Cedric Mullins joins FT + Ryan O'Hearn joins Bucco Territory

00:00:07
Speaker 1: Hey, this guy knows the AL East very well. Cedric Mullens joining us right now and newly signed with the Rays this offseason. Cedric, great to have you on the show here. We appreciate the time. How's the off season, especially the process of signing. Actually a while ago you didn't have to wait to find out where your spring training home was going to be, right.

00:00:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, we knocked that out pretty soon.

00:00:27
Speaker 3: So of course the family was excited, and I'm excited for the opportunity all on Temple. Like you said, staying in the AL East. Always fun playing out there. It's gonna be a less.

00:00:37
Speaker 1: What was it like, so take me through it? I mean, how did you have a lot of conversations with other teams? Were there multiple offers thrown your way? How did you end up with the Rays? What did they say that kind of got the job done for you?

00:00:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was really about opportunity and planning time.

00:00:53
Speaker 3: You know, had conversations with a couple of the teams just might not have been the right fit for what I was looking for at the time. Uh, Tampa definitely presented that semi and just really being able to be myself, playing my game, you know, go back to certain things I've always done really well and take advantage.

00:01:09
Speaker 4: I need you to put yourself in your shoes. But a year ago, had the Rais made the same exact offer and you had to play outside in Florida for the entire season, would you still you have been like, I'm not trying to sweat that much.

00:01:25
Speaker 5: Would it have changed your decision? Yeah, it possibly could have. I saw what that schedule looked like for him. It was it was tough. Hey they went through it for Shore last.

00:01:35
Speaker 4: Year, and is that and is that something that when you go into it, you're like, do you need to talk to the Rais like, hey, we got the roof up right, Like is that something? Or do they come to you and like, hey we're gonna offer you this and the umbrella is up.

00:01:49
Speaker 6: You don't have to worry about it.

00:01:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, that actually kind of front of the conversation. It was.

00:01:55
Speaker 3: It was kind of funny. I did ask them. I was like, what's uh, what's going on with the with the homefield stadium? They said, oh, we'll be back together, ready to go. So that was a quick little chuckle between us. But you know, again, like I said, a you know, a really good organization that has brought, you know, the best of a lot of guys coming through, and I've been able to see that over the years, so, you know, just trying to replicate what I've been able to do in some really successful years coming up.

00:02:20
Speaker 7: Cedric, You've been in the Al East for most of your career. You went from the obviously to the Mets for a little short period here. What was it like though, when you with the Orioles your whole career and then they called you in and said said, we're sorry, we love you, we're not having the year we expected, and you're going to the New York Mets.

00:02:36
Speaker 6: How does it hit you?

00:02:37
Speaker 7: Because I always say the first time you get traded, the first time you switch teams is by far the hardest.

00:02:45
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was definitely different.

00:02:47
Speaker 3: I've been with the Orioles since being drafted back in twenty fifteen, so that's ten years with the same organization.

00:02:54
Speaker 2: And yeah, it it hit pretty hard, you know, being.

00:02:56
Speaker 3: Just having to uplift your entire life, especially out of New York where things can get hectic just on a day to day basis. So it was definitely a lot of changes and adjustments that had to be made. Along with, you know, trying to perform at your best.

00:03:11
Speaker 4: Did you feel like you had to be somebody else? Anybody could be like, well, you're a big league vet, like you just had to be who you are. But as many times as I moved, AJ moved quite a few, but not as many as me. But you guys were impact players. Did you feel like you had to be somebody or not? Because at the time you moved, like stuff starts barking a little bit, like it's not like you start the beginning of the off season You're like, huh, I'm fresh to go put my best foot forward. Did you have to feel like or do you feel like you had to be somebody that you weren't in that moment when you went to the Mets.

00:03:44
Speaker 3: In some instances, yeah, you know, there were a bunch of talented guys where I didn't feel like I had to, you know.

00:03:51
Speaker 2: Try to come in and be something that I completely wasn't.

00:03:55
Speaker 3: You know, I was really just trying to, you know, compliment with the team already had, and that might have put little pressure on me just to try to do a little too much for what was already a good team that you know, just kind of fell off at the.

00:04:06
Speaker 1: End, Cedric, I know at some point there was some hamstring barking. I think, right, was that a factor, do you think in your mind? And no, players didn't like to use that and also tell me if I'm off, But I'm trying to think back last year already feels like five years ago. But was that a factor at all for you? At some point during the season.

