Inning 9: Flying Squirrels Manager Dennis Pelfrey

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, everybody, party from the Party Time podcast talking to
you about West Broad Honda. That's right, our buddy STEVEP
running the show over at the corner of Broad Street
and Glenside Drive. Or if you're unlike Joe T and
you use the Internet www dot Westbroadhonda dot Com, serving
Richmond and the surrounding area since nineteen seventy eight, sell

(00:21):
more Hondas than any of other Honda dealers in Richmond.
Number one volume dealer in Central VA.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Joe T.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Hell yeah, long history of supporting the Richmond community. The
Page Audi Group currently works with our favorite, the Richmond
Flying Squirrels. Hell yeah, the VCU Athletics, the MS Society,
and Special Olympics. Exceptional customer service that will make you
a Westbroad Honda customer for life. A perfect balance of

(00:48):
inventory available so you can find the Honda you want today.
Looking for an electric vehicle, Hell yeah, westbron Honda has
all new twenty twenty four prologs, Honda's first EV with
a total range of just under three hundred miles. They
also have great offers on every model, including two point

(01:11):
nine percent financing on the Honda CRV and Accord and
zero percent on the Honda ridgeline. Hell yeah, West Broad
Honda is your home for your next Honda or certified
pre owned Honda. Also a large selection of non Honda
pre owned vehicles. Go see my boy Stevie p at

(01:33):
West Broad Honda. Hell yeah, Hey, everybody, welcome to Party Time.
Inning number nine Joe T cannot count that high. Inning
number nine of season number one. We got my man
Cheats from the Black Baseball Mixtape Cheats. What's up today?

Speaker 3 (01:55):
It's always great to be here party. I'm excited.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, this is weird. You're you're always excited every episode.
You've never come into an episode or excuse me an ending,
we don't call it episodes here at Parting Time and
not be excited. But this one's going to be really special.
They're all special, but this one's going to be really
special because it's something that's near and dear to my heart,
which is the end of baseball season. The beginning of

(02:19):
baseball season is near and dear to my heart.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
But so is the end.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
Because there's so much that we could talk about. Party
Time podcast is all about relationships. That's people want to
think that it's about baseball. People want to think that
it's about professional sports, but it's about the relationships that
baseball has given me Parney over the last thirty five years.
And today's going to be special because a relationship that

(02:44):
we've built with our guests.

Speaker 2 (02:47):
So, Joe T are you ready for this one?

Speaker 4 (02:49):
Hell yeah?

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Please welcome to the show.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
The one and only Dennis Pelfrey aka Pelf, manager of
the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Wait a second, Wait a second, wait a second?

Speaker 1 (02:59):
Time out, the winningest manager in Flying Squirrel's history.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Right do we get there? Pelth or No?

Speaker 4 (03:05):
I don't know. I have no idea.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Well we're calling you. We're calling you the winningest manager
in Flying Squirrel's history, because I think we were pretty close,
if not, but Pelf, welcome to Party Time Podcast. And
thank you Pelf for being a fan of the Party
Time Podcast. I think you told me you've listened to
most of them or all of them.

Speaker 5 (03:22):
I watched all of them. It's an absolute pleasure to
be here. I can't believe I actually got asked to
be on. So I'm a little nervous right now. I
mean it's you know, with this crew you have here
is a special group.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Wait wait till mp ruins it all when he comes
in mid show again, Pelf, like I said, I had
no idea where we were going to start, but I
think I want to start here. You made fun of
me about an hour ago because there was a meeting
that was coming out of the out of the out
of the conference room with Ben Terry, and he introduced
them and introduced us to them, and I pointed at

(03:56):
Pelf and said, this guy right here is my favorite
manager of thirty five years in minor league baseball. And
Pelth Jot said, well, wait till next year, a year,
it'll be it's thirty six and the other person. But
that's not true, Pelth, it's you. So let's start with
the relationship aspect. You and I obviously hit it off
right from the beginning. I want to talk about some
of the traditions that you and I have, But what

(04:20):
what's it like being a minor league manager in general,
but then specifically being here in Richmond and the relationships
not just with me but with everybody here in the
front office in Richmond. So let's let's start there see
where it goes.

Speaker 5 (04:35):
So yeah, I mean I think that you know, you
hit the nail around the head. I think you know,
the relationships are the most important. From being a minor
league manager, I think the coolest part of this job
is the different personalities from staff members to players, trying
to figure out how all that stuff works together and
try to get everybody on the same page to attain

(04:56):
a certain goal, right, And I think, you know, everybody
has their their own agendas and things like that, but
at the end of the day, like what, you know,
what are we trying to accomplish together? And I think
that's the coolest thing for me, and it's it's probably
the reason I do it, just to see if we
can mold together as a unit, you know, and and
bring a lot of diversity and a lot of different
cultures together to try to attain one goal. And I

(05:18):
think that for me, it's important to you know, have
the front office involved and have a very good relationship
with the front office with the players staff, because you know,
we are a family. Even though we're not getting dressed
in the same room and showering after the games and
talking about the same type of things.

Speaker 4 (05:35):
It's it's it's still one goal, and it's it's to.

Speaker 5 (05:38):
Put a really good product on the field and and
an excitement and I call it, you know, the best
reality show on the planet Minor League Baseball. And with
all the fires and everything that happens throughout the day
that they could throw us off course, I think you
know you guys, especially here in Richmond, do a fantastic
job of keeping us on the rails.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
Well, I appreciate that, and you're you're very actual person.
And the reason I do feel like you're the best
manager I've ever worked with because you get it, Like
you understand that Abigail and Caroline are looking for someone
to catch first pitches five minutes before the game starts.
A lot of managers don't realize why that's important or
care why that's important. One of the things that we

(06:19):
want to do here on parting time is peaked behind
the curtain. I think one of the things that has
impressed me the most is how you come to the
yard the ballpark every single day expecting to win, but
people don't understand you're away from your family the whole
entire season, like like how how how have you through

(06:40):
the years And your family is awesome and I've just
been very grateful to get to know them and you
and consider them a part of our family.

Speaker 2 (06:50):
The Partnells.

Speaker 1 (06:51):
But how do you how do you get through that?
I mean, it's got to be a total commitment, right
by everybody.

Speaker 5 (06:57):
Yeah, by everybody. It's not you know, it's not just
me doing it. I mean, you know, I have a
little boy at home, my wife, daughter in college, and
this is kind of all I've known. My entire life
is baseball for the most part, and as a player,
you know, or a coach, and I think, you know,
it takes a very special person. My wife, you know,

(07:18):
she's done a fantastic job raising our boy. She's very logical,
she's very independent. You know, she talks about you know
that we talk about sometimes them coming out to visit,
and it just doesn't happen because, you know, she's realistic,
knowing that, you know, my goals and what I'm trying
to accomplish. I want to be the very best at
what I do. So I have to be at the
field and I have to have to work. And so

(07:40):
if they came to town, you know, that wouldn't change.
I would be at the ballpark at you know, nine
thirty ten in the morning and we get home until
midnight at one o'clock. So even if they did come
the time spent would not be you know, very much.
So I think that having someone in my life like
my wife Giovanni, to be able to support what I'm
doing too and make me feel sometimes because when you're alone,

(08:03):
you feel sometimes the decisions you make, you know this,
this is crazy. But for to have somebody support what
you're doing and kind of living it with you is fantastic.
And then the other side of it, when I go
home for the off season, we don't talk about baseball,
we don't talk about you know, work, We just enjoy
our time with each other. And it's, uh, it's like
a brand new relationship when I get home every year,

(08:23):
So it's you know, that's probably why it's gonna last
a long time because it's so fresh, so new, and
and it's a lot of happiness for a few months
and then then I'm gone again, so it's like it's special.
And obviously with FaceTime and those type of things, it
helps a lot too.

Speaker 4 (08:37):
Now in these days, like.

Speaker 5 (08:38):
When I was playing and there wasn't much of that
going on Skype, I think was the was the big
thing that was tough to get onto. They get to
have a log in like Joe T does for his
thing he's got going on.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
Joe T. What do you gonna say about that?

