Jesús Luzardo on The Phillies Show

00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Jesus is Ardo and welcome to the Philly Show.

00:00:07
Speaker 2: Rubin Tomorrow Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todd's the Lucky It's the Philly Show. It's Friday, June sixth, twenty twenty five. Jim, how are we doing today?

00:00:17
Speaker 3: Doing great?

00:00:17
Speaker 4: It's finally stopped raining here in eastern Pennsylvania.

00:00:20
Speaker 3: The sun is out. It feels like baseball season now.

00:00:23
Speaker 2: Baseball season for sure, Jim. One of my favorite parts of the Philly Show, besides talking to you and Ruben multiple times over the week, is when we get to chat with some of these Phillies players. You know. We had Bryce Harper on last year, Kyle Schwarber on last year, Zach Wheeler, Aaron Nola this spring, and it's fun to get these guys in a different setting and kind of get them to know them a little bit more. As people see there's some of their personalities come out a little bit. And we had a real fun talk last week with Hazeu Lozzardo.

00:00:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more.

00:00:56
Speaker 4: It's always great to get to know the person behind the app a little bit about his background, a little bit about his family, a little.

00:01:03
Speaker 3: Bit about what drives him.

00:01:05
Speaker 4: And you know, it was a great conversation with Jesus Solizardo. Learned a little bit about his family, about his background. His parents of Venezuela, and he was born in Peru when his dad was working.

00:01:15
Speaker 3: There, emigrated to South Florida.

00:01:19
Speaker 4: He went to Marjorie Stoneham Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale. That's where that very tragic shooting was a number of years ago. And he's really done his part to help that community. Heal, really bright guy, really well spoken, good ahead on his shoulders.

00:01:36
Speaker 3: Hey. I know he had a tough outing.

00:01:39
Speaker 4: Last weekend and we taped the interview a couple of days before that, but.

00:01:44
Speaker 3: You know, he'll bounce back from that.

00:01:46
Speaker 4: You know, I still think he's built a little bit of a body of work here and I believe in that talent. I still think he could end up in the All Star Game. But you know, we'll we'll see in the time being. It was just fun to check with a guy who has really emerged as an important member of this twenty twenty five Phillies staff.

00:02:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, Jim. The Phillies are in Pittsburgh this weekend playing the pirates at PNC Park. Great ballpark. But if you're looking for something to do, you gotta swing by my neck of the woods. Swing by Delco, Jim. People say Delco's a lot, and they're right. We have a lot of everything. Family fun, festivals, great restaurants and bars, gardens, history, trails and oucdoor activities and much much more. Take it from me. I am a Delco Dad. Check it out for yourself. This weekend, Jim okay So Saturday is the seventh annual Havertown Irish Festival, takes place at fifty East Eagle Road and Havertown from noon until eight pm. Enjoy live music, Irish dancing, crafts, and a kid's fund zone. And then Sunday this Kuy would get your baseball fix here go to the Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum presents the Delco League Baseball open House and book signing that at the Radnor Township Municipal Building in Wayne from eleven am until three pm. Delco is the oldest incorporated league in the US, founded in nineteen o eight. I did not know that. Enjoy memorabili and pick up a copy of Rich Bogano's book Delaware County Sports Legends. Find a full list of events at visit delco dot com. If you're watching on YouTube, just scan that QR code on your screen right now.

00:03:29
Speaker 3: Irish dancing count me in.

00:03:31
Speaker 2: All right, Jim, I look forward to seeing it. I will see you there in the meantime, though, enjoy our talk with Jesus Lozardojesus, thanks for joining the Philly Show. Really appreciate it. Hope you're doing well. I want to ask you as we get into June. Have these first few months in Philly exceeded your expectations? What did you expect? Is? What has surprised you about pitch in Philly these first couple of months and your own performance?

00:04:03
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think I think it definitely is a little surprising to me. You know, I feel like every every baseball player has it in him and has that confidence in themselves. But you know, I think I've been pitching really well, thankfully, and also just like integrating into the team, I didn't know what to expect coming into a team with such high, you know, expectations, but also you know a lot of superstars, a lot of talent, a lot of experience, and it's just blown me away. How welcoming everyone is, how you know, how how the guys who are you know, quote unquote superstars are just really down to earth guys, you know, one of the boys, and it's been awesome to be a part of it.

