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Yeah.

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Yeah.

3
00:00:25,830 --> 00:00:26,910
Hello, Monarch fans.

4
00:00:26,910 --> 00:00:28,170
Welcome back to Hudson Homers.

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It's been, I think three
weeks, maybe a month, A month,

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I

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think.

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But a lot's happening.

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I think we need an update

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on that, uh, opening though.

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We need, we need, uh, some, some
new, new photos in that opening.

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We got, uh, I mean, I love,
I love the guys, but we're

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getting a little stale on that.

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We gotta, we gotta beg who,
who we gotta beg on that.

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Uh, we can get that set up.

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Thankfully, uh, you know, CB, you've got
quite a few photos for us to choose from.

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I'm sure we'll get some
from fall ball as well.

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There we go.

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Um, but yeah, but we've got a
bunch of stuff for you today.

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Uh, we got Coach Marron, we got Coach
Finny will be hopping on in just a second.

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Uh, a lot's happened
since the last episode.

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We've had a draft portal is closed.

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We got high school kids enrolled now.

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Uh, maybe some stadium updates
and anything else going on from

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the summer for ODU baseball.

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So appreciate you all continuing
to tune in over the summer.

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Uh, but we want to just go
ahead and introduce our guests.

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Now, CB you, you, you have any major
life updates for us other than your,

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uh, cat trying knock over your stuff?

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I,

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no.

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Yeah, she is.

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I dunno what she's doing right now,
but she's, she started climbing

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me now that's her thing now.

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She, she will like, sprint, run,
crawl, and sit on my shoulder.

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So, which is super, a fun thing that
now I have to like be on my, my head on

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a swivel at all times, which is great.

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Well, I'm just waiting for like the
Hudson Homer's meta situation when

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she jumps in and pulls your curtain
down before it actually falls down.

40
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Yeah, well that would be
impressive 'cause she can't get

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quite, get through this gate yet.

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So just wait new.

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I am, I am.

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Just wait.

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Awesome.

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We'll get, we'll get right to it here.

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We're gonna bring on our
two guests for today.

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Hey, coach Chris Finwood
and Coach Mike Marron.

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00:02:03,665 --> 00:02:04,845
Finny been a minute.

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00:02:04,845 --> 00:02:05,055
How you

51
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doing?

52
00:02:05,835 --> 00:02:06,105
Great

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00:02:06,105 --> 00:02:06,525
guys.

54
00:02:06,525 --> 00:02:07,545
Good to be here.

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Good to, uh, see your smiling faces again
and I'm happy we got Mike here with us.

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Uh, yeah.

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He'll be back on the road for
the last big recruiting trip

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of the summer here coming up.

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So good to get him back in
town and jump on the show.

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I didn't even know we
had such good timing.

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That's awesome.

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Yep.

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Yeah, you do well last night.

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I appreciate y'all moving.

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We had the, uh, the, the going
away, um, a little bit coaching,

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get together with, uh, John Keane
since he's heading up to Merrimack.

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Yeah.

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Um, and, uh, is it college Mike
Merrimack college or university?

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Oh,

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it is, it is.

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It's not university yet.

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Coach Merri is frozen on the screen.

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I was, I need, I, uh, next time that
happens, I'm definitely taking a picture

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of that's going on his, uh, contact photo.

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There it goes.

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It's

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right there.

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Oh yeah.

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So Merrimack College, um, and, uh,
you know, he's sitting up there next

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week and, uh, as Mike reminded me,
he, John's been with us 10 years,

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I was gonna say.

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He is been a long time.

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Yeah,

84
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yeah.

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From player to grad assistant
and, um, director Bob, he's done

86
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a little bit of everything here.

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Came in as a catcher, left as a
pitcher, and now he's gonna be

88
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the pitching coach at Merrimack.

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And we're really, uh, excited
for this opportunity for him.

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Uh, he is a fantastic representative
of ODU and just one of the best all

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around people, um, you can imagine.

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So we'll miss him.

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Yeah.

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Good for them.

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They're good.

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They're getting all, I
mean, he is, he's the best.

97
00:03:53,579 --> 00:03:55,829
He's, I remember he was one of those
guys, you know, when he played,

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00:03:55,829 --> 00:03:56,700
obviously, I think we all know.

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He didn't, he didn't play a
ton and you would never know.

100
00:03:58,859 --> 00:04:03,060
He came in every day with just the
best attitude and he's just an all

101
00:04:03,060 --> 00:04:06,089
team guy and he's, he's brought
that to the coaching and I, yeah,

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I'm, I'm really excited for him.

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That's, that's awesome.

104
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Good for him.

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Yeah.

106
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Awesome.

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I mean, people listen, oh, go ahead, Mike.

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No, I was just gonna say, just, just with
John, um, yeah, again, he's been cb he,

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he probably puts, you know, he's right up
there for, uh, you know, in the running

110
00:04:25,770 --> 00:04:28,320
for, for Old Dominion Baseball historian.

111
00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:33,930
Um, I, I would, I'd probably put him up
the last decade up against anybody else,

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um, in terms of knowing the ins and outs
of this program and, and the people.

113
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Um, and so his impact is, is
spread through now multiple teams

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over, you know, kind of multiple
different classes and it's great.

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He's been awesome.

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He's earned it, like his story's so cool
because he came back and just said, I

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wanted to coach and I'll, like, whatever
opportunity I can get, like I will find

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my way, I will work my way into, into a
role and, and I wanna learn the trade.

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And, um, you know, he started
a couple years ago just trying

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to like, you know, obviously.

121
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Helping out in the office and practiced
and going through all that, but really,

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like, was on Big Mike's crew, right?

123
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Mm-hmm.

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Was was doing the bullpens.

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Yeah.

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And the game mounts for us.

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Like that's where he kind of got his in.

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It was like, Hey, we can, we can use
some help doing some stuff on the field.

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And he, he took right to that and man,
it, it's just, it's been fun to watch his

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progression, his evolution and to see,
you know, the, the skills that I think

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were already in there, but the ability for
him to take, um, to absorb all the things

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on this side of the ball, uh, on the
coaching side the last couple years, and

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really, um, be able to turn that around
and, and put him in a position where

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I think when he gets up to Merrimack,
he's, he's, he's gonna do really well.

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He's gonna build relationships
with guys up there.

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He is gonna give him a plan.

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He is gonna give him some structure
and he's gonna give him some ownership.

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And, and I'm excited to.

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To see him do that.

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I know he is excited to get out
on the road, start recruiting.

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00:06:03,060 --> 00:06:08,700
Um, it's a, it's a different, uh, I, uh,
I've been trying to keep a, you know,

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00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,580
coaching at UMass Lowell for four years.

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He's actually gonna be living
basically like a block off campus

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from where I got a chance to, you
know, obviously to beat for a while.

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I told him about the pizza place he
needs to frequent when he gets up

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there and all those types of things.

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But, uh, he's, um, yeah, he's, he's,
he's built for this next opportunity

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and he's gonna do a great job and, and
he kind of falls in line with a lot of

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these other guys that we've been super
fortunate to have in, in these roles

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that have, you know, taken advantage of
their opportunity and, and been able to

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progress their coaching careers into,
you know, whatever their next steps are.

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00:06:45,930 --> 00:06:50,159
Um, so he's in, he joins a really, you
know, good, uh, awesome group of guys

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that we've had in here and he's had
a major impact on, on our day to day.

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00:06:56,295 --> 00:07:01,305
Well, speaking of progressing careers,
uh, hat tip to the entire coaching staff,

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00:07:01,305 --> 00:07:06,164
including John, on all three weekend
starters getting drafted and we timed it

156
00:07:06,164 --> 00:07:09,735
perfectly for Mike, your first appearance
here on the Hudson Homer Podcast.

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You got, you got three
guys going to the league.

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Now

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we, we.

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We, uh, we are super fortunate.

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These guys have been awesome
representations of, of this place,

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so they got a little ways to go
before they get to the league.

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They just got the, they
got some time on that one.

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They got some work to do.

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Right now they just got the hats
of the guys that are in the league.

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Yeah.

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Um, and they gotta, but, you
know, just talk to, talk to,

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just texting with DB earlier.

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Um, he just signed and, uh, officially
talked to Ben earlier as well.

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Um, he was taking me through
some of his day-to-day.

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You know, they're going through
their, their meetings right now.

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And I haven't talked to Blake in a
couple days, but we were pretty involved

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in, in, in kind of, obviously his
processes in terms of helping him kind

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of get to his spot and, and, um, yeah,
just can't be any, they're, they're

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00:08:01,770 --> 00:08:05,789
phenomenal representations of this
place in this program and what you want

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00:08:06,390 --> 00:08:09,690
and, and Old Dominion monarch to be
baseball or otherwise, like, they're,

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00:08:09,750 --> 00:08:13,620
they're outstanding representations of
this program and, and this university.

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00:08:14,930 --> 00:08:17,625
And we caught up with Blake on Saturday.

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Talked to him for a while.

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We have that interview.

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It's gonna actually gonna be at the end of
this episode if you wanna hear from Blake

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00:08:22,905 --> 00:08:24,495
and his excitement on getting drafted.

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00:08:24,495 --> 00:08:28,755
But Mike, he talked a lot about your
involvement with the draft process.

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00:08:28,755 --> 00:08:28,815
Yeah.

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00:08:28,845 --> 00:08:32,385
Kind of helping get his name out
there, but also kind of lining up,

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00:08:32,385 --> 00:08:34,635
all right, well, if you don't get
drafted, there's some opportunities

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00:08:34,635 --> 00:08:35,895
to sign as a undrafted guy.

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00:08:35,895 --> 00:08:36,765
All of those things.

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00:08:36,765 --> 00:08:39,135
So take us through that
process a little bit.

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00:08:39,164 --> 00:08:42,645
'cause obviously with three guys
they're likely were gonna get drafted.

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00:08:42,645 --> 00:08:44,715
Like, what was your day to
day like, prepping for that?

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00:08:46,815 --> 00:08:51,825
Well, I, I mean, I think what's really,
you know, for Ben and Dylan, you know,

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00:08:52,515 --> 00:08:55,845
those guys are in a little different
boat, like juniors and seniors.

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00:08:55,935 --> 00:08:58,365
You know, they, there's, there's
a bunch of different dynamics

195
00:08:58,365 --> 00:08:59,055
that are in play, right?

196
00:08:59,085 --> 00:09:03,135
Position players, pitchers, you know,
guys that have some eligibility left.

197
00:09:03,225 --> 00:09:08,145
Um, you know, um, so, you know, and,
and Ben and Dylan both were in similar

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00:09:08,145 --> 00:09:10,725
situations, so, you know, they, um.

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00:09:11,475 --> 00:09:14,025
You know, locked on with an advisor
that I think was, was really

200
00:09:14,025 --> 00:09:16,665
important and valuable for them going
through that process, the pre-draft

201
00:09:16,665 --> 00:09:18,375
and then, you know, on draft day.

202
00:09:18,375 --> 00:09:20,115
And this year was a little bit different.

203
00:09:20,175 --> 00:09:25,035
Um, you know, the MLB dropped it
down to two days instead of three, so

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00:09:25,035 --> 00:09:27,225
they condensed everything into those.

205
00:09:27,555 --> 00:09:29,505
It was still the first three rounds.

206
00:09:29,595 --> 00:09:32,505
It was the first, you know, it was
the first two rounds, Finny first

207
00:09:32,505 --> 00:09:35,715
two, first three, and then it was
first three and then four to 10.

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00:09:36,315 --> 00:09:40,125
What was interesting different this
year was that they, instead of giving

209
00:09:40,125 --> 00:09:44,475
a day between rounds 10 and 11, they
gave an hour, they gave a lunch break.

210
00:09:44,625 --> 00:09:49,995
And, um, I think that, I mean, not to
get bogged down on that, but I think

211
00:09:49,995 --> 00:09:56,475
that that has a massive impact on, um,
on the dynamics that come in play, guys

212
00:09:56,475 --> 00:10:00,735
that aren't, you know, um, you know,
and, and Ben's situation was similar

213
00:10:00,735 --> 00:10:02,385
and, and had some of that come on.

214
00:10:02,445 --> 00:10:06,495
Um, just in terms of as he go,
obviously, you know, expected to

215
00:10:06,495 --> 00:10:07,980
go before the 10th round and then.

216
00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:09,719
Post 10th round.

217
00:10:10,109 --> 00:10:13,439
Um, there's a lot of stuff that goes
on in between those in that hour.

218
00:10:13,439 --> 00:10:14,459
It used to be that day.

219
00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,430
Um, you know, I think Ben's
in a really good spot.

220
00:10:17,430 --> 00:10:20,430
Obviously gets to go to the hometown
team here, the hometown organization.

221
00:10:20,430 --> 00:10:24,660
So, um, I think that ended up being
a really good situation for him.

222
00:10:25,109 --> 00:10:29,055
Um, but yeah, I mean, those guys,
Dylan and Ben were super fortunate

223
00:10:29,055 --> 00:10:30,689
to get invited to the draft combine.

224
00:10:30,689 --> 00:10:32,579
I thought that was a
phenomenal experience for them.

225
00:10:33,060 --> 00:10:33,719
It was really cool.

226
00:10:33,719 --> 00:10:37,079
We were only one of a couple handful
of programs in the country that

227
00:10:37,079 --> 00:10:40,349
had, you know, multiple, multiple
pitchers out there, and I think that

228
00:10:40,349 --> 00:10:44,579
was really good and, and, and helped
them kind of get prepared for, you

229
00:10:44,579 --> 00:10:46,109
know, what was coming in the draft.

230
00:10:46,109 --> 00:10:47,069
And then with Blake.

231
00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,760
Yeah, Blake's was like, Blake's
leverage was not from an additional

232
00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:52,410
year, like with Ben and Dylan.

233
00:10:53,025 --> 00:10:55,395
Blake's leverage came from, he's awesome.

234
00:10:55,725 --> 00:10:59,205
And everybody that came in
to saw, to see him loved him.

235
00:10:59,745 --> 00:11:04,785
And um, a lot of guys, you know, even
for a senior guy, a lot of guys put

236
00:11:04,785 --> 00:11:09,765
him a lot of, you know, area guys put
him on, you know, or, or turned him in.

237
00:11:10,245 --> 00:11:14,325
And I think he was able to create some
leverage for that in terms of, you know,

238
00:11:14,325 --> 00:11:18,135
it wasn't just one or two guys that kinda,
you know, saw him and, and you know,

239
00:11:18,705 --> 00:11:22,905
wanted to give him a chance, like at the
end of the draft, that he had generated a,

240
00:11:22,910 --> 00:11:25,785
a good amount of interest from a, a number
of different teams that had seen him.

241
00:11:25,785 --> 00:11:29,985
And yeah, I just think it, you know,
it's, it's a little bit tricky for a

242
00:11:29,985 --> 00:11:32,715
senior sometimes, you know, you get
some organizations that want to try and

243
00:11:32,715 --> 00:11:36,285
save some money early in those like,
you know, rounds five, six through 10.

244
00:11:36,765 --> 00:11:38,625
Um, do you go in that spot?

245
00:11:38,625 --> 00:11:41,865
Do you go, do you go later
in the, in the draft?

246
00:11:41,865 --> 00:11:43,485
Do you go in the free agent pool?

247
00:11:43,875 --> 00:11:47,025
Um, there's a couple different factors for
guys like Blake and I think he kind of.

248
00:11:47,460 --> 00:11:50,250
You know, the draft leg with anybody,
you, you're running through the kind of

249
00:11:50,250 --> 00:11:53,700
roller coaster and Finny always talks
about you can't predict the draft.

250
00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:57,750
Like you, there's a lot that goes into
that and you, you, you're gonna waste your

251
00:11:57,750 --> 00:11:59,910
time trying to predict and understand it.

252
00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,840
Um, you know, I think pro, you know,
probably this year, maybe more than

253
00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:09,540
ever, you saw a little bit of impact
of, of some, um, of some college org

254
00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:14,250
or college programs having a lot more
money to, to throw at some incoming

255
00:12:14,250 --> 00:12:17,940
high school guys and make it maybe a
little bit, uh, change in the dynamic

256
00:12:17,940 --> 00:12:20,250
for, um, major league organizations.

257
00:12:20,805 --> 00:12:21,435
To sign them.

258
00:12:21,675 --> 00:12:27,105
Um, so, and, and these days everybody, you
know, you, you're typically not getting

259
00:12:27,105 --> 00:12:32,025
drafted very often until, unless there's
a, you know, the teams have called you

260
00:12:32,025 --> 00:12:34,065
and you've agreed to a, to a deal, right?

261
00:12:34,065 --> 00:12:37,245
Like, teams aren't usually wasting time
drafting and then figuring it out later.

262
00:12:37,245 --> 00:12:38,715
They've already kind of Yeah.

263
00:12:38,715 --> 00:12:40,245
You know, everybody's kind
of agreed to something.

264
00:12:40,245 --> 00:12:42,345
So I, I think there's a lot in play.

265
00:12:42,735 --> 00:12:45,735
Um, Blake's situation
was, was great for him.

266
00:12:45,735 --> 00:12:49,665
He, again, he was wanted by, you
know, a lot of teams showed interest

267
00:12:50,025 --> 00:12:51,735
and he's in a great spot in Tampa.

268
00:12:51,735 --> 00:12:52,305
It was really cool.

269
00:12:52,305 --> 00:12:58,215
The, his, um, you know, airy guy
that signed a ml, um, you know, was

270
00:12:58,215 --> 00:13:02,595
obviously just, you know, we have a
really good relationship with, and we

271
00:13:02,595 --> 00:13:06,075
will continue to have a, a really good
relationship with moving forward now that

272
00:13:06,075 --> 00:13:07,605
he's the head coach at Norfolk State.

273
00:13:08,025 --> 00:13:12,435
And, um, I thought that was just an
awesome kind of cherry on top for, you

274
00:13:12,435 --> 00:13:15,825
know, for the program and, and, and to
have that opportunity for, for Blake

275
00:13:15,825 --> 00:13:17,715
to, you know, to get picked up there.

276
00:13:19,365 --> 00:13:21,495
Yeah, that's definitely one of the
things we talked about is that there's,

277
00:13:21,495 --> 00:13:25,215
that, you know, getting signed after
the draft is, is amazing, right?

278
00:13:25,215 --> 00:13:28,305
I mean, that's what you, you want to
play pro, but just that feeling of

279
00:13:28,305 --> 00:13:32,145
getting I was drafted compared to I
was signed is, is, is so important.

280
00:13:32,145 --> 00:13:35,085
So it's, Blake gave you a ton of
credit for all the work you put

281
00:13:35,085 --> 00:13:36,225
in, so that, that was awesome.

282
00:13:36,705 --> 00:13:39,225
Um, it only matters.

283
00:13:39,225 --> 00:13:39,980
I know you're gonna say he's good.

284
00:13:40,065 --> 00:13:40,275
He's

285
00:13:40,275 --> 00:13:40,635
good.

286
00:13:40,635 --> 00:13:41,715
Yeah, he's good.

287
00:13:41,715 --> 00:13:43,125
Everybody's like, yeah.

288
00:13:43,125 --> 00:13:45,405
I mean, you just, you're just
kind of like organizing the

289
00:13:45,405 --> 00:13:47,055
books on the shelf, like Right.

290
00:13:47,055 --> 00:13:48,165
The book's still gotta be good.

291
00:13:48,495 --> 00:13:53,145
Like if I, you know, so I, I I
think it's just making sure it

292
00:13:53,145 --> 00:13:54,465
just got in alphabetical order.

293
00:13:54,465 --> 00:13:57,225
That's pretty much our role
on that at the end of the day.

294
00:13:57,225 --> 00:14:01,305
And, you know, Blake
created that for himself.

295
00:14:01,305 --> 00:14:05,355
Like, he is done nothing but handle,
been super resilient, handled immense

296
00:14:05,355 --> 00:14:10,725
amount of, you know, uh, you know, Finn
and I've, like, there's been a, like,

297
00:14:11,025 --> 00:14:12,405
it's been an awesome relationship.

298
00:14:12,405 --> 00:14:14,085
We've been able to build with him.

299
00:14:14,490 --> 00:14:17,910
Um, and he's had to work through a
bunch of stuff in his four years.

300
00:14:17,910 --> 00:14:20,760
Like, like most guys that are had
a, which is the cool thing, right?

301
00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:23,939
Like you're at a place for four years
and those guys, what's awesome about

302
00:14:23,939 --> 00:14:27,120
them is like, you know, there was
a combined 10 years that they've,

303
00:14:27,990 --> 00:14:29,910
the 10 years, three, three and four.

304
00:14:29,910 --> 00:14:32,610
So 10 years there, I'm an
English major, you apologize.

305
00:14:32,670 --> 00:14:34,890
Um, you got two English,
you got three on there.

306
00:14:34,890 --> 00:14:35,525
That's awesome.

307
00:14:36,090 --> 00:14:36,570
Three,

308
00:14:37,140 --> 00:14:38,730
three, me, Jenny, and you, right?

309
00:14:38,790 --> 00:14:39,270
Yeah,

310
00:14:39,540 --> 00:14:40,410
yeah, yeah.

311
00:14:40,410 --> 00:14:43,050
75. Gary, you're in,
you're in bad company here.

312
00:14:43,110 --> 00:14:47,130
Um, but no, I mean, that's 10 years
of experiences with those guys, right?

313
00:14:47,130 --> 00:14:48,569
And so we are super fortunate.

314
00:14:48,569 --> 00:14:51,840
We've been able to see so many,
so many growth opportunities

315
00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:52,830
for those guys, right?

316
00:14:53,010 --> 00:14:56,310
And all those guys have been really
successful at different points early

317
00:14:56,310 --> 00:14:59,760
on in their career and had to go
through a lot of failure and struggle.

318
00:15:00,135 --> 00:15:02,895
And be super freaking resilient.

