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

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<v Speaker 1>Even though the Dodgers have the best record in baseball,

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<v Speaker 1>even though they're doing pretty well, there's something missing. And

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<v Speaker 1>that's something whereas number twenty two and he'll be back

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<v Speaker 1>on the mound on Saturday against the Angels. That pillar

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<v Speaker 1>of strength, competitive spirit, back on the mound at Dodger

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<v Speaker 1>Stadium in Clayton, Kershaw. Thank you for the time. Great

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<v Speaker 1>to see you back from Oklahoma City.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow, what an intro, Thanks Dave. Good to be back.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been a long road. It hasn't been easy. How

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<v Speaker 1>gratifying is it that that moment is coming up here Saturday?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, you're right, this has been a it's been a

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<v Speaker 3>hard one for sure. But yeah, I'm super excited to

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<v Speaker 3>get back out here. More than anything, just tired of

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<v Speaker 3>taking up space. You know, I want to I want

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<v Speaker 3>to contribute. I want to help the team out, and

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<v Speaker 3>so I'm I'm excited to get out there and start

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<v Speaker 3>getting some people out and uh, you know, making a

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<v Speaker 3>positive contribution.

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<v Speaker 1>Even though it was rehab assignments in the minor leagues,

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<v Speaker 1>how good did it feel to be out there and

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<v Speaker 1>actually pitching again.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, it feel good to be focused on pitching, you know.

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<v Speaker 3>I think, you know, the last few times I pitched

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<v Speaker 3>last year, just focus on how much my foot was hurting,

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<v Speaker 3>you know. And so I think now kind of shifting

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<v Speaker 3>the gears towards just how do I get people out,

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<v Speaker 3>and you know, just focusing more on the next pitch

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<v Speaker 3>as opposed to what hurts as nice, you know. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>physically I feel good, and it's been a it's been

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<v Speaker 3>a hard road, but now that we're kind of on

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<v Speaker 3>the tail end of that and starting the new chapter

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<v Speaker 3>of actually getting the pitch has been it is exciting.

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<v Speaker 1>When you set out on this rehab assignment. You talked

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<v Speaker 1>about the toe cooperating, the foot cooperating. How long did

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<v Speaker 1>you have to kick it before it cooperated?

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<v Speaker 3>I still kick it. I still kick its cooperating, you know.

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<v Speaker 3>I think, Yeah, the last two weeks especially, I would

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<v Speaker 3>say that I can feel the strength coming back a

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<v Speaker 3>little bit and I feel like I can use it

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<v Speaker 3>a little bit better. So I think it'll just continue

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<v Speaker 3>to get better with time, and the more reps I get,

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<v Speaker 3>the better.

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<v Speaker 2>So no time like the president to start start getting some.

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<v Speaker 1>Reps, even though you've had the career that you've had.

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<v Speaker 1>You're coming back from a couple of surgeries on the

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<v Speaker 1>same leg to get the results you got. Did that

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<v Speaker 1>mean something to you? Did it validate anything that maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you had doubts about?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I think anytime you can get people out, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>I think that's important. And so that's why I enjoy

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<v Speaker 3>going to Triple A because it's like, you know, these

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<v Speaker 3>guys are all good hitters, they're all, you know, right

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<v Speaker 3>on the cusp with being big leaguers.

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<v Speaker 2>So it kind of gives some feedback right away.

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<v Speaker 3>And obviously it's not the big leagues, but it's important

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<v Speaker 3>to get that feedback. And I'll get some more feedback

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<v Speaker 3>on Saturday, for sure.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, the feedback that I saw, I mean I was

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<v Speaker 1>happy to see it. That was an old school kershaw

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<v Speaker 1>coming off the mound like you did and turning and

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<v Speaker 1>throwing to make a play off the mound. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>that's who you are. I mean, did you know you

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<v Speaker 1>still had that?

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<v Speaker 3>Just it's only in there if I need it. I

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<v Speaker 3>guess I don't practice that too much. But no, that

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<v Speaker 3>was a fun play. And yeah, I guess it's a

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<v Speaker 3>good sign that the foot feels good.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's great.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to ask you question that people keep asking me.

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<v Speaker 1>What motivates you at this stage of your career to

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<v Speaker 1>go through all this to come back?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I mean, I think I think not letting an

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<v Speaker 3>injury be the reason I stop. I think that's probably

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<v Speaker 3>the main thing. Look, if I get out there and

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<v Speaker 3>get sheld and I'm not any good anymore and just

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<v Speaker 3>the time is to the time, then that's one thing.

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<v Speaker 3>But I don't want it to be because I didn't

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<v Speaker 3>rehab an injury well, or I let something get the

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<v Speaker 3>best of me, you know, So if another hitter gets

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<v Speaker 3>the best of me, that's one thing. But I'm not

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<v Speaker 3>going to let myself do it to myself, if that

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<v Speaker 3>makes sense, And so that's I think that's the biggest

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<v Speaker 3>motivating factor. Another one is my family.

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<v Speaker 2>You know.

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<v Speaker 3>I think Ellen and my kids they're both they all

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<v Speaker 3>they all want me to keep going. And Ellen's super

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<v Speaker 3>supportive of wanting me to do it as long as

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<v Speaker 3>I can, as long as I want to, And so

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, if she wasn't as supportive as she was,

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<v Speaker 3>it'd be a lot harder. So I think that's a

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<v Speaker 3>huge motivating factor too.

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<v Speaker 1>Before I let you go, when you look at this

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<v Speaker 1>team and where it's at when you come back on Saturday.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you look at it from a ninety degree angle,

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<v Speaker 1>looking down and seeing how it all comes together? How

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<v Speaker 1>do you look at this team right now?

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<v Speaker 2>I look at it, you know. I've been watching the

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<v Speaker 2>games on TV just like.

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<v Speaker 3>Everybody else, and it's a great team, you know. I think,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, forty games in you can see a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of things that are going really well. And for me personally,

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<v Speaker 3>I just want to be a part of it. So

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<v Speaker 3>I'm excited to start contributing and hopefully for a long time,

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<v Speaker 3>all the way through October.

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<v Speaker 1>No doubt, far from over. Kershaw, don't forget it.

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<v Speaker 2>I hear you. I like it. Thanks Dave.

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<v Speaker 1>So great to have Clayton Kershaw back. It'll be even

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<v Speaker 1>better and the world will be right. The baseball world

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<v Speaker 1>will be right when Kershaw's back on the mount on

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday against the Angels. The uz and Os for Hey song,

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<v Speaker 1>Kim Kershaw.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey those are nice pipes, high songs, Jack.

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<v Speaker 1>Great to see you smiling. Great to have you back

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<v Speaker 1>all right, Thanks Dave.