June 27, 2026 • 38 mins
Rookie outfielder Kahlil Watson had quite a road trip which included his first MLB hit and home run, he'll join the show to talk about his early days in the Big Leagues. Also, fellow rookie Travis Bazzana talks about his recent hot stretch at the plate. Plus, longtime Houston Astros broadcaster and former MLB pitcher Steve Sparks stops by to talk about his specialty, the knuckleball. That's all on this edition of Guardians Weekly with Jim Rosenhaus on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians
fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hi, everyone, Welcome to Guardians Weekly. Jim rosen House along
with you from Progressive Deal this weekend as the guard
Guardians take on the Seattle Mariners, the first of a
three team homestand for the Guardians, with Texas to follow
starting Monday night, and then the White Sox in town
for the first time this season starting Thursday night for
(01:14):
a big four game series on fourth of July weekend.
Good show lined up for you today in just a
little bit, we will hear from Travis Bazzana, the Guardians
second baseman, who is having an outstanding rookie campaign. We'll
also visit with Joey Cantillo, off to a nice start
on the mound for the Guardians, part of a solid
five man rotation. We'll talk with assistant hitting coach Dan
(01:37):
Puente about some of the ups and downs in the
early season for the Guardians. And we'll also hear from
Steve Sparks, radio voice for the Houston Astros, but former
Major leaguer and one of the last to throw the
knuckleball him. We'll talk a lot about that and some
fun stories from Sparky from the Houston Astros radio crew
(01:57):
caught up with him on the last road trip. And
we'll also so check out a brand new training center,
the Guardians Training Center for youth baseball teams and others
with Director of Community Impact Rothael Collins. That's all coming
up later in our show, But first a quick look
at the week gone by, and not a whole lot
of wins to talk about on that last road trip,
(02:19):
but the emergence of perhaps a key young hitter in
that Guardian's lineup, and we're talking about outfielder Khalil Watson
as he made his major league debut in Milwaukee last
week and then after going over twelve at the plate,
he finally broke out with some big games in the
White Sox series over on the South Side earlier this week.
(02:42):
That began on Monday night in Chicago when he came
to the plate as a pinch hitter in the seventh
inning with the bases loaded and just one out with
the Guardians trailing three nothing. The one one swung on
base hit rightfield, Watson comes through one run is in
swan right behind him Steven He scores and the first
(03:05):
Major league hit by Khalil Watson drives in too and
puts the Guardians on the board.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
What better time to get your first hit. I was
just gonna say, he seems to be bouncing a lot
of curveballs, so I would change my approach to just
hunting fastballs and curveballs that start way up. This one
started way up for him, kind of stayed in the
zone a little bit too long for him normally. He
wanted probably to bounce that pitch and just a good
swing right there by Watson for his first hit. Congratulations.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
The Guardians eventually lost that game, but Watson was a
big reason why they were able to come back and
tie it and have a chance to win, as he
picked up his first two runs batted in on that
base hit. And another big first came the very next night,
Tuesday night in Chicago, with the White Sox leading one
nothing in the fifth inning, Watson stepped in facing White
Sox starter Sean Burke. Next pitch to Watson swung on.
(03:56):
This one's launched high and deep right field obron Khalil
Watson his first in the Big leagues and with one swing,
this game is tied at one. It turns out Watson
was the only Guardians hitter to make an impact against Burke,
(04:16):
as the White Sox won that one by a score
of two to one. Then Wednesday, Guardians, trying to salvage
the finale of the series in Chicago. Game was still
scoreless in the sixth inning when Watson stepped in with
one out and the base is loaded. D O one
swing online, left field piece hit, one run is in.
They're gonna wave helping around. Here's the throw and it
(04:38):
pops free at home plate. Helping is safe. Hunt his
way to third and in safe the slidest man Zarno
and a double actually a single, driving in two runs
for Khalil Watson, who ends up at second base. Then,
after the Socks tied the game in dramatic fashion in
the ninth inning, once again it was Watson put the
(05:00):
Guardians back in front. In the tenth here comes his
two to zero pitch swung on bounce ball, left side
base hit that'll put Cleveland back in front. Is helping
scores from third on the RBI single by Watson.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
He is keeping it simple right now.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
This guy has a tough pitch. He averages about fourteen
strikeouts every night, and he's they just flashed around the board.
So he's got that swinging miss stuff lowing away one
hundred million hours. You're not supposed to pull that pitch,
stays through it. Shortstop was playing over up the middle,
nothing but base hits over there.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
What a series in Chicago for young Khalil Watson. And
we sat down with him after Monday's game when he
recorded his first major league hit. Talked to him about
that and he said, it was a big relief to
get that first one out of the way.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
I mean, been thinking about getting that first one ever
since the debut, But like over time, I just trusted
God and just put that process that I've been working
on before the games, and whatever led me to here
and whatever got me here, I continue to push through that. So,
I mean, in that situation, I was ready to swing
it and just put a burl on.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Ball and it comes in a pinch hitting situation. In
some ways, did that make it a little bit easier
and that you didn't have a whole lot of time
to think about just get up there and go ahead
and take your hacks.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
Oh of course, of course, you know a guy throwing
horror probably about ninety eight. Just sit up there on
the fastball. Hopefully we get this break them ball just
for something easier hit. But I mean, at the end
of the day, it's just all about locking in in
a big situation and just trying to get the job done.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
And impressions of major league pitching that you've noticed so
far in a very small sample size, of course.
Speaker 5 (06:40):
Yeah, it's pretty pretty much the same. They try to
attack you where you we got, you set them signs
of swinging at bad pitches, They'll continue to throw them pitches.
I mean, just hunt your pitches and when you get
the chance, just take the hacks off of them.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
And you get to the major leagues here this year,
and I know you've worked hard to get here, and
how much have you seen yourself grow here the past
couple of seasons to where you're ready now to contribute
at this level.
Speaker 5 (07:06):
Oh, of course, I think it's just more of being
consistent with my work and performing out there consistently. I
know early on here I just had a lot of
swinging misses, But it's it's just all about what I've
done to get here, and I feel like overseason season,
I continue to line. Really big thing was just mature
(07:27):
and over time I just kept sharing and I think
everybody in the ORCS saw it and pushed me and
just continue to push me so that I can get
my full potential out.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Earlier in your career at a young age, you're traded
and that can be a difficult thing for a lot
of young players. But for this organization, what have they
meant to you? And then how have they helped you
get to a good place?
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, as soon as I came in,
they welcomed me in. I mean a there's a good
vibe here, the development side of things, making sure that
you get the best work out of you each and
every day. And that's pretty much it. And just give
me another opportunity and a new scenery. I mean, once
you get a new scenery, it's just like a whole
(08:08):
new outlook for you and nobody knows you. Like, So
that was really good for me, and just being here
just more fitable more from me.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
You know, I'm gonna ask you to put your scouting
hat on a little bit if you're not that far
removed from Triple A Columbus and there's so much good
talent down there. What's going on down there? And who
are some of the names that we should be keeping
an eye out for as they get closer.
Speaker 5 (08:32):
Yeah, pretty much, man, everybody on that team, dude. I
think one thing that they do down there and what
we do up here, they feed off each other. So
whoever is having a good day is it might be
the nice person right behind them and get it started,
I said, Coop, all of them guys, Coop, Ralphie Hanaw
Huff Huff playing a big role this year, getting a
(08:55):
lot of that best. So, I mean, you never know
because the next person there, opportunity could be here shortly
or whenever it comes. But there's a lot of people
working to get here.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Hey, congratulations on that first hit. Thanks a lot for
coming back, Khil. Thank you. Nice to catch up with
Khalil Watson as he continues in his first stages of
what he's hoping obviously is a long major league career,
and he certainly has put down a good foundation here
in his first week to ten days in the major leagues.
Another rookie who has made a tremendous impact for the
(09:27):
Guardians is Travis Bazana. We'll hear from the Guardian's second
baseman when we return after this.
