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<v Speaker 1>We're joined right now by a man that still bleeds

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<v Speaker 1>Dodger blue no matter where he is or what part

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<v Speaker 1>of the country he is working from home in. And

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<v Speaker 1>that is one of the great all time guys that

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<v Speaker 1>you will ever meet, and certainly one of the more

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<v Speaker 1>successful Dodger catchers in recent history. And that is the

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<v Speaker 1>one and only special assistant to the special GM, to

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<v Speaker 1>the San Diego Padres aj Preller, and that is our

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<v Speaker 1>aj aj ellis great to see you back at Dodger Stadium.

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<v Speaker 2>Good to be with you, Dave.

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<v Speaker 3>That was probably one of the worst introductions I've ever heard.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know what you were going for with that.

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<v Speaker 3>It is good to be with a special assistant like yourself.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know who you assist and I feel bad

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<v Speaker 3>for that person. But it's great to be back in

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<v Speaker 3>Dodger Stadium. It's crazy. It's my first time back at

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<v Speaker 3>the ballparks in twenty.

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<v Speaker 2>Nineteen, and it just doesn't take long.

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<v Speaker 3>To be reminded of what a special place this is

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<v Speaker 3>and be the atmosphere of any Dodger game, let alone

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<v Speaker 3>one that has so much playoff implications. Spent a great,

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<v Speaker 3>a great few days catching up and watching baseball.

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<v Speaker 1>What's it like to come back here obviously working for

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<v Speaker 1>the Padres Dodgers and Padres battling for the NL West.

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<v Speaker 1>What's it like as you walk around the stadium with

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<v Speaker 1>Mike Shilp before the game, Uh, to walk in front

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<v Speaker 1>of that dugout and just think about all the great

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<v Speaker 1>times you had.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it all comes back, you know, floods back and

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<v Speaker 3>actually talking with Mike about some of those memories. And

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<v Speaker 3>you know, he works along with San Louis Cardinals, and

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<v Speaker 3>you know, even when he was just in player development

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<v Speaker 3>at the time, he still has a great recollection, recollection

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<v Speaker 3>of a lot of those those battles we had, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>thinking about the you know, two thousand and nine Mark

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<v Speaker 3>Loretto walk off after you know, the Matt Holliday misqu

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<v Speaker 3>and left field and and and then talking about then

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<v Speaker 3>in some of the tougher games in the against the

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<v Speaker 3>Cardinals in the postseason as well. But it's special to

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<v Speaker 3>be back, especially be sitting here with you right now

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<v Speaker 3>and watching a Clayton Kershaw retrospective here on Sports in LA.

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<v Speaker 3>And I'm just wonderful to be back and uh spend

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<v Speaker 3>time with him and spend time with a lot of

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<v Speaker 3>other my former Dodger teammates and uh, and then some

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<v Speaker 3>of the staff that I still have a great fondness for.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's fitting that we're seeing Kershaw's top ten highlights

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<v Speaker 1>of his career. You were part of so many, including

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<v Speaker 1>his no hitter We saw you be part of that

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<v Speaker 1>special as well, but reconnecting with him here in Los Angeles.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you cherish the most about your friendship with Kershaw?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean, I think it's definitely you know, I

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<v Speaker 3>think it's wast when this when this trip came out,

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<v Speaker 3>it was one of the things that I circled to be.

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<v Speaker 2>What I was looking forward to the most.

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<v Speaker 3>And we've we've we've evolved to a point where very

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<v Speaker 3>little of our conversations you revolve around baseball. It's more

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<v Speaker 3>about family and life and being a dad and being

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<v Speaker 3>a being a husband and you know what's next, and

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<v Speaker 3>so it's just it's just great and we have that

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<v Speaker 3>that shared history, those shared moments, and but beyond that,

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<v Speaker 3>it's definitely transitioned to a relationships as.

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<v Speaker 2>Friends beyond more than what it was. His teammates. A.

