Orel Hershiser joins Splash Hit + Giants OF Drew Gilbert joins FT

00:00:07
Speaker 1: All right, so another episode of Splash Hit Territory. We have a very special guest joining us today, The Bulldog. Eighteen season of the Big Leagues. Three time All Start, nineteen eighty NLSI Young Award Winner, nineteen eighty eight World Series Champion. I'm gonna go on for a little bit here, NLCSMVP, World Series MVP, MLB records, fifty nine scoreless eddings. Current broadcaster for the Dodgers in his thirteenth season. But besides being teammates with me in two thousand, his biggest accomplishment was he was a San Francisco Giant in nineteen ninety eight.

00:00:40
Speaker 2: Oral Herscheizer joins the show or what's going on?

00:00:42
Speaker 1: Man?

00:00:42
Speaker 2: Thank you very much. It's great to be with the FP. This is fun from my hotel room here in San Francisco. As the Dodgers and the Giants go at it again tonight.

00:00:52
Speaker 1: We'll talk about the rivalry a little bit. We did a podcast previewing this rivalry. We've both been on both sides of it, but I liked it when it was a little bit chippy and there was stuff going on and these two teams hated each other.

00:01:06
Speaker 2: The Dodgers have been so dominant lately.

00:01:09
Speaker 1: But you know, there was something that happened last night that might have made it a little bit chippy. But talk about being on both sides of that and what the rivalry has been in the past and what it is right now.

00:01:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, it seems like it has been a little bit more physical in the past, but I think it's more not just Dodger Giants, but it's just the culture of baseball has changed. The fraternity used to be a fraternity where you could fight like brothers. I think the fraternity now is more like you just go over to your brother's room and you knock on the door and say, hey, can you turn your music down. I don't think it gets physical where you start wrestling in the hallway or you take it outside and you know, you start playing tackle football, or you're playing flag football, but you tackle your brother. So yeah, it was definitely a little different. I think. You know, the sad part about it for me was when it got into the stands and then I think it started to calm things down on the field. Fans being nicer to each other. We know what happened to the Giant fan in LA back in the day, and you know, there have been things on the field that have actually hurt people, so it might not be as intense, but the rivalry is still there, I think in people's hearts. Yeah, I think so too.

00:02:23
Speaker 1: And I've been in the stands at Oracle Park with Dodger fans that were nothing but polite.

00:02:28
Speaker 2: So hopefully that continues.

00:02:29
Speaker 1: Let the guys fight it on the field, don't ever fight it out in the stands.

00:02:32
Speaker 2: It's baseball.

00:02:34
Speaker 1: It doesn't mean that much, although it is the best rivalry in.

00:02:37
Speaker 2: All the baseball talk about.

00:02:38
Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about what you saw from Landing Roup last night before we get into Atani today. He's a guy world that I've watched kind of grow up, stand a little bit taller on the mound.

00:02:47
Speaker 2: He's got a little bit.

00:02:48
Speaker 1: Of you know, swagger and for lack of a better term, fu and them, but his mound presence and his stuff has really developed.

00:02:55
Speaker 2: What'd you see last night? Well, I saw a right handed Madison bung guard. I think he really stands out there, like, you know what, I am here to enforce that we are on defense, that I am the pitcher. Madison was a hitter, so he even had that those aspirations of beating you when he got into the batter's box, but on the mound. As far as the way he carries himself, I like the way he carries himself. I had to kind of act that way a little bit. I didn't have a beard or an ugly face where I could really scowl in it. Guys, but my nickname was the bulldog, and there was something about having a presence out there, even if you felt terrible. You want to look like your roll and you don't want to give the hitter any edge. And you know, as a hitter, the edge is to look out there and go, this guy doesn't believe in himself, so I'm going to get him now. And that kind of edge of confidence is really really important. I love the fact that he moves the ball around the strike zone, you know, with his tremendous movement on his change up in his sinker, the fact that he will throw it inside to lefties who saw that early on when he was having a lot of success against the Dodgers. Last night, bead melode both sides of the plate and speed him up. Also, using some altitude, would go up in the strike zone and he's gotten, you know, better depth on his curveball now and a little bit more change of speeds, so his weapons are really really good. You know, the inning that he had the trouble, of course, he set the table and pushed a run across with walks, But it really was a good, good outing for him. You know, he was solid. He was locked in for a couple of innings, then he wasn't, and then all of a sudden he locked back in and off came the bullpen, and it was enough runs to beat the Dodgers.

