What If Your Dream Job Starts With Free Tickets

A New York Knicks championship sounds like pure joy, until you hear what it meant for Luke Terwilliger and his grandma after years of watching tough seasons together. Luke shares the FaceTime call that hit him hardest, why that moment felt bigger than basketball, and how a whole city can suddenly feel like one family when a team finally breaks through. 

Then we pivot to the other side of the dream: building a career in baseball when the playing route starts to close. Luke walks us through a truly nonlinear path into professional baseball, from working at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, to moving to Miami for graduate school, to landing a Miami Marlins group sales internship to get his foot in the door. The most memorable detail is his hustle: he and his mom wrote over a hundred handwritten letters to people across the organization, then he followed up until his name stuck. 

When COVID derailed everything, Luke kept going with overnight 7-Eleven shifts and Publix days, even returning to Publix in the offseason once he was in Minor League Baseball. That persistence eventually helped him move from video work to coaching, and now he breaks down what a Triple-A defensive coach actually does with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp: positioning, prep, communication, and teaching skills like the pre-pitch hop while matching the Miami Marlins style, including frequent infield-in reps. 

If you care about baseball development, minor league baseball life, or how to get a job in sports, this one is packed with real-world detail. Subscribe, share with someone chasing a dream job, leave a review, and tell us what part of Luke’s journey felt most familiar to you?

If you like what you heard, please rate and review us so we can continue to grow Turn 2 with Scott & Troy!

Transcript

Welcome, Sponsor, And Knicks Joy

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to turn two with Scott and Troy. Really special episode today. We'll bring in our special guests in a moment. We do want to say turn two is presented by Jack's Implants Indentures, led by former Georgia baseball player Dr. Alex McCree and his partner, Dr. Spencer Russell. Visit jacksimplants.com to let this hometown practice make your smile a home run. Somebody who's been smiling quite a bit recently has been the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp defensive coach, uh Troy, Luke Terwilliger. That is not necessarily all because of baseball, though I do think Luke derives a lot of joy from this game. It is because of basketball, Luke. What has it been like to watch your beloved New York Knicks as NBA champions in the last couple days?

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Man, it's still it's still like a dream. I feel like I'm on cloud nine. Like it hasn't hit me yet. Um people keep asking me, like, hey, what's it, what's it like? You guys finally did it. And I don't know if I'll finally take it all in until I get my first piece of merch that says New York Knicks NBA Champions 2026. Because to me, it's like it's still like a dream. It's like I wake up and I see Jalen Brunson holding the Larry O'Brien. I'm like, there's no way that happened. Um, but it's unreal. I can't believe it. It was been it's been fun to kind of like watch the playoffs um with the guys on the team. Um after the game, the Knicks game would still be going on and they'd come in and like watch it with me and check in on the updates and you know, run their mouth a little bit. So it's been it's been a good time.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

You you were telling me that um like a big part of this run you were watching with your grandma, and that was really important for you. And I and I heard that not just for the finals, but obviously even leading up to the playoffs. But I think sadly, our game got delayed by two and a half hours on Saturday, which is the same night the Knicks win the NBA title. And so you thought probably going into that night, like, oh, 6.35 game, we got two really good pitchers in the mound. Maybe we could get back early and I could watch this game, you know, X amount of time. I was thinking maybe even like the second quarter, early third quarter. Didn't work out like that. The game ended, and there was like two minutes left. So did you FaceTime her right away? And and what's the relationship between your grandma and you and the Knicks?

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Yeah,

Grandma Lois And The Championship Call

SPEAKER_00 2:13

so um my grandma moved in with us um, with me and my parents in 2009 when her husband passed away, my grandpa. And uh the moving in process, you know, she left all of her friends. Um, she moved into our community, didn't have anybody really to hang out with. So we I was watching the Knicks every night. I said, Graham, come watch a game with me, see if you like basketball. Um and she said that she had been a fan um and she'd watch basketball a little bit growing up, but like when she moved here um with us, she she kind of really started getting involved in it. Um so we would watch it every night, and these were the years when the Knicks were winning like 13 to 17 games, like the worst team in the league, the laughing stock, the paper bags over the heads. Um, but it was just kind of became um a thing for me and her just every night we'd turn on the Knicks, we'd watch the game, we'd talk about it. Um, and then I moved away for college and you know, moved down to Florida to um and got involved with baseball. So I would we'd still watch the games together. My dad and my mom would hook up the TV in the right channel for her um when I wasn't there. Um so we would just stay in touch and text and call when the Knicks would have a big win. Um, but the night when they won the championship, I told her, like, hey, I'll probably be ready to watch the second half because we've got an early game. And um obviously that didn't happen. She was texting me kind of the updates, um, and I had my phone uh in my back pocket, and I was, you know, she would be the one to kind of like, oh my god, we're down again, we're down 14, we're down 20. And I'm like, oh, they're not gonna do it tonight. Um, but then I the game ended and I ran in, and um, there was I think like a minute and a half left in the game, and that was just when the Knicks took the lead. So I'm like, oh my god, like they might do this. Um game, they did it, and that was the first call I made. Um I FaceTime her. She was in her Knicks jersey. Um, we had a custom Knicks jersey made for her when she turned 80. So it has it was a Knicks jersey with her name Lois on the back with the number 80. Um she was just like, Luke, we did it. We did it. Like I never thought I'd see it. Like, we did it. So that was uh that was awesome. That was that was probably the most special moment of the whole time.

