This week we preview the hitters and get a glimpse of the opening day batting order with Coach Finny. Scotty Young and Zach Leite join us to talk all things ODU Baseball

Yeah, I like that video man.

I like those pictures.

Good one.

A photographer's pretty good.

Yeah, I hear that.

CB sports photography guy.

Pretty, pretty soft.

He's not bad.

A photography, everything else he get it done.

Shaky.

Yeah.

So welcome Monarch fans to Hudson Homers.

We got a packed episode today.

Uh, I got CB and Coach Finny here with me as well.

Uh, we're gonna talk all up and down the lineup, positioning all that fun stuff

because we are less than two weeks away from first pitch of the 2026 season

next

Friday.

Getting closer.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But Coach, coach Finny, how you doing?

I'm doing great.

Yeah.

We're almost, uh, down to single digits.

Where, or are we in single digits almost?

Uh,

not quite,

I think,

right?

Yeah.

A couple days, day or two

away,

couple days away.

And hopefully, uh, the weather's gonna start warming back up for us.

And you know, it's funny, the every year's a different path to try to get ready.

And I told the guys all the time, I'm like, guys, look, it doesn't matter.

We could play 25 inner squads.

We could play one.

You're gonna feel the exact same way on open window.

We've gotten a lot of work done, not as much in the last, you know, 10 days,

but up until then, probably more than we've gotten done in recent memory

anyway, so, you know, it's, you want to get things covered as much as you can.

The needle and the thread is you also want to do your best to.

Keep got from having to start the year feeling all banged up.

'cause that sometimes never goes away.

So you wanna keep 'em, you know, healthy and fresh.

And, um, there, there is something, you know, because it's a long season

too, you know, quote unquote playing your way in shape a little bit.

I think that's the old school thought.

But it, it does, it does have some application and you gotta

be careful when it's cold.

Like you can only do so much.

You know, we were out there today and, and had hitting groups on the

field and long cost and that was it.

And tomorrow, winter Squad and have a little bit longer day and, you know,

probably shorter day, Wednesday and Friday looks like another good day in our squad.

So we're kind of going, um, going by the, how the weather looks right

now and where our pitchers are at.

If we could fit 'em into that.

Window.

Um, but so far, knock on wood, everybody's feels pretty healthy.

We've had the normal, you know, strep throats and flu bugs and things like that

that go through in Januarys and Februarys.

Um, but the guys are coming around okay with that.

So, um, right now we're in, you know, solid check.

That's awesome.

CB how was your, uh, week been?

Not quite as Snowden as I was in Richmond, I don't think, but not exactly a fun week.

No.

Yeah, yeah, it was.

We had a little bit of snow.

I mean, I went, we, uh, they pushed back the women's basketball

from Saturday to Friday.

That was, that was nice.

I got to see that instead of like the week before when the,

um, the men's game got banged.

So that was, that's good.

Um, now the result wasn't great.

Overtime loss.

That was kind of frustrating.

Uh, but, you know, otherwise, good looking red.

I'm ready, ready for some baseball.

The men got a game Wednesday evening.

Yep.

And then Saturday as well, maybe.

Yeah.

Saturday evening also.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And then the men have like four straight home games, I

think home game four or five.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So,

yeah.

But you're five, you're right.

Yeah.

That the, the one that got banged.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm sure they're happy for that.

Coming off of their longest road trip with Arkansas State and then

Texas State over this past weekend.

Yeah.

But

yeah, still some good stuff going on with the Ted, as should check it out.

Hopefully get a little bit better outcome than the whims game.

That's a tough one, man.

That's a, a blown lead in the third lose blown lead in overtime.

That's tough.

But they're out there fighting.

Give 'em that.

Yeah.

It's fun to watch.

I enjoy, yes.

I always, my mom always says she likes basketball season 'cause it's,

uh, two hours and it's indoors.

She, she loves baseball, but that's one thing.

Basketball and, and volleyball also really have, uh, above baseball for her.

There's no doubt about that.

Yes.

And, uh, later in the episode, we'll have, uh, Scotty Young and Zach Leite

joining us, the California Bash Brothers.

We got a little surprise.

They're doing snow, Zach.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We'll see.

I know there was a, a little bit of a viral message from, uh, Zach,

Leite going out about needing some mechanics or some tuneups or

something like that with the cold.

But I'll tell you what, they're both,

they're both really, they both really look good right now.

Zach's swinging as good as I've ever seen him, um,

which says a lot.

'cause he led

the

team in like almost every category last year.

I

kind of forgotten about that.

You know, he's so quiet.

He's kind of consistent that you kind of forget how good he really was last year.

Yeah.

And he's healthy.

I think that, you know, he did all those things.

Let's remember with a, uh, torn, uh, with a broken handmaid.

Yeah.

Um, which is amazing actually.

Um, so he fell healthy, feels strong.

Scotty's doing a good job, man.

He had a home run last dinner squad, both of 'em did.

And, um, you know, getting on base and providing good energy and all the

things that he brings to the table.

So it's good you guys got both those guys on.

They're, they're both really good kids and in completely different ways, but,

you know, opposites of track sometimes.

So that's probably why they're good buddies.

Yeah, absolutely.

And we want to dive into the lineup.

I know there's some moving and shaking.

They'll be moving and shaking throughout the year as things go, but, uh, willing

to divulge as much as you want to or, uh, whatever you don't want to.

But, uh, I was just gonna think we'd run right down the lineup here.

I mean, you got some good contestants, but, uh, who do you think is gonna

land in the lucky, uh, leadoff spot?

Well, yeah, I, I think, um, I think Will Johnson will more than

likely be our leadoff fitter.

Um, I think we're pretty set on that he did it.

You know, he kind of emerged into that type of guy as the fall

went on and he, he, there's not a lot of swing and mist there.

He takes his walks.

He's a very good base Steeler.

Um, and so, you know, I, I think he's the guy that, you know, looks like the

best candidate to be our lead off fitter.

Um, I think the, some of this depends on Luke, right?

Like Luke Waters, if he's eligible or not, and we still have not heard that.

Um, if he is, he might be a guy to hit in the two hole, um, behind him.

If not, then maybe FF Morales, um, who's gonna play one of the corner outfield

slots more than likely, um, will be there.

Um, and then, you know, 3, 4, 5, 6, I think we're still trying to work that out.

I think the candidates in there are obviously, Zach Leite.

Um, Maverick Stallings, who's really swinging the bat well for us, Mac Dye,

who's really swinging the bat well for us.

Um, and TJ Aiken has just had a really good fall and has had a really good

spring, so I'm really proud of him.

He's come a long way and continues to just, you know, put together good days.

Um, so you know, those, you know, some of those guys are outfielders.

Um, uh, Mav obviously will play second.

I think our third baseman will be cash.

Jay, who's the transfer portal guy, got some power, um, and is

a really good defender, uh, over there third, so still working on

getting a little more consistent.

He's had a better preseason work.

Uh, he is made a couple mechanical adjustments.

I think his swings a little flatter, hit more line drives, um, than he

did in fall and obviously Leite.

Zach will play first.

The outfields going to have a pretty good rotation in it, I think, you

know, depending on Luke obviously, but Efrain Morales will be out there.