319
00:15:02,984 --> 00:15:08,145
And I think someone like Blake and even
Ben and, and Dylan, like all those guys

320
00:15:08,204 --> 00:15:11,295
because of it's as much, because of the
failures and the things they've had to

321
00:15:11,295 --> 00:15:15,074
work through and grind through, I think
those guys are, are well prepared for

322
00:15:15,074 --> 00:15:16,635
their opportunities at the next level.

323
00:15:16,635 --> 00:15:19,755
And, um, I'm, I'm looking forward
to, to kind of seeing their

324
00:15:19,755 --> 00:15:21,344
progression, how they, how they do.

325
00:15:22,515 --> 00:15:22,724
Yeah.

326
00:15:22,724 --> 00:15:25,454
It's definitely gonna help you when
you get the pros and every guy's

327
00:15:25,454 --> 00:15:29,745
the best guy to having that, that
history of overcoming some failures.

328
00:15:31,515 --> 00:15:32,145
Absolutely.

329
00:15:32,385 --> 00:15:35,324
And in a similar vein with those
guys and being resilient and being

330
00:15:35,324 --> 00:15:38,520
with this program for a long time,
can't, can't go without saying, Kyle

331
00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:41,775
Edwards sign a deal to play some
indie ball with the wild things.

332
00:15:41,775 --> 00:15:44,115
We're obviously really excited
for him too, to get the

333
00:15:44,115 --> 00:15:45,194
opportunity to keep on playing.

334
00:15:46,290 --> 00:15:47,640
Yeah, it is neat.

335
00:15:47,699 --> 00:15:52,410
The, their manager, Tom Bath is
a long time friend of mine and he

336
00:15:52,410 --> 00:15:56,790
called, they were really interested
in Kyle before the draft and you know,

337
00:15:56,790 --> 00:16:00,810
Kyle wanted to wait and see if, you
know, somebody gave him a free agent

338
00:16:00,810 --> 00:16:05,189
opportunity and something like that
when that didn't happen and he took it.

339
00:16:05,189 --> 00:16:06,960
I think he's playing
his first game tonight.

340
00:16:07,050 --> 00:16:08,340
Um, Bryce let's go.

341
00:16:08,340 --> 00:16:10,860
Told me, I think he's
playing tonight, um, for him.

342
00:16:10,860 --> 00:16:12,569
So we'll see how it goes.

343
00:16:13,410 --> 00:16:16,949
And, you know, the, the draft
is, or professional baseball is

344
00:16:16,949 --> 00:16:18,600
just gonna keep going this way.

345
00:16:19,260 --> 00:16:19,470
Yeah.

346
00:16:20,069 --> 00:16:27,449
As it as it relates to hitters because
they're gonna keep paring this draft down.

347
00:16:27,449 --> 00:16:30,720
I mean, I'm hearing, you know, it
might be 10 rounds next and then,

348
00:16:31,199 --> 00:16:34,530
I mean, in 10 rounds, like they're,
all they're gonna take is pitchers.

349
00:16:35,069 --> 00:16:35,310
Yeah.

350
00:16:35,310 --> 00:16:39,540
And, and you know, uh, and then the
hitters will all be free agents or.

351
00:16:39,930 --> 00:16:40,530
Whatever.

352
00:16:40,530 --> 00:16:44,370
And, and so the teams, uh, the
professional affiliates become

353
00:16:44,700 --> 00:16:48,720
less and less than there'll be
more, you know, independent teams

354
00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:50,130
and things of, of that nature.

355
00:16:50,130 --> 00:16:52,650
And there'll be more hitters in college.

356
00:16:52,710 --> 00:16:54,205
I mean, that's just the way it can be.

357
00:16:54,205 --> 00:16:56,970
Like, you know, the, there'll
be more pitchers drafted.

358
00:16:56,970 --> 00:17:00,870
There'll be more hitters undrafted that'll
go back to school and things like that.

359
00:17:00,870 --> 00:17:06,270
So, um, it'll be, uh, you know, it's
kind of gotten that way a little bit

360
00:17:06,270 --> 00:17:11,130
anyway, older hitters and younger
pitchers, and I think it's just gonna

361
00:17:11,130 --> 00:17:15,990
maybe keep going that way as a, as
a, that's a interesting dynamic.

362
00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:17,190
Yeah.

363
00:17:17,460 --> 00:17:21,089
And for the people who don't know, uh,
Kyle's with the Washington Wild thing,

364
00:17:21,180 --> 00:17:24,930
that's in Washington's Pennsylvania,
right outside of Pittsburgh.

365
00:17:24,930 --> 00:17:26,099
So he Three on side,

366
00:17:26,610 --> 00:17:27,180
yeah.

367
00:17:27,300 --> 00:17:27,599
Yeah.

368
00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:28,349
Pittsburgh.

369
00:17:29,010 --> 00:17:32,640
Yeah, there's actually a old, a little
division three school there called

370
00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:34,470
Washington and Jefferson College.

371
00:17:34,650 --> 00:17:36,390
Oh yeah, there you go.

372
00:17:36,390 --> 00:17:37,455
There's a little tidbit for you.

373
00:17:38,340 --> 00:17:38,760
Yes.

374
00:17:39,090 --> 00:17:41,160
Remember them from my
Randolph Macon days actually.

375
00:17:41,165 --> 00:17:41,495
There you go.

376
00:17:41,495 --> 00:17:45,360
I had a really basketball team,
uh, at least back in 2010 and 11.

377
00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:46,350
There you go.

378
00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:50,880
Well, while we're talking about the draft,
uh, I'm, I'm really glad, uh, Pierce Yery

379
00:17:50,885 --> 00:17:54,930
and the, and the, and the interns there,
uh, did the work of finding the numbers.

380
00:17:55,290 --> 00:18:02,100
Uh, but you guys have had 11
pitchers since 2021 either drafted

381
00:18:02,100 --> 00:18:03,420
or signed to play professionally.

382
00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:04,831
That's pretty awesome.

383
00:18:04,836 --> 00:18:05,550
Pretty impressive.

384
00:18:05,550 --> 00:18:05,730
Any team.

385
00:18:06,605 --> 00:18:06,895
Yeah.

386
00:18:06,900 --> 00:18:07,980
Yeah, yeah.

387
00:18:08,190 --> 00:18:11,490
I think it says a lot about,
um, the development that

388
00:18:11,490 --> 00:18:13,080
Mike's doing with the guys.

389
00:18:13,140 --> 00:18:19,950
Um, most of the, uh, if I'm not mistaken,
most if not all of those guys were not

390
00:18:19,950 --> 00:18:21,930
drafted previously before coming here.

391
00:18:22,175 --> 00:18:23,315
Uh, I don't think any of 'em.

392
00:18:23,615 --> 00:18:27,840
So, uh, I think it says a lot about
the development that's going on here.

393
00:18:28,020 --> 00:18:31,830
And it's funny because the kids
have to allow you to coach 'em,

394
00:18:32,580 --> 00:18:37,590
you know, um, a lot of kids today
get offended when you coach 'em.

395
00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:42,480
Uh, and especially when you coach 'em,
honestly, and I had this conversation

396
00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,500
with an incoming freshman today,
and it's just like, look man, if

397
00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:50,310
this is gonna work, you're gonna
have to allow us to coach you.

398
00:18:50,310 --> 00:18:52,200
Like we gotta be in the mud together.

399
00:18:52,710 --> 00:18:55,770
Um, and if it, if you're not gonna
allow that, it's not gonna work.

400
00:18:56,370 --> 00:18:58,290
Um, so that's, that's the deal.

401
00:18:58,740 --> 00:19:03,360
And a lot of those guys, like
were, you know, the fruit kids most

402
00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:08,250
recently, certainly, um, they were,
they just allowed us to coach 'em.

403
00:19:08,250 --> 00:19:11,760
They allowed everything, the,
the success, the failure.

404
00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:16,650
Let's rethink this let's, you know, Blake
Morgan reinvented himself as a pitcher.

405
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:23,730
He went from a soft tossing guy through
80% changeups, to a dude that sat 92

406
00:19:23,730 --> 00:19:28,410
for, you know, seven innings every
time out with a more of a couple

407
00:19:28,410 --> 00:19:29,790
different shaped breaking balls.

408
00:19:29,790 --> 00:19:33,750
And the changeup probably became
his third or fourth pitch most days.

409
00:19:34,350 --> 00:19:40,230
Um, and so he kind of came full circle
and from that aspect, and it took a

410
00:19:40,230 --> 00:19:45,630
lot of work and, you know, the, the
people just don't see the, the mud that

411
00:19:45,630 --> 00:19:47,760
you have to go through to, to be good.

412
00:19:48,210 --> 00:19:52,290
They, they see the, you know, the finished
product and they, they think it came

413
00:19:52,290 --> 00:19:54,630
easy and for none of those three did it.

414
00:19:54,780 --> 00:19:55,680
Uh, certainly.

415
00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,320
And, and that, that
includes the coaching staff.

416
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:04,170
I mean, Mike Pond, Rono beams, like
all those guys were right there in

417
00:20:04,170 --> 00:20:05,880
it with them trying to help 'em.

418
00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:10,320
And maybe one of the best things
you could say about those three is

419
00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:16,110
they were very coachable, very good,
you know, horizontal communication.

420
00:20:16,500 --> 00:20:22,230
Um, you could be honest with 'em
and you could get to the next thing

421
00:20:22,230 --> 00:20:26,070
because they didn't get hung up
and get all butt hurt or, you know,

422
00:20:26,070 --> 00:20:30,750
start getting defensive or blaming or
anything when it didn't go their way.

423
00:20:31,170 --> 00:20:34,530
And a lot of people don't know all
the things that those guys had to go

424
00:20:34,530 --> 00:20:36,810
to and they don't need to, but we do.

425
00:20:37,260 --> 00:20:42,060
And that, that's, that's the beauty of
it, I think, as coaches is watching those

426
00:20:42,060 --> 00:20:47,490
kids overcome this stuff and grow and get
better and, you know, just become young

427
00:20:47,490 --> 00:20:51,090
men and now they're gonna get a chance
to go out and see what they can do and

428
00:20:51,090 --> 00:20:53,160
chase their dream, uh, at the next level.

429
00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:53,760
So it's cool.

430
00:20:55,590 --> 00:20:57,480
Yeah, we're excited for,
for all four of 'em.

431
00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:00,689
And I guess potentially there could
be more guys that end up in Indy Ball.

432
00:21:00,899 --> 00:21:04,379
Um, it kind of goes in the
summer, comes to an end.

433
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,179
Uh, but wanna, wanna look forward a
little bit to the high school recruits,

434
00:21:09,279 --> 00:21:13,379
Finny and, and Mike, if you wanna
chat through 'em, um, I don't know.

435
00:21:13,379 --> 00:21:16,710
CBU you pick your, uh, pick your
first one that I got queued up here.

436
00:21:16,710 --> 00:21:16,740
I

437
00:21:16,740 --> 00:21:19,379
mean, let, let's let, I wanted to
hear the guys tell me about who

438
00:21:19,379 --> 00:21:21,659
they want that that's gonna tell
me who they wanna talk about.

439
00:21:23,159 --> 00:21:24,600
Oh, don't you do that.

440
00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:25,169
You don't.

441
00:21:25,169 --> 00:21:25,679
You do that.

442
00:21:25,679 --> 00:21:26,580
You give the names.

443
00:21:26,580 --> 00:21:27,750
We're not playing that game.

444
00:21:28,125 --> 00:21:29,760
You go ahead and throw, you know the name.

445
00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:30,480
There we are.

446
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:31,500
That's more like it.

447
00:21:31,889 --> 00:21:34,385
You give us the names, we'll
mention a blurb about them.

448
00:21:34,860 --> 00:21:35,490
There we go.

449
00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:36,745
There we go.

450
00:21:36,885 --> 00:21:39,120
We, we need Here's JJ hands.

451
00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:40,560
Okay.

452
00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:45,929
So JJs a, a, a really talented
catcher, big, strong kid, uh,

453
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:47,639
swings the bat really well.

454
00:21:47,970 --> 00:21:52,379
Um, his dad and mom played
collegially at Virginia Tech.

455
00:21:52,379 --> 00:21:53,669
I believe both of 'em there.

456
00:21:54,030 --> 00:21:54,390
Yeah.

457
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:54,660
His

458
00:21:54,660 --> 00:21:57,960
dad said he pitched a game
against the monarchs at the bud.

459
00:21:58,170 --> 00:21:58,260
How

460
00:21:58,260 --> 00:21:58,950
about that?

461
00:21:59,310 --> 00:21:59,700
Yeah.

462
00:22:00,150 --> 00:22:01,110
So he is a great kid.

463
00:22:01,115 --> 00:22:01,335
He is.

464
00:22:01,410 --> 00:22:01,620
He is.

465
00:22:01,620 --> 00:22:03,000
Got a, a big upside.

466
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:07,020
All right, let's see
what the roulette gets.

467
00:22:07,020 --> 00:22:07,380
All right.

468
00:22:07,380 --> 00:22:10,740
Bennett, Siegel, Bennett
Siegel's here this summer.

469
00:22:10,740 --> 00:22:12,420
He is one of the four hitters here.

470
00:22:12,420 --> 00:22:15,210
Left-handed hitting
outfielder, physical kid.

471
00:22:15,210 --> 00:22:16,410
Really good swing.

472
00:22:16,410 --> 00:22:18,360
Had a phenomenal high school season.

473
00:22:18,630 --> 00:22:22,950
And, um, reminds me a little bit
of, uh, one of our former guys,

474
00:22:22,950 --> 00:22:24,840
Robbie Peti swinging the back.

475
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:25,470
Ooh,

476
00:22:25,710 --> 00:22:26,430
okay.

477
00:22:26,595 --> 00:22:27,015
Petrow.

478
00:22:27,015 --> 00:22:27,016
See?

479
00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:27,960
Yeah,

480
00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:29,610
that's a pretty solid comparison there.

481
00:22:29,910 --> 00:22:30,330
Yeah,

482
00:22:30,330 --> 00:22:31,020
we like that.

483
00:22:31,740 --> 00:22:34,470
He was hitting like 600 at one point
this, uh, this spring, wasn't he?

484
00:22:34,740 --> 00:22:35,280
Yeah.

485
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:35,281
Bennett.

486
00:22:35,365 --> 00:22:35,940
Yeah, he was.

487
00:22:36,180 --> 00:22:36,840
Oh my gosh.

488
00:22:39,420 --> 00:22:39,780
All right.

489
00:22:39,780 --> 00:22:40,140
There we go.

490
00:22:40,140 --> 00:22:40,590
Ben.

491
00:22:41,100 --> 00:22:41,730
Ben's tanton.

492
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,370
Uh, we got Ben here.

493
00:22:44,370 --> 00:22:46,320
I guess I'll, I'll go
with the, the pitchers.

494
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,830
Ben's a, uh, right-handed
pitcher from Vest New York.

495
00:22:50,220 --> 00:22:50,910
Um.

496
00:22:51,510 --> 00:22:54,180
Got a chance to see him little.

497
00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,600
Uh, we had seen him in Fort
Myers, um, in his junior year.

498
00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:03,330
He'd come to a camp, um, uh, just
a, just a really good athlete.

499
00:23:03,390 --> 00:23:07,470
Um, just really liked the, really
liked the presence that he brings

500
00:23:07,470 --> 00:23:08,790
on the mound, the athleticism.

501
00:23:09,510 --> 00:23:12,150
Um, and it's a phenomenal kid.

502
00:23:12,330 --> 00:23:14,430
Um, scratch golfer, by the way.

503
00:23:14,430 --> 00:23:15,720
Fun fact on that one.

504
00:23:15,780 --> 00:23:20,370
I was just talking, talking to him about
his last couple, uh, last couple rounds.

505
00:23:20,370 --> 00:23:26,700
So, um, just a, a, a really, like, again,
I mean, we're gonna probably have similar

506
00:23:26,700 --> 00:23:28,050
things to say about a lot of these guys.

507
00:23:28,050 --> 00:23:33,240
'cause, you know, I think we, we
really value the, the person as much as

508
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:34,770
anything in terms of how we recruit guys.

509
00:23:34,770 --> 00:23:40,200
So, great kid, uh, hard worker,
good student, and super excited

510
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:41,580
about what he brings to the table.

511
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:42,915
Um, on and off the field.

512
00:23:44,205 --> 00:23:45,284
I mean, I'll never get tired of it.

513
00:23:45,284 --> 00:23:47,024
When you guys, when we talk
about a guy, you're like, yeah,

514
00:23:47,024 --> 00:23:47,925
he is really good at baseball.

515
00:23:48,044 --> 00:23:48,854
And then just stop.

516
00:23:48,854 --> 00:23:50,475
I'm gonna be like, what's,
what's wrong with this kid?

517
00:23:50,564 --> 00:23:52,304
What are we, what's, what's his problem?

518
00:23:54,615 --> 00:23:57,074
Uh, I, I like hearing he
is a scratch golfer though.

519
00:23:57,165 --> 00:23:57,945
'cause obviously golf is game.

520
00:23:57,945 --> 00:23:58,004
Yeah.

521
00:23:58,064 --> 00:23:59,264
He was on, I know he was on the golf

522
00:23:59,264 --> 00:24:00,104
team there for Vest.

523
00:24:00,344 --> 00:24:00,675
Yeah.

524
00:24:01,064 --> 00:24:01,875
And I don't, yeah.

525
00:24:01,875 --> 00:24:04,455
And I don't know, like I say
scratch 'cause I'm just hedging my

526
00:24:04,455 --> 00:24:07,574
bet that like, I don't know what
it's, you know, he might get mad.

527
00:24:07,574 --> 00:24:08,925
He might think he's better than that.

528
00:24:08,925 --> 00:24:09,615
I don't know.

529
00:24:09,615 --> 00:24:09,975
Yeah.

530
00:24:10,094 --> 00:24:12,225
Um, he better, way better than me.

531
00:24:13,514 --> 00:24:16,395
We'll, we'll keep the golf team,
uh, away from him for sure.

532
00:24:16,395 --> 00:24:17,024
For a little while.

533
00:24:19,395 --> 00:24:19,604
All right.

534
00:24:19,604 --> 00:24:20,625
Got another picture for you.

535
00:24:21,615 --> 00:24:25,544
We got, we got old Charlie
Pierce here from Colorado,

536
00:24:25,604 --> 00:24:26,865
another right-handed pitcher.

537
00:24:27,225 --> 00:24:31,395
Um, played for really good
organization with the slammers, um,

538
00:24:31,814 --> 00:24:33,764
outta Colorado, outta Denver area.

539
00:24:33,794 --> 00:24:34,665
And, um.

540
00:24:36,345 --> 00:24:42,105
Again, right-handed picture, um, has
really, like, I think the, the physicality

541
00:24:42,105 --> 00:24:43,635
is really starting to come into his own.

542
00:24:43,995 --> 00:24:45,735
Um, I mean, I don't know.

543
00:24:45,735 --> 00:24:47,685
It's probably 6, 6 3.

544
00:24:47,805 --> 00:24:51,225
Uh, again, he's probably gonna
get mad if I, you know, dad's

545
00:24:51,225 --> 00:24:52,275
about, call it six three.

546
00:24:52,965 --> 00:24:57,195
Yeah, his dad's a dad's a big
guy, and it's a four pitch mix.

547
00:24:57,195 --> 00:24:58,725
It's a, it's a strike thrower.

548
00:24:58,815 --> 00:25:02,325
Um, and it's a, it's a
really competitive kid.

549
00:25:02,325 --> 00:25:05,805
Uh, I think he was second team all
state, um, Colorado this past year.

550
00:25:06,135 --> 00:25:12,405
Um, infectious personality,
great smile, and, um, just a,

551
00:25:12,405 --> 00:25:14,235
a, like a, a fantastic human.

552
00:25:14,925 --> 00:25:17,775
I think it's nickname
Went to Squint because.

553
00:25:19,845 --> 00:25:23,205
And he kinda always is looking at
you, kind of, kind of funny like that.

554
00:25:24,615 --> 00:25:25,905
I, people call him squint.

555
00:25:26,775 --> 00:25:27,225
There we go.

556
00:25:27,225 --> 00:25:28,580
And he, I think he's gonna be awesome.

557
00:25:28,580 --> 00:25:28,820
Went,

558
00:25:28,825 --> 00:25:31,275
uh, yeah, he went to Monarch High School.

559
00:25:31,455 --> 00:25:32,115
There you go.

560
00:25:32,595 --> 00:25:32,835
Yep.

561
00:25:33,015 --> 00:25:33,255
Perfect.

562
00:25:33,255 --> 00:25:34,395
Monarch through and through.

563
00:25:34,785 --> 00:25:35,205
Yeah.

564
00:25:36,405 --> 00:25:36,795
All right.

565
00:25:36,795 --> 00:25:40,245
The, the next one may be the,
the only commit that I've met

566
00:25:40,245 --> 00:25:46,005
Colorado before, uh, uh, wasn't
Tyson and uh, to strip, I

567
00:25:46,005 --> 00:25:46,875
think are both from Colorado.

568
00:25:47,625 --> 00:25:48,225
Oh, are they?

569
00:25:48,314 --> 00:25:49,669
Well, Sasha was, yeah,
I don't think we've had,

570
00:25:50,510 --> 00:25:51,550
I think, but yeah.

571
00:25:51,554 --> 00:25:51,945
Yeah.

572
00:25:52,365 --> 00:25:54,014
I don't think we've had a
high school kid from college.

573
00:25:54,014 --> 00:25:54,135
School.

574
00:25:54,975 --> 00:25:55,304
Yeah.

575
00:25:55,365 --> 00:25:55,514
Yeah.

576
00:25:55,514 --> 00:25:56,024
High school.

577
00:25:56,024 --> 00:25:56,115
Yeah.

578
00:25:57,074 --> 00:26:02,024
Uh, oddly enough, I was in Colorado
last week at Red Rocks, and I found

579
00:26:02,024 --> 00:26:05,145
out on Instagram the next day that
Tora was at the same concert that

580
00:26:05,145 --> 00:26:06,975
I was sitting maybe two rows away.