SPEAKER_02 4:06

So you're telling me you are gonna start a podcast with that story, Lucas. I'm I am in like chills and I'm borderline tears and smiles. That is the epitome of what sports does. That's what brings people together. That is why we play the game. That is why we are in the game. Oh my goodness. Yeah, I and I don't know that may just be a normal story for you, but that that immediately at you know 9 30, 10, 10 in the morning tuck touched me. Thank you. Like that is that is the epitome of why we play the sports. That's that's it's to have those moments like that with family, with people, that personal connection. That's unbelievable. Thank you for sharing that.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

Yeah, man, of course. And and there's so many people going to I went to college um in the New York City area, and there's so many people that like it means just it's means so much more to them. There's so many people that aren't here um that were Knicks fans their whole life that aren't able to see this now. So it's like it goes deeper than just the game itself, just like what you said, Troy. It means it means so much.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

I have one more basketball question. And I Luke, you know this, I love basketball, but I'm not a Knicks fan. But I also come from that area, and I was curious, like you just mentioned how it touched so many people, the scenes that you see of New York City, not just after they win the title, but really particularly game four, right? When they come back with 29 points down, and it's the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history. But when you, as a New York guy yourself, see that city like this, because it's unusual. There's the Yankees and the Mets, there's the Jets and the Giants. Technically, I'm a Nets fan, right? Like, technically, there is a second basketball team in uh in New York, but to see the city come together around this team and the scenes of the city where people are singing New York, New York, and Empire State of Mind, like just delirious in the streets. Like, like, what do you think? Because I get kind of emotional watching those videos.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Like the Knicks are like the the ground where like everybody comes and supports the Knicks. Like, Scott, I hate to say this, brother, but I don't know if there's any Nets fans. Like, I don't I don't know if I've met a Nets fan besides you like this. Congratulations. But like you know, in baseball, they got the Nets and the Yankees, like you said, so it's like there's a divide, but like everybody in New York loves the Knicks, and then it just became kind of became like even if you weren't a basketball fan, like you would hear about it and you on the train, people would be talking about it, and you see it in the papers. And it's like everyone came together and supported the Knicks. And I think one of my favorite videos was like seeing just like a little bodega on the corner and people outside, like looking through the windows, uh, watching the TVs um that were in the in the bodega and people just going crazy on the on the street um for every game. I don't know if there's a city in the United States that still has people doing that. I feel like overseas for soccer, um, people get into it like that, but like seeing people all come together and and embracing each other and hugging each other and um all just kind of becoming one for that that small moment was probably the coolest thing um I've seen, especially uh in my time being a Knicks fan.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

All right,

A Nonlinear Path Into Pro Baseball

SPEAKER_01 7:12

so New York is really where you you start your baseball journey as well, uh, coming from that area, but also you you're a college baseball player at a Delphi. Uh, you have great numbers, by the way. I was looking it up on baseball reference this morning. But I I do think that baseball player to um professional baseball coach happens all the time, but your journey is so different, it's so much more complex than that. And it actually, ironically, you talked about like Mets and Yankees. Like for you, it kind of started there, right? Like you graduate college, and then to try to get into the game, it seemed like you worked not in coaching, not in any sort of baseball-related activity, except for kind of sales and um refreshment services, things like that at both City Field and Yankee Stadium. So if you want to like rewind a little bit, when you're in college, what are you maybe thinking about in terms of getting into the sporting world? And then how do you go from there to Yankees, to Mets, to the Marlins as a and not a coach, a group sales coach? Like, how what was in your brain as you're going through and how did you try to make this all work?

SPEAKER_00 8:22

So it was kind of like a difficult conversation that you have to have with yourself. Um, when I was uh a junior in college, um, I had like one of the best years um that I had playing, and like nobody was interested. And I was like, wow, I'm not getting any love from any Division I schools, I'm not getting any love, no, no, no scouts are coming to ask about me. And I was like, that was kind of an eye-opening experience. But I was like, wow, I don't know if I could play better than what I did, and um not gaining any interest. So I was like, what if I start focusing on like my career after my playing days? Um, so I was like, let's get I want to work in baseball, I want to be in baseball. So um I went over to City Field and I applied to be a food service worker. I was like, let me just get in the stadium and see if I can, you know, get my foot in the door and then you know, like make some connections and explore that route. So I went over there and um they hired me as a food runner. So I was gonna be one of the guys who takes the food from the kitchen and brings it to the seats. And they said, okay, you got the job. Um, but then I was like, can I can I ask? I asked the hiring manager. I was like, is there any way I could, you know, apply to be a supervisor? Um they're like, oh, you wanna you wanna be a supervisor? And I was like, yeah. Um so they sat me down real quick right after the interview to be a food runner, and um they asked me some questions and I was able to get a supervisor job, so I oversaw the people running the food out. Um and I did that for two years at City Field, and then um my senior year, I doubled up um and I was I operated the suites um and the elevator at Yankee Stadium because the Mets and the Yankees um their home schedules typically didn't overlap. So when the Mets were home, the Yankees were on the road. So it was pretty much I was able to work every day um my senior year um of college at either City Field or Yankee Stadium.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

And you're talking about two of the most iconic historic stadiums of all time. I know you can bring Shea Stadium in there, of course. Yes, um, but that's that's one of my favorite, I mean, City Field, I and I know it's an NLE's rival, it's an NLE's team, if you want to put put it that way, but that's one of the coolest stadiums I've been. When they bring in an opposing pitcher and you have the train that goes all the way around the stadium, and it's the per the purple train, I don't remember which one it is. It's whatever gets you seven or seven. And it's the one that gets you from New York to City Field, right? Yep, yep. And that that's just an unbelievable part. So I guess my next question is like, how did you then make the transition from that into working in professional baseball? And was it a was it a straight shot? Was it something else?

