Speaker 1: Zach cole hit with the weight room this offseason. Fellas,
how are we doing?
Speaker 2: Hey?
Speaker 3: How are you doing? More importantly, I'm good heads. That's
kind of cool.
Speaker 4: Ross, I'm Matt, Matt. Yeah, we're going to be best
friends this year. Hope you're gonna hit thirty bombs. Okay,
you want that left field spot? I'm assuming correct.
Speaker 2: I will take whatever they need me for me. I'll
play any position and whatever whatever I can do it
to help them win.
Speaker 1: So what are you doing again?
Speaker 4: It's been limited workouts, but I'm sure you've been here
a couple of days at least leftfield, centerfield.
Speaker 1: What have you been working on all three?
Speaker 2: They told me early they wanted me to work in
at all three spots to get as much work in
as I could, And so I've been taking reps at
all three, just trying to make myself versatile.
Speaker 4: You got the call up late. Take us through that
moment in time when you it was either a phone call,
a text visit with your manager.
Speaker 1: What was that like?
Speaker 4: And then take us through the next twenty four hours
of you're trying to get yourself into an Astro uniform.
Speaker 2: That was an exciting time. I remember it was right
after a double header. I had actually just spoke. We
were in Round Rock when I was in Triple A.
I had been there for I think it was just
fifteen games and we had just played a double header
on a Wednesday. Just saw my agent and he's like,
I'll see after the season's over, you know, getting prepared
because I was supposed to go to the Arizona Fall League.
That's where they had lined me up. They had told
me I was going there already when I was in
Double A. So I was like, yeah, I'll probably see
you there and I was like, who knows, maybe in Houston.
And I crossed my fingers and it was a funny joke.
And then I walked right in and thirty minutes later
got the call and I had to call my agent
back and I was like, hey, you might want to
change your flight because I'm going to Atlanta. It was
a really cool moment. But I met with my manager,
Mickey Story in Triple A. Great guy he called. He
He brought me in there and sat me down, and
it was a it was cool. He asked me what
day I wanted off that week because I had just
played a doubleheader, and I was like, well, what's our
schedule for the rest of the week. How about Friday?
And he goes, no, it says, you're playing in Atlanta
on Friday. And I was like what. And I was like,
oh my. I was like, this has got.
Speaker 1: To be a joke. But it was.
Speaker 3: It was a dream come true.
Speaker 2: Man. I held in the tears until I called Mom
and Dad. Oh my god, how emotional is that? I mean,
it was. It was such a win for them. I
told them that we did it. It wasn't just a
me thing. I know, I was the one getting to
wear the jersey, but I mean, you can't do it
without Mom and Dad.
Speaker 1: I got so blessed.
Speaker 2: There's such a blessing to me that they helped me
through every stage of my career. And you know, my
dad was the one who gave me the passion to
love the game.
Speaker 1: And did you play You played travel ball when you
were a kid, right of course, Well, then of course
they helped you out.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I have a travel daughter volleyball, so yeah, she
makes it to big International.
Speaker 1: The credit exactly half three quarters.
Speaker 2: I gave the I gave the home run. I gave
the first hit home run ball to Dad, and uh,
it was a no brainer. It was the easiest thing
I've ever done because it belongs to him. He's the one.
He's the one that got me there. Mom and Dad
are the ones that got me there, and I love
them so much. After listening right now, I love your
mom and dad.
Speaker 1: Let me where they Where do they listening?
Speaker 3: They live in Missouri.
Speaker 2: They're not listening. It's okay, though. Here's the recording.
Speaker 5: Maybe you can find Yeah, you can find it on
any major podcast, right radio.
Speaker 1: Cool. We're somewhat famous, so that's what I've heard.
Speaker 4: No, you got a chance about the ego? I guess No,
you got a chance to be major famous. Uh so
you did not go to Arizona Fall League?
Speaker 1: Correct? Why was that the decision made?
Speaker 2: Because I got called up? So they were They were
obviously with the intention at the time, you know what,
I make the forty man roster coming up that off season,
and uh the play at the Fall League would determine that.
But since I made it to the big leagues and
played the last two weeks there, they felt that I
didn't really need to go and do that anymore. So
I got a I got the whole off season, if
you will, But.
Speaker 1: You mean you.
Speaker 4: Honestly, you you got a lot of people impressed with you,
we cause we don't know much about Johnnislely and then
you came in and had a great September.
Speaker 1: When you look back at it, was it just you
were hit the ball.
Speaker 4: Really well at that time that nothing, no matter who
you were gonna go against, you were gonna hit the
ball hard.
Speaker 1: Or was it a case that you just you could
try to slow.
Speaker 4: It down because you just talked about the emotions of
playing a doubleheader game and then trying to get family
and friends to Atlanta and do it, and that kind
of thing that had to been like a constant, like
a stopwatch about how fast you were going to get
from point A to point B.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and I think about I think back on that
time now too, with just all the emotions running high,
and you know, we're here and we're there, and new
experiences all at the same time, meeting new people and
just trying to stay grounded. I take a look at,
you know, the things that came to ground to Obviously,
my faith was number one. You know, God brought me
to the dance, so I'm gonna I'm gonna go home
with him. I'm gonna make sure I stay true to him,
and then obviously just relying on my close family and friends.