TJ will be out there.

Scotty Young will be out there, Tyler Zedalis will be out there.

Um, and then Grayson Spar.

So we've got, you know, uh, three righties and a couple

lefties in that kind of rotation.

So we may be able to play some matchups depending on if we're

seeing righty lefty or, you know.

Uh, and then, and then the one I forgot, Nick Felton, who's

true freshman is another lefty.

Um, you know, and then Nick's probably our best defensive outfield or so.

He's gonna be in there a lot and can really run and, you

know, the swings coming along.

He's gonna be a really good player here.

So, and then catching wise.

We've got Mac Dye, um, Evan Hallman and Jack Slater.

And Evan and Jack were, were here last year and Max's a, a transfer

portal, uh, guy from North Carolina who's a Virginia Beach kid.

So he's back home and Mac had a really good fall lettuce and home

runs and swung bat really well.

He is a, he is definitely a prospect, um, judge from all the scouts

that have been able to see him.

So I think he brings us another dimension of some power, um, you know, behind the

plate as well as a very good defender.

Yeah.

And we, we talked to him at Step Up to the Plate.

He was a pretty impressive dude.

Um, definitely looks the part, uh, of the Division one catcher.

Seems like he'd have a lot of power.

So I it's hear that's coming true at, at least the inner squads.

Yeah, he does.

And it's, it's all over the field, so, um.

You know, sometimes this time of the year we're power guys

that could get a little dicey.

Like they want it, they want the ball to go outta the park, but it's cold.

So they try harder and then they get around it and under it, and we're trying

to just get him to hit line drives in the middle of the field right now and let that

come as it starts to warm up a little bit.

And he starts to get in the groove and those kind of things.

So, um, he, he's doing a good job.

He's going to, he's gonna be there somewhere in the middle of lineup for us.

Um, Tyler Zedalis is, uh, had a good fall and is had a good spring.

He's, he's hitting line drives.

He, you know, he is another guy that, um, is versatile.

He is gonna play in the outfield.

He's probably our best defensive first baseman.

Um, so he'll be some of that as well, maybe late in the games.

Um, so that's good to see.

Um, and then, you know, I think we've got some guys that can move around.

Another infielder who will be in there.

Um, maybe are, you know.

Best backup infielder in terms of defense.

Um, Cole McKenna, who's a true freshman, um, New Jersey kid.

Um, Brody Connor's done a good job this fall and spring.

He is another guy that, you know, he is probably more of a second baseman,

but he can shuffle through all three infield position and cover you there.

So, um, we feel like we're a little deeper in the infield maybe than

we were last year with those guys.

Do you feel like, uh, Efrain Morales might see some time at second base or is he

Yeah.

More gonna be outfield

potentially.

I didn't mention him in there because

yeah,

I think he's getting better there.

And if you said, Hey, could he play second for you next year?

I'd say, I wouldn't bet against him 'cause he is a ball player.

Yeah, I think this year, you know, I don't know, and I don't know

what corner he's gonna play, but he was taking fly balls in right.

Today he looks fine and Right.

You know, right field at our place is the sun field.

Um, it probably depends, uh, if Luke's in the lineup now or, or if he is not.

Um, so I think that's, that's one of the things, I mean, that's gonna be

in a lineup because it's just such a consistent, tough out, uh, and, you

know, I, I'd love to say by next year we could get him back behind the plate.

You just, you know, we got.

Mm-hmm.

Um, but he, uh, you know, in a, in a pitch, he could

certainly come into second base.

He's got enough reps there, he knows what he is doing.

I think, you know, the range is limited.

He is not a super fast guy.

Yeah.

But he's got plenty of arm strength and, you know, he is getting better on turning

the double play and things like that.

So.

I think this year we'll work.

I, I told h today we were talking about it.

I said, let's, let's just work him in the outfield the rest of the way.

I don't wanna overload him.

If it becomes, you know, a need that he is gotta play second, then we'll

mm-hmm.

Just back in and start getting the more work at second.

So that's kind

nice having the back pocket, but

yeah.

Yeah.

You getting an extra in games, some guys getting moved around.

Yeah.

Jack Slater's that way too.

He's played, he's called.

Mm-hmm.

He's played right field.

He's played first.

Mm-hmm.

And some second.

And so,

oh wow.

You know, it's, um, and he, he's, you know, that's a

real valuable thing to have.

'cause you never know what can happen in a, in a game.

It gives you a little bit more flexibility.

And Jack's a good base runner.

He is fast.

So, um, you know, it gives us some more bullets to fire if we need to move some

pieces around the, the chess board.

Yeah.

Well, and then speaking of your other catchers, you've also had

Evan Holman playing some third base.

Yep.

And I didn't see it, but I heard, uh, Mac Dye playing some first base

too.

Yeah.

And he, and they're both fine at those positions.

They

Yeah.

Routine plays,

which is all you're asking 'em to do.

Um, and Mac loves going out there to first and get ground ball.

Evan loves going out there to third.

So

yeah,

I think some of that is,

well Evan likes throwing

so fun.

That gets 'em a

chance to do that.

Yeah.

It's fun for them.

It gets 'em out of, you know, from behind the plate, a little

bit different view of the game.

Um, and again, you know, if you get in some spots that you may need to put 'em

there, they've been there and they're not gonna be like a fish out of, out of water.

Yeah.

It's a good way to get really experienced guys back in the lineup too.

You know, you could have both of those bats in your lineup and not having a

defensive drop off at third base is huge.

Yep.

Without a doubt.

Without a doubt.

And you're trying to figure out.

You know as much as you can.

Um, alright, if this guy goes down, what's our next best lineup with, without him.

Without him, without him, you know, that kinda thing.

Yeah.

It also helps with the natural part of a season, which is at some point

somebody's gonna be a little banged up.

There's no doubt.

There's no doubt.

And, you know, that creates the dilemma for me is always the

risk reward of base stealing.

Like, we can steal bases.

Like we could steal 30, 35 bags in a gear if we just turn them loose to go.

Uh, is one of those 40 attempts gonna be the guy steps on his

hand and we lose our shortstop?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Uh, or he trips or slips or the ball hits him in the elbow or it's just like, I've

never really wanted my, we let Kyle do it.

Um.

He was probably an outlier in that respect, but he also wasn't

one of our better hitters.

Um, he talking about a guy that's gonna play shortstop and

hit lead off for you mm-hmm.

And get on base a lot.

And so that's always the needle.

Fred.

You know, I can remember a long time ago when I was at Auburn listening

to Skip Burman talk about it.

He goes, you know, we don't ever try to run a lot early in the year.

I want our guys to figure out how to hit and win games.

But I, I also want us to keep in mind that there will be times in the

season when we need to steal the base.

Mm-hmm.

Um, and when those times come, that's when we'll try it.

But I don't base stats against, you know, 10 bucks, two university.

Yeah.

Just get the guys banged up.

So, and I, I completely agree with that.

Some people don't, but you know, that's how you gotta play to try to score runs.

Then I get it.

But I don't think that's.

Necessarily conducive to having a, you know, all your best guys healthy for

an entire season as much as you can.

