Have you ever wondered what it takes to pitch with both hands in Major League Baseball? Well, wonder no more! Join us as we chat with MLB's ambidextrous pitcher, Pat Veditte, who shares his unique journey to the pros. We dig deep into his experiences, especially his game-changing face-off with a switch hitter in the Yankees farm system, and his decision to alter his pitching style in college. Expect an inspiring conversation filled with resilience and determination drawn from Pat's personal experiences and our own insights into youth sports.
From there, we transition into the nerve-wracking world of professional baseball, discussing the intricacies of club preferences and the whirlwind journey that is a minor league career. Amidst talks of the potential Oakland A's relocation, we explore the emotional turmoil this brings for devoted fans and the implications for the team. Stay with us as we also shed light on the invaluable role coaches play in shaping young athletes, stressing the importance of balancing sports with personal identity.
Finally, we delve into the pressing issues surrounding youth sports, particularly the high-pressure culture rampant in the industry. We broach topics such as the evolution of select baseball, parental expectations, and the crucial role of identity outside of sports. Wrapping up, Pat shares some invaluable advice for young players and their parents, highlighting the significance of enjoying the process rather than just the end goal. So, gear up for a conversation packed with insights, advice, and some hard-hitting truths about the world of sports.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to pitch with both hands in Major League Baseball? Well, wonder no more! Join us as we chat with MLB's ambidextrous pitcher, Pat Veditte, who shares his unique journey to the pros. We dig deep into his experiences, especially his game-changing face-off with a switch hitter in the Yankees farm system, and his decision to alter his pitching style in college. Expect an inspiring conversation filled with resilience and determination drawn from Pat's personal experiences and our own insights into youth sports.
From there, we transition into the nerve-wracking world of professional baseball, discussing the intricacies of club preferences and the whirlwind journey that is a minor league career. Amidst talks of the potential Oakland A's relocation, we explore the emotional turmoil this brings for devoted fans and the implications for the team. Stay with us as we also shed light on the invaluable role coaches play in shaping young athletes, stressing the importance of balancing sports with personal identity.
Finally, we delve into the pressing issues surrounding youth sports, particularly the high-pressure culture rampant in the industry. We broach topics such as the evolution of select baseball, parental expectations, and the crucial role of identity outside of sports. Wrapping up, Pat shares some invaluable advice for young players and their parents, highlighting the significance of enjoying the process rather than just the end goal. So, gear up for a conversation packed with insights, advice, and some hard-hitting truths about the world of sports.
Hello and welcome to the kingdom coaching podcast, where we discuss the world of club sports through the lens of Christ. I am your host, micah. Hey, what's going on everybody? Thank you again for tuning into the kingdom coaching podcast. I am blessed to be sitting down here today with the only amphibious pitcher to grace the major league baseball association, pat Benintendi. Pat, did you ever see that headline?
Speaker 2:I did.
Speaker 1:You did, okay, I catch that. Yeah, I saw that a while back and I I wasn't sure if that was real or fake, if, if somebody who wrote that was just dyslexic like I am and just wrote it, it was like, yeah, that looks right.
Speaker 2:You know, I think they were trying to go off of the play on words that Yogi Vera had, because Yogi Vera used to call switch hitters amphibious.
Speaker 1:But all joking aside, though, Pat is an ambidextrous pitcher pitch both sides. Did you ever switch hit growing up to I did, but forgetably. I know you mentioned yesterday was your mother in law's birthday, but all that go.
Speaker 2:We had a great celebration. My sister in law was in from New York, Wisconsin, and we had a. There's about 15 of us in the crew, so it was nice to have everybody together to celebrate her.
Speaker 1:When you texted me that, I thought to myself either he's got the greatest mother in law in the world or he's just a phenomenal, this son in law, because I feel like majority of people would use a podcast as an, as an excuse to not go to their mother in law's birthday party. But I was like this guy's a good dude, he's a standup dude, so, um yeah.
Speaker 2:So, shout out to your mother in law for that one. Yeah, yeah, she's a good one. We'll be watching that Jays game later together today too. So nice, nice.
Speaker 1:So you, so your ambidextrous, that that would apply to pretty much everything. I'm assuming right, that you know what?
Speaker 2:Surprisingly, no, I cannot do anything else really besides throw a baseball. Okay.
Speaker 1:Left handed. I was going to ask you basketball. Well, I was going to ask you can you eat cereal with your left hand or your?
Speaker 2:right. I was like like that's Cheerios would fall out before they get to my mom.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's, that's what I'm thinking Like that that would just not work real well, and so, um, okay, Well, that that kind of sums it up. How old were you when you started playing playing baseball?
Speaker 2:I was three, my dad was a collegiate catcher at Peru State there in Nebraska and can continue to play baseball and softball throughout his life and really introduced the game to me from my first memory.
Speaker 1:Okay, so your dad that noticed the, the, the rare ability that you had to throw with both hands, or was that something that was taught or 100% taught.
Speaker 2:No kidding, there was no way that I was throwing anything left handed, because I remember it just. It took a long time to even become somewhat natural at it. Yeah, you know it just, the left handed reps never felt the same. Sure Right, they were just never as easy.
Speaker 1:Walk me through what that was like for a for a young Pat Benentendi.
Speaker 2:There wasn't a whole lot where I where I thought about it. Really, you know, when you're a peer for years old playing with your dad, there's, there's not a whole lot. You're really thinking about it and just having fun with dad. And obviously there's times, you know, when you're eight years old, nine, 10, and you're starting to develop from the right side you have a good delivery and you know it's coming to somewhat easily right handed and then there's a struggle left hand. Yeah, there's definitely some some pushback. You don't want to do the hard thing, yeah, but fortunately he was always able to to overcome that with me and honestly it wasn't much of an issue.
Speaker 1:Did he grow up around somebody who could pitch ambidextrous or?
Speaker 2:I'm done. No, he's just he thinks outside the box. Okay. I think his thought was if there can be switch hitters, you know I like that would be an advantage. Yeah, thank God for me he did, because I was never able to throw particularly hard right handed my natural side, yeah, so having that matchup advantage made made the world a difference. For me, the hardest thing to do is to go like three or four batters one way and then you got guys on second and third, yeah, and then you haven't thrown a ball in about seven minutes with that other hand, oh, okay, and you got to dial in that first pitch, yeah, that. I did a lot of training on that in the off season.
Speaker 1:I could imagine.
Speaker 2:It's a very, very hard thing to do, no matter how much you train it. Yeah, that's why I don't like these guys. They come off the bench and just bury threes. Yeah, I have no idea how they do that in basketball. Yeah, and that would be to me. That seems so hard to do, just coming off the bench goal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember when you were in the Yankees farm system and I can't remember who you were facing off against. It was that switch hitter yeah.