We have so many great guys in our clubhouse that
helped me through that, you know, stressful time as a rookie,
especially you know, thrown right into a playoff race as
well to some big games and situations. So to stay grounded,
to just try to be myself and not do too much.
You know, I don't need to come in and be
a superhero every game, because some games you just got
to do one small thing to help the team win,
if that's a walk or moving a base runner or
a bunt or making a play on defense. You don't
always have to be the guy that steps up and
hits the big home run or gets the walk off hits.
So having guys like in our clubhouse like that that
have been there, done that, with all the experience and accolades,
it's such a it's such a comforting feeling for a
rookie like myself, for such a young guy. But a
lot of times I really was just piecing it together,
just relying on what I knew that, you know, the
god given ability I had, what I had worked on,
what got me here just stick to those things because
you know, if they bring me up, they liked the
player that I was in Double A and Triple A, right,
that's the guy they want in the league. So I
don't need to try to do anything different. I can
rely on what got me to this level. That's that's
Unfortunately you know who that is.
Speaker 1: I know who.
Speaker 3: They can't hear it, but I have no idea why
they were playing that.
Speaker 1: But that's terrible timing.
Speaker 3: We're testing with distracting distraction games.
Speaker 2: But yeah, that it was really just piecing it together,
just trusting my abilities, and you know, just just remembering
this is the cool I've dreamed of this my whole life.
But it is baseball. Baseball is the same game. Doesn't
matter you know what jersey you're wearing or where you're
playing it at.
Speaker 3: It's the same game.
Speaker 2: They got to throw the white ball over the white plates.
So just trying to remember that and just trusting it.
It's the same game. Just do what I've always done,
go compete. It's interesting to me the timing of you
got the short time.
Speaker 5: You were so successful and then boom the season stops
didn't make the playoffs unfortunately, to where you didn't get
to kind of in a way, see how the story
would have ended if you got to keep working. So
what's that like for you hitting the offseason knowing how
successful you were, but also trying to keep keep that going,
knowing that there's gonna be tape on you, there's gonna
be certain ways you're you're pitching, and kind of trying
to figure that all.
Speaker 1: Out during this off season.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, And you know that's what it's like every off season.
Speaker 2: We want to we want to try and capitalize on
on those things that we learned from the season. You know,
I was there for a short time, but it was
an excellent opportunity to get to go up there, you know,
just just tip my feet in a little bit, just
try to see like, Okay, this is what the big
leagues are like, yep, this is what is expected of me.
This is what it's going to be like, this is
what I'm going to have to compete at the level.
So we take a look at the things that I
did well, we celebrate those early, We're thankful for a
great season, very blessed, you know, God, you know, helped
me so much, gave me so much. And then it's
time to get to work right. We take a look
at those things where you know I'm exposable, those take
those things where I have weaknesses, and we try to
correct as many of those as we can. You know,
let's say, you know, if there's four four easy ways
that I can get exposed at the big league level,
let's try to knock off two of those this offseason
and make myself a more complete hitter, a more competitive
at bad because that at the end of the day,
that's all I'm trying to do, is just be a
more competitive out every time I step at the box.
Speaker 4: So I call with us here on the Matt Thomas
Show with Ross from West Palm Beach, everybody's fastball Triple.
Speaker 1: A to major league, but it's ninety five gonna go.
Speaker 4: When I talk to guys like yourself that are fresh
the big leagues, it feels like to me, the off
speed stuff is the stuff that separates they're really good
triple A guys and the guys that do at the
highest level agreed.
Speaker 2: You know, obviously, the stuff we're seeing, especially the way
the game is developed, you know, over the last twenty years,
it's it's the best it's ever been.
Speaker 3: There's no doubt.
Speaker 2: I talk to guys like Bagwell who will say the
same thing, you know, even guys like Korea who are saying,
like the league has changed since I came up versus
right now, it's the toughest it has ever been.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: Guys are throwing harder, stuff is moving more, and it's difficult.
There's there's no other way to say it. But for me,
the biggest thing that I noticed in the difference from
the between the miners and the majors was just the
way the pitchers and the catchers think the game. When
you're on offense, you know, it's all chess, you know,
the way they set you up, the way they you know,
target your weaknesses, the pitches that they throw. It's all
a plan that they have set up beforehand, and you
have to try to make you know your counter move,
you know, like, all right, if they're gonna keep throwing
this pitch over and over again until I can hit it.
As soon as I prove I can hit that pitch
or lay off of it, here comes the next challenge.
You know, maybe it's off speed away until I prove it,
and then it's heaters in and then they're gonna keep
trying to find ways, and then it's just you know,
he evolves, you evolve, he changes, you change. So it's
just this constant chess match. And you know, a lot
of the times in the minor leagues, it's just, you know,
guys are like, here's my stuff, this is what I'm
good at.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna go right at you. But in the league
they know what you can do.