And also just hearing you talk about that perspective, you kind of, then

the teams you're playing later in the year, your actual conference games, you

maybe can lull them to sleep a little bit in those situations where they

think, oh, they wouldn't steal here.

That's not what they normally do.

And you're like, no, we got in our back pocket.

Our guys know how to do it and they're fast enough.

Yep.

There's no doubt.

Tylers of Dallas is a good example.

Like him and I were talking about how, you know, having a green light

at second base because that's a man, dude, you're gonna fall asleep on

you and you're pretty good at it.

Mac dies pretty good at it too, um, and likes to run.

So I think there's some opportunities there.

You know, when people aren't doing their best at paying attention to it,

that's when you wanna take advantage of.

Mm.

Scotty Young's another one of those sneaky fast guys too.

He throw, he throws you off the scent because he is so tall.

But then you see him how quickly he moves those long legs.

He can get around the bases pretty quick.

Scotty can run, you know, sometimes you need to have a lasso on him.

But

I was actually looking at his summer stats today and I had forgotten he stole

29 bases with the pilots in the summer.

But a lot of that's like what you pointed out.

You know, typically in summer ball you're not getting your best catchers.

They're typically guys who are backups who didn't catch, and

that's why they're playing.

But also

the pitchers don't care 'cause they

Right.

Exactly.

Yelling at 'em.

'cause everybody's stealing all these bases like summer balls.

That's where, that's one summer ball step that is around.

Yes.

Like, yeah, it really is great.

Good for them.

That's how they wanna play.

I get it.

It's fun.

It's a fun way for 'em to play.

Um, no problems.

But that, that's not a, that's not a true indicator of.

When, when teams are really working at holding you and they're good at it.

Yeah.

Then can you steal a base or not?

Yeah.

A lot of, lot of factories go into those stolen base numbers.

'cause I, the pilots rack 'em up, Hank likes uhs being aggressive out there

and, and because as you just what you can, there's a lot of factors that

make it very plausible and why not

do, and half of those, I mean, I go to the games, half of those stone

bases, the catcher doesn't even throw because the guys got such good film.

Like, you can't, you know, I'm like, oh, okay.

Well, yeah.

I'm always trying to get that like bang, bang picture and I'm like, well, nothing.

All right.

You have to catch it to third base or something like that.

It's an exciting way to play the fans.

Like you, I can get all of

it.

Absolutely.

Got no issues.

I, I just think people need to.

Understand there's a little bit of a difference there.

And that's always what, it's great to understand that there's that nuance.

It's like, uh, yeah, like minor league stolen bases.

Right.

You know, you, you see the guy, uh, was a Billy Hamilton racked up like

120 steals in the minor leagues.

It's like, well, yeah, number one, because he could actually hit the minor leagues.

He wasn't a, a, a two 10 hitter.

Like he wasn't a big leagues.

And number two, you know, you're not talking about these all world catchers.

You're, you're a big league catcher.

You're either an amazing hitter or you're an amazing fielder.

Yeah.

And you ain't stealing 150 bases off these guys.

No,

no, exactly.

Unless you're Ricky Henderson.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

And, and if you're not, the fact is, I mean, and I, I think that's

something that comes into play in, um, they were talking about Ops

plus and war numbers on MLB network.

How, you know, getting caught stealing actually really hurts your, uh.

Some of those numbers, but if you're not stealing that 80% clip

mm-hmm.

Then the, you know, the metrics say it's not worth it.

Yeah.

That's why I, I've always thought 85 honestly, but

maybe it is

conservative

worth

it.

Probably.

It's probably is 80.

I think it's just me personally.

I'm like, I mean, 85, like why bother?

No.

And and you're probably right, it probably is 85 plus.

I mean, so it's that, that's, you know, that's getting thrown out

one time and a half out of every 10 steals, man, that's, uh, pretty

good.

Yeah.

You gotta be pretty good at it.

So,

yeah,

I think, um, I think that's something, you know, take advantage of it when, when

they, when they give it to you and there's other ways the score runs when they don't.

Hey, speaking of uh, big leagues and OPS and that kind of stuff, how about

our guy Vinny Quintino, getting his, uh, new two year extension with the Royals?

That that was great.

That was, that was really neat.

Well

deserved.

So happy for him and proud for him.

And he certainly earned it.

Man.

It's just, I, I told people, you know, he just gotta stay healthy and play full

seasons and he can put up the numbers and he, and he has, and it's great

that they're, you know, it's great.

They didn't have to good arbitration.

They rewarded for it.

And, you know, two years I think is perfect for the team and

also for, you know, give them both options at the end of this.

And, you know, I think, I would think KC's gonna want to keep him there.

I mean, definitely the k KC's pr people wanna keep him, that's for sure.

Yeah.

Yeah.

He's a huge fan favorite.

I thought I saw where JY got invited to, uh, met Spring.

I don't know if that was Big League or Minor League.

He may have.

I didn't see it.

That that seems likely based on what happened with him last year.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I don't know which, which one of those, if he was a big league camp

invite or not, but some I saw somewhere on maybe Instagram or Twitter where

he, he was definitely in the Mets camp.

Gonna be in the Mets camp.

Love it.

Yeah.

Like that's a big league time last year.

He did pretty well in a little bit of time.

They had,

yeah,

he, it was funny that he was, he was with AAA and then like, right

when they were supposed to be here for about three days, he got called

up and then sent right back down.

As soon as they left.

I was like, well,

I think he played 43 games in the big leagues last year.

It was, it was in low forties or upper thirties, something like that.

Yeah.

That, that's not bad.

Um, especially if he's getting another shot too here.

I mean, go to Fort St. Louis.

You see what happens in, in spring ball.

Yeah.

But I mean, clearly they wanted him, they, if they're keeping him around, yeah.

Well, he can hit, he's a Hitler, you know, I would think

with what the Mets have done.

Kind of looking at their team, they would, they would value a guy like him.

Yeah.

Well he is got that versatility too.

He is playing all the infield spots.

Playing the outfield corners.

Yeah.

It was 43.

Uh, played appearance 43 at bats.

Oh,

that's 23.

Yeah.

23 games.

47. Played appearances.

Yeah.

Got it.

But hey, you know, in the big leagues, that was his part of his third season.

The big league time.

Yep.

Yeah.

He's on the 40 man and on the active, so

we love it.

Yeah, I'd love to see that again.

Um, so we're moving along on the stadium guys, and I think, uh, you know, we're

gonna be playing here next Friday.

It's not gonna be a perfect situation, but it's gonna be pretty

cool and be back home playing.

We hope people plan to come out and, you know, Friday, Saturday, Sunday,

hopefully the weather warms up for us and

Yeah.

Um, the, the, the outfield bleachers.

Uh, just about done being constructed in, in left field

and then also in right center.

So that that's, that'll be done before the end of this week.

Um, and then we, uh, just tee it up.

I think they're bringing in the temporary press boxes tomorrow.

Okay.

All set up for pa Music and Scoreboard and all the things that

they have to run out the fresh box.

And, um, you know, the, it'll be like a double decker thing.

I think Rick said they'd bring 'em in on a trailer and then they take a crane and

just lift them and set 'em right down there in rally alley and hook 'em up.