00:04:33
Speaker 1: Well, I've talked to some sports psychologists and they're trying to implement this in players where they have an alter ego, whether it's a different name, a superhero's name. But like, you just touch on something, and I think we should touch on you were the nicest teammates I ever had. You're were the nicest guys I've ever met, But on.

00:04:50
Speaker 2: That fifth day you changed. Like how did you go about that?

00:04:54
Speaker 1: And what happened when you crossed that line to take the mound on the fifth day?

00:04:58
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I appreciate the comment first of all, and then I needed to become that guy I idolized big league ballplayers. I am in awe of walking into a big league stadium. I can't believe the money that they paid us and still pay today. And so to be in awe of all of that, and to think at early on I had to get Gary Carter out and Johnny Bench and Mike Schmidt and all these guys that I watched on TV in the Game of the week and different things, and all of a sudden, I'm like pitching scared, I'm pitching like I gotta be perfect. And Tommy Lasorda recognized that, and he gave me the nickname Bulldog. And he pretty much, you know, psychologists, psychiatrist, whatever collegist he is. He was very good at pulling out the best in you, and he did it in some odd ways. And for me, it was a you know, nose to nose speech where he's yelling at me, telling me, I don't like your first name, Oral, and your name from now on is Bulldog, and you're going to act like a bulldog. If you don't act like a bulldog, you're going to be robbing money from churches compared to flying in lear jets. And I can remember the speech, and I can remember him right up in my face giving me this nickname and just telling me, if you read through the lines, he was saying, you're a big leaguer. You just got to believe it and you got to go out there and act it. And so when he would bellow, come on, bulldog from the dugout, I would hear that and know my manager believed in me. He wants me to be tough. He knows I can get these guys out, and he believes that I should throw strikes. I don't need to be perfect. And so people wouldn't realize how many balls that I threw right down the middle on purpose, with good movement and with the change of velocity a little bit on my fastball, that there was no sense to try and throw another pitch. Just try and get him to hit it on the ground. There's no need to throw that pitch on the corner, have a chance for the umpire to miss it, have a chance for the hitter to say no, I'm not going to swing at it, and then have to throw another one compared to throwing it right down the middle, and you're probably not going to hit your target perfectly. But if it has the correct movement and it's late and it's the right velocity or change in velocity. Then you got a chance to get him out on one pitch, and hence we had the attitude on the mound, the nickname on the mound, and the ability to throw strikes with movement, and things started to work out.

00:07:24
Speaker 1: Well, that's good stuff for any pitcher. Now, it's just they try to throw it as hard as they can buy everybody. The Art of Pitching by Earl Herscheiser, great stuff. You just touched on something that I didn't even think we're going to talk about today. You played for a young Italian manager that that was a good motivator, and that maybe like the moves and what he did during the game and the strategy wasn't the most important thing. And the Giants have a young Italian manager that's a good motivator. I mean, talk about that, you know, in the development process in your years with Tommy Lesorta, and how you saw him develop as a manager and how he motivated you guys.

00:07:59
Speaker 2: Besides that's what you just said, Yeah, I think he was already a great manager when I arrived. So I arrived in eighty three, Fernando had arrived in eighty one and went through Fernando Mania, and they won the World Championship, and he was Rookie of the Year and all those different things. And then Tommy had arrived back in the seventies with the Russell say Lopes Garvey group and Dusty Baker and Reggie Smith and all those guys. Bird Houghton was on that team back then. So I think for me, the relationship with Tommy, not looking at his manager skills, my relationship with him became personal. He became my baseball father, you know, going out to dinner, on road trips, hanging out, going to speaking engagements where he would say, just Bulldog, come along, and I would watch him speak, and then he would surprisingly invite me up to the podium and force me to speak for a minute or two. So it was part of my whole upbringing. It was totally like a dad that was teaching you how to cross the street and look both ways. It was unbelievable the way he took care of me. And I knew that I was part of it when he did get in my face and he did name me bulldog, and he did, you know, pay attention to me and invite me out and teach me the ropes and the big leagues and there were veterans on the team, like Rick Monday who were alongside all up there in the broadcast booths. Still he does the Dodger radio broadcast. Just the other day, I was reminded of Rick and other veterans that took care of me when I got to the big leagues because in my eighth start against the Reds, I would face the minimum through seven and Nicko Saski was coming up and I got to a three to zero count with him, and he swung and he got the first hit of the game. And after the inning, I sat down next to Rick, I remembered and said, I can't believe he was swinging three to oho and he said, oral, it's a one nothing game and he's a home run hitter. And I'm like, this is another way that these guys just taught you how to be a big leaguer and how the game was played at that level. So when you talk about Tommy Lasorda and the question was about his managing skills developing, uh, he was already a great manager when I got there, but it definitely was in a different form than we're going to see from the current San Francisco Giant manager. I think he's gonna be a little bit more soft shoot, where Tommy was more in your face.