SPEAKER_00 10:54

I I just loved being around professional baseball. So I didn't really gain any connections. Um nothing led me from City Field Yankee Stadium to the Marlins.

Hustling Into The Marlins With Letters

SPEAKER_00 11:06

I decided to move to Miami to get my uh master's degree. Um so I got I went to St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens to get my master's. Um, so then once I got down here, I was like, I gotta get involved with the Marlins somehow. Like that's the team down here. I gotta see if I can get my foot in the door there. Um so I applied for various positions. Um, one of them happened to be a group sales intern. And I knew I didn't want to be in sales, but it was kind of one of those things where let me again just try to get myself in the building and then I will start to talk to people because I eventually want to be on the baseball side of things, um, get back into uniform, start coaching. Um, but I got a call back to be a group sales intern um at $6, $8 an hour. Um, and my job was to give away tickets for free to start um trying to fill up Lone Depot Park. So I wasn't even able to sell tickets because I had no sales experience. So they used to give me stacks of tickets and I'd have to call local businesses and nonprofits and be like, hey, like I have tickets for you. Just please come. Um, whatever you need, just please come. We need we do the stadium filled. So that was my first role um with the Marlons.

SPEAKER_02 12:08

Wow, that's exciting. Okay, I mean, that's incredible. So did you just go on? Because I know a lot of people, they especially people that listen to this podcast, they're like wondering, how do you even get into professional baseball? How do you so what was the process in that you applied? Did you go to teamworks? Did you like go through the internet? Was it indeed? Like, how did you find even a group sales job with the Marlins?

SPEAKER_00 12:30

Yeah, it was it was Teamworks. Um, but I have a funny story actually. Um, once I got hired, um, a bunch of people came to me and were like, hey, we're like, were you the guy that was writing the handwritten letters? And uh I was like, Yes, um, I was. I know I remember when I was applying to all the different jobs um with the Marlins, my mom and me sat down and we looked up the staff directory from like everybody who worked with the Marlins. And we might have handwritten um over a hundred letters just saying, Hey, my name is Luke. Um, I want to be involved in sports. Um, you know, my contact information, you know, please reach out. I'd love to have a chat. Um and I sent them out from at that time from people like Derek Jeter, um, all the way down to people in the group sales uh office, and I would send them out through snail mail. And uh I didn't receive any responses, but then once I got hired by the Marlins, I had a lot of people come up to me and uh say, hey, like, were you that guy writing the letters? Like, I still have it. I thought that was really cool. Um, so that was that was a funny story there. But yeah, definitely Teamworks. Um I and I did kind of I probably spam some people um through email, like hey, just following up or follow-up email, just so I can get my name out in front of them so that that their my name would be at the top of their head. But that's how you that's how you get jobs.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

Like we are 15 minutes in, and you have been my favorite interview this year. Damn, Troy. We are 15 minutes in and you are killing it. Oh my god, that's that's unbelievable. Okay, so because that's that's the way my parents raised me too. And I it was always follow-up. It was always, hey, I got a job one time, so I had an off-season job as a uh uh substitute teacher, but I applied for my parents' school district. And so I was like, oh, cool. I you know, I'm I'm just gonna apply. And it was right after COVID. So they like, this is when they needed people, like nobody was coming into school, like they needed people immediately. I don't have a teaching degree, I had a business degree, but it pays well and I can you know live at home and work good hours.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:27

And they hired me specifically, yes, my parents were both teachers in the school district, they all knew them, but they hired me specifically. They said, no one's ever followed up called on a resume. When can you start? And I said, I can start. I I you know, I'm I'm flying in from Pensacola in two days, I can start on Wednesday. And they're like, All right, cool. Just come on in and you come on on Wednesday, whenever you want, and you got the job. That is so cool to hear another person handwritten letters to get into the field that you want to get in.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Hey, the son of two the son of two teachers as well. It must be that must be what it is. That's all it is, thank you. What what subjects did your parents teach? Um, my dad was an elementary school physia teacher, and my mom um was a first grade teacher and a remedial reading, it's all elementary school. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_02 15:18

I love it. What about you? My my dad is a history teacher. He still teaches at the high school, he's been doing it for 30 something years. My mother is a speech language pathologist, so she works with the deaf and hard of hearing. Um, she's trying to teach my daughter how to speak right now. Um, and she's my daughter's not quite having it, she's one year old, but um yes, they've been teachers for over 30 years, and they are. I am so pro-teacher, it is unbelievable because I no one ever sees how hard they truly work until you're a child of a teacher and you they go home.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

Yes, you hear about it all all the time, and you hear about what they do and what they go through, and it's like uh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:57

You have absolutely the people that are like, oh, school's a joke, schools, you have absolutely no idea how much these people care about you. Yeah, you have I know I know this is a baseball podcast, but I'm so pro-teacher. They have you have no idea what what these teachers put in for these kids. They shout out teachers and all of the oh man, what do you call it? The principals, the vice principals. They are unbelievable. Um okay, so I got another question for you then. I'm gonna revert back to baseball here. That's awesome. Um okay, so you get into you get into the Marlins, uh, and you get into grouped sales. What was what was the next step then? Because I and before I ask, you know, I I I I want you to get to hey, uh in the future, this is my dream job, this is what I want to be doing, and this is what I can what I see myself doing. But how did you make that step from sales to then working for the Marlons?

