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<v Speaker 1>And an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talking.

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<v Speaker 1>It's an exciting night here at Dodgers Stadium and we're

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<v Speaker 1>joined right now by the President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman.

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<v Speaker 1>I know Clayton Kershaw said yesterday it feels like the

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<v Speaker 1>players are fans wanting to see Otani pitch.

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<v Speaker 2>What's the feeling for you tonight.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I feel the exact same way obviously, what he's

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<v Speaker 3>done in the batter's box. For us, this is a

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<v Speaker 3>guy who went fifty to fifty last year, leading the

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<v Speaker 3>league in homers, and then you watch him pitch and

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<v Speaker 3>it's hard for your brain to reconcile that the guy

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<v Speaker 3>who is throwing with that kind of delivery, arm action,

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<v Speaker 3>the deep mix is also the guy on the other

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<v Speaker 3>half of the inning that does what he does offensively.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you take us through the decisions, the conversations about

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<v Speaker 1>why tonight is the night that he makes his Dodger

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<v Speaker 1>pitching debut.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean, obviously, you know, a lot has been

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<v Speaker 3>written in discussed about how we kind of got to

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<v Speaker 3>this point. But going through this progression, there's been really

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<v Speaker 3>good communication and talking through it. And after his live

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<v Speaker 3>in San Diego, we had another live setup for today,

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<v Speaker 3>and talking to him over the weekend and just understanding

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<v Speaker 3>more the fatiguing effect it had to get up, get hot,

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<v Speaker 3>throw three innings, four innings would have been tonight, go

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<v Speaker 3>cool down and.

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<v Speaker 2>Try to ramp back up.

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<v Speaker 3>Just how taxing that is, and so in his opinion,

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<v Speaker 3>he felt like he would be way better served to

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<v Speaker 3>kind of finish his rehab process at the major league

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<v Speaker 3>level being active and not having basically doubleheaders.

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<v Speaker 1>So what are the expectations for you tonight and what

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<v Speaker 1>will you be looking for?

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, I think you know, coming back from a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of miss time on the mound, you know, I

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<v Speaker 3>have no doubt this stuff will be Their execution is

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<v Speaker 3>something that takes guys a little time to get comfortable

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<v Speaker 3>repeat their delivery over and over with him, who knows

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<v Speaker 3>he could have it, you know, from the first pitch on.

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<v Speaker 3>But it's just about us being patient, continuing to build

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<v Speaker 3>up a foundation for him. Obviously, whatever you know, we're

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<v Speaker 3>able to get to this year in terms of workload,

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<v Speaker 3>hopefully he'll be a presence for us in October. But

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<v Speaker 3>it's also about the longevity. He wants to do this

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<v Speaker 3>for as long as he possibly can, so setting a

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<v Speaker 3>really strong foundation this year is important.

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<v Speaker 1>There's been former players, Hall of Fame caliber players that

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<v Speaker 1>have voiced their opinion unsolicited that they believe this is

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit of a risk to have him come

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<v Speaker 1>back to pitch and he's doing so well as a hitter.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you think about you know, these unsolicited opinions,

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<v Speaker 1>and is that the equation in your mind leading up

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<v Speaker 1>to this decision to allow Showhy to become a pitcher again.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean I think part of it is it's

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<v Speaker 3>hard for the human brain to comprehend this.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I mean, he's one.

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<v Speaker 3>Of one in the modern era, and so a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of guys weren't able or capable of doing it. It's

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<v Speaker 3>hard to imagine. This is really important to him. And

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<v Speaker 3>I don't blame him. We've talked about this a lot.

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<v Speaker 3>I think he is incredibly underrated, which is amazing.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, just what he can do on both sides

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<v Speaker 2>of the ball.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, when he didn't win the MVP in twenty two,

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<v Speaker 3>he finished fourth in the say young he is a

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<v Speaker 3>really talented pitcher, obviously a really talented hitter, but in

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<v Speaker 3>twenty three, when he was pitching, he was also really

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<v Speaker 3>good in the batter's box, excellent in the batter's box.

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<v Speaker 3>And so I just think it's too simple. People apply

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<v Speaker 3>too much of Well, if I had to do both,

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<v Speaker 3>i'd be exhausted or one would really suffer. I agree

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<v Speaker 3>for most people, Yeah, show it is not most people.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, no doubt.

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<v Speaker 1>It seems like when the lights are the brightest and

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<v Speaker 1>the expectations are the highest, he delivers. So I wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>be surprised tonight if he strikes out the side in order.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, And I think for us just being thoughtful about this,

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<v Speaker 3>and obviously we're all really excited about tonight, we'll get

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<v Speaker 3>through tonight, figure out how he's recovering, where he's at,

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<v Speaker 3>and just kind of keep taking steps towards it. We're

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<v Speaker 3>not gonna sprint to get there, and just make sure

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<v Speaker 3>that his body is adapting and that the fatigue isn't

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<v Speaker 3>affecting him offensively. And so you know, it's kind of

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<v Speaker 3>serving two different purposes. One is to make sure that

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<v Speaker 3>he has a good foundation to pitch for a long time.

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<v Speaker 3>The other is to make sure that his body is adapting,

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<v Speaker 3>feeling good, recovering well so that he can stay a

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<v Speaker 3>productive force in the lineup as well.

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<v Speaker 2>You've surrounded him with a great roster.

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<v Speaker 1>How much do we have to appreciate the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>you're able to do this? Otani's able to do this,

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<v Speaker 1>to come in for one or two innings and build

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<v Speaker 1>up in a game and have a guy like a

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<v Speaker 1>bank Asparius or a jag Dryer to back him up.

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<v Speaker 1>Would that be possible if you didn't have guys that

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<v Speaker 1>were able.

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<v Speaker 2>And be willing.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean, I think you nailed it. It's both.

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<v Speaker 3>It's being able and willing. And we're very fortunate with

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<v Speaker 3>a number of our homegrown guys who've gotten some opportunities.

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<v Speaker 3>It's one of the silver linings and upsides of some

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<v Speaker 3>of the injuries we suffered is guys being given opportunity

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<v Speaker 3>and a number of them have really run with it.

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<v Speaker 3>And watching Ben's development has been really fun. And his

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<v Speaker 3>mindset is I'll do whatever it takes to help us win.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm good with whatever, And so we actively are communicating

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<v Speaker 3>with him, just trying to make sure that he's in

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<v Speaker 3>good position. But his ability and willingness are off the charts.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Before I let you go, your kids are

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<v Speaker 1>involved in you sports. So once this was announced yesterday

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<v Speaker 1>that Otani was going to pitch tonight. How many ticket

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<v Speaker 1>requests did you get, Andrew?

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<v Speaker 2>I got quite a few.

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<v Speaker 3>We were joking that we were going to set the

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<v Speaker 3>Internet on fire when this news came out. I stopped

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<v Speaker 3>short of saying that my text messages were also going

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<v Speaker 3>to catch on fire, but they did as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you want to make a public announcement to stop

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<v Speaker 1>texting you for tickets?

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<v Speaker 2>You're tapped out, tapped out no more. All right, thanks

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<v Speaker 2>a lot for stopping by.

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<v Speaker 1>Appreciate the insight on everything that's gone into tonight being

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<v Speaker 1>the night that Otani pitches, So thank you, absolutely thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for having me on