Wow.

That's

really cool.

Be careful that rally alley wasn't easy to construct.

No.

Yeah.

Set it, set it down gently.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly.

Don't, don't mess it up.

So, uh, we'll have some interesting new sight lines and.

Let it roll from there.

Yeah.

I, I think again, as, as not ideal and as unique as it's gonna be, I think

just the fact that the guys are gonna get to play at home, people in Norfolk

are gonna get to watch 'em without, you know, being able to go over to the bud,

go over to the ballpark, not having to go to, to, to, um, Harbor Park.

Not having to go across the, the river, uh, across the water there.

Uh, it's a plus.

Even if it is a little bit different, it's still gonna be great.

And like I said, I think some people are gonna find out that's

their favorite way to watch a game.

You might be.

And, and I think it's gonna be cool.

I can't wait till they get the, the stairs John leading up to there.

Go out and take a picture.

And I think, yeah.

Yeah, that's the vantage point of, and, and like we talked about last

week, every time you come to a game throughout the season, you're looking

directly at, you know, the field side of all the progress that's going on.

Yeah.

Um, driving down 43rd street.

Um, after practice today, uh, they've got another, they've got another

one of the archways up, you know.

Oh, wow.

I think three, three and three.

There's, there's like nine of them, so they've got another one.

Those are really cool looking.

I mean, it's, it's neat for, um, you know, all that free FB brick and

all that, so it's starting to take some shake, uh, out there as well.

So we're getting there, man.

We're getting there.

That's awesome.

Oh yeah, it's, well, Finn, I got something I wanted to, I wanted to bring up.

Um, yep.

'cause number one, I think it's a storyline for the season.

Uh, and also I know you'd like to kind of, you're, you're gonna wanna

put it aside also immediately.

Uh, but, so you have 413 wins at all.

Dominion.

Uh, you are 10 wins away from tying Bud Metheny for the most

all time as odu U'S head coach.

And that's so also 11 wins from being the all time leading

his ODU baseball head coach.

Um, that's pretty cool, man.

That's a neat thing.

Probably gonna happen pretty early in the season here.

Well hope, hopefully, uh, hopefully,

hopefully, hopefully not late in the season.

Uh,

yeah.

Well I think that's super gratifying and humbling.

It's an honor to, you know, be in, just mentioned with those, those men,

bud Metheny, Mark Newman, pat McMahon, Tony Guzo, you know, I consider those

guys the, the Mount Rushmore of, of Old Dominion Baseball and they're, that's

why we put 'em out on the outfield wall.

'cause I think it's important to honor those guys.

So, um, and those, you know, that just means you stuck around long enough to

do that and got, you know, had some good assistant coaches that got you some good.

Players and you know, they, they did the things the way they were supposed to do.

You, you never, as a coach, you never win as much as you want to.

I say we're not gonna talk about the 333 losses.

Exactly.

Yeah.

I, Bruce Boce the first ball hall of Famer Yeah.

As a manager.

And I think he got, you know, at one point he was like 2000 and

something, and 2000 and something.

Right.

He won three World Series and he won 2000.

Nobody gives a crap how.

Yeah, exactly.

Um, so yeah, I mean you're, you know, it's, um, you know, I think

we'll get at some point, uh, seven, 700 overall win this year as well.

Yeah, I was gonna say you're, you're at 6 55 overall, so 45 away.

Yeah.

So you gotta have a really good year.

We hope it happens.

That'd be awesome.

It's gonna be a heck of a year if you get that 700 this year.

Yeah, that would be great, wouldn't it?

Yeah.

So.

Yeah.

Um, but it's, you know, it's exciting.

I appreciate you mentioning that and.

Like you said, I'll certainly won't be thinking about it at all.

Um, no.

Until, until we on it.

Yeah.

We'll put the, uh, but, but it's worth, it's worth pointing out.

I mean, you're in your, your 15th season here, um, you know, Mike Marin, your

pitching coach, this is 11th season.

So you guys have been together for a long run.

Uh, Jonathan had this, his fourth year with you.

So, I mean, it's just, I think like, like you pointed out, it shows that

that continuity, um, you, you've had some great coaches with you.

You, you've had, like I said, you and Marin, 11 years together.

That's a ton.

Um, and yeah, really that shows just that, that consistency that

you guys have been able to put up.

Yeah, Mike and I could be like an old married couple.

We don't need,

I was gonna say that's,

but yeah.

And, and well, and that's a blessing.

I mean, Mike Mike's had plenty of opportunities to go elsewhere

and him and his family value.

Um, not just old Dominion, but Norfolk and living here and the things they've

got, you know, that, that help them.

Uh, enjoy their, their family time.

So, uh, we're all appreciative of that, you know, it's a great community.

Um, we're just so excited about getting this stadium done and

seeing what we can do and, and in the meantime, seeing what we can do

while we're still finishing it up.

You know, it's, it's a fun group of kids.

And this, this group too, man, this group, you know, everybody talked about

what last year's group had to work through, which was extremely difficult.

And this group's had to do its own version of that.

You know, you still don't have your own locker room and you're carrying

stuff back and forth in the field.

And, uh, you know, we're practicing with sandblasting going on

all, you know, all this stuff.

So it's a, it's a, it's a daily grind and they're, I'm really proud of 'em

because they don't, you know, uh, they don't use it as any type of excuse.

I mean, I think, um, they're appreciative of what they got and

excited about playing at home.

And, you know, no matter what, how many fans are there, it's

still where we practice every day.

So there's gonna be some more comfort, familiarity, the sight lines and all

those types of things, rather than playing on somebody else's home field

and knowing that when you finish up and get in the shower or whatever,

or, or I know some of the guys just kind of change real quick and

then go shower at their own place because it's right across the street.

Yep.

That, that's a big plus too, in your own bed and not having all the traveling and

crossing the bridge and all the things.

No doubt.

That's huge.

That's huge.

So we're gonna enjoy that the first four weeks and, uh, hopefully,

uh, play some good baseball.

And, you know, as you work through those first four weeks like you

mentioned Gary, you know, it's a, it's an ever evolving type thing.

You're trying some different lineups, you're trying some different things

with the, with the pitching and roles and things of that nature, and you try

to come up with the best plan you can by the time conference play starts.

Um, based on, you know, some of those results.

So, uh, I think that's, that's always the case.

And I, I tell the guys up, it doesn't matter if you're throwing on

Friday or Tuesday until conference play starts, they all count the

same, they're all non-conference.

Yeah.

When conference play starts, then it does matter 'cause the week, but up until then,

man, you can make a case that, you know, some of our, you know, midweek games at

times are, are harder games than what we would've on that any particular weekend.

So.

Well, yeah.

When you go play UVA, it's like, we quinnipiac we love you, we're glad

you're coming down, but you're not UVA.

Right?

We're not UVA, I mean, that's just kinda the reality.

That's right.

Yeah.

So the, you know, we gotta be aware of that and, um, I like some of the.

Some of the young kids that are continuing to get better, you know,

they're gonna have to jump in that mix.

And, um, some of the guys that, uh, I think are back that, you know,

either were some, you know, arm maybe underwater, you know, not hurt, but

just arms weren't feeling great, look like they're coming around as well.