Speaker 2: There's no secrets, so they're gonna try to exposure weaknesses
for sure.
Speaker 4: So you hit the home run on the very first
at bat, very first pitch, too correct, something like that.
Speaker 3: Oh, come on, you know he knows what was the
pitch it was. I think it was a cutter.
Speaker 2: It was a cutter, and I was just really really
hoping I didn't swing and miss and.
Speaker 4: Your hooks bros were watching it live as they were.
How many text messages did you have when you look
at your phone after the game?
Speaker 2: Too many? Really, too many to read. I had to,
I couldn't. I was and I was too. I couldn't.
Speaker 1: I'm up with run weren't response and copy and pasted it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was it was a lot.
Speaker 1: I love you, bro, Yeah, keep it nice and simple.
Speaker 2: But they were great man, getting to see that video
and a lot of the guys are here right now,
I'm getting to talk to him. I got to see
him as everyone's getting back in this week and.
Speaker 4: They're making more money than they are, right, I mean,
it's truth. It's still a little bit. They're not making you,
like buy dinners and stuff, are they You're not making
great money?
Speaker 3: No, no, no, they don't.
Speaker 5: No.
Speaker 2: I'm just uh, I'm just I'm just happy to see
him and uh, just to be able to Like you
said that, that experience, you know, getting to see that
video was was unbelievable. Like those guys, they truly, they
truly cared about me, and to see their raw reaction
after a moment like that, it was it made me emotional.
It did, because I care about each and every one
of those guys. And you grind with them and the miners.
It's tough, man, and you go through the stuff.
Speaker 4: Get up for what you run. Crawford Boxes presents challenges
that left center feel.
Speaker 1: That darts back. That's also a tricky spot.
Speaker 4: You can I'm assuming you can practice that into your
blue in the face, but you need to be in
a live competition for that to become a part of
your I got this part of my defensive game, right,
I would say.
Speaker 3: So, yeah, there's nothing better than doing the thing.
Speaker 2: So we, like I said, we practice on it. The
fields we actually have back here are replicas of DIYK
and park mens wise to help us actually get accustomed
to that. But obviously, yeah, if if left field is
what they need from me, then I'll get as many
reps I can there and get more comfortable with it
for sure. But like I said, all three for me
is what they told me. So I'm just working wherever
they need me and trying to be as versatile as again.
Speaker 1: All right, well, I mean you got the challenge in
front of you. Now, what is it being like here
in camp?
Speaker 5: It's obviously a new experience for you being somebody who
is expected to try and win a spot.
Speaker 1: How is that dealing with that? Mentally? For me?
Speaker 2: I love it because for me, at the end of
the day, you know, this is just a game, you know,
and we can go out here and there's always going
to be competition. It's the name of this game, right,
It's all performance, and unfortunately is a killer be killed
type type world. And for me, you just can't focus
on that you know, we have great guys in here,
and obviously we all know what we're doing. Everybody's trying
to go out there and win their spot, go out
there and help the team win as much as they can,
and we just focus on those things. We just focus
on going out there and being competitive and trying to
keep guys up because at the end of the day,
a lot of these guys that you're competing with are
gonna be your teammates. So we don't want to we
don't want to create, you know, divides, you know, if
you know guys are going for the same position. And
for me, just being able to come out here and
enjoy playing and show what I've been working off in
the off season, it's just it's just so much fun.
Speaker 3: I love being out here.
Speaker 2: I love competing with the guys, I love coming out here,
learning from the veterans, and just excited to become a
better baseball player.
Speaker 1: You are well beyond your years. It comes of interviewing skills.
Speaker 4: You get a ten out of ten, we're gonna have
you on like every other day, So every time you
get a home run, you're gonna be on the show
with us.
Speaker 3: Hopefully it's at least thirty times this year.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, at least you have good speed. How's
your speed? You don't get some show fast?
Speaker 3: I can run, are you, Jake Myers?
Speaker 1: I can run. He's very very humble. Oh my god.
Speaker 2: Allow, I'm not raised Jake. He's pretty quick. But uh
he hit the cash string last year, right. Let him
take it easy.
Speaker 4: You are down there and tell him to turn that off.
It was a huge favor. We can't run away for
a couple of minutes, Zach. It was really nice to
visit with you face to face. We will be talking
to you a couple of times in the course of the year,
maybe in the clubhouse as well. We wish you nothing
but the very best, and you have been given a
great opportunity and I hope you make the most to congratulations.
Speaker 2: Thank you guys so much for having me on the show.
You guys are you guys are awesome guys. Oh you
don't know us that well? Oh no, we're nice now
I can I can tell right away. You guys are
good dudes. Thank you so much for having me and
all the people out there listening. Uh, Golastro will see
you guys.
Speaker 3: A mom too, Mom and Dad will send a little podcast.
Speaker 1: To him, Dad.
Speaker 4: I love you all right, Zach Cole joining us here
on The Matt Thomas Show with Ross. We tak a
quick time out back with the second hour The Matt
Thomas Show with Ross from West Palm Beach here on
seven ninety