00:10:13
Speaker 1: That's a different game now if you're harsh on these guys, now they go sit in the corner for a while and you and you lose them. So yeah, it's gonna be fun to watch the evolution. And Tommy's the best. I mean, it was so cool to be around him. Yeah, here's when I was in LA. Let's talk about Otani. Tonight's pitcher two and oh with the five he didn't hit last time. There's a lot of talk about the Otani rule, which whatever, But but what have you see with this guy? And how cool is it to watch him hit every day and pitch every fifth day?

00:10:43
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's uh, it's very interesting to watch him every day. He's the same every day. I mean, the batting stands, there's no big adjustments. This is who he is. This is when he hits barely he ever hits on the field. He gets all his work done in the cage. But when he's slumping a little bit, he will go out on the field and want to watch the ball fly out of the ballpark. I think to help his confidence a little bit and not just to get the measurements in the cage. To watch him work as a pitcher, it's meticulous. It's at the same time of day when he does his lung toss or when he does his catch player, when he does his side work. He's very regimented. It reminds me a little bit of Clayton Kershaw, but he's doing it on both sides of the ball, where it is just so meticulous about what he does off the field that the fans don't see. He's as meticulous off the field as he is on the field when he's preparing for a game, as far as his sleep and how he eats and how he goes about his day and how he wears his headphones and stays in the zone for what he's doing. You know, he's Michael Jordan, He's Magic Johnson, He's whoever you want to name, Tiger Woods. As far as the distractions and the people that want a piece of him, but he has hedges around him that allow him to still stay in the zone. And that tells me how important baseball is to him, how important winning is to him, how important giving his best is to him. Because you could easily say I make seventy million dollars a year. I make another fifty or whatever on top of that endorsements, and you know what, I've made it. And you can start to get a little lackadaisical, or you can say, you know what, it's okay today to do this. So I think I'll go to the mall. And you know, if he went to the mall, he'd have to take three police officers with him and be in two limos to hide, one going one way and the other going the other way, like the president. But it shows me how important baseball is to him. You know, he's a baseball junkie. He's like you, he's like me. You know, he's a gym rat and and us Jim rats. If we have our focus and our blinders on which he does on a daily basis, it's it's impressive. It's really impressive.

00:12:52
Speaker 1: What's it like traveling with the team now after a couple of World series and having Otani? Is it just like traveling with the Beatles? I mean, what does it look like when you get off the bus at a hotel?

00:13:01
Speaker 3: Is it nuts?

00:13:02
Speaker 1: Yeah?

00:13:02
Speaker 2: It is nuts because Otani is definitely the focused. But then you have Mookie Bets and Freddie Freeman and Will Smith and Tascar Hernandez and then all you know, Blake Snell and you know, we travel on multiple planes. We don't have just one plane. The players have a plane, then the staff and everybody else has a plane. We've got buses that leave the hotel every half hour from a certain hour to up to a certain hour. We have chefs that will travel with us. I mean it is like the Beatles. It's crazy. And the Dodger organization has really made it a destination for other players. They don't have to pay the top dollar, even though we're the highest paying club. There are players that just want to be Dodgers now because they feel like maybe the staff can fix them. Between the internet staff and between the pitching coaches and between the hitting coaches and the role they're going to play and the players are going to be around learn from, it becomes a destination for these guys. And then how they treat the families, how they treat the travel, how what hotels we stay in, what goes on around the club as far as food and all the different things. Dodger Stadium, locker room now back in our day, you know how small the locker room was well. The facility for the players now is from home plate all the way down to the left field foul pole and three stories deep, three stories deep. It is an athletic club. It is a hotel. It is multiple kitchens. It is sleep rooms, it is anything. It is swim x, it is swimming pool, it is quiet rooms. It is everything you would want. It's I don't think fp we would have ever gone home. We would have just said, up, I'm just staying in the clubhouse. When we go on the road, I'll get on the plane, you know, tell my family to come visit me.

