Speaker 1: Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
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Speaker 2: Hi, everyone, welcome to Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhouse along with
Speaker 2: you from spring training in Goodyear, Arizona. We're at the
Speaker 2: Guardian Spring Training Complex where this afternoon they will take
Speaker 2: on the San Diego Padres. This is our final show
Speaker 2: from spring training. How about that flew by as it
Speaker 2: always does. As our next show will come to you
Speaker 2: from Kansas City, the first weekend of the regular season,
Speaker 2: which begins with the opener on Thursday afternoon in KC.
Speaker 2: Big show for you today. In a little bit, we'll
Speaker 2: hear from Carl Willis, the longtime pitching coach for then
Speaker 2: the Cleveland Indians and then now the Cleveland Guardians. We'll
Speaker 2: also hear from Gavin Williams, who's had an impressive spring.
Speaker 2: Kai Correa, who's the field coordinator but the coach who
Speaker 2: puts together these schedules daily for spring training and it
Speaker 2: is quite a test. So we'll talk to him about
Speaker 2: that among other things. But first we had a chance
Speaker 2: to visit with a longtime Cleveland Indian and now guardian
Speaker 2: Carlow Santana back for his third go round with the organization.
Speaker 2: This will be his sixteenth major League season. Ten have
Speaker 2: been spent with Cleveland, but not since twenty twenty.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: When we caught up with them earlier this week, he
Speaker 2: talked about some of the differences this time around.
Speaker 4: This a little bit chang especially they have a lot
Speaker 4: of jungle player to great talent. Dan he's gray. Yeah,
Speaker 4: he's a gundawn. Little memory to me in the past.
Speaker 4: What I'm gonna start here younger, But you know, we
Speaker 4: have to leave day to day. And now I'm be
Speaker 4: here and I'm happy, and I'll come back to my
Speaker 4: house the Cleveland warder now.
Speaker 2: And I remember last summer seeing you with the twins,
Speaker 2: and you had mentioned you thought maybe at some point
Speaker 2: you might come back or we're hoping to. What makes
Speaker 2: this special here? What makes Cleveland special to you?
Speaker 4: Especial because they give opportunity, UH start my career in Cleveland,
Speaker 4: and I play for a long time, Cleveland half in
Speaker 4: my heart for the rest of my life. I have
Speaker 4: good memory. Uh me and my family, UH fans support me.
Speaker 4: UH the office, my my shournal and Chris Antonetti. You know, Uh,
Speaker 4: they the first guy signed to my first contrast, So
Speaker 4: I mean I have a lot of memory to to
Speaker 4: Cleveland Warrior. Uh, and that's why I'm taking decision comeback.
Speaker 2: We're recording this interview in the clubhouse and your locker
Speaker 2: is right next to Jose Ramirez. You guys been friends
Speaker 2: for a long time. What's it been like to be
Speaker 2: back with him?
Speaker 4: He's happy, he's happy. He's the guy, the first guy,
Speaker 4: UH talk to me before Si'm here, you know, doing
Speaker 4: during the season. We're talking me and him a lot,
Speaker 4: and he's happy. You know, he's happy.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 4: We have good relationships, me and him. So I'm happy.
Speaker 4: You know, I'm happy he learned to me. I longed
Speaker 4: to him about in general to the life. So I'm happy.
Speaker 4: You know, I'm happy and have uh ste Wi Josse.
Speaker 4: He's one of the best player in the league. I'm
Speaker 4: very happy, you know, play with him and play with
Speaker 4: all the all the team here.
Speaker 2: Carlos Santana joining US gold Glove winner a year ago.
Speaker 2: You've done a lot of things in your career. What
Speaker 2: did that mean to you to win a gold Glove?
Speaker 4: Something special for me, but more special to my mom. Uh,
Speaker 4: and I'm promo to to her before before she is so
Speaker 4: last year she asked me, uh, what you want? What
Speaker 4: do you have to do? And no, she told me.
Speaker 4: She asked me, what do you want, uh, before you retire?
Speaker 4: And I'm telling to think I want wing Wing World
Speaker 4: Series and wing gold Glove. That's why I'm using the
Speaker 4: the pink glove because this is my mom family colors,
Speaker 4: you know, And I'm doing doing he is? She happy?
Speaker 4: He's been me proud to me and and my mom
Speaker 4: and uh and the and the the gold glove when
Speaker 4: I'm wing his for my mom.
Speaker 2: When we first saw you, you were a catcher and
Speaker 2: he had a little bit of time at third base
Speaker 2: and then moved over the first What did you do
Speaker 2: to become a really good defensive first basement preparing.
