In and Out Talks Podcast Episode 62: James Barry

On this episode of the In & Out Talks Podcast, powered by Tier One Performance, we’re joined by James Barry, a Kingwood, Texas native who built his baseball career through hard work, development, and consistency.

James played alongside Jordan and Mitch during his time at Kingwood Park High School, where he developed as an infielder before taking the next step to Blinn Junior College. Through his performance and growth, he earned the opportunity to continue his career at the Division I level with Longwood University.

In this episode, James shares his journey through high school, junior college, and Division I baseball, along with the lessons he learned at each level. From navigating recruitment to earning opportunities and staying consistent through adversity, this conversation is packed with insight for players chasing the next level.

🎙️ Tune in for a real conversation about development, perseverance, and what it takes to keep moving forward in the game of baseball.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Five, four, three.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Welcome back to the In N Out Talks Podcast, guys, hosted by Tier One Performance. Your host, Mitch Metulia here. Today's special guest, former teammate of Jordan and I, James Barry, where he was a um standout at Blyn Junior College. He also played some Division I baseball at Longwood University. James, welcome to the pod, brother.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

What's up? Thanks for having me. Super happy to be here. Super happy.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

It's a pleasure having you on, man, and catching up with you. And just first and foremost, though, for all our guests out there, all our viewers, a little bit about yourself, man. Where'd you where'd you grow up?

SPEAKER_00 1:06

So mostly grew up in the Kingwood, uh, so north of downtown Houston, a little suburb uh north of downtown Houston. I was I was born and raised in Houston, spent a little bit of time as like a five and six-year-old near San Antonio, but really bulk of my childhood in the Kingwood area. And uh so then obviously by the time you get into high school, I'm I meet guys like you and and Jordan, and and so uh yeah, from from Kingwood playing high school baseball there, growing up there. And uh, like you mentioned, I did I did play, fortunate to play some college ball afterwards, and uh just the best experiences of of your life, you know, just really sets you up for life, teaches you, and this is why I coach now, right, which I'm sure we'll talk about, but college athletics, high school as well, but college athletics really sets you up with the discipline, the work ethic, um, the competitiveness, just all these different attributes to carry into your life afterwards, every single day afterwards. And now that it's been about 10 years since we all finished playing college ball, it's harder and harder to remember that. But uh really I've learned more to prepare myself for life from sticking it out through athletics than any kind of degree, uh, anything you can learn in a classroom because you know the classroom is all about theory, but you know, you have to interact with people, you have to get hard things done, and and sports teaches you that. I don't care what sport you play, really. But um, so yeah, that's that's a little bit about me, uh, high school, Kingwood, and then like you mentioned, Blend Junior College, and then Longwood University. And I've been coaching my own teams, um, four other people and myself, and uh that's that's the deal. That's the deal.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

That's awesome, brother. And then of course, Jordan and I, we met you in high school, right? Um, but prior to that, where like were you playing other sports as well, or was it just baseball for you?

SPEAKER_00 3:13

I did uh so we we did swim team in the summers. So kind of around 10 years old, we would we'd play baseball and then we would do swim. But really, baseball was it. I I had a desire to try soccer. Why? I don't know, but I remember having that conversation with my folks as a little kid, like about 10. It just it just never happened. My dad played soccer, so maybe that's what it was, is he he talked about how much he loved it, and so I wanted to try it. But yeah, base yeah, baseball was it. It was just it was so much fun. I just liked I just loved it, like instantly loved it from five all the way through. Um, I think I took one fall off when we kind of moved uh from the San Antonio area uh back to Houston, but no, it was just you know baseball or a little bit of swimming, but but other than that, that's it.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

That's awesome, brother. And did you have like any kind of like inspiration that you looked up to as far as like a uh major eager, like a role model, like anything that you kind of wanted to base your game after?

SPEAKER_00 4:17

Dude, I love yeah, loved the Astros growing up, right? So uh grew up in the the Bagwell Biggio Berkman era, the killer bees, maybe the killer the killer bees, the Roy Oswald, you know, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettit. Really, all those guys, I just they were they're my absolute heroes, dude, because you know they really I I now that I think about it, I'm sure they I think they all played really hard, you know. And uh I have nothing against like celebrations or show boating, but you could tell that like they wanted to win, you know, and yeah, as a little kid, I I just tried to like I literally would go in my backyard and pretend I was Roy Oswald or all those things, and uh so definitely you know, emulating the guys you see on TV, which I don't think has changed much at all with how kids are today. I don't think that's changed at all. Thank God.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

I mean it's still the same sport at the end of the day. Like, I think it like it's more flashy now, of course. There's more theatrics that comes with time, but like I think that killer B era for the Houston Astros, that was like the last hard-nosed, like old school way of playing the game that we all gained appreciation for. Not to mention, you had some of the best pitchers of that era come to the Astros kind of a little bit after their prime, but they still had some good seasons and were able to contribute to uh to a World Series run, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Oh yeah. No, the I I just loved watching, I was a baseball junkie as a kid, and it was you know, we didn't some years we had cables, some years we didn't. It was hard to kind of watch the games, but that that made it that made it matter more when you did get to see the game. Like I just remember waiting for the the ESPN little soundtrack for Friday Night Baseball and you know uh John Morgan, Joe Morgan and John Miller. Yeah, Joe Morgan and John Miller, right? Those those guys are like the voice of like your childhood going to bed, you know. 100%. So uh yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

There's some core memories, man. And uh speaking of core memories, like I just remember going to your backyard and hitting in the batting cage throughout high school, and like that was so much fun, dude. Just like going back there, hitting for hours, your mom and dad would cook dinner, and like we would eat some dinner afterwards, and like a drive home, the windows down, like bro, that was always such a great time.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Um it was it was a blast. We all we all loved, we all loved to practice, you know. That when I what I tried to tell the 13-year-olds I coach now, and the personalities, it's just like when we played, like you have a third of the kids like are like the nicest, most hardworking kids, and you have you know your typical kids, and then you have like the wild kids that are like I'm just glad they're even here at the ballpark and wearing their jersey and not like fighting other kids, like you know, so but I tell them you have you have to love to practice, and what you're talking about is we our our friends, we loved spending the time doing that kind of thing. Like, we we didn't care about anything else besides baseball and and and food baseball. 100%, bro.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

And like I want to dive into that a little bit too, man, because it's like who you surround yourself by at a young age impacts you tremendously. I mean, at any age, but especially in middle school and high school, your development ages. It's like you want to surround yourself with guys who want to play at the next level, right? And who are serious about practicing, like you said, not going out, partying all the time. Like, there's a lot of temptations, there's a lot of people that are gonna try to get you to go in that direction. You gotta surround yourself with the guys who like want the best for you and will push you, right? Because ultimately, like that's what gets you to the next level. So, you know, how important was it that you were spending time with those types of guys growing up?