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah, actually it should be a hell no, you're not
allowed to say that. Yeah, Plifornia, And I've learned about
you the last three years, and it's hard to I
don't know about you, but it's hard for me sometimes
to believe that you and I have only known each
other and been friends and work together for three seasons.
For me, like it's it's uh, it feels like I've

(09:13):
known you my entire career. So that's a that's a
tip of the cap to you. Also talking about your wife,
like me, you totally outkicked your coverage. Your wife's absolutely beautiful.

Speaker 4 (09:23):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
And and I'm as everybody knows the fat guy with
the hot chick. So but but I feel like I won.
You know, I won in that battle if I'm the
fat guy with the hot chick.

Speaker 4 (09:32):
So.

Speaker 1 (09:34):
But one of the things I learned about you is
your love for movies. And again I have no idea
where this is going, but tell us, tell us what
your favorite couple movies of all time are. And then
and then I want to talk to to everybody about
what you taught me about the movie Draft Day.

Speaker 4 (09:50):
Yeah, No, it's uh, it's really hard to pick one.

Speaker 5 (09:53):
I mean it's like it's like when you talk about
baseball players, it's it's really easy to pick out a
few of the great ones and call them they're the
best and and things like that. But to pick a
favorite movie is almost impossible. To be honest with you,
but at Last of the Mohicans would probably be up
there as one of my all time favorite movies to watch.

(10:15):
But you know, Draft Days on that on that top
ten board, no doubt. I mean, it's just it's really
what's special about movies for me is especially going to
the theater. I get to get away from baseball and
enjoy some time where basically away from life.

Speaker 4 (10:30):
Really.

Speaker 5 (10:30):
I kind of when I watch movies, I'll go by myself.
Sometimes my wife does the same thing, which is really cool,
but I kind of immerse myself in one of the
character's roles, and I would try to like be in
the movie as it's going on and what the decisions
that are made and kind of how it affects what
you're doing and just kind of gets you away from
reality a little bit. And that's kind of like my

(10:51):
mental escape. And so really, there's no movies that I
really don't like. I think it's virtually I'll go see
anything just to see, you know, what it's about and
what it's like. But if I had to pick one,
you know all time favorite, it's It's the Last of
the Mohicans.

Speaker 1 (11:06):
One of the things about being in minor league baseball,
you don't see how tough it is. We already talked
about you being away from your family all the time,
but we also see dreams come to an end here,
and we see dreams be being fulfilled here. Just take
a couple of minutes and talk to all of us
and our listeners at Parting Time Podcast about what it

(11:27):
feels like to call a guy into the office you're
sitting in right now and tell them that they're released
or they're going down, and then talk a little bit
about what it's like when you get to tell them
they're going to San Francisco or they're going to Triple A.

Speaker 5 (11:43):
Yeah, it's you know, it's a it's a wave of emotions.
And sometimes sometimes I'll get the news of what's going
to happen with a player, you know, before our game
that night, and not able to tell him or anybody
else until the game's over, so you know, when those
releases happen, or or even a guy moving down, you know,
spending the entire day knowing this and trying to get

(12:05):
through the day and and win a game.

Speaker 4 (12:07):
And you know, do what's best for all the players.

Speaker 5 (12:09):
It's it's a really you're you're emotionally torn because you
become so close with with all the players and I
think that you know, you hit hit it earlier about
the relationships there.

Speaker 4 (12:19):
They are very important.

Speaker 5 (12:20):
So it's not like, you know, I view any of
these players as just baseball players. It's you know, we
talk a lot about, you know, what they're doing after
the season, with what they're you know, some of their
favorite things are you know, maybe their favorite movie is
Draft Day.

Speaker 4 (12:35):
Maybe you know what I mean.

Speaker 5 (12:40):
But but yeah, so you know, when a guy comes
in and typically when I ask somebody to grab a player,
I don't go myself. I don't walk into the clubhouse
and and uh, you know, go find the player myself.
I usually have if it's a position player, I'll have
the hitting coach go grab them because I would like
that person to be in the room as well, or
coach if it's a pitcher type thing, just because I

(13:03):
never want those conversations to be.

Speaker 4 (13:06):
Just just two people.

Speaker 5 (13:07):
I think that some things maybe get misunderstood, possibly and
just just so there's somebody else in the room. Sometimes
they get a little too emotional sometimes so but but yeah,
so I think when a player gets called into to
my office, you know, it's typically not a great thing.
And I think that that's a stereotype that that goes around.

(13:28):
If you get called into the manager's office, it's a
it's a problem there, you got. So I don't think
that's I try to make it to where that's not
necessarily true. So you know, I'll bring guys in to
give them a lot of you know, positive boosts on
some of the plays they've made over the recent games,
or you know, what they could do better.

Speaker 4 (13:47):
I think some say some things like that.

Speaker 5 (13:49):
So but you know, after a game, when you get
called in the office, it's usually usually not a good thing.
But sometimes it is as far as getting called up too.
But so, but going through that and just you know,
I've come to the fact over the over the last
I don't know, eight years or so, been doing this.

Speaker 4 (14:06):
An ending guy's careers.

Speaker 5 (14:08):
So to speak, is Basically what it comes down to is,
you know, when you tell them they're done playing or
at least playing with us, you know, it's a difficult conversation.

Speaker 4 (14:16):
And just not to beat around the bush. Just go
right to it, Just say hey, you.

Speaker 5 (14:20):
Know, we're gonna give you your release, and then try
to uh, you know, try to make it sound a
little bit better by telling them, you know, being honest
with them. Basically, I think you can still play. I
think you should, you know, look for look for another
independent team to go play for. I don't think your
career should be over.

Speaker 2 (14:41):
You know.

Speaker 5 (14:41):
One of the one of the things I say to
every single player that I have to release is you know,
you've worked all off season, in this entire season to
play this season, so you should not play. There's gonna
be plenty of independent teams that are gonna call and
and try to get you to sign. You should go
at least do that, at least explore that side of it.
See a little different atmosph fear in baseball other than
the affiliate side, because as you well know, I came

(15:04):
from independent baseball as a player and a coach, and
there's some really really special things there as far as
you know, teammates and grinding and trying to.

Speaker 4 (15:14):
Get back into affiliated baseball.

Speaker 5 (15:16):
So but for the most part, I think it's just
a it's just straight right to the point, and try
to take all the emotion out of it, even though
there's gonna be something I talk about with the players
a lot about even in the games, Like, you know,
it's not an emotional game and you can't make an
emotional decisions, So try to not take things personally right so,

(15:36):
because it is a business at the end of the day,
and you know, it's just a decision that the ball
club or the organization is going to go with at
this moment, and not that everybody agrees with it, including
yourself probably, but it's just time to time to move
on and change the scenery. And then the other side
of it, when you get a chance to tell a
guy that's he's going up to Triple A, you know,

(15:56):
getting promoted, I think is is really special because one,
it gives them a little gratification on you know, the
work that they've put in up until this point of
their career, and one step away from the big leagues,
so to speak. I think it's just a step closer
to their goals and they're actually seeing you know, in person,

(16:18):
in life and feeling.

Speaker 4 (16:20):
You know, the accomplishment of what they've done so far.

Speaker 5 (16:23):
So and I think the message after they've been told
they're going up was just again straight to the point,
you're gonna you're gonna be heading to Sacramento. Sometimes I'll
do those in front of the ball club, depending on
when it is, like if it's before the game and
I need to tell the guys so we can get
on a flight tonight. You know, we'll have a little
you know, whether pitcher meeting or hit position player meeting,
and I'll throw it in the conversation really really quiet

(16:46):
and just kind of see if anybody catches it, who's
actually listening, And it turns out to be a really
really exciting, you know time when we get to tell it,
you know, in front of other players.

Speaker 4 (16:58):
But I also tell the tell the guy this going up.

Speaker 5 (17:00):
Don't get comfortable because everybody here is coming after your job,
so you know, keep working those type of things. So
it's really it's kind of the best the best of
both worlds, right, Like it's it's the really low tough
conversation to the really you know Christmas day opening, you're
present when you're eight years old that you've been waiting for.
You you know, it's wrapped up. It looks like a bike.

