Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio network. Guardians Weekly is brought
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everyone, welcome to Guardians Weekly. Schummeros in house along with you this weekend
as we join you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. It is our wall
to wall coverage edition of the introduction of new manager Stephen Vote, who became
the forty fifth manager in club history at a press conference yesterday, the official
announcement naming Steven Vote manager for the ball club, and he takes over a
team that for eleven seasons was managed by Terry Francona. So the first time
that we've had one of these announcements since the fall of twenty twelve, and
that is an eternity in the game of baseball. So our coverage today,
in the second half of our show, we'll have a one on one conversation
with Steven Vote. Certainly a tremendous major league career in terms of variety,
some great times for him, some struggles to try and stay on an active
roster, and all the while, especially later in his career, opportunities to
learn from some really good manager and think about the future and where that brought
him yesterday and now in the days ahead as manager of this ball club.
We'll also hear from Mike Chernoff, the general manager for the Guardians. He'll
tell us about that process that led to Steven Vote being named manager of the
team. And we'll also visit with one of the new coaches, Craig Albernaz,
who will be the Major League field coordinator for this ball club heading forward,
and a longtime cohort of Steven Vote when they were growing up in the
Tampa Bay Rays organization. So a lot of good stuff. In the second
half of our show. We'll take a short break and then we'll come back
and kind of give you the flavor of yesterday's events, Friday's events at Progressive
Field, the press conference for Stephen Vote that's coming your way shortly on the
Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network. Don't go away, folks. Baseball, basketball,
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will vary. Shim Rose announced back with you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland,
where on Friday, Stephen Boat was introduced as the new manager, the
forty fifth manager in Cleveland franchise history. He will take over this ball club
heading into twenty twenty four after eleven seasons with Terry Francona. And we'll get
into more of his bio a little bit later on in our show, but
first let's listen to as much as the press conference as time allows here on
our show this week, and it began with President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonette.
Welcome everybody, good afternoon, Thank you for joining us for what is
a very exciting day for our organization and our franchise. So you might remember
at the start of this process, we shared that we were looking to find
a true partner to join our organization and build on the foundation that we have
in place. We wanted someone who appreciated the unique culture that we have within
our organization. But at the same time, could come in challenge us,
help us learn grow together as we seek to win multiple World Series championships.
Well, there were a ton of things we look for throughout this process,
there were three things that really stood out as defining attributes that we were looking
for. First and foremost, we were looking for a collaborative partner. We
were looking for someone who is a caring connector and finally, a self confident
learner. So what do I mean by that? Well, as a collaborative
partner, we were seeking a leader with whom we could build a true,
trusting partnership. Someone who could be aligned with our beliefs and our values,
but challenge us to learn and grow and get better through their unique perspective,
skills, and experiences. We also sought someone who was a caring connector,
someone who cares so deeply about people that he or she would build very meaningful,
lasting relationships. We wanted someone who would build a fun and inclusive environment
where everyone would enjoy coming to work each day to tackle the challenges that we
had together. And lastly, we were looking for a self confident leader.
We were seeking a leader that combines a self confidence and strength to lead within
a major League clubhouse well at the same time having enough humility to continuously learn,
grow and help us all get better. We wanted someone who helped create
an open and welcoming environment where any idea is welcome, where we will constantly
bring the best ideas to the table to help each other get better. And
so we believe Steven Vote is all of these things and so much more.
We know we will help us learn, grow and get better as we all
pursue our World Series championship in Cleveland. So Steven, welcome to the Guardians.
We're thrilled to have you, and I will turn it over to Mike
Dad a few comments, Thanks Chris, before I turn it over to Stephen.
I just wanted to touch briefly on our hiring process a little bit.
This type of hiring process is for our organization is an incredibly collaborative process.
We did reference calls, framing of the job, a huge amount of interviews.
