April 7, 2026 • 10 mins
Houston Astros reliever Bryan King joins The A-Team to discuss the team’s start to the season, his performance so far, his Astros debut, and more.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Adam and Adam here with you on the eight team
and happy to be joined right now by Astros reliever
Brian King from the mean streets of Denver, Colorado, where
the Astros head into Game two of their series with
the Rockies this evening, which obviously you will look look
to peek in on here, Brian. Curious about one thing
right out of the gate, and we appreciate your time
(00:20):
this afternoon with with Josh Sideline. Currently Sue's not out
there with you. It's a very different looking bullpen you're
hanging out with every day. How's the early part of
the season been just kind of hanging out for hours
at a time with guys that haven't all been around
each other all that much.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yep. First of all, thank you guys for having me.
I appreciate you guys time, and you know, it is different,
but at the same time, we still got we got
some dogs out in the bullpen. We got some dogs
helping us out, like Cody Bolden last night. It looked great.
You know. It's because it's different doesn't mean that we're
any worse off. We've still got people can go out
(00:59):
there and compete, and at this point.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
I'm glad you said that because I didn't mean it.
Different doesn't mean worse or better, It just literally means different.
There's a different group out there. I'm also glad you
mentioned something about Cody. I was doing postgame last night
and even early today on the show. I thought, what
he gave the team is exactly what you're hoping for
when you go into a game like that. How is
it watching him work again? Another newcomer to this team?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
It was great. I mean, you know, we kind of
had a scare first pitch off the bat and he
get the comebacker at him that things are pretty good,
and he was a bulldog. He beared down for four
innings and gave us a good start. So hopefully we
can come back tonight and punch back a little bit.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
So as a pitcher, you see West Sacramento for three
and Colorado for three back to back on the schedule,
are you kind of amping yourself up just knowing that
the margin for error might be a little bit center?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah, I mean you try not to think about stuff
like at the end of the day, you still got
to go out and execute your stuff. You know, sometimes
pitchers will say that the ball doesn't move the same,
and whether that's true or not, you got to be
able to adjust on the fly, so you know, at
the end of the day, we've got a great defense.
Try to fill the zone out with stripes and let
them work.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Brian King joining us here on the A team here
in advance of Game two of the three game series
with the Rockies. It wasn't that long ago. I'm curious
if it feels like it to you when you made
your major league debut not long after, a couple of
years after the Astros added you in the minor league
Rule five draft. Do you remember what it was like
going out there for the first time, over at then
(02:35):
minute Made Park now dyk In Park, And how you
felt coming out of the bullpen, how you felt seven
pitches later when your first major league outing was complete.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Oh. Absolutely. One of the biggest things I remember is
God Bless America started playing right after they called my name,
so I had a couple of seconds to just breathe
and try to call myself down a little bit. I
remember running out from the bullpen gate and the whole
time looking down at the grass, like stay focused, stay
present right here. We got a job to do, and
(03:05):
like you said, seven pitches later, we were backing the
dugout and I couldn't have been more thrilled.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Well, it sounds like we need to push this out there.
I don't know if it can stick. We were huge
fans of Ryan Presley's entering the game music. I mean,
shouldn't you be coming into the game with that same
music every time, no matter when you're coming into the game.
That sounds pretty sweet.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I'll have to talk to him and see if you
let me borrow it.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
See once she retires, it's fair game, right, Yeah, I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
There's still a little bit of respect, and you know,
you don't want to steal his thunder. I know the
fans really loved listening to that song when he came out,
and even for me personally, I get that. When I
think of that song, I think of Ryan Presley and
all the work he did, all the great things that
he'll teach us. You know, he's a mentor for a
(03:53):
lot of people. And hoping to get to chat with
him soon.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Here in a bit talking to Astro's reliever Brian King
here on Sports Talk seven ninety and I was talking
to Wex about this, like how we've never really talked
about an Astro's team at any point over the better
part of a decade where the pitching was not so
elite that you're looking at, oh, nine runs on this night,
eleven runs in this night. It's kind of weird coming
(04:19):
into the season, how much offense is going both ways
regardless of who you guys are playing on any given night.
Have you been a part of a situation like this
to start a season before.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
No, not to start a season, but you kind of
get games like this throughout the year. Like it's baseball.
There are gonna be times where the hitters are dialed in.
There's gonna be times where we're the ones dialed in
and keeping the scores low. But you know, it's just
it kind of comes and goes in ways, and right
now we're just gonna in one of those ways right
now where it's not going our way. But you know,
(04:54):
things can change quick.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Do you ever think about the fact that baseball is
the only sport where you can say what you just
said about one hundred different situations. Nobody ever says, yeah,
that's just basketball or that's just football. But when people
say it's just baseball, we know exactly what you mean.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah. I mean that's kind of the beauty this game.