(17:21):
You know it's a bike, but you still want to
open it, you know what I mean. So it's it's
it's a lot of emotion. And then for the other
players too, like when they get to walk out of
the office and tell the other players that hey, I'm
going to Sacramento, they get excited, or the guys that
get released, it's like it's it's the goodbye, you know
it may never see you again type type of atmosphere.
So it really it really crushes the clubhouse sometimes when

(17:45):
we have a big win, a walk off win, and
we got the music playing, and you know, Key Stewart's
got the fog machine.

Speaker 1 (17:51):
And the love the fog machine. The fog machine is
one of my favorite things in the clubhouse now.

Speaker 4 (17:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (17:56):
So and that's the thing, like, you know, Key Stewart
at me if it was okay to do it, and
I'm like, it's your clubhouse, man. So and that's like
the players, that's why I don't like to go through
there a whole lot and go hang out in the clubhouse.

Speaker 4 (18:07):
Because it's the players clubhouse. They should have a place
where it's it's theirs. I have my office right like
this is mine, Like.

Speaker 5 (18:12):
I get to be in here and have whatever I
want in here, just like the clubhouse is for them.
So but yeah, it's it's you know, it's just tough.
It's tough all around. But it shows you how vulnerable
people really are. And it's it's life. Like I said,
the best reality show on the planet. Like being in
a baseball clubhouse is just like life.

Speaker 1 (18:33):
Well but I mean, people don't realize how diverse the
clubhouse is. You have people from Venezuela, Dominican Republic, you
have African American players, you have white players from Texas, California.
You got cowboy boots, you got flip flops, like you
got it all in that clubhouse and they're all trying
to beat each other out for the next step.

Speaker 2 (18:50):
And one of the many things.

Speaker 1 (18:51):
That I like about you as a leader, and no
I've said that on purpose, that is Pelfrey is a manager,
but he's a leader. He could be a bitiness. He'll
be the leader of his company. Is player number, player
number one, the player number twenty five. Pelf Pelf has
a plan for every single player. And that's one of
the many things that I've respected about Pelf over these

(19:12):
last a few years, because uh heealf, not all minor
league managers are like you, bro like like some minor
league managers, they're they're kissing Bryce Harper's ass when he's
when he's playing right, or or you know, name name somebody,
Manny Machado, whoever it is, that that number one prospects
getting all the attention. And I can tell y'all and

(19:32):
our Party Time listeners, Pelf pays attention to everybody, and
that's one of the many things I love about him.

Speaker 2 (19:38):
Parties, pub Club's here, cheats, MP, Pelf.

Speaker 1 (19:41):
As you know, because you're a Party Time podcast listener,
we do PARTI PU Partie Time pub club one shot.
It's not liquor pealth, but we can do that after
we take this if you want. You're going home tomorrow,
you don't care. We can do a shot together afterwards.
But cheats. Since you arrived on time today, why don't
we start with you and then MP, you get six

(20:02):
noodle slashes from Party Time Principal Party uh and Chiefs.
I'll give the floor to you for a one for
a one shotter with pelf.

Speaker 3 (20:11):
Well, you know me, party, I had so many questions,
but I'm gonna go with the Low Hanging Fruit. Now
that you mentioned so many movies, so pealth, this is
the question. Give me your favorite baseball movie and then
give me one that's underrated, like a baseball movie everybody
should see.

Speaker 5 (20:26):
Pretty easy for me and this party. Man, I like
this this choice. But my favorite baseball movie of all
time and I can say this is number one is
Major League.

Speaker 2 (20:36):
I know, nice catch, don't ever do it again. Great
care everybody.

Speaker 4 (20:42):
Everybody goes into the you know, the bull drum and
you know the field of dreams, which are really good
for the love of the game, really good movies as well.

Speaker 5 (20:50):
But I think that, you know, major league is like
the epitome of minor league baseball, or even major league
baseball for that matter.

Speaker 4 (20:59):
I just don't know. I've never been in that environment,
but hopefully so we'll see.

Speaker 5 (21:05):
But you know, you get the and it really shows
like the different personalities and how a team comes together,
whether because you don't have to have the best players
on paper to win, and I think that it's a
It's really special to me that movie. It's it's a
lot deeper than just a comedy movie. Obviously, Wesley Snipe
see's you Know Blade. I don't know if you've seen that,

(21:26):
but I mean one of my all time favorites, not
my favorite, but Blade, the Blade series.

Speaker 2 (21:31):
I love you know the New.

Speaker 4 (21:34):
Deadpool, the New Deadpool too.

Speaker 5 (21:35):
I don't know if you guys have seen Experience, It's
it's the best part of the movie.

Speaker 1 (21:39):
But this party time podcast turned Cisco and.

Speaker 4 (21:43):
There you go.

Speaker 5 (21:44):
And then the most underrated one. You know what I'm
gonna I'm gonna use the same movie Major League. I
think it's a very underrated baseball movie because people just
don't understand what it takes to win and what it
takes from a from a players standpoint, like like I said,
to be able to have all those different personalities, come
from all different backgrounds, all different talent levels, and figure

(22:08):
out a way to come together on the same path.

Speaker 3 (22:10):
We we did a tournament pool on the Black Baseball Mixtape.
I think we picked eight movies and broke them down
like a tournament bracket. And I will say Major League
I think was in I don't. I don't think it
made the final four. So I'm with you. I understand
that major League is underrated. It fell fell short to

(22:31):
the Sandlot and leg of their own and a couple
of others. So good choices, good choices.

Speaker 1 (22:37):
One of my my one of my favorite quotes from
that movie is when I love the manager?

Speaker 2 (22:41):
Right, Hey, can I get back to you? I got
a pair of white walls online too?

Speaker 4 (22:47):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (22:49):
So t do you like major League?

Speaker 4 (22:50):
Hell? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (22:51):
Okay, Well that's We're gonna come back to your chiefs
because you have a long list of questions and you
prepared for this, so I don't want to I don't
want to negate that.

Speaker 2 (22:59):
Let's go to mister Tardi over here, MP on the mic.
What you got for our man?

Speaker 6 (23:04):
Pelth ralling off that many movies? You must be a
guy who spends a lot of time on a bus.
Can you give us a good bus story, a prank
or a bus incident that stands out to you?

Speaker 4 (23:17):
Oh? Bus pranks, I mean there's so many. I've rode
so many buses.

Speaker 5 (23:23):
I think that probably I'll just I'll give a story
of a trip that was probably the worst trip of
my life, in multiple other people's lives. I think we
were we were, I was in independent baseball as a
hitting coach for the Gary South Shore RailCats, which is
in Gary.

Speaker 2 (23:41):
Indiana, birthplace of Michael Jackson.

Speaker 5 (23:44):
Very yeah, yeah, Michael Jackson came out one of the sisters,
not the one that's on Joe T's website that he uses,
but uh, one of the sisters one one game brought out, No,
what's the other one?

Speaker 4 (24:03):
What's the other system? It was LaToya. It was LaToya.
It was LaToya she It might be on Joe T's website.

Speaker 5 (24:12):
She came out into the dugout with Michael's two kids
and they threw out the first pitch one time.

Speaker 4 (24:18):
It was incredible.

Speaker 5 (24:19):
There was like fifteen bodyguards in the dugout like it
was incredible. But that's a story for another day, I guess.
But so we we were playing. We went on a
road trip and it was gonna end up in Laredo, Texas,
which is you know, basically as far north as you
can go to as far south as you can go
in the middle of the country. And along the way

(24:39):
down we played I think we played in Amarillo before
we went to Laredo. So and this is back when
there wasn't Mondays Off like it was you play three
game series or a four game series, drive to the
next town that next.

Speaker 2 (24:51):
Time, and overnight, right overnight.

Speaker 4 (24:54):
Yeah, overnight.

Speaker 5 (24:55):
So we get to we we play our three game
or four game series and Amarillo and then from amarill
to Laredo, the top of the Panhandle to the southern
tip of Texas. Basically there's a there's nothing. It's not
really a straight shot. It's a lot of desert ee
type you know, western e movie type places, not many
places to stop.

Speaker 4 (25:14):
But we had a flat.

Speaker 5 (25:16):
Tire on the way from Amarillo to Laredo, and it's like, oh,
so we had to wait like three hours for this
guy to come fix it down in the middle of nowhere,
and then about an hour outside of Laredo the same
tire spot, another.

Speaker 4 (25:28):
Flat and another two or three hours.