00:04:44
Speaker 3: It does.

00:04:45
Speaker 4: Somebody asked me about you the other day. I said, it just looks like he is loving life as a Philly. I mean, pitching in front of forty three thousand people every time you take them ount at home, You've got a great lineup behind you, Like you said, big expectation. I mean, I know Miami was kind of where you're from, but they were in a rebuild.

00:05:04
Speaker 3: A lot of Night's stadium is empty.

00:05:07
Speaker 4: Just how much have you know, has this done for your just for your enthusiasm enthusiasm level, And just like I said, love and life is a Philly.

00:05:16
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, love and life definitely is the right way to put it. You know, Like you said, playing Miami, it was it was home for me, So that was great. But at the same time, when you're not pitching in front of you know, forty thousand like you are here every night. You know, my last start at home against the Cardinals, I think it was raining and we still had forty two thousand like a Wednesday at two pm. So that's something that you don't really see all the time. And some of the most fun I've had playing baseball since I was in high school.

00:05:45
Speaker 3: You know.

00:05:45
Speaker 1: I said that during the Classic, just because of the atmosphere during the Classic, which was awesome, and this kind of replicates it, you know, day in and day out, especially when we have big games like we did yesterday, you know with the Braves and you know, the big Series, when when these teams come in and you really start to feel that home field advantage.

00:06:01
Speaker 5: So I want to go back to your childhood a little bit.

00:06:05
Speaker 2: You So you were born in Peru, correct, correct?

00:06:08
Speaker 5: And then your parents I think, if I'm not mistaken. I talked to my brother Luis about this. Did they meet at a game in mark Ibo, because he told me that I don't think so.

00:06:19
Speaker 6: Oh that was the rumor out there that they met at a game that I played for the for the I know you were at least I know.

00:06:28
Speaker 3: I don't think you played for him, but I think that.

00:06:30
Speaker 2: You were one of their properties for what have you?

00:06:32
Speaker 1: Yeah? Correct? Mm hmm, yeah.

00:06:34
Speaker 7: No.

00:06:35
Speaker 1: For me, is a big thing My grandpa was, I mean a diehard when when he lived there, he'd go to the games all the time. You know, my parents both grew up going to the games, uh separately. They they are from Madaga with both of them, you know, my whole family, I'm probably the only one with I mean within a long, long line of generations, cousins, uncles, aunts, everything that was born in Venezuela. So I just happened to be born in Peru. But yeah, I do feel Venezuelan, you know, growing up with all the traditions and stuff.

00:07:07
Speaker 2: So you're you're the only person in Major League history born in Peru. I believe that's still the case. And I know you moved from Peru to Miami right when you were like one or something.

00:07:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was one and a half and we moved to yeah, South Florida.

00:07:22
Speaker 2: Okay, So I mean this might be a dumb question, but is there any sort of like baseball community in Peru where they're like, hey, Hazelsizardo is our guy. Or do you ever get like a random tweet from somebody in Peru. I mean, I don't know. I was just wondering.

00:07:35
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't I don't have social media anymore, but when I did, when I had Instagram, i'd get very random messages early on in my career from you know, people trying to start leagues up in Peru, which was interesting. I think now they're getting more of an influx of Venezuelan's moving into Peru, which now obviously causes you know, a lot of interest in I think there's gonna be plenty more prouv being born baseball players of with the same story that I had, you know, families that maybe moved into Peru and you know, kind of brought that passion with baseball along. But yeah, I mean I can tell it's growing. I don't really have family over there or friends, but just from what I have understood, and you know, I kind of keep up with it somewhat, and I know that there's there's a good group of baseball players coming out of there.

00:08:21
Speaker 3: Now, were your parents working in Peru or the students or.

00:08:25
Speaker 1: Yeah, my dad works for Motorola and so he left Venezuela got a job in Peru and they lived there for three years and that's when I was born.

00:08:33
Speaker 3: I gotcha.

00:08:34
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00:08:52
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00:08:57
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00:09:11
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00:09:17
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00:09:17
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00:09:37
Speaker 3: Very cool.

00:09:37
Speaker 5: Hey, so Obviously you were born and I guess raised and went to high school in Parkland. I know you're really involved in the community there, and I know that you're involved in a bunch of things. Can you talk about some of the things you've been doing in the community, and you know what Parkland meant to you and what that event, that terrible event meant to you as well.