00:04:29
Speaker 2: It was kind of early.

00:04:30
Speaker 3: I forget what months specifically, but I was still with the Rods at the time and it was a ten day stint.

00:04:35
Speaker 2: You know, something just kind of tweaked in.

00:04:36
Speaker 3: There might have been more of a crampy type feeling, but outside of that, you know, the legs felt pretty good. It was just a matter of fine opportunities to run. And that's you know, that's why I'm looking forward to just being being more aggressive, continuing to be more aggressive on the base pass, continuing to try to do damage out there.

00:04:51
Speaker 4: Talk about the end of that season, talk about how it was going for you guys in the clubhouse. You come in from the outside and you're like, okay, Like I get to watch Juan Soto, Brandon Neimo, I get to watch Pete Alonzo every single day. Did you know that the pitching was where it was when you got there or was it something where you were there for a week and you're like, we got to score like seven runs to win this game. Not dissimilar to where you were in Baltimore.

00:05:23
Speaker 3: Yeah, I didn't really know kind of where pitching was at at that point. Like you said, after a week, two weeks, it feels pretty evident pitching was struggling. You know, we had to try to come back late in a lot of games, and you know, when it comes in waves like that, it's tough. It's tough to battle back, you know, it's and every once in a while it would have those moments where you know, our arms were dominating and the offense was struggling to get it going. And when you just have that roller coaster back and forth, it's tough to get momentum going for especially a playoff.

00:05:53
Speaker 7: Run Cedric Quick went wrong in Baltimore. You guys made the playoffs twenty three, twenty four, where everyone's like the Orioles, the Orioles, the Orioles. What happened last year? I mean, Brandon Hyde gets fired, right, They just it was like every it was like a perfect storm of everything went wrong.

00:06:12
Speaker 6: Did you have a feeling.

00:06:13
Speaker 7: Of anything that changed in the clubhouse or among the team because it just didn't work.

00:06:21
Speaker 3: Yeah, And amongst the group there, I don't think there were too many guys that were coming off as negative coming to the field every single day.

00:06:29
Speaker 2: We had a positive attitude.

00:06:30
Speaker 3: We were, you know, really just trying to find a way to piece together us some wins, to create momentum. And during spring training we came across a lot of injuries that for especially on the pitching side, for guys that we were expecting to have really strong years and they got cut before they even began just because of injuries. And that kind of put a lot of pressure on everyone else to try to pick up some slack, whether it be offense, whether it be pitching, whether it be guys that got picked up just from the expectations of us going out there and dominating.

00:07:00
Speaker 2: But it hit us. It hit is hard, all right.

00:07:03
Speaker 4: You were there through the lean years to the years when they started calling up all these prospects. We just talked to Baseball JJ Cooper of Baseball America. You saw it, you saw it firsthand, and now all of a sudden, you see I'll take you to Adlie Rushman comes up, Gunnar Henderson comes up, and you're starting to see these guys. Did you ever sit there and say, man, I would love it if they would like trade some of these dudes I don't know, to add to the pieces that would then push us over the edge, push us to the point where we're now, year in and year out, a World Series contending team with these young superstar prospects.

00:07:44
Speaker 3: Yeah, you look at a situation like that and you think we're coming up on our window. You know, we don't know how long that's actually going to be, but it's here, it's here, it's here, it's right now. And you know, for example, like when we had Corbyn Burns dominated that year, couldn't get him back. The question was how do you replace that? You know, that's that was up to the front office try to figure that out. And you know, certain decisions might be questioned in hindsight, but you know they made their decisions at the time, and you know you sit there and you say, regardless of what they have going on, I need to continue to perform at you know what I believe to be my peak to give us the best chance in every single day regardless.

00:08:21
Speaker 4: All Right, you had a thirty thirty season. Louise Robert just got traded to the Mets. Everybody talks about, you know, back in twenty twenty one, Cedric Mowns did this, back in twenty twenty three, Louis Robert did this. How hard is it to try to recapture that season because Louise Robert's going to try to do that as he's about to go to free agency, And how hard is it to say, Okay, I may never do that again.

00:08:47
Speaker 6: If all I'm.

00:08:48
Speaker 4: Trying to do is chase that season and not be the best I can be today.

00:08:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely felt that after that season. I was chasing that.

00:09:00
Speaker 3: I was chasing that and for me to know myself as not being the most powerful guy.

00:09:06
Speaker 2: Out there on the field.

