February 1, 2025 • 8 mins
Mookie talks about silencing the critics, his trip to Japan, and his rigorous offseason preparation.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We are coming down the home stretch here of Dodger Fest.
We are alive at Dodger Stadium. Thank you to Freddie Freeman.
I kept it together, you know, I didn't freak out
or fanboy out too much. Mookie bets with Freddy Freeman.
When do you think the line is when I could
stop asking him about that walk off grand slam.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm gonna set it at.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
For I don't know if I told for what.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Hey, by the way, the way I knew that was
a grand slam out of the ballpark was watching you
from my vantage point.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Oh yeah, I saw.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
You jump off.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Remember that.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I remember that, and that I remember seeing that that
moment of his bat hitting the ball and the this
what it looked like. I just instantly jumped and uh
yeah that was that was amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
That was That's what I saw. I saw you jump.
I've never seen you jump that high before. And then
Magic Johnson was right there and he like pointed at
me after after they I'm all.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Like, this is yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
That was crazy man. That was for him to do that.
I mean really the impressive thing was just he what
what he was going through together? Yeah, that was what
he's going through to get ready and you could not tell.
I mean, I guess you could tell, but you couldn't tell.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
At the same time, that seemed like, probably behind the scenes,
kind of set the tone for everybody else, whatever nagging
injury you had going on, this guy's going out there
with a broken ankle and bad ribs and all that.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
And it was like, no matter what, you just got
to get ready to play and get ready to play
and give us what you got. And everybody did. I
mean even show, you know, show played through uh hurting
his shoulder right there, and that was huge.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
That was that was for him, just.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
To show up and play every day and prepare like that.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Like you said, it's just set the example.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
You know. What I also remember was the first conversation
you and I had in spring training last year, how
you were on a mission. You had a chip on
your shoulder from day one, and and you it came
to fulfillment. You silenced all the critics.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah, that was that was good man, That was really good.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I was proud of myself, proud of myself for really
kind of locking myself in in uh, in the cage
and and really getting to it and getting after it
and then but you know it was really my teammates. Man,
that my teammates that that was the they're they're the best,
They're the best. I mean, those guys really rallied behind me.
(02:33):
You know, they were in the cage support me. I
mean it was it was really like unbelievable stuff that
nobody would ever hear or see. You know, those are
things that that helped us win. I mean yeah, but
my my teammates are really responsible for you know.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
A lot of that.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
You got the same guys coming back.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Yeah, that's the beauty. That's the beauty about it. So
I know, I'm good. I know I got my boys.
We we're gonna ride together. That's for damn sure.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That's what's special. You get to try to run this
back with the same group of guys.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Yeah, I mean obviously, you know doing it. There have
been no back to back so well, I mean there's
been something. It's been so long and so for us
to have an opportunity to do it, you know, that's
something special. Shout out to our front office for giving
us the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, so it'll be tough. You know, we still got
to play good Dodger.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Baseball so you just came back from Japan. Ye's been
on this radio station all last year, and I know
you're now the face of a certain extent.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
No, I mean I'm doing some work with him. But yeah,
that's cool.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Oh, Tany's the supporting cast, you're the main guy.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
No, that's that's a lot. That's a lot everywhere everywhere
I walked, everywhere we drove. You know, his signature was there,
he had been there, his picture was there.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
So it was really neat. It was really neat.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
It was really neat to see how how much a
country supports a player.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Did you realize how big he was there? I mean
we hear about it, but you got to see it firsthand.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Nah, Yeah, you don't really, you don't really. You can.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
You can picture it all you want, but do you
really see it to really see how how much he, uh,
he affects that country.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
It's wild.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Hey, Mookie Bets he dips his toe on Ventura Boulevard
once in a while. I heard you were in the
Grete one eight this off season taking ground balls and
shortstop putting in a lot of work.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
I mean I've been I've been working, man, I've been
working and so we'll see. You know, I'm a big
I'm a big, big person that thinks about you gotta
do it in the game. You can do it in
practice all day, but if you don't do it in
the game, then none of it really matters.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
How does it feel? I mean, it's got to be
somewhat of a relief to prepare instead of yeah, for
a full off season, instead of five days.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, I was, man, I was. I never.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
I've never I've never started training this early in my life.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
And so after a long season, after a long.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Season, like.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
The work I put in this off season, nobody would
even fathom it. And so I really feel like I'm
a new person there. So, like I said, we'll see.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
All right, before I let you go in, you got
your little boy with you on your lab. Mooki's doing
double duty daddy daycare today.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yeah, it's tough, but it is what it is. You know.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
He comes here and I want him to see what
daddy does and maybe he don't want to do it
one day.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
He's so cute too, Thank god, he looks like his mom.
