New Toronto SP Cody Ponce joins FT

00:00:03
Speaker 1: Cody Ponce has arrived and he's gone to Canada to join one of the hottest teams in the sport right now, the Toronto Blue Jays. He signed several weeks back on a three year contract. Here he is, Cody, great to have you on, congrats on the deal, Welcome back to Major League Baseball.

00:00:18
Speaker 2: Thank you. I really really appreciate it. I'm just excited to be here with my USA boys.

00:00:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, there you go.

00:00:26
Speaker 1: I know, you know, both of these guys, I'm gonna I'm gonna let them go back and forth with you on the USA Action. But first I'll jump ship and ask you about how this all went down. So can you kind of tell We'll get into your story, but tell us specifically about how you ended up with Toronto. What was the courting process like it went? It seemed like it went fast everything for you.

00:00:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, everything was pretty quick. I think we wanted to have a decision made by the time I got to be coming home. And that was also a lot of if so factos kind of things. If we do end up going with a team, who is it going to be, we have to make sure we don't, you know, get upset with the team that I'm part of because I love the Hanway Eagles and the Blue Jays were just such a family oriented team that I was like, and everybody in the entire league is, but everything that I heard was so ever, it was such a big family thing and for me now being a new dad, that's what I really want it.

00:01:27
Speaker 4: But how how did you feel like you gave yourself enough of a time to talk to other teams, enough of a time to like truly see what other teams had, if at all possible or was it something that because I don't know how the process works from going over to from coming over from Korea or Japan, like you don't have a signing window, but I know they want to make their roster and they want you back. So how does this How did it all go down for you? And like, what were some of the other phone calls with other teams that you had?

00:02:00
Speaker 2: Uh, there were a few other phone calls I had. I was very interested in a few other teams. But when your wife manifests three years for thirty million, and the team then ends up saying, hey, we're willing to do three for thirty you kind of just have to say we don't want to be greedy. We my wife just manifested this entire contract from June until the end of November, and it's like the things fell into place for us, and I was like, this is where I was meant to be, and now I'm even more excited to be here.

00:02:30
Speaker 3: I going Pregnant women.

00:02:31
Speaker 4: Pregnant women are just you know, they can They got that extra they got that extra telepathic power. I mean, it's right in June, she knew you were already Like did she know you had to pitch the rest of the season. I know you end up for people who don't know you dominated Korea, you dot like Triple Crown MVP, like you had Nintendo numbers over there. But in June, she was already thinking, oh, my Cody, I'm pregnant with with his and my Cody is going to get us three years thirty million. Like she might she she might be she might be in on the Major League Baseball's database. She might have known what your value was for their collusion that they already have set aside for all players.

00:03:19
Speaker 2: No, it was really just like, hey, I want to put our our goal at three for thirty And I was like, hold on, let's just slow the role here. It's June. I still have an entire rest of the season. I have to pitch. Yes, we're doing well right now, but there's been guys who have come back and who have had more service time than me, like Eric Fetti and you know, two for fifteen. So I was like, Hey, we're just gonna be happy with what we get. Hopefully we get something around that kind of ballpark. And she's like, I understand, but like I have this feeling. I have this feeling that we're gonna like three for thirty. And I was like, all right, I'm gonna let you do all the manifesting. I'm just gonna try to focus on what's going on on the ball field and we'll just see how it plays from there.

00:04:05
Speaker 5: Unbelievable. What a great story. And now you can tell you're you know, you're newborn. Now look what mommy told him. Look what really happened, So you better listen to her. Ultimately, in the kbl man you said you were just having a little more fun. It was something different. Talk to me about like your mindset, and you know, why was it so much more fun out there? Is there was it a mindset?

00:04:27
Speaker 3: Was it?

00:04:27
Speaker 5: You know?

00:04:28
Speaker 2: Was it pressure.

00:04:28
Speaker 5: Talk a little about what your thoughts were going on over there and why it brought you back to life a little bit in this beautiful game of baseball.