00:14:56
Speaker 1: You know, the divorce rate for Dodger players is higher than any other.

00:15:01
Speaker 2: It's crazy. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if they wouldn't build a couple of apartments down in there for the young players to just say, oh, you guys can just stay here and learn baseball. So amazing.

00:15:13
Speaker 1: You missed the George Murph's George Foreman girl making a burger before you went out to what I mean giants.

00:15:19
Speaker 2: Didn't we have waffle Mania on Sundays and all kinds of stuff and murfh I mean Murph our clubhouse guy. The hall of Fame clubhouse guy Murph would not be able to walk from one end of the close the other without catching his breath.

00:15:34
Speaker 1: Murph's the greatest man. He's one of my dear friends. I'm sure yea too last.

00:15:38
Speaker 3: Thing, or I'll let you go.

00:15:39
Speaker 1: I know you got a big day plan before you get to the yard. I mean, how do these guys stay hungry? I mean, we're making Giants fans sick with all this Dodger talk right now, But I think I think you know the Giants one in ten, twelve, and fourteen, they stayed hungry through those years.

00:15:53
Speaker 2: You want it nineteen eighty eight?

00:15:55
Speaker 1: Like after back to back? How do you stay hungry as a player with all the money and all the stuff you're talking about, how do you stay focused to do it again?

00:16:04
Speaker 2: Well, I think the quality of the player that they bring in. You either want to be on the team, or you want to get more at bats or more innings, or you want to be a Hall of Famer. And I think they stay hungry that way. They compete with each other, and they're competing with the distance of a career where they want multiple rings, they want multiple MVPs, they want batting titles, they want eer titles, they want cy Young. So I think at that level they compete. And I think Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman, the president of Baseball Ops, and Gomezi and all the different people around them, they keep them humble, They treat them with respect, They treat them with in a way that they esteem them, and they get whatever they want. But the expectation is, as you're getting whatever you need and whatever you want, you're going to work your butt off. And so these guys do stay healthy. And the Dodgers done a great job of building that character or picking the right guys with the right character. And you said something about and fans being jealous that we're talking so much Dodgers. Well, the year that I was a Giant, and I will say this, the Giants were probably the best organization in baseball in nineteen ninety eight. When I joined them, I came from the Cleveland Indians for three years. The Giants actually courted me before I became an Indian, and I actually had dinner at Peter McGowan's house and really wanted to be a Giant. And there was something that slipped up between the general manager and the owner as far as the negotiations with me, or I would have been a giant for those three years that I was an Indian that actually offered more money. After I called mister McGowan and said thank you for the negotiation, they actually offered more money and he goes, what did we offer you oral? And I go dah da da da this, and he goes, well, I'll do this. Change it. Well, I'd already given my word to the Indians, and so I had to call the Indians and say, you know, is there a way that I can get out of giving you my word that I'll be in camp tomorrow And they said, nope, we'll see in camp tomorrow. And so I had to call mister McGowan back and say, you know, sir, have you had the best? It was a little late, and I have to go and be an Indian. So three years later, when the Indian thing was over, he called immediately again and I became a giant that year. But I will tell you the people with San Francisco giants and you know, this class off the charts. I'm still good friends with Ned Coletti. Still he was the one that talked to me and brought me back to the Giants. I love this area of the country and I only wish the best for the Giants. I think the rivalry is so very important, and I think both organizations are trying to be at the top. And I know it's been a dry spell for the Giants, but I root for them to be up there with the Dodgers again. And that would be a lot of fun to have that kind of competition.

00:18:45
Speaker 3: It'd be good for baseball.

00:18:46
Speaker 1: Well, i'm blaming Peter McGowan for you and I not doing broadcast together for the Giants, because that would have been like five years or four or five years with the Giants, and who knows, Yeah.