581
00:26:07,544 --> 00:26:09,524
Did you go to the Eric Church concert?

582
00:26:10,274 --> 00:26:10,784
I did.

583
00:26:10,784 --> 00:26:12,074
I went to the third night.

584
00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:15,195
It was just him and the guitar and,
uh, Joanna Cotton came out with him,

585
00:26:15,195 --> 00:26:16,814
poured down rain for like an hour.

586
00:26:16,875 --> 00:26:18,915
But it was, my God, it was
an incredible experience.

587
00:26:19,004 --> 00:26:21,764
That's on my bucket list
to see a, a concert there.

588
00:26:21,764 --> 00:26:25,814
And him, he is my favorite
singer, so I'm jealous, man.

589
00:26:25,875 --> 00:26:27,165
That had to be awesome, Gary.

590
00:26:27,824 --> 00:26:29,534
No, it was, it was fantastic.

591
00:26:29,534 --> 00:26:31,155
Uh, he did three straight nights.

592
00:26:31,155 --> 00:26:32,685
We were there for that, that third night.

593
00:26:32,685 --> 00:26:33,705
All three were different.

594
00:26:33,735 --> 00:26:34,185
Right.

595
00:26:34,665 --> 00:26:37,935
The, the third night was guitar
and what, what were the other two?

596
00:26:38,925 --> 00:26:42,255
He did one with his band, the machine,
and then the other one I think was

597
00:26:42,255 --> 00:26:44,385
like a chorus and gospel arrangement.

598
00:26:44,385 --> 00:26:45,435
So an orchestra?

599
00:26:45,435 --> 00:26:45,825
Yeah.

600
00:26:45,975 --> 00:26:46,275
Yeah.

601
00:26:46,335 --> 00:26:46,935
That's cool.

602
00:26:47,805 --> 00:26:48,060
Yeah, he's,

603
00:26:48,225 --> 00:26:51,675
well, I'm glad it didn't rain
like that on those nights.

604
00:26:51,675 --> 00:26:53,025
It was just him and the guitar out there.

605
00:26:53,025 --> 00:26:53,745
He was fine.

606
00:26:53,745 --> 00:26:56,415
The rest of us were just, just
taking it like there's nowhere to go

607
00:26:56,415 --> 00:26:57,675
at Red Rocks if it starts raining.

608
00:26:57,675 --> 00:27:00,135
So you just enjoy the moment
and enhance the experience.

609
00:27:00,135 --> 00:27:00,975
So it was a lot of fun.

610
00:27:02,235 --> 00:27:02,625
Alright.

611
00:27:02,625 --> 00:27:03,195
Who's next?

612
00:27:03,855 --> 00:27:04,665
All right, next one.

613
00:27:04,665 --> 00:27:10,395
Maybe the only high school recruit
that I have actually met in person Cam.

614
00:27:10,605 --> 00:27:11,695
And it's Cam Tellefsen.

615
00:27:11,925 --> 00:27:12,435
Okay.

616
00:27:12,435 --> 00:27:12,885
Yeah.

617
00:27:13,455 --> 00:27:16,935
Well, cam has some
similarities to Andy Garla.

618
00:27:17,505 --> 00:27:21,765
Uh, certainly physically and statue
wise, you know, he is a local guy.

619
00:27:21,765 --> 00:27:28,515
Virginia Beach Kid Lansdown, um, big first
baseman and good athlete for a big kid.

620
00:27:28,635 --> 00:27:29,925
Very coordinated.

621
00:27:30,405 --> 00:27:33,945
Um, you know, a lot of times those
long guys have a little bit of.

622
00:27:34,755 --> 00:27:37,575
Work to do and trying to
get everything synced up.

623
00:27:37,575 --> 00:27:42,135
And so he's in summer school as well and
working hard on, you know, all of that.

624
00:27:42,135 --> 00:27:45,405
And, uh, he is going to, he's
gonna be a big strong guy.

625
00:27:45,405 --> 00:27:47,205
He can hit it out, you know, a long way.

626
00:27:47,205 --> 00:27:51,075
So, um, we're excited about,
uh, getting to work with Cam.

627
00:27:52,545 --> 00:27:52,725
Nice.

628
00:27:52,965 --> 00:27:53,265
Yeah.

629
00:27:53,445 --> 00:27:54,915
And he, he's a big boy.

630
00:27:55,005 --> 00:27:57,465
I mean, I saw him over, uh, Memorial.

631
00:27:57,465 --> 00:27:57,645
Yeah, we were

632
00:27:58,125 --> 00:27:59,085
Memorial and Night.

633
00:27:59,085 --> 00:28:00,615
I pointed him out to, to Gary.

634
00:28:00,615 --> 00:28:02,085
I said, that's, that's
one of our guys next year.

635
00:28:02,085 --> 00:28:03,225
He is like that enormous kid.

636
00:28:03,315 --> 00:28:03,705
He's like, yep.

637
00:28:06,310 --> 00:28:06,600
Yeah.

638
00:28:07,635 --> 00:28:08,175
All right.

639
00:28:08,175 --> 00:28:11,715
Kick it over to the next pitch
with potentially the best

640
00:28:11,715 --> 00:28:13,275
last name on the team now.

641
00:28:16,095 --> 00:28:16,485
Yes.

642
00:28:16,905 --> 00:28:21,525
So Chris is a, uh, right-handed
pitcher from, from Philly.

643
00:28:21,945 --> 00:28:28,035
Uh, went to LaSalle, um, which is
actually, um, fun fact on that one.

644
00:28:28,035 --> 00:28:33,855
I actually did, uh, I took an eighth
grade, or, uh, I took a math class at

645
00:28:33,855 --> 00:28:35,925
LaSalle when I was in eighth grade.

646
00:28:36,435 --> 00:28:42,405
Um, I did first period at, at a, in
a ninth grade class, class, uh, math

647
00:28:42,405 --> 00:28:46,395
class at LaSalle, and then went back
to my, to my eighth grade for the

648
00:28:46,395 --> 00:28:47,895
rest of the day, me and another kid.

649
00:28:48,345 --> 00:28:49,035
That's my fun.

650
00:28:49,095 --> 00:28:52,245
I mean, I guess these are the, these
are the random things that you gotta

651
00:28:52,245 --> 00:28:53,835
share on, on something like this, right?

652
00:28:53,835 --> 00:28:54,915
So, oh, yeah.

653
00:28:54,915 --> 00:28:55,785
And here you are.

654
00:28:55,995 --> 00:28:57,015
Look at how I got here.

655
00:28:57,015 --> 00:28:57,285
Yeah.

656
00:28:57,285 --> 00:29:00,255
And here I am now again as an English
major, so I don't know what that

657
00:29:00,255 --> 00:29:04,545
says about LaSalle's uh, math depart,
you know, math education, right.

658
00:29:04,545 --> 00:29:07,005
But, um, no really good school there.

659
00:29:07,005 --> 00:29:07,875
Really good program.

660
00:29:07,875 --> 00:29:10,065
Kyle Worman runs that program
there as the head coach.

661
00:29:10,065 --> 00:29:13,965
And, and Chris, um, is someone who's,
again, it's another guy who's kind of

662
00:29:13,965 --> 00:29:17,745
really gr like another big physical
writer that's really grown into his body.

663
00:29:18,015 --> 00:29:19,440
Um, you know, we, we.

664
00:29:20,250 --> 00:29:22,800
Committed him probably
around this time last year.

665
00:29:23,100 --> 00:29:27,240
Um, we had seen him down in, um,
down in Hoover and, um, during

666
00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:31,110
one of those 17 new events that we
actually just got done, got back from.

667
00:29:31,230 --> 00:29:36,480
And, um, I think he's done a really good
job of, of kind of, of, of, of learning.

668
00:29:36,540 --> 00:29:40,740
Um, just kind of his skill sets and, and
what makes him good out in the mound.

669
00:29:40,830 --> 00:29:42,450
Again, big, strong physical.

670
00:29:42,450 --> 00:29:46,650
Righty was the, uh, Philadelphia Catholic
League pitcher of the year this year.

671
00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:52,230
Um, so, um, had a really good spring
and, um, we actually have back to back

672
00:29:52,530 --> 00:29:53,790
Catholic League pitchers of the year.

673
00:29:53,790 --> 00:29:56,460
We had, Jace Park was the Catholic
League pitcher of the year last year.

674
00:29:56,850 --> 00:29:58,560
And then Chris takes the mantle this year.

675
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:01,830
So I told some guys that we, you
know, we have relationships up there.

676
00:30:01,830 --> 00:30:05,010
I, we gotta just, I guess we're in,
we're in the market for wherever

677
00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:07,680
next year's Catholic League
picture of the year's gonna be.

678
00:30:07,889 --> 00:30:10,830
Um, I don't know who it is,
but we gotta go find them.

679
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:12,120
Um, so if you commit to

680
00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:12,389
us,

681
00:30:12,395 --> 00:30:12,615
it'll be you.

682
00:30:13,830 --> 00:30:14,760
It'll be you, right?

683
00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,580
If you're the, you're the guy from Philly
in the class, then I guess it'll be you.

684
00:30:17,580 --> 00:30:21,780
So, um, not, um, you know,
obviously super excited about him.

685
00:30:24,570 --> 00:30:27,360
Alright, we've got a couple more here.

686
00:30:27,389 --> 00:30:30,229
Give, uh, you have an out there
with Nick Felton, the Finny?

687
00:30:31,139 --> 00:30:31,620
Yeah.

688
00:30:31,620 --> 00:30:40,379
Nick's, um, St. John's prep up in, in DC
and um, played, um, for Mark Gibbs and

689
00:30:40,379 --> 00:30:42,510
Kevin Gibbs helps out with that program.

690
00:30:42,510 --> 00:30:46,710
Our, our Hall of Famer, uh, Kevin,
you know, was the first guy to tell

691
00:30:46,710 --> 00:30:51,060
us about Nick and um, gosh, I think
since we signed Nick, I don't know

692
00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:56,189
when it was, but he's probably grown
three inches and put on 30 pounds.

693
00:30:56,865 --> 00:31:00,945
When we saw him the summer, I was
like, oh my gosh, you, you ate,

694
00:31:01,335 --> 00:31:02,955
who's this guy that ate Nick Felton?

695
00:31:03,405 --> 00:31:08,385
And, uh, he is just super
athletic, super twitchy, you know,

696
00:31:08,385 --> 00:31:10,155
left-handed hit and center fielder.

697
00:31:10,155 --> 00:31:12,165
That has a really good swing.

698
00:31:12,165 --> 00:31:16,455
I think it translates into him having a
chance to, to hit early in his career.

699
00:31:16,455 --> 00:31:18,945
There's not a lot going wrong there.

700
00:31:18,945 --> 00:31:20,655
And it's quick.

701
00:31:20,955 --> 00:31:25,545
So, you know, for a lot of times with
these young guys, you know, it's one

702
00:31:25,545 --> 00:31:29,535
isn't strong enough and two, is it quick
enough and what's the path look like?

703
00:31:29,535 --> 00:31:31,575
And he, he checks the boxes right there.

704
00:31:31,575 --> 00:31:36,495
So, um, he's, he's got chance, you
know, he'll, uh, he'll get it going.

705
00:31:36,495 --> 00:31:39,345
He's got a chance to have, you know,
a chance to play early in his career.

706
00:31:39,345 --> 00:31:39,825
For sure.

707
00:31:40,815 --> 00:31:44,415
And I think I saw Baseball America just
named him a third team, all American.

708
00:31:45,045 --> 00:31:46,095
Oh, well that's good.

709
00:31:46,290 --> 00:31:46,580
Yeah.

710
00:31:46,585 --> 00:31:46,845
Yeah.

711
00:31:46,875 --> 00:31:48,225
Well he had a fantastic year.

712
00:31:48,675 --> 00:31:49,815
Um, great kid.

713
00:31:49,815 --> 00:31:52,155
Both his parents were college athletes.

714
00:31:52,605 --> 00:31:54,220
Um, so good stock and.

715
00:31:55,485 --> 00:31:57,435
He's, uh, he is got a bright future will,

716
00:31:59,775 --> 00:32:00,555
and I know, uh, I know.

717
00:32:00,555 --> 00:32:04,815
Hey, I love your, uh, left-handed hitting
outfielders Finny, so I checks the box

718
00:32:04,815 --> 00:32:06,525
for you for this, uh, review class.

719
00:32:06,795 --> 00:32:07,545
Absolutely.

720
00:32:08,805 --> 00:32:09,225
All right.

721
00:32:09,225 --> 00:32:10,755
I think this is the last one I have here.

722
00:32:11,175 --> 00:32:11,745
Jackson Ocon.

723
00:32:12,075 --> 00:32:12,165
Yes.

724
00:32:13,095 --> 00:32:13,515
Yeah,

725
00:32:14,505 --> 00:32:18,195
we, um, I think, you know, it's
funny 'cause we, we have the, we've

726
00:32:18,195 --> 00:32:21,495
stocked the cupboard with big, strong
physical righties and, and Jackson's

727
00:32:21,495 --> 00:32:25,185
one of those guys, uh, another
one of those guys in this class.

728
00:32:25,455 --> 00:32:28,455
It's funny, like we had three
lefties drafted and, you know,

729
00:32:28,455 --> 00:32:29,955
the four incoming guys a righty.

730
00:32:29,955 --> 00:32:33,315
I mean, not so much of this is about
just finding, again, like we said

731
00:32:33,315 --> 00:32:34,395
before, finding the right guys.

732
00:32:34,395 --> 00:32:39,015
And Jackson's a a local guy here, played
for alum Pat Nichols at Greenbrier.

733
00:32:39,285 --> 00:32:42,675
And um, I think one of the cool
things about, for someone like

734
00:32:42,675 --> 00:32:45,765
Jackson's, we've been able to see that
progression over a long period of time.

735
00:32:45,765 --> 00:32:45,975
Right.

736
00:32:45,975 --> 00:32:49,215
We've seen him, uh, years ago.

737
00:32:49,365 --> 00:32:52,095
I mean, he might've been at our,
our team camp when he was playing

738
00:32:52,095 --> 00:32:53,505
for drugs with the blasters.

739
00:32:54,014 --> 00:32:58,514
Um, we've gotta see, you know, I
remember Cody Sr. Talking about him

740
00:32:58,514 --> 00:33:02,715
years ago and Cody's on staff and,
and working a camp with him and

741
00:33:02,715 --> 00:33:04,185
saying, Hey, you gotta see this guy.

742
00:33:04,455 --> 00:33:05,774
Uh, I think he's got a chance.

743
00:33:05,774 --> 00:33:09,254
And what's cool for Jackson is
that, again, as a local guy, we've

744
00:33:09,254 --> 00:33:10,485
been able to see that progression.

745
00:33:10,485 --> 00:33:14,685
We've been able to see that growth,
um, over time for him as he's grown.

746
00:33:14,745 --> 00:33:18,375
Again, another guy that's kind of grown
into his body and really started to,

747
00:33:18,735 --> 00:33:23,024
you know, to come out and, and, uh,
produce at a high level really helped

748
00:33:23,024 --> 00:33:25,034
a good Greenbrier, uh, team this year.

749
00:33:25,245 --> 00:33:30,105
I got a chance to see him this spring
and it's a, it's a big fast ball that,

750
00:33:30,435 --> 00:33:32,024
you know, he pounds his own with.

751
00:33:32,085 --> 00:33:36,645
Um, he's got a good feel for, for
the changeup and I think the makings

752
00:33:36,645 --> 00:33:39,225
of some really good, you know,
like a really good breaking ball.

753
00:33:39,225 --> 00:33:42,465
And I think that's there and
I, um, I'm looking forward

754
00:33:42,465 --> 00:33:43,875
to seeing that progression.

755
00:33:44,235 --> 00:33:47,655
'cause I think the tools and the pieces,
um, and the elements are all there.

756
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,210
For him to go out and,
and have a lot of success.

757
00:33:51,210 --> 00:33:55,200
And Finny talks about that all the time
with like toughness is, you know, on the

758
00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:59,070
mound, you know, toughness can be equated
a lot of time to guy's ability to go in

759
00:33:59,070 --> 00:34:02,130
there and, and throw strikes and, and
fill up the boxing challenge hitters.

760
00:34:02,130 --> 00:34:06,840
And, uh, we definitely think Jackson
has that skillset, um, in play already.

761
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:10,230
And, and now it's gonna be his ability
to translate that to the next level here.

762
00:34:11,820 --> 00:34:12,360
Yeah, I love it.

763
00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:13,590
I'm, I'm a big fan of Jackson.

764
00:34:13,590 --> 00:34:16,170
I haven't known him for a few
years and I gotta see him pitch a

765
00:34:16,170 --> 00:34:17,550
couple times this spring and Yeah.

766
00:34:17,550 --> 00:34:18,060
I'm, I'm with you.

767
00:34:18,060 --> 00:34:19,590
There's, there's a lot in the tank.

768
00:34:19,830 --> 00:34:21,330
There's a lot of room for growth there.

769
00:34:24,030 --> 00:34:24,330
Yep.

770
00:34:24,389 --> 00:34:24,990
Absolutely.

771
00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:25,679
Absolutely.

772
00:34:27,179 --> 00:34:30,929
And we're, we're excited to, to see these
guys out in the fall and then of course

773
00:34:30,929 --> 00:34:32,760
in the spring when the season starts.

774
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,130
I appreciate you all, you know,
kind of giving us the insight.

775
00:34:35,429 --> 00:34:36,690
I think I got, we got one

776
00:34:36,690 --> 00:34:38,970
more I didn't have a
picture of was Cole McKenna.

777
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:39,750
Yeah.

778
00:34:39,750 --> 00:34:42,480
We, and then we got
Will too, right, Thomas?

779
00:34:43,574 --> 00:34:49,185
Mike, uh, I don't know if you,
you, um, who, who we didn't

780
00:34:49,185 --> 00:34:50,355
talk about Will yet, right?

781
00:34:50,355 --> 00:34:53,145
I don't think, I don't think I
have a baseball card for that one.

782
00:34:53,145 --> 00:34:53,835
So, there you go.

783
00:34:55,275 --> 00:34:56,775
Johnson Will Johnson.

784
00:34:56,775 --> 00:34:57,135
Sorry.

785
00:34:57,165 --> 00:34:57,555
Johnson.

786
00:34:57,615 --> 00:34:58,095
Okay.

787
00:34:58,095 --> 00:34:58,665
Said Thomas.

788
00:34:58,995 --> 00:35:00,525
Mike, you are muted still, sir.

789
00:35:01,305 --> 00:35:02,355
Yeah, you're muted, Mike.

790
00:35:02,655 --> 00:35:02,925
Thank you.

791
00:35:02,925 --> 00:35:03,615
First time on.

792
00:35:03,615 --> 00:35:05,775
Yeah, let's start with, yeah,
we, I guess we go McKenna

793
00:35:05,775 --> 00:35:06,770
first and then you can, yeah.

794
00:35:06,770 --> 00:35:07,930
So McKenna is,

795
00:35:07,930 --> 00:35:12,915
uh, you know, another, uh,
south Jersey guy and, um, what

796
00:35:12,915 --> 00:35:14,625
high school was, was Cole at

797
00:35:14,685 --> 00:35:17,055
Westford, played for
Johnny Oler, another alum.

798
00:35:17,055 --> 00:35:18,075
That's right.

799
00:35:18,075 --> 00:35:19,125
He played for another hearing trends here.

800
00:35:19,605 --> 00:35:19,905
Yeah.

801
00:35:20,170 --> 00:35:20,370
Yeah.

802
00:35:21,015 --> 00:35:27,525
And um, you know, Cole is
a fantastic, uh, athlete.

803
00:35:27,585 --> 00:35:29,835
He's just very smooth, very fluid.

804
00:35:30,255 --> 00:35:33,465
He, um, you know, he looks like
a guy that can play shortstop,

805
00:35:33,465 --> 00:35:35,025
certainly a middle infielder.

806
00:35:35,445 --> 00:35:38,685
Um, probably gonna keep
progressing as he puts on weight.

807
00:35:38,685 --> 00:35:40,125
He is got a good swing.

808
00:35:40,500 --> 00:35:41,790
Really competitive.

809
00:35:41,790 --> 00:35:46,980
He played at a, a really good high
school program and summer program and,

810
00:35:46,980 --> 00:35:48,900
um, we're super excited about him.

811
00:35:48,900 --> 00:35:53,640
And then, um, will Johnson's, the
other one, um, another short stop

812
00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:57,840
junior college short stop that we
got from, is it northeast Oklahoma?

813
00:35:57,840 --> 00:35:58,170
Mike?

814
00:35:59,640 --> 00:35:59,970
Yeah, Northeast,

815
00:36:00,630 --> 00:36:00,900
yeah,

816
00:36:01,020 --> 00:36:02,700
Northern, Northern Oklahoma.

817
00:36:02,705 --> 00:36:04,335
College of Awa.

818
00:36:04,705 --> 00:36:05,370
There you go.

819
00:36:05,430 --> 00:36:06,930
However you say that, that's,
we'll call it Northeast.

820
00:36:07,890 --> 00:36:08,550
Yeah.

821
00:36:09,450 --> 00:36:09,930
Works for me.

822
00:36:09,930 --> 00:36:09,990
Guy.

823
00:36:10,915 --> 00:36:15,600
We, we had him in camp as a
high school player and he was

824
00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:17,700
just, you know, just a tick.

825
00:36:17,700 --> 00:36:20,460
Uh, not quite physical enough.

826
00:36:20,910 --> 00:36:22,950
Um, but he's, he's grown a lot.

827
00:36:22,950 --> 00:36:27,630
And you know, when, when Paul
saw him this fall, uh, he

828
00:36:27,630 --> 00:36:29,175
absolutely loved him in his first.

829
00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:31,110
Phone call with the kid.

830
00:36:31,110 --> 00:36:33,630
He was like, Hey, you know
anything about Old Dominion?