00:09:07
Speaker 3: I do know I have some pop, but I remember that season and I had home runs and bunches like it was almost abnormal feeling that year, and you know, but the swing was just clicking and good things were happening when I was, you know, just being myself, stand short to the ball, using all fields and then the power will coming to play when there was a mistake made, so just getting back to that athleticism that I had in that swing is really what I'm aimed for for, you know, this season and beyond it was it just felt like things kind of got out of hand in terms of how I was looking at metrics and how I wanted the swing to look and things of that nature, and it took away from what made that season great.

00:09:47
Speaker 7: Said, You're now on the rais and they have a thing there that they do with the Rais Way. Now you got to play against the Raiser your entire career. Are you excited to see what they figured out that no other organization has figured out, because you know, it seems like everyone that goes there just miraculously becomes like a ten war player. So I can't wait for you to come back on at the end of the year, after you have an unbelievable year and say, well, the Raise Way was blake.

00:10:12
Speaker 3: I said he when I come back, I probably won't give out their secrets. I need to hang onto those. But uh, it's it's I'm excited. Yeah, just like you said, every time we face them, their pitching gave me trouble, and I'm gonna sit there and ask to their face, what did you do to me, like they had an approach that was very successful, and you know, of course I'd have my successes here and there, but they were pretty consistent and they were mixing and uh mashing me up in different ways. So it wasn't like I was facing the same guy every time from top to bottom. They had a good they had good arms, So it was just a matter of me trying to make my adjustments. But yeah, I'm sorry for what's going on the show with them.

00:10:49
Speaker 7: Again, you played against the Rays of your entire career, being in the Alds for almost all your career. Every year people overlook the Rays. You're now on the Rays. The Blue Jays almost won the world to the Yankees are the Yankees. The Red Sox are the Red Sox, and you came from the Orioles. You know what they have there and what they have coming. How did the Rays finish this year? I mean, what, what's your outlook? Because again, you know this division so well, and every year we're like, oh, the Jay's the Rays, or the Jay's the Red Sox, the Yankees, the Raish, they're the Rays, right, they always figure it out. So how confident are you that this year again the Rays can figure it out. How nice is it gonna be when you go back to Baltimore and you get a standing ovation then you get a hit to win the game.

00:11:32
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's gonna be a fun moment. Yeah, to that point, just facing Tampa a year after year after year, they find a way to compete, and I think that's really where the grit and where they you know, go on the standings each year.

00:11:49
Speaker 2: That's where it comes from.

00:11:50
Speaker 3: I mean, they picked guys that no one across the league would know, but they go out there and compete the tail off every single day and put results together. I think that's really what it's all about. You know, you can have your big name guys, but from a team aspect, they find a way to really click and Jail and Mesh work really well together out there every single day.

00:12:09
Speaker 2: Cedric, this was awesome.

00:12:10
Speaker 1: Thank you for stopping by during the offseason here. We should be able to catch you during spring training too, as we're putting our schedule together. So congrats on the deal and we'll see you then.

00:12:20
Speaker 2: Appreciate it, Fails, looking forward to seeing y'all.

00:12:32
Speaker 8: What's up everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Buco Territory. Presented by the Foul Territory Network. I am your host Noah Hiles and joining me as always are my wonderful co host Josh Harrison aka j Hay and platinum Key aka Mark. And as you can see, we have another guest on the show. This one comes in the form of a big free agent signing the Pirates made this offseason. New left handed power bat, Ryan O'Hearn joins the show.

00:12:57
Speaker 7: Ryan.

00:12:57
Speaker 8: Welcome on to Bucko Territory.

00:12:59
Speaker 6: Man. What's up, fellows, Thanks for having me, Thanks for copping on.

00:13:04
Speaker 8: Welcome. So, Ryan, Pirates fans are obviously really excited to see you take the field on the North Shore this spring.

00:13:12
Speaker 6: I'm sure.

00:13:13
Speaker 8: I mean, I've seen you do a couple of interviews already. Hopefully we can give a couple of different questions that you haven't been asked and dig into everything that is Ryan o'hean what makes you? And we're gonna get started right now with one of the biggest diehard Pirate fans that I know, Mark aka platinum Key Brian. If you're on Twitter at all, Ryan, I recommend giving him a foul. He is like the king of Pirate social media. He just posts clip after clip after clip, just nothing but Pirates highlights. He's going to be the one to start this interview, So go ahead, Mark, kick it off.

