Chase Meidroth on White Sox youth, Red Sox roommates, the Pope!

00:00:00
Speaker 1: I take a lot of pride and defense and you know, helping out the pitcher.

00:00:03
Speaker 2: And trying to make as many cool plays as possible.

00:00:11
Speaker 3: Here's White Sox infielder Chase my draft joining us on foul territory right now.

00:00:15
Speaker 4: Chase, how you doing? Man, Great to have you on.

00:00:17
Speaker 2: Hey, how's it going, guys? Thanks for having me?

00:00:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, of course, excited to have you on. Hey, let's let's start this way. Do you have any questions for AJ about White Sox life?

00:00:29
Speaker 1: No?

00:00:29
Speaker 5: I don't, Okay, Well, the good.

00:00:34
Speaker 4: Thing do they talk about the five champis? Oh? This year they do they do?

00:00:38
Speaker 6: That's what year they have to because I mean, I mean, it's all they got. It's all they got at this point. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Chase. That's all they got, so the last for the last twenty years, that's all they've had.

00:00:48
Speaker 5: I'm sorry. Even look, I mean, I'm even wearing my shirt for you today.

00:00:51
Speaker 6: So I mean, I don't know. You're doing me proud, though, I give you this, you're doing me proud. I like the way you play the game. You hit the ball, you make contact, if I solid defense, you run, you don't give away at bat. So from what I've seen. I like what I've seen from you, and you can be a winning player. So they need about and it's some more of you guys. But you guys are getting there and I like what I'm seeing.

00:01:12
Speaker 2: Thank you.

00:01:14
Speaker 3: How's it going over there with, for example, Kyle Teel who moved across in that deal for Garrett Crochet, Do you feel like you're starting to build not just a corps that can win, but you know, a bond with some of the younger players that you know can look around and be like, cool, we're going to be here for a minute. Because the team, you know, did kind of get rid of most of their players from the last run. And who's left? Is it just Luis Robert from the last playoff team?

00:01:41
Speaker 2: Okay?

00:01:42
Speaker 4: Yeah, so how's this next core?

00:01:43
Speaker 3: Like, give us the lowdown on what the next Great White Sox team could look like and some of the personalities around it.

00:01:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, we got a you know, a lot of a lot of young guys in that clubhouse. But it's been good so far, you know, getting to play with guys like like Teal coming up with the Red Sox then over here.

00:02:01
Speaker 2: Now and just learning learning the game and learning.

00:02:04
Speaker 1: From the guys that have done it, like Ben Attendee and Talkman and and you know Luis Roberts.

00:02:08
Speaker 2: So it's it's been a it's a good start so far.

00:02:12
Speaker 7: What what what role does will play in that you guys are all coming in, You're coming in from different organizations, some of you just barely came out of college. Well, Venable, what kind of role does he play in like a daily conversation or does he just let you guys roll the balls out and go for it.

00:02:31
Speaker 1: You know, he's got a lot of experience in this game as a player, and so he's got a lot of you know, good stuff to bring each and every day for the young guys and and just you know, talk through the game. But you know, most of it's kind of just kind of letting us play in and figured out.

00:02:47
Speaker 5: Chase.

00:02:47
Speaker 6: You got traded for Garret Crochet from the Red Sox, Okay, with Montgomery and Teal and you and I think there was one more for you heard the fourth one was off the top of my head. Who was the fourth one?

00:02:57
Speaker 5: I know? You know, so who is the fourth on there you go?

00:03:02
Speaker 6: Who's the best player? Who's the best player of those of you four? Who's the best one. Who's maybe not now, who's gonna be the best one?

00:03:10
Speaker 1: I don't know.

00:03:11
Speaker 2: I think I think we all do different things very well. But yeah, I think, oh.

00:03:19
Speaker 5: See, all right, I like you.

00:03:21
Speaker 6: You're supposed to me, I will be the best Me Me.