00:10:02
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean Parkly means everything to me. Yeah, I still live there in the off seasons. Back home, I still live very close to my family and live right down down the block from Stoneman Douglas. Uh, you know where the where the tragedy happened. And you know, it was obviously a tough, tough time for for our community as a whole. I think everyone felt it, even if you didn't personally, if you weren't personally affected by it, because it's a tight knit community, a smaller community, and you know, I went to high school there, so it really hit home for me. I knew people there at the time, and you know, I see how it affected people. So for me, it's important to get back into the community and just give back as much as possible using the platform that you know, we have as baseball players. Now, I think it's it's cool to be able to express, you know, ourselves in certain ways and give back in certain ways that maybe other people can't. So we've been able to do some kids camps at Stoneman Douglas every year, which is it's awesome. You know. We hope to keep growing and continuing to get better. And then last year I did my first annual golf tournament, which was awesome. You know, we did that for my foundation, and we gave back to three foundations in South Florida, the Joe Demagio Children's Hospital, the Boys and Girls Club of Broward County, and ARC Broward, which is a facility for people with special needs. And so, you know, we continue to try to do more and keep growing and get better every time. But getting back into the community is something big for me and my family.

00:11:26
Speaker 2: That's awesome. And you're doing stuff here too, right, I mean you're like donating per strikeout for the Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia. Is that you mentioned is Boys and Girls Club something near and deu to your hire? Is that just something you kind of connected with.

00:11:40
Speaker 1: I think it's something I just connected with, you know, I went and I saw in South Florida. You know, there's a lot of parts of South Florida that that are pretty rough, and the stuff that they do in those communities to get these kids off the street and on the right path, and not only with the kids, you know, how they affect the community as a whole and what they do, I think it's awesome. So I love, you know, giving back and being a part of it. I think, you know, kids are the future of the country, so you got to steer them the right way. But at the same time, yeah, here I'm trying to We were doing the strikeout initiative and continuing to try to find ways to get back in the community. I've heard a lot about CHOP the Children's Hospital Philadelphia. I would love to go and get there and see what we could do. My dad's a big he's a coach of the Challenger League in Parkland. He works with Anthony Rizzo's father. They're both coaches there, and you know, so I'm a big, big part of the Challenger League back home, and I would like to do that here as well. So just trying to find the time. You know, the season's a little tough, but whenever I get a chance, I want to.

00:12:40
Speaker 4: We saw your parents on TV after your first start in Philadelphia and they were I mean, you pitched great that now you always pitch great here. I mean, what's this whole experience coming to Philadelphia been like for them?

00:12:54
Speaker 1: They love it, you know, I think that they really enjoy the atmosphere and you know this is real, uh, you know, real baseball. Not a knock on anywhere else that I've been. But you know, you could feel, like I said, the atmosphere, the home the home field advantage. Uh, you know, the buzz around the city going into a game. You just see the streets, you know, flooded with Philly's gear, and the stadium's you know, packed, everyone's walking in. So it's a good time. They're having a great time, you know, making it out to all my starts. They love coming and staying with me and cooking me home cooked meals. So and I don't complain about it.

00:13:26
Speaker 3: That's that's the worse for you either.

00:13:27
Speaker 1: Hey, I'm off for it.

00:13:30
Speaker 2: So I I noticed that you're.

00:13:31
Speaker 5: You seem like a pretty emotional guy, and and it to me from the outside looking in, And you can correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like the fan base sort of uplifts you up and you get fired up to pitch. I mean, I know you you're pretty emotional and I know you want to do well. I mean that sort of seems to be your personality. Dude, the fan Does the fan base take you to that next level here?

00:13:56
Speaker 1: I would say so yeah. I think that you know, in places where where there's not that many fans, you almost have to create your own adrenaline. And you know, it's it's not hard to create your own adrenaline when you're facing you know, another big league hitter. So I think we always have those jitters in that adrenaline. But when you know, when you have forty thousand behind you and they're cheering you on, and you can almost feel like that confidence building. So yeah, I mean I feel like when I'm off the mound, I'm completely different. I'm not really that emotional. I'm pretty level headed and quiet, But when I get on the mound, it's just a different It's just a different human being on there.