831
00:36:33,630 --> 00:36:35,340
And he was like, yeah,
I came to camp there.

832
00:36:37,860 --> 00:36:37,950
What?

833
00:36:37,950 --> 00:36:38,910
You know, Paul wasn't here.

834
00:36:38,910 --> 00:36:39,150
That's funny.

835
00:36:39,150 --> 00:36:39,600
He didn't know.

836
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:40,681
And then, yeah, yeah.

837
00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:43,230
I was like, oh yeah, we
all remember that kid.

838
00:36:43,230 --> 00:36:46,140
Like, um, he's got a lot
of ball player to him.

839
00:36:46,530 --> 00:36:49,140
He was playing out in the North
Woods League the first half of the

840
00:36:49,140 --> 00:36:53,010
summer, and then he went home to
finish up a couple classes he needed.

841
00:36:53,010 --> 00:36:57,390
So he, he's got a very good chance of
being our, our shortstop this year.

842
00:36:57,720 --> 00:36:57,810
Mm-hmm.

843
00:36:58,050 --> 00:37:01,860
Um, he certainly has the skillset and
he is a good offensive player as well.

844
00:37:03,330 --> 00:37:06,420
Um, are y'all okay with talking
about some more of the, the, the,

845
00:37:06,420 --> 00:37:07,950
um, transfers that are coming in?

846
00:37:08,940 --> 00:37:09,180
Yeah.

847
00:37:09,180 --> 00:37:11,700
Unless we wanted to wait till
August and make that the portal.

848
00:37:11,705 --> 00:37:11,955
Okay.

849
00:37:12,345 --> 00:37:16,140
Kind of talk, I think give us
something to talk about in August.

850
00:37:16,140 --> 00:37:18,750
And, you know, you guys
mentioned the stadium.

851
00:37:18,750 --> 00:37:22,560
I mean, it's coming along the,
you can actually see the, the

852
00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:25,110
footers for all the rooms now.

853
00:37:25,140 --> 00:37:28,590
Um, nice on our side and then
starting toward the middle.

854
00:37:28,905 --> 00:37:33,765
They're starting to put the, the, uh,
backstop kind of back together with

855
00:37:33,765 --> 00:37:38,355
the new lines and uh, you know, the
bottom of it's starting to take shape.

856
00:37:38,355 --> 00:37:39,855
So that's exciting.

857
00:37:39,855 --> 00:37:43,965
They had some snafus they had to work
through with the city and water pipes,

858
00:37:43,965 --> 00:37:48,075
and if anybody's been down there, they
can, looks like a war zone with the roads

859
00:37:48,075 --> 00:37:51,405
all tore up on 45th Street Park Avenue.

860
00:37:51,405 --> 00:37:55,455
But, uh, they are making progress
and I think in as construction

861
00:37:55,455 --> 00:37:59,895
goes, nothing ever goes as fast as
you, you hope, but it is moving.

862
00:37:59,895 --> 00:38:03,405
And, um, you know, we're gonna be
playing in there in the spring,

863
00:38:03,405 --> 00:38:05,175
so we're excited about that.

864
00:38:06,735 --> 00:38:07,185
Let's go.

865
00:38:07,185 --> 00:38:07,905
That's what matters.

866
00:38:09,225 --> 00:38:09,315
Yep.

867
00:38:09,945 --> 00:38:13,185
Yeah, we're definitely looking forward
to seeing some baseball back out there

868
00:38:13,185 --> 00:38:17,025
and of course, having the bud completely
done for that first game there.

869
00:38:17,025 --> 00:38:18,405
And I guess it'd be February, right?

870
00:38:19,455 --> 00:38:19,875
Yeah.

871
00:38:19,875 --> 00:38:20,475
But it won't be

872
00:38:20,475 --> 00:38:21,705
the bud then anymore.

873
00:38:22,155 --> 00:38:23,295
That's that's very true.

874
00:38:23,295 --> 00:38:26,535
I, I have to break that habit that
is stuck in my brain deeply called

875
00:38:26,535 --> 00:38:27,975
the hell Yeah, man.

876
00:38:27,975 --> 00:38:27,976
Yeah.

877
00:38:28,380 --> 00:38:28,830
That's right.

878
00:38:28,890 --> 00:38:31,140
I mean, 20 years I've
been calling it the buds.

879
00:38:31,140 --> 00:38:33,000
That's gonna be a tough one to break.

880
00:38:33,420 --> 00:38:33,750
Yeah.

881
00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:38,310
But it'll be exciting and it'll
be a, a really neat, neat place

882
00:38:38,310 --> 00:38:39,750
to, to have is our new home.

883
00:38:42,030 --> 00:38:45,810
Well, uh, now that we talked about
the nice, fun stuff, Mike, I wanna

884
00:38:45,810 --> 00:38:47,760
pose a question to you, uh, uhoh.

885
00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:53,940
So we, uh, we we're very excited
about our three guys getting drafted.

886
00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:59,760
Uh, but that's gotta make it feel like a
lot of work for you for next year, right?

887
00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:02,400
I mean, that's, and you know, every
year you come into a whole new team,

888
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:06,780
but man, you are, you're really, uh, not
coming in with anybody who you're like,

889
00:39:06,780 --> 00:39:09,750
okay, this guy was a guy for us last
year, and then the rotation, you know?

890
00:39:09,750 --> 00:39:11,580
So how, how does that feel?

891
00:39:11,580 --> 00:39:13,170
What's the, what's the plan?

892
00:39:14,100 --> 00:39:15,870
Uh, it feels like almost
every, I mean, it's

893
00:39:15,990 --> 00:39:18,810
rare when you're able to, it's
rare, like we had the year

894
00:39:18,810 --> 00:39:20,045
before where we could mm-hmm.

895
00:39:20,220 --> 00:39:22,950
We had a pretty good sense of
who was gonna be on the rotation.

896
00:39:23,340 --> 00:39:25,320
Um, every year you are.

897
00:39:25,755 --> 00:39:29,115
And, and you know now
more than ever, right?

898
00:39:29,115 --> 00:39:34,605
With, with the amount of, of, of turnover
that kind of seems to exist, um, you

899
00:39:34,605 --> 00:39:37,634
are always gonna be challenged with
trying to find new roles and, and guys

900
00:39:37,634 --> 00:39:39,465
that to try and figure some stuff out.

901
00:39:39,470 --> 00:39:45,465
And, and so, um, honestly, like that's
the beauty of, of, of college baseball,

902
00:39:45,495 --> 00:39:49,395
college athletics maybe in general is like
those guys had the opportunity to go, like

903
00:39:49,425 --> 00:39:51,315
they were ready, they were mature enough.

904
00:39:51,435 --> 00:39:52,095
Go.

905
00:39:52,455 --> 00:39:58,725
And it's, it's now the new, it's an
opportunity for us, um, as coaches to,

906
00:39:58,755 --> 00:40:03,525
to work with a new group of guys and to
build the next, hopefully the next wave

907
00:40:03,525 --> 00:40:05,115
of guys that get to play through here.

908
00:40:05,415 --> 00:40:09,825
Um, and there's some guys that give
some guys some opportunity to, to kind

909
00:40:09,825 --> 00:40:11,355
of take ownership of some roles, right?

910
00:40:11,355 --> 00:40:12,615
Like we had, you know, yeah.

911
00:40:12,615 --> 00:40:15,495
Had a ton of fun watching guys
like Ethan Hubble, you know?

912
00:40:15,495 --> 00:40:15,585
Mm-hmm.

913
00:40:15,825 --> 00:40:16,965
Uh, finish out his year.

914
00:40:17,025 --> 00:40:19,545
I mean, it was, yeah,
like that's the fun stuff.

915
00:40:19,665 --> 00:40:21,975
You get someone like him to
be able to see his progression

916
00:40:21,975 --> 00:40:22,965
over the course of the year.

917
00:40:23,265 --> 00:40:25,755
And really find himself himself
and find, and, and really hone

918
00:40:25,755 --> 00:40:30,105
in on his, his identity and, and
really start to, you know, take

919
00:40:30,105 --> 00:40:31,935
advantage of who he is as a pitcher.

920
00:40:32,295 --> 00:40:36,884
Um, you know, it was fun watching, you
know, got a chance to, to see Kellen

921
00:40:36,884 --> 00:40:42,734
Davis this summer and just being able
to see his progression as a human and

922
00:40:42,734 --> 00:40:46,995
as a, uh, you know, as a pitcher, you
know, obviously Bailey Mattel got to

923
00:40:46,995 --> 00:40:50,984
go out and start in the draft league
this year, and I think that was really

924
00:40:50,984 --> 00:40:54,884
good for him to be able to go and get,
you know, to go into that environment

925
00:40:54,975 --> 00:40:56,654
and easy environment to compete in.

926
00:40:56,895 --> 00:41:00,105
Um, you're doing it in,
in really awesome venues.

927
00:41:00,105 --> 00:41:03,555
The energy's fantastic and he was
able to go out and have a really good

928
00:41:03,555 --> 00:41:06,464
summer and it was super beneficial
for him in a lot of different ways.

929
00:41:06,795 --> 00:41:10,665
And, um, and then you have some guys
that are, you know, coming through your,

930
00:41:10,725 --> 00:41:14,025
you know, hunter Baes came on strong at
the end of last year, and he's gonna be

931
00:41:14,025 --> 00:41:18,015
someone that we really, you know, hope and
anticipate, you know, takes another jump.

932
00:41:18,404 --> 00:41:22,455
Um, this next year and really starts
to, you know, kind of just figure out

933
00:41:22,455 --> 00:41:24,375
some pieces of, of his puzzle, right?

934
00:41:24,375 --> 00:41:25,395
And put all that together.

935
00:41:25,395 --> 00:41:28,575
I think he showed some, some really
good flashes and glimpses of that.

936
00:41:28,845 --> 00:41:32,535
Um, and so, yeah, I mean, we'll, you know,
you guys get a chance to talk about, you

937
00:41:32,535 --> 00:41:34,754
know, some of the, the portal guys next.

938
00:41:34,785 --> 00:41:40,335
Um, obviously it's, yeah, it's just
trying to find guys that, um, wanna

939
00:41:40,335 --> 00:41:44,355
be about like, you know, we talk
about this all the time, like guys

940
00:41:44,355 --> 00:41:46,935
that really value Old Dominion for
who we are and what we're about.

941
00:41:46,995 --> 00:41:50,865
Um, you know, and, and really appreciate
the, the day-to-day quality of life and

942
00:41:50,865 --> 00:41:52,274
experience that they get to have here.

943
00:41:52,274 --> 00:41:55,064
And guys that genuinely want
to build relationships, right?

944
00:41:55,064 --> 00:41:59,205
And, and that want, as Finn talks
about, like, you know, be in a place

945
00:41:59,205 --> 00:42:02,444
where they're gonna be able to be told
the truth and get loved up, right?

946
00:42:02,444 --> 00:42:04,455
Like, you're gonna get
that here in in Spade.

947
00:42:04,455 --> 00:42:06,705
You're gonna get that time and time again.

948
00:42:06,705 --> 00:42:08,415
And, um.

949
00:42:09,180 --> 00:42:12,630
So I'm excited about what this,
this next configuration looks like.

950
00:42:12,810 --> 00:42:14,010
Uh, I'm looking forward to it.

951
00:42:14,010 --> 00:42:17,160
I'm looking forward to those guys that,
you know, have had that experience here.

952
00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:21,660
What they get to do, you know, now that
they have another year under their belt,

953
00:42:21,930 --> 00:42:25,290
we'll have some young guys that are,
are looking at, you know, guys that

954
00:42:25,290 --> 00:42:30,120
were young guys last year that we're
finding themselves that, let's see if,

955
00:42:30,270 --> 00:42:34,080
you know, there's always a, a lot of
guys that there's a year two, you know,

956
00:42:34,170 --> 00:42:38,010
listen, freshman year is hard for 100% of
freshmen, whether you play a sport or not.

957
00:42:38,370 --> 00:42:41,580
Um, there's some guys hopefully that
they can take a jump here year two

958
00:42:41,580 --> 00:42:45,480
and, and contribute and then, um,
you know, our goals that we try to

959
00:42:45,510 --> 00:42:51,060
find the best, the best fits that we
could in the, in the portal for, for

960
00:42:51,060 --> 00:42:54,450
who we are and what we're about and,
and the type of culture we have here.

961
00:42:54,450 --> 00:42:55,830
Like we, we talk about all the time.

962
00:42:55,830 --> 00:43:01,860
Like we move as methodically
as we can, um, and try and gain

963
00:43:01,860 --> 00:43:03,271
as much information as we can.

964
00:43:04,500 --> 00:43:07,770
Learn the people that we're recruiting,
learn the families that we're recruiting.

965
00:43:08,490 --> 00:43:11,820
We try and get as much as we can
within the constraints of how

966
00:43:11,820 --> 00:43:13,440
fast the transfer port moves.

967
00:43:13,830 --> 00:43:14,190
Right?

968
00:43:14,190 --> 00:43:18,240
And we are so protective of our
culture, of our locker room and trying

969
00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:19,740
to bring in guys that are gonna fit.

970
00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:23,400
Um, you know, we're super, like,
we're protective of the locker room.

971
00:43:23,460 --> 00:43:27,450
We, we spend a ton of time thinking
about like housing, who's gonna

972
00:43:27,450 --> 00:43:30,690
live with who and how all that works
out, the dynamics and who's gonna

973
00:43:30,690 --> 00:43:32,700
be mentoring other people, right?

974
00:43:32,700 --> 00:43:36,840
Finn, he puts a ton of time into thinking
about like the mentorship of, of how he

975
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:40,529
wants to, you know, pair how we wanna
pair older guys with the younger guys

976
00:43:40,529 --> 00:43:46,380
and, and how all that impacts like, and
so we want to try and double down on that

977
00:43:46,380 --> 00:43:49,230
relationship aspect as much as we can in.

978
00:43:49,830 --> 00:43:54,629
In a space, in a world that's becoming
probably ever increasingly transactional.

979
00:43:54,959 --> 00:43:56,669
Um, and not that, listen, it's a business.

980
00:43:56,669 --> 00:43:59,640
We gotta win like anybody else,
and we gotta make business

981
00:43:59,640 --> 00:44:01,649
decisions like anybody else.

982
00:44:01,649 --> 00:44:07,410
But we, we try and lead our
recruiting, um, with getting our

983
00:44:07,410 --> 00:44:11,129
guys and our, and these families
to understand the, the value of the

984
00:44:11,129 --> 00:44:12,720
relationship of what comes from that.

985
00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:16,230
And that that's gonna be our, that's
gonna be our separator, right?

986
00:44:16,230 --> 00:44:19,020
We're gonna try, we're gonna coach
you up, we're gonna work our tail

987
00:44:19,020 --> 00:44:22,919
off to, and pour ourselves into the
development processes to get you better.

988
00:44:23,189 --> 00:44:26,459
And we believe if we create a really
good environment and put you in

989
00:44:26,459 --> 00:44:29,160
good possession positions to be
successful, develop the heck outta you.

990
00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:30,569
Put that time in, invest in.

991
00:44:30,899 --> 00:44:34,620
Then the byproduct is you have an awesome
experience and we win a ton of games.

992
00:44:35,009 --> 00:44:38,399
And, and then hopefully, you know,
for, for some of these guys, pitcher,

993
00:44:38,399 --> 00:44:39,419
position player, doesn't matter.

994
00:44:39,419 --> 00:44:42,569
Like, hopefully at the end of the
day, you get, you know, get a chance

995
00:44:42,569 --> 00:44:45,359
to get a ring, you get a chance to
have your name up on the, or get your

996
00:44:45,359 --> 00:44:48,720
picture up on the wall and you get a
chance to play through this program.

997
00:44:50,595 --> 00:44:53,265
Gary, just clip all that
and just play that on like a

998
00:44:53,265 --> 00:44:54,404
loop for the next like year.

999
00:44:55,515 --> 00:44:59,145
Uh, that's, I mean, what else
do you want out of a program?

1000
00:44:59,145 --> 00:44:59,504
Come on.

1001
00:45:00,765 --> 00:45:02,984
I think you're just getting
me, you're getting me with all

1002
00:45:02,984 --> 00:45:03,495
these calls.

1003
00:45:03,495 --> 00:45:05,895
I've, this is just the, the,
you know, putting that on with

1004
00:45:05,895 --> 00:45:06,884
all the calls I've been making.

1005
00:45:07,365 --> 00:45:13,335
Well, and, and to tease it a little bit
too, uh, for next time we got, I believe

1006
00:45:13,335 --> 00:45:16,305
it was five pitchers and three hitters.

1007
00:45:16,365 --> 00:45:16,455
Mm-hmm.

1008
00:45:16,815 --> 00:45:19,694
Um, five pitchers.

1009
00:45:19,694 --> 00:45:23,085
And then the, the hitters were an
outfielder who was the freshman

1010
00:45:23,085 --> 00:45:24,285
of the year in his league.

1011
00:45:24,705 --> 00:45:27,375
Um, we got a, a d two all American.

1012
00:45:28,125 --> 00:45:35,355
Uh, shortstop and we got a, a catcher,
uh, who's a local guy, um mm-hmm.

1013
00:45:35,595 --> 00:45:36,977
From University of North Carolina.

1014
00:45:37,425 --> 00:45:43,455
Uh, and, and so we, we felt like
we hit our needs on, on, on those.

1015
00:45:43,455 --> 00:45:49,545
And the pitchers are all, um, very much
potential big contributors, we think.

1016
00:45:50,055 --> 00:45:55,335
Um, and Mike and them, I mean, I,
I can't tell you that first three

1017
00:45:55,335 --> 00:46:01,395
weeks when the portal opened, I mean,
those guys, like, and, and you gotta

1018
00:46:01,395 --> 00:46:04,005
give a lot of credit to everybody.

1019
00:46:04,005 --> 00:46:07,935
I mean, I, I would come in the
office and man, it was like, um,

1020
00:46:08,415 --> 00:46:10,275
just math equations everywhere.

1021
00:46:10,275 --> 00:46:15,375
I mean, they set up a, an algorithm for
things they were, we were looking for

1022
00:46:15,375 --> 00:46:20,356
and hunting for in terms of numbers, you
know, walks the strikeouts and slug and.

1023
00:46:21,404 --> 00:46:23,775
You know, the hitters, it
was, you know, same thing.

1024
00:46:23,775 --> 00:46:28,395
White walks the strikeouts and on
base percentage and things like that.

1025
00:46:28,395 --> 00:46:33,285
And we didn't go after like the shiny
pennies like we have in the past.

1026
00:46:33,285 --> 00:46:38,445
We learned a little bit, hopefully,
uh, we went after guys that had a lot

1027
00:46:38,445 --> 00:46:41,150
of success at the level they were at.

1028
00:46:41,650 --> 00:46:42,070
Mm-hmm.

1029
00:46:42,150 --> 00:46:43,455
And they were at good levels.

1030
00:46:43,725 --> 00:46:45,345
Um, but they had a lot of success.

1031
00:46:45,495 --> 00:46:50,715
The people we talked to said the right
things about 'em from a toughness, from a

1032
00:46:50,715 --> 00:46:53,595
coachability, from a teammate standpoint.

1033
00:46:53,595 --> 00:46:58,215
And when we had 'em all on campus,
uh, and when we, you know, our

1034
00:46:58,215 --> 00:47:03,945
unofficial, uh, recruiting headquarters
is freight house coffee over in, uh,

1035
00:47:05,205 --> 00:47:07,305
over in, uh, the rail yard district.

1036
00:47:07,305 --> 00:47:07,875
And, uh.

1037
00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:11,145
Tom Tom Wolf and his wife Chelsea.

1038
00:47:11,145 --> 00:47:15,134
Man, we, I think we should, should have
bought stock in there before the summer.

1039
00:47:15,975 --> 00:47:20,415
Uh, we spent a lot of money in there
and, uh, you know, but it, it was

1040
00:47:20,415 --> 00:47:23,985
just, you know, without our offices,
it was just a more comfortable place

1041
00:47:23,985 --> 00:47:25,725
to, to meet and talk with everybody.

1042
00:47:25,725 --> 00:47:27,795
But great, really good families.

1043
00:47:28,154 --> 00:47:29,924
Um, we had a lot of success.

1044
00:47:29,924 --> 00:47:33,615
We didn't get everybody we went
after, but we, we got it at a high

1045
00:47:33,615 --> 00:47:39,825
rate and, you know, um, so I, I feel
like we got the right kids, we got

1046
00:47:39,825 --> 00:47:41,625
talented kids, we got tough kids.

1047
00:47:41,625 --> 00:47:46,065
We got guys that are gonna be able to
contribute to the team culture here.

1048
00:47:46,455 --> 00:47:49,275
Um, and so we're, we're
really pleased with that part.

1049
00:47:49,695 --> 00:47:53,415
And we'll talk more about them
individually, um, on the next one.

1050
00:47:53,415 --> 00:47:56,505
But I think people that, I think
people are gonna be excited about 'em.

1051
00:47:56,505 --> 00:47:57,220
We, we certainly are.

1052
00:47:58,950 --> 00:48:01,830
Well, just hearing the teaser got
me pretty interested you talking

1053
00:48:01,830 --> 00:48:04,830
about D two, all Americans and
Freshmans of the Year, and someone

1054
00:48:04,830 --> 00:48:06,360
coming up from UNC that's local.

1055
00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:10,290
I mean, it's a pretty good tease, but
I, I think it was, uh, the, the last

1056
00:48:10,290 --> 00:48:13,680
episode we had with H was on, I just
kinda asked the question like, where

1057
00:48:13,680 --> 00:48:17,924
do you even start in the portal if
there's a thousand, 2000, 3000 kids?

1058
00:48:17,970 --> 00:48:19,020
And they're like, where do you start?

1059
00:48:19,500 --> 00:48:22,950
And it was funny, it's the math equations
and pairing that down, and then it's

1060
00:48:23,160 --> 00:48:26,819
who do we know that knows them to
tell us what kind of person they are?