Speaker 6 (09:38):
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Speaker 2 (10:16):
The one too swung on and that's hit high in
the air to right, this is deep way back there,
Horrod persona, he's done it again second time tonight. What
a night going for Travis Basana. HiT's a three run
blast and all of a sudden, the Guardians have a
(10:39):
six to one lead. Jim rosenhow's back with you on
Guardians Weekly. We're at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. Great
to have you with us as the Guardians take on
the Mariners this weekend. Travis Bazana is off to a
real nice start in his rookie campaign, and he had
a night to remember on Saturday on the last road
trip in Houston, same game, two home runs, five runs
(11:04):
batted in, and four hits. Rare company. Only three others
had done that as rookies in Guardian's history, and when
you look at leadof hitters, he's the first to do
that in franchise history that type of line. He joined
us earlier in the week and said it's great to
see the hard work that he puts in pay off
with results like they came he had last Saturday in Houston.
Speaker 7 (11:26):
Yeah, it was obviously the game's fun when you're able
to do things like that. And yeah, I've been trying
to have my best abbats, oh you and get little
ebbs and flows, and the process has been good the
lost couple of days, and it was nice to get
some real good barrels and swings off.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I know what we had talked on a homestand and
you were kind of in a stretch where the results
weren't coming, but it seemed like you were in an
okay place that it might turn pretty quick results wise.
And what gives you that confidence as you go through
the ups and downs big leagues.
Speaker 7 (12:01):
Yeah, just knowing that, like each day you can go
out and control the controllables and put yourself in a
position to have success and trusting that the work you've
put in and the skill you have will carry you
to success if you believe in it and you have
a plan and you're prepared. So just trying to prepare
as best I can every day and days like this
(12:23):
come if you do that.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Teams are a little bit more than a week now
without three of their key players, including Jose Ramirez, and
I know you were saying last week that it'll be
interesting to see how the team reacts, but there are
certain things that you can do to go about it.
And what is the key when you lose some players
to still having some success and winning games.
Speaker 7 (12:44):
Take it upon yourself to be best prepared to you know,
step up and make an impact on winning. There's a
reason everyone in the clubhouse is in the major leagues
in a Cleveland Godian, the reasons they can help the
team win if they have to take on more of
a workload with people out, It's just like, go trust
(13:05):
your skills and bring what you're here to do to
bring like those roles, those strengths to the team as
much as possible, while you know we're missing key players,
but yeah, you just make the most of every Day's
still the same game, so there's nothing to out there
(13:25):
you can do when you still just playing baseball and
doing the best you can.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I thought it was interesting how you reference Jose Ramirez.
It's hard to duplicate those numbers that he puts up,
but you can still play like him. And what did
you mean by that?
Speaker 7 (13:39):
Yeah, I mean he's the kind of key piece to
the identity of the team when this team's winning and
doing well, playing hard, caring about every pitch and just
with that fire. And I think if we were trying
to give our best chance to win when Hosey's not here,
it's like with that identity and keeping keeping how he
(14:03):
goes about it in mind, because he brings that a
day to day But we can bring that regardless if
he's there. Obviously still losing a peace, but we can
bring that identity that he has, and I think that's
going to be important moving forward.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, great stuff as always, Travis, Thanks lofter come by.
I appreciate it. Thanks Rosie, and it's Guardian's rookie second
baseman Travis Bazana trying to make his bid for a
Rookie of the Year honers. He has some competition on
his own team with Parker Messik having a great year two,
but Bazanna certainly off to a real nice start in
his rookie season. Joey Cantillo has been solid on the
mound for the Guardians, picked up a win last weekend
(14:37):
against Houston, going eight innings with nine strikeouts, only one
run aloud. And we caught up with him shortly after
that outing and he said the key to success for
him always comes down to throwing more strikes.
Speaker 8 (14:50):
Yeah, I think we did a good job of obviously
just throwing strikes. We talked about count control lot, We've
talked about throwing a lot of strikes. But I think
two and another emphasis has been just throwing my best strike,
my best p and I think recently I've just kind
of shifted my focus a little more to process over
results and just being in my process. And my process
is to throw my best strike one pitch at a time,
or my best pitch one pitch at a time, like
(15:13):
not necessarily worried about what the day is going to
look like at the end or the result of winning
or losing or whatever it is. It's just like, Okay,
can I make one? Can I make my best pitch?
Speaker 9 (15:22):
Once?
Speaker 8 (15:22):
Can I make? Can I put all my effort and
focus into making one good pitch and then just do
that one more time? And then just do that one
more time, but one at a time, So just staying
in the process of that and making sure everything's at
my best, and I think good things will happen with that.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
And so as you try and do that one pitch
at a time, I think everybody's chasing consistency in this game.
That is the key. If you can be consistent. Do
you feel like you're getting that more and more as
you get older in this game?
Speaker 5 (15:50):
For sure?
Speaker 8 (15:50):
I think with that mindset it allows you to do
that a little more freely and easier without having as
much weight on a pitch, or weight on a day,
or weight on an inning anything like If if your
mindset is just to do what you're more than capable
of for one second, for ten seconds to focus, that's
that's easy. You know, that's not easy, but that's a
lot easier to ask of yourself than to do this
(16:11):
or that for a day or do this or that
for a year or season, like just narrowing things down
and making it, making it lighter and freer for yourself. Yeah,
consistency is the name of it. And obviously through experiences
you get better. And it's cool coming here because I
feel like every time we've come here, I've come here,
I pitched right, and it's like some good ones, some
decent ones, some bad ones. But it's just cool because
(16:33):
like I'm thinking back to my first time here, like
how different everything was. You know, it was only two
years ago, but just the difference of of everything, just
like your your your life off the field, your your
business on the field, your business of the actual pitching too,
like everything just just you know, the experience and is
the best teacher. So yeah, just trying to continue to
(16:55):
improve on the things that are within my control and
lean on the group of people we have to contin
and you to get better.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
We record this in Chicago, and I feel like you'd
like to enjoy the cities that the team goes to,
great cities in America. What makes this one pretty cool
to check out?
Speaker 8 (17:10):
I mean, obviously when we come here in the summer,
it's such a beautiful summer town. I've never been here
in the winter or anything, so I can't speak on that.
But like every time we come here, like people are
out and about, the sun's out, you know, the wind's nice,
the lake is beautiful, the lake is clear. There's a beach,
so I always try to jump in the water there.
And then obviously there's great food. It's just a great
city to walk around and explore. My parents are actually here,
so I think I don't know if they've ever been
(17:31):
to Chicago ever, or at least not to Chicago to
see me or be with us. So yeah, i'd be
excited to get some good food and show them around
some spots that I've gone to the last couple of years. Yeah,
I definitely definitely enjoy coming here.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
You got some good bubble gum working there today? What
are we working? What flavor?
Speaker 8 (17:48):
We got double double bubble to the regular dugout gum
double whatever it is.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
Sugar free.
Speaker 8 (17:55):
Yeah, yeah, good, it's good you too, You've got some
gum going.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
To You're at the part, Joey, Thank you, Thanks, Rosie
appreciate it. Always fun to visit with Joey Cantillo. As
he continues to become a real key in that starting
rotation for the Guardians. Stay tuned. When we come back,
we'll talk hitting with assistant hitting coach Dan Puente. That's
next time the Cleveland Clinic Radio Network.
Speaker 9 (18:30):
No.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
One two slung on line toward the right field, near
the line, getting down fair ball, end of the corner.
That'll score Martinez. Schneeman. Here comes Kwon.
Speaker 8 (18:41):
The throw that in time a three run.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Double on a two strike pitch. Travis Persona blows it open.
Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jimm ros in House back
with you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland and said,
hat an up and down season offensively, some challenges to
be sure, with a very young lineup their assistant hitting
(19:06):
coaches Dan Quente, and with the challenging times with three
key players Jose Ramirez on hell, Martinez and Chase the
Lotter on the injured list. Dan talked about what he
sees from this group of young hitters trying to find
their way at the major league level.