00:04:37
Speaker 2: It is a very beautiful game of baseball, even with the lows. You know, I didn't have every outing that I went out there, and I didn't just punch fifteen or sixteen every single time and have zeros through seven innings. You know, I had those games where I went five innings, gave up four and had amazing defense and the offense behind me to be able to pick me up to keep me out of that loss record. And I think just the boys, the way they accepted me into the family when we got down to Australia for spring training. So I've been all across the world this year, that's for sure, from Australia to Japan, to Korea for the whole season and then now back to the States. But they just the way they embraced me was so family like that I loved it so much that I started early on trying to figure out the culture and the camaraderie and the chemistry with everybody that I picked up the language, and we all know we don't pick up the day to day language, we pick up the bad words first, and so I was able to joke around with them on a lot more friendly basis. And I was just able to have a lot more fun off the ball field rather than on the ball field. And I think that then translates to having a lot more fun on the ballfield.

00:05:52
Speaker 4: Why didn't the same thing happen in Japan? Why didn't you have the same success.

00:05:59
Speaker 2: So I would say the biggest factor for me is family. Right when you are on a ball field and you go one hundred and in Korea, one hundred and forty four, one hundred and sixty two, like it is in the big leagues, and you sit on that bench for every single one of them, you create a tighter knit. You are there for all the ups and downs, for all of your batters. You can pick your guys up off after defensive airs. You're able to be there with them. In Korea, I was able to sit on the bench for every single game. In Japan, if you were a starter, the only day that you were allowed to sit on the bench was the day that you started. Besides that, after you're done with practice and before the game, you headed home. So the relationships were a lot less tight knit, if I can say.

00:06:47
Speaker 5: That, Yeah, you made some changes. Man, you had a teammate and RAYU remember him back in the day with the Dodgers, big left handed pitcher. Talk about the changes that you made and the decisions that you made to make those changes.

00:07:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, Rio was one of those big changes.

00:07:05
Speaker 3: You know.

00:07:05
Speaker 2: You see his big curveball that just kind of pops up nice slow and just kind of falls in. Then you're like, you kind of you're sitting there and you're like, what is this and it's like and then he throws you a harder one and you're like, wait a minute. Those are two different pitches but the same pitch. And he was doing that with his his change up, his curveball, his slider, and it just allowed us to be in me to learn off of that. And I watched the first month of season him do that, and then started talking to the other foreigner, Ryan Weiss, that I was with, and I started asking questions, Hey, why does he throw two? Like why does he throw that super slow one. He's like, well, that's just to get everybody off balance. And then I started picking Rio's brain and then I mean, he just made it feel like very americanized where all of the starters went out and watched the starter pregame and then we all came in together. So that fonding, that close knit family feeling was so fun with him. And I mean he treated me like a little brother, but he also respected me as a ballplayer, and that was like an amazing thing to have.

00:08:07
Speaker 5: And you talk about family, excuse me, your wife's brother, George Kittle. I mean, how cool is that you get to talk to a guy who's been there through it all NFL and he's helped you out through tough times. So you know, you talk about family, talk about brotherhood, talk a little bit about how he has helped you through this, which I think is awesome, incredible. You know, you're gonna have some athletic kids when they get older.

00:08:32
Speaker 2: I'll tell you that, right they're gonna Well, our daughter's gonna be playing golf. I'll tell you that. So that way dad can at least go out there and play with her, because I don't know about the shoulder in the next twenty years, but I definitely know I can still swing at golf club. No. Having George has been great. He reminded me how to play the game, a little bit more fun. And I think seeing him, how he is able to get hit and have such an aggressive type of game in the NFL, but he always has a smile onness face and he's always joking around. And I was like, I need to do a little bit more of that. I need to go back to my twelve year old self. And I call that. I called playing baseball and my twelve year old self and take the fun and bring the fun back, like when you're playing against all of your buddies back in like elementary school and you get to go back to school with them on Monday after playing Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Little League and joking around and having fun. And I brought that back into it, and he helped me find my inner self and my inner child again just by watching him play.

