May 5 — Nestor Perez

Columbus Clingstones broadcaster Jack Johnson visited with manager Nestor Perez at Keesler Federal Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. 

Perez discussed the Southern League-record 13 home runs hit by the Clingstones on May 3 against Montgomery, the club’s identity of battling until the final out, Herick Hernandez earning Southern League Pitcher of the Week honors, the emergence of Rule 5 Draft pickup Archer Brookman behind the plate, and the influence of his father on both his life and baseball career.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Back on the Columbus Klingstones pregame show, alongside the manager of the Klingstones, Nestor Perez, as the Stones open up a six-game road trip at Keysler Federal Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. The Stones coming off a series, Nestor, where they hit as many home runs as they have hit in any series they have ever played, and that included a game on Sunday where Columbus and Montgomery combined for 13 home runs, which was a record in the Southern League by three. It broke a record that stood for 37 years, so that's where we're gonna start. What was that game like for you just to watch from the dugout?

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Uh I had to at third base, you know. You know I coach third base. Yeah. So I shake a lot of hands at third base. I never shake so many hands in my life. Uh good to see the boys swinging well. Also, I had a meeting with them this afternoon before practice, and I told them how good it was to see our team still fighting in a game where we have few chances to win. Um lost 18 to 10, but we compete, we scored 10 runs in a game where we were behind the whole game. We had five homers, and we keep fighting and swinging and playing the game hard until the last hour.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

How much does that make you prideful as a manager to see how many times this season that has happened? Because it's at least four or five games that Columbus has come back and won after being down three-nothing early, four-nothing early. It was too much on Sunday this past week against Montgomery. But this team really fights with their back against the wall.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

They're playing hard since first pitch until Lazau. And when you have a team like that, you're gonna be every night in uh in a in a in a situation where you're gonna have a chance to win games. Um we need the pitching back, you know. When I say back, it's because um we got all new pitchers. Uh we lost Murphy, we lost Sears, uh Hernandez. So three of our three of our best starters. Yeah. Now we we are playing and competing with uh booping pitchers. So we need our pitchers back. I mean I when I mean like we need we need to our pitchers to do better and and and give them more innings. So we got the offense that's gonna be there in nine, and that's that's pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

So one of those pitchers, Herrick Hernandez, was Southern League pitcher of the week. The Klingstones have won two consecutive Southern League pitcher of the week awards with Brett Sears and Herrick Hernandez. He threw seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in that double header against Montgomery last week. How fun was that for you to watch his performance after a couple short performances that led up to it?

SPEAKER_00 2:35

I'm very happy for him. Uh Hernandez is uh is a great kid, very disciplined, worked hard, young, and and seeing him that day throwing that well, uh I feel very good for him. Um it's a chain that right after the game he he feels something in his arm, and now he's down for a little B, and and and hopefully we got him back soon.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

You mentioned it. The pitching staff has shifted over the course of the last two weeks where you've had to go to several bullpen games, several new players have come up, like an Owen Hackman making his double-A debut, and Ian Mejia coming back to Columbus. It must be difficult to mix and match as much as you have. How do you feel like the team has responded and adjusted to all the differences on the mound from the start of the season until now?

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Uh we have the talent on the mound. Uh you say it. We got just Mejia just got back. He was a reliever in in Rome, and now he's back starting. Uh Hackman is making his debut. Uh young pitcher, like like I said, like Sears, like like Murphy, like Hernandez, takes time. Takes time, and they they I think they have the talent and they they they're gonna be good uh pretty soon.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Cal Conley's off to the best start of his professional career. Through the month of April, he's hitting over 300. He enters this series hitting over 300. He's got multiple home runs. How much have you enjoyed watching Cal's good start to the season?

SPEAKER_00 3:58

A great talent player. Um I had I had the opportunity to coach him in 2022 in Augusta. He was uh one of my best players. He's a gamer, he's a guy that you want to have in your lineup every night. He's gonna help you to win games, and and I'm very happy for him because he's another hard worker. He works hard every day and then he's doing pretty well.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

Archer Brookman was not in the Braves organization last year. He's someone he got to meet this season, and he's produced every time he's been on the lineup. He's batting well over 300. He got his first home run of the season on Saturday, followed it up with his second home run of the season on Sunday. What makes him so good to start the season?

SPEAKER_00 4:37

Big surprise. Um I had the chance to uh get to know him for the first time in spring training. We just got him from another organization. Uh we got him because the glove. We we didn't know that he had the bat too. So uh we just we just want him to continue swinging well and and good to see like young catcher, uh good defender, and now with a good bat.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

We haven't talked about this yet on the Klingstones pregame show, but your father is a scout in the Dodgers organization for the last eight years, and something you just told me is that he was also a scout in the Braves organization for several years prior to that. What were the things that your father taught you about the game of baseball and how much do you guys keep up during the season?

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Uh yeah, you say he was scout here for nine years, and now he's uh we went with the Dodgers for the last eight. He was he was the person that that showed me baseball. He was the person that introduced me to baseball. He was my coach and and until my last day of baseball. Uh I retired in 2013 uh playing with the Spanish national baseball team, and he always was my coach. Since I was two years old, he put the glove in my hand and and he told me you're gonna be a ball player, and and thanks to him, and I'm here today.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Nestor, I always appreciate you taking the time. Have a great week here in Biloxi. Go get some victories with the Klingstones.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Thank you. Have a good week.