00:03:26
Speaker 7: I'm gonna, I'm gonna I'm gonna deviate off of that a little bit. What is one skill that the other guys have that you've seen the guys you've played with that you're like a man, I wish I had that superpower that Kyle Teal has or I wish I had I wish I had that to add to my add to my bag.

00:03:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll start with Braden Brainden's got He's crazy athletic, really get armed from the outfield.

00:03:52
Speaker 2: He just he's a stud athlete.

00:03:54
Speaker 1: That's one of those, you know, special special talents that he has for he can really play this game for a long time. Teal is, Yeah, he's very like whippy and flexible as a hitter where he can create a lot of power in his frame, which is you know, electric and that's why he does a lot of damage to the ball. And then Wickleman has just electric stuff. You know, his basketball plays up to ninety eight where you know I faced him in several spring trainings over and with the Red Sox, where yeah, it's some of his stuff when he's on, it's untouchable. All right.

00:04:27
Speaker 7: Between you and Teal, you've been up in front of the bus, and I always ask rookies when they come on the show about the front of the bus, who had the better performance on the mic? Or maybe you guys don't do that, maybe you do something different.

00:04:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, uh, Teal, I think I'll give it to Teal. Teal actually has got a really good voice. Surprisingly, he got a lot of compliments on it and he embraced it, So I'll give it to him.

00:04:52
Speaker 5: What did you perform like.

00:04:54
Speaker 2: I did? Billy Jean by Michael Jackson?

00:05:00
Speaker 7: Wow?

00:05:01
Speaker 6: All right, So so Teal can sing better than you, but who has the better run? Have you seen the memes of Teal scoring from first on these doubles where he's.

00:05:12
Speaker 5: Have you seen those memes?

00:05:13
Speaker 6: I mean, do you guys give him a little bit of crap for that, because I mean he's rolling, but.

00:05:18
Speaker 5: It's like he's got the he's like dumb and dumber.

00:05:20
Speaker 6: If you move your arms, you can really even feel like you're running an incredible pace.

00:05:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I saw one where it was like if if caffeine was running, that was that was pretty funny.

00:05:35
Speaker 2: Yeah. You know he drinks a lot of caffeine too, so it's kind of perfect for him.

00:05:40
Speaker 6: Wow, well that's that's that's that's pretty good. What do you guys do away from the field? Are you guys gamers?

00:05:46
Speaker 5: Do you guys?

00:05:46
Speaker 6: I mean obviously you seeing Michael Jackson, which is a surprise to me, but are you guys gamers?

00:05:50
Speaker 5: You golf? Do you guys go out in the lake? What do you guys do in Chicago when you have an off day.

00:05:56
Speaker 1: I'm from the beach, so I love being on the water, like Lake Michigan. Here it's warming up. So it's on the last off day. I got out there and you know, he said, we got on a boat. There's a few jet skis rolling around.

00:06:07
Speaker 7: So wait, wait, you said go to the beach. You got out on the water like you go to the beach in San Diego. Come on, like, you gotta call it something different when you're going to the water here in Chicago. I mean, AJ thinks Chicago is the greatest city on earth. But what what do you what do you think of going.

00:06:26
Speaker 2: To the beach.

00:06:26
Speaker 5: I know the water temperature is the same as is in San Diego, right.

00:06:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it was like sixty two the other day. It was nice.

00:06:33
Speaker 7: It was nice.

00:06:34
Speaker 5: Okay.

00:06:36
Speaker 7: You what you you ever look back at the at your old team, the teammates that you just that you were playing with in the minor leagues, coming up through the Red Sox, and now you're looking pretty much all those dudes are now in the big leagues with the Red Sox.

00:06:50
Speaker 1: Yeah. I talked to uh, you know, Marcella and Roman almost every day still, so yeah, I'm really happy for them and they're doing their thing over there.

00:06:58
Speaker 7: What do you think about some of the criticism that has been divvied out by different different you know places, saying, oh, they don't teach, they don't teach enough fundamentals in the in the minor leagues in twenty one, before you were drafted, I worked a little bit in the minor Red Sox minor league system, and I felt like they taught a lot of fundamentals. Do you feel like you taught enough and you were prepared to be in the big leagues once you got over to the White Sox.