1061
00:48:27,089 --> 00:48:28,770
So I was, yeah, to hear

1062
00:48:28,770 --> 00:48:36,750
that other than one maybe, uh, there
was a connection, there was some sort

1063
00:48:36,750 --> 00:48:41,880
of connection and that, you know, we
just kind of fell into one through

1064
00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:46,230
working and, you know, but there, there
all the others, there was some sort of

1065
00:48:46,230 --> 00:48:52,410
connection and we, we realized that we
need that here and that that's okay.

1066
00:48:52,650 --> 00:48:53,160
Um.

1067
00:48:53,655 --> 00:48:57,345
You know, but we, we, the guys were
relentless in what they were going

1068
00:48:57,345 --> 00:49:04,665
after, and we just got a really
good angle right two days ago that

1069
00:49:04,965 --> 00:49:07,005
Mike's been on most of the summer.

1070
00:49:07,605 --> 00:49:12,135
And, uh, you know, it just worked out
that, uh, through some things that we

1071
00:49:12,165 --> 00:49:16,605
were able to get him and he's gonna be a
valuable piece of our bullpen, we think.

1072
00:49:16,605 --> 00:49:17,985
So we're excited about that.

1073
00:49:18,975 --> 00:49:20,955
We got some potential starters in there.

1074
00:49:21,315 --> 00:49:25,275
Uh, we got some bullpen pieces in
there and, you know, coupled with the

1075
00:49:25,275 --> 00:49:29,175
guys that are, that are coming back
and coming in, uh, we think it's,

1076
00:49:29,175 --> 00:49:31,965
you know, it's got the makings of
a, of a pretty good pitching staff.

1077
00:49:34,065 --> 00:49:36,885
And, and h talked about that thing a
little bit, just talking about like,

1078
00:49:37,035 --> 00:49:42,975
you know, we, we talk about that as
a, as a program like it, it helps to

1079
00:49:42,975 --> 00:49:46,425
have anchor points, it helps to have
other people that know us and know

1080
00:49:46,425 --> 00:49:51,790
what this program's about and know,
like, like what's under the hood.

1081
00:49:52,650 --> 00:49:55,050
When you get past some
of the logos, right?

1082
00:49:55,290 --> 00:50:02,100
That, that we see on here, like, it, we,
it, it, it elevates, um, an understanding

1083
00:50:02,100 --> 00:50:07,230
of, of kind of what the potential
opportunity experience is for those guys.

1084
00:50:07,470 --> 00:50:11,010
When we have some people on the other
side, you know, that are working with

1085
00:50:11,010 --> 00:50:13,950
us, that's one of the questions that I
always ask is like, all right, who's gonna

1086
00:50:13,950 --> 00:50:15,780
be helping you in this process, right?

1087
00:50:15,780 --> 00:50:17,190
Outside of maybe mom and dad.

1088
00:50:17,640 --> 00:50:21,990
And when you do that, you find
that out and then like you have

1089
00:50:21,990 --> 00:50:25,290
them, you know, try and get them.

1090
00:50:25,290 --> 00:50:28,620
It's so critical for us to get
those people, those other anchor

1091
00:50:28,650 --> 00:50:33,120
points, to understand what
Old Dominion actually means.

1092
00:50:33,120 --> 00:50:38,340
Like what it's about, what we're about,
and, and what the day to day, you

1093
00:50:38,340 --> 00:50:40,260
know, quality of life is gonna be here.

1094
00:50:40,380 --> 00:50:43,950
Um, I think when you have other
people out there fighting for you,

1095
00:50:44,310 --> 00:50:48,480
people that actually know you,
um, this, this place, you know.

1096
00:50:49,335 --> 00:50:49,875
Is awesome.

1097
00:50:49,875 --> 00:50:53,294
And, and it's always more valuable
for us when we can find those

1098
00:50:53,294 --> 00:50:56,924
guys, you know, that can help sell
who we are and what we're about.

1099
00:50:59,265 --> 00:51:04,004
And so now I'm, I'm just going to
assume this whole thought process

1100
00:51:04,004 --> 00:51:07,455
and angle is exact approach you take
to now the high school recruiting.

1101
00:51:07,455 --> 00:51:09,555
Like as you said, you're doing right
now, you're, you're out there at the,

1102
00:51:09,674 --> 00:51:13,455
the big events happening, uh, down south
and you're going into some more events.

1103
00:51:13,455 --> 00:51:15,524
I'm, I'm assuming it's kind
of the exact same thing.

1104
00:51:15,524 --> 00:51:18,855
You know, you see a kid that's like,
okay, well who do we, who do we know?

1105
00:51:18,855 --> 00:51:21,315
And you said you do have a longer
process to get to know 'em.

1106
00:51:21,315 --> 00:51:22,785
I know you mentioned
that last time, Vinny.

1107
00:51:23,174 --> 00:51:23,745
Yeah.

1108
00:51:23,745 --> 00:51:27,375
And, and it's better now 'cause
this portal has slowed the high

1109
00:51:27,375 --> 00:51:29,055
school recruiting down a bit.

1110
00:51:29,055 --> 00:51:29,145
Mm-hmm.

1111
00:51:29,685 --> 00:51:34,544
You know, normally we'd have had a
handful of 27 commits already, and Yeah.

1112
00:51:34,665 --> 00:51:36,495
Who knows if they're any good or not.

1113
00:51:36,555 --> 00:51:37,575
I mean, you don't know.

1114
00:51:38,085 --> 00:51:41,384
Uh, you know, now we're
finishing up the 26 class.

1115
00:51:41,384 --> 00:51:42,194
We're hoping to get.

1116
00:51:42,495 --> 00:51:45,465
Couple commitments here in the next
couple days from some guys with

1117
00:51:45,465 --> 00:51:49,360
offers, and there's a lot of good 26
players still available out there.

1118
00:51:49,360 --> 00:51:49,680
Mm-hmm.

1119
00:51:49,760 --> 00:51:53,775
But the 20 sevens, this will be, you
know, we've seen a handful these guys

1120
00:51:53,775 --> 00:51:57,885
have in the last three weeks and more
coming up this in this next week.

1121
00:51:57,885 --> 00:52:00,495
But that has slowed down
and that's a good thing.

1122
00:52:00,495 --> 00:52:01,935
You're gonna make less mistakes.

1123
00:52:02,655 --> 00:52:07,155
The high school kids, this is
a whole new world for them.

1124
00:52:07,605 --> 00:52:12,195
You know, like their value is, for lack
of a better way to say it, has gone down.

1125
00:52:12,765 --> 00:52:17,925
Um, because you're not gonna bet
the farm on a 16-year-old when you

1126
00:52:17,925 --> 00:52:22,125
gotta, dude that's 23 coming in here
with a tattoo and beard and mm-hmm.

1127
00:52:22,365 --> 00:52:23,565
He hits it out in the road.

1128
00:52:24,135 --> 00:52:26,655
Uh, and, and that's just the way it is.

1129
00:52:26,985 --> 00:52:32,445
We still want to base our, the base of,
we still want the base of our program.

1130
00:52:32,835 --> 00:52:35,595
If you're looking at the pyramid
to be made up of high school

1131
00:52:35,595 --> 00:52:40,425
kids, um, 'cause that can create
some stability and continuity.

1132
00:52:40,485 --> 00:52:46,095
Maybe, maybe not this, everything's
up for grabs in, in this whole

1133
00:52:46,095 --> 00:52:49,125
new paradigm of college athletics.

1134
00:52:49,125 --> 00:52:51,045
But that's how we're gonna try to do it.

1135
00:52:51,045 --> 00:52:55,785
We're still looking for the, you know,
the undervalued kid, um, a little

1136
00:52:55,785 --> 00:53:00,285
bit and, and the, the kid that maybe
is a couple years away from reaching

1137
00:53:00,285 --> 00:53:04,665
his peak, you know, athleticism,
strength wise and some of that.

1138
00:53:04,935 --> 00:53:09,405
Um, we're not gonna get the kid
that's already the Polish strong,

1139
00:53:09,405 --> 00:53:12,765
super fast athletic kid anyway.

1140
00:53:12,795 --> 00:53:14,745
'cause we can't win
the brand game on that.

1141
00:53:14,985 --> 00:53:15,765
And that's okay.

1142
00:53:16,185 --> 00:53:16,875
That's okay.

1143
00:53:16,964 --> 00:53:17,805
But those guys, you'll get

1144
00:53:17,805 --> 00:53:20,774
'
em in two years when they realize
that the brand wasn't worth it.

1145
00:53:21,134 --> 00:53:21,345
Yeah.

1146
00:53:21,345 --> 00:53:24,884
And sometimes those kids are as good as
they're gonna be, or they just matured

1147
00:53:24,884 --> 00:53:28,634
early and they got the that, and then
they realize, you know, they're, look,

1148
00:53:28,665 --> 00:53:32,625
they're in the portal, uh, in two years
because they didn't get any better.

1149
00:53:33,015 --> 00:53:37,785
Um, we're looking for the guy that's
gonna be continuing to get better through

1150
00:53:37,785 --> 00:53:42,585
our strength program and training and
things like that, and be able to play

1151
00:53:42,585 --> 00:53:46,785
anywhere that you play, you know, like
by his junior year, that kind of stuff.

1152
00:53:46,785 --> 00:53:48,460
So that's what we're trying to get.

1153
00:53:48,960 --> 00:53:52,814
And when you take all that with
the backbone of looking for really

1154
00:53:52,814 --> 00:53:56,504
good people who contribute to your
culture, I mean, that, that's awesome.

1155
00:53:56,504 --> 00:54:00,044
That, that seems like, like I said, uh,
whatever the paradigm is with freshmen

1156
00:54:00,044 --> 00:54:03,765
and high school and all that, the, the
backbone of a good culture, it seems

1157
00:54:03,765 --> 00:54:05,145
like that's a really good formula.

1158
00:54:05,625 --> 00:54:05,745
Yeah.

1159
00:54:05,745 --> 00:54:10,995
That can't change like that, that's a
non-negotiable for all of us, you know?

1160
00:54:11,294 --> 00:54:12,855
Um, what kind of kid is he?

1161
00:54:12,855 --> 00:54:13,964
Do we want to coach him?

1162
00:54:14,305 --> 00:54:16,050
We wanna be around him every day.

1163
00:54:16,470 --> 00:54:21,810
Is he gonna, is he gonna be a guy that,
that's gonna contribute and help us build?

1164
00:54:21,930 --> 00:54:24,840
Because the deal with culture
we've talked about before, it

1165
00:54:24,840 --> 00:54:26,490
can't come from the coaches.

1166
00:54:26,640 --> 00:54:29,910
If it comes from the coaches,
it's just slogans and rules.

1167
00:54:30,180 --> 00:54:33,900
It has to, culture has to come
from the players and you have

1168
00:54:33,900 --> 00:54:35,220
to fight for that and build it.

1169
00:54:35,220 --> 00:54:36,420
You have to help 'em with it.

1170
00:54:36,810 --> 00:54:37,170
Alright?

1171
00:54:37,170 --> 00:54:42,450
But it's culture is, if it's coach driven
man, it's rules, it's not standards.

1172
00:54:42,690 --> 00:54:45,360
And a good culture comes from players.

1173
00:54:45,840 --> 00:54:49,830
Uh, any good team culture, the players
are the ones driving that boat.

1174
00:54:51,825 --> 00:54:55,690
And, and to that, like, just, I
think it was good to, you know, Finny

1175
00:54:55,710 --> 00:54:59,009
touched on, like, kind of talking a
little bit about the algorithm, right?

1176
00:54:59,009 --> 00:55:02,790
Like, it, it's hard to go through, get
to this point in the summer and not

1177
00:55:02,790 --> 00:55:06,690
bring up like, you know, what, what
Paul Panic has done, you know, as the

1178
00:55:06,690 --> 00:55:08,250
recruiting coordinator here in terms of.

1179
00:55:08,910 --> 00:55:09,990
Navigating all this.

1180
00:55:09,995 --> 00:55:12,870
And, and so trying to loop that
back to what Finny's talking about.

1181
00:55:12,870 --> 00:55:18,240
Like, you know, Paul did a great job of
setting up the system this summer, right?

1182
00:55:18,240 --> 00:55:21,840
Organizing structure every time a name
came through, you know, we kind of were

1183
00:55:21,840 --> 00:55:26,250
able to filter it out, you know, and,
and, and kind of tag, you know, X amount

1184
00:55:26,250 --> 00:55:30,300
of guys here and, and then, you know,
whether it was, you know, keen and,

1185
00:55:30,300 --> 00:55:33,720
and pawn and more kind of doing their
background in terms of understanding

1186
00:55:33,720 --> 00:55:37,980
and, and then filtering out to, you know,
whether it's fitting myself or h then,

1187
00:55:38,070 --> 00:55:43,680
then it gives us the chance to be able
to invest time not in is this guy good

1188
00:55:43,680 --> 00:55:45,240
enough or does he fit us physically?

1189
00:55:45,240 --> 00:55:48,030
But then we can dive right
into like, is he the right kid?

1190
00:55:48,480 --> 00:55:48,690
Right?

1191
00:55:48,690 --> 00:55:50,100
Because we've already done that work.

1192
00:55:50,100 --> 00:55:54,780
If, if we don't have that system set
up, if Paul doesn't do the work that

1193
00:55:54,780 --> 00:55:58,740
he does, kind of create and organizing
it and structuring it, you know,

1194
00:55:59,070 --> 00:56:02,040
we're, we're, we're chasing our tail
a lot of the summer, you know, and

1195
00:56:02,040 --> 00:56:06,000
then we're having to cut corners and
make some, some tougher decisions.

1196
00:56:06,735 --> 00:56:10,875
Some less educated decisions, but
the way that, that, you know, Paul,

1197
00:56:11,385 --> 00:56:15,435
you know, kind of teed it up for, for
everybody else in the organization, in

1198
00:56:15,435 --> 00:56:20,715
the program, to be able to do their role,
have their role, do their job, um, it

1199
00:56:20,715 --> 00:56:26,595
really allowed us to kind of, kind of go
after and, and, and do a really good job

1200
00:56:26,595 --> 00:56:28,965
spending time getting to know families.

1201
00:56:28,995 --> 00:56:32,655
And honestly, the flip of it, like
families getting to know us, um, I

1202
00:56:32,655 --> 00:56:34,065
think that's a huge part of it too.

1203
00:56:34,065 --> 00:56:37,785
It's not just us getting to know,
you know, a player and a family.

1204
00:56:37,785 --> 00:56:41,295
It's, it's the families and the
player getting to understand

1205
00:56:41,295 --> 00:56:42,825
who we are, the personalities.

1206
00:56:42,825 --> 00:56:47,115
Like, you know, I joke, you know, it's
like as a, as a Phil guys, a northeast

1207
00:56:47,115 --> 00:56:48,825
guy, sarcasm is my love language.

1208
00:56:49,245 --> 00:56:53,085
Like, you need to, you need to
not show up here in day one.

1209
00:56:53,475 --> 00:56:54,465
Be surprised by that.

1210
00:56:54,465 --> 00:56:56,355
Like, we gotta spend
time getting to know you.

1211
00:56:56,775 --> 00:57:00,795
Um, you know, like we, you know, we spent
a lot of time even, it's like once you

1212
00:57:00,795 --> 00:57:03,220
get through those first couple calls,
like, all right, let's get on a Zoom.

1213
00:57:04,154 --> 00:57:07,754
Let's spend some face time, like,
let's get on with your parents, let's

1214
00:57:07,754 --> 00:57:10,305
get them involved as best as we can.

1215
00:57:10,334 --> 00:57:11,564
Let's get them asking questions.

1216
00:57:11,564 --> 00:57:13,785
Let's get them understanding
who we are as people.

1217
00:57:14,115 --> 00:57:16,845
You know, we have to, again, that
kind of term under the hood, like,

1218
00:57:17,805 --> 00:57:19,544
if we're gonna do this right,
we're gonna get the right guys.

1219
00:57:19,544 --> 00:57:22,334
They gotta get under the hood and
understand us, um, and know us.

1220
00:57:22,725 --> 00:57:27,794
And I think, you know what Paul did, what
the other guys did, you know, um, allowed

1221
00:57:28,004 --> 00:57:32,865
me and, and h and Finny to, to kind
of, kind of handle our responsibilities

1222
00:57:32,870 --> 00:57:37,125
and, and really do, uh, you know, it,
it played for a really good structure.

1223
00:57:37,125 --> 00:57:41,415
And I think that process is what put us
in a position where we're able to land

1224
00:57:41,415 --> 00:57:46,245
some guys that we are really excited about
and to kind of fit the dynamic of what

1225
00:57:46,245 --> 00:57:47,564
we are looking for from the beginning.

1226
00:57:50,145 --> 00:57:50,384
Yeah.

1227
00:57:50,384 --> 00:57:51,615
Now we just, we're just gonna play a game.

1228
00:57:51,615 --> 00:57:52,515
I wanna watch this team.

1229
00:57:52,515 --> 00:57:52,845
Well, yeah.

1230
00:57:56,405 --> 00:57:56,695
Yeah,

1231
00:58:00,240 --> 00:58:03,720
you got all your puzzle pieces now you
just gotta spin the fall, arranging it.

1232
00:58:04,590 --> 00:58:04,710
Good.

1233
00:58:04,710 --> 00:58:05,040
Yeah.

1234
00:58:05,400 --> 00:58:08,250
So we're hopeful this this stuff you
gotta talk about in July though, right?

1235
00:58:08,550 --> 00:58:14,670
Well, yeah, what Mike said, I mean,
Paul, Paul worked his butt off and, um,

1236
00:58:14,910 --> 00:58:19,175
that dude definitely deserves a vacation
here for the end of the year because he

1237
00:58:19,175 --> 00:58:24,930
had done, wrote a bunch and, you know,
it's, uh, he's been, he's been a, a

1238
00:58:24,930 --> 00:58:30,150
lot of fun to, uh, he's dug right into
this program, man, and made his, his

1239
00:58:30,150 --> 00:58:35,430
presence felt in a very short period
of time, uh, in a very positive way.

1240
00:58:35,520 --> 00:58:38,880
So we're, we're really happy
and grateful he is on our team.

1241
00:58:40,830 --> 00:58:44,370
Well, I'm ready to commit now to Old
Dominion Baseball for the upcoming season.

1242
00:58:44,490 --> 00:58:47,820
I have four years of terrible,
uh, work ahead of me, so,

1243
00:58:48,570 --> 00:58:48,810
yes.

1244
00:58:50,084 --> 00:58:50,504
Awesome.

1245
00:58:50,504 --> 00:58:50,865
Awesome.

1246
00:58:51,134 --> 00:58:55,395
Well, fellas, uh, speaking of summer
and vacation, y'all have gotta take

1247
00:58:55,395 --> 00:58:59,265
some time off eventually, but, uh,
Mike, I'll, I'll start with you.

1248
00:58:59,265 --> 00:59:03,015
What, any fun summer vacation plans
in the two seconds you have free,

1249
00:59:04,095 --> 00:59:05,325
I mean, I just got an hour.

1250
00:59:05,564 --> 00:59:07,814
Um, I, I avoided bedtime with this.

1251
00:59:07,875 --> 00:59:10,799
Like, I, I'm hanging like this,
this is vacation's, right?

1252
00:59:11,390 --> 00:59:13,004
This, yeah.

1253
00:59:13,095 --> 00:59:16,575
Just give us the signal if we need to keep
this going for a little longer for you.

1254
00:59:17,355 --> 00:59:22,035
I honestly, Finn Finn and I went
over and saw a game tonight and I

1255
00:59:22,035 --> 00:59:27,674
had Tom, um, so I got the Nora's 10,
Annie seven, and, uh, Tommy's three.

1256
00:59:27,674 --> 00:59:32,504
And so, I don't know, like, I, I, I think,
I think me having Tom over there with

1257
00:59:32,544 --> 00:59:34,935
Finny for a couple innings gave Sarah.

1258
00:59:35,385 --> 00:59:38,865
My wife an actual vacation
from, you know, from, from him.

1259
00:59:38,865 --> 00:59:39,885
I think that's needed.

1260
00:59:39,945 --> 00:59:42,795
Uh, we're right in the middle
of potty training, a three and

1261
00:59:42,795 --> 00:59:45,615
a half year old boy, so you can
only imagine what that looks like.

1262
00:59:45,675 --> 00:59:51,225
Um, but no, it's, uh, vacation for
us will be, um, vacation for us.

1263
00:59:51,225 --> 00:59:54,255
Will actually will do futures
games, uh, down in Atlanta.

1264
00:59:54,645 --> 00:59:55,785
We'll leave tomorrow.

1265
00:59:55,935 --> 00:59:57,795
Uh ha And I'll leave tomorrow for that.

1266
00:59:57,825 --> 01:00:03,315
We'll go down for a couple days and then
I'll meet up with, with Sarah and the

1267
01:00:03,315 --> 01:00:05,625
kids and, and Bethany Beach in Delaware.

1268
01:00:05,865 --> 01:00:09,315
So Sarah's been going there
with her family for forever.

1269
01:00:09,315 --> 01:00:13,305
And, um, my mom just got back be cool.

1270
01:00:13,515 --> 01:00:14,085
It's awesome.

1271
01:00:14,565 --> 01:00:16,515
I've never been, I've never been before.

1272
01:00:16,695 --> 01:00:19,665
You know, Sarah and I started
dating and now that's, it's

1273
01:00:19,665 --> 01:00:21,075
a, like, our kids love it.

1274
01:00:21,135 --> 01:00:23,175
Um, we have a countdown on the calendar.

1275
01:00:23,565 --> 01:00:24,105
I don't know.

1276
01:00:24,525 --> 01:00:26,745
Annie's been counting that
down for about three weeks now.

1277
01:00:26,745 --> 01:00:29,595
So, um, we're, we're
looking forward to that.

1278
01:00:29,595 --> 01:00:31,815
And then probably, you know,
do a little bit of time with.

1279
01:00:32,205 --> 01:00:33,495
With my side family.

