you 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:35.520 can develop enough self awareness. 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:38.040 That's the most important relationship you ultimately have is. 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:40.320 Kind of with yourself and and and and learning to 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:43.840 be honest with yourself. Develop enough self awareness where you 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.520 can take responsibility for your failures, where you can understand 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:51.120 your foundation as a person, as a player, what makes 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:53.800 you you, what your strengths are, and then also what 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:56.160 your weaknesses are, and then come up with a plan 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:59.520 not by yourself, but taking advantage of the resources around 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:03.080 you uh to turn those weaknesses into strengths and develop. 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:07.000 And then the perseverance, which is just not accepting failure 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.680 and continuing to come back again and again and again 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:13.400 as you work on your adjustments, which is what professional 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:17.920 baseball is all about, until you ultimately get a different outcome. 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:21.280 So so many parallels between baseball and life. I I, yeah, 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:23.840 I got rejection letters, but I had I had one 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:28.120 person and then ultimately you know a number of who believe. 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:29.439 I mean, that's that's all it takes. 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:32.720 And then recognizing an opportunity when when you see one, 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:35.439 and dedicating yourself to it, and if you're lucky enough, 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:39.720 a lot of people watching this podcast, are lucky enough 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:43.120 to know their passion and know what's important to them, 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:44.800 and know what you care about, and you made a 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.160 great choice if baseball is a part of that, because 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:51.000 this game can open so many doors for you. You 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:54.199 can you can meet so many incredible people. You can 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:56.840 make a life for yourself, not just a living but 0:12:56.960 --> 0:13:02.960 a fulfilling life where you ultimately can be connected with 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:06.120 people in a special way that we often lose after 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:08.880 childhood and you go off, you know, into a career. 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:13.000 You're an account and your lawyer, you're counting widgets at 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:14.920 a factor or whatever it may be. Oftentimes it can 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.959 be solitary, but in baseball you're always connected. One of 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:20.240 the things I love about the game. It gives you 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:22.560 a chance to be to feel like you're part of 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:25.439 something bigger than yourself. Every day you go to the ballpark, 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:27.439 whether you're working in the front office, whether you're part 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:31.240 of the team in the clubhouse, when you're grinding your 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:33.320 way up through amateur ball, through the minor leagues, you're 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:36.440 you're part of a team. And if it's done right, 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:40.040 and you take that responsibility and teammate of being a 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:43.080 teammate seriously, you get that privilege of feeling like you're 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:45.439 part of something bigger than yourself, and that's when great 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:48.240 things happen for the collective as well as for yourself 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:51.120 and your own development. So if you're lucky enough to 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:54.360 have identified that passion early on, lean into it, you know, 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:56.880 lean into it, take really seriously the things that you 0:13:56.920 --> 0:14:00.280 can do to handle the failure in this game, and 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:04.319 make the self assessments just I prove and persevere and 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.439 continue to succeed in the game. 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:09.800 Ultimately, Yeah, so good, It's so good. 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:12.280 THEO and I just want to remind everybody, if you 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:14.120 have any questions, go ahead and throw them, throw them 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:15.880 in the Q and A chat or in the Q 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:17.600 and A and we'll get to those. But the I 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:19.320 want to go back to the scouting side. Man. This 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:23.080 is it's super interesting because it's such an it's such 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:26.040 an important part of an organization, right, And I think 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:29.480 in all of the things that I'll just share my beliefs, 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:32.120 I guess, but I think it gets lost in the 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:35.800 chatter a little bit of where we're going, which I'm 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:39.880 also supportive of. But I know you specifically, just having 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:42.600 read some some things about you. It's such an it's 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:45.280 such an important piece of it for you and your 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:48.080 success and now hearing kind of some of the things 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:49.920 that you went through to learn a lot of those 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:53.600 things and to dive into the scouting side. Can you 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:56.040 just touch on that a little bit on the scouting 0:14:56.120 --> 0:15:01.880 world and and scouting departments in general and the lifeblood 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:04.800 per se that they are when it comes to building 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:05.640 a franchise. 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:07.320 Do you want to just touch on that a little bit. 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:11.160 Yeah, I think it's it's probably an important time in 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:14.600 the game to touch on that because we're right now, 0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:16.200 we're a little bit out of balance. 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:18.720 You know, there's an equilibrium in the game where. 