00:13:47
Speaker 9: Yeah, Ryan, thank you so much for hopping on. I just want to say Pirates fans are extremely excited.

00:13:54
Speaker 8: Man.

00:13:55
Speaker 9: I absolutely love the confidence, the belief in this club and just the way that you express your goals for this team moving forward. It's refreshing to hear someone committed to winning and believing that this is a baseball club that can do that, that can be competitive. So my first question is what goals do you have for your time in Pittsburgh, for you, for the team, whatever.

00:14:21
Speaker 10: Yeah, I mean, you know, you can talk a big game, but we still got to go play the games. But I, you know, I believe that what's the point of joining something if you don't think that you can succeed there, you know. And I've spoke on it quite a bit about the roster and kind of looking at what the Pirates already had coming into the offseason and what they've added, and you know, I'm a believer in the team that we could go out and surprise people. And you know, I've said it a lot, but it really does start with pitching in my opinion, and you know, you got the best picture on earth to start, and then you know you got great young arms with great stuff behind him, and so I think that's a great place to start.

00:15:02
Speaker 6: And you know, trying to decide where I wanted to play next.

00:15:05
Speaker 10: Year or well this upcoming year, you know, that definitely was stood out to me.

00:15:11
Speaker 6: And as far as goals for the season, you know, I think I have no problem with stating.

00:15:17
Speaker 10: Like, hey, I want to make the playoffs, Like why why why play a season if you don't, if you're not trying to make the playoffs, or if that isn't a goal, you know, I think obviously you got to take it one day at a time. It's a long season, and you may have a bad you know, stretch at some point, but I think the best teams find their way out of that and find a way to get that that good mojo going and the good vibes. And you know, as much as you want to talk about goals right now here in January, we got to be that one day at a time mindset, doing whatever we can to find a way to win a.

00:15:52
Speaker 6: Ball game every day.

00:15:53
Speaker 10: And then, uh, you know, hopefully we'll look back and we'll be right on the custom of it at the end.

00:15:57
Speaker 6: Of the year. Exactly. Love it.

00:16:00
Speaker 9: Are you going to be at Pirates Fats coming up here next weekend? I know fans are excited to maybe get a chance to see you, hear from you, maybe meet you briefly.

00:16:08
Speaker 6: Yeah, I'll be there. I'll leave in Friday morning.

00:16:11
Speaker 9: Excellent, Absolutely, love it. So I was going through your game logs. I noticed you had a home run against the Pirates in twenty eighteen. That was off of Stephen Brault, but led me to my next question. I noticed that you hit an m or you hit a home run in your MLB debut, right, yeah, James Shields, Yeah, j oh wow, all right, yeah, can you just walk in, James, What was it like being called up to the show? What was that day like for you?

00:16:39
Speaker 8: Oh?

00:16:40
Speaker 10: Man, it was awesome. You know, obviously dream come true, you work. I was an eighth round pick, never made it on a super high on any prospect list, I mean, and then you know, I spent four years in the minor leagues, got a chance to get called up in July of twenty eighteen.

00:17:00
Speaker 6: My parents made it.

00:17:02
Speaker 10: Brother's sister had a family there hit that homer off of James Shields and you know something I'll remember forever.

00:17:08
Speaker 9: That's awesome. Then my final question, so I have to change hats. Oh that's awesome. Change hats here real quick to ask you a question now we go. I'm a fellow diehardy Packers fan. We were talking before. I hear you're also an owner, owned a couple of shows, family with season tickets. When was the last time you were at Lamba?

00:17:31
Speaker 10: So week eighteen of last season, I went to Lambo with my dad and brother in law and a couple uncles and we watch the Packers play the Bears in about minus seven with the wind chill, and it was they lost, which you know, you never phone lose into the Bears. But anytime you get a chance to go to Lambo and watching package play is pretty cool. So yeah, definitely a Packer fan. I know we're struggling a little bit right now, but hey, yeah, we'll get him next year.

00:18:02
Speaker 9: Awesome, appreciate it. Thank you again for having jumping on here.

00:18:06
Speaker 6: Yeah, of course.

00:18:08
Speaker 8: All right, So Ryan, I'll take over now a lot of people obviously are familiar with what you achieved in Baltimore and in the back end of last year with San Diego. But I want to ask about your time in Kansas City because it wasn't the easiest start to your major league career, right, it was some negative war seasons, you got optioned. I'm sure you know during that time, there were a lot of difficult lonely drives back to Omaha. Right, Can you just take us back to that time and maybe tell us the moment that those hard times Oh sorry about that. Yeah, Can you just take us back to that time and just kind of tell us how those hard times really shaped you into the ballplayer that you are now.