SPEAKER_00 8:05

No, extremely important. I mean, like to be frank, having teammates like you and Jordan, it it makes you want to to be better, right? Like it put it pushes you, right? I mean, you first of all, you have to make the lineup. Like, I tell I I tell my kids, like, the reality is like when you're an underclassman in high school, when you're 15, 16, you're you're competing for a lineup spot against a kid who's 17 or 18. 100%. It's it and but they don't they don't understand. They they think it's all it's all about the the elbow guards and the the sliding myth. The myths the other myths. I mean it's like it's like dude, there are kids two years older than you that are better than you and will work hard. Right. You know, I'm kinda I'm kind of losing your question here, but I'm sorry, this is so much on my mind because we had a tournament this weekend, we've put we played we've played seven games in the last eight days. Uh because we're in a hybrid system where we are playing in a league and we have we're a club, right? That's a wild. So we're but it's been good. It's and I have uh it's a club, so I have some kids where they only play the tournaments with me.

SPEAKER_02 9:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

And I have some kids where they only play the league with me. And then there's a core kind of eight that that are going through the grind of of both. Right. But um, I'm like, I forget the question, but we're you know the the it this is all relevant for you know who you who you spend time with, right? So that that was a question. And um, yeah, they they need to spend time with kids that that want it, and that's and and I want it for them, right? But I tell them I can't I can't want it more than you, and um and I think and I think that was special about our high school team, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Like we we both graduated in the same class for those of you listening uh in 2013, but like we had such a great core of seniors that year where we got a new head coach who came in, and he could not have come into like a better situation looking back on it, because like his best players, his starting nine were also the hardest working guys on the team, and like the leadership on that team was good. I mean, like everything flowed well, you know what I mean? And so I think that's what you ultimately want is like a bunch of guys who are wanting to get after it, who are competitive, but also have good team chemistry with one another, right? Because I mean, ultimately, like we were all friends too, off the field and on the field, so that was a special year.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Yeah, no, and and going through your career, you learn so much about people. If you can just stay in this, if any parents are listening, just keep your kids in hopefully baseball, but any sport as as long as they can. Um, as and you know, there's the financial component, which we can get into, um, which I don't like people having their lives run by baseball, but keep your kid in it as as long as as long as you can. Because you mentioned the attitudes and whatnot. You of all the teams I was on, that the you know, two years, I had two years of varsity experience, four years at the college level. I mean, I have you have like a hundred different teammates, pretty much. You have a hundred different teammates. You're not gonna be best friends with everybody, not everybody else is best friends to everybody else, but you have to learn how to be on good terms with everybody, right? And not have detrimental relationships, not have detrimental attitudes and and habits. But with our situation that we had together, um, yeah, I mean, you have everyone has their best friends, right? But even the guy that you don't really hang out with, if you still like each other, that's a blessing. And and that's what we had in it. It's some of the best memories of my life.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

100%, man. And there's so many, there's so many benefits to sports, like you said. It's not just what's on the surface level, but it's like A, you you gain the discipline. Um, it keeps you out of trouble, too, is is a is a added bonus, right? Um, and B, it's like you're teammates with guys from every race, every religion, every background, every financial background, right? So it's like you gain an appreciation for everybody, and I think that plays such an impact later on in life, like you said, like you can get along with anybody, and it helps your personal, uh, your personal skills, right? And um and of course that goes into the work world because such a few small percentage of guys actually make it to the professional level. Um, and even then it's like your career is gonna end at some point. Um, so that's that's a great point. And so, man, like walk us through what was it like getting recruited by Bun Junior College in high school, and like what was that who were you playing summer ball with, too.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

I during high school I played for a couple of summer ball organizations. So my my dad knew a guy who was a part-time scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the time. Yes, so my dad was a firefighter. There was a firefighter who was part-time scout. Yes, so his name was Donald Turley. Donald Turley, tremendous baseball mind. Yeah, he actually took a team to the Little League World Series now that I think about it. I think in the 90s, went to Williamsport and took a team to the Little League World Series. Out of Houston? Yes, no way, yes, so uh I learned so much. You talk about spending time with the right people, right? I learned so much from Donald Turley and uh a great guy. So I we played with him, he got us into the banditos organization. Yeah, so I remember we were 16 and we were the fourth 16 team the banditos had, and we were kind of the redheaded stepchild for them because Turley, Donald Turley, had the relationship with the banditos. He put a good group together. A lot of us uh were wood. I was from Kingwood, but a lot of us were from the Woodlands, Oak Ridge, uh, those kind, and they all ended up playing varsity baseball. So good players, right? No reason couldn't be on the banditos, but we were kind of a redheaded stepchild over there. It was a little different. So played for the Banditos and then played for um a guy from our area, kind of junior and senior year, uh, called the Bayou City Gators. Um, so playing for him, uh, those are the two teams I played for. But you talk about the recruiting process. Really, it it was make a little highlight tape, uh, not really highlight, just video of you doing your skills, make a little minute video of you hitting, running, fielding, throwing, send it out to coaches, call the coaches, um, and and follow up with them. And it's funny. I have to do I work in sales now, and it's basically the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Right.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

You know, and it's it's basically the same thing. How how funny life the more things change, the more they say the same. But you have to, with the recruiting, you know, not not everybody goes to play baseball at the University of Texas.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

I again teaching this to my 13-year-old kids, it's amazing the things you can learn with AI, but I pulled up that there's about 125,000 high school seniors in the United States, just over 100,000, 125,000. And less than 1% of them a year from now will have significant playing time at the Division I level. It's less than 1% will get playing time at the Division I level. Um sorry about a thousand kids. A thousand kids right now in America will get some playing time next spring at the at the division one level. So you have to you have to know just where you're at. You just have to know where you're at. And and there are there for every UT, there's 10 times, literally 10 times more schools you can go play at. It's just at a lower level, right? So that was something that I was smart about doing was I was hitting up junior colleges. That that I'm not I'm not sending my video to UT uh at the time, Augie Garrito, right? I'm not calling Augie Guerrito five times a day because you don't run a 6'6, you don't throw 90 miles an hour, right, and you don't hit the ball 450 feet. Right? Like these are things you have to do.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