Speaker 2:Ralph Henryk is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's one of the first hitters I faced in Pro Bowl and I remember seeing that video and just like it was, it was really funny and I don't know if you're if you're a rule follower by nature or if you're just naturally a rebel, like watching that video I'm like this guy's, this guy's kind of BA like. He's just like screw you. He's like get over to that side, like. And I loved how the umpires took the side of the pitcher in that situation and you know bottom of the ninth and you could tell he was so mad, you know, and gets gets struck out on what three or four pitches and and then MLB is like okay, we need to change his. This Pat then intend, he's kind of a BA guy and he's kind of got our number. We need to make a rule around Pat because he's going to, he's going to take us for all. We're going to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was a. It was nice to have that advantage because switch hitters never see breaking ball starting at them. Yeah, all the breaking balls they see are coming directly into the barrel. So you know, for a switch pitcher that was a big advantage, just because they had not seen that. Yeah, uh, but unfortunately that was the uh one and only time that happened.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I mean it was historical, I mean for sure. I mean I don't think you, going into your career, thought that there was going to be a moment like that, you know, and it would, you know, end up um resulting in the Pat Vinnentendi rules.
Speaker 2:You know, there was, uh, this is 15 years ago, so the availability of minor league baseball like it is now, where you can just stream pretty much every game, was not the case. We were, we were in New York, um, on uh, coney Island. There were the Brooklyn cyclones play. I was playing with stat Island at the time, yeah, the only reason that game was even televised was because the Mets game had got rained out earlier that night. Okay, so S and Y, the, you know the, the Mets network, rather than just have a replay of some old game, they have all the cameras set up there at the uh, at Coney Island, there, and it's the only. It was the only game we played on TV that entire year. Okay, so it was just. There was a lot of dumb luck involved with that.
Speaker 1:That's. That's pretty funny. I'm sure you got some calls you know from from friends back home, you know, after they saw that right Big time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there was a sports center had picked that up. Yeah, we were living in the dorms, the luxurious life of living in the dorms at Wagner college. They're on stat Island, oh nice. So as we were driving back on the bus, uh, yeah, my phone was, was uh getting blown up.
Speaker 1:That's pretty good. That remind me where. Where'd you go to high school at? I went to a mall, central, okay, that's right. And then you went to Craton's for for all four years.
Speaker 2:A couple of blight my whole life was in a but three block radius for about eight years.
Speaker 1:That's cool, though. I mean like Omaha's, I mean especially for a baseball community. It's always been pretty awesome, um yeah, there's a ton of talent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there, there is a a ton of talent for the amount of people we have there. It's it's always been a good producer.
Speaker 1:While you're in high school, when, when did scouts start sort of approaching you as far as D one, this D two that held real Never, that never happened.
Speaker 2:Um, oh, that's right, you were walking on some. Yeah, I had. Uh, I went to visits at Midland Lutheran and then, uh, whatever college is in St Joe, they're right off the inner Missouri Western yeah, I had gone to to visits there and those were my final two and I was pretty well set on Midland, okay, and then my dad called coach service without me knowing and you know, asked if you know a walk on spot was a possibility and, uh, a couple of weeks before I'd pitched to get scut and I pitched really well in his coach services St Joe was the uh catcher for scut at the time Okay, so, so coach service was out at that game and I think he was a little apprehensive. Um, but there was no roster limits at the time. So you know what is what is he care? Yeah, got nothing to lose.
Speaker 2:See how things go in the fall. Yeah. So uh, coach service had reached out to me again at the time. I had no idea it was because my dad had put this in motion. That's so funny. Yeah, I ended up walking on there at Creighton and thank God I did.
Speaker 1:I'm curious. So, while you're in high school and you, you have friends that are getting these commitments. You know they're, they're signing their letter of intent as sophomore, junior, seniors in and you're not seeing that was. Was there a point where you were thinking that you're you know baseball was just going to fizzle out?
Speaker 2:I never thought it was going to fizzle out, but I never. In high school I did not think pitching division one was a possibility. Really, it wasn't until that summer I committed or I guess I agreed to go to Creighton in July. Yeah, School started in August, so I didn't. I didn't think my career was going to fizzle out, but I didn't think it would go beyond you know, NAIA or division two, college baseball, Do you?
Speaker 1:would you say that was purely like internal thoughts? Or were there like coaches in your life that were saying hey, pat, you're good, but you know, you're not that guy?
Speaker 2:I'm pretty a realistic person. Okay, I approach things somewhat realistically. And if you're not getting a single call from a division one school you know not even to walk on or go to the camps you're probably not at the moment good enough to go there, yeah, and then that's where you know, my dad kind of took over and pushed me a little bit to get outside that box and see what could happen, and then after that it was it was just being with a fortunate coach that was able to to squeeze the most out of me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's cool. Yeah, you sound very blessed to have a father like you did. I mean to push you at a young age to try something that no one does. You know to pitch with both hands. And then when he starts to see you know, you seeing the what you thought was the writing on the wall that you weren't going to play at a D one level. And your dad's like, okay, there's something that that you have that you're not seeing, and I'm just going to push on that a little bit. So, yeah, so thank God for dads like that.
Speaker 2:Big time. And it wasn't just that, it was all the time that goes into that. Oh sure you know that just doesn't happen. You know 95% of these kids that go to visual one, some of them are just naturally blessed with unbelievable ability. Right, but behind there is a mom and dad spending crazy amounts of hours fostering that for the first 18 years before they get there. Yeah, yeah, very, very fortunate.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I would agree, as a parent who's involved in the travel baseball world my son he's got very large you know goals, it's, it's a mental roller coaster. I mean it's, you know, yeah, it's a financial commitment, but it's even more so mental. You know, because you're, you're sitting there. I mean you know, like you said, you know about 18 years of preparation. You know just helping to guide that ship, helping to encourage, and you know, make sure they don't get overly discouraged and just kind of keep, keep them afloat.
Speaker 2:Without a doubt there's there's so many ups and downs through those years where maybe a kid is a little bit more developed for one or two of those years, right when he or she plateaus and the other kids catch up, oh, big time, two years of struggle coming. And then, if you're a late bloomer, those years of 14, 15, 16, are very difficult mentally.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely. I'm starting to see that right now with a lot of kids. That it's so. It's so unfortunate for me to see in the baseball scene a lot of kids being judged unfairly when they're 10, 11, 12 years old. I was like these kids haven't even hit puberty. Like you cannot tell me that these kids you know what I mean. But that's the standard though, right, pat? It's like, yeah, this guy's a stud. I was like, okay, this guy could stop growing tomorrow. You cannot tell me that this guy is going to be the next guy. You don't know that. And then you have these young kids that see these guys that have developed earlier or whatnot, and they feel like it's going to be this way for the rest of their life and they should just give up. And I'm just like that's so, not true. Like 12 years old I mean 15, even 16, I feel like, honestly, pat, I feel like I've grown two inches since I was at a high school. Like you don't know.
Speaker 2:So you see it all the time Guys that they're grossed by while they're in college you look at, go back to when we were in college. Anthony Tolliver was one of the least producers on the Creighton team who, in their right mind, would have thought he would have had the career that he had, not even not only in Creighton but in the NBA. But that's where the work, ethic, the character and the things that are not measured in a showcase no, I know, a quick 12 year old season, it's just it's there's. No, there's no telling what what someone can be if they believe in themselves and they work.