00:14:33
Speaker 4: Hey, sus I wanted to ask you one more. It's Stoneman Douglas for folks out there who don't know, is an incredible baseball program. Every every year They're in the top ten of anybody who ranks high school baseball programs. I mean, obviously Haysuszardo, that Kolbe Mayo, Roman Anthony. I think it was a great prospect with the Red Sox, just a great program. But I actually hear you speak. You're incredibly well spoken, and I'm imagining you were a good student, did you And you were a big prospect coming out of high school and draft prospect, But did you have a college commitment?

00:15:13
Speaker 1: And I was planning on going to the University of Miami, and I was pretty pretty dead set on it too. I was a pretty good student in high school, and I you know, college is a big thing for my parents. My sister went to college. My parents both went to college, So yeah, I was I was pretty dead set on going to college. The NATS came and obviously offered me life changing money, so it's hard for me to turn away. But I still made a promise to my dad that, you know, I need to get a college degree before I die. So I'm gonna promise what are you going to get your degree in? I tried finance when I was in rookie ball, but micro macroeconomics wasn't my favorite, So now I got to look for something else, maybe business, something, But I told them I would do it, so I'm gonna do it for you. That's terrific.

00:16:03
Speaker 2: That is awesome. And you know, one of my favorite stories I've written in a long time, Hazes. A couple of weeks ago, I was talking about just your preparation before a start, and we were talking a lot about your superstitions and for people that haven't did not read that story, like you're very specific, and when you begin your pre start routine, when you walk onto the field, when you make your first throw onto the field, can you kind of talk or you know, tell us a little bit about that, why that started, how that started, and how it might just help you mentally, like get prepared for a start before big game.

00:16:34
Speaker 1: Yeah. For me, just like I have a lot of I'm a big numbers guy. I think you know, numbers have meetings behind them, and you know, I would say, you know, I'm pretty religious as well, so there's a lot of times, you know, I'll just say, you know, show me forty four if I'm on the right path, and I'll randomly be driving to the field and I'll see a forty four license plate, or I'll be rolling out and I'll look on the ceiling and the fan has, you know, forty four on it. Just random thing like that that, you know, give me a little confidence here and there, a little piece of mind. It almost, you know, it almost assures me that today's my day. And but if I don't see it, you know, it's not like I hit the panting button and I'm you know, it's the end of the world. But yeah, for me, fours and ates have always been big. So anytime I walk out to the field has to add up to a four and eight, and the same with the first throw of the day has to add up to a four or in eight. So me and AJ Puck. AJ Puck, the reliever with the Diamondbacks, a real good friend of mine, and he kind of feels the same way. So we kind of developed that together. He's a reliever. So it's a little bit tougher and I'm more superstitious in my routine. But fours and eights have always been been the thing.

00:17:42
Speaker 2: But I mean, obviously you wear the glasses. They're not prescription, right, you know, that's that's kind of a good luck thing as well. And your coffee order. I love that too.

00:17:51
Speaker 3: You get it?

00:17:51
Speaker 2: What is it? A cold brew with almond milk at Starbucks?

00:17:54
Speaker 1: Yeah? And I and now nowadays I can't stand the taste of it. It's just at this point I need a drink it because I'm Soper.

00:18:03
Speaker 3: Do they know you yet at the neighborhood Starbucks?

00:18:06
Speaker 1: Not yet, but I'm sure by the end of the season they will.

00:18:09
Speaker 9: And I've actually I was super superstitious as well. Do you ever try to test it in the minor leagues or anything like that, like try to do something different just so you know you're okay if things don't work out.

00:18:21
Speaker 1: Have you done that before?

00:18:23
Speaker 5: Uh?

00:18:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, I have. Well, this year I did it with the glove. I switched up my glove and normally, I you know, I wear the same gamer all year, whether it's good or bad. Uh, And this year I started to I tried like little switches here and there. I actually had a hot coffee one day. I forgot where we were, but it was freezing, and I was like, I can't have cold grew and you might have been Chicago and I had a hot coffee and it went well, and I was like, maybe, you know, but I don't like to mess with it too much, so I try to limit my superstition. Uh you know when I when I leave.

00:18:52
Speaker 2: It, that's right, I forgot.

00:18:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, you forgot.

00:18:55
Speaker 2: You switched the gloves up. You were all You used to only have an all black glove. Right now you've got like a cream colored one as well that you mix in. Yep, yeah, yeah, that's all.