I think you gotta know your you can't be delusional, right? Like you have to know where you're at currently, and that's not where you're gonna be two, three, four years from now, because you're gonna get better, you're gonna develop, right? But I think, and and I wanted to hear your opinion on this, right? So you're you're in the baseball space, you coach it, you coach an organization. If you're not, my opinion is if you're not Division I ready out of high school, go junior college. Like go develop uh unless you're built like a grown man where you're hitting balls 450, you have four or five solid tools that you can play at the next level and actually have a chance of starting, go develop your skill set for a year or two years at a junior college.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

But but people don't people don't want reality. Some people do like life's very hard, and you you spend think about you spend 15 years playing this game, and then by the time you're 18, you're you're like you you're kind of too scared to know the truth. If you think if you if you think about it, like you're it's kind of like how is this gonna go? Like what what have I been doing this whole time? And it's like you know, I I another story I tell my kids, there's never there there's been one player in the history of Major League Baseball drafted in the first round with the first pick that made the Hall of Fame, and and that was Ken Griffey Jr. Ken Griffey Jr., wow, Ken Griffey Jr. never won a World Series. So I bet you Ken Griffey Jr. would trade his entire career to have won a World Series. I almost I almost guarantee it.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

And he played 22 seasons, something like that, 22, 23 years. Like he had a very long career.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

So my my point for the kids is there the fairy tale story is just almost don't worry about the the destination of being D1 out of high school. It's good to have goals. It's it's about a journey. Enjoy the journey. If you can enjoy every single day, you'll end up somewhere that'll be worth it at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_01 18:21

Do you feel that if you're playing baseball for the fame, for the fortune, those are the wrong reasons. You've got to do it for the love of the game, is what you're saying.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

I had to yell at my kids this weekend. They're they're not doing the right things, respecting the game, respecting their opponents. And I'm like, guys, this is not TikTok. Like, I don't know what you're watching on TikTok, but I I don't live in TikTok world. Right. So and I I I watch baseball highlights too. I I watch a lot of baseball on YouTube. I'm not on TikTok, I'll watch it on YouTube. But the kid, the kids are spending so much time on their phones or talking to each other on their phones or whatnot, that the the the thing is no longer the thing itself. The thing itself is is baseball. But we are getting it, but you're getting baseball on your phone, right? All the hype about I I have people asking me, oh, did you know uh Potterstown? Potterstowns come into play in the Houston World Series. I'm like, who's Potterstown? It's some select organization from the Northeast that has the best base. I'm like, guys, they're 14 years old. I don't care how good you are at 14 years old. Right. It's it's e because another thing they don't understand, what parents don't understand or or kids don't understand, is when you do get, and things may have changed in 10 years, when you do get to the division one level, your your scholarships, it's all a year-to-year thing.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

It's year-to-year, it's not a four-year contract. And and you can, you know, there was a rumor or there was talk when 10 years ago when I was at the Division I level that well the coaches are not allowed to remove your scholarships for athletic reasons, that they're not allowed to to do that. But there's a lot of gray areas in life. It's performance-based. It so so you're net you never arrive. You you it's not it's a false success, it's a it's a it's grabbing something that's not real. So you have to earn it all the time and think and life's not fair. You know, life life's not fair. So it's just never it's never guaranteed. Um so even if you are great at 14 years old committed to LSU, if you come in as a freshman and they give you 30 starts at second base or nine starts on the mound, and you're horrible, I mean you're costing that coach games, which is his reputation.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

I had a college coach um who's no longer in the business because the his recruits didn't work out.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

Well, and I don't think guys realize like how long it takes to become a head coach at the Division I level. It takes 10, 15, sometimes 20 years of just grinding uh before you get that head coaching position or opportunity. And when you get it, it's like it can go in three years if you don't produce. Um, and that's why it's such a cutthroat business. It's like you know, I if you go into your freshman year at say 60% scholarship, athletic scholarship, and you don't start, they're gonna drop you down to 25% or give you a walk-on spot that next year.

SPEAKER_00 21:31

And and so now so now that there's full scholarships now, and and the so they NCAA has lowered the roster limit since we played.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

What is so what is it now?

SPEAKER_00 21:41

I believe it's I think it's 30 or 31.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

30 full scholarship roster positions.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

You you can have that, yeah. It the schools your school can the schools will determine what they want to do, but you can no longer have like 40 guys on a on a roster and kind of because when 10 years ago we had Longwood University, we were a mid-major in the Big South. At a time, a very good conference. Coastal Carolina was in that conference, Liberty University in that conference, Campbell in that conference.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Um College of Charleston or Citadel or those in the Big South?

SPEAKER_00 22:14

They were not. They they were not. They were, I think they were in the SOCON. They were they were just a further, a little bit further south, yeah, than than we were. But um back back then we had a travel roster because we had you could only travel, I think it was 26 or 27 guys on a conference road trip. Our roster was about 31-32. Right. And I was a it was about that. Um we were very light on position players, which is how I made the team, right? They were very we had my junior year at the division one level, we had 13 position players.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

I I was the only infielder, I was the only extra infielder. Because we had two third basemen, one of them was the DH.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

We had one shortstop who went on to get drafted by the Red Sox. We had two second basemen, the starter, and then me. And we had one first baseman.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

So I I this Did you play every infield position that long ago?

SPEAKER_00 23:16

They had I was a second baseman and and a little bit of third. Okay. But but they they had they taught me how to play second. I I became uh that was that was my thing. I became second baseman. I I actually could play it pretty decently. Yeah, you know, and um and a little side note to parents or whoever watching, if you have an interest in this while you're watching, don't don't give up, stick with it. I didn't teach myself really to throw or catch until my sophomore year of college. Like 100%.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Well, I remember you were Iron Mike over the top.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

You know, just you you your body's changing, yes, you're getting older, things just things just click. And I mean, I could have never imagined at 18 years old when we played together that I'd would one day be getting some innings at the division one level at second base.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

Right.

SPEAKER_00 24:12

But but three years later, and when you work every day, you get better.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

Well, how important is it on that note that kids learn multiple different positions and they know how to play every position, especially at the elementary middle school ages? Because you never know where you're gonna end up playing.

SPEAKER_00 24:31

No, it's it's it's extremely it's extremely important, but people want to prioritize. Well, my kid plays shortstop and bats fourth. And I'm like, if you're you know, I think to myself, you know, unsolicited advice is always terrible. So if if people's hearts aren't open, I just try to smile at them and you know wish them the best because I do. But it's like if if your kid is batting forth, playing shortstop, and and he's never struggling, if he's hitting 500 and and he's never really struggling, you he needs to play better competition. Correct. Baseball is not the feel-good don't be a big fish in a small pond. It should be a little bit harder than you're capable of achieving. A little bit. Yeah. Oh just a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

Like if you're batting 700 at age 12, you're not being I would say even 500. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:26

Even even 500.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

Like go play 13U major if you're batting 700 at age 12.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

And and r really watch watch the strikeouts more than anything, because the the batting average can be funky even in major league baseball. But because at the youth level, I'll see a routine ground ball hit to say to the shortstop's backhand, but the kid's not really paying attention. The shortstop's not really paying attention until the ball's 30 feet off the bat and it goes into left field, and everyone thinks it's a single, but you and I playing at the college level are like, no, that that should be an out.