Speaker 1:The development of youth sports has just gotten so sidetracked from what it should be and it's just become this juggernaut of of an industry that's just a money grab and it's just. There's a lot of unfairness out there that is just just feeding lies into a lot of parents, a lot of a lot of kids, a lot of coaches, and it's just no one's really questioning that. And and you know, I've, you know I think there's plenty of us out there that can agree that something doesn't smell right. But yeah, I want to, I want to get into that a little bit. I want to talk about your college career a little bit first. So I want I've heard something and I want to want to know if it's true or not that you're you're freshman year. Did your coach not allow you to pitch both, both ways?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a coach service only was allowing me to pitch one way, I believe, freshman year, just because he didn't want to bring, you know, a sideshow to something. Okay, he and the other 25 guys on our team took very serious Okay, and he didn't think at the moment that I was capable. Yeah, going back and forth, and he was right. I mean the my freshman year was terrible. Sure, I pitched three innings and five different games. None of them. One of them was good, but the rest were very forgettable. But then sophomore fall. It was kind of shaping up to be the same type of thing.
Speaker 2:Something needed to change and Travis Wycoff, my pitching coach at the time, he dropped me from over the top left handed to sidearm. Okay, that was that. That was the game changing moment, if you will, where something that was maybe not always easy to do became a lot easier and I actually became better left handed than I was right handed. But double jointed middle finger, I can spin the baseball super fast. Okay, a lot of RPMs on there. So, yeah, the slider going, yeah, but that was that was really that, oh, my moment to where I was like, okay, I can get these guys out and we can? We can go from here left on left, right on right. Let's roll, yeah, and it just took off from there.
Speaker 1:But I'm sure there was the there were, there was some wisdom from your coach there and it's and it was.
Speaker 2:It was performance based. It's not like I was going out there and just dialing it up and dominating. You know, in the fall and the spring I was showing in those outings that it was not. It was not a feasible option. And sure you know you see some of so much of this all the time, where players blame the coaches at the collegiate level for playing right, just want to win.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they are there for one reason. Yeah, it's not. Daddy want to win yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're making the best. They're making the best decision they can for their team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's easy to be an armchair quarterback, without a doubt, okay. So I want to fast forward a little bit. So your, your junior year, that was the. That was the first year you got drafted Correct and you got drafted by the Yankees in you remember which round? That was 45th round. Okay, so you didn't take it, went back to Creighton, got redrafted your senior year.
Speaker 1:So I'm curious, you get drafted. Obviously it's not super high around, so there's probably not a signing bonus or anything big and crazy was party. I mean, there was a little bit, but not a much, not enough to make. So walk me through the discernment that was going through your, through your mind when you got drafted and you had. I could imagine the butterflies and the excitement of like you know here. Here you are three years after no college recruited you and you know the New York Yankees are wanting you to play baseball and you discerned and decided not to. I mean, part of me, you know, wants to believe that you were hoping for a better club to pick you up. I'm not. I'm not a Yankees fan at all. You guys. You can tell by my Oakland gear, I'm an Oakland fan through and through. So part of me was like I bet Pat was just hoping, oakland would pick him up. He ended up with Oakland later, so but no, I, all jokes aside, no, I like Yankees just fine. But but yeah, walk, walk me through that, that discernment that.
Speaker 2:That was my dad again, kind of leading me down the path of. You know, you have to think about what would $50,000 do for you right now, long term, what would a hundred thousand, 200, you know, long term? I mean, it's a, it's a. It's a big amount of money up front, yeah. But then you know, if you get out of the game when you're 27 or 28 without playing and you have to go back to school, right, and his thought was you're right here, right now, you're in a great situation. Yeah, this is not going to be life changing money, yeah, going to give you to come play baseball, go finish your degree at Creighton, stay with your buddies, enjoy every moment of this. And it didn't take much convincing on my side. I had told the scouts going into that draft once I found out that I was going to fall beyond the fifth round, yeah, that I would not be, would not be signing, just because the money wouldn't be there.
Speaker 1:Sure, nope Again.
Speaker 1:I think that's that's really wise, because I would see a lot of young kids, especially at a high school, and I see these young kids sign, you know, 30th round, 40th round at a high school, and I'm just like I hope this sticks, because you know, like you said, like you get out of the game when you're 26, 27.
Speaker 1:I mean, I know, you know I didn't play minor league ball, but the stories I hear from people who did like I mean it's very similar to a Cowboys wage and it's not not ideal. And if you get out of it and if you get injured and all you have is that high school diploma, like that'd be kind of rough to make a go of it. And so there's, there's a lot of discernment, you know, when it comes to like your, your, your dreams are there and saying I'm going to, I'm going to sit back and wait, because there is that level of if I wait another year, what if I get hurt? You know you can always play the play, that one if game right, which I think is kind of dangerous. But again, I think you know more, more kids need, need dads, dads in their life, like yours, where they're, they're thinking longer term, they're thinking outside the box, yeah. So again, I think this is just another example of you know, thank God for your dad, right?
Speaker 2:Without a doubt. Yeah, when even at 18, 20, 22, your brain I don't think it's fully developed, I gotta have somebody help and guide you.
Speaker 1:I still feel that way. Thank God I have a wife like mine, because most days, pat, I'm just like, okay, my brain's not operating, especially before you know, like three cups of coffee. I'm like, okay, honey, how, which shoe goes on which foot again, that's, that's how I feel some days, okay, so anyway. So senior year comes by, you get drafted by the Yankees. It's a better deal for you. Did you know you were going to sign at that point?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, that's, that's a forgotten conclusion. They can call and say, hey, we're gonna give you a plane ticket. Yeah, come on out. Yeah, luckily the Yankees that they threw a little bit of money my way just because, yeah, could, yeah, most other people in my position either get a plane ticket or, you know, like 500, a thousand bucks back then. Now it may be different, yeah, but they treated me well you know I I've asked a few people this question.
Speaker 1:You know that have played, you know that draft got drafted NFL NBA MLB. That I mean like, that's like the culmination of everything you've been working towards. I mean the emotion to not just explode like a firework. Yeah, walk, walk me through what that, what that felt like Pat.
Speaker 2:I had been through at the year before, yeah, yeah, now, granted, I had told scouts that I wasn't gonna sign if I had got past the fifth round. I Still watched and I still listen to the draft. So I'd listen to pretty much. I obviously didn't tune into the first first day. I knew I wasn't gonna go that day, sure, but starting that next morning, I listened every day, yeah, and I Think, like the 40th round came around, I'm like, oh, that's not gonna happen now. And then I was getting calls throughout the day. They were like teams would call and say, hey, would you sign for 150? Would you sign for 200? No, I forget the dollar amounts they were throwing out. And then they would laugh at the number I was asking for and like, yeah, you're not getting that. I'm like, yeah, I know, yeah but I can always ask.
Speaker 2:And then finally, in 45th round, I'd heard my name. So the next year I knew I was like I'm not gonna put myself through that again and Fortunately creating had a camp going on that day, yeah. So I just I went work the camp I didn't have my phone with me at all, okay, or I might have had it with me, but I wasn't checking it, yeah. And then my teammate actually told me I'd gotten drafted. Brett Meara's Miller oh, that's funny came running out down the right field line saying it's 20th round, you just got drafted. It's like awesome, all right, so back to work. Coach kind of stopped the camp and then all yeah, the kids you know. Kind of no.