00:19:03
Speaker 5: I wanted to talk a little bit about Caleb Kothain and how he's affected you so far.

00:19:07
Speaker 1: And what al important has been to you.

00:19:09
Speaker 5: Obviously, you came up with the new pitch during the course of the spring training, broke it out, broke out that sweeper. Can you talk a little bit about that overall development as that happened as you built your relationship with Caleb.

00:19:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, Caleb has been awesome for me. And you know, I think we bounced or we we balance each other out pretty well because he's a good mix of like old school.

00:19:33
Speaker 5: Uh.

00:19:33
Speaker 1: You know, you have old school pitching coaches who are all feel and you know how it looks visually and reading the swing, and then you have a little bit of new school pitching coaches as well, who are very analytic driven, you know, the metrics say this, uh, you know, analytically, this is what we should throw guys. So he's a perfect mix of both. I think he does a good job of analyzing the metrics and the numbers and all that and simplifying it and knowing how to tell a player or a pitcher, you know, what they what they need to hear, and how it's gonna help them. I think every guy's different. Some guys might be a little more analytic driven, some guys might be less. So I think he has the perfect mix. And as well, he mixes that with reading swings and visually how that looks. So I think that that's the perfect balance in a pitching coach. And he helped me a lot with the sweeper, like we've been saying, just he kind of put it in my head. I went ahead and I started tinkering with it. I work out down in West Palm Beach, and you know, so we have some pitching coaches out there that they did a great job with me. They kind of showed me a grip. We just went with it, and then you know, progressively building that into because the new pitch is a little different stress on the arm, So I was working it progressively in the offseason filled in Caleb Cotham, Mark Lowie, our pitching guys here, and then when we got to spring, you know, we kind of had to take our lumps and bumps with how we were gonna attack hitters, and we couldn't really We had to find the right the right mesh, the right time, the right places in the count to use it. And you know, by the end of spring, I think we did a really good job with nail that down.

00:21:05
Speaker 4: I was wondering for the for the listeners and the viewers, could you give us a simple breakdown of the difference between the slot a slider and a sweeper. I mean, you you threw a backfoot slider. I remember, uh, I think it was Castianos in spring training when somebody asked him, hey, what do you think again, jose A his swist Lozardo. He said, Uh, it's great. It's a great pitcher and that backfoot slider. I don't have to face it anymore. But now it's a uh, it's a sweeper. Just give us a little breakdown of the difference in those two pitches.

00:21:38
Speaker 1: Yeah, So, I mean, basically, I've never had a pitch that moved so much horizontally towards the right handed hitter. Everything was always either very up and down or would run away. So now it just helps me. My My slider is more of a gyro slider. They call it a bullet spin slider, so it spins like a bullet and it kind of just drops visually to me, the good ones have a little turn, but if you look at it analytically, it's it doesn't move at all. It doesn't. It just stays dead straight and just goes down. So that's I mean, those sliders are very effective, but for me, I needed something that went into the right handed hitter and kind of made them aware of stuff moving into them. And then that's where the sweeper comes in. Where you get that whether it's seven or to ten or to thirteen inches of horizontal movement inwards.

00:22:29
Speaker 2: Do you have a ball with you?

00:22:30
Speaker 3: Could you show us how you throw it? Yeah?

00:22:32
Speaker 1: For me, this is my sweeper grip guys. A lot of guys mess with the thumb. For me, that was like the biggest thing. Finding that the thumb on the side would really help me and just have more ball security. And then basically just think of throwing a football and having that ball spin out, and then you want that side spin on it and have it tumble away, and.

00:22:54
Speaker 2: Then what about can you show us how is this the slider different?

00:22:57
Speaker 1: Then I guess so the slider is right here and then base, so you just throw it, stay behind it, and then that ball you're gonna I'm gonna pronate it and then it just spins like that. So then that when it spins like a bullet, it'll just drop as opposed to the side spin.

00:23:11
Speaker 2: So I remember in that first Great for League start, you threw the sweeper, and I remember you're saying, like, it's let's I'm trying it. I don't even know if it's going to be a real pitch or not. Were you just kind of trying to lower expectations or were you to legitimate Like, I don't I don't know if this is going to be something I carry in the season, because now you look at it and it's like you throw it almost thirty percent of the time, so you know it's become like really obviously a big part of your success. This yere.