As I'm sure Voter will tell you if you ask him about it,
we probably had over fifty Guardians teammates that were included in that from all different
areas of the organization, helping us to go through this process together. I
won't go through through each individual, but it was front office support, staff,
field staff, players, performance areas R and D, and many other
people that were involved in so I just, more than anything, I wanted
to say thank you to all of them for helping us in this process,
and maybe in particular, I do want to call out our assistant GM Matt
Foreman, who took a massive leadership role in leading and coordinating the manager hiring
process for us. So thank you, Matt. We really appreciate it.
And now I will turn it over to Steven Well. First of all,
I just want to say thank you to mister Dolan, to Mike, Chris,
Matt and the entire Guardians organization for allowing me the opportunity to earn this
chance. I don't take it lightly and I'm very excited to get started.
I'd like to thank a bunch of people, but we don't have time for
that. So I'd like to just say thank you to all of the teammates
that I've had over the years, all of the staff members in their various
areas, and all the numerous coaches that I've had, starting with my dad
Randy from four to eighteen years old, taught me everything I know about the
game of baseball. It's become my true love on this earth. Besides my
family, is the game of baseball and the people who play it. And
my dad taught me that from a very young age. I'm going to need
these all day, I think, as you get to know me, this
is not abnormal. I'd like to thank my brother Danny for being a great
example of a leader, an older brother, a husband, and a father,
and thank him for that. And I'd like to thank my family,
my three kids, Peyton, Clark admit it, and my beautiful wife Alissa.
You four have put up with way too much, Dad being gone,
way too much traveling, way too many moves and here comes another one.
But thank you, Alyssa. You are a rock. You are my best
friend and my biggest support system and will continue to be. I'd just like
to say that joining the Guardian's Organization is such a privilege for my family and
me. The gnarly hours that they put me through through this interview process allowed
me a look into this organization and the great people that are a part of
it, and I couldn't be more honored to be joining that and hopefully moving
that forward in that direction. My goal is to have every single person who
puts on a Cleveland Guardian uniform from the Dominican League all the way up through
the big leagues knows exactly what it means to be a Cleveland Guardian. That's
my goal, and I have going to have a wonderful staff and support group
around me in order to do that. I couldn't be more thrilled to be
here, and I'm excited to get to know all of you better as we
as we move forward throughout the years. Stephen tom Winer's Associated Press, Welcome
to town. I wanted to ask you about living in a van down by
the river, but we could do another time. Hey, you've kind of
taken this speed pass to be a manager. Obviously the Guardians think you're ready.
Why do you think you're ready? Yeah, besides eating a steady dueted
government cheese. No, it's a fan down by the river reference by the
way. I feel like I've been planning for this for a long time.
I've been working towards this for a long time, and it started back in
two thousand and nine when I was with the Tampa Bay Rays as a minor
leaguer and unfortunately had a shoulder injury early in the year and sat down with
my manager Jim Morrison, Mitch Lukavics, and Jimmy Hoff, the kind of
the leadership group at that time, and asked them for the opportunity to be
in the dugout with the team on the on the home games and really dove
into learning how to become a coach. You know, I was twenty four
in Hi a figured you know, another another guy that got hurt and high
a and probably get ready to coach, and really dove into that side of
the game and started to learn, you know, some intricks to season coaching,
and it really started to get me excited about that opportunity and gave me
a different lens and perspective as my playing career moved on, and it really
started then and there. And obviously learned so much along the way, played
for a ton of unbelievable managers, coaches and just asked questions and paid attention
to games in a different way than I think a lot of players did.
And a lot of people provided me insights along the way that really aided that.
And I think I've really been preparing for this since two thousand and nine.