Anybody can win on any given night. It doesn't matter
what place you're in. You play one hundred and sixty
two games, there's gonna be plenty that don't go your way.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
What was your vantage point last night at the game
when Cam Smith got a hold of one and absolutely
bombed one out of that ballpark.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, I was sitting there in the bullpen and I
saw a good contact off the bat, and you know
it's Colorado, so you know the ball can fly a
little bit. I didn't know he got it as well
as he did when you saw that ball leave the
playing shiels there, Like Dan, he touched that thing pretty good.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
A lot of guys will usually bond over different things,
especially out in the bullpen, and whether it's good, bad,
or otherwise. I'm curious how you view Tommy John. You're
one of many pitchers in baseball that has had it.
You're one of many pitchers in baseball that have been
very successful after having getting You're very far removed from
it now, but you know, when you think back to
going through that into where you are today, how does
that hit you? You know, Tommy John and the idea
(06:07):
that it certainly is far far from a career ending
injury is actually quite the opposite.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Yeah, in the in the moment, it was one of
those things where I actually I felt the sense of
peace when it happened. I don't know why. That's not
typically my personality. I like to do everything I can
to stay healthy, but for some reason, in that moment,
like I just I had a feeling that that was
where I was supposed to be and I knew I
could handle it. So it's not easy. There's no surgery
(06:36):
or or rehab that is easy. But sometimes you got
to take what God gives you and you know ultimately
that that was the plan, that that helped me get
to where I'm at.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
I look at a guy like yourself starting the Cubs organization,
joined the Astros organization a couple of years ago, and
now you're with the big club, and the way things
kind of fit into place. It certainly felt like you
fit in personality wise, maybe even background wise, with the
group you were with, and each year as they had
new and different players, I think about your place here
and how you get along with people of Ryan Weiss, similarly,
(07:11):
it feels like there's just the right mix of people.
Like if you're going to walk out of the clubhouse
on a getaway day and you're headed to the flight, Well,
there's you and your boots and jeans. There's Wiss and
his boot and jeans. That's Ryan Presley a couple of
years ago. Like, how does it always seem to work
out that these guys seem like the perfect fits for
the club?
Speaker 2 (07:30):
I think a lot of it is, you know, the
people that the clubs try to attract. I think part
of it is, you know, you spend time with guys
who kind of been through some tough situations, whether it's
on the field, off the field, everybody's kind of got
their own path, and I think the astros, especially, you're
(07:52):
good at finding guys who may not have had the typical,
you know, big time school to pick a lot of
guys are. You know, we always kind of look at
ourselves as misfits, like we didn't fit in other places,
and but there was something we did well and the
astros were very good at picking up on that and
(08:12):
maximizing that.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Well, since WEX brought it up and I have you
on the phone, I'm wearing a pair of Ostrich right now.
Are you more of a Gator guy? Do you like Python's? Like,
what do you roll with when you got the boots on?
Speaker 2 (08:23):
I've got a pair of Ostrich and then I've got
a pair of just like normal weather. Why not kind
of wear when I'm gonna get dirtier and when I
wear when I'm a little bit dressier.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Is there anything better than going into a store to
get a new pair and smelling that leather?
Speaker 2 (08:38):
The only thing else that I'd say might be a
little better as a new baseball glove. They're both pretty
dark close.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I figured you'd say something like that. That's a good answer,
all right, Brian King. We appreciate the time. Good luck
the rest of the way this season. I feel like
I need to tell you the obligatory stay healthy because
that's just what we always say, but especially with what
happened last year. So stay healthy and we look forward
to seeing you perform the rest of the year in
n a Astros uniform that's.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Your playing Thank you, guys. I appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
All right, Brian King here on Sports Talk seven nine
to your home for Astros Baseball and a big boot fan.
Thanks for getting that out of him.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Wex that was pretty obvious if you've watched him do
some of his work here off the field. I know,
I probably maybe last question could have been, when have
you and Josh and maybe Ryan and a few others
planned your latest upcoming hunting trip.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah, that is it's you know, I think I know
football players hunt, but I think an inordinate amount of
baseball players are just because of the time of their offseason.
That really is a big thing in Major League Baseball.
So yeah, that's on us for not delving further into that.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
But well, somewhat local flavor to many of the players
on the team, not only being Astros now, but a
lot of them from that not too far away places
and places where obviously that is something you can do.