00:23:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, Now, I think I was just trying to lower expectations. The second I threw it in the offseason, I knew that this was going to be a weapon for me. It just visually looked really well, metrically looked really well. It was something that I didn't have confidence in the early in spring, at least, I didn't have confidence in the command of it. You know, now I'm able to throw it both sides of the plate, you know, beneath the zone as well. And early on it was just kind of like grip it and rip it and just you know, hope it moves. But you know, in the in the years past, I've also tried to add a cutter, I've tried to add a curve ball, and I come into spring with high expectations and I ended up just banging the pitch completely and sticking with what I had. So this year is more of let's just take it slow, let's see what we have, and then you know, as it progressed, obviously became a weapon for me.

00:24:24
Speaker 4: So so the sweeper, I mean, this was not brought up to you in clear Water. This you would trade it to the Phillies and then you had conversations I guess by phone or maybe video with Caleb, and at that point he suggested to sweeper. I mean, it takes some faith in a guy to buy in before even really meeting him in person, doesn't it?

00:24:43
Speaker 3: Yeah?

00:24:44
Speaker 1: I mean, but also if you just look at the track record, you know Zach has added a sweeper. I think he's added a couple of pitches and you know, yeah, splitter, and it's been it's been incredible. So I mean, just the fact and also him just asking me. He asked me, hey, have you ever thrown a sweeper? I said no, and he just left it at that. And I think it was the day I got traded. I got home, I called him and he just left it at that, and that kind of sparked my brain into saying, you know, if he's asking me that question, maybe you know he sees something the potential and the sweeper. And then when I brought it back to him, like hey, you know I've been working on this sweeper, he was all for it, and you know, they loved how it looked. But I think, like like I said earlier, Caleb does a great job of he wants guys to mess around and tinker a little bit, but he also wants to simplify it as much as possible, and he kind of leaves it in your court.

00:25:34
Speaker 4: Where does JT fit into your success here in Philadelphia.

00:25:39
Speaker 1: I mean extremely high. You know, not many guys. I would say JT and march On both. March On takes heavily after JT in the sense of he it looks like, you know, he follows his every move in a good way, because JT is one of the hardest workers I've ever seen in the weight room. On the field, you see him every day you walk in early. He's studying the hitters, doing going over his counter reports. And you know, so it's not by chance that the pitching staff, you know, does what it does. When you have guys behind the plate that really know what they're doing, you know, you have confidence. Every time JT puts a pitch down for me, I have a confidence that he saw something in the video, saw something in the numbers, see something you know in the bat He's great at visually seeing what you know, a hitter swing, hitters take the way they set up. I mean, he's just the full package back there, real smart, real tough, and you know he keeps a cool and level head back there, especially a guy like me. You know, I get adrenaline flowing and I just want to blow people away sometimes and he's more of, you know, the level head of let's throw this, let's throw this, you know, let's get this guy out, let's be smart about things. So you know, I wouldn't be where I am today without him. For sure.

00:26:48
Speaker 5: You've been in the big leagues sometime now, and you sort of bounced a little bit to different organizations. Where was it for you when you finally felt like, my my feed are firmly planted into the ground, and I know that I'm going to be a quality major league baseball player. And what was that like to Because I went through that moment at some point, I wasn't ever a quality but I felt much more comfortable in my.

00:27:14
Speaker 2: Own skin as a major league player. And I was curious as to when it happened for you and.

00:27:18
Speaker 1: How yeah, for me, I would say twenty twenty three with the Marlins was the year that you know, I was I think my fifth year parts of five years in the big leagues. You know, I was a little older, got more mature, and just understanding. You know, that year I threw, I had a full season of health through thirty two starts, I want to say, or thirty one starts, understood what it took to be, you know, a full season starting pitcher and how long that season really is. But I felt like that was where I kind of turned the point, you know, early in the year that year that I felt like every time I went out there, you know, I could give us a chance to win, doesn't matter who's on the other side. And you know, last year was frustrated, but being an open day opening day starter for the Marlins, it was just it was just for me kind of gave me that confidence, even though I got hurt at the end of last year going into this year, just remembering, you know, you can do it. You know you've been there before, You've done it, you know, so it's nothing new. And so now just coming in here, I had, like you said, I already felt like, you know, I had established myself somewhat, and then coming to a team who had already faced me and knew what I could do, it didn't feel like I had to to go out and do more.