00:18:55
Speaker 2: I would I would have not been booed out of here. But I picked the San Francisco Giants, and I picked the New Mets, and I picked the Cleveland Indians, and I ran out of ability to not be a Chicago Cup. I picked all the three teams, and I wanted to go to Chicago. I picked the Giants because I knew the fans would hold me accountable, and I knew I loved this city and I knew I loved pitching a candlestick. And then I picked the Mets because I knew they would hold me accountable. And beating the Mets in eighty eight, I'm like, I don't want to go someplace just to be that cast off veteran that brings young pitchers around. I want to go someplace where the fans are intense, so they're going to hold me accountable. And we got a chance to win. And I went to Cleveland to be a better baseball person in the future as a broadcaster or a front office person, to learn the American League game. Well, now the games are the same as far as the rules, but back then with the DH, I wanted to go to the American League and learn all those cities and be ready for post career. And then my body gave out. At forty two. I wanted to go and live in a Brownstone and play for the Cubs, and my arm and my body just gave way and I couldn't have enough ability to do that.

00:19:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was one of my dreams, to to play at Wrigley Field.

00:20:02
Speaker 2: Just walk to work and that atmosphere is so great. Or go do your stuff.

00:20:06
Speaker 1: Man, thanks so much being on. I really appreciate your time. I'll see you at the yard in a couple of hours.

00:20:10
Speaker 4: See you tonight, Drew has Life.

00:20:23
Speaker 5: Man, you liking it.

00:20:24
Speaker 3: I'm all good, all good.

00:20:26
Speaker 6: I appreciate you guys having me excited to be on the show, but yeah, I'll go. Just got a couple of series wins back to back and looking forward to keeping a rolling hopefully.

00:20:35
Speaker 5: What's changed, What looks good over the past week that you didn't see in the first few weeks, or that the team didn't see in the first few weeks.

00:20:41
Speaker 6: I should say sure, I mean a little bit. For me, I don't know the answer to that. I was in triple at to start of the year.

00:20:50
Speaker 3: You know. I think part of it, too, is just the kind of the flow of the season. You know.

00:20:55
Speaker 6: I think everybody gets a little hyped up about a good or a bad start. Obviously, in a perfect role, you want to get off to a great start, but that's that's not baseball as we know.

00:21:05
Speaker 3: So I think it shoul kind of flow the season.

00:21:07
Speaker 6: We know we got a good roster and a good team, and you know a lot of veterans that have been around a while and they know not to get too high or too low and kind of just keep working and keep your head down.

00:21:18
Speaker 3: And I think you're kind of seeing that now.

00:21:22
Speaker 7: Drew Rush Stripling. Nice to meet you, man, I was a giant a couple of years before you in a in a past regime. Where are you living, man? San Francisco kind of a funny city to get acclimated to, or you just across the street at the hotel, or you find a spot already.

00:21:37
Speaker 3: So I'm actually out.

00:21:38
Speaker 6: I'm out across the bay over in Lafayette, Yeah, right now. I spent a little time last year at the hotel across the street when I got called up, so I know that all too well. But yeah, I'm over the bay right now, which is kind of nice just to be a little separated from the city.

00:21:56
Speaker 3: A little bit of a drive though, but I guess that's okay.

00:21:59
Speaker 7: Yeah, that Bay Bridge can be rough.

00:22:00
Speaker 1: Man.

00:22:01
Speaker 7: We did Lafayette too, We loved it. How about I mean, let's let's get right into it.

00:22:06
Speaker 1: Nana.

00:22:07
Speaker 7: You know Tony and and he played for him in college and now he's your guy in the big leagues.

00:22:11
Speaker 2: I guess my question.

00:22:12
Speaker 7: I know we're gonna get all the way into it, but my question is, like, what you know from your time at Tennessee with him? Where he's recruiting, he's got young men under his belt and he's he's you know, trying to get turn kids into men and put him out into the real world. And now flip it to coaching a major league team. What what did you see from him from your time at Tennessee that you knew that he had the skill set to take on the role that he has now.

00:22:35
Speaker 3: You know, I think he just has a really adaptable personality.