00:18:57
Speaker 10: Yeah, you said there was a lot of hard times in and some down years in Kansas City. Uh, you know where I was just trying to fight to stay on a major league roster, and you know I credit a lot of those the difficult years is you know, I really appreciate getting to play now because it's been taken away from me before. And you know, when someone tells you, hey, like you're not on the team anymore, you go on Triple A whatever, and after that happens a few times, like you know, it's you realize how hard it is to stick in the major leagues, and I learned a lot of lessons on the bench in Kansas City.

00:19:31
Speaker 6: I got to watch a lot of baseball, that's.

00:19:33
Speaker 10: For sure, and learn from coaches and and kind of figured out how to stay sharp as best as I could, and that like pinch hitter role. And then you know, maybe you get one a b a night, one start a week. Uh, you know, whatever it may be, you learn to embrace your role. You try to be the best teammates that you possibly can and just make the most of it. And yeah, so I think those times in Kansas City definitely shaped me in ways and kind of prepped me for my next opportunity to get regular playing time.

00:20:06
Speaker 6: And when I got to Baltimore, I was like ready to go.

00:20:10
Speaker 10: So I think when I was on the bench a lot, like I took advantage of that time and I tried to get better as best as I could without playing in that many games. And you know, I think a year after years of that and learning from hitting coaches in the off season, and then by the time I got to I got to Baltimore in twenty three and I got a chance to play quite a bit. I was just ready to rock, and it seemed like, so, you know, I definitely credit those down years in Kansas City because without those times, I don't I don't have the same resilience. Probably I don't have some.

00:20:43
Speaker 6: Of the skills that I have now.

00:20:44
Speaker 10: And definitely on the mental side of it, being able to stay, you know, locked into the game, not give up, you know, just overcome some tough times I think have really benefited me in the last few years.

00:21:00
Speaker 8: You talked about embracing your role. What type of role do you hope to have for this Pirates team.

00:21:07
Speaker 10: Oh, I want to hit in the middle lineup. I want to drive in runs. I want to play wherever they need me on any given night. I know how baseball is nowadays. There's a lot of different lineups and guys rotate and they keep that DH spot moving and so, you know, whatever they need me defensively, I'll be ready to go.

00:21:22
Speaker 6: And then as far as hitting, I want.

00:21:23
Speaker 10: To I want to play every day, you know, I want to face left these righties. I want to hit the middle lineup and drive in runs. I don't want to strike out. You don't want to hit some balls in the river. I want to do whatever we got to do to help the team.

00:21:34
Speaker 6: Win.

00:21:35
Speaker 8: Have there been any conversations about where they anticipate you playing the bulk of your innings this year?

00:21:42
Speaker 6: I'm not super specific.

00:21:44
Speaker 10: This just kind of told me like a similar role to I've had what I've had the last few years, which has been you know, first base, DH, you know, right field whenever they need me. But you know, I'm in I'm thirty two, but I'm in pretty good shape. I feel like I can go out and play wherever they need me.

00:22:00
Speaker 8: And then my last question for you is I was doing a little recon. I was talking to Andy from the Baltimore Banner who says hello, and he was telling me about, uh, your cool bat you had for the All Star Game and and what it kind of meant, how it was a little bit bigger than just you know, about yourself, and it's a cool baseball story. Just wanted to give you the opportunity to kind of tell that story a little bit and what what it signified.

00:22:26
Speaker 10: Yeah, So at the All Star Game, I used a bat signed by all the players on the newtown Edgemont Challenger team.

00:22:32
Speaker 6: Which is a group of.

00:22:35
Speaker 10: Guys that are you know, they have some disabilities, but they love the game of baseball, and I've made an appointment to go up and see him every offseason and you know, go to their practice. My agent coaches them, works with them. He's very close with a lot of the families. And I've come to love the boys over the years. They've made out, made it out to games in Philly to see me play. They came out to Baltimore last year. So when it came to the All Star Game, they all signed it back for me and you know, made this awesome video and you know it made it really special that I could wrap those boys and give them some love on on the biggest stage at the All Star Game. But a lot of love for those boys. Man, the Challenger Angels. They're great people. They really do bright in the day. Like anytime I get a chance to see him, my face hurts from smiling when I would go to leave, just because they like they bring great energy and you can tell how much they love baseball, and you know, just human angels is what I call them. So definitely they got a special place in my heart.