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<v Speaker 1>J Ellis was Kershaw's big brother basically in the minor leagues,

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<v Speaker 1>they came up together, and obviously you were a shepherd

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<v Speaker 1>to him for a long time. Can you just describe

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<v Speaker 1>where he was even in twenty twelve to where he's

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<v Speaker 1>at right now and just how he's evolved as a

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<v Speaker 1>person as a pitcher, and how he's so determined to

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<v Speaker 1>still even pitch at this stage of his career.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, without a doubt.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, you know, he's one of the most consistent

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<v Speaker 3>people I've ever been around. That consistency of that determination

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<v Speaker 3>was evident going back to our minor league days as

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<v Speaker 3>teammates together, and just the way that he approached his craft,

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<v Speaker 3>the seriousness that he took it, the diligence he had

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<v Speaker 3>on a day and day out basis. He was very

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<v Speaker 3>meticulous about what he was going to do and what

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<v Speaker 3>he continues to do on a daily basis. And he

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<v Speaker 3>goes out and whether he's pitching in a game or

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<v Speaker 3>doing his his pregame work on a field on a

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<v Speaker 3>day's not pitching, he's going to attack that with a

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<v Speaker 3>focus and a concentration that allows him to maximize every

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<v Speaker 3>single day and turn maximize a career.

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<v Speaker 1>Aj Ellis was part of one of my favorite Dodger teams,

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<v Speaker 1>the twenty thirteen Dodgers who were so special. It was

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<v Speaker 1>the first of this run of twelve consecutive postseason berths.

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<v Speaker 1>Aj when you look back at your Dodger career, was

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<v Speaker 1>twenty thirteen maybe the most special and the most talented.

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<v Speaker 1>Which team, when you look back at your career was

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<v Speaker 1>the one that was truest and dearest to your heart?

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<v Speaker 2>I think, Dave, I think you're exactly right.

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<v Speaker 3>I think that twenty thirteen team really stands out a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of circumstances around that.

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<v Speaker 2>It's kind of funny.

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<v Speaker 3>We were talking about the Padre success that we've had,

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<v Speaker 3>and you know, the second half turnaround we've had. We're

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<v Speaker 3>at one point, we're at fifty to fifty and fifty

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<v Speaker 3>and fifty just coming out of the All Star break,

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<v Speaker 3>and the run we've been on. Where we've gone I

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<v Speaker 3>think something like forty two and seventeen since that point

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<v Speaker 3>to put ourselves in a position to play postseason baseball,

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<v Speaker 3>which is extremely exciting for the city of San Diego

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<v Speaker 3>and for the entire Padres organization. But then to think

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<v Speaker 3>about man forty two and seventeen is historic. It's best

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<v Speaker 3>record in baseball that twenty thirteen Dodger.

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<v Speaker 2>Team went on a run of fifty games where.

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<v Speaker 3>We went forty two and eight, and just like to

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<v Speaker 3>see what this team has done and see how that's

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<v Speaker 3>that's kind of seeped over is really special and really

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<v Speaker 3>a great you know memory from that team. So many

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<v Speaker 3>great friendships still remain to this day. You know, Jerry

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<v Speaker 3>Harrison Junior and Mark Ellis and Skip Schumacher, Nick Punto,

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<v Speaker 3>Michael Young, Andre Ethier, you know, the list goes on

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<v Speaker 3>and on of people who made that easily the most

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<v Speaker 3>the most enjoyable season of my professional career. A.

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<v Speaker 1>J Ellis is back at Dodgers Stadium. He is part

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<v Speaker 1>of the Padres front office. All right, AJ, everybody in

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<v Speaker 1>LA is wondering, why can't we get rid of these

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<v Speaker 1>San Diego Padres? What has made them so special? Why

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<v Speaker 1>are you so good? And why do players like Ryan

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<v Speaker 1>McMahon say you should be the most feared team in

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<v Speaker 1>the postseason.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I think it starts at the top of AJ

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<v Speaker 3>Prowler and his ability to evaluate and then go acquire talents.

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<v Speaker 3>I've been thoroughly impressed with his ability to identify exactly,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, a player strengths, their weaknesses and how they

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<v Speaker 3>will fit on a team. And then once he hands

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<v Speaker 3>those that extreme talent over and he's decisive enough to

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<v Speaker 3>go and acquire in some cases that talent and and

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<v Speaker 3>and maybe strike a little bit sooner than maybe a

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<v Speaker 3>traditional GM would and get those players in the fold.

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<v Speaker 3>Whether it be a Luis riaz A, Dylan sees A,

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<v Speaker 3>Donovan Solano, David Peralto, David Paralta, you get these guys

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<v Speaker 3>who come in and help change the culture and you know,

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<v Speaker 3>reinforce what Mike Schilt has brought into.

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<v Speaker 2>Our organization as well as ours our first year manager.

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<v Speaker 3>And being around Mike and watching the way that he

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<v Speaker 3>uh he preaches a discipline, a focus, but in a

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<v Speaker 3>in a way that it's all about being detail oriented,

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<v Speaker 3>buttoned up.