00:07:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean between both organizations, I thought, you know, I was always put in the best spot possible, so you know I got nothing but good things to say.

00:07:35
Speaker 3: Krat's real question for you. So I'm in Arena Club and I opened up a slab pack. I pulled a Wyatt Langford Auto rookie card. I got an immediate offer from Arena Club. I turned it down. It was in the mid three hundreds range. I've gotten a few offers since. Thoughts on whyatt should I hold on?

00:07:55
Speaker 7: I saw, I saw it. I didn't see it when you ripped the pack, but it looks so sick with everything around and how it's spinning in your showroom. That John looked nice. But no, you shouldn't sell it. Maybe wait till he makes an all start or two and all of a sudden that three hundred goes up and you're gonna get another instant off of right away on Arena Club.

00:08:15
Speaker 3: That's right, bye, sell trade slab packs are there for you too to rip a pack, And for me, I'm just leaving it in the showroom for now deciding what I'm going to do with it. But if I did want to sell it, then I can get myself another slab pack or buy a card that I want to buy. Get twenty percent off your first slab pack or card purchase by going to Arena club dot com slash val use code fo U.

00:08:35
Speaker 4: L Wait Me, Me me.

00:08:38
Speaker 3: I want to know more about what Roman and Marcellar are saying right now, so you get to see both of them get the call to the show over the last month and change. What are they saying, Like, what's it like for them? Are you checking stats and watching their games when you can? What are the conversations like, can you know obviously people want access in this game. Can you take us inside anything that's going on when you're talking to your buddies?

00:09:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, we all three of us talked about we love talking about the game. When we were like we were all in Double A together and then the Triple A together last year. You know, we would sit in the clubhouse for just hours talking about at bats and stuff like that. So but I know now I try to watch as many games as I can still, and then I know they followed me all the time, and so we go back and forth still, you know, and you know we're going through funks or going having success. It's those two guys are easy to talk to about, you know, because they've played with me for three years, so they know what I do well how I get back to it, and I do the same kind of for them. So it's been it's been fun watching them play. And Roman hit his first home run the other day. I was fired up for that.

00:09:44
Speaker 2: That was awesome.

00:09:45
Speaker 6: But yeah, Chase, were you guys all sitting around this offseason? Did you guys have a group text going saying all right, I'm gonna get traded. No, Braidon's gonna get traded. No, Kyle, maybe Roman, maybe Marcelo? Right, who's gonna get maybe Christian Campbell? Did you guys have a group text saying like, all right, well we know some of us are going to get traded? Are we like taking DIBs on who's going where? And then when you got the call, where were you and who was the first person of that group that you text or call?

00:10:12
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:10:13
Speaker 1: Actually, I know this story's been kind of going around, but I was on the phone with Marcello when the trade happened. So when when it all got kind of got released, I was on the phone with him and one of us was like, well, it's one of us SO and then I told him. I was like, oh, I got it. I just I'm getting a call from Bras. Gotta go see us solo. So that was that was how it went down. But yeah, I was on the phone with Marcello.

00:10:38
Speaker 2: What did he say?

00:10:39
Speaker 3: What did Craig Breslow say when you called him? Were you like, yeah, I know what this is about.

00:10:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, he just said you've just been traded to the White Sox And I was like, yeah, I.

00:10:50
Speaker 6: Presumed you were just like, thanks, Craig, I really appreciate it. A journey going across the ticker now. Well, Marcea, we were like, hold on, I got I got Meyer. I got Meyer on the other line. Hold on, Craig.

00:11:03
Speaker 5: I'll let him know he's not being traded. Okay, thank you, hold on? Can I merge? And You're like, should I merge? The calls together? How do I do this? You can tell him he's not getting traded.

00:11:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, Marcella is just like yeah, see you buddy.

00:11:20
Speaker 5: He's like nice, told you appreciate it, all right, So no, let's get to.