Speaker 9 (19:22):
It's always tough, you know, when you lose someone like
Jose and just what he brings every day, just from
a leadership standpoint and obviously the production on the field.
But you know, our guys are. We've been through challenges
before this group has been able to get out on
the other side of it. You know, we're taking it
day by day. We're getting our work in, we're preparing,
(19:43):
we're keeping the energy high, and you know, we know
that they're not gone for the year, like at some
point they're going to rejoin us, and when they do,
you know, you know that's going to give us a boost.
But for right now, you know, we're trying our best
to put together good at bats, string together quality at
bats so that we can you know, be on the
positive side of the run scoring game.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
And speaking of positives, your lead off hitter recently has
been Travis Bizana, a rookie who's having a fine season.
Anything there that that surprised you, maybe that you didn't
know about him as you see him develop here at
the major league level.
Speaker 9 (20:18):
To be honest with you, no surprises. I mean, Baz
is one of the most intelligent hitters that I've had
an opportunity to be around the back quality the decision making.
You know, I got to see that in spring training.
I got to see that, you know, you know from
his video talking to his coaches that he had in
(20:40):
the minor leagues. I knew that he would be able
to come up here and be productive for us, especially
because his floor is so high. You know, the decision
making is so elite, the bat to ball is so elite.
So it's been awesome to see him continuous approach not
change anything. He knows who he is as a hitter.
He prepares, and it's just been awesome to see him
(21:03):
come up here and have the success early on, which
is so important for a rookie.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Two younger hitters who are a little bit further along
in their careers than Travis Bizana Brian Rochios have a
real solid season. And what's he done to establish himself
from a consistency standpoint.
Speaker 9 (21:20):
You know, it's been so fun to watch his growth
in development this year. I think it all just stems
back from him accepting his identity as a player and
understanding who he is as a hitter, and I think
that helps with the consistency piece. You know, we've seen
Rochio and what he can do in the playoffs where
(21:40):
you know, when he's keeping a simple approach, he's using
the whole field, he's working low line drives. We've seen
the type of hitter he can be. So it's just
been a lot of fun to see his growth in development,
not trying to do too much, understanding who he is
as a hitter, and you've seen that on the production side.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Kyle Manzardo is the other in a real good stretch
right now after a slow start, and how difficult was
it for him early on when when he was trying
to stay with his approach but not seeing the results
and now coming out on the other.
Speaker 9 (22:14):
Side, that's very difficult, you know, especially coming off the
year that he had in twenty five. There was no
panic from any of us or from Manzo. We knew that,
you know, things would even out that you know, he
would get to some of his power, he would get
to some of that production. Just keeping him positive, keeping
(22:34):
him not chasing results, keeping him locked in on his approach.
And you've seen what he's been able to do the
last you know, month, month and a half.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Dan, you you go back a long way with Stephen
Kwan in terms of off season work with him, as
you're both from the Chicago area. What are you seeing
that that's been challenging for him here through the first
three months of the season. Uncharacteristic for what we're used
to seeing from him.
Speaker 9 (22:56):
Yeah, you know, there's some movement things that we've identified. Obviously,
there's some approach and how he's being attacked. You know,
he's definitely getting a lot more four seams up away,
back door spin, just some pitch types that he's you know,
historically struggled with. There's been some some streaks and some
spurts where you know, he's taken some swings. He's had
(23:19):
some at bats where you know, he looks like the
Stephen Kuant of old. We're just working towards the consistency
really in his approach and his movements. And I'm confident
that you know, we're going to see a good stretch
from Kwanni here soon.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
And when you look back at the off season, it
seemed like he got some good things done. What are
some of the things you guys do that that's really
helpful in a cold weather area, but you can get
it done indoors.
Speaker 9 (23:42):
Yeah, you know, with with Kuannie, a lot of it
was just building the engine, you know, working on bat speed,
working on a sequencing, just two things that you know,
we've we've identified that we can raise the floor a
little bit with him. It can be challenging, like you mentioned,
being in the Midwest, finding in a cold weather area,
you know, finding facilities. But we've we've had a good
(24:02):
set up here. We've had a partnership with U I
See too, where they have a full indoor turf area
and we've been able to get over there and work
and you know, we've gotten good work in the off season.
He's showed up good in spring training, you know, and
we were confident in the production this year. It hasn't
(24:23):
showed up yet, but you know, we're confident that, you know,
he's going to get back to being who Stephen Kwan
is well.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Dan, always great to have you on for the insight
and appreciate you coming by.
Speaker 9 (24:33):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
That is Guardians assistant hitting coach Dan Puente and from
the major leaguers to the youngsters. The Guardians announced recently
that they have opened a brand new training center on
the campus of tri See in Parma. Rafael Collins is
the director of Community Impact for the Guardians, and he
fills us in on the new training center that the
(24:56):
Guardians have opened.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
Thanks for having me on, Rosie. The Guardian's Training Center
is a twenty thousand square foot facility located in Palmer,
Ohio on a really beautiful campus of kai Hoga Community
College Western Campus. This is an exclusive baseball softball facility
that year round, seven days a week. If you want
to train, you're gonna get the best instruction, the best
(25:19):
software tools, hardware tools, technology, anything that will grow your game,
you'll be able to find it right in your backyard.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
And we want to try and paint a picture here
for our listeners so they get a real good idea.
There's been a lot of work done here on the
new clubhouse facility, and obviously the Guardians have minor league
affiliates things like that. What are we looking at here
size wise and technology wise? It can help different level
players be the best they can be.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Yeah, I think what we try to do is lean
into our competitive advantage. We are Major League, the highest
level baseball team. A lot of the things that we
do right to prepare our players to play here at
Progressive Field, we wanted to lean into that and to
really take that into the community so that other aspiring
professional players can have access to it. So, when you
think about technology and software tools, hit tracks and track
(26:07):
Man and all those other tools, the same technology tools
that our players use to develop that's been critical to
their development path. We're going to make that available to
every Northeast Ohio athlete.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
When you look at the RBI program, it's such a
great thing to keep kids playing baseball if they want to.
And I know try C is a part of that.
How does that all weave in helping them become the
best teams they can be as part of this facility.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
You know, it's funny to think that just a few
years ago, two or three years ago, our RBI program
was just seventy five baseball softball players. Now we're over
three hundred starting at the age of ten, and now
with Tri C Baseball and softball team joining our RBI
program along with Cleveland State Club baseball. That RBI program
starts at teaen and goes all the way through college now.
(26:56):
And so if you go, if you play in our
RBI program, or if you are a student athlete baseball
team or softball team at tri SEE, you'll be able
to use this facility for free to develop your game
year round, especially in the winter when we know in
our locale here you're forced to go inside.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
So we're talking technology a high level college players. Things
like that, the mom and dad listening who maybe has
an eight year old who just wants to getting started,
wants to see where they can take this thing. What
do you have available for them? The beginner type player.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
Yeah, I think the really cool thing about our facility
is it doesn't matter how old you are, what your
skier level is, or any other type of category that
you might define yourself. There will be a program available
for you. Whether you're a baseball or a softball player.
You can show up, whether with your whole team or
by yourself, and we'll have a program that you can
enjoy and that'll make your game a little bit better.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
And when you look back on this, I know you're
mentioning some of the construction and renovations began a while back.
How far back has this gone and how how deep
a dive do you do to figure out, Hey, this
is what we want and what we think the kids
want and players want.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Well, when I think back, this process started two years ago.
We wanted to make sure we found the absolute we're
a professional team, it has to be the absolute best
as we go into the community and what we want
to offer. But once we found our location, found the
right partner and all the pieces that need to fall
into place. About October of last year is when we
(28:28):
really started to drill down and it's come together very
very fast. It's almost feel like a blink of an
eye until now it's open and really ready to go.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
So timeline wise, you're not quite ready to go full
board yet. But when can people start looking into this
and say, hey, I want to get my kid involved.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
I'm really excited, really pumped. Starting July twenty second from
that day moving forward, if you have venturets you want
to see the space, we encourage everybody to just go
stop by again to try see Western Campus in parm Ohio.