Zach Meisel the athletic Steve just you kind of touched on it. But
the managers you played for during your career, anything you can point to specifically
from any of them that you know you broke down in twenty eighteen with the
Brewers or something like that that you wanted to remember one day when you were
in this chair. Yeah, I mean, I've got a couple of notebooks
full. But you know, one of the things that really stuck out to
me was Bob Melvin with the A's and my time with him and the way
he commune unicated with players, and the way he kept his emotions in check
at all times. He knew when to talk to you, he knew when
to leave you alone, and when I would ask him about it, he
said, it's all about knowing your people. It's all about knowing their personalities,
their learning styles, their listening skills, their abilities, and allowing them
to be themself. And when I heard Bob tell me that been able to
pay attention to my teammates, pay attention to the coaches in the way everyone
was interacting, that one message from Bob about knowing your people really stuck with
me. A Stephen congratulations, john'sable Fox eight here in Cleveland. What made
this organization so attracted to you early in the process and how much did you
know about how they were operated from Afar as a player and then last year
as a coach in Seattle. Well, last year in Seattle, you know
what, I would hear a lot of comparisons between the two organizations, and
there are a little a lot of similarities, but I didn't know a whole
lot about the guardians Oration, to be honest. But again, the process
of the interview and the forty hours of interviews and zooms and numerous phone calls
and things like that. But honestly, the first day of the process of
the interview gave me a great insight into the inner workings of the organization,
but more importantly the people that are here and top to bottom. The first
thing every single person that I spoke to in the interview process mentioned was their
family, and that told Alyssa and I everything we needed to hear that this
is a family first, family oriented group that just wants to go out and
win a bunch of baseball games. And learning that through the interview process,
there was no doubt in my mind. I think I mentioned to my wife
after I got off that first day of interviews and I said, I want
to be there, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart,
and it's still true, and I again couldn't be more proud to be here.
Terry Putt Cleveland playing dealer, Steve, did you talk to Terry Frank
Colin at all about Cleveland or anything? I did? Yeah. I was
able to talk to Tito a couple of times throughout the process and have spoken
with him already since getting the job. And you know, I knew Tito
a little bit from playing against him from across the way, and you know,
you hear all the stories. But Tito has made it very clear to
me that he wants to allow me to do this, but also he wants
to be a resource for me. Anytime that I feel like he's there,
and he's already been. It's just so much fun to talk to him and
so insightful, and he's such a special person. So I'm very thankful for
Tito. Did he give you any couple of reasons why what type of job
this is? And you know that kind of thing, which just what it
would be like, said, guess what I'm saying. A couple of things
have stuck with you that maybe he said about Cleveland again, he couldn't say
enough great things about the people. And at the end of the day,
for me and for all of us, I think we're aligned on this is
that this is a people business. Yes it's about winning baseball games, and
yes it's about going out and competing, but it's all about the people that
are doing it. And Tito was right and aligned with that, and everything
he said just confirmed everything that I had been seeing, believing, hearing,
and it really made me feel at easy that this is the place where I
want to come. All right, one last question to let you go.
But you you know it's a small market budget, small market team, that
kind of thing. Your feelings about that managing and that situation. Yeah,
I mean, and I think Chris can maybe speak a little more on this,
But I've had the experience of playing in Tampa Bay, Oakland, Milwaukee.
You know some places that you know, not the same but similar,
And I've experienced playing on those teams. I've won with those teams, and
I know what it takes to work with a group that we have, and
I'm really excited about the group that we have, and I do have a
lot of experience in this type of environment. Jason Lloyd of The Athletic Steve
All, you guys have joked a little bit about the interview process, So
what was it like? How many interviews was it? Total time spent on
it? Well, I'm not sure we have enough time to cover that,
but you know, honestly, it was. It was. It was a
long process, and I don't mean long in a negative way. It was
a thorough process. And I would say we probably ended up twenty two to
twenty three hours in total, whether in person or via zoom or phone call,
and I'd probably take the over on that number. But at the end
of it, I felt like through the first two sessions, they knew who
I was, and I knew who who I was going to get to join
if I did get the job. And I'm thankful for the thorough process.