SPEAKER_01 26:02

That should be an out.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

That's that's an error. Yeah, but the kid doesn't even have enough range to go get the ball. Didn't even get a glove on it because he doesn't move until the ball's past the pitcher's mount coming back at him. Yeah. I see it all the time. So your kid should be striking out once every 10 plate appearances.

SPEAKER_02 26:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:21

Once every 10 plate appearances, he should be striking out. Uh the average strikeout rate in high school and college is about 20%. So that'd be once every five plate appearances you'd punch out. Um, I I've I had some kids that I really liked on my team in the fall, very competitive kids. But they were playing, they were 12 playing up to 13, and the hits weren't there, one hit and 20 at bats, and and a uh a lot of strikeouts, and I was like, you know, and the kid had a good attitude about it. But I'm like, you know, maybe just let's play with his age so he can have some more fun. Correct. Right?

SPEAKER_01 27:00

Like let's as much as you want them to fail, you also want them to have a little bit of success so they have some confidence, right? It's like a fine line.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

100%. So if if if one every ten plate appearances he's striking out, there's enough, there's enough challenge from the opposition to where he's either it's like driving a race car, a go-kart around the track. You know, some of those turns you almost lose control, but then you keep it. Right. And you know, it it's it's never easy street, and it's never fighting for your life. You want to avoid those those two at all costs. But people today, the the industry today is everyone's proud of their kids' statistics and how many games they win. And I'm like, bro, you're the rings, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:45

Like they're ring chasing.

SPEAKER_00 27:46

He he I I have a friend in the industry I work in, and his his kid is eligible to like play for my team. He's on a major's team, and he tells me how great his kid's doing, and I'm just like, man, like you just have no idea. I know you everyone wants their kids to do well. I get that. But it's like you have no idea the failure that is going to come if he keeps playing. So like play him up a little bit. Let him bat seventh. Let him bat sixth or seventh, play second, third, left field, right field. And and now let's see how much you like baseball. Do you like baseball or do you like things that are easy? That that's the thing people don't understand. They like to dominate, they like taking candy from a baby. It's like that's not competition. That that's tricking yourself. That's tricking yourself. And so people need to, you know, but it these are hard questions. People don't want to think this way. It this but this is the reality. This is this is reality.

SPEAKER_01 28:46

Yeah. And so, James, like take us back. Like, how would you describe your experience playing at Blend Junior College?

SPEAKER_00 28:52

Okay, so per per perfect example, right? Yeah. So the recruiting process. So I'm going to showcases, uh, go in go into the showcase. So like a hundred dollars, if you're a junior or a senior in high school, go to a camp, because this is where these junior colleges and mid-major programs find really their talent pool. They want to see them play. They want to see them play. Spend the hundred, hundred fifty dollars, go to the camp, and that that's your chance. You know, my I send the recruiting videos out, and I had two schools that wanted to see me uh pro bono for like come to our camp. You don't have to pay anything. We this is recruiting, we want to see you.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

Right.

SPEAKER_00 29:35

Okay, so um, so I one was Ranger Junior College. So they invited me out there for a one-on-one workout in like December, November of my senior year of high school, so before our season started. Yeah, so uh the whole process starts with me sending the video and making the phone call, getting the coaches on the phone saying I'm interested in playing in your program. Right. So that that's the whole start of the whole thing is let them see you and get their attention. Email, phone call, both of them. You know, get them on the phone.

SPEAKER_02 30:10

Right.

SPEAKER_00 30:11

It takes five minutes. You have to get them on the phone. Absolutely, absolutely. So I go, I go out to Ranger, do the workout, it's private workout, so not a camp, but it was just a private workout. Um, so they said we'll let you know. You know, you hit, you do ground balls, you run, um, you get to know them a little bit, they show you the campus, um, and they say we'll let you know. So, like two or three days later, I can't remember, but shortly after they called and and they told me, Hey, so thanks for coming. Uh, we want you on the team, we just don't have a scholarship for you. Which is translation from we think you can play a little bit, but we're not gonna make a big investment into you. We we want to kind of um walk on buy in bulk kind of thing. They they want to have 40 kids they think they can play to to kind of see what they have, right?

SPEAKER_01 31:02

Well, in junior colleges that typically bring on 50 to 60 guys in the fall.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

So good trans good transition point. So I ended up going to Blyn and luckily they didn't do that. That was not their thing. They brought in 35 guys, um and you had to make the travel roster. But in the fall. In the fall. You uh the the they brought in 35 guys. It was not yeah, I've heard these horror stories about junior colleges where it's first day of practice and there's seven third basemen, seven shortstops, seven second baseman. You know, you're just like, is this a football team or is this a baseball team?

SPEAKER_01 31:39

What's the best man win, like in every position?

SPEAKER_00 31:42

So Ranger, I think that was a similar situation. I think it was a 45 to 60 man fall roster. Understood. I think that's what was about to happen to me if I went there.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 31:56

So Blyn actually have a hilarious recruiting story about about Blyn.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

Was Blyn the second team that reached out that reached back out to you? Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

So I got I got the preferred walk-on offer from Ranger in December. The Blyn offer didn't come until April. So end of your senior season. Yes, we're still we're playing baseball with like a month to go before the playoffs. Yeah. And they then then they had called. And um the process with Blyn was they had a camp. They had you know 150 kids come run your 60-yard dash, and then we intersquad. Um with batting practice before that. I think it was a two-day, it was a one-day camp.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

It was a one one-day camp. Um, so that that one was a kind of a tryout situation. They wanted to see me, I didn't have to pay for the camp. It was like a hundred bucks. But the fact that they want you there is is really what matters more than the money. Right. Right. So I remember I ran the 60 and I did fine. I ran 7-2, and it was a you know, third baseman, third baseman corner guy, like you know, you're not crossed off the list yet. You know, you you run a 7-6, you're off the list. Right. So I'm like, I'm like, survive in advance, right? Just survive in advance. So um so then the the I remember it vividly. The inner squad comes. Um I went, I went one for two, or no, I had three, I had three at bats. I had I had three at bats. I I had a line drive single. I don't remember anything about that. I think I struck out once, because I remember going into my third at bat thinking, okay, this this is the at bat that is gonna decide how they view me. Take a break here. Because I was I was a smart kid for for eight. I I knew you remember, I knew baseball.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

I knew I knew great baseball IQ, like you knew.