00:09:30
Speaker 5: So with this new contract, you're gonna buy dinner next time you get your first paycheck, is it? Or is it still You're gonna make George pay for everything.

00:09:38
Speaker 2: George's paying for everything. He's the older brother. That's that's the best part. He's the older brother. So but no, he's great. He's helped me out with a lot of stuff on and off the ballfield, just being a little kid, and then also just a lot of recovery work and activation work that that they have to go through. And I was like, listen, if you're gonna get ran over by a train once a week, the least I can do is do half of your stuff so that way I don't feel like I got ran over a train.

00:10:08
Speaker 3: No, that's fair. I like that. But what are you going to do with this newfound cash?

00:10:13
Speaker 4: Like is there something that you've already in your mind kind of earmarked, Like I do want to buy this. I want to buy this for my wife. I want to you know, I've always wanted this because thirty million dollars is more money than ninety nine point nine.

00:10:30
Speaker 3: Of the world ever sees.

00:10:31
Speaker 4: And you signed a contract because you can kind of throw a baseball pretty good.

00:10:37
Speaker 2: Kind of throwing a baseball cratsy. The last time you caught me, I think I was like ninety one to ninety three, and you're just seeing the big well, the big old gumby Cody uh when he was a little younger. But do I have anything? There isn't really anything that I want or need right now. What I want is as a healthy baby and I want to be with her and spend time with her and make sure my mom my wife is so okay, call her my mama, make sure mama is good, and uh, whatever she needs. Probably get her a new mom car, because I got my truck that I've got since I was drafted. That was my like one big purchase I made, and I'm pretty happy with that.

00:11:14
Speaker 3: Okay.

00:11:15
Speaker 2: Probably a bunch of Star Wars stuff. Probably just a bunch of Star Wars stuff, to be honest with you. Maybe a life sized figurine of Darth Vader or whatever.

00:11:23
Speaker 4: Okay, And and you would put that where you would put that in your apartment in Toronto? Would you put that in your locker in Toronto?

00:11:32
Speaker 2: I probably just get the helmet right here and put that in my locker. But the life size I'll probably put on my front doorsteps. Oh, everybody walks up, and it'll feel like it's trick or treating every time.

00:11:42
Speaker 4: I like that trick or treating in July. That's good when you're not there, if it feels like it feels like somebody's protecting your house, even if it is the dark snide.

00:11:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, the dark side.

00:11:52
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's fair. You talked about family. You joined a new family. Everything we've heard about the Blue Jays, my first a roommate and pro ball as your manager, John Schneider like, there's there's a lot of things that lean towards the blue Jays as being a family. Shane Bieber accepts his player option that everyone's like, what, like he could have gotten fifty.

00:12:14
Speaker 3: Million on the market.

00:12:16
Speaker 4: Have any of these blue Jays that are gonna be your family reached out to you since you've signed.

00:12:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've had a few Miles Straw, Dalton, Var Show, Boden Francis. You know, I've had a few guys reach out to me and they're just like, we're happy that you're here. Welcome to the family. It's gonna be a fun time. I've talked to Skip and he seems like like one of the boys, Like he just wants to have fun, play baseball and win a lot of ball games.

00:12:47
Speaker 4: Well, Var Show, you and I all played on the same team USA team. How did that experience, Because we talked about all the guys for America that are playing for the WBC team. We talked about it yesterday. How did that experience not because you got to throw to one of the greatest catches of all time and me but the experience of being in another country, the experience of experiencing the Day of the Dead and Guadalajara on your start day, experiencing like the just the atmosphere of you have to win or you're done ski set you up for the success that now you've had. It may have taken a few years to come to fruition for you, but how do you feel like that experience set you up.