Speaker 4: I'm working hard in the off season, I'm working hard,
Speaker 4: and the spin training and working hard. And the season.
Speaker 6: You know.
Speaker 4: I'm working. You know, I'm working my body. I'm working
Speaker 4: everything or try to keep it play, especially my age.
Speaker 4: You know, couple players they don't believe how what I
Speaker 4: look like to my age. But I'm the guy working hard.
Speaker 4: I prospect the gang. I've prospect my time. I prospect everybody.
Speaker 4: That's why I'm here.
Speaker 2: At the plate. Obviously, you're gonna try and put up
Speaker 2: the best numbers you can. How have you evolved as
Speaker 2: a hitter as the years have gone by? Yeah?
Speaker 4: No, for me, nothing change. You know, nothing change. Uh Cleveland,
Speaker 4: they summed back because they they they think or they know, Okay,
Speaker 4: I can help to the team making playoffs and make
Speaker 4: it to the World Series. So you know, we see
Speaker 4: this is some, but I think this is some. That's
Speaker 4: why I'm preparing for making gunnumbe and hold to my
Speaker 4: team making playoff, for making Winter the War Series. So
Speaker 4: you know, I'm thinking day to day. I'm thinking one
Speaker 4: day out of time and see what happen into the season.
Speaker 4: But everything he's positive now.
Speaker 2: Carlos, great to see, a great to have you back.
Speaker 4: Thank you, Thank you very much.
Speaker 2: Always fun of visit with Carlos Santana and in his
Speaker 2: age thirty nine season, the Guardians counting on him to
Speaker 2: be a key at first base. Another key for the
Speaker 2: Guardians on the mound in the rotation Gavin Williams. After
Speaker 2: an injury plagued twenty twenty four campaign, Williams has been
Speaker 2: the talk of spring training in terms of the starting rotation,
Speaker 2: he has been absolutely terrific, and he says he's really
Speaker 2: happy with how things have gone so far this spring.
Speaker 7: Really please honestly, especially coming off last year. It's not
Speaker 7: definitely not what I expected and not what I wanted
Speaker 7: last year. So having won eighty from last year is
Speaker 7: going to be a good thing for me.
Speaker 2: And explain your off season, and maybe geography helped a
Speaker 2: little bit. Being close to Carl Willis. How often did
Speaker 2: you guys get together and what we're able to do.
Speaker 7: Probably thirty minutes from Carl, so I think it was
Speaker 7: once or twice a week whenever I would throw pins,
Speaker 7: and sometimes during touch play we come over or I
Speaker 7: would go out his way and throw and he would
Speaker 7: come out and watch me. And we just worked on
Speaker 7: a little things in the in the wind up and
Speaker 7: in the stretch, just trying to figure out some things.
Speaker 7: It helped me, I mean honestly helped me tremendously, especially
Speaker 7: where I'm.
Speaker 5: At right now.
Speaker 2: Maybe without getting too technical, what were some of the
Speaker 2: things that have allowed you to really take off here
Speaker 2: so far?
Speaker 1: Uh?
Speaker 7: Yeah, just staying more upright with my back leg, not
Speaker 7: getting too deep, spinning out of it was the big
Speaker 7: thing last year, so I was getting two on my
Speaker 7: back toe, so it creates bad pitch profiles, and trying
Speaker 7: to throw a slider at times was more of a cutter,
Speaker 7: which didn't work out that well.
Speaker 2: So we see velocity readings and probably somewhat similar to
Speaker 2: a year ago in the upper nineties. But what's the
Speaker 2: difference with your fastball that that you're seeing early on
Speaker 2: in spring training.
Speaker 7: Yeah, the vertical movements definitely back, especially after like when
Speaker 7: I got drafted to now it's going back to where
Speaker 7: when I got drafted. That's a little bit higher. I
Speaker 7: don't want it to creak down any lower than what
Speaker 7: it is.
Speaker 2: And team wise, rotation wise, how much do you look
Speaker 2: forward to being with this group again and a Tanner,
Speaker 2: Biby and some of the others that are in the rotation.
Speaker 7: Yeah, it's gonna be awesome, especially after the things some
Speaker 7: of the guys did last year, especially the bullpen guys
Speaker 7: looked phenomenal and what Biby did last year is insane.
Speaker 7: So I'm ready to be with everybody again.
Speaker 2: It's Gavin Williams seems primed for a big year in
Speaker 2: that Guardian starting rotation, stay with us. When we come back,
Speaker 2: we'll visit with field coordinator and also the defensive specialist
Speaker 2: for that Guardian's coaching staff, Hi Korea. That's next on
Speaker 2: the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
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Speaker 2: Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jim rosan Al back with
Speaker 2: you from Guardian Spring training in Goodyear, Arizona. It's winding
Speaker 2: down now and that means a little bit is off
Speaker 2: the plate for Kai Korea, who is a part of
Speaker 2: that major league coaching staff. He's the field coordinator and
Speaker 2: some of his specialties defense, base running, in game strategy.