Speaker 1 (25:32):
That must have been a team full of centers. Palf
of that battle the baseball chapel on that team.

Speaker 4 (25:38):
No, not at all. We got crushed.

Speaker 5 (25:40):
So then we play our three four game series in
Laredo and they got the bus fixed and it was
just only one bus. Now now we travel with two buses,
which is awesome, but it was just one bus.

Speaker 4 (25:51):
We get to Laredo, finish the series.

Speaker 1 (25:53):
You're not paying for the second bus, so that's why
you think it's awesome.

Speaker 4 (25:56):
Correct, correct.

Speaker 5 (25:58):
So so we had an off day. This is like
what we finished the series on a Wednesday. We had
an off day Thursday, and we were playing back in
Gary on Friday. From Laredo, we start driving all the
way back to Gary, which is like a I don't know,
twenty five ish twenty eight hour trip, probably somewhere in
that range, maybe not quite that far, but it's a

(26:19):
long one and it's going to take a long time.
But we have an off day coming up, so we're
excited about it. So we get through Dallas and about
I don't know, thirty forty five minutes outside of Texarcana,
flat tire again, same tire spot, and now we figure
out that there's something wrong with like the busters, a
piece of metal that's like sticking down or whatever that's

(26:41):
burning the burning through these tires, and so we sit
there on the road. We had to wait like seven
or eight hours for somebody to come fix this bus
on the side of the road in the middle of
nowhere in Texas heat.

Speaker 4 (26:53):
It was the most grueling trip. So we finished it.

Speaker 5 (26:57):
We finished the trip finally, long story short, Our entire
off day was spent on the road on a bus
from the night we finished that game. We didn't show
up till to Gary until like eight in the morning
on Friday, had to play that night. It was the
worst time.

Speaker 4 (27:11):
Of my life.

Speaker 2 (27:13):
That's a nice win story.

Speaker 4 (27:16):
We want a champip that year, I think so.

Speaker 5 (27:18):
Yeah, we went through a lot of a lot of
stuff to get there, but I think it brought us
together as a team. When we were trying to get
the owner. The owner of the team was actually in
like Spain or something. We were trying to get him
to get us some type of flight out of texaar
Canada with a private jet or something to get home,
but it just didn't work.

Speaker 4 (27:35):
So it was it was pretty brutal.

Speaker 5 (27:37):
But yeah, that's that's the most ruling bus trip that
I've ever had to deal with. We had one here
where you know last year, well there's been a couple
here actually, but last year we were leaving, we were
leaving Binghamton and we were about an hour away or
hour outside of starting the trip, and one of the
buses broke down and we had the choice of either

(28:01):
loading up on one bus going back into the trying
to get back in the hotel or whatever or head home.

Speaker 4 (28:05):
So I just I had everybody load up on one bus.

Speaker 5 (28:08):
Myself and the hitting coach stayed with the other bus
because it was had all of our luggage. And we
sent them on their way, and we waited till the
guy fixed the bus, and he told he told I
don't know if should probably say this, but he told
the bus driver, the head of the bus driver company,
that they probably shouldn't drive this bus. We got to fix.
We can drive it over the shop. And that guy

(28:29):
told our bus driver, I think you can make it.
And so our bus driver asked me. I said, hey, hey, Roosevelt,
if you're good with it, I'm good with it because
my time, it's my time.

Speaker 4 (28:37):
So let's go. So we got down the road and
we were only about an hour behind him. It wasn't
he caught up with them, it was. It was crazy,
which brings me to a next thing.

Speaker 1 (28:47):
Real quick, pel do you like these six days on
six a day off on Monday?

Speaker 2 (28:52):
Six days?

Speaker 1 (28:53):
Do you like playing the same team six times as
a manager? And you're very very very very meticulous about
your preparation and how you how you notice things, that
are happening during games. Is that is that good for you?

Speaker 2 (29:06):
Like?

Speaker 1 (29:06):
Are you are you able to quote unquote manage even
better if you have six days to see their tendencies.

Speaker 5 (29:13):
I think it's it's phenomenal from my standpoint. You know,
when you go on the road, and typically we travel
on Mondays, and I try to set the bus up
to where we will land at the hotel between nine
and ten pm, So if it's an eight hour trip,
you know we'll leave it too and uh or one
thirty or something like that, just so it's almost like
the same time as they would be getting back to

(29:34):
their room from a game, typically around that time. So
and then we have the whole week to like set
up and prepare for our work. The work it worked
for me is the most important part of the day.
The game is just the game. You know, we're either
gonna win or we're gonna lose. But if we put
in really good work, I think we put ourselves in
a really good position to win. So we get to

(29:56):
really schedule out and map out our work for the week.
Opposed to like you know, when you play the three
game series, you're usually showing up that morning, so you
don't do much that day. Day two you get in
all your work and then day three is a travel day,
so you kind of you know, not do much work
then those days either. So the six game series for
me is phenomenal. I think, you know, a lot of

(30:16):
the teams don't really like me a whole lot because
I always ask to let us hit on the field
on Sundays and you know that, like it's Sunday and
I'm like, well, we have Monday off, so you know,
I want to offer it to the guys. Anyway, It's
not something that I make mandatory, but we typically have
four or five guys that want to hit on the field,
and not for me, especially in the role that I
have player development, Like I don't want there to ever

(30:37):
be a day you show up that we're not here
to help you if you want it. So you know,
we do a few optional hitting days and we'll typically
have ninety percent of the guys still hit on the field.

Speaker 4 (30:48):
But defense is never optional. It's always always mandatory.

Speaker 5 (30:50):
We do some defensive stuff, but the hitting stuff, I mean,
so these groundscrew guys, some of them will get upset
and cause I'll have three guys or four guys that
will hit on Sunday morning because they want to get
out of the hit. And I'm not gonna stop the
player from wanting to do that, because we all have
jobs only because of the players, right, so we want
them to be the best they can be.

Speaker 1 (31:08):
And then I always tell that to the front office people,
like we do a lot of crazy stuff around here
with the squirrels, And that's one another thing you've you've
always understood why we do that, and you've supported it,
and not all managers would or do. But without those
eighteen players on that field and the two managers in
the dugout, we don't have a job either. And it's

(31:29):
that those nine innings are really very important. That's why
I get so upset, or used to get so upset
when our promotion goes over and the umpires have to
we're getting the way of the game, and our job
is a never getting away of the game. Cheets, let's
go back around for another one shotter from you, Bud.

Speaker 3 (31:45):
This is this is perfect because you kind of mentioned
it already, and so player development. You talked about coach
Pelf and obviously you want to win games. It's much
I think the role of a manager or in minor
league baseball is just show challenging because of the player movement.
How do you kind of deal with that level of

(32:09):
having a player for five days and then that player
might be gone and having a new player. How do
you go about your role, especially when you know the
organization might have priority on a player or something like that.

Speaker 4 (32:20):
Yeah, that's a great question. I think that it's it's
it's a moving target. There's not a right answer.

Speaker 5 (32:26):
And I think that if you ask, you know, ten
different minor league managers, you get probably ten different answers
that are real similar. I think that, you know, for me,
it's about being consistent in what we do. I think
that you know now, especially I've been with the Giants here,
I think, what is this my fifth year now, I think, yeah,
you're five. You know, I haven't changed from day one.

(32:48):
And even in independent baseball, managing independent baseball a little different.

Speaker 4 (32:52):
You know.

Speaker 5 (32:52):
I have a lot more responsibility and I make all
the decisions, so it's a little bit different they're in
independent baseball.

Speaker 4 (32:59):
But it's funny.

Speaker 5 (33:01):
Is Key Stewart brought a lineup card from he was
my clubhouse manager in Florence in the Frontier League, and
he brought up a lineup card that looks almost identical
to the one I have now that I use now
that I created myself and just like evolved it a
little bit for the giants and the squirrels, but it
looks real similar and it has some like notes on

(33:22):
it that I put on our daily schedules, you know,
some things like fifty to fifty year thing different, just
some like not necessarily quotes of the day, but basically
our motto for the year. You know, two years ago
it was the f package. You know, last year was
fifty to fifty and then or think different and then
this year is fifty to fifty and finished the puzzle

(33:42):
type thing. So just real short things, but things that
I talk about throughout the entire year with the players.
That kind of I can have the same type of
talks about the same thing, but make them a little
bit different. So the guys that have been here all
year don't hear the same message over and over and over.
It's the same message, but it's a different way each time.
And but me being here for the like the fifth

(34:03):
hear a lot of the players know at least know
what to expect with me, and they're gonna get the
same guy every single day, regardless of what it is.
And if it's raining outside, we're gonna play. If it's
you know, whatever, it doesn't matter. We're gonna approach the
day like it's not Monday or Tuesday or Wednesdays, just
another day, like this is.