I'm thankful that the due diligence happened because it confirms that they feel like they
found the right person, and it confirmed for me that I know I found
the right place and for Chris or Mike. It's been quite a while since
you guys have had to do this, and the game has changed so drastically
in that time on the field. Did it change at all which you were
seeking in a manager this time around, just because the game seems to be
played differently than it was ten eleven years ago. Well, I think,
first and foremot first and foremost, what we were seeking to do with the
interview process was the same, and that is really to try to find the
best leader for our organization, but also to have that person get to know
us as well as possible. So we took that same approach with Tito as
we did with Steven. Now, the process itself evolved a little bit because,
as you said, it's a lot more complicated. I think, as
Mike mentioned, we had over fifty people from our organization that were involved in
getting to know Steven and also tried to give him some insight into how we
operated. So hopefully, by the end of that process, as Stephen said,
he got a chance to know us really well, and we felt we
got a chance to know him really well as well. That's just some of
the press conference on Friday in which Stephen Vote was introduced as the new manager
for the Cleveland Guardians. When we come back, we'll go one on one
with the new Skipper. Next the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network. Buckle up,
folks, Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhause back with you from
Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. And yesterday Friday, Stephen Vote introduced as the
new manager for the Cleveland Guardians and we had a chance to go one on
one with him after the press conference and just a quick snippet on the bio
for Vote. He had a ten year major league career. He was a
two time All Star, but all so, there were several times where he
was just battling to make a ball club and that may come into play big
time here. He was a member of the twenty twenty one World champion Atlanta
Braves, originally selected by the Tampa Bay Rays back in two thousand and seven
and ended up with a sixteen year professional playing career that was completed in the
twenty twenty two season with Oakland, the team that he spent the most time
with in the major leagues and will reference his last day as a player in
the major leagues. The last game he played that was with Oakland in September
of twenty twenty two, and in his last at bat with his kids on
the public address announced system at the Oakland Coliseum. They introduced him for his
last at bat. That was emotional enough and then he hit a home run
and what a way to go out, and he'll talk about that, and
that was it in terms of a playing career. Last year part of the
staff, quality control and some bullpen activity for the Seattle Mariners, his first
year as a coach and now manager of the Cleveland Guardians. And when we
caught up with him yesterday, we asked him how that sounds. That sounds
awesome. Still doesn't really seem real, but it's becoming more and more real
as each moment goes by, and it sounds amazing. You look at managing
a major league baseball team, You're not that far removed from your playing career.
I'm not sure how far back it goes the dream to be able to
do this, But do you feel like it came more quickly than you could
have expected just based on one year coaching in the major leagues? Yeah?
I mean, I don't think you're ever prepared for when it's going to happen.
I think that's the beauty of it is you never know when. You
just always stay ready and I knew right when I finished playing, I knew
that this is where I wanted to get to. I just wasn't sure what
the path would look like or anything like that. You don't know until you
go through it. But to be given this opportunity by the Guardians was a
dream come true. And as we went through the interview process, and as
we kept getting to different stages, it just started to feel like it could
could could become a reality more and more. And now that we're here,
it's it's pretty surreal. I remember Terry Francona said it when he was playing,
the last thing he thought about was what he would be doing down the
road, because he was focused on playing. But it sounds like maybe the
seeds of coaching or managing were planned a little bit earlier for you. And
can you explain when that really first started to kick in for you as a
player. Yeah, it started back in two thousand and nine as a minor
league player when I missed a year to injury. And it allowed me to
watch the game through a different lens, and it made me a better player
because I got some perspective on what it's like to be a coach, you
know, I wasn't necessarily a typical coach because I was still a peer of
the players, but it allowed me to remove my emotions from playing the game,
and it really, like I said, I saw the game through a
different lens and it really helped my playing career moving forward. And yes,
I was one hundred percent focused on being a player, but I also learned
how to kind of be a little hybrid where I could watch the game through
a different lens, and it helped me be a better player. It helped
me get out in front of situations behind the plate. It helped me at
the plate with knowing what's the pitcher been doing all game. It helped me
watch the game differently and learn the game differently as I went along. When
you look at and making that transition, rarely do players get to to walk
off in a great way, and you literally got to do that with Oakland.
Can you imagine what would be equal that your first game as a major
league manager. No, I don't think anything will ever top that final game
as a player. I really don't. It was you know, not very
many people get to choose when their career ends, and you know, mine
was probably coming into an end. Whether I chose to or not. But
getting to go out on your terms is something that I'll never take for granted,
and it's something that I worked hard for. And the Oakland A's provided
that opportunity for me, and the sendoff that that organization gave me was something
that was truly, truly remarkable for my family and me. And I'll never
forget it, good or bad that the Guardians open in Oakland next spring.