All Right, Hey, MOOKI, I've been driving around the valley
the last couple of days since I heard Adam Silver
talk about floating out that you know, people think you're
coming to Dodger Fest and you want to talk to
Mookie Bets about baseball, not me. I had been bowming
at the mouth waiting to talk to you about this.
(05:48):
Adam Silver floating out that maybe the NBA is thinking
about shortening quarters from twelve minutes to ten minutes like
the euro and National because of low attention span and
just trying. The ratings are down a little bit in
the NBA. I don't. I'm just completely against doing that.
(06:08):
I wanted to hear what Mookie Be's thought about.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I feel like you would you would change change the game,
that would change the integrity of the game, because I
feel like there's like a pace and the timing that
that you develop playing basketball, just like you developed playing
anything else.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
But you know, even though there's a pitch clock in baseball,
there's still twenty seven outs.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, there's still twenty seven outs. I mean there's change.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
There's change that that people may not like that end
up being a really good thing. So you know, you
just got to be open minded to it. I'm not
saying I agree or disagree, but you simmer on that yeah,
I would have to think about that, because you know,
there that's some changes has been.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Really good, like the pitch clock. I know, I don't want.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
People to get hurt by any means, but you know,
just from a player position player perspective, it really.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Does speed the game up. You know. So my tweaks.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
For the NBA enlarge the court, which brings the three
point line back, and maybe it's a little bit more
challenging for bigger, more athletic players.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
So now you're just trying to Now we're just trying
to create a game. That's how good is that? Like,
that's how good Wemby is. We're trying to create a
game to slow him down. I mean, come on now,
I just like can't do that.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
The players in the seventies and eighties weren't as big
and fast as what they.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Are now, right right, I mean simmer.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
On that one too. We'll we'll regroup. Maybe you have
it on their next podcast. You have like an NBA
guy you were on all the Smoke. I enjoyed that.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
That was that was that was super cool. That was
super cool.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Here and two real basketball minds, So I'll be curious
to ask them.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Two basketball minds bowing at the altar of a great
baseball player.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, I guess I wouldn't call it that, but I did. Yeah,
but it was fun. It was fun. Those guys are awesome.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I love it all right. So when I see you
in Arizona, when you're making that long dry through the desert,
you'll be hearing my voice in your head saying, no way,
no way to a forty minute game. Expand the court.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Of a of a guy and let you know what
I come up with.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Okay, sounds good. We love you, mooky La really putting
their arms around you, Mooki, and I think it's always
sweet when a great athlete. People don't appreciate it. They
always want more, They want more, and you delivered, and
I know there's more.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Thank you, sir, Thank you, sir.
We are coming down the home stretch here of Dodger Fest.
We are alive at Dodger Stadium. Thank you to Freddie Freeman.
I kept it together, you know, I didn't freak out
or fanboy out too much. Mookie bets with Freddy Freeman.
When do you think the line is when I could
stop asking him about that walk off grand slam.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm gonna set it at.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
For I don't know if I told for what.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Hey, by the way, the way I knew that was
a grand slam out of the ballpark was watching you
from my vantage point.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Oh yeah, I saw.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
You jump off.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Remember that.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I remember that, and that I remember seeing that that
moment of his bat hitting the ball and the this
what it looked like. I just instantly jumped and uh
yeah that was that was amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
That was That's what I saw. I saw you jump.
I've never seen you jump that high before. And then
Magic Johnson was right there and he like pointed at
me after after they I'm all.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Like, this is yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
That was crazy man. That was for him to do that.
I mean really the impressive thing was just he what
what he was going through together? Yeah, that was what
he's going through to get ready and you could not tell.
I mean, I guess you could tell, but you couldn't tell.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
At the same time, that seemed like, probably behind the scenes,
kind of set the tone for everybody else, whatever nagging
injury you had going on, this guy's going out there
with a broken ankle and bad ribs and all that.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
And it was like, no matter what, you just got
to get ready to play and get ready to play
and give us what you got. And everybody did. I
mean even show, you know, show played through uh hurting
his shoulder right there, and that was huge.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
That was that was for him, just.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
To show up and play every day and prepare like that.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Like you said, it's just set the example.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
You know. What I also remember was the first conversation
you and I had in spring training last year, how
you were on a mission. You had a chip on
your shoulder from day one, and and you it came
to fulfillment. You silenced all the critics.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Yeah, that was that was good man, That was really good.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I was proud of myself, proud of myself for really
kind of locking myself in in uh, in the cage
and and really getting to it and getting after it
and then but you know it was really my teammates. Man,
that my teammates that that was the they're they're the best,
They're the best. I mean, those guys really rallied behind me.
(02:33):
You know, they were in the cage support me. I
mean it was it was really like unbelievable stuff that
nobody would ever hear or see. You know, those are
things that that helped us win. I mean yeah, but
my my teammates are really responsible for you know.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
A lot of that.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
You got the same guys coming back.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Yeah, that's the beauty. That's the beauty about it. So
I know, I'm good. I know I got my boys.
