Speaker 1: And an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: All right, we're joined right now by one of the dogs,
Speaker 1: part of the World Series Champions last year and a
Speaker 1: big part of the Dodger Bullpen this year, the one
Speaker 1: and only Anthony Banda. Anthony, thanks a lot for the time.
Speaker 2: Appreciate it, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1: Can we rewind to Mexican Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 1: What did you think about the uh Luce Libre fighters
Speaker 1: that they surprised everybody with.
Speaker 2: I thought that was pretty cool, given the fact that
Speaker 2: you know wrestling I watched growing up, Me and my brothers,
Speaker 2: we watched it and fell in love with it until
Speaker 2: I found out it was fake. But no, it's very entertaining,
Speaker 2: and that's what I came to an understanding with was
Speaker 2: the entertainment of it. So I can see, you know
Speaker 2: why people love it and people cheer for it and
Speaker 2: then blessed like the Jerseys. I thought they were awesome.
Speaker 2: So I was begging you guys to uh to give
Speaker 2: me something. So I'm glad I got some. I can
Speaker 2: hook it up, Banda if you need some, I got
Speaker 2: some I got.
Speaker 1: So you deserve it. I mean, you leave your arm
Speaker 1: out there on the mound, You leave your heart out
Speaker 1: there on the mound every time out there. What's it
Speaker 1: like coming back and being a world champion.
Speaker 2: It's fulfilling, But you know, we got another job at hand,
Speaker 2: and it's a new season, so you know, we leave
Speaker 2: all the awards and everything else like that back at
Speaker 2: home and get back to work and stay focused on
Speaker 2: what we need to do this year.
Speaker 1: Your job title is still the same Dodger reliever, but
Speaker 1: it feels like your role is a lot different than
Speaker 1: last year. How have you adjusted to it?
Speaker 2: You know, it's the same mindset I had last year
Speaker 2: whenever the phone rings and it's it's made just kind
Speaker 2: of you know, understand what the job is and understand
Speaker 2: my lane and understand the sequences I need to do
Speaker 2: to attack the hitters, and just go and execute that
Speaker 2: game plan and have some fun doing it.
Speaker 1: You and the other dogs from last year were pushed
Speaker 1: to the limits. I have not forgotten that, and I
Speaker 1: don't take for granted it. Just the the wear and
Speaker 1: tear and the toll it takes on your body. How
Speaker 1: have you been able to bounce back? And do you
Speaker 1: feel like your body is is more in a rhythm
Speaker 1: now than it was maybe to start the year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, given the fact, you know, we had some
Speaker 2: unfortunate injuries going down, and you know, it's you know,
Speaker 2: it's a it's a workload that we're taking on. But
Speaker 2: that's that's kind of what we do, and it's kind
Speaker 2: of our job, and you know, it's it's it's an
Speaker 2: honor to put on the Dodger blue uniform and continue
Speaker 2: to pitch for the Dodgers. So if you want to
Speaker 2: continue doing that, you just got to understand that that
Speaker 2: comes with the job. And uh, you know, like we've
Speaker 2: always said, we always pick each other up, regardless of
Speaker 2: what it what it takes. Uh, it's a team effort
Speaker 2: and so that's what we're striving for every single time.
Speaker 2: And whoever's coming out of that boat and we're rooting
Speaker 2: for and cheering for, and when that person gets a job,
Speaker 2: it's the next person up. So that's just what our
Speaker 2: mindsets are and that's that's what we carry from last
Speaker 2: year to this year. And we've been we've been in
Speaker 2: a good spot lately, so I think we're doing a
Speaker 2: very good job with that.
Speaker 1: How impressed have you been with Ben Casparius because he's
Speaker 1: in a similar spot him and Jack Dryer as you
Speaker 1: were last year, and they seem to have really stepped
Speaker 1: up like you did.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, you know, having guys to step up and
Speaker 2: understand that that's the culture that that we expect and
Speaker 2: that you know, they molded into very very quickly. It's
Speaker 2: it's a it's amazing to watch. It's given the fact
Speaker 2: that they are young and you know, this is our
Speaker 2: first full year, but they're what impresses me the most
Speaker 2: impresses everybody down there is that they're relentless and they're
Speaker 2: not they're not scared to go after hitters and they
Speaker 2: go out and just you know, they have unbelievable stuff. Uh,
Speaker 2: and you know, they just take advantage of the hitters
Speaker 2: and you know, basically bully the guys. So it's fun
Speaker 2: to watch given the fact that we've known Ben for
Speaker 2: a little bit now, but especially with Jack, he's a
Speaker 2: very quiet individual, but he knows what he's doing. He
Speaker 2: gets his job done, and you know, I couldn't be
Speaker 2: more happier for those two guys to really step up
Speaker 2: and take on those roles.
Speaker 1: World Champion and Great teammate Anthony Bonda is our guest.
Speaker 1: Before I let you go, I know you have to
Speaker 1: be in the moment. You're not reflecting on last year.
Speaker 1: But there is a lot of that. Because the Dodgers
Speaker 1: are going to be playing the Mets seven times in
Speaker 1: the next week, You're gonna see the Yankees on the
Speaker 1: next home stand as well as a group of that bullpen,
Speaker 1: what do you believe you guys are the most.
Speaker 2: Proud of just taking on the workload and taking on
Speaker 2: the responsibility of being in that bullpen and showing up
Speaker 2: every day ready to compete. You know, we control what
Speaker 2: we can control, and like I said, we're part of
Speaker 2: the team and it's a team effort to go out
Speaker 2: and try to win every single game. So the thing
Speaker 2: is is like that's that's pretty much what we're proud of,
Speaker 2: and that's what we carry around with us, regardless of
Speaker 2: who we're playing or you know, where we're at, regardless
Speaker 2: of you know, who goes down who does and it's
Speaker 2: just all about a team effort and we're all pulling
Speaker 2: for each other. And at the same time, we know
Speaker 2: that every single day we got to bring our a
Speaker 2: game because that's just a Dodger's way.
Speaker 1: Hey, that was one of the most remarkable performances any
Speaker 1: Bullpen has ever put together as a group in a
Speaker 1: world series, in a postseason run and Anthony Banda, you
Speaker 1: obviously wear a big part of it and keep it going,
Speaker 1: Stay healthy, stay up, and we'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 2: Thank you for having me.