Speaker 2: But this time of year he is extremely busy because
Speaker 2: he is the man responsible for the daily schedules for
Speaker 2: what at one point in time was close to one
Speaker 2: hundred players at the start of spring training. It has
Speaker 2: whittled down quite a bit since then. But when we
Speaker 2: caught up in them earlier this week, he said, it's
Speaker 2: no accident that things are running smoothly at this point
Speaker 2: the spring because of some of the planning that goes
Speaker 2: into it.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Traditionally, I start building the spring training both like big
Speaker 3: peck pictures, monthly, weekly and daily schedules as far back
Speaker 3: as like mid November, and so I'll start churning out
Speaker 3: the drafts where they're kind of plotting things out, building curriculum,
Speaker 3: building infu and presentations for meetings. Way back when, I
Speaker 3: found that if you do that and you start early,
Speaker 3: it gives you the most tools in the two back
Speaker 3: to then go and be flexible once the spring begins.
Speaker 2: You did it last year, plan spring training, you're back
Speaker 2: again doing it this year. Any easier second year in
Speaker 2: the organization, or in your case, back in the organization
Speaker 2: from one year to the next.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think anytime you repeat things, the ease comes
Speaker 3: from like the rest of the personnel's familiarity, right, They
Speaker 3: kind of know what they expect, and so there's just
Speaker 3: less surface level questions about why we're doing something or
Speaker 3: what comes next.
Speaker 2: When you look at your busiest time right now, it's
Speaker 2: starting to slow down a little bit as the roster thinds.
Speaker 2: But at the beginning of camp full roster plus depth camp,
Speaker 2: how many players are you responsible for to to get
Speaker 2: them to the right place at the right time.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's something that we unique that we do here,
Speaker 3: which is an amazing part of our culture, putting everybody
Speaker 3: on under one roof, under one schedule through the you know,
Speaker 3: the start of February and into late February. And in
Speaker 3: that one though, you're talking about over just shy of
Speaker 3: one hundred players.
Speaker 2: Obviously, huge communication with Stephen Vote and the rest of
Speaker 2: the coaches. Ultimately, what's the most important thing that they
Speaker 2: want to see on a day to day basis from
Speaker 2: an organization standpoint, Well.
Speaker 3: I think you want to see a couple of things.
Speaker 3: You want to see the main things kept, the main
Speaker 3: things right, the things that are front and center that
Speaker 3: are featured in meetings, that are featured in activities when
Speaker 3: we all collide on one field, that are emphasized time
Speaker 3: and time again are the things that are going to
Speaker 3: lead to wins and losses in gameplay. So that's the
Speaker 3: first thing you want to see. The second thing you
Speaker 3: want to see is fluidity. You know, people bouncing from
Speaker 3: one activity to the next without lulls in the schedule,
Speaker 3: both from a workload standpoint, so you're not getting cold
Speaker 3: and hot and again, and then both from and from
Speaker 3: a respect and time standpoint. So I think those are
Speaker 3: the two priority that you're looking for when you're building
Speaker 3: a schedule that everyone wants to see.
Speaker 2: And maybe it's easy to look back on it now
Speaker 2: because of the success the team had a year ago,
Speaker 2: But how much do you think spring training had to
Speaker 2: do not only with the wins and losses, but the
Speaker 2: style of play this team had.
Speaker 3: I think spring training is an really important time to
Speaker 3: set the tone for a team's culture in regard to
Speaker 3: style of play.
Speaker 6: You have.
Speaker 3: Three four hours in a day to curate specific blocks
Speaker 3: to make things important, and I think if you consistently
Speaker 3: do so and justify why you're doing so, inevit inevitably
Speaker 3: they'll show up in your team style of play.
Speaker 2: Kay Kry is joining us. He's a field coordinator, puts
Speaker 2: together spring training defense based running game strategy. We're not
Speaker 2: too far from field too, which I feel like that's
Speaker 2: your classroom in spring training. Tell us what goes on
Speaker 2: there that makes this team a year ago one of
Speaker 2: the best defensive teams in baseball.