1280
01:00:33,585 --> 01:00:37,095
Um, I'm doing a little bit, maybe some
smaller things, and that'll be what it

1281
01:00:37,095 --> 01:00:38,355
looks like for the next couple weeks.

1282
01:00:40,275 --> 01:00:40,935
That's awesome.

1283
01:00:41,355 --> 01:00:45,135
Now, Finny, uh, are you planning a Red
Rocks trip right now as we're talking?

1284
01:00:45,195 --> 01:00:45,735
Oh, there we go.

1285
01:00:45,735 --> 01:00:46,515
Star of the show.

1286
01:00:46,515 --> 01:00:46,575
We

1287
01:00:46,980 --> 01:00:48,495
go, oh man, countdown.

1288
01:00:48,495 --> 01:00:49,365
That'll be awesome.

1289
01:00:50,235 --> 01:00:53,020
Oh, wait, second, every day's a
vacation for me, so I don't need it.

1290
01:00:54,380 --> 01:00:58,965
I, uh, we, we, I've taken a couple weekend
vacations down to the outer banks, went

1291
01:00:58,965 --> 01:01:01,725
down to Frisco early in the summer.

1292
01:01:01,725 --> 01:01:07,725
Um, went to Duck, um, you know, 4th
of July, so had a couple weekend

1293
01:01:07,725 --> 01:01:11,325
getaways, but, um, you know,
that's, that's, that's been it.

1294
01:01:11,325 --> 01:01:15,765
I may, I may try to slide down and
see my son Gray in Fort Myers here,

1295
01:01:16,095 --> 01:01:19,335
um, but I kind of wanna wait till
it's cold here to go down there, so.

1296
01:01:19,425 --> 01:01:19,575
Yeah.

1297
01:01:19,740 --> 01:01:21,195
Honestly, I may, I may put that off.

1298
01:01:21,200 --> 01:01:21,540
That's

1299
01:01:21,540 --> 01:01:22,845
a, that's a December trip.

1300
01:01:23,205 --> 01:01:24,285
Yeah, yeah, exactly.

1301
01:01:24,285 --> 01:01:28,155
So that sounds like Thanksgiving
and Christmas, uh, play golf down.

1302
01:01:28,215 --> 01:01:30,765
So, um, we'll, we'll, we'll see.

1303
01:01:30,765 --> 01:01:31,995
But yeah, Meyers

1304
01:01:31,995 --> 01:01:32,145
Gray.

1305
01:01:32,145 --> 01:01:33,525
I didn't realize that's where gray was.

1306
01:01:33,525 --> 01:01:36,015
You get down there, there
are hurricanes, the wings.

1307
01:01:36,015 --> 01:01:36,615
Yeah.

1308
01:01:36,615 --> 01:01:36,616
Yeah.

1309
01:01:36,621 --> 01:01:37,485
Hurricanes wings.

1310
01:01:37,485 --> 01:01:38,115
Really good.

1311
01:01:38,895 --> 01:01:39,255
Yeah.

1312
01:01:39,585 --> 01:01:39,855
The,

1313
01:01:39,855 --> 01:01:41,775
um, see me, Gary, what do you guys doing?

1314
01:01:42,045 --> 01:01:42,915
What do you guys got?

1315
01:01:43,965 --> 01:01:44,235
Sorry?

1316
01:01:44,775 --> 01:01:45,705
What's your vacation?

1317
01:01:46,335 --> 01:01:46,485
Yeah,

1318
01:01:46,815 --> 01:01:50,745
I had uh, I had a few days of Red
Rocks last week and came back.

1319
01:01:50,775 --> 01:01:55,245
Uh, and my, my big one, I've got
circle, I'm going over to Europe in

1320
01:01:55,305 --> 01:01:59,415
October, so I'll be over there for
about two weeks hitting Iceland,

1321
01:01:59,865 --> 01:02:04,005
Amsterdam, and then London for the,
uh, Jags football game over there.

1322
01:02:04,365 --> 01:02:05,895
So that's, that's the one I got circled.

1323
01:02:05,895 --> 01:02:07,875
I have a fun work trip
to Phoenix next week.

1324
01:02:07,875 --> 01:02:09,585
I heard it's beautiful
there this time of year.

1325
01:02:09,585 --> 01:02:09,645
Yeah,

1326
01:02:09,945 --> 01:02:10,995
yeah, I bet.

1327
01:02:11,115 --> 01:02:12,135
My vacation was.

1328
01:02:13,980 --> 01:02:19,920
My vacation was Georgia Tech
in, uh, February and, uh, Auburn

1329
01:02:19,920 --> 01:02:21,570
and, uh, Southern Miss in March.

1330
01:02:21,570 --> 01:02:22,290
That was my vacation.

1331
01:02:22,290 --> 01:02:22,530
There you go.

1332
01:02:22,530 --> 01:02:23,145
There you go.

1333
01:02:23,855 --> 01:02:24,145
Yeah.

1334
01:02:24,780 --> 01:02:26,065
And exactly how I wanted to spend it.

1335
01:02:26,070 --> 01:02:26,700
It was phenomenal.

1336
01:02:26,910 --> 01:02:27,240
Yeah.

1337
01:02:27,240 --> 01:02:29,610
And you brought the cold weather
with you wherever we was.

1338
01:02:29,670 --> 01:02:30,150
I did.

1339
01:02:30,150 --> 01:02:31,710
We we really did bring where we went.

1340
01:02:31,715 --> 01:02:32,910
It was, it was pretty rough.

1341
01:02:33,450 --> 01:02:38,670
Well, we set a new record, I think,
for podcast length tonight, at least

1342
01:02:38,670 --> 01:02:40,890
for your, your involvement
in the, in the podcast.

1343
01:02:40,890 --> 01:02:41,310
For sure.

1344
01:02:41,310 --> 01:02:41,465
We, our

1345
01:02:41,465 --> 01:02:41,625
part.

1346
01:02:41,655 --> 01:02:41,945
Yeah,

1347
01:02:41,945 --> 01:02:42,225
our part.

1348
01:02:42,255 --> 01:02:42,545
Yeah.

1349
01:02:43,365 --> 01:02:43,585
Yes.

1350
01:02:43,740 --> 01:02:44,370
We appreciate it.

1351
01:02:44,370 --> 01:02:45,150
This, this is fantastic.

1352
01:02:45,150 --> 01:02:45,900
We really appreciate it.

1353
01:02:45,905 --> 01:02:49,080
It's, it's, uh, it's something special
to get this kind of insight to you

1354
01:02:49,080 --> 01:02:53,160
guys and, and I don't know how you
could watch this as an Old Dominion fan

1355
01:02:53,160 --> 01:02:56,610
and not be excited and not feel like
everything's going in the right hands.

1356
01:02:56,610 --> 01:02:58,950
I mean, it's, it's exactly
what I wanna hear as a fan.

1357
01:02:59,925 --> 01:03:00,720
Well, thank you.

1358
01:03:00,840 --> 01:03:01,230
Thank you.

1359
01:03:01,230 --> 01:03:05,610
We got a good group, good coaching
staff and, uh, good group of guys and,

1360
01:03:06,060 --> 01:03:09,450
you know, um, we're looking forward
to, we'll, we'll still have, you know,

1361
01:03:09,450 --> 01:03:12,660
plenty of obstacles to work around
this fall with the stadium stuff.

1362
01:03:12,690 --> 01:03:14,610
Um, but we're gonna figure
out how to get around it.

1363
01:03:14,610 --> 01:03:20,790
We always do, and it'll just be,
uh, really fun thing for all these

1364
01:03:20,790 --> 01:03:24,510
guys that had to go through what
they did last year to see something

1365
01:03:24,510 --> 01:03:27,180
new being built up each day.

1366
01:03:27,180 --> 01:03:30,180
And that's gonna be really exciting,
especially as the fall goes on

1367
01:03:30,180 --> 01:03:34,020
and the stadium starts to get up
and, you know, all those things.

1368
01:03:34,020 --> 01:03:35,730
So we're, we're excited about the future.

1369
01:03:37,440 --> 01:03:39,270
Yeah, we definitely are as well.

1370
01:03:39,330 --> 01:03:43,050
Uh, but really appreciate the
time, uh, fans hang tight.

1371
01:03:43,050 --> 01:03:46,530
CB and I are gonna be back to
recap things and then also, uh,

1372
01:03:46,560 --> 01:03:48,570
play that Blake interview for you.

1373
01:03:48,570 --> 01:03:51,900
But Coach Marron Finny,
greatly appreciate your time.

1374
01:03:51,900 --> 01:03:53,790
Hope you all enjoy the rest of
your summer and we'll see you

1375
01:03:53,790 --> 01:03:54,810
again in probably about a month.

1376
01:03:54,825 --> 01:03:54,884
All.

1377
01:03:55,875 --> 01:03:56,595
Thanks guys.

1378
01:03:56,865 --> 01:03:57,589
Everybody have a good night.

1379
01:03:57,589 --> 01:03:57,830
Thanks.

1380
01:03:57,830 --> 01:03:58,350
Thanks, Gary.

1381
01:03:58,350 --> 01:03:58,910
Yeah, thanks.

1382
01:03:58,910 --> 01:04:00,435
Team B. Great Night boys.

1383
01:04:00,855 --> 01:04:04,185
This episode of the Monarchist
Podcast is brought to you by

1384
01:04:04,185 --> 01:04:05,595
the pride of ODU Collective.

1385
01:04:06,285 --> 01:04:09,495
Their mission is to elevate the
experience of student athletes through

1386
01:04:09,495 --> 01:04:13,335
name, image, and likeness, while
also elevating the fan experience.

1387
01:04:13,635 --> 01:04:16,065
If you or your business are
interested in getting involved,

1388
01:04:16,575 --> 01:04:21,615
you can reach out to us directly
or go over to the pride of odu.com.

1389
01:04:21,915 --> 01:04:25,455
That is the pride of odu.com.

1390
01:04:25,755 --> 01:04:27,200
Thank you for listening, and go Monarchs.

1391
01:04:31,965 --> 01:04:32,355
All right.

1392
01:04:32,355 --> 01:04:33,345
Welcome back fans.

1393
01:04:33,345 --> 01:04:37,285
Hope you all, uh, enjoyed the conversation
there with Coach Marron and Finny.

1394
01:04:37,335 --> 01:04:40,365
Uh, we got a lot from it, some
breaking news we weren't aware of with

1395
01:04:40,365 --> 01:04:41,835
some transfer portal announcements.

1396
01:04:41,835 --> 01:04:43,875
We'll have more details on
that in the next episode.

1397
01:04:43,875 --> 01:04:43,965
Yeah.

1398
01:04:44,355 --> 01:04:47,715
Uh, but cb I think you have some
super breaking news right now.

1399
01:04:47,865 --> 01:04:48,285
I do.

1400
01:04:48,285 --> 01:04:51,375
This is breaking, so this is, we're
recording this on Tuesday night.

1401
01:04:51,765 --> 01:04:54,616
Uh, and I, as Finny said that
he thought Kyle, Edward, Edward

1402
01:04:54,621 --> 01:04:55,515
was making his pro debut.

1403
01:04:55,515 --> 01:04:59,895
He, he did and is apparently, uh, my
mom was trying to call me actually

1404
01:04:59,895 --> 01:05:03,435
while we were, while we were, uh,
sitting here there watching his game.

1405
01:05:03,435 --> 01:05:05,835
I'm not sure on what, but
they're watching the wild things.

1406
01:05:06,105 --> 01:05:11,445
And, uh, he had a, a single, uh, batting
left-handed, I guess he went back to,

1407
01:05:11,595 --> 01:05:15,495
went back to sw why he decided to go
back to switch hitting in his pro debut.

1408
01:05:15,495 --> 01:05:15,945
Who knows?

1409
01:05:15,975 --> 01:05:17,565
Only Kyle Edwards could tell you that.

1410
01:05:17,565 --> 01:05:20,145
That's, that's the, the
man, the mis, the mystery.

1411
01:05:20,205 --> 01:05:24,195
Uh, but so he, he got a, he got a hit in
his first day a so that's pretty awesome.

1412
01:05:24,930 --> 01:05:27,000
Indie ball debut, hold anything back here.

1413
01:05:28,200 --> 01:05:29,760
Indie ball dog man.

1414
01:05:30,480 --> 01:05:30,600
Yeah.

1415
01:05:30,600 --> 01:05:35,460
Watch him hit like, you know, three
70 from the left and then ends up

1416
01:05:35,460 --> 01:05:37,260
into a minor league system next year.

1417
01:05:37,260 --> 01:05:37,410
Yeah.

1418
01:05:37,410 --> 01:05:38,160
And we're like, wow.

1419
01:05:38,190 --> 01:05:39,630
Kyle could have hit the other way there.

1420
01:05:40,560 --> 01:05:40,890
Um,

1421
01:05:40,920 --> 01:05:41,790
I mean, I would believe it.

1422
01:05:41,790 --> 01:05:42,510
He is so athletic.

1423
01:05:42,510 --> 01:05:45,930
He, he's such a, I mean, and, and
you know, I, I will say again, my, my

1424
01:05:45,930 --> 01:05:47,640
talent level obviously was terrible.

1425
01:05:47,880 --> 01:05:51,000
Uh, but the few times that I tried switch
hitting, 'cause I'm a natural lefty, the

1426
01:05:51,000 --> 01:05:54,930
few times I hit right-handed, I was like,
I think I'm actually more fundamentally

1427
01:05:55,020 --> 01:05:56,400
a better hitter right-handed.

1428
01:05:56,790 --> 01:05:59,550
'cause sometimes you just, because
you aren't, you don't have the same

1429
01:05:59,550 --> 01:06:01,560
natural athleticism from that side.

1430
01:06:01,950 --> 01:06:04,440
So like, I went right-handed, it was
like, okay, it's all fundamentals.

1431
01:06:04,440 --> 01:06:05,880
Let's make sure we're
doing things properly.

1432
01:06:06,180 --> 01:06:09,155
And so if, if, if that kind of
thing is going on, it might, you,

1433
01:06:09,160 --> 01:06:12,510
you could maybe end up being a
better, especially contact editor.

1434
01:06:13,875 --> 01:06:14,235
Who knows?

1435
01:06:14,235 --> 01:06:14,415
Yeah.

1436
01:06:14,685 --> 01:06:17,295
I mean, just, just get the
reps and see what happens.

1437
01:06:17,295 --> 01:06:18,405
But glad that, uh, I do know

1438
01:06:18,405 --> 01:06:22,455
Kyle got, uh, replaced on the pilots
by Tylers of Dallas, uh, who we had

1439
01:06:22,455 --> 01:06:25,335
a Grand Sam the other night for the
Peninsula Pilots, and I know he's

1440
01:06:25,335 --> 01:06:27,525
there, so now he's Scotty's still there.

1441
01:06:27,915 --> 01:06:29,295
Uh, and then Evan Holman's with them.

1442
01:06:29,295 --> 01:06:30,975
So I'm, I'm gonna go
see them tomorrow night.

1443
01:06:31,035 --> 01:06:33,285
Uh, hopefully, hopefully all
three have been line up again.

1444
01:06:34,335 --> 01:06:34,545
Yeah.

1445
01:06:34,545 --> 01:06:36,825
If you haven't made it over to
a pilots game yet, highly yes.

1446
01:06:36,825 --> 01:06:40,755
Recommend getting over there, especially
with three Monarchs, uh, on the team.

1447
01:06:40,755 --> 01:06:41,295
I gotta like,

1448
01:06:41,475 --> 01:06:43,545
this week and next week
left, and then the playoffs,

1449
01:06:44,235 --> 01:06:45,135
because they are, it's wild.

1450
01:06:45,255 --> 01:06:45,375
Noal,

1451
01:06:45,375 --> 01:06:47,565
they're like 25 and 10, I think.

1452
01:06:47,565 --> 01:06:48,645
They're a phenomenal team.

1453
01:06:49,845 --> 01:06:51,555
Yeah, they've, they've
had a really great season.

1454
01:06:51,615 --> 01:06:54,615
Uh, but it's hard to believe the
summer's actually coming to an end

1455
01:06:54,615 --> 01:06:58,005
and like, uh, I've got like a five
week countdown till I'm gonna be in

1456
01:06:58,005 --> 01:07:00,075
Indiana for odu u football's opener.

1457
01:07:00,525 --> 01:07:02,580
So it's, it's really five weeks.

1458
01:07:02,580 --> 01:07:06,225
It's going, yeah, it's, it is
basically five weeks at this point.

1459
01:07:06,225 --> 01:07:08,835
Where, where that's, that's gonna
be because it's like what, September

1460
01:07:08,835 --> 01:07:09,495
6th?

1461
01:07:09,495 --> 01:07:10,305
Is that what it is?

1462
01:07:10,305 --> 01:07:12,540
Or when's the, that's like the
first home game is a six, isn't it?

1463
01:07:13,935 --> 01:07:16,755
They play the Saturday
of Labor Day weekend.

1464
01:07:16,755 --> 01:07:20,565
So it'll be a Labor Day weekend
trip up to Bloomington, Indiana.

1465
01:07:20,765 --> 01:07:22,774
Uh, yeah, that was, that was good stuff.

1466
01:07:23,254 --> 01:07:25,444
Uh, no, I mean, that was, that
was, that was really great.

1467
01:07:25,444 --> 01:07:29,615
It was, um, I mean, just the, the depth
of information there was phenomenal.

1468
01:07:29,674 --> 01:07:33,904
Um, and as always, I maren
completely deflecting any piece of

1469
01:07:33,904 --> 01:07:37,294
positive of himself away to other
people, which, you know, you love.

1470
01:07:37,625 --> 01:07:39,334
Um, and I, I love that.

1471
01:07:39,334 --> 01:07:42,035
I'm, I'm glad, and the way he answered
the question about, 'cause I think,

1472
01:07:42,035 --> 01:07:44,975
again, a lot of people, and we, we
brought it up in our talks about, you

1473
01:07:44,975 --> 01:07:46,595
know, you replacing the entire rotation.

1474
01:07:46,595 --> 01:07:47,825
Well, what that, what's
that gonna be like?

1475
01:07:47,825 --> 01:07:51,004
Well, and his answer was true,
said the reality is most years,

1476
01:07:51,004 --> 01:07:51,845
that's kind of how it feels.

1477
01:07:51,845 --> 01:07:52,265
Anyway.

1478
01:07:52,835 --> 01:07:53,585
You into this year.

1479
01:07:53,585 --> 01:07:55,595
It's like, okay, you know,
Blake was coming back.

1480
01:07:55,595 --> 01:07:57,215
You knew that, and Blake
had been a starter for you.

1481
01:07:57,215 --> 01:08:00,845
Most the time we kind of forget that
Dylan had been a starter, but also

1482
01:08:00,845 --> 01:08:02,434
kind of up and down and in and out.

1483
01:08:02,434 --> 01:08:04,444
And then Ben had started like two games.

1484
01:08:04,444 --> 01:08:07,354
So I mean, every, every
year I, I, I like that.

1485
01:08:07,354 --> 01:08:08,165
I love that perspective.

1486
01:08:08,165 --> 01:08:08,434
They had.

1487
01:08:08,434 --> 01:08:10,684
It's like, look, this is just what
the job is and what it is, and

1488
01:08:11,075 --> 01:08:13,774
you're, you're gonna bring some guys
in and, and you hope and believe

1489
01:08:13,774 --> 01:08:14,854
that they're gonna be successful.

1490
01:08:16,085 --> 01:08:19,205
And I love the focus still on like
who the person is and the character.

1491
01:08:19,205 --> 01:08:19,385
Yeah.

1492
01:08:19,415 --> 01:08:22,804
Because yes, we lost all three
weekend starters to the draft.

1493
01:08:22,804 --> 01:08:22,865
Yeah.

1494
01:08:23,255 --> 01:08:25,865
Uh, but we we're losing Kyle
Edwards, we're losing some other

1495
01:08:25,865 --> 01:08:28,715
guys that were really kind of the,
the glue from the culture piece.

1496
01:08:28,715 --> 01:08:28,774
Yeah.

1497
01:08:28,774 --> 01:08:29,404
For this team.

1498
01:08:29,410 --> 01:08:29,420
So.

1499
01:08:30,154 --> 01:08:32,944
It, it, it's kind of that time
where you have to hand it off

1500
01:08:32,944 --> 01:08:33,995
to the next batch of guys.

1501
01:08:33,995 --> 01:08:36,035
And I think we have a great
batch of guys that are return.

1502
01:08:36,035 --> 01:08:40,774
They're gonna keep that good culture going
because I mean, last year was a really

1503
01:08:40,774 --> 01:08:42,184
tough year with them being on the road.

1504
01:08:42,184 --> 01:08:45,064
They spent a lot of time together
on buses, planes, hotels,

1505
01:08:45,064 --> 01:08:49,054
sleeping in airports, and at least
that I'm aware of, didn't hear

1506
01:08:49,054 --> 01:08:50,434
anything about any major blowups.

1507
01:08:50,434 --> 01:08:53,165
I didn't hear anybody getting dumped
off the team, nothing like that.

1508
01:08:53,165 --> 01:08:55,505
So if you can make it through
that, it'd be all right.

1509
01:08:55,505 --> 01:08:58,984
I never, I was around them a lot and
you never saw guys that would look

1510
01:08:58,984 --> 01:09:02,764
like they were tired of being around
each other, or like, oh, this guy

1511
01:09:02,764 --> 01:09:03,845
again is like, they're just there.

1512
01:09:03,845 --> 01:09:04,715
They're hanging out with their buddies.

1513
01:09:04,715 --> 01:09:07,295
They, you see, they, they seemed
genuinely excited every single day

1514
01:09:07,295 --> 01:09:08,404
to be hanging out with their buddies.

1515
01:09:08,795 --> 01:09:12,425
So that's, that says a lot about, like
you said, that was a tough time, man.