Speaker 2:I was a lady, me, and then that's cool.
Speaker 1:It was a cool day. No, that is. Was there a particular club that you would have preferred to sign with? I didn't care.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you're growing up in Omaha. You know you're a Royal's fan, your cubs fan, your wife yeah, I didn't. I didn't have a team. Yeah, they're growing up that I cared about that much I have. Really, when I say I had no preference, I had no, yeah it's.
Speaker 1:It's funny, my son, you know he's, he's 12 and he talks about playing professionally. He's like, yeah, dad, if the Giants ever wanted to draft me, he's like I wouldn't go. I'm like, okay, keep telling yourself that like, at the end of the day, if they're the only people that it want to sign you to a career, you'll go. So I I let him believe that and, as an ace fan, I love, I love hearing that.
Speaker 2:But yeah, you got to show him their spring training facility. He may change his team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, especially, especially compared to tell Clinton I want to skip ahead a bit. So you drafted by the Yankees.
Speaker 2:He spends seven years in the farm system roughly Mm-hmm, played out my full, my full contract. Yeah, they did start to finish did.
Speaker 1:Well, no, you're. You're your debut major league. Debut was for Oakland, so you did.
Speaker 2:I'd signed free agent right 2015.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so again, another highlight in you know, in your career. I mean, that's what every Player who gets drafted, that's what they're. They're their next shooting, shooting stars. Right, it's like their debut. You know it's not spending 15, 20 years in the minor leagues is, but is having that debut. So walk me through. You know what that felt like. You know your your your first major league start. I showed up in the second inning.
Speaker 2:Okay, my flights in beginning delayed all day. My, my family and my wife, they all beat me to the game. Oh, that's fine. Yeah, actually my wife did, but my parents and my in-laws did, and then my wife took the luggage to the hotel and then came to the stadium. Yeah, you know, when I was with New York, I would get I, if I was at a doctor's appointment in New York City, they would send like a limo service. They would, you, don't? You don't worry about anything, you don't worry about any, yeah, that's not a good one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I landed in Boston at 630 on a Friday night and I had to get a taxi yeah, a taxi to the game. So I'm there, like get my ace bag. I have no idea where to be dropped off, that's, and there's no separate players. Entrance yeah, for the Fenway Park. Yeah, I was going into the main gate with all these fans. I'm like the second inning, and then I Get my uniform on. I signed my major league contract and then I get out to the dugout, I shake Bob Melvin's hand, yeah, and the first Player that gets to me is Steven vote, oh, Steven as the Cleveland Indian manager of Steven last week.
Speaker 2:Love Steven, vote, he's the man. Yes he had been kind of through the same type of thing in the minor leagues as me and he puts his arm around me, goes pat. He was up when this inning ends, you're gonna go out the bullpen. He's like I want you to walk as slow as you can from the top step to the grass. Take this all in. And then he said when you get to that line, he said I want to see your best show. Jog From there to the bullpen and just savor every moment. Yes.
Speaker 2:I'll never forget it. Oh, that's cool. He took a moment that was already incredible and just a reel it in for me, slowed everything down and just set the stage and it was. It was an unforgettable moment.
Speaker 1:I love enough.
Speaker 2:I was in the game like four innings later yeah.
Speaker 1:No, that's Steven vote. I think encapsulates what I would want my son to be if he was ever at that level, you know so, oddly enough, so my son's a catcher and and and I remember when, when Steven came back to the to the A's, and I Remember watching his last game ever and he wasn't even catching and he was taking Practice. I mean, he was, he was grounding, he was, he was, you know, block taking, blocking practice as a catcher, knowing that he wasn't even catching that game Because he was just wanting to get better and wanted to encourage. Yeah, I think was shea Langley ears was starting that game and I'm just like that is a good human like I, just his work ethic, his just mindset. And he gets up there in his last I think it was his last a bad, he hit a home run as far as, yeah, the best human. Yeah, yeah, no, I love Steven vote.
Speaker 1:And so when, when that did come across that he was the new manager of the Guardians, part of me is like I could get on that train because I was like he. I think he could manage a lot of clubs Because he just has that personality right and and there is something to be said about Catchers make good managers. I mean Bob Melvin. Right, I? I like Bob Melvin. You know it was sad to see him leave. Leave the A's. He's just keeps jumping around the West Coast. Now he's up to San Fran.
Speaker 2:He was one of the yeah, the one of the six that I had in the major leagues and by far and away the most consistent, no matter if you're playing, yeah, well or poor. He was the same guy every day and really understood the the ups and downs and it helped the players. Yeah, that he was a really really great manager for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cuz I think he was with Oakland for almost 10 years. He had a pretty pretty long, pretty long stent there and so but they they got a lot with with not a whole lot of budget.
Speaker 2:So no, I know that's impressive, oh, big time.
Speaker 1:And people always. I mean, you know how it is. I mean, everyone's an armature quarterback, you know, when it comes to everything and people Blaming bow mill for everything, and I'm just like, dude, there is, there's no money in a. Well, you could argue, argue that there's money, but John Fisher didn't want to use it. I think you know I could get on, I could get on a soapbox right now about the Vegas thing and everything, but you know, bob Melvin did a phenomenal job with what he had. You know it. Just right, great, great coach. So, actually. So on that note, so I'm sure Oakland probably Don't, and even if it's not true, just tell me so I can feel better. Pat, I'm sure Oakland holds a special place in your heart because it was your. You know you got called up for Oakland Right. I mean, that was your major league debut, so I'm sure that that team holds a special place in your heart.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. And the fans out there, incredible, yeah, yeah, they the bleachers full size with signs for the players. Yeah, full force. Yeah, there's, that's a special place. Yeah, stadium is it's still. Yeah, but my deal, yeah, but, but the fans are talking about the people. Yeah, the staff and the fans. They make you, they make you feel like a big leager.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so when, when you saw, when did you see the news about the unanimous owner decision that Oakland's, you know, moving to few days ago? Yeah, so. I Mean ever. Everyone's been talking about it for the last few years, you know, but it's as an Oakland fan. I've always been optimistic, you know. But I'm, I'm curious, you know what, what? What emotions came, you know, when, you know, came to you when, when you heard that news.
Speaker 2:I feel bad for those fans. There's a handful of fans that have made tremendous amounts of sacrifice over the years to be season ticket holders, to make an effort to get to that stadium. That's not easy to get to, that's nothing around it, and to go there 81 times a year. You feel bad for those people. There's a tight knit group of Oakland A's fans out there that have lost something that was very dear to them. Now, on the flip side, it's very hard to turn on a major league game and see 1,300 people in the stands during a day game. That's hard for the players because they're not able to give their best effort at that point. It doesn't feel like a real baseball game. So from that standpoint, I'm happy to see that they're going to be playing in a venue that looks incredible. From the renderings I've seen, I'm guessing Vegas will support it very well. There are AAA stadiums out there right now in.