So hopefully we're, you know, developing, you know, some more

pitchers that will be, we can use, uh, in different roles as well.

Yeah.

Well just from last week, you talking about the pitching staff and how many

guys are in the running for key spots and then now we hear that pretty much the same

thing from the lineup in the field side.

Those midweek games, especially the first two, three weeks, could be really, really

competitive guys trying to earn their way into a starting spot for the conference.

And I think maybe we missed that a little bit last year.

Not the competitiveness, but the result.

Uh, so I think like ODU fans would probably love to hear that, that

it, there's gonna be guys compete for spots on those weekday games.

Yeah, that's fair.

That's very fair to say.

Uh, I, I agree.

Um, so I think, I think so.

And, and it could be also, you know, some matchup type type lineups where

we can be more right-handed against the lefty and more left-handed against the

righty in the outfield in particular.

So, uh, I think that that could be, uh, the case for, you know, more guys

contributing and playing, um, and understanding where they're at there.

And not just game to game, but also within the game.

Mm-hmm.

Bringing a different guy in the fifth inning and these three guys come off

the bench and try to help you win.

So you have lineups switch over, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And you, you, you will have some options to, to do some of those types of things.

Could be some, be some interesting scorecards after some of these games

when you've changed seven of the nine lineup spots and you're on your seventh

pitcher here in like the eighth inning.

But that's good though 'cause that's all dudes jumping in there

to help you go win a ball game.

Yeah, and there's a fine line in that I,

Ron Polk.

Um, years ago he was at Mississippi State and for, for whatever reason, when I was

at Auburn, we always did pretty well.

We would always beat Mississippi State, but this, this was one year before we

played him, and it was a Friday during batting practice, and he looked up

and he said, you know, I'm looking at y'all's stats, Finny, and I, I noticed

that you're playing a lot of guys.

Um, and he goes, that usually means you're not very good.

And I say, you know, well, what do you mean coach you going to gazillion games?

I wanna hear what, why, why you, why would you say that?

And he goes, it's just, it is just the way it is, man.

The best teams I've ever coached, everybody knew who was playing.

If somebody wasn't hurt.

When we got to the ballpark that night and the worst teams,

no one knew who was playing.

Mm-hmm.

And I think about that and I go, you know what, for the most part he's right.

Yeah.

There, there are certainly exceptions to that, but.

On a lot of the good teams.

You know, think, you think back to some of our best ones here.

I mean, same guys played, uh, as long as they were healthy.

Yeah.

And I think at the mid-major level, that may even be more so.

Um, because at and you most cases, whoever your backup shortstop is at most levels,

not just this level isn't anywhere close as good as you're starting shortstop.

Not usually.

Uh, that's just how it is.

And so you got, you know, that's just kind of same thing typically

with catchers and stuff like that.

So, uh, I thought that was an interesting story, you know.

Well, and that's what these, you're talking about the first few weeks, the

non-conference, that's what it's for.

Is these guys telling you I should play?

Am I, I mean, telling you with, with how they perform and, and letting

it say, Hey, this is the reality.

It's not, you know, we're sitting here and you're telling us you think

this and you think that, but you know.

What's really gonna happen is these guys that come out and perform

the way that you believe they should, they believe they should.

So they earn that spot.

So when it does come to conference time, you can have that lineup

that you're confident in.

'cause you know, like these guys proved it already.

Yeah, that's, that's it.

I tell 'em all the time, y'all think we make the lineups out, but

you guys really make 'em out, so by how you play and how you act.

So, and you got a couple good ones, uh, you know, seniors and I'm

excited to get y'all on with 'em.

So I'll bow outta here and tell the boys hi for me.

I know they're excited about getting on.

All right, well thank you so much, coach.

We always appreciate the time and enjoy the dinner and, uh, one more episode

until we have an actual first pitch.

I'm excited.

All

right guys, we'll see you next Monday.

Yep.

Yeah, Finn, you got it Monday.

Alright, Finn, appreciate you man.

Thanks Finn.

Go Monarch.

Hey,

welcome back.

If you're listening on the audio only, that ad probably sounds

really funny for a minute.

It's just kinda the same whistling, but go check it out on YouTube.

It's a great afterglow ad. We talk about it every time.

Makes me thirsty for a cold beer on a warm day.

Um, I've got the cold beer.

I do not have the warm day, so when that hits, maybe next Friday

when we're out the ballpark.

I think next Friday a cold beer might murder you.

Uh,

it could be a beer popsicle by then.

Yes.

That's okay though.

But All right, well, we got a couple guys that are gonna join us

here, Zach Leite and Scotty Young.

Uh, but first we were provided with a video clip that we need to play.

We have video play before we bring them on, so, uh, enjoy this.

The crime was committed.

Yeah.

Flip over to a YouTube to check this out.

Yeah.

Woo.

Yeah.

Wow.

The back flip was disrespectful.

Yes.

That was, uh, the music, the music started playing too.

Oh, my same haircut.

Everything that's, uh, so that was, that was Young Scotty Young

hitting a home run off of staff.

Ace Zach Leite.

That was a, you threw like every inning that year, right?

Zach, that was, you were the guy, right?

Oh, yeah.

Yep.

You know me.

I was probably throwing a 90 back then, so, you know.

No biggie.

90 Poo.

Yeah.

Absolute tank to get around the 90 there.

Now, what was that, Scotty?

Were you, you were a senior, is that

right?

Yeah.

That, that was my senior year.

We were playing in a big conference series towards the end of the year.

Poor Zach had to come in on the mount.

I mean, you, you knew him instantly.

I, that, that was, were you back flipping every time you had home run or just like,

just No, not really time.

It was big deal.

I kind of had some undisclosed beef with his head coach.

So like, once I got past their dugout, I heard him say my ear.

He was like, don't you flip that bat young.

So then I had to throw his high.

There you go.

That's wild.

Ready?

Come after is this guy not coach.

High school kids.

He doesn't know that he'd tell a high school kid not to do something.

It's the first thing we're gonna do.

I know.

Yeah.

It's crazy.

That was the first mistake there for sure.

That was crazy though.

Well, that, that

was

that next game in the series.

We went to like a 14 inning, one zero game.

That ended off in like a walk-off Homer with two outs.

It was, yeah.

Crazy game.

They picked up that one, but we got the, we got the rubber match the next day.

But it was a fun series.

Like I'll remember that one forever.

That was cool.

Yeah.

Good memories back then.

Yeah.

And who'd ever known you guys ended up on the other side of the country

playing college baseball together.

I know.

Crazy.

It's crazy.

That's wild.

Crazy.

How,

how are the California guys dealing with the uh, the snow?

A little bit of snow we've had lately.

How you guys doing that?

Not good at all.

Not

good at all.

I'm frozen.

I'm staying inside as much as possible.

Yeah.

Yeah, we

were talking about that this weekend.

Like how can we leave the house the minimal amount of times this weekend?

I'm with you.

I bought a bunch of Chinese food on Friday, uh, and have not left the

house until I have to go work today.

That's fucked

up.

Yep.

Yeah, it was good.

Are you, are you guys rooming together again this year?