You can stop by any time regular business hours, so
just think typical hours. But and then also for more details,
(29:07):
please follow Seali Inspires on all social media platforms and
will continue to push out really really good updates as
far as programs, pricing, hours, and things like that.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
There and you had a ribbon cutting ceremony when you're
pretty close to being ready to go with a special
player from here. Travis Bozano was on hand, and did
you get the two thumbs up from him endorse from Vice.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
Yeah, it was really special to have Travis on site.
One is he understood that journey better than most of
being a player where maybe baseball or softball wasn't the
most popular in his country, finding the right coaches that
invested in him to grow his game playing at the
college level. And I think that was part of his message,
was was how important coaches were. And I think that's
probably something that we took the heart is that if
(29:50):
you send your team there, or your player there, your
young athlete there, you're they're going to get the best
coach instruction in Northeast Ohio.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
And again this is an indoor facility, folks in the
snow so flies, you can still get some good baseball
stuff going on raft Thanks for Fillness and on the
Guardians Training Center, no problem. Thanks Rosie Answer Rafiel Collins,
director of Community Impact for the Guardians. Exciting times for
young players trying to refine their skills at different levels
with the opening of the Guardians Training Center on the
(30:19):
campus of tri See in Parma. Stay tuned when we
come back. We'll have some fun with Houston radio voice
and former Major leaguer knuckleballer Steve Sparks. That's next on
the Cleveland Clinic Radio network.
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Speaker 3 (31:06):
He turns.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Welcome Back Ats Guardians Weekly, and we wrap it up
this week with a visit from Steve Sparks, the radio
voice for the Houston Astros, along with Robert Ford. Sparky,
though longtime major league career, ten seasons in the major leagues,
and he did not reach the big leagues for the
first time until he was thirty years of age as
a pitcher who needed something different. He was a knuckleballer,
(31:40):
one of the last that really relied on that pitch
on a full time basis, and it is certainly a
shrinking fraternity. And we asked Sparky if he was well
concerned about the state of the knuckleball or lack thereof
in today's game.
Speaker 11 (31:54):
Well, the short answer is yes, I would love to
see more knuckleballers at least give it a try. I think,
you know, I remember Bob Melvin a few years ago
tossed me a baseball. This is twenty nineteen, and you
remember the rumors were always said that the ball was flying.
We saw a lot of home runs that year and
thought that maybe the ball was a little harder or
something like that, or tightly wound. So Bob Melvin, in
(32:16):
the dugout he was managing the Oakland A's at the time,
handed me a baseball. He said, do you think you
could have thrown a knuckleball with this ball? And when
I gripped it and dug my fingernails into it, I
couldn't have felt like a cue ball. And at that
point I said, no, I don't think I could. But
the next couple of years, you know, the ball changed again,
and I feel like, okay, I could throw one again
(32:36):
with this, but it's different every year for some reason,
there's a little there's a little margin for guys to
how tightly they're going to wind the balls and things
of that nature. So I'm not sure if you can
really count on a guy, but I think when everybody
else is digging, and of course velocity, spin rate and
everything else is so prevalent in Major league baseball and
(32:57):
minor league baseball, that have somebody to do something just
totally differently, like we've always known it to be so different.
But it's no spind it's no velocity, and I think
it would serve a great purpose, especially in the day
and age when starters typically go five and a third,
When if you could get a guy to go seven
and a third or seven and two thirds with regularity,
(33:20):
I think he would be a big asset to a team.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
And as is usually the case, you were not always
a knuckleball pitcher when you were drafted, but it saved
your career. And there's a Cleveland connection.
Speaker 11 (33:30):
Explain that, Well, you almost have to have a manager
that just doesn't have to win every single game to
be able to develop players. And in my case, it
was Chris Bando who caught with the Cleveland Indians for
all those years, and he was my manager my first
two or three years as a knuckleball pitcher, and it
(33:53):
was vital he understood how valuable it could be because
he caught Tom Candiotti with Cleveland, and he'd always to me,
he said, I remember one game that Candyoti walked ten
guys and struck out ten guys, and that's just the
nature of the pitch. You just got to stick with it.
He was very patient with me, and it was I
would say that was one of the biggest reasons why
I got to the major leagues. This is my first
(34:14):
couple of years developing in the minor leagues. I had
a manager that would leave me out there and help
me work through some issues and even recognize the things
that I needed to do differently. So that was a
huge help. And the Brewers, who I was with at
the minor leagues at that time, gave me a three
year plan right off the bat. They said, hey, we'd
like to you to throw at thirty percent the first year,
(34:36):
fifty percent the second year, and then seventy percent the
third year, and we'll see where you're at after that.
And to be honest with you, Rosie, my first couple
of years I got worse because I wasn't committed to
that pitch enough and it's too hard to go back
and forth with those with those other pitches. So once
I committed to it, I went to Mexico and played
winter ball one year after talking to Candiotti one year
(34:57):
before I went to winter ball, and he was really
patient with me. For twenty five minutes. I had six
pages worth of questions and I went to winter ball.
I threw it. Every single pitch. I didn't throw one fastball,
one curved, slider, cutter, anything else, all knuckleballs. And that's
when I got better. And you know, by the end
of that time, I was knocking at the door as
a major.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
League And you talk about patients. How old were you
when you made it to the major leagues.
Speaker 11 (35:19):
Well, I was thirty when I made it there, turned
thirty one in July of my rookie year. So ten
years in the minor leagues, nine years in the major
leagues all told. In the first eight years my wife
and I were married, we've moved sixty times. So to
have a what six zero, Yeah, So to have a
supportive wife, it was paramount as far as, you know,
changing my career path, as far as being a conventional pitcher,
(35:43):
starting back over an a ball and going to instructional
leagues and all those things to develop into a knuckleballer.
She was with me every step of the way. We
went to the Dominican Republic, we went to Mexico, we
went to Venezuela. We did all the winter ball stops too.
So I've thrown the lot of pitches in my life,
but Michelle, my wife, was there for all of them.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
And during your major league career, you threw two shutouts,
one against the Cleveland Indians at the height of their
run scoring capabilities back in the nineties to early two thousands.
Tell us about that game and how special it was
for you.
Speaker 11 (36:17):
Well, it's easy to remember because there's only two. You know,
I pitched nine years and only had two shutouts. But
it was memorable because it was, as you said, against
a really good team. Cleveland was a great team. But
the other thing I was pitching against Chuck Finley, a
former teammate of mine with the Angels, and it was
one to nothing, and I was sick that day. That's
what I remember more than anything else, is in between innings,
(36:39):
I wasn't sure I was going to be able to
pitch that game. I was thrown up. I was pretty nauseous,
and in between innings, I was nauseous, and I even
had to loosen my belt down to the last little
notch in my belt so it wouldn't press against my
stomach because I felt like I might throw up in
the middle of Camerica Park. So it just goes to
(36:59):
show you some being sick might take your mind off
what's going on everywhere else that I just went out
there and just kind of relaxed, tried to get through
it somehow without throwing up in the middle of the field,
and ended up going to shut.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Out the heck with talking about the Astros. We know
they're a good club, and then they're coming on and
they're getting people healthy again. Sparky, always great to see you,
Thanks for coming by.
