September 19, 2025 • 5 mins
West Michigan Whitecaps Manager Tony Cappuccilli joins us to discuss the Whitecaps' championship season!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dwang in a mess, Strike three, a season of dominance
and ends at the pinnacle the West Michigan white Caps,
our twenty twenty five Midwest League champions.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
This is West Michigan's Morning News. Steve Kelly, Brad Makita,
and Laurence Smith joining us on the liveline. Manager of
the West Michigan white Caps, Tony Capicelli, Tony, thank you
for doing this today and congratulations.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Of course, thank yuch for having me.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
I appreciate it so Tony, congratulations. And we know it
was a long bus ride, so I got to ask
you this just to kind of make it easy with
our first question out of the gate. What was tough
for long bus ride? Or champagne in the eyes if
you didn't have the goggles on?
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Right? I kept the goggles off. I wanted to fill
the burn Ooh nice, that's what we like.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
I'm we like it.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Earn that championship. Yeah, you don't get to do that
very often, So I'm not I'm not gonna play it safe.
I'm not one with that.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Said our good friend Jim Jureki. I saw his quote.
He kind of has told me this before. He loves
your style, and what's it like in the minor leagues,
especially when you have all this talent around you and
then it comes and goes. Right, you lost some guys
after the first half. You guys were just as good
in the second half. I mean, guys like Isaac Pacheco
Midwest League Player of the Year. How do you manage
(01:17):
those guys? And he said that you're so great because
with them, you're not too high when things are going well,
you're not too low when things aren't going well.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah, I mean, we have to try to avoid the
ups and downs to the course of the season. You know,
it's a long year. You got one hundred and thirty games.
You know, most years you're not going to have what
we did. You're I think we lost three games in
a row twice, which is pretty absurd. So this year
is a little bit different than most years. But you
have to avoid the ups and downs just because it's
(01:47):
going to happen in the course of a.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Season when you have a team like this. I always
go to team chemistry and coaches talk about that and
that's amazing to me, and it is kudos to the
Tigers organization too. But I want you to talk about
with all the great players that we saw in a
white Caps uniform this year. How did they get along?
It seemed like they got along great.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
It was unbelievable. I mean, I've never had a group
of players like this. You know, you have a great
group of baseball players, but they're such a good group
of dudes, and they're they're so close. It's such a
tight knit group in the clubhouse, like the NonStop Shenanigans
and there are hilarious if you're seeing it was like
a fly on the wall. I've never seen a group
(02:30):
that was this close, especially with the turnover of players
that we had. You know, you lose some guys that
were key pieces to obviously our success on the field,
but key pieces in the clubhouse and the personality and
the culture of our clubhouse. And so when new guys
would come up from Lakeland, they just fit in so seamlessly.
It was incredible.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Tony Capachelli is our guest, fresh back from a long
bust trip with a Midwest League championship, your manager for
the white Caps, Midwest League manager of the Year, by
the way, and Tony, how do you feel for a
guy For those people who know isaacchi Go, he you know,
battled injuries. He's been with a white Caps seemed like
he's been in West Michigan forever, I think, over three seasons.
But for him to have that breakthrough moment and this
(03:10):
breakthrough second half of the season, I mean, couldn't happen
to a nicer guy. And he's now catapulting himself right
back in the farm system.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Right one hundred percent. He you know, there's there's not
a person you root for more than him, just with
the work he puts in, the quality person that he is,
the teammate he is, you know, the guy's incredible in
the clubhouse. I don't think we have somebody that works
with the intent that he does. So for him to
have the success that he had, it was so well deserved.
And I know, obviously with him being a senior here
(03:38):
in West Michigan, as we like to joke about with him,
it was good for him to have that that big year.
I know, he came in early, you know, in his
career as a kind of highly touted prospect and you know,
didn't put up the numbers that he's capable of, and
especially after those guys left early in the season, I mean,
he kind of put the team on his back and
led us to the entire second half. So it was
(03:59):
so cool to see him have the success he had.
And he's just such a good dude, Like there's nobody
harder than him, So we're so excited for him.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
I don't know the answer this question, and I'm sure
our fans want to know, and we're exciting because we're
on pins and needles with our tigers, right the parent club.
So after you have a nice cigar and look out
over LMCU Ballpark, make if maybe take a few photos
with the championship trophy? What is next for you? I mean,
do you have to help somewhere else in the minor
league system? Do you help the parent club? What happens
for Tony after this?
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I'm gonna fly home to Las Vegas tomorrow afternoon. We
pick up my daughter at about five o'clock and then
we're gonna go watch Malana I and Frozen on repeat
until spring training.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
That is tell me you've got the costumes all set.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
I'm afraid of what he's gonna try to put me in.
So's but that's my off season. I love it.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
That's awesome. Coach. Well, hey, you know what, congratulations to you.
In the entire white Caps organization. You know how quality
they are.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
By the way, it's incredible. I mean there's you know,
we get we get to go to some ballparks all
around this league and get to try around and there's
for one like there's no fan base like ours. We
just it blows away every other art that we go to.
Our fans are incredible. You know, our front office here
is unbelievably supportive. You know, our ballpark is beautiful. They're
welcome by amazing people. You know, our our field are
(05:15):
playing service. Mitch does an incredible job. I mean, everything
about the place's first class. And we're just incredibly grateful
to be able to be here and come to work
here every day.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
That is the Midwest League Manager of the Year of
the champion West Michigan white Caps, Tony Capicelli. Thanks man,
you have a great offseason.