Speaker 4 (34:20):
What we're gonna do.

Speaker 5 (34:21):
And I think that keeping those things consistent, you know,
with the schedule. Like I said, you know, on Tuesdays,
we do a full team on the field batting practice.
I call it hitting practice because some want hitters not batters,
but some of those things thinking differently, right, so we
call it each hitting practice, and you know, and then
on Wednesdays is a hitters option. They get to choose

(34:43):
cage or the field or both if they want. And
then we're going to do our defense. And then you know,
Wednesdays is back to the full team, and Fridays is
the option, Saturdays is the full team, and Sunday is
a full option, and and they can wear sleeveless shirts
on Sundays and they the full option.

Speaker 4 (34:58):
They don't have to do defense out. Yeah, couns out
guns out.

Speaker 5 (35:01):
So and then we started doing like if we won
the first three games of the series, they could go
sleeveless the rest of the week. So it's just kind
of giving a few like rewards for the work, right,
for what we're putting in the work to get wins,
and we and we play together to win, and so
just a few of those type of rewards. But to
answer your question, it's just really just be consistent in
what you do in your message, regardless of who it is.

(35:23):
It doesn't matter if it's Bryce Eldridge or you know,
Simon Whiteman, or it doesn't It doesn't matter the player.
The stigma of the player doesn't matter because they're all
here in the same spot, just like us coaches.

Speaker 4 (35:34):
We're all in the same spot.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
This.

Speaker 4 (35:35):
We have to treat this like our big league. So
we're going to approach it like that.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
Consistency if you would, if you would put me in
a corner and say give me five words to describe
Dennis Pelfrey, consistency would absolutely be one of them. And Pete,
you're up for your second last one shot.

Speaker 6 (35:54):
I'll give Cheats the question if he's if he's loaded,
I'll uh, I'll uh, what is it for my time?

Speaker 2 (36:02):
We're not in fucking Congress here.

Speaker 4 (36:04):
Hey, we could be, we could be.

Speaker 3 (36:08):
I'll make I'll make this look. I'll make this easy.
I'll make this one easy. Because over the last few seasons,
PELF has had some amazing talent come through Richmond, just
like so like we had you know, Bryce Eldrick for
about a week and Reggie Crawford for about a week,
and you've seen Marco Luciano and Louis Mattis. Is there

(36:29):
a player because you scout these guys, you look at
these guys, so you kind of know what to expect,
But is there a player that stands out to you
that you you were just like I had an impression
of a player, then holy crap, this guy's better than
I thought. And I might not be keeping them that long.

Speaker 2 (36:47):
Man.

Speaker 4 (36:47):
That's a really tough question.

Speaker 6 (36:49):
I'll get you know, I'll give you the follow up
all you think on it. Were you here when the
Japanese kid was here who had like a million Japanese
reporters following like his every move.

Speaker 5 (37:00):
Do you remember Yoshi Yo Yeah, Kywai tang Oh Yoshi Yoshi, Yeah, yeah,
he was here for a very short minute too.

Speaker 2 (37:08):
He was yeah, but.

Speaker 1 (37:10):
Yeah, but he had the nicest car I've ever seen
in the minor leagues. He had like a he had
like a five hundred thousand dollars Mercedes, and I pull in.
I pull in his first day and Pelf had told him, Hey,
when you see the guy with the crazy pants, that's party.

Speaker 2 (37:24):
You gotta go say hi to party.

Speaker 1 (37:26):
So I pull in and this guy who I've never
seen before, gets out of this four hundred thousand dollars
Mercedes and comes running over to me because he saw
my crazy pants.

Speaker 2 (37:34):
Yeah that's awesome.

Speaker 5 (37:36):
Yeah, stay consistent, right, No, No, Yoshi Yoshi was awesome.
He was He was signed as a out of the
Atlantic League, older guy. I think he was thirty last year,
and he had he brought he had an interpreter with
him who was also a coach, which was the best
present I could get to help us on.

Speaker 1 (37:57):
Yeah, because he threw. He threw hitting practice.

Speaker 4 (38:00):
Through hitting practice, he could hit a fun go wow.

Speaker 5 (38:03):
So it was having a supplemental coach in in in
the minor leagues is is the best gift a manager
can get.

Speaker 2 (38:10):
I think.

Speaker 4 (38:11):
But but yeah, so that was it was. It was
cool having him.

Speaker 5 (38:14):
He was an awesome, awesome guy, great for the house.

Speaker 4 (38:19):
I mean, he was a worker, which was you know,
really cool.

Speaker 5 (38:22):
He had played in the big leagues and you know,
so when the guys got to see because how how
I keep drilling into their minds about the work, Like
the work is important work.

Speaker 4 (38:30):
This guy is working out working, you know, our twenty
two year olds.

Speaker 5 (38:33):
He's out on the field every single day, taking more swings,
taking more you know, individual defensive reads in the outfield
at first base. Just just a phenomenal guy. He actually
came to spring training this year and he made it
up until like the last part of spring training when
when they released him. But man, it was he was cool,

(38:54):
very very good personality. Didn't speak much English, if at all.
But you know what was what was the best thing
about that is I've never had a player give me
like a gift when they show up and he brings
in this box. It's probably as big as my desk
of chocolates, all these different whose right in the wheelhouse.

(39:16):
But I did not touch or open a single one
because I wanted. I wanted to take it home and
show my wife because she she loves chocolate too. I
was like, because I couldn't believe it. It's like, you know,
the Japanese culture or whatever. Like he comes in and
like hands me this gift. I'm like, I haven't even
put you in the lineup yet, you're trying to hit
four hole like your first day.

Speaker 4 (39:36):
It's like, you know so, but I had never never
experienced that before and it was incredible, incredible. So yeah,
he was he was awesome to have, but he didn't
give me ship. But he saw the crazy pants though, Yeah,
yeah you sure did.

Speaker 5 (39:52):
So.

Speaker 1 (39:52):
Who's the answer to the Chiefs' question about a player
that you know was what was better?

Speaker 2 (39:58):
She's that what you.

Speaker 3 (39:59):
Said was that somebody that you know, he did his research,
but he got there and he was like I mean
like as a fan, well you can hear the legends
of some of the even Bryce. When you looked at
Bryce Eldred, you're like, that kid's nineteen. He's massive, So
size usually stands out for fans when you look at it.
But there are some players that really impressed even though

(40:19):
you kind of came in had a reputation.

Speaker 4 (40:22):
Yeah, I think you know that's it's so tough.

Speaker 5 (40:26):
I think the one answer I'll go back to and
it's not because I thought, it's not because he impressed
me over the time I was with him.

Speaker 4 (40:37):
I always saw something special on this kid.

Speaker 5 (40:40):
And I think for me to answer that question, I
like I tell all the players that I believe, and
I truly believe this, that they can all make it
to the big leagues.

Speaker 2 (40:49):
Now.

Speaker 4 (40:49):
It may not be with the Giants, because it would
be impossible.

Speaker 5 (40:53):
For all of us here in Double A to be
with the Giants, you know, next year in the big
leagues because just of how the rosters work, right, But
I think they can all make it. A good example,
Parker Dunsheet, who we signed, who got released by the other's,
made his big league debut a few weeks ago with
the Braves. You know, we released him after the season
and then he catches on with the Braves made his
big league debut, which is awesome. So I think there's

(41:14):
a path for every single one of these guys. It's
just a matter of unlocking it.

Speaker 2 (41:18):
Now.

Speaker 5 (41:18):
Some of the paths are longer than others for guys.
But what I'll say to answer your question, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna, I'm gonna reward your.

Speaker 4 (41:25):
Question for me.

Speaker 5 (41:26):
Abe is a guy who was under the radar for
every virtually everybody in our organization.