Speaker 11 (37:19):
Thanks Rosie, great to see you.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
Always fun to catch up with Steve Sparks whenever the
Guardians take on Houston. They did on the last road trip,
and we hope you enjoyed that talk about knuckleballs and
some good memories of games against Cleveland in his major
league career. That's going to do it for this week's
edition of Guardians Weekly. Thanks so much for tuning in
as always, and thanks to Brian Matse for helping to
(37:41):
put together our show each and every week. We'll still
be at home next weekend the Big Series with the
White Sox on fourth of July weekend. That's where our
show will originate from next week. We hope you can
join us then and until then, this is Jim rosen
House reminding you that you've been listening to Guardians Weekly
the Cleveland Clinic Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Guardian's Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive helping
Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance
Speaker 9 (38:53):
S
Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive helping Guardians
fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hi, everyone, Welcome to Guardians Weekly. Jim rosen House along
with you from Progressive Deal this weekend as the guard
Guardians take on the Seattle Mariners, the first of a
three team homestand for the Guardians, with Texas to follow
starting Monday night, and then the White Sox in town
for the first time this season starting Thursday night for
(01:14):
a big four game series on fourth of July weekend.
Good show lined up for you today in just a
little bit, we will hear from Travis Bazzana, the Guardians
second baseman, who is having an outstanding rookie campaign. We'll
also visit with Joey Cantillo, off to a nice start
on the mound for the Guardians, part of a solid
five man rotation. We'll talk with assistant hitting coach Dan
(01:37):
Puente about some of the ups and downs in the
early season for the Guardians. And we'll also hear from
Steve Sparks, radio voice for the Houston Astros, but former
Major leaguer and one of the last to throw the
knuckleball him. We'll talk a lot about that and some
fun stories from Sparky from the Houston Astros radio crew
(01:57):
caught up with him on the last road trip. And
we'll also so check out a brand new training center,
the Guardians Training Center for youth baseball teams and others
with Director of Community Impact Rothael Collins. That's all coming
up later in our show, But first a quick look
at the week gone by, and not a whole lot
of wins to talk about on that last road trip,
(02:19):
but the emergence of perhaps a key young hitter in
that Guardian's lineup, and we're talking about outfielder Khalil Watson
as he made his major league debut in Milwaukee last
week and then after going over twelve at the plate,
he finally broke out with some big games in the
White Sox series over on the South Side earlier this week.
(02:42):
That began on Monday night in Chicago when he came
to the plate as a pinch hitter in the seventh
inning with the bases loaded and just one out with
the Guardians trailing three nothing. The one one swung on
base hit rightfield, Watson comes through one run is in
swan right behind him Steven He scores and the first
(03:05):
Major league hit by Khalil Watson drives in too and
puts the Guardians on the board.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
What better time to get your first hit. I was
just gonna say, he seems to be bouncing a lot
of curveballs, so I would change my approach to just
hunting fastballs and curveballs that start way up. This one
started way up for him, kind of stayed in the
zone a little bit too long for him normally. He
wanted probably to bounce that pitch and just a good
swing right there by Watson for his first hit. Congratulations.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
The Guardians eventually lost that game, but Watson was a
big reason why they were able to come back and
tie it and have a chance to win, as he
picked up his first two runs batted in on that
base hit. And another big first came the very next night,
Tuesday night in Chicago, with the White Sox leading one
nothing in the fifth inning, Watson stepped in facing White
Sox starter Sean Burke. Next pitch to Watson swung on.
(03:56):
This one's launched high and deep right field obron Khalil
Watson his first in the Big leagues and with one swing,
this game is tied at one. It turns out Watson
was the only Guardians hitter to make an impact against Burke,
(04:16):
as the White Sox won that one by a score
of two to one. Then Wednesday, Guardians, trying to salvage
the finale of the series in Chicago. Game was still
scoreless in the sixth inning when Watson stepped in with
one out and the base is loaded. D O one
swing online, left field piece hit, one run is in.
They're gonna wave helping around. Here's the throw and it
(04:38):
pops free at home plate. Helping is safe. Hunt his
way to third and in safe the slidest man Zarno
and a double actually a single, driving in two runs
for Khalil Watson, who ends up at second base. Then,
after the Socks tied the game in dramatic fashion in
the ninth inning, once again it was Watson put the
(05:00):
Guardians back in front. In the tenth here comes his
two to zero pitch swung on bounce ball, left side
base hit that'll put Cleveland back in front. Is helping
scores from third on the RBI single by Watson.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
He is keeping it simple right now.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
This guy has a tough pitch. He averages about fourteen
strikeouts every night, and he's they just flashed around the board.
So he's got that swinging miss stuff lowing away one
hundred million hours. You're not supposed to pull that pitch,
stays through it. Shortstop was playing over up the middle,
nothing but base hits over there.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
What a series in Chicago for young Khalil Watson. And
we sat down with him after Monday's game when he
recorded his first major league hit. Talked to him about
that and he said, it was a big relief to
get that first one out of the way.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
I mean, been thinking about getting that first one ever
since the debut, But like over time, I just trusted
God and just put that process that I've been working
on before the games, and whatever led me to here
and whatever got me here, I continue to push through that. So,
I mean, in that situation, I was ready to swing
it and just put a burl on.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Ball and it comes in a pinch hitting situation. In
some ways, did that make it a little bit easier
and that you didn't have a whole lot of time
to think about just get up there and go ahead
and take your hacks.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
Oh of course, of course, you know a guy throwing
horror probably about ninety eight. Just sit up there on
the fastball. Hopefully we get this break them ball just
for something easier hit. But I mean, at the end
of the day, it's just all about locking in in
a big situation and just trying to get the job done.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
And impressions of major league pitching that you've noticed so
far in a very small sample size, of course.
Speaker 5 (06:40):
Yeah, it's pretty pretty much the same. They try to
attack you where you we got, you set them signs
of swinging at bad pitches, They'll continue to throw them pitches.
I mean, just hunt your pitches and when you get
the chance, just take the hacks off of them.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
And you get to the major leagues here this year,
and I know you've worked hard to get here, and
how much have you seen yourself grow here the past
couple of seasons to where you're ready now to contribute
at this level.
Speaker 5 (07:06):
Oh, of course, I think it's just more of being
consistent with my work and performing out there consistently. I
know early on here I just had a lot of
swinging misses, But it's it's just all about what I've
done to get here, and I feel like overseason season,
I continue to line. Really big thing was just mature
(07:27):
and over time I just kept sharing and I think
everybody in the ORCS saw it and pushed me and
just continue to push me so that I can get
my full potential out.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Earlier in your career at a young age, you're traded
and that can be a difficult thing for a lot
of young players. But for this organization, what have they
meant to you? And then how have they helped you
get to a good place?
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, as soon as I came in,
they welcomed me in. I mean a there's a good
vibe here, the development side of things, making sure that
you get the best work out of you each and
every day. And that's pretty much it. And just give
me another opportunity and a new scenery. I mean, once
you get a new scenery, it's just like a whole
(08:08):
new outlook for you and nobody knows you. Like, So
that was really good for me, and just being here
just more fitable more from me.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
You know, I'm gonna ask you to put your scouting
hat on a little bit if you're not that far
removed from Triple A Columbus and there's so much good
talent down there. What's going on down there? And who
are some of the names that we should be keeping
an eye out for as they get closer.
Speaker 5 (08:32):
Yeah, pretty much, man, everybody on that team, dude. I
think one thing that they do down there and what
we do up here, they feed off each other. So
whoever is having a good day is it might be
the nice person right behind them and get it started,
I said, Coop, all of them guys, Coop, Ralphie Hanaw
Huff Huff playing a big role this year, getting a
(08:55):
lot of that best. So, I mean, you never know
because the next person there, opportunity could be here shortly
or whenever it comes. But there's a lot of people
working to get here.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Hey, congratulations on that first hit. Thanks a lot for
coming back, Khil. Thank you. Nice to catch up with
Khalil Watson as he continues in his first stages of
what he's hoping obviously is a long major league career,
and he certainly has put down a good foundation here
in his first week to ten days in the major leagues.
Another rookie who has made a tremendous impact for the
(09:27):
Guardians is Travis Bazana. We'll hear from the Guardian's second
baseman when we return after this.