SPEAKER_00 33:52

I knew this at bat was a big deal. Yeah, you know, because anyway, so and I remember I hit a curveball, I hit, I lined out in that third at bat, lined out on a one and two count, a curveball to the second baseman, and I said, I've got it.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

Yeah, and and it's and you put two good barrels on the ball and three at bats.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

Yes, yeah, yes. I said, that's it. And it I don't know how it happened, but the kid threw me a curveball, and you know, you don't as a as a high school kid who was not like the best player on the team, like you don't exactly see a whole lot of curveballs. No, right? Like, like as a 17 or 18 year old, you're not used to really seeing a lot of curveballs in the strike zone, right? You might see them in the summer, but they're in the dirt, or they're or you know, yeah. It's so it's not exactly something I'd practiced a lot. And it it just worked out. So I played well in front of them. Um, it took some time, right? You know, obviously I I was a lower college roster type player, so they probably from that camp on were trying to up their roster, right? Get as many good kids in as you can.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 35:04

That right, I mean, human nature, you want to live in the safest, nicest neighborhood you can. So if you're a col if you're a college baseball coach, you want as many good players on your roster as you can.

SPEAKER_02 35:15

Right.

SPEAKER_00 35:15

Right. So sometime between um you know November and April, they they decided that I was worth having on the team. And so the the funny story is, and I'd never spoken with the coach over the phone.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

Hey coach.

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Never spoken with him over the phone.

SPEAKER_01 35:34

Was he there the day of your trial, though? Yes, okay, good.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

Yes, yes. Uh we'd only gone back and forth over email. And and if if we did speak over the phone, I didn't save his phone number. Okay, so funny, so funny story is the coach from Blyn calls me to offer me a spot on the team, and he introduced himself with his name, but he didn't say of what program he was with. So I'm I'm 18 years old, I get a phone call from a number I don't have saved. I just take it and I'm listening, and I'm just a total idiot. I don't realize who I'm talking to. Yeah, and so he's like, We want to offer you a spot on the team. And he asked me about my recruiting process. He goes, Who else are you talking to? Yeah, and I thought this was the Ranger coach calling me because I I had spoken to the Ranger coach over the phone when he made me the walk-on offer.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

Got you.

SPEAKER_00 36:28

So that's the only coach I spoke on the phone. My memory immediately goes back to that, thinking he's checking in on me. And and so the cut, the guy I'm on the phone with he goes, Who are you talking to? Who else you're talking to? And I say, I I'm talking to this group over at Blyn. And he goes, Oh, okay. And I said, Yeah, but I don't know if they're gonna offer me, or you know, or if I'm gonna go play for you guys. And he goes, Okay, well, when you figure it out, let me know. So I so I hang up the phone, go talk to my dad. He goes, Yeah, he goes, Who is that? I was like, That was weird, dad. It was the ranger coach calling me. He's already made me an offer, and he goes, Let me see the phone number. And it was a Brenham area code. Yeah, I'm an 18-year-old idiot. I don't even know what an area code is. I don't know what an area code is.

SPEAKER_01 37:15

I'm like, You should know your area code on your phone.

SPEAKER_00 37:17

That's I just I just know what the first three, you know. Anyway, I'm like, what he goes, that's a 979 area code. That's not from Ranger, that's the coach at Blynn who just called you. And I'm like, You're lying. He goes, Call him back and accept that offer. So I had to call the coach back, told him told him that I thought I was talking to the Ranger coach. I'm totally coming. I was this is his reaction. He was like, he goes, it happens more than you think. We'll we'll see you in the fall. And I almost blew my entire college experience on the phone.

SPEAKER_01 37:51

Shout out to Daddy Barry, bro.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

Shout out, shout out to my dad. Shout out to my dad for correcting me. Would have blew the whole thing right there.

SPEAKER_01 38:00

Well, I mean, like, I think though, as a coach, wouldn't you wouldn't you want to like say where you're from? Like what program with?

SPEAKER_00 38:08

As an 18-year-old, your heart's racing a million miles an hour when a college coaches you're so nervous. I mean, it's like talking to a girl. It's worse than talking to a girl.

SPEAKER_01 38:17

I remember being on the on the phone with coaches, and I was just like, man, yeah, like, okay, like cool.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

You're just I mean, you're just they call in they call it uh drinking water out of a fire hose. Yeah, yeah. That's what just hit me, you know. So that that was the that was the recruiting process. Played sent you send the video, you get in front of them, you show them your stuff, you play good, and then remember who calls you.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

Is the recruiting process still that same way in many aspects? Or has it changed?

SPEAKER_00 38:45

I think it's changed a little bit. I don't think a guy like because the rosters are smaller and there's more money in the sport, right, with this NIL and top college players making money, yeah, with the competitiveness the way it is, it's it's much harder. It's so you they still have to see you play. They you know, perfect game is important, right? They want to see your exit velocity, they want to see how fast you run, they want to see how hard you throw.

SPEAKER_01 39:14

But like to your point, man, I think like for your schools, with the ability to go into the transfer portal and grab whoever they need, you have to it's like what can you do for me right now? And if you don't have every tool, if you don't have plus throwing, plus speed, plus hitting, plus power, go to a junior college and develop.

SPEAKER_00 39:33

Yeah, you have you have to have the right you have to have the right mindset to even to even have that conversation. There's a lot of talented people or good players that don't want to work for it, they want to be handed the opportunity. And I I understand that. You you should go where you're going to play. You should go, but the here's the thing working in the commercial real estate industry, everything over talk is is just talk.

SPEAKER_02 40:02

Right.

SPEAKER_00 40:02

Get it, get it in right. You the the coach is not guaranteed to play you, right? You know, right no matter what they tell you on your visit, there is no promises.

SPEAKER_01 40:12

Okay, like I mean, we were all told stuff on some visits that were not true, and I think it's important that parents know that out there as well. Is like when you go to these four-year schools, especially, maybe even junior colleges, I can't speak from personal experience, but these coaches are gonna tell you everything that you want to hear, right? And it's just like you gotta see through the BS and you gotta put your nose down, you gotta work hard. You're gonna get some opportunities, especially if they're giving you scholarship money. You have to capitalize on those opportunities.

SPEAKER_00 40:41

So, some of my best friends from the junior college level, because Blyn is a top-level program, you know. A lot of parents they only see UT or AM play, and it's you're you're looking at the 1% of the 1%.