00:22:39
Speaker 6: I think he can kind of mesh and click along with like a bunch of different groups of people or types of personalities, and I think that's kind of what helped him in recruiting so much. But it's genuine, you know, so it doesn't ever feel like fake or forced. It's just kind of like he can just vibe with anyone and you know, kind of mix in with whatever group. So, you know, when I knew that it was a possibility that he might, you know, be up for the job, it made all the sense in my mind, and I had total total confidence he can he can do it.

00:23:14
Speaker 8: We'll jump back to him, but I want to talk a little outfield real quick, san fran It's it's a different kind of outfield plays pretty big. I know you play all three different positions center field. I think you're at center field now for the most part, if I'm not mistaken. How has practice been out there? Have you adjusted to that outfield, especially when that ball goes in the right center field gap.

00:23:37
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's uh, you know, it's unique.

00:23:39
Speaker 6: I think I think the biggest thing is is just the wind. You know, there's not really a predictable pattern with it. There's not necessarily like flags you can look at and know, Okay, the wind's blowing this direction today or this direction. You know, it's uh, you kind of just got to keep your feet moving the whole time. Ie, if you think you're camp, you just gotta kind of stay ready for the ball potentially, you know, blow one way to the other and then you know, I think there's certain times, whether it's like a six forty five game, where you get certain shadows that make it a little tough to see out there. But I mean again that that's not just for us, it's for the opponent too, So you try to, you know, make it your home field advantage and give as mate reps there as you possibly can. But I think you know, at the end of the day, like you also try not to like overthink it because I know a lot of people make it out to be like the you know, crazy with the right field wall or the triple's alley. But you know, I can only cover so much ground, so you just try to roll with the punches and catch the many balls as you can.

00:24:45
Speaker 7: Andrew, getting back to Tony a little bit here, how about have you noticed that he is still himself and has been from the jump? You know, like, I'm a little bit different right now than I am around my friends. You know, you kind of like ebb and flow on the room or who you're around and what you think you need to do or what you think people think of you. Have you noticed Tony has the ability to to stay himself or has it been an adjustment for him? You know, I feel like we're starting to see more edge come out from him, which we know and they're customed to see him from him as he's now twenty five games into his tenure. Uh maybe behind the scenes, have you seen that from the start or has it been an adjustment for him?

00:25:23
Speaker 3: Yeah? I think you know, I think he's been himself.

00:25:26
Speaker 6: To be honest with you, I think there are like little adjustments that he makes along the way that you know, he could answer better than I could, just from like an observational standpoint. But as far as like personality, uh, you know, he's been the exact same. You know, he's always been an intense guy, and I think that's a big reason why he got hired. So there's no reason for him to change that. But you know, I think, you know, you don't know what you don't know, so like there would be no reason for him, you know, like coming into the job to not be himself. And then the season goes, you know, he learns things that you can only learn as you go, and you know, he makes small adjustments here and there, but that's that's the game of baseball. Whether you're you know, a manager, you know, a player, or some in the front office, it's just a game of adjustments.

00:26:13
Speaker 3: So he's good at that.

00:26:16
Speaker 6: And I think the biggest thing, though, is he's just been himself, which I think all the guys appreciate.

00:26:22
Speaker 5: It's been fun to cover him so far, you know, in the beginning of his tenure here. Since we're mostly covering the major leagues, our Baseball America show handles a lot of the college game. What is the all time Tony Vaytello quote that stands out to you, whether it's something that you know he says around the team or something that you've seen him say publicly. He's already given us like twenty since he started in the big leagues. But I know he's been doing this for years. He does all the cultural references too, right.

00:26:50
Speaker 6: Sure, See, I'm a little I don't know if I'm so used to it at this point. I've just been with him for so long that, like, you know, I don't want to say I'm numb to it, but like we'll give me an example of like a quote that caught you guys, you're like, oh, that's that's a good one, and then maybe it's something to come to my head.

00:27:07
Speaker 5: Okay. So, like he'll he'll bring up modern references, right, just in the past few weeks, who is he brought up? He did he did a Kanye reference, he did a who is is it? A football reference? Like anything that's like the story of the week. He'll just bring it up, right and like somehow like he'll mix that into the conversation. I would say he's also just like very candid where it's like oh yeah, there was something going on, and but we've had a couple of those things behind the scenes and it's whatever, like oh the yeah, the ball Boy where he said something then he clarified it like he's just he's very who he is, and it's just like, yeah, like the ball boy was being slow.