Speaker 2:Maryland and it's beautiful. They get $10,000 a night out there in a beautiful part.
Speaker 1:I think it's got a lot of potential there. From my understanding, there is some potential roadblocks that could still hinder the whole situation. There's a group called what is it? Schools over stadiums or something like that, where it's like the reallocation of like $365 million that John Fisher is relying on to help bankroll the $1.5 million stadium. But there's a lot of citizens that are just like our school system sucks. We don't need another stadium, we need better schools. That's kind of a tough one. I don't know.
Speaker 2:You can't tell me you can't set up a school in the suites in a major league stadium. Come on, you can just put the school in the stadium.
Speaker 1:I like that. Maybe I'll just relocate to Vegas than Pat. That would be pretty cool, but yeah. So I hear some of that stuff. But I'm an optimist and think to myself this could generate more revenue, this could offer more opportunities for bigger talent to come in and to kind of bring the A's back to where they were back in the 70s and 80s.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm sure in the end it'll be a good thing, but it's hard for those fans.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah. First the Raiders. But the Raiders are in Vegas. It's kind of a reuniting of the teams, I suppose.
Speaker 2:You look at their ticket prices.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's insane. And that stadium's nuts. Yeah, that stadium's incredible. So, anyways, I better get off my Oakland rent for a while. I could talk Oakland stuff all day. I'm curious Once you got called up, how many years did you spend in the majors?
Speaker 2:So I was up and down for the next six seasons ending in 2020. My last game would have been in August of the COVID season in Miami, in Maryland. So I got a little under two and a half years of Major League service time, Because once you people say it's hard to get called up, harder to stay and I think that would be the truth it is so incredibly hard to stay. But, yeah, from the A's I had five of the teams that I pitched for after that, ranging in from a couple outings to 10 or 15.
Speaker 1:So what would you say was your high point in your career, specifically in your career at that point?
Speaker 2:Yeah, 2018 with the Dodgers. I was able to put together a strong season pitch for a contender there and some games in September where we were still fighting for the NL West. Unfortunately, I was not able to make that 25 man playoff roster. It was incredible, though, to be on that team with Justin Turner, Clayton Kershaw there was just up and down the board. We were absolutely stacked, and it's really fun to play baseball.
Speaker 1:You're surrounded by that. Yeah, that was going to be my next question. I was going to ask you what did that feel like to kind of rub shoulders with Clayton Kershaw, Arguably one of the greatest pitchers of our generation?
Speaker 2:Honestly, it starts with Dave Roberts. He sets such a good culture there to make guys feel a part of things. When you're the 24, 25th guy on a team like I said before, realistic you don't have a whole lot of impact on that team. But they don't make it that way.
Speaker 2:They make you feel just as important as everyone else. We would land on a road trip and the veterans would come by one by one, everybody on the team, and ask who wants to go to dinner and then take everybody whoever wants to go out, take them to dinner, take care of them, make you feel a part of things, and I think for me that was huge. I had not really felt that with my other brief stints across the board and it allowed me to kind of get comfortable a little bit and settle in, even though I was going to. I think I was up and down eight times with them, but it just it went a long way with me in showing what true success looks like. And they always say your best players need to be your best leaders, and the dodgers for me really, really opened my eyes to that.
Speaker 1:No, that's cool. Yeah, I can imagine just the confidence in that locker room and that dugout and confidence is one of those things that is contagious you surround yourself with, especially that group of guys. I can imagine you probably felt like you were a whole different person when you were around them because you had these guys that made you feel like a Clayton Kershaw. Essentially, you were just as essential as Clayton Kershaw. You probably had that feeling because of the Dodgers organization and just how they made everyone feel equally valued.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a level to where it brings out the best in you. You're surrounded by some of the best in the game. If you give anything less than that, you're not going to be there more than a day or two at a time. It really kind of forces you to do it as well. But when it comes to the fondest memories I had, it would have been that 2018 season Not to say there weren't good ones in 19 and 20, but just top to bottom.
Speaker 2:if I had to pick, a season to relive it'd be that one.
Speaker 1:So what about a low point? So flip side of the coin, lowest point of your career.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's easy. There was times in the minor leagues. When you're in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, mexico, the corner ball, a world away from your family, you're bad outing. You're like what? Is this that I'm doing right now, but I would say there was a day in Cincinnati I hit three guys in anything and I think I might have walked two more during the outing. It was just one of those ones where the ball was leaving your hand and you had no idea where it was going.
Speaker 1:And you were just praying the whole time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was that performance. Wise, that was the lowest of the low. And there was some other ones, chris Davis, walked me off on a Friday night in Baltimore in front of a slow out crowd. That was a tough one too, but that didn't hurt nearly as bad as the three walks. That was my fault.
Speaker 1:The reality. Yeah, did you play in the world baseball classic?
Speaker 2:I did. I got to play with Italy in 13 and 17. That's what I thought. And then I also got to play in a couple of European championships with them, which was incredible.
Speaker 1:I love that. So walk me through the difference or similarities, because I can imagine, I mean, you're playing against with the best in the world, but you're getting a chance to represent your. I mean, yeah, you're born in America but your lineage is Italian and so you get a chance to play for that. And I think there has to be, I don't know, almost a higher sense of like conviction when you're playing the game because you're representing. You know your great-grandmothers, you know country, you know I, I don't know, am I off on that? I mean, just walk, walk me through that, pat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's, those games are like nothing you experience, really, until you know there's there's 25 guys who don't care about stats. These stats will lead to no dollar amounts, to have no bearing on what's going to happen that season, because when we're playing during a major league season, every pitch, every throw, every hit has a dollar associated with it.
Speaker 2:There's nothing. So it's about one thing it's about winning, it's about finding a way to get to the next round. So you're pulling so hard for your teammates, you're holding on to every pitch because it's it's a short tournament. There's no, there's not a whole lot of wiggle room, but you, just, you have so much pride in what you're doing, and when winning is the only thing that matters it's like playoff baseball it's because nothing else matters.
Speaker 2:The stats don't count, it's just winning, and it makes makes for a very, very fun and intense journey, However long that lasts. We were able to get to the second round in 13, and then we had a lead against Venezuela in the ninth inning. We were up two to one in 17 with our bags packed to go from Mexico to I think it was either San Diego or Los Angeles for the second round, and then we just we ran out of steam and they ended up beating us in the bottom of the ninth. But so some unbelievably fond memories from a great group of guys, not only the you know the minor leaguers that play, but you're playing with a guy who's a gardener yeah, Gardening gloves to that, because they have to have jobs during the week. Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:You're just. You're playing with guys that love the game. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And it's, it's a lot of fun, I'm sure, I'm sure like there's that big sense of humility, right, like, yeah, you, like you said, you're playing with guys that have a normal nine to five, and I've never read about stories about guys like that in other countries where America is kind of the anomaly, where they're all major league players, you know, but majority of countries it's individuals that have full time jobs and they're out there and they're just like playoff baseball, like you said. It just I could imagine, yeah, I would just feel yeah, incredibly, Like I wouldn't say better, but it's, it's different. I imagine it's just different. It's apples to oranges, comparing WB WBC games to major league baseball games.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a 10 day tournament compared to a, you know six months.