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Yeah, so I would it was kind of like a nine to five job. Um and I the commute every day and the commute home, you sit in traffic. I loved it. Like I loved being in the stadium every day. Um, but I was like, okay, I did this for about a year, and I was like, I gotta try to, you know, make my move now. So I would walk over to the baseball side of things. Um, they have their offices on the other side of the stadium, and um I met this guy named Austin Lamke. Um, and I would send him an email and I was like, hey, is there any time like you can meet? Like, I'd really love to talk. I know you you you're in charge of the video. You know, I don't know anything about video, but um I heard that was a good place for people to start who want to get in the baseball side. And um he kind of was like, okay, I'll meet you here, but I only have a couple minutes. So uh we went out and sat in the bowl. Um there was a the draft camp was going on um at the time, so he was up there um taking a break while the guys were uh maybe there was a a gap in between the schedule and we were talking, and I was explaining to him what I wanted, and he pretty much told me, like, hey, like nice to meet you, but I don't have any roles available for you this year. Um, but like nice to meet you, and I was like, damn, like, okay, so back to the office I went slinging tickets and um around mid-spring training, I get a maybe no, it wasn't the beginning of spring training in 2022. Um, I get a text like, Hey, are you still interested in video? Like, we've got a spot that came open, we need to fill it now. And I'm like, Yes, like absolutely. And silly me, I'm like, you know, oh, it'll be in Miami somewhere, right? I'm good. And he's like, You're going to Wisconsin. And I'm like, Wisconsin? Wisconsin. Yep. I'm like, Going to Wisconsin. I and I'm I'm I'm this is how like naive I was. Like, I didn't even think, like, oh, you go to like the minor league affiliates, and that's where you spend the year. I'm just thinking, yeah, I'll be in Miami somewhere, right? I'll be fine. And then but I didn't even talk to my girlfriend at the time. I didn't, I was just like, yes, like I'm in. So then I went home that day and I was like, hey, um, I'm gonna go to Wisconsin. And the look that she gave me, and but she was she's awesome. She has supported me this whole way, but like I had no clue that I was gonna have to go to an affiliate and be the video guy. And then um I accepted the job and I told him, I was like, just as a reminder, like I have no idea about technology or video. And he's like, Don't worry, like my staff will train you. Um, so that's how I got started.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Yep.

COVID, 7-Eleven, And Publix Grinding

SPEAKER_01 19:05

I I also think you're leaving out something too, because in between this, like when you got that intern job for group sales, it was 2020. So you're trying to give away tickets, and then you cannot you can't even have fans in the ballpark, which is so wild. And I think you had uh stint at publics as well. So again, like it's just your persistence, Luke, is is remarkable. And um maybe my question would be like just before we go to like okay, we're at the Beloit point of the story, 2020, there's no fans, and group sales is probably irrelevant, right? And you go to work at Publix. Like, was that a time where you doubted that this the stars would ever align for you to get to where you are now?

SPEAKER_00 19:49

Of course, I moved my whole life to Miami to go to school. Um, and then COVID happened, so school became online. Um, the Marlins uh let me go because my position wasn't needed anymore. So I'm sitting in my apartment. I moved all the way down here in my school. I don't have to I can't go to school in person. I got no job. I'm like, what am I gonna do? Um I looked out my apartment window and there was a 7-Eleven across the street, so I walked over there and I was like, please hire me. Um and so they hired me um to work the night shift, so I would work 6 p.m. No, no, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. at 7 eleven. Um, and then I was able to get a job at Publix down the street. Um and they hired me and I worked um anywhere from like 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. So it's like I would work, come home, take a quick nap, head over to Publix, work, take a quick nap. It was just like a cycle, but it was like there there are people out there that do that for years and years. I did that schedule for maybe like four months, and I don't know how people do that because it absolutely drained me. Um just like the sleep schedule and the constantly working, and like you had no time for yourself. So like I only did that schedule for about four months. Um, I stopped working at 7-Eleven and just did Publix. I was able to get more hours at Publix. Um, but I continued Publix all the way up until um 2024. Um, I would work Publix in the off-season because being a video guy in minor league baseball, um, your pay stops when the season ends. So I needed something in the offseason. So I I continue to work at Publix um up until 2024. So um Publix has been a big part of my journey, and I I can't thank them enough because it was able to keep food on my table and keep this dream of working in baseball alive. Shout out Publix.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

Oh I love a good God, I love Publix. You're a pub sub guy, Troy? I love a pub sub, go to the beach. I also love that all the Publix, except for one that I went to in Miami. That's that's the only one, but they're all clean, they're bright, they always have what I need. They it's it's genuinely one of the best grocery stores you can possibly find. Shopping is a pleasure. Where shopping is a pleasure. Oh God, Luke, you are amazing.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

That's where and I Scott knows this, but that's where I also met my fiance was working at uh Publix. She she worked, um, she was a pharmacy tech at the time. Um, and I was uh stocking the the dairy in the peanut butter section. Um, and that's where we met. So shout out Publix.

SPEAKER_02 22:10

Were you like were you like just you know, if you're stocking the dairy, were you like slipping her a gallon of milk being like, hey, take this home? This is on me today, like whatever you need, and that's how you were flirting with her, or like how did this work out?

SPEAKER_00 22:23

It was in the same aisle, and I would kept making eye contact with her, and you know, I was like, wow, she's beautiful, but I was like, she's you know, all my friends back home said, Luke, stay away from the Miami girls, like be careful, be careful. Like and I was like, you know what, I'm not gonna fall for it. Like, but she kept making eye contact, and I was like, She's probably, you know, with some big she's not gonna be with me. I'm I'm working at Publix, right? Um but yeah, that's how that's how it started. We were in the same aisle and we'd make eye contact, and yeah. She saw the vision. Shout out. She saw the vision. She saw the vision, yeah. Wow, that is amazing.