Speaker 3: No, that's really fun. I as well think about it
Speaker 3: as a classroom as well, and spring training being the
Speaker 3: closest thing to a baseball school, and that's why I
Speaker 3: love this time of year so much. But in terms
Speaker 3: of our defensive work, it starts first and foremost with
Speaker 3: how we acquire players. You don't get good at defense
Speaker 3: at the major league level if you don't acquire players
Speaker 3: at the minor league level and the major league level
Speaker 3: that are good defenders to begin with. And this organization
Speaker 3: does a great job identifying and developing those players in
Speaker 3: terms of in spring training in particular, our days kind
Speaker 3: of build up from all kinds of individual and custom
Speaker 3: work into position specific work and then into larger team concepts,
Speaker 3: and we build our defensive schedule much more like a
Speaker 3: NFL team would run a training camp, as opposed to
Speaker 3: a classic spring training in the way that it kind
Speaker 3: of funnels to a singular, singular point of emphasis on
Speaker 3: a given day.
Speaker 2: I thought it was interesting. Will Wilson, who's new to
Speaker 2: the organization during the drills, plays a lot at third base.
Speaker 2: He said, Jose Ramirez is invaluable to him this spring
Speaker 2: in terms of helping him get better. What does Hosey
Speaker 2: do out there that helps his teammates.
Speaker 3: Well, Hosey isn't afraid to provide feedback. Hosey isn't afraid
Speaker 3: to hold teammates accountable. He's a natural teacher. He's highly observant.
Speaker 3: He's got an elite memory and recall for previous plays
Speaker 3: and previous players, And so Will is right. Not only
Speaker 3: is he a great resource for Will, but he's a
Speaker 3: great resource for all of us.
Speaker 2: When you look back at a season ago, there's so
Speaker 2: many different metrics. One of them is defensive run saved,
Speaker 2: and I'm not sure which is the most important, but
Speaker 2: in that one, Cleveland was at or near the top
Speaker 2: all season long a year ago, and their top tier
Speaker 2: minor league teams have been at or near the top
Speaker 2: as well. How much does that philosophy filter down to
Speaker 2: what's going on at Columbus.
Speaker 3: And Acron, Yeah, very much so. One of our great
Speaker 3: strengths as an organization in terms of defensive play is
Speaker 3: alignment in regard to our beliefs in terms of positioning
Speaker 3: and positional versatility and taking care of the ball and
Speaker 3: promoting athleticism. And our minor league staff does an amazing
Speaker 3: job mirroring and enhancing the pregame routines, meetings and processes
Speaker 3: that we execute here at the major league level.
Speaker 2: Spring training is winding down. It do you miss it
Speaker 2: when when the season starts or is it time to
Speaker 2: kind of put it in the rearview mirror and get going
Speaker 2: with the season.
Speaker 3: No? No, for me, A year after year, it's almost
Speaker 3: the perfect amount of time.
Speaker 6: You're ready to get rolling.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 3: I feel like the cycle of a professional season is
Speaker 3: oddly appropriate. When the season's winding down and the postseason's there,
Speaker 3: you're ready to get home and see your family. And
Speaker 3: at the end of the off season you feel like
Speaker 3: you got that itch to get back the spring training,
Speaker 3: and a spring training winds down, you're ready to get
Speaker 3: it to the season. And so just when you get
Speaker 3: worn out or tired of something, the page turns intil
Speaker 3: the next chap.
Speaker 2: There good stuff there from Kai Korea, especially on that
Speaker 2: defensive side of things. As the Guardians, depending on who
Speaker 2: you look at in terms of defensive measurements, one of
Speaker 2: the tops in baseball a year ago, and they'll need
Speaker 2: to be again to be a factor in the Al Central.
Speaker 2: Another facet of the game that is so important to Cleveland,
Speaker 2: pitching and the pitching factory rolls on once again under
Speaker 2: the tutelage of Major League pitching coach Carl Willis. Back
Speaker 2: for another season. We'll talk to him about it next
Speaker 2: on the Cleveland Clinic. Guardians Radio Network. Welcome back to
Speaker 2: Guardians Weekly. Jim Rosenhouse back with you from Guardians Spring
Speaker 2: training in Goodyear, Arizona. Our final show this spring from
Speaker 2: here as the regular season begins on Thursday in Kansas City.
Speaker 2: Still some more baseball on the radio today though, as
Speaker 2: we'll join you from Goodyear Ballpark for the Guardians and
Speaker 2: padres Hammy has the first pitch four five. Once again.
Speaker 2: The Guardian's pitching coach is Carl Willis. Fifteenth season in
Speaker 2: the organization, twenty second overall in baseball. He's worked with
Speaker 2: five different Cy Young Award winners over the course of
Speaker 2: his outstanding career, and at this point in time in
Speaker 2: his career, he goes year to year in terms of
Speaker 2: whether he wants to continue or not. And when we
Speaker 2: caught up with them earlier in the spring, he talked
Speaker 2: about his reasons for returning this year to oversee that
Speaker 2: Guardian's pitching staff.