00:23:34
Speaker 2: All right here we go.

00:23:36
Speaker 11: First off, welcome again Ryan as Noah and you know my boy Platinum Key said welcome, appreciate you coming on the show, and I just got a couple of questions for you. I feel like I've learned a lot just listening to Noah. Noah and Mark asked you a couple of questions. But my first question is going to be kind of piggybacking off of what Noah asked you about your role on this team. Obviously, you said you want to hit in the middle of the lineup, you want to drive in, run his face, right face lefties. Listen to your story very very very similar to mine to where I was on that express back and forth between Triple A in the major leagues, you know, three years before I got a chance to play every day, just wanting that opportunity and listening you speak. You know, you speak with a lot of confidence because you've been through the ringer. So I wanted to ask about your role, not that it is part of your role, but do you foresee with this being a younger offensive team, that you can kind of take on a little bit of that leadership role to kind of help these guys make you know, some of those adjustments that you know, as you said, you learned a lot on the bench. You learn from hitting coaches. I saw myself, you know, learn a lot of those moments, and whether I wanted to or realize it or not, I think I was able to give a lot of information to guys that otherwise may have not been through what I had been through.

00:24:49
Speaker 6: Yeah, no doubt.

00:24:49
Speaker 10: I mean, I'm not going to roll up in there like giving speeches like hey, I'm a guy listening to me talk, But you know, I'm I'm want to help out and you know, build relationships with all the guys as much as possible. If I feel like something needs to be said, I have no problem saying it. Like you said, we've uh, you know, seen a lot of baseball and you've kind of seen how you know, good leaders work and how maybe not so good leaders work. And you know, if I feel like I'm there's something that needs to be said, like I said, I'll say it. I don't really consider myself like the most vocal leader, but you know, there's a time and a place and anything that I can pass along to these guys and then I'm all for it and like and I want to learn from them as well.

00:25:36
Speaker 6: You know, it's you never stop learning in this game.

00:25:38
Speaker 10: It's not like I've got to a point where it's like, all right, I figured everything out, because that's completely false, you know, but I think good players, especially at good offenses and meetings and things like that, everybody talks, you know, because maybe some guy in the room has had success off a pitcher that I just can't figure him out, and you know, like to be able to bounce that off each other and you know, figure out a way that you can go get this guy as a team is everything seems like the best offenses I've been on are you know, they talk.

00:26:06
Speaker 6: To each other.

00:26:07
Speaker 10: So yeah, if I can assume some type of leadership role like that's awesome. If not, like you know, I'm just gonna roll up in there and be myself and really looking forward to get to know the guys and see what they're all about.

00:26:21
Speaker 6: Yeah.

00:26:21
Speaker 11: Know, for sure, I totally understand everything you're saying. And sometimes, as you say, you're not the most vocal guy and you don't have to be everything that you said. I'm sure it's gonna show on the field because you said, wherever they want you to play, wherever they want to line you up, you ready to go, And trust me from somebody that played in Pittsburgh, that's that's something that's already gonna have the fans, you know, rooting for you, and I've played against you and I know what you bring. So that's something that I'm excited to see and to hear you speak about. But we also know baseball is a game of adjustments, man, And just like you are mentioning you've played for a few different organizations, I have as well. You know, being traded, going through free agency, there's a lot of things that go on behind the scenes that you know, to the naked eye or to the everyday fan might not notice, but to us it means everything because we're big on routines. And what do you think has been your biggest adjustment changing from organization to organization?

00:27:19
Speaker 2: Is it the coaching?

00:27:19
Speaker 6: Is it?

00:27:20
Speaker 11: You know, getting with a hitting coach, knowing how to you know, say oh oh, I need to do first base or outfield like that was one of my biggest adjustments was knowing that I am specific to I like to go in a cage at a certain time before the game, and I'm getting there. So when I got traded and I signed, you know, I kind of had to find my footing with guys that.

00:27:39
Speaker 2: Were already there.

00:27:41
Speaker 11: What would you say has been some of your most challenging, you know obstacles when you say going from you know, Kansas City to Baltimore to San Diego and obviously now here Pittsburgh but a little different territory. But you know, they all are saying, you know you're changing different places.

00:27:57
Speaker 6: Yeah, for sure.

