Speaker 1: Join right now by a man that certainly impressed everybody
Speaker 1: by what he did in the World Series as a rookie,
Speaker 1: and he is starting all over again in spring training
Speaker 1: like everybody else. Ben's Caspirius. Thanks a lot for the time,
Speaker 1: and man, you are in demand this spring.
Speaker 2: Yeah, David, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: When you look back on your contribution to the Dodgers
Speaker 1: winning the World Series last year, have you been able
Speaker 1: to take it in.
Speaker 2: I think at this point yeah, especially being back with
Speaker 2: all of the guys, but it's still kind of a
Speaker 2: whirlwind for me, and at times it doesn't feel real.
Speaker 2: But I think just getting back to our routine here,
Speaker 2: you know, facing guys for the first time yesterday, being
Speaker 2: able to kind of turn the page and you know,
Speaker 2: focus towards this season, and obviously our up humming games
Speaker 2: on Thursday and Friday has been huge.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure fans realized this, but last year at
Speaker 1: this time Ben Caspiraus wasn't even in Big League camp,
Speaker 1: and then in October you're starting a World Series game
Speaker 1: that doesn't happen to a lot of guys, if anybody, Yeah.
Speaker 2: No, again, like I think it starts from the ground
Speaker 2: up with our organization, you know, being process oriented, you know,
Speaker 2: taking things day by day, being present with what we're
Speaker 2: doing on and off the fields. You know, I got
Speaker 2: an opportunity last year. Was super grateful for that and
Speaker 2: to you know, be able to experience what we did
Speaker 2: with this team and this group of guys and veterans,
Speaker 2: and I don't think I could have asked for much more.
Speaker 1: First time in Big league camp it can be a
Speaker 1: little intimidating. But for you, after doing what you did
Speaker 1: and to help the team win, what's the feeling for
Speaker 1: you being in here for the first time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I think it's I mean, obviously the
Speaker 2: vibes are great right now, coming off a championship, getting
Speaker 2: back with our entire staff, getting the hitters back after
Speaker 2: we had the week of pitchers and catchers. I just
Speaker 2: think the biggest thing is just be yourself, be vocal,
Speaker 2: you know, talk up to the coaches when you need
Speaker 2: to have, you know, in depth conversations about kind of
Speaker 2: what's going on, what you're working on, stuff like that,
Speaker 2: and just obviously pick the brains of guys who have
Speaker 2: you done it for ten plus years. And at the
Speaker 2: end of the day, I think we are the organization.
Speaker 2: We are based on the people, and there's not one
Speaker 2: guy in here that you can't walk up to at
Speaker 2: anytime and kind of, you know, chat with, hear what
Speaker 2: they've got going on, what they're working on, stuff like that.
Speaker 1: Benkuspirius is our guest in front of first pitch of
Speaker 1: the Cactus League opener between the Dodgers and Cubs. I
Speaker 1: know you've turned the page and you're focused on trying
Speaker 1: to win a spot on this roster, But when you
Speaker 1: look back to last year in the World Series, how
Speaker 1: much did you celebrate this offseason? I know your family
Speaker 1: was really proud of you. When you look back at
Speaker 1: that moment in time, how do you reflect and use
Speaker 1: it for confidence?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I think again, like I said, getting those opportunities
Speaker 2: in the postseason towards the end of the year, in
Speaker 2: a pennant race like that, and then obviously just the
Speaker 2: uncertainty with the role that I was in, I think
Speaker 2: that might be the hardest it'll ever be in terms
Speaker 2: of staying on a routine, being able to you know,
Speaker 2: be ready for different roles, and just being able to
Speaker 2: kind of take it all in this offseason and really
Speaker 2: enjoy my family, my friends, kind of reflecting on everything
Speaker 2: that you know, we accomplished as a team and kind
Speaker 2: of where I started out in you know, January compared
Speaker 2: to you know, end of October, So it was it
Speaker 2: was awesome. I'm just excited to kind of keep the
Speaker 2: ball rolling into the year.
Speaker 1: The great ones always say it's not where you end,
Speaker 1: but it's the journey. How much did you enjoy the journey?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: It was.
Speaker 2: I mean there was plenty of ups and downs. I've had,
Speaker 2: you know, a stretch of two months that didn't go well,
Speaker 2: a stretch of two months that went great, And it
Speaker 2: was kind of just figuring out that, you know, consistency
Speaker 2: throughout the year in my routine, you know, game planning
Speaker 2: with the coaches. But at the end of the day,
Speaker 2: looking back, it was it's a cool journey, and you know,
Speaker 2: I think that's what that's a big part of what
Speaker 2: makes guys big leaguers is kind of figuring out what
Speaker 2: they need every day on a day to day basis
Speaker 2: and what to give attention to and kind of what
Speaker 2: they know they're good at.
Speaker 1: And the strength of New Jersey behind you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, exactly, Actually, no doubt.
Speaker 1: Thanks a lot for the time, Ben congratulations on being
Speaker 1: a world champion and the future is only bright for
Speaker 1: you because of who you are.
Speaker 2: I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Thank you.