1516
01:09:12,665 --> 01:09:14,885
When we were there in the airport
and it was like three and four

1517
01:09:14,885 --> 01:09:17,014
in the morning, and everyone
was still just like, Hmm, okay.

1518
01:09:17,014 --> 01:09:19,385
Nobody was having a bad, like nobody
really was having a bad time other

1519
01:09:19,385 --> 01:09:21,184
than like, uh, this is unpleasant.

1520
01:09:21,575 --> 01:09:23,375
You're like, eh, it, yeah, they did.

1521
01:09:23,375 --> 01:09:23,916
They, they're you.

1522
01:09:24,920 --> 01:09:28,040
Because as they point out, you know,
we're, you gotta win the margins, right?

1523
01:09:28,040 --> 01:09:31,099
You're not gonna, you're not
gonna win the big recruiting

1524
01:09:31,099 --> 01:09:32,120
battles 'cause of the brand.

1525
01:09:32,120 --> 01:09:35,059
You're not gonna win big recruiting
battles now because of the money.

1526
01:09:35,479 --> 01:09:39,859
But what you can win at is being
good people and getting the right

1527
01:09:39,859 --> 01:09:41,420
kind of people for your place.

1528
01:09:41,424 --> 01:09:44,990
And, and like I said, the development
which, which as they pointed out, how

1529
01:09:44,990 --> 01:09:48,380
many of the guys that we talk about those,
all those pictures have been drafted.

1530
01:09:48,649 --> 01:09:51,710
Most of them were with us most of
their career, if not all their career.

1531
01:09:52,130 --> 01:09:52,279
Yeah.

1532
01:09:52,340 --> 01:09:56,389
And they were not getting drafted before
they got here, and then were after

1533
01:09:56,389 --> 01:09:58,340
they left, which again says a lot.

1534
01:09:59,809 --> 01:10:00,080
Yeah.

1535
01:10:00,080 --> 01:10:03,349
A lesser team would've imploded
last year considering our record

1536
01:10:03,349 --> 01:10:04,549
and the travel and everything else.

1537
01:10:04,549 --> 01:10:09,799
But they didn't, they ended up kind of
exceeding some expectations and we're

1538
01:10:09,799 --> 01:10:11,090
looking pretty good down the stretch.

1539
01:10:11,090 --> 01:10:14,210
Just ran into, you know, buzz
saw, buzz saw of a team in,

1540
01:10:14,210 --> 01:10:15,349
in the conference tournament.

1541
01:10:16,009 --> 01:10:16,160
Yeah.

1542
01:10:16,309 --> 01:10:19,219
Um, man, I'm sitting here in
my dream world thinking of.

1543
01:10:19,655 --> 01:10:24,065
The fact that ODU could have three
guys in the starting rotation for the

1544
01:10:24,065 --> 01:10:26,135
Red Sox in like three or four years.

1545
01:10:26,195 --> 01:10:26,705
Yeah.

1546
01:10:26,705 --> 01:10:28,865
The Boston Hudson Sox, we love it.

1547
01:10:28,865 --> 01:10:29,105
Right?

1548
01:10:29,105 --> 01:10:33,425
We get, so we got John Hobe and, uh, Noah
Dean of course who actually got drafted

1549
01:10:33,425 --> 01:10:37,625
by them and, and then Dylan Brown and,
and our, our buddy, uh, Nick Murray,

1550
01:10:37,655 --> 01:10:40,835
former Dominion coach is of course
there, and I'm sure he's got some, uh.

1551
01:10:41,224 --> 01:10:43,355
Some things to say when they
come ask him about these guy.

1552
01:10:43,360 --> 01:10:46,054
I know I, I, I'm pretty sure him
and Dylan Brown were pretty good

1553
01:10:46,054 --> 01:10:47,554
friends when they were both here.

1554
01:10:47,945 --> 01:10:51,304
Uh, and so I'm sure that he was,
if he wasn't a part of it, I'm sure

1555
01:10:51,304 --> 01:10:52,415
he was extremely excited about it.

1556
01:10:52,415 --> 01:10:54,514
Probably walking around the office the
next day telling, we love this guy.

1557
01:10:54,724 --> 01:10:55,294
Dylan's gonna come in.

1558
01:10:55,294 --> 01:10:55,834
We love this guy.

1559
01:10:57,665 --> 01:11:01,624
Yes, well hopefully may, maybe somehow
Dylan ends up getting sent up to the

1560
01:11:01,624 --> 01:11:04,594
Greenville Drive for the last couple
weeks of the season and we get that,

1561
01:11:04,594 --> 01:11:10,115
that three headed monster of Noah Dean,
uh, and Holts and Dylan, uh, that would,

1562
01:11:10,174 --> 01:11:11,315
you know, but that's my fantasy world.

1563
01:11:11,315 --> 01:11:14,374
Obviously Minor league when they get
traded 19 times before they even have a

1564
01:11:14,374 --> 01:11:16,325
chance to get up to the pro ball, but.

1565
01:11:16,380 --> 01:11:18,870
You know, well, I'll tell
you what, it's a good,

1566
01:11:18,870 --> 01:11:22,050
uh, a good idea for anybody that
might be thinking about spring

1567
01:11:22,050 --> 01:11:23,610
training going down to Fort Myers.

1568
01:11:23,610 --> 01:11:26,340
'cause they have a really
nice spring training facility.

1569
01:11:26,340 --> 01:11:29,550
And the, uh, I've been in a couple
years, but last time I was down there,

1570
01:11:29,730 --> 01:11:33,060
very easy access to just walk back and
watch my league games and hang out.

1571
01:11:33,060 --> 01:11:35,520
And they're, every time I've ever
been to anything with the Red Sox,

1572
01:11:35,520 --> 01:11:37,980
they've always been, they were
really professional, really good.

1573
01:11:38,340 --> 01:11:40,890
And every time I've been back there
too, I mean, I, one time I watched

1574
01:11:40,890 --> 01:11:43,590
Dave Ortiz, uh, DH in a game.

1575
01:11:44,134 --> 01:11:45,934
And just every inning go up in bat.

1576
01:11:45,934 --> 01:11:48,545
And he was, it was, they were playing
the twins and he knew the coaches, so he

1577
01:11:48,545 --> 01:11:50,344
was actually sitting in the twins dugout.

1578
01:11:50,735 --> 01:11:53,674
So he hit, he hit a Hummer off a
guy, and the next half inning he's

1579
01:11:53,674 --> 01:11:54,964
sitting next to the guy on the bench.

1580
01:11:55,535 --> 01:11:57,275
It's like, okay, this is unique.

1581
01:11:58,115 --> 01:11:59,285
Yeah, spring training is fun.

1582
01:11:59,285 --> 01:12:02,615
And yeah, you go to Fort Myers, catch
those guys, drive north a little bit and

1583
01:12:02,615 --> 01:12:07,174
you can catch Blake with the rays and you
gotta cross the state to go over to West

1584
01:12:07,174 --> 01:12:09,455
Palm to catch, uh, bin with the Nats.

1585
01:12:09,455 --> 01:12:11,495
The Nats and Astros split
that facility there.

1586
01:12:11,705 --> 01:12:15,964
But similar thing, uh, all like the
practice fields are outside of where

1587
01:12:15,964 --> 01:12:19,445
the main stadium is in the middle, so
you can just really walk up and just

1588
01:12:19,445 --> 01:12:22,264
grab a piece of fence and you know,
if you're watching a guy who's going

1589
01:12:22,264 --> 01:12:25,835
to the Dominican League, single aaa,
they kind of throw all the minor league

1590
01:12:25,835 --> 01:12:27,365
guys that are 40 man there together.

1591
01:12:27,365 --> 01:12:27,695
So

1592
01:12:27,815 --> 01:12:28,894
I, I love minor league.

1593
01:12:28,894 --> 01:12:30,875
Spring training is one of my minor league.

1594
01:12:30,875 --> 01:12:31,865
Spring training is one of my favorite.

1595
01:12:31,985 --> 01:12:35,554
When I used to go, I would go for like a
week or two and we would basically just

1596
01:12:35,554 --> 01:12:36,695
go to the minor league spring training.

1597
01:12:36,695 --> 01:12:41,045
We wait until they, we knew they, I
mean it's always one of my favorite ones

1598
01:12:41,045 --> 01:12:42,695
ever was watching the Noah cinder guard.

1599
01:12:43,264 --> 01:12:43,955
Uh, pitching.

1600
01:12:43,955 --> 01:12:45,874
He, I think he was on, in a double A game.

1601
01:12:45,874 --> 01:12:48,184
I think he did, he went to a ball that
year, but he was in double A Game.

1602
01:12:48,394 --> 01:12:49,834
It was at the Marlin's place.

1603
01:12:50,044 --> 01:12:51,304
And so there were four fields.

1604
01:12:51,304 --> 01:12:53,615
There were four games going
on at once, which is rare.

1605
01:12:53,615 --> 01:12:57,155
Usually it's like two games, or there
were four fields, all four games going on.

1606
01:12:57,455 --> 01:13:01,235
And by the fifth inning, the last
inning that s Guard pitched every

1607
01:13:01,264 --> 01:13:05,855
player who wasn't actively playing
in a game was watching him pitch,

1608
01:13:06,094 --> 01:13:09,634
because it was just like 98 mile an
hour fastballs and just mowing guys.

1609
01:13:09,815 --> 01:13:13,025
And that was our, our buddy Connor
Overton, uh, got the start against

1610
01:13:13,025 --> 01:13:16,264
him that day for the, when he,
the Marlins, uh, he pitched,

1611
01:13:16,264 --> 01:13:17,224
he pitched really well too.

1612
01:13:17,224 --> 01:13:19,924
So he got, I know he got looked,
looked at by some folks at that

1613
01:13:19,924 --> 01:13:20,945
time, which is important for.

1614
01:13:21,815 --> 01:13:22,055
Yeah.

1615
01:13:22,060 --> 01:13:23,690
Getting to watch George drop the hammer.

1616
01:13:23,690 --> 01:13:24,185
That was three Tommy John's

1617
01:13:24,185 --> 01:13:25,025
surgeries ago.

1618
01:13:25,505 --> 01:13:27,425
Yeah, that was like three
Tommy John's surgeries ago.

1619
01:13:27,425 --> 01:13:28,505
For, for, for Connor.

1620
01:13:29,435 --> 01:13:29,645
Yeah.

1621
01:13:29,645 --> 01:13:31,145
Maybe that's a topic for another day.

1622
01:13:31,145 --> 01:13:35,255
Talking about the ever increasing
rise of Tommy John's surgery at

1623
01:13:35,255 --> 01:13:37,085
like the high school level now.

1624
01:13:37,115 --> 01:13:38,255
It's unbelievable.

1625
01:13:38,255 --> 01:13:39,875
But that's a topic for another day.

1626
01:13:39,875 --> 01:13:42,005
Uh, stay tuned again.

1627
01:13:42,035 --> 01:13:43,595
We got, we've been
teasing it the whole time.

1628
01:13:43,595 --> 01:13:45,605
Blake's interview will be
right after this, so you can

1629
01:13:45,695 --> 01:13:47,225
listen to us and it was great.

1630
01:13:47,285 --> 01:13:47,675
Hear Blake.

1631
01:13:47,675 --> 01:13:48,185
He's awesome.

1632
01:13:48,665 --> 01:13:49,145
Yes.

1633
01:13:49,505 --> 01:13:49,775
All right.

1634
01:13:49,775 --> 01:13:51,365
So you, you guys listen to Blake.

1635
01:13:51,365 --> 01:13:51,935
Are we getting out?

1636
01:13:51,935 --> 01:13:52,625
Are we dumping it now?

1637
01:13:52,625 --> 01:13:54,635
Are we getting out here now and saying
bye now, or we, what are we doing?

1638
01:13:54,640 --> 01:13:54,810
We're,

1639
01:13:55,265 --> 01:13:56,315
we're dumping it now.

1640
01:13:56,315 --> 01:13:57,845
Enjoy the Blake interview.

1641
01:13:57,905 --> 01:13:58,745
Go Monarchs.

1642
01:13:58,745 --> 01:13:59,045
Yes,

1643
01:13:59,135 --> 01:14:00,155
go Monarchs.

1644
01:14:01,021 --> 01:14:04,201
Hello Monarch fans and welcome
back to the Hudson Homers podcast.

1645
01:14:04,201 --> 01:14:08,791
We are grateful to be joined
today by Blake Morgan, recent

1646
01:14:08,791 --> 01:14:10,681
draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays.

1647
01:14:10,681 --> 01:14:13,321
Blake, thanks so much for
joining us and congratulations.

1648
01:14:13,621 --> 01:14:15,391
Thank you so much, and yeah, absolutely.

1649
01:14:15,391 --> 01:14:16,081
I love coming on here.

1650
01:14:17,596 --> 01:14:17,776
That's

1651
01:14:17,776 --> 01:14:17,986
great.

1652
01:14:17,986 --> 01:14:19,366
We're glad, glad to have congrats, man.

1653
01:14:19,366 --> 01:14:19,696
Right.

1654
01:14:19,756 --> 01:14:21,586
We're we, we were talking to Segment.

1655
01:14:21,646 --> 01:14:22,936
We're, we're all excited for you, man.

1656
01:14:22,936 --> 01:14:26,086
Like, we love all the guys, but
you know, you know, you're special.

1657
01:14:26,086 --> 01:14:27,286
You're, you're, you're a dude man.

1658
01:14:27,286 --> 01:14:28,366
So we're con congrats.

1659
01:14:28,366 --> 01:14:30,586
But how, how was, how
did, how did you find out?

1660
01:14:30,586 --> 01:14:32,776
Like where were you, what was
going on when you found out?

1661
01:14:32,776 --> 01:14:33,106
Um,

1662
01:14:33,106 --> 01:14:34,666
so I was at, I was at my house.

1663
01:14:34,666 --> 01:14:35,596
My family was there.

1664
01:14:35,596 --> 01:14:37,006
A couple of my friends were over.

1665
01:14:37,066 --> 01:14:40,996
Um, and I found out it was kind
of like a last minute thing.

1666
01:14:41,056 --> 01:14:41,686
Um.

1667
01:14:42,556 --> 01:14:45,616
I had been like talking with teams kind
of throughout the day, and then the phone

1668
01:14:45,616 --> 01:14:50,536
went silent for like an hour and, um, I
didn't really know what was gonna happen.

1669
01:14:50,536 --> 01:14:53,266
So after the 10th round, the phone like
kind of went silent and I didn't really

1670
01:14:53,266 --> 01:14:55,426
hear anything until like the 15th or 16th.

1671
01:14:56,026 --> 01:14:59,386
And, um, it, nothing, like, nothing
definite still at that point it

1672
01:14:59,386 --> 01:15:02,026
was just teams like reaching out,
wondering what kind of, what my

1673
01:15:02,026 --> 01:15:03,826
number was, what I was looking to get.

1674
01:15:04,426 --> 01:15:05,806
And um, then like.

1675
01:15:06,316 --> 01:15:09,646
I agreed to a deal with the
royals to sign post draft.

1676
01:15:09,646 --> 01:15:11,776
I was like, I agreed for 50,000.

1677
01:15:11,836 --> 01:15:14,596
Um, so I turned my phone
off, like I wasn't answering

1678
01:15:14,596 --> 01:15:15,856
any calls from anyone else.

1679
01:15:15,856 --> 01:15:18,676
I got a call from the Padres five
minutes later, couldn't answer it.

1680
01:15:19,276 --> 01:15:21,046
Um, so Marin was dealing with all that.

1681
01:15:21,046 --> 01:15:24,616
He's talking with a bunch of other
teams trying to get my name called, um.

1682
01:15:25,276 --> 01:15:27,736
And there was a couple other
teams that wanted to get me right

1683
01:15:27,736 --> 01:15:30,586
after the draft that were like
guaranteeing me this and that.

1684
01:15:30,586 --> 01:15:34,606
And Marin was saying that if I was
gonna go on draft, that I should

1685
01:15:34,606 --> 01:15:36,556
have stayed with the Royals,
which is the right thing to do.

1686
01:15:36,556 --> 01:15:38,536
Like I kind of already made
that handshake agreement.

1687
01:15:38,806 --> 01:15:41,056
So his main goal was just
to get my name called.

1688
01:15:41,086 --> 01:15:46,876
Um, and he called me in the 19th round and
he was like, yeah, you're up in two picks.

1689
01:15:46,876 --> 01:15:51,226
And he told me like the scout name, he
told me it was ml. And so I knew that it

1690
01:15:51,226 --> 01:15:55,096
was a raise, but my parents didn't know
or anyone else, so I didn't tell them.

1691
01:15:55,096 --> 01:15:58,756
I just told 'em to listen to the TV
and uh, then they, they all heard it.

1692
01:15:58,756 --> 01:15:59,866
My mom was freaking out.

1693
01:16:00,976 --> 01:16:03,556
So people who don't know, that's
ML Moore, who's now the new

1694
01:16:03,766 --> 01:16:04,996
head coach of Norfolk State.

1695
01:16:05,416 --> 01:16:06,556
He was a raised Correct.

1696
01:16:06,766 --> 01:16:08,446
I was wondering if he was
the one that, that's amazing.

1697
01:16:08,446 --> 01:16:09,136
That's really cool.

1698
01:16:09,451 --> 01:16:09,871
Correct.

1699
01:16:09,871 --> 01:16:10,051
Yeah.

1700
01:16:10,051 --> 01:16:11,491
This was, this was his last year.

1701
01:16:11,551 --> 01:16:14,611
Um, yeah, he said he had to get
his cousin before he left 'cause

1702
01:16:14,611 --> 01:16:15,601
we have the same last name.

1703
01:16:15,601 --> 01:16:15,871
So.

1704
01:16:17,221 --> 01:16:17,401
That's

1705
01:16:17,401 --> 01:16:17,821
funny.

1706
01:16:17,941 --> 01:16:18,601
That's awesome.

1707
01:16:18,991 --> 01:16:21,211
That's, that's, that's
really cool to hear.

1708
01:16:21,301 --> 01:16:24,511
Number one, that you almost were a royal
after the fact, so that's, that's great.

1709
01:16:24,511 --> 01:16:26,191
You had a deal anyway, so you knew right.

1710
01:16:26,251 --> 01:16:26,971
You were gonna be a pro.

1711
01:16:27,151 --> 01:16:28,022
It's also, it's, I mean, it's.

1712
01:16:28,261 --> 01:16:31,081
Again, tells you how great Mike Marin
is and what he is doing, that he's

1713
01:16:31,081 --> 01:16:34,081
out there just working that phone
and making sure, because it's, it's,

1714
01:16:34,081 --> 01:16:37,171
it's cool to go pro, but it's so much
better to be like, Hey, I got drafted.

1715
01:16:37,171 --> 01:16:38,671
That, that's just, that
there's something to that.

1716
01:16:38,671 --> 01:16:40,171
That that's a special moment, man.

1717
01:16:40,411 --> 01:16:41,071
Absolutely.

1718
01:16:41,071 --> 01:16:41,371
Yeah.

1719
01:16:41,371 --> 01:16:45,181
Um, so he was, yeah, he'd been, he
was working his tail off all day.

1720
01:16:45,181 --> 01:16:48,061
It was definitely a stressful
day for me and him both.

1721
01:16:48,091 --> 01:16:51,151
Um, especially like dealing
with DB and Ben as well.

1722
01:16:52,006 --> 01:16:55,756
I'm sure he was figuring things out with
Ben once that 10th round had passed and

1723
01:16:55,756 --> 01:16:58,906
he was probably wondering kind of what
was going on like the rest of us were.

1724
01:16:59,026 --> 01:16:59,086
Yeah.

1725
01:16:59,536 --> 01:17:02,146
Um, so I'm glad that
Ben got that situated.

1726
01:17:02,146 --> 01:17:04,366
He got to go to his hometown
team, which is, is awesome.

1727
01:17:04,486 --> 01:17:04,961
I'm That's very cool.

1728
01:17:04,961 --> 01:17:05,746
Excited about that.

1729
01:17:05,746 --> 01:17:05,956
Yeah.

1730
01:17:07,516 --> 01:17:10,036
Uh, had you had any conversation
with the rays or workouts

1731
01:17:10,036 --> 01:17:11,386
with him prior to the draft?

1732
01:17:11,626 --> 01:17:15,886
So I didn't, that was actually the
first call I got on that morning

1733
01:17:15,886 --> 01:17:18,706
was from the Tigers and I didn't
even have the guy's number saved.

1734
01:17:18,736 --> 01:17:20,806
Um, uh.

1735
01:17:24,886 --> 01:17:27,376
Um, I didn't like, hadn't
even spoken to them at all.

1736
01:17:27,376 --> 01:17:30,916
I'd spoken to like a good percentage
of teams and they weren't one of 'em.

1737
01:17:30,916 --> 01:17:32,506
And the rays weren't one of them.

1738
01:17:32,866 --> 01:17:35,116
I mean, like, if the rays hadn't
picked me, I think Marion said the

1739
01:17:35,116 --> 01:17:37,996
Tigers were gonna pick me six pixel
later, or seven, whatever they were.

1740
01:17:38,266 --> 01:17:38,446
Wow.

1741
01:17:38,596 --> 01:17:41,566
And um, it was just so weird 'cause
I had been communicating with

1742
01:17:41,566 --> 01:17:42,916
teams like since the fall, like.

1743
01:17:43,411 --> 01:17:45,811
All these teams wanted to have meetings,
like we did meetings and then I did

1744
01:17:45,811 --> 01:17:49,321
post draft or pre-draft workouts and
like the rays were never really in the

1745
01:17:49,321 --> 01:17:51,001
picture and kind of just outta nowhere.

1746
01:17:51,001 --> 01:17:52,261
It was, it was crazy.

1747
01:17:52,261 --> 01:17:54,811
So yeah, it was definitely
a lot of Marin's doing.

1748
01:17:54,841 --> 01:17:58,531
Um, he was talking to people that
I didn't even know kind of what

1749
01:17:58,531 --> 01:17:59,611
was going on behind the scenes.