00:28:30
Speaker 2: Jesus, talking a lot of your teammates, they say, oh, man, Jesus, man, he he's a real competitor. Man, this this dude competes. This dude. I remember actually asked Kyle Schuber after game and go you guys always say that, but what does that actually mean? Like when you say a guy is a competitor and he says it's kind of like a vibe maybe or just so you can just tell that he's going to grind through it even things are going right, I'm wondering, like before a game, during a game, or you guy that you know, don't talk to me, like, guys wanna stay out of my way? Can you have a conversation with teammates Like is that part maybe what they're talking about or what do you think they mean when they say that.

00:29:05
Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, I think one of the greatest compliments you can ever get is, you know, being a competitor. I always want to compete. Uh you know, watching that Michael Jordan documentary when he says I have a competition problem, Like I really have a competition problem. I just love to compete. And whether it doesn't matter what we're doing. We could be playing Domino's, playing Horrors basketball, it doesn't matter anything. I always want to win. But I think you know, before games, if you ask, if you ask a lot of the guys, some guys might give you mixed answers. A lot of the Latin guys say that they can't talk to me before I pitch because I'm pretty lugged in. But I feel like, you know, I'm pretty easy going. Guys can talk to me. I can have a conversation. But like when it's a couple hours before the game and I have my headphones on, like I'm I'm locked in one hundred percent and I'm ready to go, and I feel like I just turned it, Like I said, I turned into someone else when I when I go to pitch and it's just a very competitive he's on go and then the second that, you know, Skip tells me I'm done. Then then it's over. Then I am smiling again. I'm messing around. But uh, there's not much messing around going on on day games for me.

00:30:11
Speaker 2: What are you listening to pregame to get you in the zone.

00:30:14
Speaker 1: Uh, it's a good mix. I got some Latin music some uh someday, don't A lot of rap, A lot of old school raph New York like nineties mob deep like that type of stuff.

00:30:25
Speaker 3: Nice.

00:30:27
Speaker 6: Hey, So it's just kind of curious, just on the sort of lighter side, what other things do you like to do off the field. I mean, have many hobbies, your interests or you're a golfer, your fishermen.

00:30:37
Speaker 1: What do you What kind of stuff do you do a little bit of everything. I like to I like to fish a lot back home. I don't have a boat, but anytime I get invited out on one, I'll be there.

00:30:45
Speaker 5: You'll be able to afford plenty of boats.

00:30:48
Speaker 1: Hopefully hopefully soon. Yeah, but a lot of lake fishing around my house, big, big golfer uh L. Going to the beach, anything really outdoors, you know, back home in the winters, Florida's beautiful, so we try to get out, whether it's the beach, paddleboarding, fishing, golf. I like to hunt every once in a while if I get invited for that. So I'm a little bit of everything.

00:31:12
Speaker 4: Hey, before we before we run out of time, I wanted to tell you you have a history with Andrew Painter from the same area, worked out the same facility.

00:31:21
Speaker 3: Uh you spent some time obviously in spring training.

00:31:24
Speaker 4: Tell the Phillies fans what they're gonna get from this kid, Probably not too near future.

00:31:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, Painter is is awesome, you know. I I love messing with him. He's an awesome kid, great kid, hard worker. That's what kind of blows me away. He's he's very mature for his age. He almost acts like you know, I view him as as a peer of my own age. I remember going and visiting, uh, his high school coach at the time, and he was in high school, and it just kind of blew me away. I'd always heard a lot about him, he was way younger than me, but yeah, the more I got to know him, you know, a couple of seasons ago, we played a lot of pickball together and so we got very competitive at that and we were It's just great, great to see, you know, that side of him outside of the baseball field, because you know how good of a kid he is, how hard he works. Uh, But when he when he does turn it on, when he starts to play and when he starts to pitch, you could see kind of that mode going for him. And that's when you know he wants to be the best. And I think that that's what makes him so good, is that you know, he's always striving to be great and uh, you know, I think that that it's something that he can definitely achieve. So I'm excited for him.

00:32:26
Speaker 4: Did he have kind of a legendary aura as a high school kid?

00:32:30
Speaker 3: Uh?