I think it's great I get to go back home. You know, it's
always going to be a part of me is Oakland and getting to see the
people that I care about so deeply in my first game managing and getting to
do it in front of my friends and family back in California, and hopefully
getting my first couple wins in Oakland as well, in our first couple wins
of the season. Is You couldn't draw it up any better. It just
seems like these things just continue to happen, which I'm a firm believer,
and nothing happens by chance, and you earn everything, and I definitely,
going through this rigorous process, feel like they allowed me to earn this opportunity.
And you mentioned that they chose you, but did you have to choose
Cleveland in terms of other opportunities, maybe thinking about different things. What made
the Guardians the place for you as well? In addition to them wanting you,
Yeah, the people you know right away. When I first started the
interview process and getting to know Chris, Mike and Matt and then meeting the
other dozens of people that I met on that first day via zoom, the
recurring theme was people. These are amazing, family oriented people that deeply care
about the players, because at the end of the day, everything we do
is for the twenty six players that go out every single night. They're the
ones that are playing, They're the ones that are fighting for their careers.
They're the ones that determine whether we win to lose that night, and it's
our job to put them in the best positions possible. And this group and
these and the people here in Cleveland deeply, deeply care about each person that
puts on a Guardian's uniform every night. How much do you know about Cleveland
as far as it may relate to your family and things like that. You
know, I don't know much. You know, I've been here a lot
for three days since, but really haven't left downtown much. But everything we
hear about this area it fits us. You know, we're We're a small
town family, hard working family, blue collar. It's just who we are.
And you know, I've been fortunate to work for seven wonderful organizations before
this one, and We've fallen in love with every single city that we've played
in or worked in, and I don't think Cleveland's going to be any different
for us. We love it. People here have been so welcoming and we
just couldn't be more excited to get a new chapter of life started. You're
about twenty minutes out of your first official act as manager of the Guardians How
to Go? You think? I feel like I did pretty well. You
know. I was able to show them my personality a little bit and didn't
fumble my words too bad. But you know, that's the first of many,
I understand. But I'm ready for this, and Chris, Mike and
Matt and the entire organization solidified my belief in that by giving me this opportunity
and going through that process has really showed me that nothing happens by chance,
and I had to do it, and I'm so thankful that they're allowing me
this opportunity, best of luck, Thank you for the time. Thank you.
It's the new manager of the Cleveland Guardians, Steven Vote and one of
many. And what we learned yesterday about fifty different people were a part of
the process in terms of hiring a new manager for the Guardians, including General
manager Mike Chernoff, who spoke about just how extensive the process was to get
to this point, exhaustive and exhausting. I think, you know, it's
a long six weeks. I think this was a very different process than the
last one eleven years ago, right when Tito was involved. Last time,
he had a Hall of Fame resume already when he came on board, and
so it was a different and much quicker process as we sort of vetted him
and interviewed a couple of other candidates, but in the end knew pretty clearly
he was the right guy. This time around, we cast a much wider
net. We had probably nearly fifty names that we were looking at and kind
of narrowed that pool. But the process of narrowing that pool to the you
know, handful or plus that we ended up bringing in was through hundreds of
reference calls probably that we had to make and to make those determinations. So
yeah, it was a stressful six or eight week period here, but we
couldn't be more happy than we are with Steven and the ability to bring Stephen
in here. What made him stand out so much to eventually get the job.
I think there were a few things that really stood out with him.