Speaker 5: Well, you know, Rosie, number ones of people and the organization.
Speaker 5: They've obviously been been very good to me, and you know,
Speaker 5: one of the first things that I asked them or
Speaker 5: we talked about at the end of the postseason, I
Speaker 5: really wanted to make sure that they feel I'm still
Speaker 5: the right guy for the job. Listen, the game has
Speaker 5: changed so much, and I have tried to, you know,
Speaker 5: stay abreast with a new technology and a different language
Speaker 5: of teaching and coaching. And yet, you know, as I
Speaker 5: tell some of the younger pitching coaches who played and
Speaker 5: at high levels, don't forget what you know because you've
Speaker 5: experienced how it is to be on the mount and
Speaker 5: maybe not have a pitch that day, or you know,
Speaker 5: physically not feeling you know, close to one hundred percent.
Speaker 5: So I just I don't want to overstay my welcome.
Speaker 5: I want to make sure that I'm giving the players
Speaker 5: the right information in a way that allows them to
Speaker 5: have success. And honestly, that's at the forefront of the
Speaker 5: decision each and every year. So you know, it's the
Speaker 5: people and and I really really want to be here
Speaker 5: when we raise that trophy, and I feel like it's
Speaker 5: unfinished business and hopefully, you know, we can have that
Speaker 5: happen soon.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's interesting you mentioned blending things and trying to
Speaker 2: stay relevant. Do you ever think back to to when
Speaker 2: you were just breaking into the major leagues and what
Speaker 2: it took and what was available to you then compared
Speaker 2: to now how barebones was it when you were breaking in.
Speaker 5: Well, you know, back then, video was just becoming a thing,
Speaker 5: you know, like watching video. I know, talking when I
Speaker 5: was young to some older players, they was like, boy,
Speaker 5: I wish we'd have had this video, you know, to
Speaker 5: watch when when I first broke in, or a few
Speaker 5: years ago, when I was a little bit younger, I
Speaker 5: can remember, you know, we didn't have advanced meetings. I
Speaker 5: mean maybe there were a couple of guys you had
Speaker 5: an idea of what to do and what not to do.
Speaker 5: But these guys have everything at their fingertips now in
Speaker 5: terms of you can go as deep as you want
Speaker 5: to go in terms terms of not only yourself but
Speaker 5: the opponents, and you have to take advantage of that.
Speaker 5: But you also have to be mindful of who you are,
Speaker 5: what you do best. And you may see a guy
Speaker 5: can't hit a slider. Sometimes you have to check yourself
Speaker 5: and realize your slider may be your third best pitch,
Speaker 5: and so how are you going to compensate. You know,
Speaker 5: you don't want to throw your least effective pitch just
Speaker 5: because the hitter struggles with that. So I always use
Speaker 5: the term the art of pitching. We develop stuff, we
Speaker 5: develop great deliveries, or try to, but at the same
Speaker 5: time there's still that cat and mouse game of changing speeds,
Speaker 5: changing eye levels, throwing the different quadrants of the strike zone.
Speaker 5: That's an art of pitching and learning how to use
Speaker 5: the stuff that you've developed.
Speaker 2: I thought it was interesting the other day we're talking
Speaker 2: about preparation and obviously in spring training that the scouting
Speaker 2: reports aren't nearly as detailed. You're a pitching coach, you
Speaker 2: work with pictures, but you were saying that it's so
Speaker 2: important to have your catchers in a lot of these
Speaker 2: meetings and how much of a role can they play
Speaker 2: in helping a pitcher get through a game.
Speaker 5: Well, for us, it's huge, and we're so blessed to
Speaker 5: have guys that take pride in it. It's their number
Speaker 5: one focus, their relationships with each and every picture, their
Speaker 5: understanding of not only what makes them tick, but what
Speaker 5: their stuff looks like, what it looks like when they're
Speaker 5: at their best, how they're sequencing, where they can command
Speaker 5: the baseball, where their hotspots in the strike zone are.
Speaker 5: And the fact matter too, Rosie. You know, back years
Speaker 5: ago you could make ten trips to the mound if
Speaker 5: it need be. You know, nowadays you got four, and
Speaker 5: the catchers, more time than not are going to make
Speaker 5: one or two of those trips. So their understanding and
Speaker 5: knowledge of the game and knowledge of the pitchers out there,
Speaker 5: it's so vitally important. And I think it's also so
Speaker 5: important to have these conversations amongst the catchers and the pitchers,
Speaker 5: so they hear each other talk, and the catchers hear
Speaker 5: the pictures talk and how they say it, so they
Speaker 5: understand how to talk to them.