Dwang in a mess, Strike three, a season of dominance
and ends at the pinnacle the West Michigan white Caps,
our twenty twenty five Midwest League champions.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
This is West Michigan's Morning News. Steve Kelly, Brad Makita,
and Laurence Smith joining us on the liveline. Manager of
the West Michigan white Caps, Tony Capicelli, Tony, thank you
for doing this today and congratulations.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Of course, thank yuch for having me.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
I appreciate it so Tony, congratulations. And we know it
was a long bus ride, so I got to ask
you this just to kind of make it easy with
our first question out of the gate. What was tough
for long bus ride? Or champagne in the eyes if
you didn't have the goggles on?
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Right? I kept the goggles off. I wanted to fill
the burn Ooh nice, that's what we like.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
I'm we like it.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Earn that championship. Yeah, you don't get to do that
very often, So I'm not I'm not gonna play it safe.
I'm not one with that.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Said our good friend Jim Jureki. I saw his quote.
He kind of has told me this before. He loves
your style, and what's it like in the minor leagues,
especially when you have all this talent around you and
then it comes and goes. Right, you lost some guys
after the first half. You guys were just as good
in the second half. I mean, guys like Isaac Pacheco
Midwest League Player of the Year. How do you manage
(01:17):
those guys? And he said that you're so great because
with them, you're not too high when things are going well,
you're not too low when things aren't going well.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yeah, I mean, we have to try to avoid the
ups and downs to the course of the season. You know,
it's a long year. You got one hundred and thirty games.
You know, most years you're not going to have what
we did. You're I think we lost three games in
a row twice, which is pretty absurd. So this year
is a little bit different than most years. But you
have to avoid the ups and downs just because it's
(01:47):
going to happen in the course of a.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Season when you have a team like this. I always
go to team chemistry and coaches talk about that and
that's amazing to me, and it is kudos to the
Tigers organization too. But I want you to talk about
with all the great players that we saw in a
white Caps uniform this year. How did they get along?
It seemed like they got along great.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
It was unbelievable. I mean, I've never had a group
of players like this. You know, you have a great
group of baseball players, but they're such a good group
of dudes, and they're they're so close. It's such a
tight knit group in the clubhouse, like the NonStop Shenanigans
and there are hilarious if you're seeing it was like
a fly on the wall. I've never seen a group
(02:30):
that was this close, especially with the turnover of players
that we had. You know, you lose some guys that
were key pieces to obviously our success on the field,
but key pieces in the clubhouse and the personality and
the culture of our clubhouse. And so when new guys
would come up from Lakeland, they just fit in so seamlessly.
It was incredible.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Tony Capachelli is our guest, fresh back from a long
bust trip with a Midwest League championship, your manager for
the white Caps, Midwest League manager of the Year, by
the way, and Tony, how do you feel for a
guy For those people who know isaacchi Go, he you know,
battled injuries. He's been with a white Caps seemed like
he's been in West Michigan forever, I think, over three seasons.
But for him to have that breakthrough moment and this
(03:10):
breakthrough second half of the season, I mean, couldn't happen
to a nicer guy. And he's now catapulting himself right
back in the farm system.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Right one hundred percent. He you know, there's there's not
a person you root for more than him, just with
the work he puts in, the quality person that he is,
the teammate he is, you know, the guy's incredible in
the clubhouse. I don't think we have somebody that works
with the intent that he does. So for him to
have the success that he had, it was so well deserved.
And I know, obviously with him being a senior here
(03:38):
in West Michigan, as we like to joke about with him,
it was good for him to have that that big year.
I know, he came in early, you know, in his
career as a kind of highly touted prospect and you know,
didn't put up the numbers that he's capable of, and
especially after those guys left early in the season, I mean,
he kind of put the team on his back and
led us to the entire second half. So it was
(03:59):
so cool to see him have the success he had.
And he's just such a good dude, Like there's nobody
harder than him, So we're so excited for him.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
I don't know the answer this question, and I'm sure
our fans want to know, and we're exciting because we're
on pins and needles with our tigers, right the parent club.
So after you have a nice cigar and look out
over LMCU Ballpark, make if maybe take a few photos
with the championship trophy? What is next for you? I mean,
do you have to help somewhere else in the minor
league system? Do you help the parent club? What happens
for Tony after this?
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I'm gonna fly home to Las Vegas tomorrow afternoon. We
pick up my daughter at about five o'clock and then
we're gonna go watch Malana I and Frozen on repeat
until spring training.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
That is tell me you've got the costumes all set.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
I'm afraid of what he's gonna try to put me in.
So's but that's my off season. I love it.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
That's awesome. Coach. Well, hey, you know what, congratulations to you.
In the entire white Caps organization. You know how quality
they are.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
By the way, it's incredible. I mean there's you know,
we get we get to go to some ballparks all
around this league and get to try around and there's
for one like there's no fan base like ours. We
just it blows away every other art that we go to.
Our fans are incredible. You know, our front office here
is unbelievably supportive. You know, our ballpark is beautiful. They're
welcome by amazing people. You know, our our field are
(05:15):
playing service. Mitch does an incredible job. I mean, everything
about the place's first class. And we're just incredibly grateful
to be able to be here and come to work
here every day.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
That is the Midwest League Manager of the Year of
the champion West Michigan white Caps, Tony Capicelli. Thanks man,
you have a great offseason.
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