One, he's the ultimate teammate. I mean, we just got back from
everybody that he had played with or coached with that he is just a self
absolutely selfless teammate who cares about all the people around him. He's an incredible
connector, He brings people together, builds great relationships, and he sees the
game really well. I mean, I know he hasn't coached for very long,
but as a player, he was thinking through the lens of a manager
for much of his career, and I know he'll rely on our veteran staff
a lot to help him. But he also sees the game really well and
brings some unique perspective to us that Chris and Matt and I feel like we
really could use organizationally. So you kind of alluded to experience and how you
may be able to overcome lack of managerial experience when you talk about experience for
a manager, where can that come in to play and how can he maybe
overbridge that gap a little bit. Yeah, the manager job, what you
watch on TV that's so visible is managing the two and a half hours of
the game, right, And so it feels like that's so much of what
the job is. Of course, that's where the wins and losses are,
so I don't want to minimize that. But most of the job for a
manager is actually in the clubhouse beforehand, or in spring training, or in
the calls and texts that they're having with players, or connecting with front office
or whoever it is over the course of a day, in the course of
a season, and Stephen had a lot of those experiences as a player.
He was known as a real clubhouse connector and culture builder in the clubhouse.
In his year of coaching, he was connecting with the R and D staff
in Seattle and really trying to like open up his perspective on the game.
So I think Stephen has a lot of the experiences that will serve him really
well. He'll just have to get the reps of actually managing games under his
belt. So what's next for the new manager? And the front office.
Now, well, now we turn to the work of our ball club,
and you know, we're we obviously had a bit of a disappointing year this
year, but still have a really young team and guy, a lot of
guys are working hard this offseason to try to improve their games. So Steven
has started connecting with our coaching staff and with some of those players on those
player plans. And then obviously we'll focus on trades and free agency and all
the offseason things that go on around building our team. So we'll kind of
shift to that once we get through the coaching staff over the next few days.
Mike, thanks for the time. You're welcome. Rizzi. That's Mike
turn Off and his staff again. Chris Antonetti at the top of the baseball
operation staff as the president of Baseball Operations and the journey always great with his
time for us explaining the processes. And next week or the week after,
we're going to try and catch up with Matt Foreman, the assistant general manager
who led the process and maybe take a deeper dive into how they go about
it and arrived at the spot of having Steven Vote as the manager for this
ball club. There was a new coach announced yesterday. It's Craig Albernas,
who's going to be the major league field coordinate for this ball club. We'll
explain what that means and his background as well as we visit with him next
the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio network score, pass out of bounds. Those are
sports words. Some people hear any sports word and they can't help but listen,
like drive drive is another sports word, and drivers who switch and save
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Potential savings will vary. Welcome back to the Guardians Weekly, Jim Rosenhause.
Back with you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. And the Guardians have not
made any official and now on their coaching staff. We do know that third
base coach Mike Sarbaugh will not return. We also know that Rego Beltron the
bullpen coach also will not return, and Mike Barnett, the video replay review
coordinator, will not return as well, So there are three spots opened on
the staff if everyone else returns, and they all have. The remaining coaches
have talked to the ball club about that and some are still in that decision
process, so the Guardians did not make an announcement yesterday at least. But
one of the new coaches is Craig Albernez, who's the Major League field coordinator.
He had spent four seasons as the bullpen coach with the San Francisco Giants.
He has a background as a player a catcher in the Tampa Bay Rays
system as well as being in their player development system, so a lot going
on. And also he was one of the people who interviewed for the managerial
position. He was one of the candidates who got down to the last four
or five and had some on site interviews, and now he will be a
part of Steven Vote's staff. They have a long track record of being teammates
when they played and also coaches together at certain points in time, so their
paths have crossed quite a bit throughout their playing and coaching careers. We had
a chance to visit with Craig Albernas yesterday and asked him what in the world
what does major League field coordinator mean? And he breaks it down for us
at certainly a spot that has developed for a lot of teams and now for
this team here, the Cleveland Guardians. Yeah, a few teams had this
title. It's just more of a holistic view of the team, helping out
when I can, you know, being a conduit with the front office and
the analysts, and then also helping out the other coaches whether they see whatether
they need any assistance on, whether it be the you know, game plan,
integration in game decisions with voting and hale or you know, or talking
through some some post AARs like reviews of the game and also player development as
well. So there's pretty much an all encompass ing role. We know about
what I'm here for Steven, the organizations whoever they Indeed, I'm going to
be there for him. And you joined this organization after four years in San
Francisco with the Giants on field role. How did that prepare you for what
you're doing now? When when you were working as as a bullpen coach and
also on field coach. Yeah, I mean just being around you know,
Gabe Kapler give me the opportunity to be in San Francisco, and you know,
he threw a lot at me both in the in the bullpen as a
bullpen coach, you know, and then doing the catching work as well.