Yeah, we are.

So

you're in the same house right now?

Yes.

Yep.

So right now, so Zach looks like he's in like a nice, comfortable, warm setting.

And Scotty, you look like you're in like, kind of like a

Russian prison at the moment.

It's got that

light.

Yeah,

I like, I

love the, I mean, he has 'em too, but yeah, he definitely put a lot more

work into the room than I You put

like a nice warm light on there.

Like

I know

Zach looks like somebody lives it right now.

Like what's, yeah.

No, but, uh, one, one cool thing we've gotten for sure that just opened up this

last two weeks or last two or three weeks is the new athlete only dining hall.

Oh

yeah.

So we're, we're really, really lucky to be like, not even a two minute walk.

'cause it's right over on Whitehurst Beach, the dorm's right there.

Um, but yeah, it's been amazing.

Like breakfast and dinner every day of the week.

Um, they got an omelet guy in the morning, which is huge for us.

We can get custom omelets served right in front of you.

Um, and the dinners have been really good too.

Like they always have chicken out.

They have like a make your own pasta station, that they'll cook

it right in front of you so you can get like chicken, salmon or steak,

um, and all the vegetables you want.

So it's been really nice to have within walking distance.

And it's walking distance for the guys too.

Like not even more than 10, 15 minute walk for them too.

So it's been great for us.

I mean, you're all young college kids, it's all walking distance, right, exactly.

Yeah.

And there's a

No, that's great.

It's so funny 'cause I mean, it wasn't that many years ago where

it was like it was a NCAA violation to give one of you guys a sandwich.

Exactly.

And now it's somebody figured out, I was like, oh, you mean like if you

feed them, they're gonna play better.

Like somebody finally figured that out, that that should be part of

the thing is feeding everyone.

So that, that's, I know, that's awesome.

I remember hearing about the, the, the other day about, uh,

several other athletes talking about what a great deal it is.

So that's, that's pretty neat, man.

Yeah.

It's been a great addition for us.

So we're fired up.

That's big time in college, like you're having like, no doubt.

Yeah.

I, I think that our next thing is if we interview former ODU players,

just ask if they have a year of eligibility left, and then just see

if we can get 'em on the roster.

Like Justin Berlander is outside with the team.

I bet he could throw a gas for a couple innings.

Absolutely.

Oh yeah.

Would not hurt to have him

should be doing the NBA now, the, uh, former NBA players trying

to play college

basketball.

So why exactly, I

saw

all that.

What do you, what do you guys think of that?

Just off the, just a, as, as a college athlete, how would you feel like if,

if Justin Verlander, I mean, aside from like, it'd be cool to play with Justin

Verlander, how would you feel though if a guy like that wants to come back?

Not even him, but just some guy who had like, you know, half a

season in the big leagues wants to come back and play college ball.

Do you think that's okay?

Not at all.

That's,

that's

just a little ridiculous to me.

But

yeah,

I don't know.

I don't mind,

I don't mind like the JR Smith action where he had his tenure nerd

career in the NBA and then comes back and plays golf in college.

I don't mind that.

Yeah.

See, now that I'm okay with, 'cause it's a different sport.

I, I, I think I'm with you on that because that, that was always the thing.

There were a lot of, uh, guys that play, like, uh, Chris

Winkie guy off top of my head.

One won the, um, he was a pro baseball player.

Mm-hmm.

Um, and there've been several guys like that.

And it's like, yeah, okay.

Different sports.

Yeah, that's fine.

But yeah, coming back and playing the sport you played

professionally is just, seems crazy.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, it went a, went a little too far.

I think someone saw the juco, the, the JUCO loophole there and

they tried to use that to pro, which it makes sense for juco.

Absolutely not.

Mm-hmm.

Not so much on the professional ranks, but

no,

not atm.

Just curious, like who's gonna take it far enough to where someone finally

says like, all right, that's enough.

Like are we finally reaching that threshold?

Yeah, we're close.

Right,

exactly.

Yeah.

The LeBron James suiting up with USC next season.

Like it's being nuts.

There you go.

So, well you mentioned JUCO Gary, you guys are both JUCO bandits.

Um, how did JUCO help prepare you for what you're doing at ODU U these days?

I think, um, for me at least, like the competition level, especially in

California, JUCOS is very, very high.

You see a lot of division one bounce backs, um, and just a lot

of really high talented players.

Maybe didn't get a shot right away.

And seeing those kind of players every single day, um, definitely helps

prepare you a lot for the next level.

Yeah, I would say the same in, I kind of got the cool experience

where I got to sort of see both sides of junior college baseball.

Um, obviously my freshman year I was in California in the same

league that Zach played in.

And yeah, just the competition there was insane.

Like one of my best friends was at Riverside College.

Um, third baseman there got picked up in the fifth round and he was

on the, he was playing third base for the Braves this last year.

Nacho Alvarez, um, oh, natural.

So like seeing just the competition playing side by side with them.

Um, and yeah, like tons of pitchers that got picked up in the draft and, um.

Yeah, it's al it's almost like the, the competition can compare to the

di division one level in California.

Um, then I saw the other side of it and, and uh, when I went to

go play in New Jersey and we put teams were, were not so good.

Um, but obviously like getting to play there under a really prestige coach in

Coach Rob Valley, um, winning 56 games in a year and, and going to compete

for a national JUCO championship was something really special, um, that I'm

gonna remember for the rest of my life.

Like, I got my

ring.

I just got it.

It's pretty cool.

He was our, he says

that, you know, he wears

it every day.

I know.

He was our national championship ring we just picked up.

Awesome.

Nice.

And it's cool.

It has like my name and then Oh yeah.

Our record on the side here.

That's

awesome.

Yeah, it was, that was, that was, um, was a special experience like

getting, getting to do all that.

And I think, like Zach said, it, it teaches you a lot about who

you are as a baseball player.

Um, I would say you get the competition without the stress level.

Um.

Just kind of getting the chance to compete with a dude, a bunch of

dudes that got turned down, right.

So it's gives you that chip of your soul chip on your shoulder and, um,

opportunity to get out there every day with 10 or 15 people in the stands and

gets down to how much you really love it.

So getting that opportunity has been really special.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

And obviously you all have seen players all over the place in California,

different jucos, and just coming back to this team for a second year, I know

we, we talked a little bit about it, step up to the plate, but there seems

to be this vibe that things took a step forward, this off season for the team.

Would that be pretty accurate to go on that assumption?

Yeah, I, I would say so for sure.

We have, um, I think we have a lot of returners with a lot of really good

experience and I think we're gonna, we're gonna come out the gate ready

to go and just with a lot of energy and prepare to, to win some games.

Yeah, I think there's a really good synergy with the team this year.

Um, we've been mixing really well, and obviously now it's more common to have

more new guys than returners on the team.

Um, so that's been, it's been good for us.

Like, I think because of the fact that even our returners are, we have a

lot of JUCO guys coming back, so they understand how it is to come into a place.

And I think the returners have been really welcoming towards the new guys

and, and we've gotten along really well.

Um, especially on the pitching side of things.

Like seeing the way Gotti and KY have progressed has been really special.