00:27:57
Speaker 10: I mean, you know, I'm moving from organs organizations tough because you know it's like you go from one place where you know everybody's name and the whole building to somewhere different and you're the new.

00:28:07
Speaker 6: Guy and you got to adjust.

00:28:08
Speaker 10: But uh, I mean, in my experience, for the most part, like all baseball players seem to be the same, you know, like you got your gamblers, you got you know, you got your whatever it may be. Like guys, they tend to fall in the same categories. You find your boys, the ones you hang out with on the road, like all of that. So and then at the same time, you know, you got your coaches, like who's my guy? Who am I gonna work with in the cage every day? Which strand coach will I kind of like line up with my day and all that, you know, So I have things that I do throughout the day that you can do anywhere. And I think you just at that, you know, you know what to do, you know how to get yourself ready to do your work, and you know, you make relationships along the way. And then I'll say one thing when I try. When I got traded to San Diego last year, it's like you only get two months with the group, and it's like, I don't know if I'm going to be here after this.

00:28:59
Speaker 6: Season or not, but uh, you know, you try.

00:29:02
Speaker 10: I try to learn somebody's name, like every week, somebody in the in the building, somebody knew every week, just because you know, just treat people with respect, man, treat people right, learn their names, learn about them. And I think ultimately that's going to translate the more comfortable you feel somewhere, the more people you get to know, the better you're gonna feel and then play out on the field. So I get two years, uh you know, as it stands right now, I get two years with the Pittsburgh Pirates. I can't wait to get up in there and learn everybody's name, learn about them. I'm excited I get a spring training to kind of break that in because we all know how important spring training is you know you that's where you really make your your bonds to start the season and you get to know these guys. And so I'm looking forward to that and I'm looking forward to Pirates Fast as well. There's gonna be a ton of guys out there, so it'll be cool to get to know them a little bit. Hopefully we can grab dinner or something. But yeah, for me, and like you know, man, it's all about relationships. The more comfortable you feel, the better you get to know everybody. That kind of stuff translates out on the field.

00:30:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely. Uh.

00:30:07
Speaker 11: And another thing that I'm gonna piggyback just to go with adjustments and a lot of people already know, but you recently have a big adjustment. You know, you just had a brand new baby girl, So adjustments are also gonna be made on the road. And uh, these are things that you know a lot of people you know, yes they know you had your kid, but it's also an adjustment for you, your wife, you know, baby girl. And just one of those things where what do you think the biggest adjustment is gonna be? Obviously we know sleep, but is it gonna be you know, is it gonna be sleep. Is it gonna be being away from them? Because I know for me, I can miss sleep. You know, I felt like I played better when my family was there, So that was one of the biggest adjustments. So what do you think is the biggest adjustment possibly this season? You know, adjusting to life with you know, a new kid or being away from that kid, missing those moments because.

00:30:55
Speaker 2: These are these are real life things that happen.

00:30:58
Speaker 10: Yeah, I mean you know that there's it's uh, that's something I haven't experienced yet. And you know, going on the road and being away from your family definitely just got harder for me because I got this baby at home. But you know, and that's gonna it's gonna be tough, there's no doubt about it. But you know, luckily, man, I have a great wife and uh, she's she can hold down the fort. I got in laws, I got my parents come to town and.

00:31:24
Speaker 6: Help out quite a bit. We got a great support system. So that's definitely gonna help.

00:31:28
Speaker 10: And my wife's like I said, my wife's great. She gets it, she knows the business. She's been with me for years. Man, We've gone through this, uh these seasons together where it's like I gotta go on the road, she stays home, that kind of thing.

00:31:39
Speaker 6: So it's gonna be hard. It's gonna be an adjustment for sure.

00:31:42
Speaker 10: But you know, I've seen guys go through it, and I know it wears on them, and uh so I'm gonna just deal with it the best that I can. You know, there's nothing else that we can do, and hopefully I'll be still playing by the time Harper is old enough to come.

00:31:56
Speaker 6: And and uh come on the road and all that.

00:31:58
Speaker 11: Oh yeah, speak that at two eggs distance for sure. But yeah, the support system is definitely big. And before we get out of here, I'm gonna ask you one more question, because, as I said, routine, all these things kind of tie into each other. I'm a very picky eater, so switching team to team, you know you're gonna have certain staples and cities of food that you should eat and should not eat different clubhouses. And my question was, honestly gonna be are you like a superstitious person as far as what you eat before the game, Because me being very picky, I would every team I went to, I needed a smoothie before the game with no banana, any fruit but no banana and I would do like a peanut butter and jelly or something like. I couldn't eat much before games where I got some teammates, it's like, nah, I need that grilled chicken with you know, rice and this or that. So do you have anything that you have to eat or you just kind of go with the flow.