1750
01:17:59,611 --> 01:18:00,721
So that was super cool.

1751
01:18:02,221 --> 01:18:02,461
Yeah.

1752
01:18:02,611 --> 01:18:06,241
Sounds like you had quite a few potential
options there between the royal signing,

1753
01:18:06,271 --> 01:18:09,181
undrafted, you know, the tires looking
at you and, and maybe even some other

1754
01:18:09,181 --> 01:18:10,891
teams down the road, but, right.

1755
01:18:10,891 --> 01:18:11,041
Yeah.

1756
01:18:11,071 --> 01:18:12,932
It's awesome to hear just kinda
how that works behind the scenes.

1757
01:18:13,606 --> 01:18:13,876
Yeah.

1758
01:18:14,656 --> 01:18:16,306
Yeah, it was, it was exciting stuff.

1759
01:18:16,336 --> 01:18:18,736
Um, I'm, like I said, I'm
happy with the way it ended.

1760
01:18:18,766 --> 01:18:20,866
Um, I like, I love, love where I'm at.

1761
01:18:20,896 --> 01:18:23,871
Um, I have some great weather where I'm
at, so that's all, all super exciting.

1762
01:18:25,591 --> 01:18:27,976
I, I really think that's a great spot
for you too, because, I mean, you

1763
01:18:27,976 --> 01:18:31,216
know, I, I, we, we've talked about
this before where I'm like, I, I think

1764
01:18:31,216 --> 01:18:35,746
you're definitely a pro pitcher, but the
way they've gone now, you're not a guy

1765
01:18:35,746 --> 01:18:37,906
that throws like 95, 98 miles an hour.

1766
01:18:38,086 --> 01:18:39,586
So I was always worried about it.

1767
01:18:39,706 --> 01:18:40,846
So it's number one.

1768
01:18:40,846 --> 01:18:41,596
It's great to see.

1769
01:18:41,806 --> 01:18:46,006
But I, I love that going with the
Ray because they're so analytical

1770
01:18:46,006 --> 01:18:47,926
and they use, they use data.

1771
01:18:48,226 --> 01:18:49,936
I guarantee they know.

1772
01:18:50,866 --> 01:18:53,206
If they bring you in, there's whatever
it is, I don't know what they're gonna

1773
01:18:53,206 --> 01:18:55,516
look at, but whatever it is, there's
something, they're like, if we do this

1774
01:18:55,516 --> 01:18:58,306
and you do this and this percentage or
whatever, you're gonna have success.

1775
01:18:58,306 --> 01:18:59,656
I, I think you're in a great spot, man.

1776
01:18:59,866 --> 01:19:00,886
Yeah, I, I agree.

1777
01:19:00,886 --> 01:19:04,336
I've heard all amazing things about
the development program there, so

1778
01:19:04,336 --> 01:19:05,896
I'm, I'm super excited about it.

1779
01:19:05,896 --> 01:19:08,116
I mean, you are all big
names that go through there.

1780
01:19:08,116 --> 01:19:09,736
Even if they don't make
it to the bigs with them.

1781
01:19:09,736 --> 01:19:13,606
I mean, they were in there at some point
and they just developed and got better,

1782
01:19:13,606 --> 01:19:14,956
which is exactly what I'm looking to do.

1783
01:19:14,956 --> 01:19:15,676
So it's exciting.

1784
01:19:17,266 --> 01:19:20,236
Yeah, an exciting time for the raise
too because, uh, there's an ownership

1785
01:19:20,236 --> 01:19:23,296
change coming and the new owner is
basically committed to like, we're

1786
01:19:23,296 --> 01:19:26,356
gonna stay in the Tampa Bay area, which
is one of my favorite places to go.

1787
01:19:26,656 --> 01:19:26,836
Yeah.

1788
01:19:26,866 --> 01:19:30,076
Uh, so it, lot of, a lot of bright
things in the future and plus just

1789
01:19:30,076 --> 01:19:33,226
the, their development angle, like
CB was talking about, like, I don't

1790
01:19:33,226 --> 01:19:38,221
know if anyone's created more MLB
ready guys than the Rays have.

1791
01:19:38,326 --> 01:19:40,516
Like they, they don't spend, they
develop within and that's, that's

1792
01:19:40,516 --> 01:19:43,846
awesome to see, especially now that
you are in their, in their system.

1793
01:19:44,251 --> 01:19:44,671
Right.

1794
01:19:44,671 --> 01:19:44,971
Yeah.

1795
01:19:45,061 --> 01:19:45,331
Yeah.

1796
01:19:45,331 --> 01:19:46,741
I'm, I'm still excited about it.

1797
01:19:46,741 --> 01:19:49,261
I can't wait to just get
down there and start working.

1798
01:19:50,011 --> 01:19:53,851
I'm tired of being here and home in
New Jersey in the rain and just sitting

1799
01:19:53,851 --> 01:19:55,591
around doing the same old thing every day.

1800
01:19:55,591 --> 01:19:56,671
I am ready to go somewhere.

1801
01:19:56,671 --> 01:19:56,971
Nice.

1802
01:19:56,971 --> 01:19:57,691
So I'm excited.

1803
01:19:58,561 --> 01:19:58,981
So

1804
01:19:58,981 --> 01:20:01,111
we're talking right now, it's Saturday.

1805
01:20:01,471 --> 01:20:03,811
Uh, and so you told me you're
leaving Monday to go down to

1806
01:20:03,811 --> 01:20:04,801
Port Charlotte, is that correct?

1807
01:20:04,831 --> 01:20:05,191
Correct.

1808
01:20:05,191 --> 01:20:05,401
Yeah.

1809
01:20:05,401 --> 01:20:07,831
So my flight is Monday at 10 40.

1810
01:20:07,831 --> 01:20:11,581
I'll head to Atlanta and then I'll
leave Atlanta at two 30 and I'll be in

1811
01:20:11,581 --> 01:20:13,171
Port Charlotte by like four o'clock.

1812
01:20:14,146 --> 01:20:17,116
Mm. And then, well, I guess Tuesday
there at the, at the complex

1813
01:20:17,116 --> 01:20:18,021
and getting your, oh yeah.

1814
01:20:18,021 --> 01:20:18,586
So your first

1815
01:20:18,886 --> 01:20:19,996
adult job, right?

1816
01:20:20,116 --> 01:20:20,896
Yeah, right.

1817
01:20:20,896 --> 01:20:24,376
So I'll go and move my stuff in
probably on Monday once I get there,

1818
01:20:24,376 --> 01:20:27,436
get myself settled in, and then they
haven't really told me a bunch else.

1819
01:20:27,436 --> 01:20:27,826
Honestly.

1820
01:20:27,826 --> 01:20:29,176
I don't have a ton of information.

1821
01:20:29,176 --> 01:20:31,006
It's kind of just like
figure it out as I go.

1822
01:20:31,006 --> 01:20:34,816
So I'm definitely excited to see it
all though and get my face in there.

1823
01:20:34,816 --> 01:20:35,656
So that's exciting.

1824
01:20:37,096 --> 01:20:39,556
Is Monday also the day you
officially sign, or, or have

1825
01:20:39,556 --> 01:20:40,816
you done that digitally already?

1826
01:20:40,906 --> 01:20:42,916
I assume it would be Monday or Tuesday.

1827
01:20:42,916 --> 01:20:43,906
I haven't done it digitally.

1828
01:20:43,906 --> 01:20:46,156
I think I'm gonna, I, I
assume I'd be doing it there.

1829
01:20:47,626 --> 01:20:49,486
Gotta get the, the photo
op, get the nice picture.

1830
01:20:49,486 --> 01:20:49,666
I mean,

1831
01:20:49,666 --> 01:20:51,616
that's, yeah, it's got to, I know, right?

1832
01:20:52,671 --> 01:20:54,256
Yeah, yeah.

1833
01:20:54,256 --> 01:20:55,426
We gotta get a hold of that picture.

1834
01:20:55,426 --> 01:20:58,066
Make sure we, uh, we push that
out there for you too, because

1835
01:20:58,066 --> 01:20:59,236
that's a, that's a big deal, man.

1836
01:20:59,296 --> 01:21:00,256
That's, that's awesome stuff.

1837
01:21:00,286 --> 01:21:00,526
Yeah.

1838
01:21:00,796 --> 01:21:01,546
A hundred percent.

1839
01:21:01,816 --> 01:21:02,056
Yep.

1840
01:21:02,056 --> 01:21:02,641
Thank you very much.

1841
01:21:03,886 --> 01:21:07,126
Do you know anyone with the raises at all?

1842
01:21:07,126 --> 01:21:08,926
Like players, coaches, anybody?

1843
01:21:08,926 --> 01:21:11,206
I mean, I know I saw there's a
couple of Georgia Tech guys you

1844
01:21:11,206 --> 01:21:12,496
played against this year, obviously.

1845
01:21:12,496 --> 01:21:12,586
Yes.

1846
01:21:12,586 --> 01:21:13,186
You got drafted.

1847
01:21:13,186 --> 01:21:13,396
So,

1848
01:21:13,396 --> 01:21:16,906
um, yeah, Georgia Tech Sunday
guy got picked up by 'em as well.

1849
01:21:16,906 --> 01:21:20,686
Um, this is actually gonna be crazy
name that you haven't heard in a while.

1850
01:21:20,716 --> 01:21:22,481
Um, I don't know if you
remember Jayden Voler.

1851
01:21:23,506 --> 01:21:24,226
He was, yeah.

1852
01:21:24,256 --> 01:21:24,616
Oh yeah.

1853
01:21:24,646 --> 01:21:25,846
One of the, he's with the right,

1854
01:21:25,871 --> 01:21:26,161
yeah.

1855
01:21:26,266 --> 01:21:26,656
Yeah.

1856
01:21:26,656 --> 01:21:28,786
He was one of the commits
in my class actually.

1857
01:21:28,786 --> 01:21:31,456
And then, I guess, I don't really know
what happened last minute, but he ended

1858
01:21:31,456 --> 01:21:34,846
up going to a community college and then,
yeah, I guess he went somewhere else

1859
01:21:34,846 --> 01:21:36,286
and yeah, he got picked up by the race.

1860
01:21:36,286 --> 01:21:38,416
He's with the Charleston
River Dogs now, so

1861
01:21:39,376 --> 01:21:41,566
I, as soon as you said that, I was
like, yeah, I definitely, 'cause I

1862
01:21:41,566 --> 01:21:42,856
still follow him on the social media.

1863
01:21:42,856 --> 01:21:43,277
Yeah, yeah.

1864
01:21:43,282 --> 01:21:45,106
So that's, that's, I just found out,

1865
01:21:45,106 --> 01:21:46,186
I found that out the other day.

1866
01:21:46,186 --> 01:21:47,176
I couldn't even believe it.

1867
01:21:47,176 --> 01:21:48,041
So yeah, that's, there you go.

1868
01:21:48,046 --> 01:21:49,126
That's something I'm look forward to.

1869
01:21:49,126 --> 01:21:51,856
I never got a chance to meet him,
so that'll be a cool conversation.

1870
01:21:52,606 --> 01:21:53,806
Did you guys ever have, like,

1871
01:21:53,926 --> 01:21:57,466
were y ever in like a, a text chain
or, at one point, so we had a, yeah, we

1872
01:21:57,466 --> 01:21:59,026
had a group chat with our class.

1873
01:21:59,116 --> 01:21:59,206
Mm-hmm.

1874
01:21:59,446 --> 01:22:02,506
Um, like all of us in the same little
Snapchat group chat or whatever,

1875
01:22:02,506 --> 01:22:04,996
just like talking about what to
prepare for and stuff like that.

1876
01:22:04,996 --> 01:22:05,086
Mm-hmm.

1877
01:22:05,086 --> 01:22:08,446
And he kind of wasn't, he was never
really active in the group chat,

1878
01:22:08,446 --> 01:22:09,826
so he never really spoke much.

1879
01:22:09,826 --> 01:22:12,826
So, yeah, I've honestly, he's
just kinda like a ghost to me.

1880
01:22:13,996 --> 01:22:15,586
So you, you know the
name, but other than that.

1881
01:22:15,646 --> 01:22:15,886
Okay.

1882
01:22:15,886 --> 01:22:16,081
All right.

1883
01:22:16,081 --> 01:22:16,516
That's fair, right?

1884
01:22:16,516 --> 01:22:16,936
Yeah.

1885
01:22:17,056 --> 01:22:17,416
Right.

1886
01:22:18,616 --> 01:22:20,266
That's, well, hey, a bunch of new friends.

1887
01:22:20,266 --> 01:22:22,606
It's, it's, it's not like you're not
like a super friendly guy or anything.

1888
01:22:22,606 --> 01:22:23,356
I think it'll be all a

1889
01:22:24,196 --> 01:22:24,886
hundred percent.

1890
01:22:24,886 --> 01:22:27,436
Yeah, no, I'm super excited about
it and it's like everyone else

1891
01:22:27,436 --> 01:22:30,856
that's going will be in the same
uncomfortable experience, so everyone

1892
01:22:30,856 --> 01:22:31,996
will be looking to find friends.

1893
01:22:31,996 --> 01:22:33,106
So it's, it's exciting.

1894
01:22:33,106 --> 01:22:34,306
I'm looking forward to it for sure.

1895
01:22:34,876 --> 01:22:37,516
I think my, my biggest advice
to you is, 'cause I think, I

1896
01:22:37,516 --> 01:22:41,116
think some guys get nervous about
this, but you know, you are a.

1897
01:22:41,671 --> 01:22:45,061
During games, especially when you're
not pitching a vocal guy, you're

1898
01:22:45,061 --> 01:22:46,711
a team guy, don't lose that man.

1899
01:22:46,741 --> 01:22:50,881
Just because it's pro ball, like still
be, trust me that when y'all are going

1900
01:22:50,881 --> 01:22:53,581
through these long, especially as you
have all these guys, whatever you're

1901
01:22:53,581 --> 01:22:55,531
gonna be doing, if you're a complex
baller, if you end up with Charleston

1902
01:22:55,531 --> 01:22:59,251
or wherever, like it's, it's still
gonna be like a long end of the year.

1903
01:22:59,431 --> 01:23:00,841
Like keep, keep that.

1904
01:23:00,871 --> 01:23:02,071
Just keep being you man.

1905
01:23:02,191 --> 01:23:03,091
That's all you can control.

1906
01:23:03,091 --> 01:23:04,351
Just keep being yourself
a hundred percent.

1907
01:23:04,351 --> 01:23:04,861
I will.

1908
01:23:05,071 --> 01:23:05,941
Thank you very much.

1909
01:23:05,941 --> 01:23:06,751
That's good advice.

1910
01:23:07,381 --> 01:23:07,681
Yeah, man.

1911
01:23:08,701 --> 01:23:11,426
Yeah, and there's so many monarchs
that are Monarch pitchers that

1912
01:23:11,426 --> 01:23:12,331
are currently in the system.

1913
01:23:12,331 --> 01:23:15,151
I know Pearcy Arbery and his team
pulled together a stat that's, so

1914
01:23:15,151 --> 01:23:18,421
we've had 11 pitchers drafted or
signed in the last five seasons.

1915
01:23:18,631 --> 01:23:21,871
Of course we're seeing it with Hobe
and Shrimp Buchanan and Jacob Gomez

1916
01:23:21,871 --> 01:23:23,551
and Noah Dean and all of those guys.

1917
01:23:24,001 --> 01:23:27,031
Um, have you had any, any
contact with those guys lately?

1918
01:23:27,031 --> 01:23:28,986
But I, I'm sure if you
haven't yet, you'll soon,

1919
01:23:29,586 --> 01:23:32,311
I want to say every single one
of 'em has reached out to say

1920
01:23:32,311 --> 01:23:34,141
congratulations in some sort of way with.

1921
01:23:40,756 --> 01:23:42,076
I think it froze up for a second.

1922
01:23:42,256 --> 01:23:42,766
Awesome.

1923
01:23:42,766 --> 01:23:44,236
Um, we're, we're a big family.

1924
01:23:44,596 --> 01:23:46,846
We all keep Am I back?

1925
01:23:48,196 --> 01:23:48,496
Yeah.

1926
01:23:48,496 --> 01:23:49,271
Yeah, you're back now.

1927
01:23:49,426 --> 01:23:49,666
You're good.

1928
01:23:49,666 --> 01:23:49,816
Yeah.

1929
01:23:49,816 --> 01:23:50,956
We're all okay.

1930
01:23:50,956 --> 01:23:51,976
We're all a big family.

1931
01:23:52,036 --> 01:23:53,026
Um, yeah.

1932
01:23:53,026 --> 01:23:55,606
It doesn't matter if you played for
one year or four years together, we

1933
01:23:55,606 --> 01:23:58,306
all keep in touch with each other,
especially in big moments like these.

1934
01:23:58,336 --> 01:23:59,416
Um, at the end of the day, like.

1935
01:23:59,791 --> 01:24:01,981
This is one of the goals that you've
been looking for your whole life.

1936
01:24:01,981 --> 01:24:04,861
And it's, that's the same common
goal that all of us have, and we all

1937
01:24:04,861 --> 01:24:06,571
like recognize that in each other.

1938
01:24:06,571 --> 01:24:09,001
So when something like this
happens, I mean, it's almost

1939
01:24:09,001 --> 01:24:10,621
impossible to not say something so.

1940
01:24:12,241 --> 01:24:14,731
I am almost wondering, like at
what point do you get traded to

1941
01:24:14,731 --> 01:24:18,451
the Red Sox organization so we
can have a full five Monarchs in

1942
01:24:18,451 --> 01:24:19,621
the rotation in a couple years?

1943
01:24:19,736 --> 01:24:20,026
Yeah.

1944
01:24:20,191 --> 01:24:20,491
Yeah.

1945
01:24:20,491 --> 01:24:23,311
They got Nick Murray over there
pulling strings, so we'll see.

1946
01:24:24,661 --> 01:24:24,841
Yeah.

1947
01:24:24,846 --> 01:24:25,981
I I been calling 'em the, uh, the

1948
01:24:25,981 --> 01:24:27,361
Boston Hudson Sox.

1949
01:24:27,481 --> 01:24:27,811
Yeah,

1950
01:24:29,131 --> 01:24:29,641
that's a good one.

1951
01:24:30,661 --> 01:24:30,901
Yeah.

1952
01:24:31,621 --> 01:24:32,071
Yeah.

1953
01:24:32,071 --> 01:24:32,641
Awesome.

1954
01:24:32,641 --> 01:24:34,651
Well, Blake, we appreciate
you spending some, yeah.

1955
01:24:34,681 --> 01:24:35,491
Some time with us.

1956
01:24:35,551 --> 01:24:37,386
Uh, you know, I know
your, your world kind of.

1957
01:24:38,011 --> 01:24:40,591
Kind of changed pretty drastically
over the last couple days, but in all

1958
01:24:40,591 --> 01:24:42,211
of the best ways, we're happy for you.

1959
01:24:42,211 --> 01:24:45,961
I know all Monarch fans will be following
around for years, you know, 15 years

1960
01:24:45,961 --> 01:24:48,391
from now we'll still be bugging you
on whatever social media exists then.

1961
01:24:48,391 --> 01:24:48,511
So,

1962
01:24:52,651 --> 01:24:52,951
yeah.

1963
01:24:52,951 --> 01:24:53,311
I'm Cheryl.

1964
01:24:53,311 --> 01:24:54,271
Thank you for having me on.

1965
01:24:54,301 --> 01:24:55,591
Um, I appreciate it a lot.

1966
01:24:55,651 --> 01:24:57,391
Um, like I said, I love coming on here.

1967
01:24:57,421 --> 01:25:01,111
Um, you guys have always been great
to me, so I'm, anytime I can come

1968
01:25:01,111 --> 01:25:04,171
on and help out, I'd love to, uh,
even just talk for a conversation.

1969
01:25:04,171 --> 01:25:05,101
I'm always down so.

1970
01:25:05,506 --> 01:25:05,566
I

1971
01:25:06,286 --> 01:25:08,896
love that Blake and I, I've told
you times, I'm proud of you.

1972
01:25:08,926 --> 01:25:11,386
Uh, you know, you are, you're
one of the best human beings.

1973
01:25:11,386 --> 01:25:14,686
You, you're such a good guy and
I've always, just always thoroughly

1974
01:25:14,686 --> 01:25:15,706
enjoyed just being around you.

1975
01:25:15,706 --> 01:25:18,376
The baseball part is, is, is great
too, but just you as a person.

1976
01:25:18,376 --> 01:25:20,056
So I'm, I'm really excited for you, man.

1977
01:25:20,056 --> 01:25:21,226
This is, this is exciting.

1978
01:25:21,496 --> 01:25:23,266
Just be yourself, have fun.

1979
01:25:23,266 --> 01:25:26,536
You can't, you can't control anything,
so just go out and do your part

1980
01:25:26,536 --> 01:25:27,976
and just do, do your thing, man.

1981
01:25:27,976 --> 01:25:29,021
That's the excited for you,

1982
01:25:29,021 --> 01:25:29,141
man.

1983
01:25:29,341 --> 01:25:29,461
Absolutely.

1984
01:25:29,536 --> 01:25:30,106
Absolutely.

1985
01:25:30,106 --> 01:25:31,006
Thank you so much.

1986
01:25:31,011 --> 01:25:31,501
I appreciate it.

1987
01:25:32,656 --> 01:25:32,956
All right.

1988
01:25:32,956 --> 01:25:35,896
Travel safe, Blake, and uh, good
luck down in Florida next week.

1989
01:25:36,406 --> 01:25:36,946
Absolutely.

1990
01:25:36,946 --> 01:25:37,306
Thank you.

1991
01:25:37,306 --> 01:25:38,236
I'll talk to you guys soon.

1992
01:25:38,686 --> 01:25:38,956
Yep.

1993
01:25:38,956 --> 01:25:39,616
Go ahead.

1994
01:25:40,156 --> 01:25:40,486
See you man.

1995
01:25:40,486 --> 01:25:40,488
See you.