Speaker 2: Carl willis joining us Guardians pitching coach all over the
Speaker 2: bap here. But you had one of your pictures that
Speaker 2: you worked with for a long time. Cec Sabathia announced
Speaker 2: he's going into the Hall of Fame this summer in
Speaker 2: Cooper's town. What did that mean to you? Having worked
Speaker 2: with him at the very beginning.
Speaker 5: It's one of the highlights of my career. And you know,
Speaker 5: CC is an unbelievable human being. He's a Hall of
Speaker 5: Fame pitcher, He's a Hall of Fame person. And you
Speaker 5: know I met him when he was seventeen years old.
Speaker 5: We were able to develop, I think, a very special
Speaker 5: relationship that maybe went a little beyond player and coach
Speaker 5: and and became, you know, very personal. But at the
Speaker 5: same time, I don't want anyone to to misconstruct. His
Speaker 5: statements about me meant the world to me. I'm very
Speaker 5: grateful for that. But at the same time, I was
Speaker 5: the one who was blessed to have been in Burlington,
Speaker 5: North Carolina his first season. I was there to introduce
Speaker 5: him to professional baseball, developing routines, you know, learning how
Speaker 5: to take care of yourself and sure, you know, deliveries
Speaker 5: and pitches. Yeah, every coach works on that. I think.
Speaker 5: You know, if you go back to our uh to
Speaker 5: nineteen ninety eight. Had Tony Arrow been in Burlington, had
Speaker 5: Dave Miller been in Burlington. I tell people Buddy Black
Speaker 5: was our triple A pitching coach at the time. I mean,
Speaker 5: if Buddy Black had been in Burlington, I'm sure CC
Speaker 5: would have been in good hands. Right, he did it,
Speaker 5: but it did mean the world to me that he
Speaker 5: expressed those feelings.
Speaker 2: Can you put into words just how raw he was,
Speaker 2: as you mentioned, a teenager still and really getting his
Speaker 2: first taste of pro ball.
Speaker 5: You know, we've laughed about it, and he's told the story.
Speaker 5: You know. I asked him if he threw a four
Speaker 5: scene fastball a two scene fastball, and he said, man,
Speaker 5: I just grab it. He didn't, you know, even know
Speaker 5: what I was talking about. He he didn't pitch consistently
Speaker 5: in any particular place on the rubber. He was just
Speaker 5: so powerful. You know, a high school kid throwing ninety
Speaker 5: eight miles per hour the thing I will say that
Speaker 5: was so impressive, so tremendously athletic. But you know, we're
Speaker 5: in Bluefield, West Virginia. And I asked him if he'd
Speaker 5: ever thrown a chain jump, and he said, no, I've
Speaker 5: never thrown a change up. But I know how to
Speaker 5: throw it. I can throw one, and I said, well,
Speaker 5: let's see it. And he had a really good change up. Obviously,
Speaker 5: in high school throwing ninety eight, you're probably never going
Speaker 5: to throw one, right, which is why he hadn't. But
Speaker 5: you know, his ability to make adjustments, and some of
Speaker 5: those adjustments took longer than others, but it was pretty
Speaker 5: apparent that he was going to be special.
Speaker 2: And then you fast forward to your time in Cleveland
Speaker 2: and he went to cy Young one of many that
Speaker 2: you've been fortunate to be a part of. Just amazing
Speaker 2: to see the development and growth to go along with
Speaker 2: that talent. By the time he got here in the
Speaker 2: major leagues and was ready to win a lot of games.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it truthfully was. I mean, he became a leader,
Speaker 5: he became a pitcher that you know, was feared throughout
Speaker 5: the league. And listen, I haven't told a lot of
Speaker 5: people this to my first game as a major league
Speaker 5: pitching coach two thousand and three, we opened up in Baltimore,
Speaker 5: CC was our opening gay pitcher, and I was so
Speaker 5: nervous about is he gonna throw strikes? Because you know,
Speaker 5: I mean, when you're in the minor league sometimes strike
Speaker 5: throwing can be a bit of an issue, and you know,
Speaker 5: right away as the game started and started to progress,
Speaker 5: it's like, no, this is a big leagues I mean,
Speaker 5: he's controlling the strikeing zone, he's getting the head. He
Speaker 5: he's a major league pitcher. And that first game, while
Speaker 5: there were a lot of nerves, thankful that he was
Speaker 5: out there because it calmed my nerves and helped me
Speaker 5: move forward.