SPEAKER_02 22:56

Oh my goodness. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Yeah, yeah. So shout out Publix. Publix has been a big part, and both of her parents um are managers at Publix. So Publix is a huge part uh of our life. I can never go to Windexy ever. No, it never go to Windix. No, never, never.

SPEAKER_02 23:12

That's awesome. I love it. Um, so oh, go ahead, Scott.

SPEAKER_01 23:16

No, uh no, go ahead, Troy.

SPEAKER_02 23:17

Okay,

From Video Guy To Coach In The System

SPEAKER_02 23:18

so we're at the part of the story where you're in Beloit. I want to hear because I got to play at both the old Beloit stadiums. I got to play at the Rickshaw wooden slash concrete fence. I had to wear a mouth garden the infield Beloit. And then you get the absolutely gorgeous, stunning um Beloit um ABC Supply. It's gorgeous, it's fantastic. It's what it's one of the coolest stadiums in the in the Midwest League. Um, so talk me through your first year of that, and then kind of where you're at now and how you got to Jacksonville.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

Yeah, so my first year in Beloit, it was the new stadium. Um, but funny enough, my apartment where I was living was right next to the old one, Pullman, I think it was called. Um so one night I was like, I have to I keep hearing horror stories about this place. So I one night I went over there and I hopped over one of the fences and I was just walking around the field. I'm like, I cannot believe they played minor league baseball.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

Um but yeah, that that that was rough. But ABC Supply Stadium was like it was beautiful, it was brand new. Um, they started to get fans like midway through that season, people started to really come and support the Skycarp, which was awesome. Um, that first year was a a whirlwind. It was like me just trying to figure out how not to mess up the video. You know, I don't want to screw this up for any of the guys, you know, because um, you know, I want them to be able to see their swings and their defensive plays. So um my manager that year was Georgie Hernandez, um one of my mentors, one of my good friends to this day. Um looking back now, the lineup was filled with um a bunch of guys who've made it to the big leagues, Victor Mesa Jr., uh Sean Reynolds, Nassian Nunez, a bunch of guys you played with. Um so yeah, that first year really kind of set the foundation for me. Um I was like, bro, I really love this. Um the long hours of video in the grind, like I it was tough, but I loved it. It kept me around the game. Um in it was really George Hernandez, the the manager there, who allowed me to kind of tap into and allow me to start doing some of the coaching duties. I remember he was like, hey, like, do you want a coach? And I was like, yeah, eventually. So he's like, all right, you throwing BP tomorrow. And so I was out there throwing BP in my polo and my video attire. Um, you know, and it went well. And then the next day he's like, Hey, hey, can you hit fungo? And I was like, I've never hit a fungo. And um, so he would take me off to the side and um before the infitters would come out, and we would practice hitting against the wall. So it I really give a lot of credit to Georgie um for allowing me and having patience with me and starting me, at least throwing back in practice and hitting fungo.

SPEAKER_02 25:43

So Georgie's the man. He was uh, of course, he was my manager too, but um, yeah, he's the man. What an awesome human being. He okay. So you're good things about him. Never never can say a bad thing about him. Man, he's his laugh is infectious too. His laugh is infectious. Um so your embeloid. That was in 2022, correct? 2022, yep. 2022. Okay, so walk me through 23, 24, and 25, and then this year here.

SPEAKER_00 26:10

So 23. Um, I was video again. I remember you know trying to get out of video and be like, hey, listen, give me a shot of coaching. Um Kim Ng was here at the time. Um, they just didn't have any positions open, so I did video again um in 2023 for the FCL team. Um, I was able to stay closer to home um go home on the off day. So that was that was awesome. Um 2024 um I started again as a video guy. So spring training rolls around. There was no coaching openings. Um I think I was slated to go back and do video in the FCL. So we went through the whole spring training doing video, and then um at the end of 2024, some coaching openings came available. Um, I interviewed for them. Um, and luckily enough, they they said, Go ahead, you can you can be the first base um base running and outfield coach in the FCL. And I was like, oh my god, this is great. Um, but I don't speak Spanish. So I'm like, Yeah, that's that's a big issue. That's a big issue because I'm like, I'm looking at the FCL roster and I'm like, it is all uh Latin guys, and I was like, I'm super excited to be able to work with them, but like, how am I gonna talk to these guys? Um, so I really had to you know get going on my Spanish. We we'd have Spanish class every day. Um, my fiance um being uh Cuban, she's bilingual, she speaks Spanish and English. So um she would help me, she still helps me to this day. But um that was like a big like, oh my god, like how am I gonna talk to these guys? But funny enough, like even if you don't speak the language fluently, like you still find ways to communicate and you still figure it out. Um, this is at the end of the day, if you're a good person and you care about the guys and you show that you care, um, you will find a way to communicate with them. Um, so that was uh 2024, my first year um coaching. Um an outstanding experience. We were um I was in charge of the base running. Um we stole a bunch of bases. Um going next year 2025, I same thing. I was outfield and base running coach um for the Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League. Um kind of had the same group that I had in the FCL. They kind of went with me. Um and then this year I got a call and they said, Hey, what do you think about you know, switching um from outfield, um you'll you'll do the infield um and you'll head up to Jacksonville with Carp um and you'll be with the jumbo strength. And I was like, Yeah, let's go. Um being able to learn from guys like Carp and uh Jared Eichoff, um, guys who've been in the big leagues um has been has been awesome. Um we got guys like Jose Sabayos, I know you played with uh for Sevi for a while, um Infectious Energy, our new hitting coach, Tom D'Angelis. Um the whole staff has been awesome. So being able to learn and see the game at this level compared to where I've been in, you know, the rookie level and in A ball has been uh has been pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02 28:54