Speaker 1:It's not a giant grind.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a lot packed into a few few fun short days.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I, I could. I could imagine it'd be a pretty fun time. I want to fast forward a little bit up and down. For what was it? Six years right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, finishing in 20, 15 through 20.
Speaker 1:Okay, so then, when, when you got out of that I know, I know you're involved right now in this gratitude baseball camps when, when did you, did you start that bat, or was that started? Started by someone else, or is that a?
Speaker 2:collaboration. I have a lot of help, but that was something I started and it's just a one day camp for my in memory of my college teammates, Chris Gradovel, who was murdered in 2021. Okay.
Speaker 2:So we had. We had our first camp in 22 at our last one here in 23. Yeah, and we had to fast forward to having another one in 24. But you know, when something like that happens, the, the weeks after, or a blur, and then you know, when you have time to slow down a little bit, you think, all right, how can, how can we keep his memory living on Baseball is is my, my avenue to do that.
Speaker 2:So I I was able to get with Tyler Floyd, brian Dunsing, many high school coaches and college coaches from the area and I said, hey, you know, if I can find a way to get this together, we guys help me. For a day I said all the money will go, everything we bring in will go to the Chris Gradovel scholarship. And I've just had an outpouring of support from you know his friends from high school to college, that you know Bill Rickley there in Omaha. He's never, you know never played at baseball past high school. Yeah, and he filled this camp. As you know, chris's best friend and I just had so much external help. But last year we had close to 300 kids come out to honor Chris, to learn about him a little bit, to learn from from those that have played the game at the highest level. We keep it affordable and just continue to try to keep.
Speaker 1:Chris's legacy going?
Speaker 2:Is there a certain demographic of youth that you're trying to attract and is there, like a certain certain goal you're trying to accomplish with it as well, or so I grew up going to camps, to where you spend the first 20 minutes stretching and then you listen to coaches talk and then you know the next thing. You know you're two hour camp. You throw in the ball five times. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I try to make this the opposite of that. Okay, it's fast paced, start to finish. The kids have fun. Adam Engelkamp has an outfield station where he's going. Three drills over the shoulder catch they got to dive then a charge play. It's a high intensity camp where they're getting a ton of reps in in those two hours and it's just, it's a lot of fun. It's based on fun and it's based on intensity, just how Chris led his life. And then we talk about Chris at the beginning and the end. Give them t-shirts with you know a different graphic every year that we come up with.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a special day, the impact that you're having on those kids, because something I talk about very, very openly is that kids from a very young age and this is never, it's always been this way that they're looking for accolades. They're looking for adults to pour into them, to help them identify what their purpose is, because we're trying to figure that out. I mean, for most of us, it's our entire life. It's a huge journey. What is my purpose? What is my identity?
Speaker 2:There's moments in life that are so much bigger than anything we'll ever learn on the baseball field or, you know, soccer field, basketball, whatever it might be. But I do think that the consistency that is needed to get through those mental highs and lows and sports definitely play not just in sports, but you know, I've used those as I've been into the real world as far as jobs go the last three years I see a lot of the same challenges to where you're having a great day and having a great week and then the next month is just constant struggle and you take that same, even keeled, no high, no low approach and that's how that success comes. And showing that is the best way to do it. It's easy to talk about it, but showing is the best way to convey that to these kids.
Speaker 1:Yeah no, I absolutely agree, because that's something I talk to my son about on a regular basis and all my kids and then the kids that I coach too. It's about excellence, because majority of kids won't play professionally. So we're teaching you these skills, these lessons that you're going to take into the workplace, because if you can learn how to handle adversity at a young age correctly on a field, on a court, whatever, that will translate into the real world. And you know, I tell my son very, very often like there's obvious winners and losers in life and it's not dictated by a scoreboard, it's based on the mindset after failure. It's that emotional control, it's the pursuit of excellence, it's the pursuit of growth. And you can see those individuals at a young age and having a chance to intervene and influence them and hopefully redirect their life in such a way that will push them towards a life of excellence rather than a life of just self pity, self doubt and what I would just say the mindset of a loser. It's an unfortunate thing, but the youth that I tell people is like the reality is the next governor of Nebraska may be on my baseball team, the next president of the United States may be on my baseball team and how I coach them you know. Again, I don't want to make it any bigger than it has to be, but the way I coached them is going to directly impact their life for the rest of their life, positively or negatively.
Speaker 1:You know, especially in the travel ball scene because you're typically with that coach coaches, you know, for you know a handful of years or more and you're seeing them. You know, five days a week and so the coaches anymore have way more influence than anybody. I think it goes to. Billy Graham once said a coach will impact more people in one year than the average person will do in a lifetime, and that's so accurate. You know. It's just.
Speaker 1:I think about that with all the kids that we see, and I'm just like these kids we're seeing more than their parents do because travel ball is expensive, so most of the time it caused, you know, both parents have to work and they're working, you know, crazy hours and they're dropping their kids off at baseball than wrestling and then hockey and all these different sports, and so the parents aren't seeing them as much as the coaches are. Coaches are influencing the kids way more than the parents are and as a coach you know the sense of responsibility that I wake up with every day is huge, just like this is more than a game. You know and I'm sure you probably have that similar mindset, especially after you got out of playing full time that you see, because now you have kids. How old are your kids? Pat Six, five and two.
Speaker 2:So just starting into the sports realm and we don't have to say no travel or anything for the six year old. And so many of the parents don't have the luxury of seeing you know what collegiate athletics are like. They don't see what professional athletics are like and what that day to day looks like and truly how many talented people are out there. Yeah, you talk about the day I was drafted with Yankees.
Speaker 2:I was walking into a system where there were the 40 guys on the 40 man roster and then probably close to 200 other players that were world class baseball players between their academies in Venezuela, the Dominican and then the five levels in the minor leagues. Here you don't understand just how many talented people are out there. And then once you go through that, you're able to live a little bit and see what you know, what good coaching looks like and these parents, they're doing what they think is best for their kid, which they think is the travel ball, because they don't know any different. And that's where you know the kids are lucky to have somebody like you that you know takes that amount of pride in all of that. Sorry, I'm buzzing here. No, you're good.
Speaker 2:But I think a lot of it just comes down to the fact that the parents don't know any different. They're really relying on coaches to do what's best for their kid, and that's unfortunately not always the best thing that's happening.
Speaker 1:No, I'm glad you brought that up because you're 100% right there. A lot of these parents, they just don't know, and even parents that have played collegially, the game's changed a little bit, the world's changed a little bit. It's just everyone saying the same thing that if your son again I'm going to stick with baseball here If your son is going to play D1 and again like I want to even just stop on that for a second so many kids now at a younger age are so fixated on the goal of a D1 scholarship at age 10 and 11, pat, that they're missing the process. And that drives me nuts. And I talked about that on my last podcast. I was like you guys have got to stop focusing on the goal. It's so important to have that goal and focus on your day to day steps of getting better, because as soon as you lose sight of the process, you lose sight of the game and then you stop falling in love with the game and next thing you know it's the ride's over. And if you didn't make it, then what? And it's so important that kids just enjoy where they're at, have fun, you can develop, you can push for those goals, but don't be so fixated on them, that you miss where you're at.
