Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: Taoscar Hernandez is the most in demand Dodger in Atlanta.
Speaker 2: Who knows he is worldwide?
Speaker 1: Like Pitbull said, the one and only Tail joins us man,
Speaker 1: everybody loves you La to Atlanta to Miami, everybody loves
Speaker 1: that smile.
Speaker 2: Well, I appreciate everybody love. You know. I'm trying to
Speaker 2: be nice to every baddy, trying to make everybody feels
Speaker 2: good and just you know, have a great time.
Speaker 1: All right, So the Dodgers are here in Atlanta, first
Speaker 1: of ten games on this ten day road trip. What's
Speaker 1: the routine of Taoscar Hernandez. Are you eating as well
Speaker 1: as you would in La? Are you looking forward to
Speaker 1: Miami getting some real Dominican food? How are you living?
Speaker 2: I mean, I always tried to find the Latin food
Speaker 2: and it doesn't have to be Dominican. But you know,
Speaker 2: trying to enjoy every city there I go, I guess
Speaker 2: some rest and be ready for the game.
Speaker 1: Are you a guy that likes to go out to
Speaker 1: eat or are you like the younger guys that want
Speaker 1: to just get delivered to the hotel room.
Speaker 2: It depends depends how my body is feeling. If I'm
Speaker 2: really tired, I might stay at the hotel, order some
Speaker 2: food and have a great time in there. If not,
Speaker 2: just col Paes and Garcia and then more of the
Speaker 2: guys and just go out and have a great time.
Speaker 1: When I was in the clubhouse at home, I heard
Speaker 1: you a few times invite Andy pa has to come
Speaker 1: to dinner with you. Have you opened his horizons as
Speaker 1: far as showing him the good life?
Speaker 2: Yeah, a little bit. I'm trying to you know, used
Speaker 2: to be to play good the very spot and just
Speaker 2: you know, trying to take him out, making make him
Speaker 2: put his mind in something else. You know, this is
Speaker 2: is a hard game. Sometimes it can get you in
Speaker 2: a place that you don't want to be in there.
Speaker 2: But trying to make everything easier for him and for
Speaker 2: the rest of the guys.
Speaker 1: He gives you a lot of credit for turning his season.
Speaker 1: Do you believe that was part of him playing better?
Speaker 2: I think so. I mean everybody needs somebody that is
Speaker 2: there every time you're going through that moment or to
Speaker 2: a good moment, giving you the support that you need
Speaker 2: to get out of the struggles and to keep doing
Speaker 2: the things that you are doing great, so he knows
Speaker 2: I'm almost going to be there for him, make him
Speaker 2: trying to make him feel better and have the better
Speaker 2: mindset to go into the game and just have tossess.
Speaker 1: We see who you are now at this stage of
Speaker 1: your career. A great teammate and inclusive teammate. Who was
Speaker 1: the veteran that showed you the way when you were
Speaker 1: coming up to help you lead now in your career.
Speaker 2: Well, that's the thing, and I didn't have anybody playing
Speaker 2: that role in my career. I had it for a
Speaker 2: little bit with Kendrick's morales when I was in Toronto,
Speaker 2: but I think that was it. I didn't have anybody
Speaker 2: else take me into his winds and just show me
Speaker 2: the way. I learned that on my own, and I'm
Speaker 2: trying to make a difference, just trying to be different
Speaker 2: for the other guys.
Speaker 1: That tells me you have a great family and that
Speaker 1: was a great upbringing by you to have this type
Speaker 1: of spirit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I always trying to be a nice guy,
Speaker 2: a family guy, a great teammate, great person, And yes,
Speaker 2: I learned that from my family. My wife played a
Speaker 2: good role into that too. She's the one that always
Speaker 2: is there when the good ones and the moments are
Speaker 2: obviously my family, my parents, my brother, everybody, but my
Speaker 2: wife is the one that I was in there.
Speaker 1: When the Dodgers go to Miami, how many family and
Speaker 1: friends will you have there?
Speaker 2: Not many? Not many. I don't have a lot of
Speaker 2: family in Miami. It's more up North New York and
Speaker 2: all the area over there, not in Miami.
Speaker 1: But during the off season, that's where you put in
Speaker 1: a lot of your preparation right in Miami.
Speaker 2: Tampa. Yeah, I live in Tampa. That's where I train,
Speaker 2: between Tomba and Theminican Republic. That's where I can get
Speaker 2: ready for the season.
Speaker 1: Okay, I never knew that Florida's a big state. Tail
Speaker 1: I don't know where you are.
Speaker 2: It is big, it is big, yeah, but I'm in Tamba.
Speaker 1: How long have you had the beard for.
Speaker 2: It's been a couple of years now, maybe ten.
Speaker 1: That's the magic beard.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's the power. There is the power.
Speaker 1: So hey, Tayo, before I let you go, there's always
Speaker 1: that debate. You know, the game that's being played on
Speaker 1: the field. You have a heartbeat as a human being.
Speaker 1: What's it like to be at the plate taking an
Speaker 1: at bat with a runner at second base or third
Speaker 1: base compared to nobody on base, Does it change things
Speaker 1: for you as a hitter.
Speaker 2: It's obviously different. They're not going to pitch you the same.
Speaker 2: But what I do is just go there thinking there's
Speaker 2: nobody on and just a regular bad I don't think
Speaker 2: about driving the runner or move the runner to third base,
Speaker 2: just just just being normal. Uh, just go through your
Speaker 2: plan and then take your regular swings, not over swinging,
Speaker 2: not trying to do too much. And that's that's the
Speaker 2: way I approach it.
Speaker 1: It feels like you have situational hitting inside of you.
Speaker 1: You're not trying to do the home run derby every
Speaker 1: at that you know you go the other way with
Speaker 1: two outs. Is that something you've learned recently or was
Speaker 1: that always in you?
Speaker 2: No? I learned that in my career. Obviously, in my
Speaker 2: last three years, I was trying to get better with
Speaker 2: two strikes, so implementing my two strike approach. They play
Speaker 2: me pool, so it's a big space between first and second,
Speaker 2: and I know if I ship the ball over there
Speaker 2: with the power that I had, I had a better
Speaker 2: chance to get a head over there.
Speaker 1: All right, Tayo, thanks a lot for the time. Always
Speaker 1: love catching up with you. Hopefully we have more ice
Speaker 1: buckets throughout the year.
Speaker 2: It's a pleasure. Oh, it's a pleasure to talk. So USA,
Speaker 2: so thank you.
Speaker 1: This guy is one of the best people you'll ever meet.
Speaker 1: If you see him in La, don't be intimidated. He'll
Speaker 1: give you a big hug and maybe maybe even let
Speaker 1: you touch that beautiful beard of his. Maybe maybe, Oh
Speaker 1: there he is the man, te Oscar Hernandez