And I'm fired up to see them take the mound Friday, Saturday night, so

fired up to see him and not have to be going against them.

I know.

Yeah.

Jj,

who's been the toughest one.

Who, who's been the

toughest, who is my kryptonite for sure.

I can't touch that thing.

Is he the guy?

So, yeah.

So, so is JJ your guy who's been like the toughest one to go against so far?

Absolutely.

Yeah.

I

think I've about you, Zach.

I've gotten to Oh, go ahead, Zach

out.

You guys

are out of everybody.

Anybody just, yeah.

Who's the guy?

You're like, man, this guy is crushing me.

Right.

I

would say for me, Hubble just finds a way to get me out every time.

He just finds a way.

Yeah.

So he is got me for sure.

There you go.

Okay.

So, so it's good.

Gonna be good to be able to be behind him for a little bit Yep.

And catch a few balls for him and not have to worry about facing him.

No doubt.

Well, and Scotty, so this, this is the first time in your college career

you've actually come back to the same place two years in a row, right?

I mean, that's,

yeah.

How,

and

it's just been like, like I've said, it's been, I've talked

to Finny about that a lot.

Like I just feel so much more confident in who I am, um, and just

being, getting the opportunity to sort of be a leader, like having that

established equity in the program.

Coming back for a year is, is something really special that I haven't gotten

to experience going to five schools.

Um, so it's just made my job a lot easier.

Like, you gotta think of the statistics of it.

Like you go into a new spot, the hitting coach sees your swing,

and obviously it's like, okay, how can I work with this coach?

Like, how can I get him get score points with him while, while learning what

he has to know, like teaching me my swing while not like changing things

so drastically that your timing's all messed up throughout the fall.

Right?

So like, getting the opportunity that, like working with Hera and Finny, having

my established identity as a hitter, um, has allowed me to progress a lot, a lot

further and a lot quicker in a short span of time, like having that trust with them.

Yeah, you've certainly been one of the guys that, uh, at least what I saw

in the fall and for what sounds like so, so far in the spring has really

been busting out and doing great.

I mean, we know Zach led the team in almost every category last year.

We know he can hit, and again, as Finn Ma pointed out, did that with a broken hand.

With a broken hand.

Um, so now we just gonna have that unleashed.

But, so it's, it's a pretty big deal to to, to now think we might see an even

better zag Leite and an even better Scotty young than what we had last year.

That, that's pretty cool, man.

Yeah, it's exciting for sure.

Yeah.

CB also also glad you fixed your, uh, curtain just for the other side to fall

down the other there about 30 seconds ago.

It's a tradition.

Uh, well, well, Finny was on here earlier with us talking all about the hitters,

potential lineups, a lot of guys that can play in a lot of different places.

Was there someone either this past fall or maybe since you've been back in the

last couple weeks, where you're like, holy crap, this dude can hit and he came outta

nowhere and you just wouldn't expect it?

I, I wouldn't say we have anybody that's, that's coming outta nowhere.

I think we have a lot of really solid players and we kind of all hold

each other to a, to a high standard.

And, um, yeah, so I think, um, a lot of solid players and it's just

not really like anything unexpected.

You see a guy go up there and hit a ball really hard and it's like, it's

like, yeah, I, I could see that coming.

Like that's, that's expected.

Yeah, I think, uh, two guys that really stood out to me were both

Al and Will Johnson, I think.

Uh, so Dallas, I mean, he had a phenomenal fall last, last year and,

um, seeing him progress this fall is like something really special.

He is a great hitter man.

Like just getting him to.

Be himself when the spring comes around and not let that pressure get to you.

Has like been something like me and me and Zach are best friends with Sal.

Like we talk to him all the time and he's one of our closest friends on the team.

So it's like we're fired up.

Like I, I keep telling him, I'm like, Al, like you're our X factor dude.

Like we get you going.

We're gonna do special things.

Like, um, so seeing him, like hoping, hoping he can tap into that, uh, is

something I'm really looking forward to.

Um, and then Will, on the other hand, like he reminds me a lot of myself as a hitter,

like low strikeout guy, like looking, looking for any way to get on base and

help the team, like looking to steal a few bags, uh, to really get the offense going.

So having a guy like that on the right side of the plate

is kind of a fun synergy.

Like whenever I get to hit behind him in the scrimmage, I'm fired up 'cause

I know we're gonna do something.

I, I like hearing that.

Um, it makes sense.

This Dallas is really good friends of you guys.

'cause also just a phenomenal kid.

Just like both you guys are, but also he's a lot like you, Scotty.

He's just a silly weirdo.

Yes.

You know, you're, you're clearly the loudest one.

I I think Zach is too.

Zach is the most quiet of, of real y'all.

And, and, and Tyler's a little quiet too, but you know, he, he he's a little bit

of a little, little silly weirdo too.

He is.

He doesn't mind.

Uh, you always, I always like to give him the me when he gets on base.

You, that's always fun.

Mr. Mr. Mr. Mittens.

Yeah.

We actually, we created a little club.

It's called The Kitten Squad and we have it's Meza Dallas, Evan

Holman, and Maverick Stallings.

And whenever the kitten squad was together.

It was like all of us were good for three hits and we were winning the

inner squad no matter what happened.

That's awesome.

So yeah, be on the lookout for some, some cat noises, maybe some cat ears coming out

at some point for a home run celebration.

I, I got something.

I'll bring y'all, I got something for y'all.

Okay.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Yes.

I'm a, I'm a, I'm gonna put that in my car and have it ready to bring to y'all,

um, because we got, we got some props.

Well, it, it gives me an idea for the nickname for the visitor stands.

They're gonna be in the out outfield.

Like it's gotta be the litter box, right, because that's the litter box.

Get your bombs into,

that's great.

Put a benter up and everything.

You would approve that name on the signage, but we can call it that.

We can do we call the litter box?

Yeah.

That's something else.

So, so like I said, Zach, am I right that you're, you're a little bit more

quiet, but you, you gotta be a bit of a weirdo if these are the guys you're

spending all your time with, right?

Yep.

Yeah, for sure.

I think, uh, around them you see it a little bit more, so

yeah, it's, it's a lot of fun.

Yeah, I would say what's, uh, I would say if, uh, you or a random person were to

hang out with us for a whole day, you'd think we were from a different planet.

Probably.

Like you wouldn't understand a word we were saying.

I would probably be adding new strange things for you because

Yeah, yeah.

There you go.

Somebody else might

be like,

be you might be sending us back after four hours.

Like, no, no, we're not there yet.

Give us a few more years.

Oh yeah.

Uh, alright,

so, uh, I know last year you guys were saying you had like a pirate video game.

You were playing all the time.

Is there, like, what's the thing now that you guys are, are, are, uh, using to

bond and spend your off field time with?

I haven't been doing a whole lot of gaming.

My controller's broken right now, so.

Oh,

no.

Rage man.

Yeah, rage.

Quit gotten around to getting a new one, so maybe we'll work on that.

We'll, we'll see.

No, especially, especially when it starts getting warmer.

We're gonna, we'll be back on the seven Cs for sure.

That's our, that's our game.

We'll always come back to we got some ping to do.

There we go.

That's fantastic.