00:13:39
Speaker 2: When we went to Japan, hearing how those fans cheered was something that I put in the back of my brain and I was like, I want to play here. I will like some point in my career, I want to play here. Did I know two years later that I was going to be flying to Hokkaido and be playing for three years in Japan. No, but the atmosphere something electric and something that I knew I wanted to be a part of. And then when you go back to Guadalajada and I get to go to my like natural roots, like where my family's from Mexico and to be a part of the Day of the Dead, and you saw the half the face that I wore in and people were asking are you going to pitch with that on? I was like, I don't think I'm allowed to. There's white, but no, it was amazing. It was uh and the winner go Home. I think you kind of take that into the postseason feeling that I got to experience this year and I was like, ooh, I felt this before, but I don't remember where it's from. And now that you bring it up, it's like we go back to that premiere twelve time and it's like you step on the bump, like you have to be locked in and ready to go.

00:14:46
Speaker 4: What does it mean for you? What does it mean for you to come to a team that you are the second pitcher signed? Dylan Ceese was the guy that they wanted to get they brought you in. What it felt different if you were the bi Vegas signing for because it's the Blue Jays for the Blue Jays this offseason? Or is it cool that, oh, you know, they went and got Dylan Ceasee, a guy who's going to start a start a playoff game before me? Or does that not matter to you because you were the man last year? Do you need to be the man again?

00:15:24
Speaker 2: I don't see myself as the man I see for you as the man from last year. I've learned and I will continue to learn in my career. I am not somebody who's gonna go out there and say like, hey, I'm the man. I know everything I don't. And I think it's really cool that the Blue Jays also signed Dylan Ceas and Shane Bieber and so many other guys we have on this team that I can't wait to learn from. I can't wait to see how they go about their daily basis and their routines, and their ins and outs and how they When I was watching were you and watching other guys go about their business, it wasn't so much of all right, I'm gonna watch how you throw. It was like, I'm gonna watch how you warm up in a gym. I'm gonna watch how you walk up the stairs to go outside. Like I take all of those little things into into thought to be like, how can I make myself a little bit better? And when you have a guy who has ten years in the big leagues and has created something that nobody will ever have again in the career. In Korea, he's known as the Korean Monster, like that is amazing. And I was like, the last thing I want to do is feel like I'm better than somebody else when this man's had this entire career, And why why shouldn't I be able to learn from that?

00:16:38
Speaker 3: Yeah?

00:16:39
Speaker 2: Exactly. And I think if they learn and you're not, you're not trying to.

00:16:42
Speaker 5: I think that's something that people got to understand, Like you could be good, but you can always be better at anything you do. And for your circumstand you were the MVP. So like, are you the guy if you go back to Korea today? Are you get mob when you get off the airplane? Like what happens now?

00:16:58
Speaker 2: Todd Father? I don't, I don't know. I think I just don't tell people I'm going to Korea if I'm going back over there. It was pretty wild. It was something I've never experienced before in my life. But it was even more crazy about how my wife was treated, you know, the stardom that she had. She started a run club, her and Ryan Weisse's wife, Haylie Brooks, started a run club in Korean that wasn't like a thing in our city. And they were having close to hundreds of people come out and do walking and running because you know, when you're in your second and third trimester. You're not gonna be running a five k once a week. You're you're gonna be walking one or two miles and call to day. So they did a walk and run club and they grew their fan base as well. And the way people treated not just me, but my wife and our family when family members came in was absolutely amazing.

00:17:50
Speaker 4: I know they do in Japan, but do they have like songs for you in Korea? And if they do, do you remember because I know they had Korean for Korean for American batters, they had songs for the batters because I played with Eric Dames, who, until you did what you did, he was he was the king over there. But I think you might the two of you might be like you could go on a Korean baseball tour and you guys would forever because he's done like the Korean like the masked singer in Korea. He's gone back and done other stuff. But do you remember your song and can you sing it for us?

00:18:29
Speaker 2: Do I remember my song? It was an eminem song really and it wasn't like oh yeah, because they they created, they didn't have a Korean singing song for me. So what they did. Is ended up just playing American music in like the fourth or fifth inning, and I think it was Lose Yourself.