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<v Speaker 2>In a slow build up to a seven o'clock.

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<v Speaker 3>Game, we're gonna go out and and and and just

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<v Speaker 3>try to outcompete the other side. We have an amazing talent,

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<v Speaker 3>but we want to play like grinders and guys who

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<v Speaker 3>get out there and maximize each game.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, one of our pillars has been our ability

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<v Speaker 2>to fight with two strikes.

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<v Speaker 3>Victor Rodriguez is don a tremendous job coming over as

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<v Speaker 3>a new hitting coach, and he's been stubborn since day one,

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<v Speaker 3>instilling that philosophy of called Petco Park hitting, fighting low

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<v Speaker 3>line drives. For Petco Park notoriously being a very hard

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<v Speaker 3>place to hit for power, We're not gonna complain about it.

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<v Speaker 3>We're gonna maximize that and turn that into our our

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<v Speaker 3>team identity. And that's shown through us as us becoming

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<v Speaker 3>the hardest team in baseball to strike out, a team

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<v Speaker 3>that's always gonna fight with two strikes, fights to the

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<v Speaker 3>last out of the game, and that identity is taken

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<v Speaker 3>hold and and made us a tough team to play against.

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<v Speaker 1>Dang, sounds like you're describing a j Ellis a grinder,

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<v Speaker 1>a guy that would see pitches, not try.

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<v Speaker 2>To hit homers.

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<v Speaker 1>How many years did you lead the league and see

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<v Speaker 1>more pitches per at bad I feel like it was

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<v Speaker 1>at least two.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know for sure.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't I don't know for sure, but I'll tell

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<v Speaker 3>you what I I don't think any team that had

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<v Speaker 3>a full team of a j Ellis as will be

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<v Speaker 3>playing postseason baseball or in the in the hunt of it.

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<v Speaker 3>So it takes it definitely takes elite.

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<v Speaker 2>Talent that we have.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, Mayday Machado, Fando Tatis, Xander Bogart's Jackson Merrill

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<v Speaker 3>who has come over and helped change our culture without

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<v Speaker 3>even saying a word, with the infectious joy that he

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<v Speaker 3>plays baseball with a guy who genuinely cares about the

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<v Speaker 3>success of his teammates equal or surpassing that of his own.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's such a special, unique trade to have.

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<v Speaker 3>And that joy for each other, that love for each other,

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<v Speaker 3>that ability to compete for one another, it's it translates,

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<v Speaker 3>it's being translated on the field. A couple that with

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<v Speaker 3>an amazing pitching staff with with Dylan Ceas and and

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<v Speaker 3>and Joe Muscrove, you Darvish, Michael King. You know, no

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<v Speaker 3>one's really talking about that Wan Soto trade anymore.

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<v Speaker 2>Being a mistake. When you know.

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<v Speaker 3>You get a Michael King, you turn that part of

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<v Speaker 3>that trade into Dylan Ceese. Uh, you know, Kyle Goascioka

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<v Speaker 3>behind the plate. It's it's been a special, special uh.

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<v Speaker 2>Group of guys.

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<v Speaker 3>And I'm really excited to play. And yeah, I tend

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<v Speaker 3>to agree. I think we're one of those teams you

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<v Speaker 3>look at that's gonna be a tough matchup for anyone,

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<v Speaker 3>but the Nashley Playoffs is gonna be a lot of

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<v Speaker 3>fun to watch, and that this Dodger team is gonna

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<v Speaker 3>have a big say in what happens as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, Padres and Dodgers may not be done after tonight.

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<v Speaker 1>They are on a collision course for another matchup in

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<v Speaker 1>the NLDS. Great to have a j elis join us.

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<v Speaker 1>Great to have a jlis back at Dodgers Stadium. There

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<v Speaker 1>is life outside of working from home, Aj, you just

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<v Speaker 1>got a taste of it.

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<v Speaker 3>It is it is, This is crazy. This has been

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<v Speaker 3>a full day already. Usually, you know, I try to

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<v Speaker 3>work only about you know, you know, an hour or

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<v Speaker 3>two hours a day, like these long hours. I don't

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<v Speaker 3>know how you do it, Dave, but uh, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>keep up the good work and you know someday, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>soon maybe somebody will be your special assistant one day.

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<v Speaker 1>Man, he looks the same, he walks the same, he

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<v Speaker 1>talks the same, he thinks the same. The great a

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<v Speaker 1>j LS mister consistent