00:32:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, you have a lot of good baseball players coming out of South Florida, so there's a you know that that joke of like a prospect or a suspect, you never know what they're gonna be. But I feel like at an early age, you could tell that Painter was just going to be, you know, a stud. You know, he had the build for it, but he wasn't you know, extremely loud and cocky kid. He was just kind of quiet under the radar, and he would just he would just be really good. So yeah, it's it was, It's in incredible to see. But yeah, we have we have a lot of soft Florida guys on this team. It's actually it's actually pretty fun to be around you.

00:33:06
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:33:07
Speaker 1: Me and Maxwell's are the day I actually blow out my elbow in high school my senior year, he was the starting pitcher on the other side.

00:33:13
Speaker 2: Really, wow, that's wild. Who's better at pick a ball? Who wins me? You?

00:33:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, eyeball, any stinks at it. But yeah, if you ever talked to him about pick a ball, you gotta ask him. You're left myself, Yes, what's your rating? You got?

00:33:29
Speaker 3: You got? You rated?

00:33:30
Speaker 1: No, I don't know. My dad plays every day all day long. He's like a four four and I don't know, so he's pretty good. I'm not. I just go and try to keep up with him. That's awesome.

00:33:40
Speaker 2: And then one one last one for me is are you're a hockey fan as well?

00:33:43
Speaker 5: Right?

00:33:43
Speaker 2: Are you a Panthers fan?

00:33:44
Speaker 1: Panthers fan?

00:33:45
Speaker 2: Okay, so congrats to you.

00:33:47
Speaker 3: Yeah?

00:33:48
Speaker 1: Did you?

00:33:49
Speaker 2: Did you get on uh Jordan's and Thomas?

00:33:53
Speaker 1: I was. I was talking a lot of a lot of smack to Tom. I might have got on his nerve a little bit, which is pretty funny. But yeah, me and Jordan, I mean we were going at it left and right. I knew he was a big Toronto Leafs fan, so every chance I got I could chirp him.

00:34:09
Speaker 4: So the deciding game between the Leafs and the Panthers was on when you guys were on the plane and route to Denver, were you able to watch that game?

00:34:19
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:34:19
Speaker 1: Me and me and Jordan were sitting next to each other. I had the game on. I was cheering every time with scoring. It was great.

00:34:25
Speaker 3: And then they absolutely blitzed Caroline.

00:34:27
Speaker 1: Yeah again, Yeah, thankfully.

00:34:30
Speaker 2: That's the fantastic.

00:34:31
Speaker 1: Hopefully they do the same as last year and they'd be Mike Jesus, but we'll see.

00:34:37
Speaker 3: He's good. But some of the Panthers, man, they are yah.

00:34:42
Speaker 1: I one thing I will say. But I mean, I've been going to those games since I was thirteen. We used to park across the street and scout tickets for like seven bucks. In high school, they weren't great, so now seeing where they are now, but I just love seeing how gritty they are. It's something that honestly like fires me up and and and uh, you know, I love that side of hockey that we can I wish we could bring into baseball, how gritty they are and how in their and their face they are all the time. You know, they're always, you know, just trying to get under the skin of the other team. And I love that about them. I love Matthew Chuck. I'm a big fan of his.

00:35:18
Speaker 3: I like him too.

00:35:18
Speaker 4: He's he's a he's a good player all around, and you'll get onto your skin.

00:35:23
Speaker 3: He's tough with his brother.

00:35:24
Speaker 4: I mean, look what they did in the in the four Nations. So yeah, well it's gonna be a great final I love the fun and Stanley Cupp as well.

00:35:34
Speaker 1: That's gonna be great. Yeah.

00:35:36
Speaker 2: Well, well, Hazus, thanks a lot, like good luck to your panthers and good luck to you for the rest of the season. We had a lot of fun talking to you, so thanks so much for joining us.

00:35:45
Speaker 1: Man, it was great great having you guys.

00:35:48
Speaker 2: The Philly Show is brought to you by the Foul Territory Network. Subscribe to The Philly Show on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. If you like us, give us a review, Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and threads. Find Rubens analysis before, during, and after Phillies games on NBC Sports Philadelphia, on the Sports Radio ninety four, WIP Morning Show, and MLB Network. Find Jim at all pH l y dot com. Find me at MLB dot com, the Phillies beatnewsletter, and MLB Network