Speaker 2: Carl Willis Joni us Guardian's pitching coach. This yours team
Speaker 2: last year kind of a I don't want to say
Speaker 2: a different way to go about it, but the strength
Speaker 2: was the bullpen, And when you look at this season
Speaker 2: starting rotation wise, seems like, at least in camp, there's
Speaker 2: a little bit more depth there. And I know you're
Speaker 2: never sure how it's going to play out with injuries
Speaker 2: and things like that, but what are you seeing here
Speaker 2: in camp starting rotation wise that has she excited that
Speaker 2: you can get back to being dominant there.
Speaker 5: Well, first, we have a tremendous amount of competition for
Speaker 5: our rotation. I think the front office ownership have done
Speaker 5: an unbelievable job of acquiring, you know, some talent that
Speaker 5: these guys, So the competition is amongst what seems to
Speaker 5: be really really good pitchers. You know, we saw Joey
Speaker 5: Cantillo yesterday have an outstanding out and you know Slavezecni
Speaker 5: same thing. A guy who's been with us and had
Speaker 5: a tough year last year, Logan Allen pitched very very
Speaker 5: well his first outing. We have a yet seen Ortiz,
Speaker 5: Vince Velasquez. You know, we saw a young man Doug mccasey,
Speaker 5: who was really really good and was really really good
Speaker 5: last your Double A and Triple A. So it's exciting.
Speaker 5: I think the quality of the competition and the quality
Speaker 5: then of the depth we will have after decisions are made,
Speaker 5: I think we're in a much better place.
Speaker 2: And that bullpen what just mind blowingly could a year
Speaker 2: ago best in baseball. Do you have to be a
Speaker 2: little bit careful just based on workload, especially for the
Speaker 2: younger guys.
Speaker 5: Yeah, we're trying to do what we think is the
Speaker 5: right thing. You know, with Class A, with Hunter Gaddas,
Speaker 5: Tim Herron, Kate Smith, you know, we're not going to
Speaker 5: see those guys in games out here until the first
Speaker 5: or second of March. They're throwing live EPs, they're getting
Speaker 5: their work done. But we're kind of trying to control
Speaker 5: their intensity because regardless of when it is in spring
Speaker 5: training and people say, well, the games don't mean anything,
Speaker 5: but yet these guys are competitors and when they go
Speaker 5: out there, they're going to compete with everything they have
Speaker 5: each and every day, So we're kind of trying to
Speaker 5: protect them from themselves. The other part of that equation, yeah,
Speaker 5: we used them a lot, and maybe you know, to
Speaker 5: historic proportions, but it was a first for so many
Speaker 5: of them. First year Hunter Gaddis had been in the
Speaker 5: bullpen in his career, you know, Kate Smith made his
Speaker 5: major league debut, so the first time even being at
Speaker 5: the major league level, and then to go out and
Speaker 5: perform as he did through the entirety of the season.
Speaker 5: Tim Herron found his way. Again, you're talking about guys
Speaker 5: having first and then really getting leaned on in terms
Speaker 5: of number of appearances, so they had a different offseason.
Speaker 5: By the time the postseason ended, those guys were gassed
Speaker 5: and it's the first time they'd experienced that in the
Speaker 5: major leagues. And now how to rest, recover and then
Speaker 5: prepare for another season that comes around quickly. You know,
Speaker 5: our job and responsibility is to help them with that.
Speaker 2: All right, we'll finish up with this spring training. It's
Speaker 2: a great time of year, especially you're from North Carolina
Speaker 2: and not an easy winner there either compared to Cleveland
Speaker 2: a little bit better. But take us back, not first
Speaker 2: major league camp, but first spring training overall in pro
Speaker 2: ball for you? When where? And what do you remember
Speaker 2: about that? Well?
Speaker 5: Nineteen eighty four. So I wasn't a I was drafted
Speaker 5: in the twenty third round. I was a senior college
Speaker 5: sign didn't get any money to speak of, but whatever reason,
Speaker 5: I was fortunate enough to be invited to major league
Speaker 5: camp my first spring training. You know, it's so different
Speaker 5: back then we had three non roster players in camp.
Speaker 5: You know, now we have I don't know, twenty five.
Speaker 5: I mean I could probably more so, way way different environment.