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:24.840 Yeah, data is important, analytics and important, technology is important, 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:29.080 and you can use those tools to help you make 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:32.560 good predictions about how players are going to perform in 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:33.200 the future. 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:39.040 But if it's done at the exclusion of the human element, and. 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:45.360 You know, the humanism essentially human beings getting to know 0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:49.800 other people, understanding what makes them tick, developing a connection 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:52.360 with them, understanding them better that way, and putting them 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.480 in a position to succeed, then it's not worth it. 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:58.120 And you can you can you can fall out of balance, 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:00.640 and and so you know, in some circles. 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:04.200 They are you know, scouting and. 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:09.040 Invest in and and seeing beyond the stats feet, seeing 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:13.920 beyond the predictive model, and understanding you know, what really 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:16.720 makes a person tick as a as a human, as 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:19.920 a teammate and as a player. Is becoming a bit 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.800 of a lost art and it really is the lifeblood. 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:25.840 And I think one one one thing that's important I 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.880 think for young players, youth players to know and parents 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:34.360 to know, is that you know in the draft room. Yes, sure, 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:40.000 most teams use models these days to to help understand, 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:42.880 you know, players talent level and make a projection about 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:45.800 his future. There are a lot of measurables obviously in 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:48.920 the game these days, far far more than than there 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:50.880 used to be, and those have a place and those 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:54.680 are important. But even today, even with all the advancements, 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:58.160 I think parents and young players would be shocked and 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:00.720 how much of the conversation about a player in the 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.800 draft room, And this is true in college recruiting circles 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:07.840 as well. I know how much of the conversation revolves 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:11.000 around everything off the field and who that player is 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:13.480 as a human being, what kind of teammate they are. 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.720 Matt Dory, your friend Justin Will tell you time and 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:21.400 time again. You know, we wouldn't draft a player back 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:23.320 in the Red Sox days and in the Cubs days 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:28.040 without the scout putting in pages and pages and pages 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:31.840 of background information about the player, about what makes. 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:32.919 Him who he is. 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:37.159 So you know, three examples when the players face adversity 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:39.600 off the field and how he responded. Three examples of 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:41.960 how the players face adversity on the field and how 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:44.439 he responded. What his teammates say about him, what his 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:47.040 friends say about him, what his girlfriends say about him, 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:49.359 What does ex girlfriends say about him? How he treats 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:51.560 people when no one's looking, how he treats the worst 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:54.240 player on the tream, how he treats the equipment guy. 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:56.439 Does he act different in front of the camera when 0:17:56.440 --> 0:18:00.000 he's not in front of the camera. Everything, obviously, everything 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.400 that goes on in the house that you can find out, 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:07.040 the family upbringing, all the things that make an individual 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:12.639 unique and that ultimately represent his character. That's so important 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:16.080 when when you're trying to predict the type of player, 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:19.240 the type of member of an organization, this individual is 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:21.159 going to be five ten years down the line. And 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:26.760 obviously scouting and scouts do such a good job of 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:30.000 writing that part of the story. That's something that you know, 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:33.159 no predictive model can tell you. So we just have 0:18:33.240 --> 0:18:36.000 to make sure the game stays in proper equilibrium, that 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:39.600 we're balancing, you know, both sides of the equation, the 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:42.080 analytical side as well as the human side. 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:45.520 Yeah, that's a solid goal, that answer. And I think 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:48.840 for parents of players that are you know, let's just 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:52.520 say they're between the ages of seven and twelve right now, 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:55.560 this idea that you're not spinning it, you're not throwing 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:57.719 it as hard as you possibly can, and your exit 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:01.240 lunacy like exit velocity on an eleven year old makes 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:05.320 no sense. But all these character traits can be instilled 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:07.719 in these boys and girls, if you will, that are 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:11.119 growing up and playing these sports. Where did you get 0:19:11.119 --> 0:19:12.919 that stuff from? Where did it come from? Was it 0:19:12.960 --> 0:19:15.720 as simple as mom and dad were? Were there kg's 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:16.919 out there? Where'd you get it? 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:19.280 Well, let's let me ask that in a minute. First, 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:21.199 kind I just dig in on like the measurables you 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:22.200 just talked about. 0:19:21.960 --> 0:19:22.880 And young kids. 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:27.080 I've seen this through my own kids at practice, and 0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:32.040 just like such young players chasing vlow and spin ray 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:35.399 and exit v low and hitting exclusively off hit tracks 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:35.760 and stuff. 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:38.320 I think what's important. There is a place for that. 0:19:38.400 --> 0:19:40.760