Speaker 4 (41:33):
And outside of our organization, Tyler Fitzgerald.

Speaker 2 (41:36):
I know what. I thought, He's going Spencer.

Speaker 3 (41:39):
I thought he's going Spencer. But I was like, Tyler,
there is.

Speaker 4 (41:42):
Too Spencer Bivens. That's really good.

Speaker 2 (41:45):
But no, do't change it. They'll change it.

Speaker 5 (41:48):
But to answer your original question, I'll get back to
Spencer Bibvens because that's another story in itself. It's really cool,
especially with me because I knew him before as well.
But Tyler Fitzgerald, not to say that the Giants are
anybody thought he was not a good player.

Speaker 4 (42:02):
I just didn't.

Speaker 5 (42:03):
I didn't think or feel like he was getting the
respect of being a big time player that he deserved.
And I think, you know, every year we have to
do a player preference list, you know, we ranked the
players that we've crossed our paths throughout the years. The
hitting coaches do it, pitching coaches, and we just ranked
the players like in our opinions. Which is really cool

(42:25):
that the Giants, you know, allow us to give our
opinions on the players. And Tyler ferz Gerald was my
number one, you know, over everybody else in our organization
that had crossed our path in my path, and I
just saw something really special on him, and I felt like,
you know, and I could have been wrong.

Speaker 4 (42:40):
I don't think I am, but you know, he was.

Speaker 5 (42:43):
He's one of the best players I've ever got a
chance to coach in every aspect. So when I look
at players, it's not just what you do at the
plate or on the field defensively.

Speaker 4 (42:52):
It encompasses everything.

Speaker 5 (42:53):
How they are in the clubhouse, how they are with
the community, how they are with you know, the front office,
how they are on the field well, and how they
deal with fans and those type of things. So really,
really awesome guy.

Speaker 4 (43:04):
Tyler Fitzgerald, the Spencer Bibvens.

Speaker 2 (43:07):
Hey, Pelf, can I interrube you one second? Guys?

Speaker 1 (43:10):
I was smiling the whole time because one of the
first things Pelf ever said to me when Tyler Fitzgerald
got here, and Pelf he got off to a really
slow start, remember, and I was sitting in Pelsa office
having our postgame beer, which is a tradition we're going
to get to before we end. But Pelf looked at
me and said, Tyler Fitzgerald, is it like he's going

(43:32):
He's going to be a really good big league player?
And of course this season. He's just been unbelievable. And
Pelf even said this year, I hope the Giants just
give him a chance to be the everyday shortstop. And
then Pelf, a month after you told me that he's
like hitting eleven home runs in a week or whatever
the hell it was right like it was amazing. But

(43:52):
I'm sorry for interrupting, but I knew you're gonna say,
FITZI back to Spencer Bibbins, which should be a speaking
of movies, Yeah, Spencer Bevins story should be a damn movie.

Speaker 4 (44:03):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (44:04):
No, Spencer, I mean awesome like he I saw him
in twenty twenty. So we had the COVID year, right,
So I got hired by the Giants, you know, was
supposed to manage San Jose Giants in twenty twenty, and
then COVID hit.

Speaker 4 (44:18):
We got sent home from spring training.

Speaker 5 (44:20):
So what I did was created a pod League in Florence, Kentucky,
where we had where I came from independent baseball wise,
because I was developed a good relationship with the owner.
They had very very not very strict COVID rules. They
could have like fifty percent attendance. He wanted to put
together a league for players that you know were getting

(44:42):
displaced basically because the Frontier League season wasn't going to
happen because of COVID. Minor league baseball obviously wasn't gonna happen.
So I brought out Tyler Fitzgerald, Logan Wyatt, Simon Whiteman,
three three giants to come out and play in this league.

Speaker 4 (44:57):
And there was.

Speaker 5 (44:58):
Two teams in Florence that out of the Florence Stadium
as their home team, and which was the Florence Freedom
the team that I managed, and then the Florence Yawls.

Speaker 4 (45:06):
Which is what they are now. It was in the
middle of the name changed too from what they were doing.

Speaker 5 (45:12):
And then Lexington, Kentucky just got let go from Major
League Baseball as being an affiliate or they were in
the works of doing that. I can't remember what exactly
that it was, but so they had two teams there
as well, and.

Speaker 4 (45:27):
Brandon Phillips played on one of those teams.

Speaker 5 (45:29):
There's some you know, some pretty big name like big
league guys playing in that league as well. And Spencer
Bivens was on one of those Lexington teams, and I
remember facing him and didn't talk to him a whole
lot but I remember our team facing.

Speaker 4 (45:42):
Him, and you know, he was really erratic, really wild,
just tall, lanky, you know, a lot of moving parts.
Just couldn't really command the baseball, you know, type of
a guy. Seemed like an awesome kid or whatever, just
he was struggling and h and then fat fat Forward
to last year, when I guess it was two years ago,

(46:03):
we signed him right the Giants. Two years ago when
we signed him, and he I think he got sent
to San Jose or Eugene, one of those two.

Speaker 5 (46:10):
And I'm like, this is the kid that was in
the Bourbon Trail we called it the Bourbon Trail League.

Speaker 4 (46:14):
And I was like, man, I didn't think he was
that good or whatever.

Speaker 5 (46:18):
So I started looking at stuff and the numbers don't
look great, don't stand out. And that's kind of a
perfect answer for your question. So you probably should have
answered the question. Sheets he came here. And what was
awesome about Spencer is right away, like the work he
had been through a lot more than any other player.
So his story and you know what he had gone
through to even make it to double A was incredible, right,

(46:41):
like to say the least.

Speaker 4 (46:43):
And now that he's in the big leagues and dominating
in the big leagues is even more so.

Speaker 5 (46:46):
But what was really cool about him during that season
last year when he was here, he went through a
lot of struggles as well, And I remember having him
in the office, and you know, we had a couple
heart to heart meetings. You know that weren't you know,
the average like, hey, how's it going. It was a
little heated at times about some things, and just trying
to help him figure out. And I think the root

(47:08):
of the of some of the some of the conversations
was always like he's like, you know, oh, I'm twenty
eight or twenty nine, and you know, my windows closed
and this and that, and you know, one of the
things I told him was it doesn't matter, Like the
age does not matter. Like if you can do it,
you can do it, and that's it. It's just a
matter of somebody giving you that opportunity, So stop worrying
about that. And you know, some of those conversations, but

(47:29):
you know, he finally just started getting better and better
and better and understanding exactly what he wasn't being, becoming
the best version of himself.

Speaker 4 (47:37):
Because one of the things I.

Speaker 5 (47:39):
Talk about a lot too is for the players here.
I don't want you to try to be Mike Trout
or try to be Garrett Cole or you know, whoever
your favorite player is. You need to be the first.

Speaker 4 (47:48):
You be the first Spencer Bivens, you know, be the
first Jimmy Glowinky. That's yeah.

Speaker 5 (47:55):
Guy, be a guy that other people are striving to be, right,
So be the best you can be and kind of
unlock your full potential. And man, he he took that
and ran with it and and become became a guy.
And I remember in spring training this year talking to
Brian Price, to the pitching coach, you know, for the Giants,
about some of the guys, and anytime he would ask

(48:16):
me about, Hey, you know, who do you think And
it was always Spencer Bivens. Like I said, I said,
Spencer Bivens could come in here and start. He could
be a long relief guy, he could close games. He's
going to give you a chance to win every single
time he's on the mound.

Speaker 4 (48:28):
And it was. It wasn't like three days later.

Speaker 5 (48:30):
They actually gave him an invite to Big League camp
towards the end of camp this year, and because he
came up and threw a couple of times and it
was just like the stuff, the stuff doesn't matter, Like
he's going to dominate whoever he faces. He could be
the best hitters in the world. Otani strikes him out,
you know what I mean, like just it's what it's
it's what he's done, and he deserves every ounce of
the credit because he's gone through something that I don't

(48:54):
know that there's another player that had to take his path,
but he's opened the door for a lot of people
to follow that type of path and and give guys
that are under the radar extra looks. So's it was
really cool to see what he's done so far.