00:11:22
Speaker 3: The wait, wait, I have one more, one more, and then we'll get to White Sox again. Sorry, we haven't talked about this on the show, but it was widely reported and I've been watching a lot of Red Sox games lately, go figure, they've been in the news a lot. So can you give us any more insight on the car key situation with Marcello and Roman driving him around.

00:11:42
Speaker 4: Because he lost his keys for a while. Did you hear about this?

00:11:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I didn't know much to it.

00:11:49
Speaker 1: I just heard he lost his car keys, and so yeah, Roman is rimming around. But I mean, yeah, those two, like it's pretty normal just to like jump in each other's cars where you know, you don't really I guess you don't really need your key until you get called up obviously, But yeah.

00:12:05
Speaker 6: What that's why hold on, hold up, Maybe it's pretty normal just to jump in someone else's car.

00:12:11
Speaker 4: Because they live as right, didn't they live?

00:12:12
Speaker 1: We all all lived together across the street. We didn't really need our cars, so we'd all just walked to the field. Everything was like walking distance where I mean my car last year and that lot sat there for probably three weeks without it being touched, where it was just like you kind of just your car keys almost just kind of get forgot about.

00:12:31
Speaker 4: Wow, And Roman had the sickest ride.

00:12:32
Speaker 6: I think Roman had the Mercedes whatever that was, especially when he got called up and he's like, pulls up to the park and big.

00:12:39
Speaker 7: What it is?

00:12:39
Speaker 4: What was it? What? What car was it?

00:12:41
Speaker 2: Got?

00:12:41
Speaker 1: He's got a BMW, Like I forget, I don't. I'm I don't know the model, but it's a nice one. So it's easy to just yeah, Roman, you can take me around.

00:12:50
Speaker 5: Sure, I'll ride Nick, I'll ride Shotgun in the nice car.

00:12:55
Speaker 3: Because you know, Boston media was like this guy can't even find his keys weeks. He's like, we don't need our cars there. So I like that whole situation, you know, I like it.

00:13:05
Speaker 6: I like, all right, let's get to the White Sox. Let's get to my favorite team. What's your favorite position that they have you? I know you've been playing a lot of short so if you played some second, you play some third. I mean, I'm sure they'd stick you in the outfield if you wanted to, if they needed you to, right, what's your favorite position to play on the White Sox?

00:13:23
Speaker 2: I like, I don't, I don't know.

00:13:24
Speaker 1: I think I'll always say second, just because I grew up loving Padroya, so I think second turning double plays is like my favorite thing to do from second base. But you know, I short stops also. I take a lot of pride in defense and you know, helping out the pitcher and trying to make.

00:13:38
Speaker 2: As many cool plays as possible.

00:13:41
Speaker 1: I grew up, you know, watching Jose Glacias too, and so I that.

00:13:44
Speaker 2: Guy was an unbelievable defender.

00:13:45
Speaker 1: And yeah, I love playing defense shortstop second I love him both.

00:13:49
Speaker 6: It's funny, right, he's naming like Pedroia. I played with Padroita when I was with the Red Sox, but then Oak Glaciers is still playing. So next time you have to sing on the bus, you should sing OMG and see how it goes over.

00:13:59
Speaker 5: That's what I think.

00:14:00
Speaker 6: When you get the mic to say, hey, I mean, gee, who's the veteran that would even call you up?

00:14:04
Speaker 5: I guess Talkman.

00:14:05
Speaker 6: Maybe or Ben attending AND's like, yeah, when they call you up, just be like and just pull out a black and white OMG sign and start singing the song and then people be like, what is happening? Just a thought for you to make your life easier.

00:14:19
Speaker 4: Have you met have you met him?

00:14:24
Speaker 1: You know, at the beginning of last year he was in Syracuse and I met him briefly.

00:14:28
Speaker 2: I was I was on second base. That was cool.