Alright, well, well, Finny was talking a lot about Will Johnson and getting in at

shortstop, like big base stealing threat.

Have you all had the foot race yet to see who is fastest?

I'd smoke him.

Uh, I'm probably like home to first.

I got him by at least, at least 0.1.

Like if he's running a four.

Oh, I got your three nine and in a 60 yard dash, it wouldn't be close.

Wow.

He can't, he can't keep up.

I'm not really's more steps for on the basis.

So I don't think they're too worried about me over there.

Yeah.

Zach just gets a hold of them.

They're done.

That's yeah.

That's funny.

Yes.

Well, just, just so you guys have competitions coming through there.

There you go.

I was just imagining all the little competitions you could come through

as like the new guys come in.

It's not hazing, but you gotta know where you are in the pecking order, right?

Yeah, exactly.

Make sure everybody knows they're not as fast as Scott.

Um, so do you guys, do you guys set yourselves goals for the year?

Whether they're numeric, kind of like a larger aspect?

Like what do you, I I mean obviously you go into season, you're like,

I wanna have a good season.

I want to compete, I want, we want the team to win.

But are there anything more specific, and again, you don't, if you don't

necessarily wanna share, that's fine too, but I'm just curious.

I think, uh, for me it's just consistency all around.

Consistency with the approach that I'm using day in and day out.

The mindset and the confidence that I'm taking into every game.

And I think that's sort of the biggest thing that I'm looking for going into this

season is just the all around consistency.

Not just with the numbers, but with the mental aspect of it as well.

Yeah.

I mean, like he said that, that's awesome.

But like I, I had a hitting coach growing up.

His name was Jose Tolentino who played for the Astros and mm-hmm.

Um, one thing he always told me, he is like, when you grow up and like

you start playing in college, like, the one thing I can tell you that

we used throughout the whole minor leagues is numbers are the devil.

Like stay as far away from those statistics as you can in the season.

Yeah.

Um, they're only gonna add pressure and, and put bad things into your

mind, whether it's high or low.

Right.

Like you're hitting four 50 at through the first 20 games of the season.

You're like, oh my God, I gotta chase this.

Like, how do I keep this up?

And that's just not realistic.

Right, right.

Like baseball's so up and down and, um.

He's been great.

Like talking to me through this especially is like the guys like me,

Maverick Slater who went to JUCO and are getting that extra year back.

It's like, we're really just playing this with house money, man.

Like

yeah.

My goal this year is specifically, and I think I've rubbed this off

on Zach, it's like we we're just out there to have a good time.

Like we're so lucky to be in this position and, um, I, I really didn't

deserve to get this year back.

Like, it, it was really lucky opportunity and I was the one class ever that,

that got the opportunity to play five full seasons of college baseball.

Um, so just enjoying that and like whether things go wrong or they go

really right, like coming back to that and being grateful for the fact like

that this opportunity came forward and.

Um, I get the chance to be out there with the guys at the home at

the bud, which I'm fired up about.

Yeah.

How big is that?

You have not played a game in front of fans of the bud, either one of y'all.

What's, what's the feeling?

How you, how excited are you for you?

You may still not get to next weekend.

We'll see how the weather goes.

Uh, you, you'll be playing, but it might not be anybody to watch.

No.

You, there'll be some folks.

I'll be there.

Uh, but what, what's, what's that feeling?

What's the excite, what's we excited?

Are we feeling good about that?

Yeah, super excited.

I don't think I've, um, really ever been able to play in front of

like a packed home crowd before.

So like, at our, at our actual home field at the bud.

I'm super excited.

I I think it's gonna be, it's gonna be really awesome.

Yeah, I think it'll be a little, oh, go ahead,

ahead, Gary.

No, you're good.

Go ahead.

I was just gonna say yeah, too, like, especially over this last week, those

outfield bleachers went up so fast, man, and like, you really start getting to

the feeling like, all right, this thing's around the corner, we're ready to go.

Um, yeah, it's awesome.

The ones in left field, they're building like a whole concourse on top

of them, so they got like six rows and they're building like a flat concourse.

They're gonna have concessions and, and good stuff up there.

And then we got the litter box in right field, which is pretty sweet out there.

And I think they're gonna have a pretty good beer tent, beer

garden out, out in the concourse.

So, um, it's exciting man, and just getting the opportunity to sleep in

your own bed, go to the new dining hall, get, get a few omelets and

walk over to the field and just enjoy the, the environment of it all.

'cause I mean, I don't know about Zach definitely hits well at i the home field,

but like we've gotten so much experience, like in the comfort of playing there,

seeing so many pitches, so many at bats.

Um, so I think when, when an outside jersey comes on, it's, it's really

gonna be real and, um, a special experience to play in that field.

Okay.

Well, speaking of those outfield stands, I think we asked TJ this,

but what snacks should people be bringing to throw to you out?

Out in the outfield?

Out in the outfield?

Oh

yeah.

I'm a big fan.

Like if you could sneak me one of those tinfoil wrapped

cheeseburgers, I'll be the whole

burger.

This guy

loves food.

He wants the whole burger.

Yeah.

When I was at the pilots games, like, I don't know if you ever saw me sneak it at

like third inning, I would just sneak out.

If I wasn't not that inning, I would sneak out and steal one of the good old

tenfold wrapped cheeseburgers from dude.

Crazy.

I probably ate.

Because th that's what they would feed us after the game.

So this summer I probably ate around 300 cheeseburgers.

Oh my God.

Two a day at least.

I mean, me too, but I didn't like run 'em off or

anything.

Yeah.

Sitting while I was eating them all.

Yeah.

Alright, so, so if, if you're able to sneak Scottie a full wrapped cheeseburger,

please

do,

uh, into the outfield.

Please do it.

Don't catch up.

Little mayo.

I beat.

Yes.

Yeah, we,

we'll put, we'll

put the packets inside the foil and just Thanks.

That way you're, you know, tearing 'em off when you're out there.

Absolutely.

That's, you got a strong enough arm.

Throw me one too, while you're at it.

I was gonna ask if we sneak on the construction side, we can uh, we

can definitely set that, we can set you up with a plate and like a

fountain drink and everything and just run over there between pitches.

Perfect.

Just get like tiny little, uh, slingshots and just get there.

Go.

There we go.

We're gonna send tj uh, the, uh, the gummy bears out there in center field.

Little slingshot.

Yeah.

Be good to

We got, we got You gotta tell TJ you dream bigger than he does.

That's the first thing you say you take tomorrow.

Say I tj I got bigger dreams.

I got bigger goals and ambitions than you do.

Exactly.

He's out there with a, a ribeye on a plate with a bib and a forking napkin.

Everything too.

Well, uh, me and, uh, me and Coach Panic have been working on

a pretty sweet home run show that we have to convince Finny about.

Okay,

we got the song we just need to convince Finny about the light

show and home runs at those night.

Games are gonna be awesome.

I, I hope so.

It took me like seven years to get to do the, the, uh, Hudson

Blue pants, uh, with the jerseys.

So I, I hope you, you work faster than I did.

Yes, we're, we're making a bid at it and it's gonna be a really cool experience.

Once, once we get that.

Well, hopefully

we can see