00:32:47
Speaker 6: I'm going with the flow for the most part.

00:32:49
Speaker 10: Like I don't want to I want to eat something that's gonna feel like, you know, it's gonna stick to my ribs, like I'm gonna I don't want to feel like I'm hungry at all during the game, and like I like to snack a little bit during the game. But no, nothing like that. Where did this superstition come from? By the way, did you eat something else?

00:33:05
Speaker 2: No, it wasn't like no, it wasn't a superstition.

00:33:09
Speaker 11: I just could never eat before games just because I wasn't hungry and it would take me like an hour. I was a very hot energy guy, so you know, once the game was ready, you know, I'm like I'm ready to play, you know, and it's like now I don't want nothing. You know, if I wouldn't playing, I think I would eat more. But when I wouldn't playing, I was like, let me get a smoothie and then I would eat after the game. But you know, everybody's different and it wasn't necessarily a superstition. But I know some dudes that are like, oh, I went four for four because I had, you know, baking eggs and pancakes for breakfast.

00:33:38
Speaker 2: I'mna do the same thing to morrow. I'm like, na, you just hit good.

00:33:41
Speaker 6: Pictures, bro.

00:33:44
Speaker 10: Yeah, dude, I mean honestly, like for me, it's day games, like day games.

00:33:49
Speaker 6: If I show up and I'm like.

00:33:51
Speaker 10: Donut, sausage, egg and cheese, some like just not eating super healthy in the morning, like second inning, I'm like dying. I feel like if I show up, like you gotta make that decision right when you get to the yard, Like.

00:34:03
Speaker 6: I'm gonna do it, you know what I mean.

00:34:05
Speaker 10: Like I'm gonna have a couple eggs with no bacon. I'm gonna have like a green juice and like something healthy. Then it's like, damn, all right, I started my day with good decisions. I'm gonna go to the gym. I'm gonna go do my pool workout, like I'm gonna get it ready. To go and then you're thinking yourself in the sixth inning, you know what I mean, Like I feel good today, but there are those days where I show up in that sausage jake and cheese is looking like next thing. I know, I got an old fashioned doughnut in my mouth, and I'm like, damn it, this is gonna be a grind today. But every now I just try to eat stuff that makes me feel good.

00:34:36
Speaker 11: You know, everything's good in moderation. But yeah, that's all I pretty much got for you. Best of luck this year, man, And more than anything, you know, I just wish health to people that are playing. You know, a guy that played for thirteen years, you know, play with a lot of guys that didn't get to play as long, that didn't have as many injuries or more. I just like to wish people good health because I know if you're healthy, you're gonna do what you do.

00:34:59
Speaker 5: Man.

00:34:59
Speaker 11: And I'm exc I have to see you where the we're the black and yellow and put on for the four one two. That's the area code of Pittsburgh if you didn't know.

00:35:05
Speaker 10: All right, Josh, thank you so much, man. I always enjoy watching you play, competing against you so I.

00:35:11
Speaker 2: Appreciate having you on the show.

00:35:13
Speaker 6: For sure.

00:35:15
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think that stands for all of us that Ryan, thanks so much for coming on, and thank you for you know that that last answer that was that's valid even for us who cover baseball. You know, you go down press dining, you see the suits and everything. It's like, oh man, I'm gonna have to grind through writing this game story trainings.

00:35:32
Speaker 6: I don't know if I got it.

00:35:35
Speaker 9: Yeah, I'm gonna have bad.

00:35:36
Speaker 8: Questions in the postgame pressers now because I like crap during the game.

00:35:40
Speaker 7: So now, but in all seriousness, thank you for coming on.

00:35:44
Speaker 8: I want to remind everyone watching this to hit that subscribe button if you haven't already. We're trying to get the three thousand subscribers and we can't do it without your help, So hit that subscribe button if you haven't already.

00:35:55
Speaker 6: On behalf of Mark.

00:35:57
Speaker 8: Aka Platinum Key, j Hey aka Josh Harrison, Ryan o'hearne, I am Noah hailes. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Bucco Territory. We'll see you again soon.

00:36:09
Speaker 2: M