And you know, had a great opportunity to be in the dugout for it'll
pass year and a half with Kap you know, as a quasi run prevention
coordinator. So I got exposed to a lot of different things, whether it
be you know, in game decision like I said, game planning and having
a great viewpoint of what the organization is trying to do in your initiatives.
So integrating that with how it goes on field is going to be you know,
one of my you know, real responsibilities for Steven in the organization to
making sure that we're all aligned and what we're trying to do on the field
and that that it reflects with the front office and and what the product we're
trying to give the fans. We don't see the Giants much being an interleague
opponent a little born now with the yearly visit, but similarities in the organizations
that that you see. Are there real differences there? Yeah? I think
the similarities is, you know, when I left the Giants, you know
last year, you saw to see the influx of young talent coming up,
whether it be you know, Patrick Bailey, Kyle Harrison, Luis Mato's case,
you SPI goes on and and here is very similar with the amount of
young talent that's here and the exciting talent that that's here to play. And
then also you kind of get to look at you know how you know,
especially Cap and you know with far Han and you know before before Pete Mattillio
was you know, Scott Harris as a GM and how they value the culture
and the people. And that's something here that they really value the coachure and
the pupil and that's something that really really kind of you know, gravitated me
towards this position and to be with Steven and Chris and Mike and the rest
of the group. And and that's something with the similarities are are here,
and that's something where we're gonna double down on to really move the needle.
And I know your past crossed with Steven vote early, very early in your
career. Can you explain that how far back was that going. Yeah,
I mean our passed grow back to grinding in the you know, in the
trenches in the bullpen, and my league spring training with the Rays back in
two thousand and eight was our first time together, you know, and then
you've had an opportunity to kind of kind of learn and grow together both as
you know, players and then as friends. You know, became really good
friends throughout over the years. And you know, I lean on him a
lot, he leaned on me a lot. It was a great conversation.
And so when when this transpired and you know, he got brought into to
interview and you know, and and got the job, and he reached out
to me in the organization and it was to me it was a slam dunk.
And just to be with voting and the person he is and what he
brings to the table, the passion, the knowledge, it's really gonna really
energize this, you know, team and also the city as well. Great
Alberts, who's the new Major League field coordinator for the Guardians. To sorry
off the field, fans may be able to notice, you don't have a
West Coast accent. What is this? What does this mean moving here.
Tell us about your background, where you're from, and why this is a
nice move for you and your family. Yeah, I think the first thing
I apologize anyone that does don'tunderstand me, probably some subtitles here or translator.
You know, I got that Massachusetts accident and it's real and it's thick.
But yeah, I know we we live thirty minutes north of Philadelphia, so
it's definitely a lot close to I know, I believe it's just under a
six hour drive and our flight. So for me, it's geographical or works
outstanding for us and my family and that dynamic. But you know, we
we feel the roots and you know, we understand, like you know how
the baseball life and you know, the city here like really gravitates the audience.
And you know, me and Vote and especially Vote is very anxious to
kind of get this ball going and and get the ascitement and win games here
because we know how specialist place is and will be. Greig nice to Mestia,
Thanks for the time, Thank you appreciate it, and let's let's go
Guardians. That's it's a new major League field coordinator. In addition to the
coaching staff, Craig Albernez joining us yesterday Friday at the press conference for new
manager Stephen Vote. That's going to do it for this week's edition of Guardians
Weekly. As always, thanks so much to Brian Motsee for helping to put
together our show each week. We'll join you again next week. Until then,
this is Jim Rosenhause reminding you that you've been listening to Guardians Weekly on
the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network. Guardians Weekly has been brought to you by
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