Well, and you've been a part of you've been a part of some really cool call-up stories, and you've been actually in there where you know you get called up from the FCL or you get called up from high high A and you're like, okay, cool, you're still in the minor leagues, but you got to move, you know, here and here. But you're at the point where you get to see it firsthand where guys are getting called up and they're crying and they're calling their parents, and you know, they made it at that point. And so that's probably the I mean, that's got to be one of the coolest things I've ever been a part of in that locker room. I could only imagine what it is for you, Luke. Um, but what an amazing, what an amazing journey for you that you are now knocking on the door of the big leagues. If somebody goes down, you're the guy, you're the guy.

SPEAKER_00 29:33

Yeah, I don't think of it like that, but yeah, you know, it is the it is the next step. But going back to your call-up uh story, I watched your you guys' episode, um, you and you and Scott when you're talking about that, um, in it in it, you're spot on, like go seeing guys like fulfill their dream, going from you know, lifelong being in the minor leagues to like, oh my god, like I'm a big leaguer, like I am, I'm a major league baseball player. That's like the coolest thing ever. Um that the the reverse of that is when you get guys who've been in the FCL for a bunch of years and they finally get that call, like, hey, you're going to Jupiter, even though it's you know just across the parking lot, um, it was kind of like the same thing went off because the FCL, you know, you're playing those noon games and 100 degrees on field seven, you know, and then you get the call saying like you're going to play in the stadium, people are gonna pay to watch you. Um, so those two are very similar that I've noticed. But like I I do think going from AAA to the big leagues, watching those guys and their face light up and and shout out to Carp too. The way he does it, um, he always does it uh in a very creative way. He doesn't just kind of you know take them off to the side and say you're going to the big leagues. He always makes sure that the whole team gets involved, whether that's pulling us all off the bus um and getting us back in the locker room for Joe Mack. Um, he he always makes sure to involve everybody, and I think that's really special. It shows everyone, you know, really coming together and supporting one another.

unknown 30:49

Good.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

It's really good. What was your what was your call-up uh story? Was it you were you got called up with us, so was that in Jacksonville that that carp was able to tell you?

SPEAKER_02 31:01

Yeah, carp carp was able to tell me. So our old hitting coach, Mike Marjima, who's fantastic, of course, um, he ended up calling me on a Monday night off day after we drove back from Durham. Because of course, do you guys have a night game on Sunday? Oh my god, dude, we're gonna get back at like four, yes. Yes. So I had a three-month-old, four-month-old at the time, and my wife and I, we all drove and we were like, okay, we can just drive through the night, like, you know, take her out every two hours and you know, do that thing. So we got back at four. I didn't, I didn't think anything of it. And I, you know, I get a call from them at seven o'clock, eight o'clock that night saying, hey, you're going to the big leagues. And you know, it was a two-minute call. I've told this, I know I've told this story on turn two before, but it was a two-minute call. I said, Marge, if you know, carp, if you guys are calling me to tell me what I think is happening, um, you need to tell me right now because I can't wait any longer. I've waited six and a half years. And so I said, Hey, you're going to the big leagues. My wife's crying, you know, I'm crying. Daughter actually wasn't crying, which is weird. But um, you know, it's it's a very emotional time. And, you know, it's I I I say it because I know that somebody like you, after hearing your story, I know you understand it. That I say the words, it was all worth it. Yeah. Whatever, whatever struggle, the working three jobs in the offseason, you working at Publix, working at 7-Eleven, it becomes, you know, those words mean more. It's it's it's you're all worth it. Scott knows what I'm talking about when I say the words, it was all worth it. All the struggle, all the sleepless nights, all the am I good enough? Am I can I do this? Like that's really the epitome of all of it. And, you know, you talk about I didn't even realize it because I didn't actually play in the FCL. I trained there. I was a 17th rounder, so you know, I was just training there and I was the backup to the you know, the top 10 rounders, and I ended up just going a short season um in Batavia, New York. But it truly is the words, it was all worth it. Everything that you all those emotions just flood you and you finally get to do it and you do it, and it's such a magical day. And everybody always tells you that and you know, whether you're an announcer for the Marlins or your player, or you're you know, you're a coach for the first time up in the big leagues, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, if you go 0 for four with four strikeouts, or you hit a home run your first at bat, when you look around and you just feel the energy, you feel how different it actually feels. That's when you like actually don't.

SPEAKER_00 33:26

That that's awesome. I I remember um when you did get called up, it was like finally, like, this dude's been putting up numbers. This guy's been here for you know ever grinding. He's been a Marlin, like he's been doing everything that the the staff and has asked. It's like he deserves this like more than anybody. And then you go up there, and I remember you hit that walk-off homer, and I was like, oh my god, like I was so excited for you because I was like, this dude, like, if anyone deserves this, it's this guy.