SPEAKER_02 40:55

Right.

SPEAKER_00 40:56

Right? But some of my best friends at Blynn who were on scholarship, you you know, you bring 20 position players in, 18 of them, 18 position players, nine of them get the lineup, you know. So half half these kids don't make the lineup, yeah. And a lot of them are on scholarship, and these are all state caliber players that you know, your first 20 at bats don't go well, and you sit the bench for a month. Next thing you know, you don't get invited back on the team.

SPEAKER_01 41:24

Yeah. Right. Because you have a fall season and a spring season at junior college, right?

SPEAKER_00 41:28

Yes, yeah. Well, it was we had a hybrid. We we probably played 12 games in the fall, which is not a lot.

SPEAKER_01 41:34

Against other opponents. Correct. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 41:35

We did a ton of intersquads. A ton and ton of intersquads. Yeah. But the fall schedule was not robust. It was it was not robust.

SPEAKER_01 41:43

And is that when you moved to second base? Was that Boyne Junior College?

SPEAKER_00 41:46

No, that was at the Division I level.

SPEAKER_01 41:47

So you're playing third at Blint.

SPEAKER_00 41:49

I was third and I tried to sneak in as a catcher because we only had two. We only had two.

SPEAKER_01 41:55

You're playing a lot of games, or at least a lot of inter squads.

SPEAKER_00 41:58

You as a lower-tiered roster player, you need to be able to do everything you can to try to get in the lineup. Right. Right? I mean, we even we the coaches, my sophomore year at Blyn, were even thinking of getting me in and left field. Um because in these inter squads, like I I remember my freshman year at Blyn, I I was uh a catcher, right? So I'm catching all these guys in their bullpens getting ready for the inner squads, and then I go hit off of them. So I've seen all their stuff. I'm not kidding you, Mitch. That when we came back, we came back. That's the best. The the uh we you come back in January, you have Christmas break, right? You've so you get this big break for 30 days before your season, which they which is terrible. But for kids like us who would work hard during it, so you're working hard, you come back for the inner squad, uh for in that 30-day window of the inner squads and coming back, I I definitely was like 16 for 30 with like five doubles. Just because the coaches would keep track in those initial intersquads after Christmas break.

SPEAKER_01 43:10

Yes, yes. First of January, yes. Well, January like 10th through the through February 10th, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:15

That kind of 30-day window. I just I was getting it. I just I put in the work. I'm watching, I'm catching all their stuff, right? So I'm kind of used to seeing the fastball coming in. You're just around the baseball.

SPEAKER_02 43:28

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 43:28

I'm just ripping the cover off the ball. I'm just like, I don't know what's going on. Like, I know I can play a little bit, but right now I'm the best hitter on the team. And they're like, dude, if you keep this up, like we're gonna have to play you in left field. Like, because we had a D we had a DH, a designated hitter from Texas Tech, who was six foot four, 220 pounds, and ran a 6'7 on a 60, a 6'7. Good athlete. And there, and he was a good buddy of mine, and he was like, that's gonna be the DH.

SPEAKER_01 44:00

So he's got that position on the lock.

SPEAKER_00 44:02

That's the D and he ended up not really working out because baseball's hard. Yeah. But uh they're like, so we're gonna de-age him. You might play left if you keep this up. And it's just one of the just one of those things where um you just have to keep keep going. You you never know what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

So how much playing time did you get your first year at Boyne versus your second year?

SPEAKER_00 44:25

Minimal, none. Almost almost none.

SPEAKER_01 44:27

So your first year was like your?

SPEAKER_00 44:29

I mean, just barely, barely made the roster. Defensive, we had okay. So you were the first Mitchell, for those of you who don't know, Mitchell Matillia was the best shortstop in the state of Texas in 2013. He was number one first team all-state. The guy who was second all-team shortstop for the state of Texas was our third baseman at junior college. Really? Yes, is a gentleman by the name of Caden Williams. Okay. Caden Williams was second team All-State shortstop.

SPEAKER_01 45:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 45:02

Caden Williams played third base for us because our shortstop was that good at defense. Right? Like our shortstop at Blyn was very good at defense. That's a lot of times what coaches value is they've a little a side note. People are negative thinkers. People don't like when things go wrong. So if they if they see a shortstop who makes a few errors, it makes them lose their mind. It makes that it makes them lose their mind because it's but you're supposed to make the play. Correct. I don't care if you hit 200, make all the plays.

SPEAKER_01 45:36

It's a bonus if you have a good hitting shortstop, but you need a shortstop who's gonna make every routine play and can go out of his way to make some diving plays from time to time as well.

SPEAKER_00 45:44

So our our if our shortstop got a glove on it, he made the catch and made the throw.

SPEAKER_01 45:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 45:49

And he he could make some plus plays as well, but it was the routine play was just silky smooth. So Caden Williams plays third base, who was the second best shortstop in the state of Texas, not good enough to play shortstop at the JUCO level. So for right for those parents out there, it's just like you don't know where you're gonna play.

SPEAKER_01 46:07

No, you don't know where you're gonna play. I have no idea.

SPEAKER_00 46:09

No idea. So so and uh so I was a backup third baseman, just trying to stay on the roster. Um and and uh pinch hitting from time to time, just just trying to stay alive because you talk about the recruiting process. My my priority was to have have a good experience, go to the best of the best. That's what as as good of a school as I could get into, I I wanted to go to. I didn't want to play division three or two, I didn't want to. I knew I could play enough to play college, but I didn't care about my statistics. I wanted achievements. Yeah, I wanted to push myself. And surrounding yourself with better talent is only gonna make you better. I I just wanted to push myself. Yeah, that's that's it. And if if they if they send me home, then they then they freaking send you home and you can try again somewhere else. It's like it's like I'm not gonna I want to make it.

SPEAKER_01 47:06

Right, and rejecting it. It sucks. And it sucks. It it sucks. But it's what it's what you get out of that that makes you a champion, right? Like every champion has failed, and that's what's made him a champion. Um, and so what did you do that summer between your freshman and sophomore year? So like to make an adjustment.

SPEAKER_00 47:24

It um a lot of the the good story, and uh, you know, the coach from Blyn, I really love that he gave me this opportunity because the way it works is at the end of your fall season, they have a fall evaluation for you because they tell you what they like, what they don't like. That way they can kind of they're planning for the spring season, right? And so they wanna the coaches want to know what they're looking at, communicate it with you, and uh you know basically, you know, run off the kids who don't want to be there or just kind of firm things up, really just kind of like you're getting ready to move, I guess. If you're getting ready to move, you go over your plans. I don't know. So they had a conversation with me in my fall evaluation, and I started to hit pretty good. I became the starting DH by the end of the fall for whatever it's worth. Nice, like um, so I I knew I had progressed offensively, I knew that. Um and so in my fall meeting, the coach said, So do you know where you're at on the third base, third base depth chart? And I said, Oh, yes, sir, I'm I'm at the bottom. And he goes, So let me ask you this if you're at the bottom, why are you not here before everybody else taking grumbles? And I just sat there with like dead silent because I wasn't I was 19 years old.