00:14:32
Speaker 3: Sometimes they say, don't meet your heroes. Jose Glacy's a cool guy. Yes, he's fun, Like he's very everyday guy, at least when I've been around him, around him and he's just like, oh, it's so great to see you and meet you. And you're like, Okay, this guy's fake, but it's not. He's a nice He's a really nice guy.

00:14:50
Speaker 5: Yeah, Chase, what what's going on with the White Sox?

00:14:52
Speaker 7: Other than that?

00:14:53
Speaker 5: I mean, I was disappointed.

00:14:55
Speaker 7: Man.

00:14:55
Speaker 6: I thought our guy last night was gonna deal because he's been pitching really good smith right with his change up and all that. Cardinals got to him for the first time. What are you seeing from him? And what has he done so well? Because let's not forget he was a rule five guy the Brewers just let walk.

00:15:12
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's I mean electric stuff. You know, the fastball gets up.

00:15:15
Speaker 1: To ninety eight and so you got to be ready for that. And he's also got a really good change up, slider, everything, everything, it's it's in the zone.

00:15:22
Speaker 2: He throws every pitch in the zone.

00:15:23
Speaker 1: So it's been fun to play behind him, it's it's been pretty easy. He's made life pretty easy for all all the defense so far. When he goes out there and plays and pitches, it's he's been He's been, Yeah, amazing.

00:15:34
Speaker 4: This year, Chase. I've got one for you.

00:15:37
Speaker 3: What's height and weight, whether it's whatever your current are listed, what are you at, dish?

00:15:44
Speaker 1: I've been put anywhere between you know, five and nine and five ten and a half and right now I'm probably a one eighty five.

00:15:51
Speaker 4: Okay.

00:15:51
Speaker 3: So for many ballplayers out there that will look at a guy like Iron Judge or John Carlo Stanton, right, what is your message to them where you're like, hey, you don't have to be a mythical looking figure to be in Major League Baseball?

00:16:05
Speaker 4: So what's your message to them?

00:16:06
Speaker 3: And for people like that, how can they find ways to generate power which is such a big part of our game as well?

00:16:16
Speaker 2: You know, I think there's a lot of different ways to win baseball games.

00:16:18
Speaker 1: And it's not just hitting the long ball and doing that obviously that those those are pluses, but if you can really you know, dive into a skill set of of just like learning yourself and what you do really well, and that that can go a long way and helping your team win. Getting on base for the next guy, you know, getting on base for the guys like Judge and Otani so they can hit you in.

00:16:40
Speaker 4: I like that.

00:16:41
Speaker 6: Well on your team, is Vargas get on base for Vargas the way he's been swinging?

00:16:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, Benetteendee.

00:16:49
Speaker 6: Ever since Vargas changed his like he went from flat to upright, he's been unbelievable.

00:16:53
Speaker 5: I mean, why did he do that years ago? It takes time, I guess, So I don't know.

00:16:59
Speaker 6: Did you go up to him? You like, dang, dude, you should have done that last year. You have been an All Star two years ago.

00:17:06
Speaker 5: Yeah. Where where are you living in Chicago?

00:17:10
Speaker 4: Not just the area, not that, not that you want your draft phone number?

00:17:14
Speaker 5: And yeah?

00:17:17
Speaker 2: Uh River North?

00:17:19
Speaker 4: Oh okay, all right, is that an easy hike?

00:17:23
Speaker 3: Yeah?

00:17:24
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's bad. That's good area?

00:17:26
Speaker 4: Yeah, River North?

00:17:26
Speaker 5: Yeah? Yeah. And you grew up. You went to USD right USD. Yeah?

00:17:31
Speaker 6: Alright, So I go to San Diego this weekend. Where should I go Friday night for dinner?

00:17:38
Speaker 2: Ah? I mean, I wasn't going out to nice dinners in San Diego. But so I don't know that.

00:17:47
Speaker 1: I hit up the local spots, like right on Linda Vista Road. My breakfast place is always Mattador. They got the best breakfast Britos. Let's see, Rose Donuts always got good donuts coffee.

00:18:01
Speaker 5: Uh yeah.