SPEAKER_02 33:49

Well, thank you. I you don't know how much that means to me, but yes, that's that's very it's very true. And I hope it's inspiring to a lot of other baseball players because that's kind of why we do the podcast, is we want to tell the story behind you know the stats. We want to tell the story behind the people, um, you know, how we got here, how we did all this. And, you know, it truly is, you know, when you get your shot and you get your opportunity, it's so much fun to just go up there and you you're playing pretty much playing with house money at that point. Like, you know, unless you're you know a first rounder and you get pushed up there in two years, like pretty much playing with house money and you can just go have fun. But we look at it, yeah. Yes.

What A Defensive Coach Does Daily

SPEAKER_01 34:29

I was kind of curious about the role of a defensive coach. And I'm me too. Yes. I'm I think a lot of people don't even know that that's a thing now in baseball because it is a fairly new position in the minor leagues. And I'd also guess, and maybe you could confirm or deny this, Luke, that it is a much different role in the FCL where guys are 17, 18, 19, 20 years old and probably not as refined as they are at this level where you're dealing with guys in their mid to late 20s for the most part. So like what goes into being a defensive coach? Like, how are you structuring your day? And was it any different in the FCL or Beloit versus what you're doing here in Jacksonville?

SPEAKER_00 35:06

Yeah, in the FCL and Beloit, uh, well, especially FCL, it's like those guys, you a lot of it is like things that you don't think you have to really, you know, teach, but it's it's like barebone basics, like um, you know, which guy you throw to on a cutoff, um, just catching the ball in the right spot uh part of the glove. It's like very basic remedial stuff, but like you work with those guys and and when you see them find it start starts to click for them, it's it's very rewarding. Um and the energy that those guys bring every day, like they're so excited just to be here and to be in the FCL. Um, so that was awesome working with those guys. But it is different being um in in AAA. Um, you still go over those things, like you know, the cutoff men and your responsibilities, but it's more or less uh a lot of the work we do is just making sure that they are ready um to perform, making sure they have confidence going into the game, making sure they feel good about themselves, um, making sure they understand who the other team, which guys can run, um, which guys might be able to bunt. Um, and a lot of it is positioning. So during the game, I I stand right next to um Jared Ikoff, our pitching coach and carp on manager, and um, you know, listening to them call the game and what pitches to throw and what guy um has his stuff today? Um, you know, we kind of move the infielders based on that, as well as the spray charts that um our analysts provide us. Um so a lot of it is positioning, just making sure guys are in the right spot to succeed.

SPEAKER_01 36:28

Do you feel like that would be different? I like the Marlins called, like ICOF calls the game. Rob Marcello calls the game last year for us. Do you feel like if um you know Augustine Ramirez or whoever was catching Joe Mack, Bennett Hostetler, that if they were calling the game, it'd be a little bit different because you wouldn't necessarily know what pitch is coming out of ICOF's mouth, for example?

SPEAKER_00 36:52

Um I I I'm not sure, but it definitely does help a little bit because I know sometimes, like in a big moment, um, you know, I'll grab Ike real quick and I'll be like, hey, like how what's your plan with this guy? Like, how are you gonna attack him? And you know, oh, we're gonna we're gonna you know go soft away from him. So that in the back of my mind, it's like, okay, like let me just make sure, you know, where my right side of the infield is, let's see what the the uh the spray chart says, let's see what the card says. So you take all of that information together, then you can kind of move guys based on um you know taking all that information. So like being next to those guys, Ike and and carp and listening to them talk about you know how the pitchers, you know, pitchers are moving that day and um what kind of stuff he has, it it all of it together um goes into like making sure the guys are in the right spot. And sometimes you take all that information and you think, oh wow, we're money, and then some guy's gonna hit a little broken bat bleeder the other way for a base hit, and you're like, you know, gosh darn it. Like it's you take all that information, all those couple seconds of cramming, like, oh, they're in the right spot, and then the guy just you know bust his bat and he gets a single.

SPEAKER_02 37:56

I mean, that's a good way to play it though, because realistically you're playing the odds. I know when I was playing a little bit more first base, and I'd get my pitch calm, and uh, you know, you got a righty and maybe a lefty's up, you got big lefty, you got Kurtz, somebody like that, and they're going, hey, cutter in or you know, slider or you know, fastball in. I may be set up in one spot, but I'm probably gonna take a couple steps to the line as it's going because there's a really good chance. He's probably gonna hit it down the line.

SPEAKER_00 38:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:23

And so like you have those those those movements. I don't know, you guys only have two pitch comms in triple A, right? Yes. So like I don't have it, yeah. Yes, but like when you get to the big leagues, like everybody knows what pitch is coming except for the corner outfielders. I think those are the only guys, and maybe the center fielder. Um, but the you you move with every pitch, and there's a lot of a lot more information. And like you said, you gotta you know, you get to AAA, you got so many at bats off certain guys and certain things, and and and there's like spray charts that literally say, hey, he's gonna hit the four hole or he's gonna hit the six-hole like consistently. We're just gonna put our shortstop there. Yeah and we'll play the odds. But yeah, some sometimes you know, guys get lucky.

SPEAKER_00 39:02

Oh, we we were playing we were playing Nashville the other day, and I think twice in one game, the same guy hit a ball, one of his ground balls hit third base, the other one hit second base. I'm like, this guy is like, what are you doing? What are we doing like when you're living right, you're living right, you know? That's all it is. I know. So like yeah, you can take all the information, and sometimes it's like, you know, it's great, but you can take all the information, and they could just completely just it could the ball could be hit down the left field line when you had everyone, you know, shifted over to the right, and it's just like that's the frustrating part about baseball, but it's also the beautiful thing about baseball, it's like you can't, you know, it's not scripted. You can't you have no way of knowing what's gonna happen.