Speaker 5: But Lakeland, Florida with the Detroit Tigers, and you know,
Speaker 5: I was fortunate that club actually won the World Series
Speaker 5: that year with just a veteran Leyden roster. And I
Speaker 5: was so very fortunate for my first bring to be
Speaker 5: with guys like Jack Marris, Dan Petree, we know Doug
Speaker 5: Bear who's from Ohio. As a matter of fact, pitch
Speaker 5: pitched with the Reds prior to come into Detroit, just
Speaker 5: veteran guys who really wanted to help. I felt like
Speaker 5: I was only I was the youngest guy there and
Speaker 5: obviously the least experienced guy there. But their willingness to
Speaker 5: answer any questions or to lead me, it was so
Speaker 5: cool and I'm so appreciative. I know, my first day
Speaker 5: in the major leagues nervous as I could be. We
Speaker 5: were in Baltimore. I got to the hotel. It was
Speaker 5: in June. My phone rang in the room and Alan
Speaker 5: Trammel was on the other end, and he said, Hey, Carl,
Speaker 5: this is tram We got a bus going to the ballpark,
Speaker 5: and you know, four o'clock a lot later than it
Speaker 5: goes now by the way, he said, but I'm going
Speaker 5: over at three. I'm gonna take a cab. If you
Speaker 5: want to go with me, I can show you where
Speaker 5: to go and get you to the clubhouse. And I'm like,
Speaker 5: I'll be in the lobby. I'll be there. So just
Speaker 5: you know, things like that, they go such a long way,
Speaker 5: and I was very blessed to have been around those people.
Speaker 2: What a team could you have? Did you feel that
Speaker 2: in spring training? Because they got off to one of
Speaker 2: the best starts in Major League history that year on
Speaker 2: their way to the World Series.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I don't know if anybody envisioned that type of start.
Speaker 5: I know I opened the season in triple A and
Speaker 5: you know, we all thought, well, there's no way any
Speaker 5: of us are getting called up. But these guys aren't
Speaker 5: going to lose a game. But but they were on
Speaker 5: a mission, you know, from day one. I remember chet
Speaker 5: Lemon again, Jack. They felt like it was their time
Speaker 5: and they were preparing for what they were able to accomplish.
Speaker 5: And that was pretty cool to watch.
Speaker 2: And as you get going here, obviously a lot of optimism.
Speaker 2: What do you see from this club? Just general vibe
Speaker 2: under Steven vote that that has you feeling good about
Speaker 2: a new season.
Speaker 5: You know, Vodie says this a lot, and I think
Speaker 5: it's I don't want it ever get like. These guys
Speaker 5: love each other, you know, and we love them. But
Speaker 5: I mean, they cheer for each other, they try to
Speaker 5: help each other. They obviously compete with and against each
Speaker 5: other here in spring training, but there's truthfully relationships. And
Speaker 5: I know, going back when I remember, you know, the
Speaker 5: highlight of my playing career being part of a team
Speaker 5: in nineteen ninety one that won the World Series. We
Speaker 5: always talked about the chemistry of our team and the
Speaker 5: chemistry out of our clubhouse, and we get together. You know, today,
Speaker 5: on occasion we have a reunion, we get together. It's
Speaker 5: like we've played a game the night before. You just
Speaker 5: never lose those relationships. And to get through the grind
Speaker 5: of the spring training one hundred and sixty two games
Speaker 5: and then the pressure of the playoffs, you need that
Speaker 5: trust in caring about one another and vote. He certainly
Speaker 5: promotes that and does a great job of it.
Speaker 2: Carl, great to have you back. Thanks a lot for
Speaker 2: coming back.
Speaker 5: All right, Rosie, thank you a lot of great stuff
Speaker 5: there from Carl.
Speaker 2: Willis a treasure to be sure and happy that he
Speaker 2: is back in the fold for Cleveland.
Speaker 5: Stay with us.
Speaker 2: We'll have some final thoughts after this time out on
Speaker 2: the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
Speaker 6: Switching to Progressive is a game winning call in my
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Speaker 2: Welcome back to Guardian's Weekly Jim Rosenhaus back with you
Speaker 2: from Guardians Spring training in Goodyear, Arizona Baseball on the
Speaker 2: radio on this Saturday afternoon. You can hear it beginning
Speaker 2: with a first pitch of four h five Guardians and Padres.
Speaker 2: And that is our final broadcast of the exhibition slate.
Speaker 2: The Guardians will take on the Reds tomorrow and then
Speaker 2: the Diamondbacks Monday night and Tuesday afternoon to wrap up
Speaker 2: spring training play. But before we head out for this
Speaker 2: week's show, want to thank bart Swain, Austin Controulis and
Speaker 2: also Portbury Trip as well as Sam Stack. They're all
Speaker 2: Guardians pr and various capacities and they help us immensely
Speaker 2: throughout the course of the spring. So thanks to them
Speaker 2: for all of their efforts and has always want to
Speaker 2: thank Brian Matsee for helping to put together our shows
Speaker 2: each and every week. We'll continue on with regular season
Speaker 2: editions of Guardians Weekly next weekend from Kansas City. Until then,
Speaker 2: this is Jim Rosenhouse reminding you that you've been listening
Speaker 2: to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
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