00:27:44
Speaker 3: It is what it is.

00:27:45
Speaker 5: Like I agree with him. I like what what he says. So we're getting sent to kobe Ja references after beating the Dodgers, right, which just happened. So it's like every series we get something that relates to another sport or or music or something else.

00:28:01
Speaker 6: Yeah, I don't know how he does it, man, I mean, like he does it every day, and I'm again, I'm so used to it that like I don't even I don't have anything specifically that comes out my mind, at least anything I could say on TV.

00:28:14
Speaker 3: But yeah, he's he's so good at it.

00:28:16
Speaker 6: Like he has a way with words that's kind of hard, hard to like explain, but he does a good job like with that in terms of like being able to communicate with the team, uh and even like going back to college, like being able to motivate. So I think it's kind of a gift he has and you know, I'm glad I get to hear it every day.

00:28:34
Speaker 5: Hey, question for you, because I think this relates to what you've done so far in the big leagues in terms of bringing energy and a lot of fun and standing out right. We showed a couple of pictures of the guys hanging with you in the clubhouse and you get it all psyched up for games. Does some of that come from like the college vibe of you know, more energy, less kind of concerned about what's going on and just being yourself and hoping that if you're a genuine part of yourself, people like you and it will motivate the team. So, you know, because Tony's I think trying to do that and be like, hey, I'm going to be myself and I'm coming from a different world. I feel like you do that too by hitting the right tome, like guys are excited to have Drew Gilbert get called up and get the energy out on the field, but also get fired up in the clubhouse together.

00:29:21
Speaker 6: Sure, yeah, I think you know, like you want guys like no matter if it's talking about me or you know someone else, like you want guys that you want to play with or be around on a day to day basis, just because I mean, you guys, know, like you spend ten hours at the field every single day, you know, so you got to have a clubhouse of like good people and good dudes that you want to be around. Obviously, you know something that's a little crazy. But I think you know, like you get in the latter parts of the year, like August September, like it can be tough or more of a grind, you know, shown up every day. So I think the more you can make it fun and kind of spice thing up, you know, I think at the end of the day, you're gonna have a better team. And if you've got a group of guys that want to be around each other and then you got some talent mix on there, you could definitely have something there.

00:30:12
Speaker 7: I think that's impressive, Drew, because you know, kind of looking at your your trajectory so far as a professional baseball player hasn't been that long yet. You find yourself in your third organization, you know, but able to to bring that energy and be yourself I know, and can attest Matt Chapman helps with that. That dude's a maniac. I'm sure he's taken you under his wing in a couple of different ways and lets you be like that. But how about you know, now in your third organization, nice to have a familiar face like Tony, but like you feel, I feel like you're able to you know, does this one feel like home? Does this one feel like obviously anything can happen? This one feel like, you know, hopefully where you can put down some roots here for a little bit.

00:30:49
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean that would that would be nice considering you know, like you said, it's my third organization in like four years, so you know, and yeah, I think for sure, just you know, when you have your former college coach, it almost does feel like that a little bit, but you do understand like it's a business and anything can happen. But I guess you know, the goal is to you know, be good enough or make them like you enough or they don't want to get rid of you.

00:31:16
Speaker 3: So yeah, that'd be awesome.

00:31:17
Speaker 6: And you know, I've enjoyed my time here at the Giants, you know, also grateful for the time I spent with the Mets and the Astros. Those two organizations are great to me. And you know, I've been around a ton of people that have helped me get to this point. So you know, I'm excited to keep it rooming with the giants and hopefully here for a while.

00:31:37
Speaker 8: Definitely, definitely I want to go back to the other day. Logan webbed and Rushing had that little thing going on, and he threw a pitch Logan web hit him, and then Rushing with the quie hey man, listen, I'll take my base, you know, kind of tip this cap, little angry man. What is your thoughts about that whole situation. I know you're young to it. I'm sure you've seen it in college, but it's different in the big leagues a little bit, and now everything gets blown up a little bit more, right.