Speaker 1:But these kids, like you said, they're being influenced by these coaches, by these organizations that are feeding this stuff to their parents and it's not always good stuff because the reality is a lot of these organizations and coaches make a living off of it and it's kind of hard to continue to grow manifest destiny wise if you continue to speak truth. You know, because at some point in time you typically have to decide to follow your conviction or follow the money, and that's a tough decision. You know there's a lot of clubs, I believe, that start with the right conviction of doing something differently. You know, but you know as well as anybody it's hard to find coaches, especially volunteer coaches. And so the idea that you're going to start this club and you're going to change the system and I think a lot of clubs start out with that way and then you do some good stuff, it attracts other coaches and other teams with not the same views, but all of a sudden you get 30% of their profits and that means you can buy a new car, you can buy a bigger house, whatever it is, and it just kind of cycles and you know kids are almost treated like cattle in the sense of just like it's a product. We're just trying to reproduce as many kids as possible.
Speaker 1:And again, I think even going to the, what Selectball was 15, 20 years ago is not what it is now. It meant something very different where it was I don't want to say exclusively elite, but like if you made a select team in the early 2000s, there was a reason for that. Now, if you make a select team, it's not that hard because there's so many of them. There's almost 500 here in Omaha, pat, from ages 7 to 14. That's insane, that's.
Speaker 1:I was talking about that with Tyler the other day. And you know, because, like we have just as many travel teams as Kansas City does, but the product is very different because we have a lot of just entry level teams that you know, parents want to feed this narrative that you're fantastic, you're fantastic and we're going to keep you at this single A level from you know, your entire career, because we want you to feel like you're the best. We don't want you to, you know, go through any adversity. We don't want you to, you know, we don't want, we don't want you to be challenged too much. We want you to stay confident. And then they get to high school and then they're competing for spots with all these guys that they're just built differently.
Speaker 2:I try to convey to the any parents I come across that there's not a single record being kept. I think when you get to varsity baseball, your records kept somewhere, but you're 17 or 18 years old usually before you're having to play any type of game that's going to be remembered. You know what I mean. You go back. Nobody remembers a game when you're 13. If you go on to play high school baseball, if you play college baseball, nobody talks about that. Yeah, and I think parents and you know kids get so wrapped up into this switch. For the kids it's a good thing. You want them to want to win, you want them to want to compete. But from the parents, you have to look at this at a realistic, from a realistic place to what's best for your son or daughter long-term.
Speaker 2:Yeah and I think winning is important. You need to teach them how to win and lose, but the development from ages six to eighteen is everything and that, unfortunately, it happens outside of practice. Yes, you're absolutely right. If you truly want your son or daughter to excel, it's got to be done outside of practice.
Speaker 1:And so much of it is mental and that's something that it isn't talked about. You, you don't see it as much you can. I see a lot of kids that are gifted Athletically but they have no head for the game, they cannot handle failure. And when I see that, I'm like if you can't handle failure, especially in baseball, you're not gonna go very far Because, like that's what baseball is, I mean, it's constant failure and just learning how to deal with it. And give me, especially as, like a pitcher, you know, I see so many, you saw so many kids this last year on on our 11 you team that would get frustrated when they'd get, you know, a guy would hit, hit, hit off them. I'm just like that's literally your job is to pitch so they hit, so we can make outs. Like you understand, even even in a perfect game Scenario, it's not, you know, not all strikeouts, it's a team effort and so it's just again, it's that mental aspect. You know that I was talking to someone about yesterday that I, you know, I have this idea that if we offered Like a workshop or a camp or a clinic where you, you brought in experts you know to to work on, you know how to field ground balls correctly, you know how to, how to block as a catcher correctly, so on and so forth. But then you spent an equal amount of time working on the mental aspect of it. You know, because so many kids, a great athletes that I see, are so mentally weak and and they, they just get so emotional and the higher level ball they play that I've noticed so my son plays majors here in Omaha and the higher level, higher levels that you get into, the emotions just get higher Because the expectations on these kids from their parents is is just huge. You know, because there's so much money invested in into the kids at a certain point that the kids feel it, regardless if the parents are saying or saying it or not. The kids feel it and you know they, they strike out and they look back at mom and dad, see if they're gonna, like you know, approve or disapprove. And there's just so much that I'm like that's one of the biggest things I think plaguing club club sports right now is just the you know, lack of mental fortitude. And you know, for me, I look at that and I I first and foremost take it back to like, okay, where's your identity from? From a very young age. Like I said, kids are trying to find their identity and whatever you put it into, if it's, if it's, if it's worldly, I firmly believe it will fail you at some point in time. If you put your whole identity, you know, and in one thing, if it's, if it is worldly, if it is not, you know, if it is not from from God, if it is not from Jesus Christ, his true identity for you that he's had for you, it will fail you. And so I see these kids and I'm just like you don't have this mental fortitude, you don't have this like, where's your identity at? Not not that Christians are perfect. I look at you know kids like my son, they know where their identity is. They love like base.
Speaker 1:Baseball plays a very, very close second place to Jesus and my son's life. There's. There's times where that line's kind of blurred, where I'm just like, okay, we're you at today, son, like I want you to love baseball, I want you to love these things. But understand that if, if baseball is everything to you and you, you know, become a paraplegic, then what then? Then your life falls apart. You know, like a little.
Speaker 1:I'll give you a short Bed of my story patch. So I played golf in college and golf was my whole identity, you know, from from from day one, that's all I, all I ever thought I was, that's all I thought I was, was good for, because that's all I. That's all anyone ever told me to. Everyone told me my identity was was golf.
Speaker 1:So I kind of fed into that, moved to California try to go to Q school to get on the tour, and just fell into a real dark hole and sort of seeing that dream kind of slip away and almost committed suicide because my identity, which was wrapped up completely in golf, was slipping away and I didn't know how to live with myself outside of that. Because I had a very, very unhealthy balance and I see that in a lot of kids you know me and it may not be to the extreme that I had and Hopefully it's never going to be to that extreme for any kids that I coach, you know hopefully no one's that that crazy, you know but the chance to intervene as a coach to help them Establish that sense of balance, that yes, it is phenomenal, sports are phenomenal, competing this is Great, doing it with excellence is important. But understand that you you can't have your soul identity In something like that, because it will fail.
Speaker 2:It's yeah without a doubt. That's that spot on and it's Even more so important for the coaches I volunteer. Here is the varsity pitching coach at Peoria, in order Dane. Yeah, it did just kind of instill those lessons on how to deal with failure and how to, you know, put things kind of in perspective. I think it's our job as coaches to help these kids, even as they get to be 17, 18, to realize that, just because as you live, you go through things, yeah, and you can see a bigger picture that these 12, 13, 14, 15 year olds Did they, just they can't see it.