00:18:54
Speaker 3: Okay, you that one?

00:18:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was like, I'm pretty sure it was Lose Yourself. But no, I didn't have a Korean song. But uh, they played bust you know, bust down. Well they call it bust down, but Mustard that the little ad lib in a certain like rap song. So every time you struck it struck a guy out, they were like Mustard. So that's all that. That's what I can give you, guys.

00:19:17
Speaker 3: Okay, okay, that's fair. That's fair.

00:19:19
Speaker 2: I heard that. I heard that a few times this year.

00:19:22
Speaker 4: That Yeah, I'm sure you did. I'm sure you got a few mustangs. I'm gonna I'm gonna go back to a less bearded I'm gonna show you this video and I want you to try. I'm gonna try. I want you to try to, uh just talk over it. I'm not sure if we have audio on it or not, but this is young Cody punks getting us our dinner. That's Andrew Andrew Vaughan legend. Now, yeah, do you remember do you remember exactly what happened there?

00:19:54
Speaker 2: I think that's Tanner Hawk. Yep, that's Tanner how oh yeah, we were fishing for dinner that They were like, you gotta, Cody, can you get the big one for us? And I was like, guys, I'll just reach in there and grab it if I have to. But you just like you had these little hooks on the end of your like those little bamboo sticks. And I just went underneath and I got it to swing underneath and I just ripped it up into the fish so that way I can get our dinner for us. But yeah, do I I remember that like it's yesterday.

00:20:25
Speaker 3: I didn't that.

00:20:26
Speaker 4: I have been looking all morning for this video and I didn't have our producer who just got it like four seconds ago put it on here for us. But I have the picture too afterwards. Basically, we ate that fish sashimi style, and they bring it out and they stick a stick through the tail and the head, and when they brought it, they have all the sashimi, they have all the fish meat that you eat sitting in the middle of the body, and the tail was still going like this.

00:21:02
Speaker 3: On the place.

00:21:04
Speaker 4: It was the freshest food ever. But I mean, yeah, you I didn't even really I forgot that Hawk was there. No Jonah Song was there, So there was. There was a lot of a lot of legends there.

00:21:18
Speaker 3: Yep. But we had a good time.

00:21:20
Speaker 4: And yeah, I to see you have success like this, To see a guy come back from you know, oh, he's never going to be a good big league player, to now get a three year deal, I'm super impressed with you.

00:21:36
Speaker 2: Thank you, Cratzy. That means a lot. It means a lot coming from you.

00:21:40
Speaker 1: Hey, Cody, I got one more for you. Did you watch the World Series this past year? I know you mentioned how the Blue Jays were very enticing for a variety of reasons, the offer, the family vibes, the success, But did you watch the World Series and how crazy it got in Canada and how ultimately I'm sure you hope that you match up with the Dodgers again and you take them down this year.

00:22:01
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was definitely tough to watch. You know. Time change is a big thing. When you're halfway around the world and you're just kind of sitting out there like, hey, I think the World Series games on, and you're like, well, toss it on your phone. You look down, you're like, oh, they're already in the fourth ending. Sure, I'll just watch the rest while we're having breakfast, you know, or if you wake up on and they're on the East Coast, which is when they were in Toronto, it was like, oh, they're in the seventh and it's like, dang it, I missed the entire part of the game. So the West Coast games were great because I got to see even I got to watch pretty much the whole game, and then the East Coast games were tough because what was it, nine am? Was eight pm there, so yeah, and then also us being in the Korean series at the same time, sleep schedule goes to out the window when you're playing in the postseason. You're like, I need to sleep until at least ten, so that way I can stay up until nine or ten at night as well. So you kind of just try to make whatever work you can.

00:22:57
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's fair. That was not top priority. Now it will. So we're looking forward to it, man. Yeah, it's gonna be really fun. Awesome team, awesome rotation. Great to talk to you. These two were looking forward to chatting with you. So you want to say, you want to say bye top Father and ny K.