00:18:02
Speaker 2: We always ate a lot of dinner at the field, So I didn't.

00:18:04
Speaker 1: I didn't really, you know, venture out into the dinner spots a lot of maybe fast food. That was kind of my go to. But yeah, I don't know if I was best recommended for dinner.

00:18:13
Speaker 6: All right, this is before nil, clearly, clearly before, because now you've been making a couple hundred grand, you'd be going out to eat nice every night.

00:18:20
Speaker 5: So I get it now.

00:18:21
Speaker 2: I was my parents.

00:18:24
Speaker 5: Oh I like that, understood. You never get off that.

00:18:26
Speaker 6: Just to understand, you never always You're always under your parents' thumb, no matter how old you are, how much money you make, they're always there for you.

00:18:32
Speaker 5: So remember that.

00:18:33
Speaker 2: All right?

00:18:33
Speaker 5: Is USD a Catholic school? Is that a Catholic there?

00:18:36
Speaker 2: No?

00:18:38
Speaker 5: Yeah? Yeah yeah, So are you Catholic?

00:18:42
Speaker 2: I'm Christian?

00:18:43
Speaker 6: Okay, So the pope is a white Sox fan. I mean, big deal to you, is a big deal to me. I was raised Catholic. I did the Sign of the cast forever we have.

00:18:53
Speaker 1: We got a bunch of Pope shirts in our locker room, in our in every locker we had a Pope, you know, the Pope in a in our locker, a bunch of.

00:19:01
Speaker 2: Shirts, a bunch of gear. So we're all fired up about that.

00:19:05
Speaker 6: Okay, how do we get to meet the Pope? Since you're you're in Chicago, I'm not in Chicago. How do we get to go meet the Pope? You and I we needed who do we call to go to the Vatican and sit down with the Pope and give him to get get him to bless the White Sox for the years coming up.

00:19:22
Speaker 2: I'm trying to learn that too.

00:19:23
Speaker 1: I haven't met him yet myself, but you know, do you figure it out before I do? Let me know, I'd love to meet himself, all.

00:19:31
Speaker 3: Right, Okay, Yeah, I feel like A. J's got some dirt, new spikes. You're probably better out being like AJ. Figure that out.

00:19:38
Speaker 6: Yeah, he's he's on the ground, his boots on the ground in the White So I know that's what I'm gonna have to I'm gonna have to leverage that thing at some point. I'm gonna have to make some calls and say, I mean I saw a bench Ben Shapiro went there and gave him a sign two thousand and five ball. I'm like, I can up that Annie right right, like I can up that mister Pope got him the ring. I mean, I don't know Jerry would do that, but I'll call him and be like, Cherry, if I offer the Pope a World Series and will you let me take.

00:20:06
Speaker 5: It to him, I'll pay for it. Not the ring but the flight. I don't know.

00:20:12
Speaker 3: I feel like that's where the shot if someone deserves it. Yeah, if you're going to give out, you know, like they do for graduations when someone speaks and they give out like an honorary degree, honorary ring.

00:20:24
Speaker 6: I think, like, all right, so two weeks, three weeks, like three weeks, we have our twenty year reunion, Chase, I say, what we need to do? You probably have more followers on social media and I do we need to invite him to come to the twenty year reunion because he was at the World Series in two thousand and five, so I feel like that would be.

00:20:37
Speaker 5: A good way to get him out of the Vatican back to Chicago. We could all meet him.

00:20:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, get him on the south side.

00:20:42
Speaker 5: I'm in all right, perfect, perfect, that's all I want to know.

00:20:46
Speaker 3: There we go, all right, Chase, Well you'll see AJ in a few weeks. Great to have you on here. Appreciate the time, man, and good luck the rest of the way.

00:20:52
Speaker 5: Don't big league me. Okay, don't big leg you just come up and say he.

00:20:55
Speaker 2: Never never

00:20:58
Speaker 3: Now, how old guys, Thanks Chase, Thanks Chase, great avenue Man. M.