Speaker 6 (09:38):
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Speaker 2 (10:16):
The one too swung on and that's hit high in
the air to right, this is deep way back there,
Horrod persona, he's done it again second time tonight. What
a night going for Travis Basana. HiT's a three run
blast and all of a sudden, the Guardians have a
(10:39):
six to one lead. Jim rosenhow's back with you on
Guardians Weekly. We're at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. Great
to have you with us as the Guardians take on
the Mariners this weekend. Travis Bazana is off to a
real nice start in his rookie campaign, and he had
a night to remember on Saturday on the last road
trip in Houston, same game, two home runs, five runs
(11:04):
batted in, and four hits. Rare company. Only three others
had done that as rookies in Guardian's history, and when
you look at leadof hitters, he's the first to do
that in franchise history that type of line. He joined
us earlier in the week and said it's great to
see the hard work that he puts in pay off
with results like they came he had last Saturday in Houston.
Speaker 7 (11:26):
Yeah, it was obviously the game's fun when you're able
to do things like that. And yeah, I've been trying
to have my best abbats, oh you and get little
ebbs and flows, and the process has been good the
lost couple of days, and it was nice to get
some real good barrels and swings off.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I know what we had talked on a homestand and
you were kind of in a stretch where the results
weren't coming, but it seemed like you were in an
okay place that it might turn pretty quick results wise.
And what gives you that confidence as you go through
the ups and downs big leagues.
Speaker 7 (12:01):
Yeah, just knowing that, like each day you can go
out and control the controllables and put yourself in a
position to have success and trusting that the work you've
put in and the skill you have will carry you
to success if you believe in it and you have
a plan and you're prepared. So just trying to prepare
as best I can every day and days like this
(12:23):
come if you do that.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Teams are a little bit more than a week now
without three of their key players, including Jose Ramirez, and
I know you were saying last week that it'll be
interesting to see how the team reacts, but there are
certain things that you can do to go about it.
And what is the key when you lose some players
to still having some success and winning games.
Speaker 7 (12:44):
Take it upon yourself to be best prepared to you know,
step up and make an impact on winning. There's a
reason everyone in the clubhouse is in the major leagues
in a Cleveland Godian, the reasons they can help the
team win if they have to take on more of
a workload with people out, It's just like, go trust
(13:05):
your skills and bring what you're here to do to
bring like those roles, those strengths to the team as
much as possible, while you know we're missing key players,
but yeah, you just make the most of every Day's
still the same game, so there's nothing to out there
(13:25):
you can do when you still just playing baseball and
doing the best you can.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I thought it was interesting how you reference Jose Ramirez.
It's hard to duplicate those numbers that he puts up,
but you can still play like him. And what did
you mean by that?
Speaker 7 (13:39):
Yeah, I mean he's the kind of key piece to
the identity of the team when this team's winning and
doing well, playing hard, caring about every pitch and just
with that fire. And I think if we were trying
to give our best chance to win when Hosey's not here,
it's like with that identity and keeping keeping how he
(14:03):
goes about it in mind, because he brings that a
day to day But we can bring that regardless if
he's there. Obviously still losing a peace, but we can
bring that identity that he has, and I think that's
going to be important moving forward.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, great stuff as always, Travis, Thanks lofter come by.
I appreciate it. Thanks Rosie, and it's Guardian's rookie second
baseman Travis Bazana trying to make his bid for a
Rookie of the Year honers. He has some competition on
his own team with Parker Messik having a great year two,
but Bazanna certainly off to a real nice start in
his rookie season. Joey Cantillo has been solid on the
mound for the Guardians, picked up a win last weekend
(14:37):
against Houston, going eight innings with nine strikeouts, only one
run aloud. And we caught up with him shortly after
that outing and he said the key to success for
him always comes down to throwing more strikes.
Speaker 8 (14:50):
Yeah, I think we did a good job of obviously
just throwing strikes. We talked about count control lot, We've
talked about throwing a lot of strikes. But I think
two and another emphasis has been just throwing my best strike,
my best p and I think recently I've just kind
of shifted my focus a little more to process over
results and just being in my process. And my process
is to throw my best strike one pitch at a time,
or my best pitch one pitch at a time, like
(15:13):
not necessarily worried about what the day is going to
look like at the end or the result of winning
or losing or whatever it is. It's just like, Okay,
can I make one? Can I make my best pitch?
Speaker 9 (15:22):
Once?
Speaker 8 (15:22):
Can I make? Can I put all my effort and
focus into making one good pitch and then just do
that one more time? And then just do that one
more time, but one at a time, So just staying
in the process of that and making sure everything's at
my best, and I think good things will happen with that.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
And so as you try and do that one pitch
at a time, I think everybody's chasing consistency in this game.
That is the key. If you can be consistent. Do
you feel like you're getting that more and more as
you get older in this game?
Speaker 5 (15:50):
For sure?
Speaker 8 (15:50):
I think with that mindset it allows you to do
that a little more freely and easier without having as
much weight on a pitch, or weight on a day,
or weight on an inning anything like If if your
mindset is just to do what you're more than capable
of for one second, for ten seconds to focus, that's
that's easy. You know, that's not easy, but that's a
lot easier to ask of yourself than to do this
(16:11):
or that for a day or do this or that
for a year or season, like just narrowing things down
and making it, making it lighter and freer for yourself. Yeah,
consistency is the name of it. And obviously through experiences
you get better. And it's cool coming here because I
feel like every time we've come here, I've come here,
I pitched right, and it's like some good ones, some
decent ones, some bad ones. But it's just cool because
(16:33):
like I'm thinking back to my first time here, like
how different everything was. You know, it was only two
years ago, but just the difference of of everything, just
like your your your life off the field, your your
business on the field, your business of the actual pitching too,
like everything just just you know, the experience and is
the best teacher. So yeah, just trying to continue to
(16:55):
improve on the things that are within my control and
lean on the group of people we have to contin
and you to get better.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
We record this in Chicago, and I feel like you'd
like to enjoy the cities that the team goes to,
great cities in America. What makes this one pretty cool
to check out?
Speaker 8 (17:10):
I mean, obviously when we come here in the summer,
it's such a beautiful summer town. I've never been here
in the winter or anything, so I can't speak on that.
But like every time we come here, like people are
out and about, the sun's out, you know, the wind's nice,
the lake is beautiful, the lake is clear. There's a beach,
so I always try to jump in the water there.
And then obviously there's great food. It's just a great
city to walk around and explore. My parents are actually here,
so I think I don't know if they've ever been
(17:31):
to Chicago ever, or at least not to Chicago to
see me or be with us. So yeah, i'd be
excited to get some good food and show them around
some spots that I've gone to the last couple of years. Yeah,
I definitely definitely enjoy coming here.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
You got some good bubble gum working there today? What
are we working? What flavor?
Speaker 8 (17:48):
We got double double bubble to the regular dugout gum
double whatever it is.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
Sugar free.
Speaker 8 (17:55):
Yeah, yeah, good, it's good you too, You've got some
gum going.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
To You're at the part, Joey, Thank you, Thanks, Rosie
appreciate it. Always fun to visit with Joey Cantillo. As
he continues to become a real key in that starting
rotation for the Guardians. Stay tuned. When we come back,
we'll talk hitting with assistant hitting coach Dan Puente. That's
next time the Cleveland Clinic Radio Network.
Speaker 9 (18:30):
No.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
One two slung on line toward the right field, near
the line, getting down fair ball, end of the corner.
That'll score Martinez. Schneeman. Here comes Kwon.
Speaker 8 (18:41):
The throw that in time a three run.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Double on a two strike pitch. Travis Persona blows it open.
Welcome back to Guardians Weekly. Jimm ros in House back
with you from Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland and said,
hat an up and down season offensively, some challenges to
be sure, with a very young lineup their assistant hitting
(19:06):
coaches Dan Quente, and with the challenging times with three
key players Jose Ramirez on hell, Martinez and Chase the
Lotter on the injured list. Dan talked about what he
sees from this group of young hitters trying to find
their way at the major league level.
Speaker 9 (19:22):
It's always tough, you know, when you lose someone like
Jose and just what he brings every day, just from
a leadership standpoint and obviously the production on the field.