Speaker 1 (49:07):
And he is such a good I saw him in
Rickwood when I went down there, and he was one
of the many players that came running over to give
me a party hug, and he like everybody, everybody tries hard,
right Pelf and there in their own way. But but
when you would put him in a game, I knew
he was going to after the game be exhausted because

(49:29):
he was going to give Pelf and the Squirrels fans
every single ounce in his body. Whether it was a
Tuesday night or a Saturday night with fireworks. It didn't matter,
and I think that's one of the reasons he got
to the big leagues. So we're we're getting close on time.
But I wanted to ask you two things real quick. Uh,

(49:49):
You're you're you're consistently Dennis Pelfrey. But is there a
manager that you've looked at, a big league manager or
somebody else that you've kind of picked a few things
from in your daily consistency of operating and leading a club.

Speaker 4 (50:05):
I'm gonna I'm gonna be honest, not really Like.

Speaker 2 (50:08):
That's why I asked you the question. Yeah, I ask
you question.

Speaker 5 (50:11):
I look at it the same as I tell the players.
You know, it's about being sister, right, Like I want
to be the first Dennis pelf.

Speaker 4 (50:18):
You like my path is now?

Speaker 5 (50:20):
I want I want to say it's similar to Spencer Vivens,
but like if I ever made it as a big
big league manager, like to get to even to get
to where I'm at now from how I started and
never playing affiliated baseball or being you know, with an
organization as a coach or anything like that. You know,
my path is like where I'm at now. Like I
told you before, I if I my career ended and

(50:42):
I was a flying squirrel. I mean I would be
super happy. I would be pumped because one, this is
the best.

Speaker 4 (50:48):
Place I've ever been as a manager, or I mean
as a coach or a player.

Speaker 5 (50:53):
But no, you know, there's managers that I like, and
there's managers that I that I don't in the big
leagues that I've watched from afar. But I've always been
the person too, like I don't want to jump to
a conclusion on a guy until I've actually met that
person or been around that person, you know, whether I
think they're good or not. But if I had to
pick a favorite manager, somebody that I that I kind

(51:15):
of watched closely, not necessarily took anything from because I
wasn't around him to really take anything. But Mike Soosha
I thought was really awesome with the the Anaheim Angels,
just watching how he operated with the ball club that
he had, and I thought it was it was really
cool to see. But you know, there's there's plenty of
really good ones out there that you know, obviously just

(51:36):
by watching some of the things on ESPN or whatever.
You see, like you're always going to take things from
people and try to make them your own.

Speaker 4 (51:43):
So I mean, I think that just the way that
I designed my my my game as a coach or
a manager, if I had to pick somebody, it would
be like a Greg Taggart that I kind of modeled
what I do. I just what I tell Taggart when
I talk to him, is I take your I take
your Honda Civic and I put a Lamborghini engine in it.

(52:05):
You know.

Speaker 5 (52:06):
Hell yeah, I take I take the you know that car,
and I want to I want to push on the
gas pedal just a.

Speaker 4 (52:11):
Little bit more than what you do.

Speaker 5 (52:12):
But but taking the bones of what he did, because
I was around him a lot as far as a
coach and a player, and he was one. He was
one of the best, one of the winningest managers in
all of independent baseball for a long time.

Speaker 4 (52:23):
So Greg Taggert would be the be the guy.

Speaker 1 (52:27):
Well, we're getting to the end of inning number nine,
which is the ninth inning of season number one. Uh,
and we're going to end it in a very special way.
Before we do that, though, Uh, I've been teasing this
the whole time.

Speaker 2 (52:41):
Pelf and I.

Speaker 1 (52:42):
When the Squirrels win, I walk in the clubhouse, Pealf
will be in his office, do a quick handshake, and
then I go into the clubhouse with all the guys
in the fog machine, which again I love, and I
say to all the players, hey boys, we.

Speaker 2 (52:58):
Had them all all the way.

Speaker 1 (53:01):
And then I turn around and Pelf, I come into
your office, and what do we do?

Speaker 4 (53:06):
Crack open a do secies?

Speaker 1 (53:07):
We have a dose sekies together. Every single win. How
I want to finish hitnting number nine. Everybody on this
podcast has a different view of this. We just announced
recently CarMax Park is coming to Richmond, Virginia in twenty
twenty six. I'm being pretty mellow and cool about it

(53:28):
right now, but the emotions.

Speaker 2 (53:29):
I have very close relationship with each.

Speaker 1 (53:31):
One of y'all, and and you know, I've never hidden
how I felt about our need to have this and
my personal desire for us to have this. So is happening.
They're building it right now, Pelf. We saw it out
there this afternoon. They're moving dirt. So as we leave,
we're gonna unmute Joe t He's gonna go last. But
I just want every single person on this Party Time podcast,

(53:55):
and I don't care how we go, to just give
us a quick view of what you think CarMax Park
is going to mean to Richmond, Virginia and what it's
going to mean like health for you, what's going to
mean to the manager of the Squirrels and the players?

Speaker 2 (54:09):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (54:09):
And and you know everybody has their different vantage points.
So again, I don't care who goes first, but let's
let's end ning number nine with health this way? Am
I going to have to say who goes first? Or
you guys going to.

Speaker 4 (54:23):
Go You don't mean to go first?

Speaker 2 (54:26):
Okay?

Speaker 4 (54:29):
Yeah? So special?

Speaker 5 (54:32):
I mean I think that it's it's for what this place,
this community does for our baseball team or our players,
and probably most of our players don't realize exactly what
it is until they They won't realize it until they
leave here and go somewhere else. But this is the
best place in minor league baseball, affiliated baseball, independent baseball.

Speaker 4 (54:55):
This is the best place there you go. And so
for me, I think it's the most important. The best
impact is for the fans.

Speaker 5 (55:06):
I think to have a place, even though like I said,
you know, the diamond is special and people love coming here,
and there's probably gonna be some mixed emotions and some
some people that aren't too happy about getting a new
stadium because this place is really it's really cool. It's
it's got its own its own aura, right, and it's
it's gonna it can't it will never be replicated.

Speaker 1 (55:25):
And in our and our we also have a leaky,
leaky roofs at each of our offices.

Speaker 5 (55:29):
Yeah, I'm about to put a bucket down in my
office because I can hear it dripping on the ceiling.
But uh, but yeah, for like from a luxury standpoint,
from a comfort comfort standpoint, to be able to go
watch a game and be and just be really hanging out,
I think it's going to make the new place that

(55:50):
much better. I think that, you know, once it gets
here and once people see what you know, this front
office is going to be able to do with a
building like that, I think is going to be astronomical.
And I think the city of Richmond is going to
be a place where everybody wants to come watch baseball.
I think all the coordinators, everybody's going to plan their
trip to come to the new stadium because of the

(56:13):
space from every team. So when the Booie Bass Soks
are playing here, their coordinators are going to be coming
here instead of can't go on to Bouie. I think
it's a place where everybody's gonna want to be, and
including the fans, and I think that the most importantly.
I think it's for them and for the city of
Richmond from a playing standpoint, from a from a coaching standpoint,
having a facility that basically answers all of our needs,

(56:38):
you know, from the minute you walk in, from a
you know, being comfortable in the clubhouse, having space to
be able to hang out, the weight room, the cages, like,
having all those things brand new and state of the art.

Speaker 4 (56:54):
Couldn't ask for anything more.

Speaker 5 (56:55):
I compare it a little bit to like how when
we moved into Papago for spring training from you know,
Indian School Road, which I'd only spent like ten or
eleven days there because of COVID and Joe T will
be able to dive into that just a little bit more,
but uh.

Speaker 4 (57:10):
Yeah, because he spent a lot of time there. But
just going from the place that was obviously special for
the Giants spring training to a brand new facility with
state of the art, the standard, I call it the standard.
The stadium is going to be the standard of baseball,
and uh it's it's just really.

Speaker 5 (57:28):
Cool, and I hope, I hope that unless I'm in
the big leagues, this is where I want to be
when that when those gates open. So I can't even
put into words what it means to me. And you
know what it's going to be for the city.

Speaker 2 (57:43):
Thanks for that, MP, I love it.

Speaker 1 (57:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (57:48):
I moved here seventeen years ago from which of Ta Kansas,
So I've looked here for seventeen years. I think we've
been talking about the New Diamond the entire time. I've
been here for seventeen years with the Braves even first
and then obviously y'all have been on it since.