Appreciate him joining us well a couple of things on
one of the things he had to say about the
what's going on on out there on the bullpen on
a day to day basis, not just in Colorado or
in West Sacramento, but throughout the season. Obviously, look ahead
(10:07):
into this evening's contest with Mike Burrows on the mound
for the Astros. As we continue here on a Tuesday
edition of the Eight Team
Adam and Adam here with you on the eight team
and happy to be joined right now by Astros reliever
Brian King from the mean streets of Denver, Colorado, where
the Astros head into Game two of their series with
the Rockies this evening, which obviously you will look look
to peek in on here, Brian. Curious about one thing
right out of the gate, and we appreciate your time
(00:20):
this afternoon with with Josh Sideline. Currently Sue's not out
there with you. It's a very different looking bullpen you're
hanging out with every day. How's the early part of
the season been just kind of hanging out for hours
at a time with guys that haven't all been around
each other all that much.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yep. First of all, thank you guys for having me.
I appreciate you guys time, and you know, it is different,
but at the same time, we still got we got
some dogs out in the bullpen. We got some dogs
helping us out, like Cody Bolden last night. It looked great.
You know. It's because it's different doesn't mean that we're
any worse off. We've still got people can go out
(00:59):
there and compete, and at this point.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
I'm glad you said that because I didn't mean it.
Different doesn't mean worse or better, It just literally means different.
There's a different group out there. I'm also glad you
mentioned something about Cody. I was doing postgame last night
and even early today on the show. I thought, what
he gave the team is exactly what you're hoping for
when you go into a game like that. How is
it watching him work again? Another newcomer to this team?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
It was great. I mean, you know, we kind of
had a scare first pitch off the bat and he
get the comebacker at him that things are pretty good,
and he was a bulldog. He beared down for four
innings and gave us a good start. So hopefully we
can come back tonight and punch back a little bit.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
So as a pitcher, you see West Sacramento for three
and Colorado for three back to back on the schedule,
are you kind of amping yourself up just knowing that
the margin for error might be a little bit center?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah, I mean you try not to think about stuff
like at the end of the day, you still got
to go out and execute your stuff. You know, sometimes
pitchers will say that the ball doesn't move the same,
and whether that's true or not, you got to be
able to adjust on the fly, so you know, at
the end of the day, we've got a great defense.
Try to fill the zone out with stripes and let
them work.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Brian King joining us here on the A team here
in advance of Game two of the three game series
with the Rockies. It wasn't that long ago. I'm curious
if it feels like it to you when you made
your major league debut not long after, a couple of
years after the Astros added you in the minor league
Rule five draft. Do you remember what it was like
going out there for the first time, over at then
(02:35):
minute Made Park now dyk In Park, And how you
felt coming out of the bullpen, how you felt seven
pitches later when your first major league outing was complete.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Oh. Absolutely. One of the biggest things I remember is
God Bless America started playing right after they called my name,
so I had a couple of seconds to just breathe
and try to call myself down a little bit. I
remember running out from the bullpen gate and the whole
time looking down at the grass, like stay focused, stay
present right here. We got a job to do, and
(03:05):
like you said, seven pitches later, we were backing the
dugout and I couldn't have been more thrilled.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Well, it sounds like we need to push this out there.
I don't know if it can stick. We were huge
fans of Ryan Presley's entering the game music. I mean,
shouldn't you be coming into the game with that same
music every time, no matter when you're coming into the game.
That sounds pretty sweet.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I'll have to talk to him and see if you
let me borrow it.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
See once she retires, it's fair game, right, Yeah, I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
There's still a little bit of respect, and you know,
you don't want to steal his thunder. I know the
fans really loved listening to that song when he came out,
and even for me personally, I get that. When I
think of that song, I think of Ryan Presley and
all the work he did, all the great things that
he'll teach us. You know, he's a mentor for a
(03:53):
lot of people. And hoping to get to chat with
him soon.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Here in a bit talking to Astro's reliever Brian King
here on Sports Talk seven ninety and I was talking
to Wex about this, like how we've never really talked
about an Astro's team at any point over the better
part of a decade where the pitching was not so
elite that you're looking at, oh, nine runs on this night,
eleven runs in this night. It's kind of weird coming
(04:19):
into the season, how much offense is going both ways
regardless of who you guys are playing on any given night.
Have you been a part of a situation like this
to start a season before.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
No, not to start a season, but you kind of
get games like this throughout the year. Like it's baseball.
There are gonna be times where the hitters are dialed in.
There's gonna be times where we're the ones dialed in
and keeping the scores low. But you know, it's just
it kind of comes and goes in ways, and right
now we're just gonna in one of those ways right
now where it's not going our way. But you know,
(04:54):
things can change quick.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Do you ever think about the fact that baseball is
the only sport where you can say what you just
said about one hundred different situations. Nobody ever says, yeah,
that's just basketball or that's just football. But when people
say it's just baseball, we know exactly what you mean.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah. I mean that's kind of the beauty this game.