Teaching Better Defense And Infield In

SPEAKER_01 39:44

Kind of on that note, like deep defense is reactionary, right? Like you when you're a pitcher, you're controlling what you're throwing, you're controlling where you throw it. When you're a hitter, to some extent it's reactionary, but you can control how you swing or if you do not swing at all. Um and I think it's pretty obvious like how guys can get better in in those regards, but defense, I feel this is my opinion, maybe, it just it feels less obvious to me, like in a way that someone can get better because it is so reactionary, but clearly players can get significantly better. Like, I think about when I was doing games for the Marlins last year and we were playing the Nationals, and Jacob Young is in center field, and he's got like the best reaction time in Major League Baseball, and he has the best route efficiency in Major League Baseball. And we don't necessarily have those tools in the minor leagues to measure that, but like Andrew Pintar comes to mind from our team, Luke, of like this guy clearly is an elite defensive player. And so I was kind of curious because defense is very reactionary, like what are things, what are ways people can get better, can get a better first step, can get better at um measuring the ball to get a better route to it? Like, what are some of those ways that you feel you find ways to help guys improve on that side of the ball?

SPEAKER_00 40:57

Well, um, with the Marlins and Troy can attest to this too. He um we're big with the pre-pitch hop. Um so all of our defenders um we we preach them, they do a small hop and they want to be in the air and coming down from their hop um when the ball is being hit. So we preach in the air on contact. So this allows the guys to, as soon as they land back on the ground, they're anticipating, they're moving, they're reading the swing. So they land and they don't sink into the ground. They're landing and they're moving um based on where the ball's hit. This allows them to, you know, have the best reaction time um and to get a good jump on the ball. Um it's something that we've been preaching the last maybe three to four years, and we've slowly seen um our defenders uh they've been able to move better, they've been able to get more balls um and essentially create more outs for our for the team. Yeah. And like the big the big thing about the pre-pitch hop is like you you don't just do it just to do it. Um and when somebody does that, you can kind of tell. Um every time you do a pre-pitch hop, you should be anticipating. You know, you're either landing and moving left, landing moving right, landing moving in, um based on the swing, um, based on if you have a pitch coming, you might know what pitch is coming. Um so you're always you know anticipating where the ball could be just to give you that extra advantage. Um and timing is a big part of it. Like I said, you want to be in the air, um, coming down on contact. That way, as soon as you land, you're you're going after the ball.

SPEAKER_02 42:22

Well, and that's one of my favorite things about baseball is when you're watching a game and a foul ball happens and you see the whole field, every player is just like move, gravitating towards the ball. Everybody's moving and then calm, reset, and then the same thing, boom, everybody's moving somewhere all at the same time. It's truly it, it's truly a beautiful thing when you know what you're looking for.

SPEAKER_00 42:43

Yeah, and it's pretty easy to tell uh when someone is uh is not doing it. You have you know, you look out the field and you're like, oh, you know, second base is not doing that. Oh, oh, he's we've got four strikeouts today. He's he's taking those at bats out with him. So exactly. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:59

I I have one more question for you. You you told me something, I think it was in Charlotte, that strategy-wise, we try to emulate the Marlins. We play infielding a lot with Jacksonville because the Marlins play infielding a lot. So do you kind of get those directions from the big league team? Like, hey, we want our guys to be to know how to play infielding because we know we're gonna do it a lot, or are you just watching the games and you it's it's something that you notice?

SPEAKER_00 43:22

Uh a little of both, but being in um in big league spring training this year, I was able to you know listen and be in a lot of conversations like with Clayton McCullough and um Blake Butler, the the big league infield coach, and um it was they made it very clear that like they will play infield in um more than any other team. So pretty much every day when we come to the park, um, the first couple of ground balls the guys are taking um are is with the infield in. Um that's kind of how we get going. Um just making sure that they're prepared because um if the big leagues are doing it, we want them to be um ready. So when they do get that call, like they get if they're to to Miami and you know McCullough's like, hey, we're going infield in, like they're ready because they've done that so many times here. Um so I just try to make sure that whatever we do here um gets them prepared and confident and ready. So when they do go to Miami, like it's it's not new to them.

Wrap And Where To Follow

SPEAKER_00 44:11

That's fantastic, Luke.

SPEAKER_01 44:13

Scott, do you have any more questions? I know. I just want to say, like, I I've had the pleasure of like just interacting with Luke the last couple months, and it's been a joy. And this I knew your story was incredible, but to dive deeper into that, Luke, is awesome. So thank you.

SPEAKER_00 44:27

No, thank you guys for having me. Both of you guys, um, I've never been on a podcast before. I was a little nervous, but I was like, no, it's Scott and Troy, like we're good. Like, these it's you know, we're just talking, we're just chatting it up. So I appreciate you guys and uh and Troy, best of luck the rest of the way. I'm I'm I'm always watching. I'm I'm super proud of you and happy for you, man.

SPEAKER_02 44:43

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it, Luke. You whatever expectations I had, you killed it. You were unbelievable. Thank you, Troy. Thank you so much for sharing your story, and you had some fantastic little nuggets that I hope somebody listening takes from it. Thank you for spending your morning with us. I really appreciate it. Um guys, that was turn two with Scott and Troy. You can find us wherever you get podcasts, Apple, Spotify. Make sure to like and subscribe on YouTube so you can see Luke's beautiful face. Um we are gonna come out with some more episodes and we're gonna keep doing it all season long. So keep listening, keep supporting. And Luke, thank you again so much for being with us and sharing your awesome story. We appreciate you. Of course, guys. Thanks again. Yep, you got it.