00:23:16
Speaker 3: At least I don't want to say bye.

00:23:18
Speaker 2: I like him. I like him at least not me that Hey just make sure, Hey, Todd father, just do me one favorite. When you see Nikki Cass next time, you make sure that you give a little check for me. Okay, because Nicky Cass, he's been on my radar and he hasn't even texted me since I've been home, and I was like, hey, brother, what's going on here? Shut out shouring you out alive right now, Nikki Cass, I'm gonna send it to big time.

00:23:43
Speaker 3: Listen.

00:23:43
Speaker 5: I haven't talked to him in a few minutes too, actually, So we're gonna have We're gonna I'm gona have to get on as you know what. I'll get him. I'll get him.

00:23:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's big time.

00:23:51
Speaker 2: Wait.

00:23:52
Speaker 1: Sorry, one more thing, Cody, did you get any asks for World Baseball Classic? And if you did, would you play?

00:23:58
Speaker 2: I got to ask my team Mexico. So right now, as of right now, I'm not one hundred percent sure. I said that I do want to play, but as I am now a Toronto Blue Jay, I have to talk to my team and see what they want to do and the best wishes for me from them. So to have a Usa jersey half folded and have a Mexican jersey half folded, putting together to represent both sides of my family. It's one of the honors that I've always wanted to be able to do. But Cratzy's pissed because he's like, there's only one country you should be representing. Brother.

00:24:32
Speaker 4: I mean, just because just because they beat us, just because they beat us in the bronze medal game, Like you're gonna go to that side. You're like, You're like Tyler klash Now and Blake Snell. You're like, well, we can't beat him with the rays, so we'll just join them. Is that what you're dealing with?

00:24:50
Speaker 2: Something? Go ahead, you want to know something funny is I think Kirk played on that on that Team Mexico team when we were playing in the Premier twelve, And I not one hundred percent sure, but I would love to look back if there's like a baseball reference or something if he played on that, because the catcher for Team Mexico for the entire fourteen hour flight that we had was literally laying back in my seat the entire time. Well, some veterans catchers got to sit up front in business class and I don't want to hear it from you. That was I don't want that was.

00:25:25
Speaker 3: That was business class.

00:25:28
Speaker 4: That was That's what I'm about. Oh and he laid it back, Okay, he laid it back. I was a business class I was. I was, I was laying back to I was in I was. Oh everything, it was the best.

00:25:42
Speaker 3: That's another story we'll tell another time.

00:25:44
Speaker 4: But you guys said me and Clayton could have the Clayton could have the uh have the business class seats.

00:25:52
Speaker 3: And so you're a big dog, bro, you need the big seats.

00:25:54
Speaker 4: They Hey, I sat in the middle seat on the way back from Japan. God, little seat from Japan, ain't it? And you're a big fellow to.

00:26:07
Speaker 2: This.

00:26:08
Speaker 5: On a bus in Puerto Rico, we're squashed for what what was that one?

00:26:12
Speaker 3: That was the pre moondu us A. That was my o g usa. He would sit the window. I love the window. I love the window. I'm windowing.

00:26:25
Speaker 2: Tell me if I'm wrong. But sitting aisle seats way better. You can throw your feet out the aisle to the side a little bit.

00:26:33
Speaker 5: You could you could turn, you could turn this way and kind of lean on his shoulder if you wanted to, like, come on, hey, every It was great though we had those hour bus rides. Man, tired as all. Heck, we're having fun back there. And then we went to Sizzler at the end. That was the only place all we did go to Sizlers. Didn't No, Sizzler was still around at the time.

00:26:55
Speaker 3: It is in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

00:26:58
Speaker 1: He talks about it all the time. You talk about it all the damn time. All right, well, Cody, you let us know when you get the yes or the no. But we'll see. Maybe we'll see in the WBC. Okay, great to have you on man, and congrats on the deal and we're excited to have you back in Major League baseball.

00:27:12
Speaker 2: Man, thank you, boys, appreciate it. We will thank you, boys,