SPEAKER_01 48:48

Nobody's ever talked to you like that, like that that blunt and straightforward, right?

SPEAKER_00 48:51

I had never sat the bench before.

SPEAKER_01 48:54

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:55

I mean, don't don't give I didn't get playing time uh on the the varsity until my senior year, but as a as a ju as a junior, no nobody's you know there's better kids than you, nobody's really direct with you like that. Correct, you know, nobody's ever been direct with you like that. So I'm like, I uh I don't I don't know. And he goes, well, let me he goes, let me let me tell you this. Um how about you're the first one here every day? How about you're the first one here every day? And I said, Yes, sir. And so I just I think what that was is you better start coming in early or you're not gonna get invited back next season. I I think that's what that is. Is is I'm I'm okay, you know, not everyone on the team is gonna play, obviously, but we're not gonna have you drag the team down. You have to work harder than everybody else to push everybody up.

SPEAKER_01 49:47

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 49:48

So to answer your question, uh thankful to the infield coach who, with for a walk on, a kid that wasn't gonna play, would show up early and hit me ground balls for 30 minutes.

SPEAKER_01 50:01

I think that's so important that kids understand that and parents hear that because at every level, I don't care if it's the youth level, the high school level, the college level, there's always a coach willing to go out there and hit you extra ground balls early before practice. It's their job at the college level. Those coaches are already out there. Grab them off to the side and be like, coach, I would like to show up here 30 minutes before everyone else gets here. I need extra ground ball work. Nobody's ever gonna turn you down for that.

SPEAKER_00 50:27

And and then on top of that, managing your time and luckily the junior college schooling, I could handle, I could handle it as a freshman and sophomore. So after practice, I would go to the auxiliary gym, just an extra gym, and I would play uh wall ball by myself for two hours.

SPEAKER_01 50:50

And just work on scoops, like every single day.

SPEAKER_00 50:54

Just just took a rag ball, threw it as hard as I could against the wall, and recorded it on video, study it, show it to the in-field coach. And in fact, there was even a kid, I remember this vividly now, a regular student who saw me doing it, and he goes, I want to try out for the baseball team. Can I do this with you? And I said, Well, absolutely. So we threw me and a regular student, I wish I remember his name, I'd love to speak with him. Yeah, um, we threw each other ground balls back and forth two hours a night, probably three months in a row. Wow. Just because I I just I wanted to get better, right? I wanted to stick in the game, and I I knew the hitting got me in the program, but the defense was keeping me off the field. That that was the thing, right? So learned how to do that good enough for two years to where when you do end up at the division one level, I stayed.

SPEAKER_01 51:57

I I didn't I stayed. Well, I think it's important too that kids realize that, like, yeah, if you hit, you don't sit. There is truth to that, and hitting is the most important part of the game. But if you can't field a position, there's only one DH spot. There's eight positions out there other than the pitcher, right, that need to be filled. But if you can't, if you're a liability in the field, you're competing for one spot, essentially.

SPEAKER_00 52:22

And and baseball really is actually about defense because on offense there's one guy batting and maybe three base runners. Last time I checked, that's four, and then on defense there's nine.

SPEAKER_01 52:34

And there's hitting's gonna come and go. Obviously, the most um the most consistent hitters are the best hitters. Fielding and base running have to always be good. Like you can't make errors and you have to be able to run the bases. Like if you can't do those two things, you're not gonna be in the lineup.

SPEAKER_00 52:53

Speed never slumps, right? You know, unless you got a pulled hamstring, right? You're fast. You're you're fast, you get out of bed in the morning, you're just fast. Yeah, and then the the defense part, it's we had a third baseman at the Division I level, and and I went to that school because I I looked up the statistics of the infielders, and I I thought I was a third baseman. And I was like, I think I can beat these guys out. Yeah, and so the coach brought me, he was like, actually, dude, you you profile a lot better at second, and like they're they're they were right, like I could I could play second.

SPEAKER_01 53:26

Like well, because you had good bat-to-ball skills, like not super overpower, right? Like, but you hit doubles, and I feel like you were a good middle infield, like like a second base was a perfect position, especially with your height, too.

SPEAKER_00 53:39

Yeah, no, I mean it was it you kind of I tried to be a a little JUCO version, a little 18-22-year-old version of Dustin Pedroya. That that was who Dustin Padroia was not the most athletic guy, he was not the biggest guy, the fastest guy, the strongest. I bet you Padroya ran like a 6'9 or a 7'flat.

SPEAKER_01 53:58

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 53:59

Yeah. I I ran a 7-1 my best time ever, 7-1-5.

SPEAKER_01 54:02

But yet was a standout air at Arizona State, got drafted by the Red Sox the rest is history. Like that guy should not have been that good, but he loved the game, was just like gritty.

SPEAKER_00 54:12

Yes. And that was you.

SPEAKER_01 54:13

Like you loved the game and you were gritty.

SPEAKER_00 54:15

I mean, it it but the the to what you're saying, my what biggest advice I'd give to parents and players today is exactly what you're saying. Run it, running and defense. I these hitting, I think hitting lessons largely are a waste of time.

SPEAKER_01 54:33

You think so?

SPEAKER_00 54:33

I think I I know so because batting practice from a coach 40 feet away on flat ground is nothing like the game. Nothing like the game.

SPEAKER_01 54:47

Unless your coach is also throwing in mentoring aspects and like the mental side of the game, like approaches, if it's strictly just mechanics, I agree with you. Because you know how many hitting lessons I got my whole entire life? One. One hitting lesson my whole life.

SPEAKER_00 55:04

Wait, hold on. You didn't take hitting lessons. Never took hitting lessons. Never took hitting lessons. I and let me let me I'm going to be dramatic here. I I took some hitting lessons. I took some hitting lessons, but you you have people right now that think that, well, he's got hitting lessons, so what what like why do I have to do anything else? Yeah. And it and it's like, no, it all yeah, it all works, it all works together. There's so many different parts of the game. I I've because I've literally had a conversation with a parent that I've coached their son, yeah. And they're like, I don't understand why he's not hitting. He takes lessons. And I'm just like, A does not equal B.