Speaker 2:Yeah because they haven't lived it. Yeah, and it's it's so hard to convey that to them, but that that it's a challenge and it's something that I'm glad you're doing there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I appreciate it like I, like I tell people I was when was an athlete. My entire life I coach baseball. I didn't play at a high level, you know, but what I, what I try to bring to the table, is that level of like a chaplain more or less, or like I love how I think every minor league, major league team has has a chaplain, and that's that's the role I try to play. I find that that that is so important that we start introducing that level of mental fortitude at a young age and Redirecting kids identity, you know, outside of sports, like sports is good, but that cannot be your sole thing. It's like point one percent make it to you know any kind of professional career, and so if you're not that point one, then what you know it's just like you know, because every, every parent wants to believe their kids gonna play at the major league level and the reality is it's not true and it's just. I see such.
Speaker 1:I see such a disconnect, even even now at a young age, between Athletes and their parents, where it's just like they feel like they're failing their their dad or their mom because they're not, you know, the starting pitcher. They're not doing this and I'm like You're 11 years old, this is gonna get progressively worse unless the parents, you know, intervene, because at the end of the day, like this falls on the parents because it just does, you know, the whatever the parents are feeding at home, that's what the kids are gonna regurgitate, that's what they're gonna feel and that's that's the cycle. So it's just yeah.
Speaker 2:I've been sheltered from all the things you're telling me with the 500 select teams, and oh, I had no idea any of this existed. Well, I need this anxiety to start my Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1:You're welcome, pat. You're welcome anything I can do. So, yeah, no, we stood Three years ago. We first got into the travel scene and I didn't, I didn't, didn't even know what to what to think. You know, my, my son, I, I cowboyed for a living and my son cowboyed right alongside me up until he was nine years old when he first started playing baseball and took to a, pretty naturally, and this had a strong work ethic and Played, played a year of rec ball and said I want to play to the next level, I want to play, I want to be more competitive. It was like, okay, I don't know what that looks like, but we'll figure it out and we get involved. Like this is crazy. So, but I Look at it as a phenomenal mission seal because there's a lot of broken people in it.
Speaker 1:You know I'm broken too, but there's a lot of broken people that don't.
Speaker 1:They don't know how to handle success, they don't know how to handle failure, they don't have the mental fortitude and it's just being cast down to their kids and even for coaches too, coaches that are just Losing their cool on eight, nine, ten, eleven year olds, that are just screaming and swearing at them, and I'm just like again.
Speaker 1:These individuals are the future of our country and you're treating them like garbage and you're teaching them that it's okay to treat kids like garbage, and so that's regardless, I mean, of how big or how small of an impact it's gonna have. It's gonna have an impact on those kids and it's gonna translate Somewhere down the road in five, ten, fifteen years. And so I just you know, yeah, there's a lot of weight, a lot of responsibility on parents and coaches, and you know I try to try to do do my part, and you know I love what you, what you're trying to do, not try to do. I love what you're doing with with the gratitude camps, and I would love to see you know what that. You know if that's gonna grow into anything more than just just a once-a-year camper, that becomes a more regular thing too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's Takes quite a bit to put that one day on. I'm sure yeah.
Speaker 2:We've been just kind of flying by the seat of our pants for these first first couple years. Yeah, you know, if you're with, we had this year and at the same time you know you want those kids to have a good experience. Yeah, so we do have to cap it. Yeah unfortunately we had to tell some kids no, yeah, that didn't get signed up in time. Yeah, we plan on doing it again this June. Yeah, tyler and Brian will come out, and sure we'll have a nice, yeah, I'll have.
Speaker 1:I'll have to make it out there for that one. That should be good. My, my son, he was planning on being here because he's. Yeah, I told him. I said he's, he's been wanting to get up, come on the podcast since day one. And you know, like, like, like any good kid, and you know, he, just he doesn't really care who's who's on the podcast. And I told him I said you know who's on the podcast this time? And he's like no, and I told him he's like, I really want to be there, I really want to be there and it's like, but he's, he's kind of battling the cold right now. And I got up at 5 am this morning and kind of just stumbled out the door and it didn't even bother to wake him. But he'll be, he'll be come up when I come back home. But yeah, he's, yeah, he's, he's a huge fan, just because, yeah, you, you're able to strike guys out with the right handed and left hand and I won't even let him try to switch it, because All the hitting coaches.
Speaker 1:I talked to tell me, you know, just like switch hitting to become an almost I don't want to say a thing in the past, but a lot of people are saying, just stick to a side that you're dominant with and stick with it. And so, yeah, he hates me for that, by the way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you just yeah, I'm only teaching my kid to throw one hand, so so you know, Chloe's boy throws both handed. Does he really?
Speaker 1:yeah, I think.
Speaker 2:Tyler. Tyler has mentioned that I how old? Which one?
Speaker 1:I think it's his oldest, so he's what? Eight? Okay, I think he's eight.
Speaker 2:I think, yeah, yeah as long as his, as long as Tyler teaches him his cutter, that's, that's more important than throwing left handed right now oh, that's, that's fair.
Speaker 1:That's fair, yeah, it's. It was funny. I was talking to Tyler about it the other day and I was, you know. He was telling me he's like, yeah, my son throws both hands and I was like whoa, like alright, alright, and apparently that was just just kind of a natural thing.
Speaker 2:Tyler wasn't even teaching him, that's so see that's, that's a whole different ballgame, that, if that's something you could naturally do, yeah, who knows where that can go? Yeah, you know, that becomes a that becomes a lot different of a situation. Yeah, I was dealing with yeah and no. Yeah, yeah, maybe he'll dial it up even better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know I mean, well, there's, there's that one kid, I figure what, what, what college he plays for right now.
Speaker 2:But yeah, it's incredible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's like what 93 from both sides or something like three in the 95, like that's just that's, yeah, that's, that's incredible to throw 93 from one side nights in the SEC.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's. Yeah, it's a tough thing to do as a freshman.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's Anyways I. We could keep going forever. Pat, the last thing I want to ask you is If you could give one bit of advice to any kids, any parents listening right now, that that are playing baseball, that want to play at at a higher level. What, what, what advice would would you give them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, two-fold. For the parents, Enjoy these moments, spend as much time as you can with your kids, because when they're 25 30, they will fully appreciate that time. And for the kids We've talked about it throughout this entire hour where it's dealing with the ups and downs, it's Understanding that the only thing that's going to get you to that next level is a process. It's it's training, it's being consistent, enjoying the training and doing it as hard as you possibly can every day and treat your teammates Extremely well, because that's the one thing I've.
Speaker 2:I've also taken away from all this. You remember a lot of the games. You remember a lot of it, but as the years go on, what you truly remember is the people and you remember how you were treated by those people. So we talked about steep and voter. Today, there's not a person in this world that's gonna come and say I don't like Steve about, yeah, because he makes you feel like a million dollar bill day in and day out, and he's been rewarded for the last 15 years and he's gonna continue. Yeah, treat people with respect, work hard, enjoy the moment, take the ups and downs as they come and stick to that process.
Speaker 1:Lastly, guys, you're blessing, you know it. Go out there, be a blessing, take care you.