But you know, our guys are. We've been through challenges
before this group has been able to get out on
the other side of it. You know, we're taking it
day by day. We're getting our work in, we're preparing,
(19:43):
we're keeping the energy high, and you know, we know
that they're not gone for the year, like at some
point they're going to rejoin us, and when they do,
you know, you know that's going to give us a boost.
But for right now, you know, we're trying our best
to put together good at bats, string together quality at
bats so that we can you know, be on the
positive side of the run scoring game.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
And speaking of positives, your lead off hitter recently has
been Travis Bizana, a rookie who's having a fine season.
Anything there that that surprised you, maybe that you didn't
know about him as you see him develop here at
the major league level.
Speaker 9 (20:18):
To be honest with you, no surprises. I mean, Baz
is one of the most intelligent hitters that I've had
an opportunity to be around the back quality the decision making.
You know, I got to see that in spring training.
I got to see that, you know, you know from
his video talking to his coaches that he had in
(20:40):
the minor leagues. I knew that he would be able
to come up here and be productive for us, especially
because his floor is so high. You know, the decision
making is so elite, the bat to ball is so elite.
So it's been awesome to see him continuous approach not
change anything. He knows who he is as a hitter.
He prepares, and it's just been awesome to see him
(21:03):
come up here and have the success early on, which
is so important for a rookie.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Two younger hitters who are a little bit further along
in their careers than Travis Bizana Brian Rochios have a
real solid season. And what's he done to establish himself
from a consistency standpoint.
Speaker 9 (21:20):
You know, it's been so fun to watch his growth
in development this year. I think it all just stems
back from him accepting his identity as a player and
understanding who he is as a hitter, and I think
that helps with the consistency piece. You know, we've seen
Rochio and what he can do in the playoffs where
(21:40):
you know, when he's keeping a simple approach, he's using
the whole field, he's working low line drives. We've seen
the type of hitter he can be. So it's just
been a lot of fun to see his growth in development,
not trying to do too much, understanding who he is
as a hitter, and you've seen that on the production side.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Kyle Manzardo is the other in a real good stretch
right now after a slow start, and how difficult was
it for him early on when when he was trying
to stay with his approach but not seeing the results
and now coming out on the other.
Speaker 9 (22:14):
Side, that's very difficult, you know, especially coming off the
year that he had in twenty five. There was no
panic from any of us or from Manzo. We knew that,
you know, things would even out that you know, he
would get to some of his power, he would get
to some of that production. Just keeping him positive, keeping
(22:34):
him not chasing results, keeping him locked in on his approach.
And you've seen what he's been able to do the
last you know, month, month and a half.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Dan, you you go back a long way with Stephen
Kwan in terms of off season work with him, as
you're both from the Chicago area. What are you seeing
that that's been challenging for him here through the first
three months of the season. Uncharacteristic for what we're used
to seeing from him.
Speaker 9 (22:56):
Yeah, you know, there's some movement things that we've identified. Obviously,
there's some approach and how he's being attacked. You know,
he's definitely getting a lot more four seams up away,
back door spin, just some pitch types that he's you know,
historically struggled with. There's been some some streaks and some
spurts where you know, he's taken some swings. He's had
(23:19):
some at bats where you know, he looks like the
Stephen Kuant of old. We're just working towards the consistency
really in his approach and his movements. And I'm confident
that you know, we're going to see a good stretch
from Kwanni here soon.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
And when you look back at the off season, it
seemed like he got some good things done. What are
some of the things you guys do that that's really
helpful in a cold weather area, but you can get
it done indoors.
Speaker 9 (23:42):
Yeah, you know, with with Kuannie, a lot of it
was just building the engine, you know, working on bat speed,
working on a sequencing, just two things that you know,
we've we've identified that we can raise the floor a
little bit with him. It can be challenging, like you mentioned,
being in the Midwest, finding in a cold weather area,
you know, finding facilities. But we've we've had a good
(24:02):
set up here. We've had a partnership with U I
See too, where they have a full indoor turf area
and we've been able to get over there and work
and you know, we've gotten good work in the off season.
He's showed up good in spring training, you know, and
we were confident in the production this year. It hasn't
(24:23):
showed up yet, but you know, we're confident that, you know,
he's going to get back to being who Stephen Kwan
is well.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Dan, always great to have you on for the insight
and appreciate you coming by.
Speaker 9 (24:33):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
That is Guardians assistant hitting coach Dan Puente and from
the major leaguers to the youngsters. The Guardians announced recently
that they have opened a brand new training center on
the campus of tri See in Parma. Rafael Collins is
the director of Community Impact for the Guardians, and he
fills us in on the new training center that the
(24:56):
Guardians have opened.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
Thanks for having me on, Rosie. The Guardian's Training Center
is a twenty thousand square foot facility located in Palmer,
Ohio on a really beautiful campus of kai Hoga Community
College Western Campus. This is an exclusive baseball softball facility
that year round, seven days a week. If you want
to train, you're gonna get the best instruction, the best
(25:19):
software tools, hardware tools, technology, anything that will grow your game,
you'll be able to find it right in your backyard.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
And we want to try and paint a picture here
for our listeners so they get a real good idea.
There's been a lot of work done here on the
new clubhouse facility, and obviously the Guardians have minor league
affiliates things like that. What are we looking at here
size wise and technology wise? It can help different level
players be the best they can be.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Yeah, I think what we try to do is lean
into our competitive advantage. We are Major League, the highest
level baseball team. A lot of the things that we
do right to prepare our players to play here at
Progressive Field, we wanted to lean into that and to
really take that into the community so that other aspiring
professional players can have access to it. So, when you
think about technology and software tools, hit tracks and track
(26:07):
Man and all those other tools, the same technology tools
that our players use to develop that's been critical to
their development path. We're going to make that available to
every Northeast Ohio athlete.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
When you look at the RBI program, it's such a
great thing to keep kids playing baseball if they want to.
And I know try C is a part of that.
How does that all weave in helping them become the
best teams they can be as part of this facility.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
You know, it's funny to think that just a few
years ago, two or three years ago, our RBI program
was just seventy five baseball softball players. Now we're over
three hundred starting at the age of ten, and now
with Tri C Baseball and softball team joining our RBI
program along with Cleveland State Club baseball. That RBI program
starts at teaen and goes all the way through college now.
(26:56):
And so if you go, if you play in our
RBI program, or if you are a student athlete baseball
team or softball team at tri SEE, you'll be able
to use this facility for free to develop your game
year round, especially in the winter when we know in
our locale here you're forced to go inside.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
So we're talking technology a high level college players. Things
like that, the mom and dad listening who maybe has
an eight year old who just wants to getting started,
wants to see where they can take this thing. What
do you have available for them? The beginner type player.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
Yeah, I think the really cool thing about our facility
is it doesn't matter how old you are, what your
skier level is, or any other type of category that
you might define yourself. There will be a program available
for you. Whether you're a baseball or a softball player.
You can show up, whether with your whole team or
by yourself, and we'll have a program that you can
enjoy and that'll make your game a little bit better.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
And when you look back on this, I know you're
mentioning some of the construction and renovations began a while back.
How far back has this gone and how how deep
a dive do you do to figure out, Hey, this
is what we want and what we think the kids
want and players want.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Well, when I think back, this process started two years ago.
We wanted to make sure we found the absolute we're
a professional team, it has to be the absolute best
as we go into the community and what we want
to offer. But once we found our location, found the
right partner and all the pieces that need to fall
into place. About October of last year is when we
(28:28):
really started to drill down and it's come together very
very fast. It's almost feel like a blink of an
eye until now it's open and really ready to go.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
So timeline wise, you're not quite ready to go full
board yet. But when can people start looking into this
and say, hey, I want to get my kid involved.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
I'm really excited, really pumped. Starting July twenty second from
that day moving forward, if you have venturets you want
to see the space, we encourage everybody to just go
stop by again to try see Western Campus in parm Ohio.