SPEAKER_01 55:40

BP fastballs do not equal correlates on the field, especially when you're seeing curveballs, changeups, different counts. And not to mention, all these pitchers are getting better and better because they're working with. I think pitching lessons are different from hitting lessons.

SPEAKER_00 55:53

I love yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 55:54

I think pitching lessons definitely work.

SPEAKER_00 55:55

Um no, for sure. But pitching is a proactive thing where you can you're working on your body and your stuff. Hitting is a reactive is pitching is you can assert what you're doing. That's why I think scouting pitchers is so much easier than scouting hitters. The game has mastered it. You know, I mean, you got guy, look got guys like Ben Joyce throwing 105 miles an hour. I mean, it's just with a nasty breaking ball and for strikes.

SPEAKER_01 56:23

It's so hard to determine the projectability of a hitter, I think, versus a pitcher, because if pitcher's just mowing dudes down and they have stuff and they throw hard, that guy will correlate to the next level. But if I see a hitter lighting it up, it's like, okay, well, is he what kind of pitchers are is he facing, right? Um, I think that it's the hitters that do well against those type of pitchers. That's when scouts are like, okay, this guy can hit.

SPEAKER_00 56:48

If when you when you look going to this thing about what's best for kids and their parents, when when you look look at the team USA baseball roster right now in the World Baseball Classic, the high school kids that are in it, Roman Anthony, Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt. Okay, so you have three kids drafted out of high school. I think all the uh Bryce Harper is still there. That's a previous era. Yeah. Okay, Bryce Harper four. I mean, you're talking about the best high school kids in the last 15 years. In the nation. Yeah, I mean, it's it's and they're all good at defense. So Bobby Witt might be the most complete player in the world. 100%. He's got five tools. 100%. He's got five tools. The the the hitting, the emphasis, the hit don't sit, I I I can't I coined an opposite one. If you make the out, coach doesn't pout.

SPEAKER_01 57:43

Yeah, that's a good, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 57:44

If you if you make the play, your coach isn't pouting.

SPEAKER_01 57:48

And we're not talking about like making these diving plays in the hole like Bobby Witt's making. Make every routine play.

SPEAKER_00 57:53

But but if you if you don't, but you instead of for every I'll give you some numbers on this. Yeah, I gave lessons at a facility last spring. I did 33 lessons that spring. Guess how many fielding lessons I gave? One.

SPEAKER_02 58:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:09

And and these are people that ask for the lesson. I'm not I'm I'm not biasing the data here. I just they sign up, everybody wants to hit, nobody thinks about defense. And I'm like, it's it is you just take the defense for granted, but I think fielding ground balls for me, you know, maybe I was supposed to be a catcher, fielding ground balls and making the throw to first base is actually harder than hitting. It's actually harder than hitting because as a hitter, if you have a 400 on-base percentage, you're a monster.

SPEAKER_01 58:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:40

You can hit 275 and have an on-base percentage of 400 and you're in the lineup.

SPEAKER_01 58:47

I agree. I agree.

SPEAKER_00 58:48

I think like, man, it's just but you have to field and throw 95% of the balls hit in your general vicinity.

SPEAKER_01 58:56

Yes. Yes. Which is very hard. Well, it seems to me like the guys who make it to the big leagues nowadays, like they hit for power, they can field and they can run, right? Roman and Roman Anthony can't run, but he can do those other things. Now, the guys who have long MLB careers, they can hit. They can just straight up mash. Because guess what? The speed's gonna go at some point, yeah. And you're gonna turn into like a Barry Bonds that just rakes. Yeah. I mean, very few people are Barry Bonds. There's only one Barry Bonds. But what I mean is is like to have a 15, 20-year career, you gotta hit. But I think what gets you into the league is your other is all five tools. Because like Barry at one point stole bases and he played a great outfield, right? And like all these like Nelson Cruz, like these big power hitters towards the later half of their career, they don't really have a position in the field, but they can still hit bombs, you know what I mean? So I think like hitting and or speed and defense is what helps you get seen by colleges and helps you get drafted. Um, you know, I think you gotta have all tools. Yes, you know, don't just be limited to and like that's what bothers me, man, is like seeing these kids out of shape in middle school and high school. Wow. And they're not fast. Wow, and they're and they're they're fat. And I'm not and I'm not being No, you're a coach. I mean, you're right, you're evaluating. I'm evaluating. Yeah. And how you present yourself goes a long way, you know what I mean? So it's like kids out there, like, you need to get your diet in check. You need to be disciplined from a young age, because that's what's gonna get you seen.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:27

And you know, we we were both infielders and whatnot, but even even the outfielders that they think like they don't prioritize their their defense, like I they just hit all the time, and it's like, but bro, like I hit you a ground ball and you're outfielder, you make your throw. It it takes you an hour and a half to throw the ball. Like it's it's not fast enough, like it's not intense enough. But they think, well, I can catch routine pop-ups, so like I'm good at defense. Like, no, you you have to be good at defense. You can't reading, footwork, everything that goes into defense. You need to have a good arm, yeah, and and make catches, make running catches in the outfield, just standing under the pop-up is not like that's not it's the ball's hitting the gap, go get it. You know, so you know, but but so that that would be my thing is people need to work on their defense. Do you you can you it's never it however good you are at defense, it's never good enough. Because if you only make nine out of ten plays, you're probably getting taken out of lineup. You're probably getting taken out of lineup.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:32

So defense and speed never slumps.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:34

They they never slump. They never slump.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:37

Well, James, man, unfortunately, we ran out of time. I know we can talk for probably five hours longer. This is part one. This is part one. We're gonna have at least three or four parts with you. Um part two will come later this fall where we will talk with you more about your select organization and everything that comes with your coaching that you do. But man, I really appreciate the time having you on, brother. It was really great catching up and to begin to talk some baseball with you too, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:59

Well, and uh, you guys are doing good work for the kids in the Houston area, being the coaches that uh that we needed growing up and just passing that on, impacting the next generation.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:11

I appreciate that, brother. And you're doing the same. And dude, where can our listeners find you on social media?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:15

Oh man, on social media? Um, you can find me on Facebook, um, the Northeast Houston Baseball Club. Yes. That that's my organization. NEBC. And uh you can just Google that one, Northeast Houston Baseball Club on Facebook. Okay. Um, and we we have a perfect game website. We're a little club. And uh find me on Facebook and and I'll get I'll get in touch with you, try to help help you out, try to help out some parents and kids.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:42

And we'll make sure we add those on there as well. We'll tag we'll tag all those sites on on these videos, man. But we really appreciate it, James. Great seeing you, brother.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:53

Five, four, three, two performance.