Speaker 2 (58:03):
You got here.

Speaker 6 (58:04):
I ride hard for Richmond. That's you guys, know that,
that's my brand. I've lived in the city for seventeen years.
I've never lived in the county. Bought a house in
the city. I'll tell you what I paid for it.
It was one hundred and sixty nine thousand dollars.

Speaker 1 (58:17):
You can look it up.

Speaker 6 (58:17):
It's a public record. I had a lot of people
tell me that was a stupid idea because people don't
live in the city of Richmond.

Speaker 4 (58:24):
And to see.

Speaker 6 (58:26):
The city come to life through Scott's addition, to see
my neighborhood come to life. Over the years, I've started
a website about telling the stories of people who live
in Richmond. So I ride hard for the city. So
to hear seventeen years of people saying Richmond will never
get its act together, They'll never be able to build
a stadium, it's a nice screw you to all those people.

(58:49):
Richmond's happened, and Richmond's the place to be. I couldn't
be more excited about that Cote.

Speaker 2 (58:56):
Hell, yeah, tell you joke. He is losing his hearing, that's.

Speaker 1 (59:06):
Losing his sight, all those websites he looks hearing.

Speaker 3 (59:16):
I've just got to act what what everyone has said.
As as someone that is obviously born and born here
and lived here my entire life and graduated from VCU
as well. The thing about the new stadium that stands
out to me, uh, it's a it's a big win
for our community. It's a big win for our city.

(59:39):
And it's almost to me. As much as I do
love the Flying Squirrels and I love baseball, baseball almost
became secondary to the victory of what this means for
for the future, the future of our of our community
and our culture and our city and what we're building.
I can't wait till the door is open. I don't look.

(01:00:00):
I rarely disagreed with pelp uh this whole, this whole podcast,
but I will I will say that not a lot
of Richmonders, they may be nostalgia, but they're not gonna
miss the diamond in that sense. They're they're gonna they're
gonna walk into CarMax Park so so excited. And it's
because it is a ballpark that I think the city

(01:00:20):
and the end and the community deserve. We you know,
you're given the keys to the right team with the
Richmond Flying Squirrels, and they're gonna do the best they
possibly can with it all year round. So it's something
where I think, through attrition and through time and through
perseverance and through everybody's hard work, they're gonna deliver something

(01:00:42):
that I think Richmond deserves and I think it's gonna
be awesome.

Speaker 1 (01:00:46):
Well, we're gonna do something we've never done here before.
At Parting Time podcast, Joe T's gonna be unmuted, and
Joe T come on in here. Don't get too close
to me though, but Jo T come on in and
you give your perspective on what you think the CarMax Park's.

Speaker 2 (01:00:59):
Going to mean to Richmond.

Speaker 7 (01:01:01):
I like to thank my time from the gentleman from Virginia.
At the golf course yesterday, somebody asked me when I
was with the Mets, Hey, how'd you like Shay Stadium?
I said, I love Shay Stadium. It was old character
which brings us to the Diamond. Diamond a lot of
memories here. It's pretty nice. It's very well built. From

(01:01:25):
the time we had the earthquake, and everybody's outside in
the parking, Joe T's underneath, not knowing as an earthquake going.

Speaker 2 (01:01:32):
I was told my laundry.

Speaker 1 (01:01:33):
I was doing my laundry and I said, Joe T,
did you feel that he goes.

Speaker 2 (01:01:38):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:01:38):
Maybe it's a black Hawk helicopter hovering about centerfield.

Speaker 4 (01:01:42):
Lady called me, where are you. I'm in the clubhouse.

Speaker 7 (01:01:44):
We're out of the Party's earth on So the Diamond
didn't fall down. Be here from when the when the
squirrels moved here from twenty ten, just watching the way
everybody here, led by this guy and Lou and the
rest of the team. But all the work they've put
in and all the time they put it and the
sweat they put in in tears and joy.

Speaker 4 (01:02:07):
I can't wait.

Speaker 7 (01:02:08):
I don't know if I'll be in town when it happens,
but when they have opening day, I want to be
here to support everybody, the whole city, the community, everybody.
I want to be part of this, even being over
at the ground the up ground breaking, ground breaking, groundbreaking,
watching everybody come together and just being so happy that
this is gonna finally come to It's gonna be awesome.

(01:02:32):
And I've always said once the all thing I do
is just turn the key on the on the lock,
and you're gonna have nine thousand people show up every night.
So it's gonna be great. Thank you for all the work,
no really, all the work you've put into it, and
everybody with you. God bless you all. I can't wait
to see it.

Speaker 2 (01:02:49):
Joe Ta for being on Muter. You did a pretty
good job.

Speaker 6 (01:02:52):
Hang on hell hell yeah, yeah, hell yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:02:55):
We gave Joe to hell yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:02:57):
Well.

Speaker 1 (01:02:58):
I mean I can't follow anything up with that, Like
obviously that's a friend of mine in Altoona, Pennsylvania for
when I was running the Altuna Curve put something on
Twitter the day of the groundbreaking, and I had a
picture of us at the groundbreaking and said, a legacy
moment for an Altuna Curve, legend, legacy moment in his career,

(01:03:21):
and I would take that a step further. Its a
legacy moment in my life personally. But it wasn't just me.
It was so many people. Luke gets a lot of
credit for sticking in there, the owners through thick and thin, obviously,
the mayor.

Speaker 2 (01:03:33):
And everybody that made it happen.

Speaker 1 (01:03:34):
But as all of y'all have said, I think I'm
most happy about the next generation. I'm happy that cam
jam Cheats is going to be someday taking your grandchildren
to Carmack's Park and you know, hopefully you'll be walking
along with them and you know, hopefully you'll still have
your legs right and then you walk in there with
them and have a good time. But it was a joke,

(01:03:56):
cheat you didn't laugh every day, I hope, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:04:00):
And I think that's what I think about.

Speaker 1 (01:04:03):
I think that when we were having some down days
and it didn't look like maybe it would happen, and Pelf,
I've shared this with you in our alone time, like
it really made me scared for the next generation people
that wouldn't be able to take their kids and grandkids
to something that we've built that's become a part of
people's lives. And what I'm most proud of isn't the

(01:04:25):
fact that we're just a part of people's lives. When
Pelf's managing the team April to September, as Pelf is seen,
we're part of people's lives. In January, we're part of
people's lives. In December, we're part of people's lives three
hundred and sixty five days. And CarMax Park's going to
give us the proper tools to perpetuate that even further.

Speaker 2 (01:04:46):
So.

Speaker 1 (01:04:46):
I couldn't be more excited, more grateful, more humbled, more happy.
Somebody said to me this past week and when they
saw me, Man, I have never seen you look this
happy and this relaxed. And and that's not the whole reason,
but that's a big part of the reason. And the
relationships that I have with Pelf and MP, Cheats, Joe,

(01:05:08):
t you guys, that's why I'm happy. And I don't
take those relationships for granted. So thank you, Pelf. We
love you man. You are a Squirrels legend. I hope
if you want to be you're back. We did look
it up.

Speaker 2 (01:05:22):
Pelf.

Speaker 1 (01:05:22):
You're twelve wins away from being the all time winning
and Squirrels manager. So yeah, if you do come back
next year, we'll be looking at the all time winning
and Squirrells manager in history.

Speaker 2 (01:05:33):
MP cheats.

Speaker 1 (01:05:34):
You guys are awesome. Joe T you did very well.

Speaker 2 (01:05:37):
I'm muted any number nine Party Time Podcasts. Thank you all.

Speaker 1 (01:05:42):
We'll see you for the bonus coverage any number ten
and I'm just going to give you a hint. We're
taking the bus. Hey everybody, this is party from the
Party Time Podcast asking you to follow, subscribe, follow us
on all your social media outlets, join the Party Time
family because you never know what's going to happen on

(01:06:05):
the Parnie Time Podcast

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Are You A Charlotte?

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Dateline NBC

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Inning 9: Flying Squirrels Manager Dennis Pelfrey

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Are You A Charlotte?

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Dateline NBC

All Episodes

Inning 9: Flying Squirrels Manager Dennis Pelfrey

Are You A Charlotte?