Speaker 1: First of all, congratulations the engagement. It's going to be
off season for you. What made you decide ultimately this
was the time to do it.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's something that I've been wanting to do
for a long time, and you know, I was in season,
she was in season. I feel like the off season
was only the only appropriate time. You know, I didn't
want to do it when she was still playing, you know,
I wanted her to focus on her season and then
once her season was over is green light?
Speaker 1: So who's handling all the marriage plans?
Speaker 3: Is that going to be after the season? Are you
guys going to try to talk it out during the year.
Speaker 2: I will talk it out during the year. We'll definitely
plan it during the year. And uh, we're kind of
both going back and forth. Both give an imposts. But
she's doing most of the work.
Speaker 1: I haven't married a long time to let her do
all the popular things wherever Man had worked out for
you this camp, I mean, you're now one of the
older guys in the team. Is that kind of crazy
to think?
Speaker 2: It doesn't feel like that, you know, I still feel
like like I'm that young kid, you know, with you
coming into my first spring training, you know, I have
all the energy in the world, I have all the
ambitions in the world, and you know, we have a
great team, and I'm excited to be around these guys.
Speaker 3: And I still I get excited to be around some
of the guys, you know, learn from that pick their brain.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so yeah, it had to have been. I think
it was thrill for everybody, especially you guys. It's like Tobra,
you're not playing games. I mean, did debts how long
did that take? The sink in and was there a
level of frustration disappointment And I got to get back
on the field as soon as possible.
Speaker 2: I mean, I feel like our goal is always to
get into the postseason and make a run in the postseason.
You know, we didn't achieve that last year, which was
tough for us as a whole as an organization. But
at the same time, you know it's time to turn
the page, you know, roberin spring training and you know
we have a new season upon us and it's time
to bounce back. You know, it's time to get back
into the playoffs and make a run.
Speaker 1: How is it it looked like to me watching you
guys that your re lationship with Carlos at their base
or was amazing. I mean, it took no time for
you guys to transition together.
Speaker 3: Right right.
Speaker 2: You know, Carlos has been great to me since the
first day I got to the organization, you know, spring
training twenty nineteen, and I got to hang out with
the team quite a bit.
Speaker 3: You know, Joe A.
Speaker 2: Spota kind of took it upon himself to get me
playing time with the mob games in string training, so
I would come from the minor league side and hang
out with the big leaguers.
Speaker 3: And you know, it was pretty cool, Pretty cool. Does
that happened a lot?
Speaker 1: I mean, that's a pretty special situation for you to
be able to be with those guys early in your career.
Speaker 2: I mean, guys usually get the opportunity to come up
and play back up some games, but I feel like
Joe was make me back up almost every single game.
You know, I feel like I was barely in minor
league spring training, and I feel like I was over
and I didn't play much. You know, I would come
into the eighth inning, get one that bat. I would
come in to ninth and just play defense. But just
being around those guys, man, it was special because you
get to pick their brains, you know how the big leaguers.
Speaker 3: Think, you know, and it's exciting for me.
Speaker 1: So do you look back at that and go, man,
I made some mistakes when I was younger, or I
just kind of just soaked everything in.
Speaker 3: I mean I try to soak everything in.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, if you look back at the team
we had twenty nineteen, like it was unbelievable.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: I had guys like Michael Brandley around me. You know,
I had guys like Josel Tuve around me.
Speaker 3: It was it was special, special for sure.
Speaker 1: Do you find younger guys coming to you asking those
same kind of questions that you were asking four or
five years ago.
Speaker 3: I feel like they asked better questions than I did.
I was just quiet.
Speaker 2: I feel like these guys are very confident, you know,
they know what their game is. You know, they love
picking people's brains. But I was more shy, you know.
I was kind of just they're looking trying to learn
by seeing.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: I was never want to just approach someone and ask
them a question, you know, but if they open that
door for me, then I felt the confidence, you know.
Speaker 3: Keep talking about it.
Speaker 1: Gouple more questions here with Jeremy Pina, Jose's back at
second base primarily. And look, I think what he did
last year in volunteering himself with the left field, everybody's
going to do that, and maybe ten years down the
road they may ask you to go to third base
something like that. What is that like watching a guy
like that go to a new position for the good
of the team. But you know, in his heart he
wants to be a second base I.
Speaker 2: Mean, it says a lot about the type of person
he is and the type of player he is. You know,
he's a player that's always going to do what's you know,
best for the team. Like he wants to see the
team do good. You know, he wants to see the
team win. You know, he's been here through the ups
and the downs off this team, you know, from when
he first got to the big leagues to winning the
world's multiple World series.
Speaker 3: You know. So I feel like A two is very
is very inclined to help in the team win.
Speaker 2: And two is a player that you know, he tries
to make everyone better and if that meant last year
trying to move to left field and makes a team
better than you know, he's a guy who's just put
in the lineup and he's going to find a way
to help the team.
Speaker 1: What do you want to getccomplish here? I know that
Joe mentioned a few weeks ago that maybe some of
the older guys won't have to play as much as
spring training. Have you kind of mapped up a schedule
what you'd like to see done for yourself in terms
of playing time.
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm going to have to play quite a bit.
Speaker 2: I'll be playing pretty early spring training because of the
World Baseball Classes, right so you know I'm preparing a
little earlier than I usually do. But yeah, I'll be
playing right away, join my Dominican Republic team and go
from there.
Speaker 3: How amped for you for that?
Speaker 1: Because here's the thing we argue about this on my
Radar show, about the importance of it. I can't be
in your skin because so many of your guys, like
yourself and other countries have said this is such an
important event. So to wrap this up, what makes this WBC,
even though it's every three years, so important for guys
like yourself.
Speaker 3: It's special. It's special.
Speaker 2: I feel like you grow up admiring these guys that
represent our country. You know you admire the Vapoutholes, you know,
the Miguel Tahadas, you know, and they never had a
problem with putting on that uniform and represent our country,
you know. And you know what they did in two
thousand and thirteen, I believe when we won the w BAMA. Yeah,
two thousy thirteen, when we were in the WBC, the
whole country, it was like a big celebration, you know.
Speaker 3: And I remember I was in I was in high school,
and that's a memory, vivid moment for me, you know,
core memory.
Speaker 2: You know, Robinson Canal, like, I admired all those guys,
you know, and they brought the trophy home and it
was special for us, and I hope to you know,
kind of give the country that same glory. You know,
we have a great team to do it, and they
were going to go enjoy ourselves and compete