Anybody can win on any given night. It doesn't matter
what place you're in. You play one hundred and sixty
two games, there's gonna be plenty that don't go your way.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
What was your vantage point last night at the game
when Cam Smith got a hold of one and absolutely
bombed one out of that ballpark.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, I was sitting there in the bullpen and I
saw a good contact off the bat, and you know
it's Colorado, so you know the ball can fly a
little bit. I didn't know he got it as well
as he did when you saw that ball leave the
playing shiels there, Like Dan, he touched that thing pretty good.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
A lot of guys will usually bond over different things,
especially out in the bullpen, and whether it's good, bad,
or otherwise. I'm curious how you view Tommy John. You're
one of many pitchers in baseball that has had it.
You're one of many pitchers in baseball that have been
very successful after having getting You're very far removed from
it now, but you know, when you think back to
going through that into where you are today, how does
that hit you? You know, Tommy John and the idea
(06:07):
that it certainly is far far from a career ending
injury is actually quite the opposite.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Yeah, in the in the moment, it was one of
those things where I actually I felt the sense of
peace when it happened. I don't know why. That's not
typically my personality. I like to do everything I can
to stay healthy, but for some reason, in that moment,
like I just I had a feeling that that was
where I was supposed to be and I knew I
could handle it. So it's not easy. There's no surgery
(06:36):
or or rehab that is easy. But sometimes you got
to take what God gives you and you know ultimately
that that was the plan, that that helped me get
to where I'm at.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
I look at a guy like yourself starting the Cubs organization,
joined the Astros organization a couple of years ago, and
now you're with the big club, and the way things
kind of fit into place. It certainly felt like you
fit in personality wise, maybe even background wise, with the
group you were with, and each year as they had
new and different players, I think about your place here
and how you get along with people of Ryan Weiss, similarly,
(07:11):
it feels like there's just the right mix of people.
Like if you're going to walk out of the clubhouse
on a getaway day and you're headed to the flight, Well,
there's you and your boots and jeans. There's Wiss and
his boot and jeans. That's Ryan Presley a couple of
years ago. Like, how does it always seem to work
out that these guys seem like the perfect fits for
the club?
Speaker 2 (07:30):
I think a lot of it is, you know, the
people that the clubs try to attract. I think part
of it is, you know, you spend time with guys
who kind of been through some tough situations, whether it's
on the field, off the field, everybody's kind of got
their own path, and I think the astros, especially, you're
(07:52):
good at finding guys who may not have had the typical,
you know, big time school to pick a lot of
guys are. You know, we always kind of look at
ourselves as misfits, like we didn't fit in other places,
and but there was something we did well and the
astros were very good at picking up on that and
(08:12):
maximizing that.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Well, since WEX brought it up and I have you
on the phone, I'm wearing a pair of Ostrich right now.
Are you more of a Gator guy? Do you like Python's? Like,
what do you roll with when you got the boots on?
Speaker 2 (08:23):
I've got a pair of Ostrich and then I've got
a pair of just like normal weather. Why not kind
of wear when I'm gonna get dirtier and when I
wear when I'm a little bit dressier.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Is there anything better than going into a store to
get a new pair and smelling that leather?
Speaker 2 (08:38):
The only thing else that I'd say might be a
little better as a new baseball glove. They're both pretty
dark close.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I figured you'd say something like that. That's a good answer,
all right, Brian King. We appreciate the time. Good luck
the rest of the way this season. I feel like
I need to tell you the obligatory stay healthy because
that's just what we always say, but especially with what
happened last year. So stay healthy and we look forward
to seeing you perform the rest of the year in
n a Astros uniform that's.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Your playing Thank you, guys. I appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
All right, Brian King here on Sports Talk seven nine
to your home for Astros Baseball and a big boot fan.
Thanks for getting that out of him.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Wex that was pretty obvious if you've watched him do
some of his work here off the field. I know,
I probably maybe last question could have been, when have
you and Josh and maybe Ryan and a few others
planned your latest upcoming hunting trip.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah, that is it's you know, I think I know
football players hunt, but I think an inordinate amount of
baseball players are just because of the time of their offseason.
That really is a big thing in Major League Baseball.
So yeah, that's on us for not delving further into that.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
But well, somewhat local flavor to many of the players
on the team, not only being Astros now, but a
lot of them from that not too far away places
and places where obviously that is something you can do.
Appreciate him joining us well a couple of things on
one of the things he had to say about the
what's going on on out there on the bullpen on
a day to day basis, not just in Colorado or
in West Sacramento, but throughout the season. Obviously, look ahead
(10:07):
into this evening's contest with Mike Burrows on the mound
for the Astros. As we continue here on a Tuesday
edition of the Eight Team
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