You can stop by any time regular business hours, so
just think typical hours. But and then also for more details,
(29:07):
please follow Seali Inspires on all social media platforms and
will continue to push out really really good updates as
far as programs, pricing, hours, and things like that.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
There and you had a ribbon cutting ceremony when you're
pretty close to being ready to go with a special
player from here. Travis Bozano was on hand, and did
you get the two thumbs up from him endorse from Vice.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
Yeah, it was really special to have Travis on site.
One is he understood that journey better than most of
being a player where maybe baseball or softball wasn't the
most popular in his country, finding the right coaches that
invested in him to grow his game playing at the
college level. And I think that was part of his message,
was was how important coaches were. And I think that's
probably something that we took the heart is that if
(29:50):
you send your team there, or your player there, your
young athlete there, you're they're going to get the best
coach instruction in Northeast Ohio.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
And again this is an indoor facility, folks in the
snow so flies, you can still get some good baseball
stuff going on raft Thanks for Fillness and on the
Guardians Training Center, no problem. Thanks Rosie Answer Rafiel Collins,
director of Community Impact for the Guardians. Exciting times for
young players trying to refine their skills at different levels
with the opening of the Guardians Training Center on the
(30:19):
campus of tri See in Parma. Stay tuned when we
come back. We'll have some fun with Houston radio voice
and former Major leaguer knuckleballer Steve Sparks. That's next on
the Cleveland Clinic Radio network.
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Speaker 3 (31:06):
He turns.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Welcome Back Ats Guardians Weekly, and we wrap it up
this week with a visit from Steve Sparks, the radio
voice for the Houston Astros, along with Robert Ford. Sparky,
though longtime major league career, ten seasons in the major leagues,
and he did not reach the big leagues for the
first time until he was thirty years of age as
a pitcher who needed something different. He was a knuckleballer,
(31:40):
one of the last that really relied on that pitch
on a full time basis, and it is certainly a
shrinking fraternity. And we asked Sparky if he was well
concerned about the state of the knuckleball or lack thereof
in today's game.
Speaker 11 (31:54):
Well, the short answer is yes, I would love to
see more knuckleballers at least give it a try. I think,
you know, I remember Bob Melvin a few years ago
tossed me a baseball. This is twenty nineteen, and you
remember the rumors were always said that the ball was flying.
We saw a lot of home runs that year and
thought that maybe the ball was a little harder or
something like that, or tightly wound. So Bob Melvin, in
(32:16):
the dugout he was managing the Oakland A's at the time,
handed me a baseball. He said, do you think you
could have thrown a knuckleball with this ball? And when
I gripped it and dug my fingernails into it, I
couldn't have felt like a cue ball. And at that
point I said, no, I don't think I could. But
the next couple of years, you know, the ball changed again,
and I feel like, okay, I could throw one again
(32:36):
with this, but it's different every year for some reason,
there's a little there's a little margin for guys to
how tightly they're going to wind the balls and things
of that nature. So I'm not sure if you can
really count on a guy, but I think when everybody
else is digging, and of course velocity, spin rate and
everything else is so prevalent in Major league baseball and
(32:57):
minor league baseball, that have somebody to do something just
totally differently, like we've always known it to be so different.
But it's no spind it's no velocity, and I think
it would serve a great purpose, especially in the day
and age when starters typically go five and a third,
When if you could get a guy to go seven
and a third or seven and two thirds with regularity,
(33:20):
I think he would be a big asset to a team.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
And as is usually the case, you were not always
a knuckleball pitcher when you were drafted, but it saved
your career. And there's a Cleveland connection.
Speaker 11 (33:30):
Explain that, Well, you almost have to have a manager
that just doesn't have to win every single game to
be able to develop players. And in my case, it
was Chris Bando who caught with the Cleveland Indians for
all those years, and he was my manager my first
two or three years as a knuckleball pitcher, and it
(33:53):
was vital he understood how valuable it could be because
he caught Tom Candiotti with Cleveland, and he'd always to me,
he said, I remember one game that Candyoti walked ten
guys and struck out ten guys, and that's just the
nature of the pitch. You just got to stick with it.
He was very patient with me, and it was I
would say that was one of the biggest reasons why
I got to the major leagues. This is my first
(34:14):
couple of years developing in the minor leagues. I had
a manager that would leave me out there and help
me work through some issues and even recognize the things
that I needed to do differently. So that was a
huge help. And the Brewers, who I was with at
the minor leagues at that time, gave me a three
year plan right off the bat. They said, hey, we'd
like to you to throw at thirty percent the first year,
(34:36):
fifty percent the second year, and then seventy percent the
third year, and we'll see where you're at after that.
And to be honest with you, Rosie, my first couple
of years I got worse because I wasn't committed to
that pitch enough and it's too hard to go back
and forth with those with those other pitches. So once
I committed to it, I went to Mexico and played
winter ball one year after talking to Candiotti one year
(34:57):
before I went to winter ball, and he was really
patient with me. For twenty five minutes. I had six
pages worth of questions and I went to winter ball.
I threw it. Every single pitch. I didn't throw one fastball,
one curved, slider, cutter, anything else, all knuckleballs. And that's
when I got better. And you know, by the end
of that time, I was knocking at the door as
a major.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
League And you talk about patients. How old were you
when you made it to the major leagues.
Speaker 11 (35:19):
Well, I was thirty when I made it there, turned
thirty one in July of my rookie year. So ten
years in the minor leagues, nine years in the major
leagues all told. In the first eight years my wife
and I were married, we've moved sixty times. So to
have a what six zero, Yeah, So to have a
supportive wife, it was paramount as far as, you know,
changing my career path, as far as being a conventional pitcher,
(35:43):
starting back over an a ball and going to instructional
leagues and all those things to develop into a knuckleballer.
She was with me every step of the way. We
went to the Dominican Republic, we went to Mexico, we
went to Venezuela. We did all the winter ball stops too.
So I've thrown the lot of pitches in my life,
but Michelle, my wife, was there for all of them.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
And during your major league career, you threw two shutouts,
one against the Cleveland Indians at the height of their
run scoring capabilities back in the nineties to early two thousands.
Tell us about that game and how special it was
for you.
Speaker 11 (36:17):
Well, it's easy to remember because there's only two. You know,
I pitched nine years and only had two shutouts. But
it was memorable because it was, as you said, against
a really good team. Cleveland was a great team. But
the other thing I was pitching against Chuck Finley, a
former teammate of mine with the Angels, and it was
one to nothing, and I was sick that day. That's
what I remember more than anything else, is in between innings,
(36:39):
I wasn't sure I was going to be able to
pitch that game. I was thrown up. I was pretty nauseous,
and in between innings, I was nauseous, and I even
had to loosen my belt down to the last little
notch in my belt so it wouldn't press against my
stomach because I felt like I might throw up in
the middle of Camerica Park. So it just goes to
(36:59):
show you some being sick might take your mind off
what's going on everywhere else that I just went out
there and just kind of relaxed, tried to get through
it somehow without throwing up in the middle of the field,
and ended up going to shut.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Out the heck with talking about the Astros. We know
they're a good club, and then they're coming on and
they're getting people healthy again. Sparky, always great to see you,
Thanks for coming by.
Speaker 11 (37:19):
Thanks Rosie, great to see you.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
Always fun to catch up with Steve Sparks whenever the
Guardians take on Houston. They did on the last road trip,
and we hope you enjoyed that talk about knuckleballs and
some good memories of games against Cleveland in his major
league career. That's going to do it for this week's
edition of Guardians Weekly. Thanks so much for tuning in
as always, and thanks to Brian Matse for helping to
(37:41):
put together our show each and every week. We'll still
be at home next weekend the Big Series with the
White Sox on fourth of July weekend. That's where our
show will originate from next week. We hope you can
join us then and until then, this is Jim rosen
House reminding you that you've been listening to Guardians Weekly
the Cleveland Clinic Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Guardian's Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive helping
Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance
Speaker 9 (38:53):
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