00:32:03
Speaker 6: Sure, yeah, you know, I'm I'm still new to this, you know, the whole thing where uh you know, so I don't even know what's going on half the time. You know, dult Rushing, he's a good young player, you know. I think he went to Louisville and I think we were the same draft class. You know, obviously he's having a hell of a year. So, uh, you know, I don't I don't necessarily know what goes on, you know, with a lot of those decisions or things. You know, obviously Webby's a great teammate and you know he's always standing up for the team.

00:32:33
Speaker 3: And you know, I don't know. I don't again, I have no idea what goes on with that stuff. Just try to do my job in the outfield.

00:32:41
Speaker 5: That's fair. Hey, is your energy level like this in everything that you do? Like, you know, if you play pick up basketball in the past, or just any kind of game with your friends growing up, would you get would you be the guy that's like super fired up and always extra competitive, where you know, to be like that and basically anything that involved winning.

00:33:04
Speaker 6: Yeah, probably. I mean I think it's just kind of who I am. I like to win, you know, I like it. If it's something I get into, then for sure I like to win.

00:33:14
Speaker 3: So there you go.

00:33:15
Speaker 6: There's been plenty of ping punk paddles that have been broken or yes, five controllers that have been smashed in the process. Maybe, but yeah, you know, it's just kind of been who I am. I don't know who I got it from, but it's just even since I was really young, I've just been like this.

00:33:33
Speaker 7: I don't want to make you talk anymore about the rushing and web stuff. I know, young guy doesn't want to go viral on X for saying anything. How about how about just being a part of the rivalry. You know, I was a Dodger and a Giant. I got to see from both sides.

00:33:48
Speaker 5: You know.

00:33:48
Speaker 7: Now, you just had a pretty fun three game set against them, won the series. You got another one coming up in Dodger Stadium. How do you feel about the rivalry and maybe how it compares to any that you've had in college, jen and now on a big league level.

00:34:02
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's uh, it's really cool, man, especially you know these last three games, playing them at home with you know, packed crowds. Uh, It's it's cool, especially when you have a Dodgers team that's uh, you know, been doing what they've been doing.

00:34:18
Speaker 3: It just kind of heightens the environment, right, Uh.

00:34:21
Speaker 6: And it's it's a good challenge for us, you know, you know, you want to go against the best, and I mean they, let's just call it a space bade. They've been the best last two years, So you know, it's cool. I think it's also a good test to not I think you can always kind of hype yourself up a little bit or psych yourself out a little bit too much and put an opponent on a pedestal, you know, more than you should, right Whereas it's the big leagues and any anybody can beat anybody on any given night. So I think it's it's a good test for us, and you know, obviously we'll see them more throughout the year, considering that they're in our division. But it's an awesome rivalry and I'm looking forward to being a part of it more.

00:34:59
Speaker 5: Hey, Drew, last one for you? What do you do for fun? What do you do if you have an off day or in the off season once you're done with the workouts and the whole deal, Like, what are the hobbies?

00:35:09
Speaker 7: Well?

00:35:10
Speaker 6: Right now, I have a six month old he mini bernadoodle puppy. His name is Bruce, and he is absolutely insane. So he occupies about every single minute of my free time.

00:35:25
Speaker 3: So that that's that's the only hobby I have right now.

00:35:27
Speaker 6: I used to play a little Fortnite, maybe get on video games, play some Call of Duty, but haven't really been on recently. Just trying not to get my arm ripped off by my little puppy.

00:35:37
Speaker 5: That's fair, Yeah, tricked? Are you gonna bring tricks?

00:35:41
Speaker 3: He knows.

00:35:42
Speaker 6: He knows like the base like to sit right down, roll over, Like he's pretty good in the leash and everything. But he just has so much energy, like at all times there's no napping, he doesn't want to nap, none of that. Like it's it could be eleven thirty at night and I get home in the field and I mean he's he's ready to roll.

00:35:59
Speaker 3: So yeah, it's a lot, it is.

00:36:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, right, it's like a little kid, NonStop energy.

00:36:05
Speaker 5: You have the kid kid will go be sleeping if you get home at eleven thirty. This guy's rolling, right Sometimes that's true. Well, Drew really enjoyed the combo. Great having you on. Appreciate the time. Man, keep doing your thing.

00:36:18
Speaker 2: Good luck.

00:36:19
Speaker 3: All right, guys, I appreciate you having me