We we're gonna ride together. That's for damn sure.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
That's what's special. You get to try to run this
back with the same group of guys.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Yeah, I mean obviously, you know doing it. There have
been no back to back so well, I mean there's
been something. It's been so long and so for us
to have an opportunity to do it, you know, that's
something special. Shout out to our front office for giving
us the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, so it'll be tough. You know, we still got
to play good Dodger.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Baseball so you just came back from Japan. Ye's been
on this radio station all last year, and I know
you're now the face of a certain extent.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
No, I mean I'm doing some work with him. But yeah,
that's cool.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Oh, Tany's the supporting cast, you're the main guy.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
No, that's that's a lot. That's a lot everywhere everywhere
I walked, everywhere we drove. You know, his signature was there,
he had been there, his picture was there.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
So it was really neat. It was really neat.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
It was really neat to see how how much a
country supports a player.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Did you realize how big he was there? I mean
we hear about it, but you got to see it firsthand.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Nah, Yeah, you don't really, you don't really. You can.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
You can picture it all you want, but do you
really see it to really see how how much he, uh,
he affects that country.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
It's wild.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Hey, Mookie Bets he dips his toe on Ventura Boulevard
once in a while. I heard you were in the
Grete one eight this off season taking ground balls and
shortstop putting in a lot of work.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
I mean I've been I've been working, man, I've been
working and so we'll see. You know, I'm a big
I'm a big, big person that thinks about you gotta
do it in the game. You can do it in
practice all day, but if you don't do it in
the game, then none of it really matters.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
How does it feel? I mean, it's got to be
somewhat of a relief to prepare instead of yeah, for
a full off season, instead of five days.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, I was, man, I was. I never.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
I've never I've never started training this early in my life.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
And so after a long season, after a long.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Season, like.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
The work I put in this off season, nobody would
even fathom it. And so I really feel like I'm
a new person there. So, like I said, we'll see.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
All right, before I let you go in, you got
your little boy with you on your lab. Mooki's doing
double duty daddy daycare today.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yeah, it's tough, but it is what it is. You know.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
He comes here and I want him to see what
daddy does and maybe he don't want to do it
one day.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
He's so cute too, Thank god, he looks like his mom.
All Right, Hey, MOOKI, I've been driving around the valley
the last couple of days since I heard Adam Silver
talk about floating out that you know, people think you're
coming to Dodger Fest and you want to talk to
Mookie Bets about baseball, not me. I had been bowming
at the mouth waiting to talk to you about this.
(05:48):
Adam Silver floating out that maybe the NBA is thinking
about shortening quarters from twelve minutes to ten minutes like
the euro and National because of low attention span and
just trying. The ratings are down a little bit in
the NBA. I don't. I'm just completely against doing that.
(06:08):
I wanted to hear what Mookie Be's thought about.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I feel like you would you would change change the game,
that would change the integrity of the game, because I
feel like there's like a pace and the timing that
that you develop playing basketball, just like you developed playing
anything else.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
But you know, even though there's a pitch clock in baseball,
there's still twenty seven outs.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, there's still twenty seven outs. I mean there's change.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
There's change that that people may not like that end
up being a really good thing. So you know, you
just got to be open minded to it. I'm not
saying I agree or disagree, but you simmer on that yeah,
I would have to think about that, because you know,
there that's some changes has been.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Really good, like the pitch clock. I know, I don't want.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
People to get hurt by any means, but you know,
just from a player position player perspective, it really.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Does speed the game up. You know. So my tweaks.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
For the NBA enlarge the court, which brings the three
point line back, and maybe it's a little bit more
challenging for bigger, more athletic players.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
So now you're just trying to Now we're just trying
to create a game. That's how good is that? Like,
that's how good Wemby is. We're trying to create a
game to slow him down. I mean, come on now,
I just like can't do that.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
The players in the seventies and eighties weren't as big
and fast as what they.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Are now, right right, I mean simmer.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
On that one too. We'll we'll regroup. Maybe you have
it on their next podcast. You have like an NBA
guy you were on all the Smoke. I enjoyed that.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
That was that was that was super cool. That was
super cool.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Here and two real basketball minds, So I'll be curious
to ask them.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Two basketball minds bowing at the altar of a great
baseball player.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, I guess I wouldn't call it that, but I did. Yeah,
but it was fun. It was fun. Those guys are awesome.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I love it all right. So when I see you
in Arizona, when you're making that long dry through the desert,
you'll be hearing my voice in your head saying, no way,
no way to a forty minute game. Expand the court.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Of a of a guy and let you know what
I come up with.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Okay, sounds good. We love you, mooky La really putting
their arms around you, Mooki, and I think it's always
sweet when a great athlete. People don't appreciate it. They
always want more, They want more, and you delivered, and
I know there's more.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Thank you, sir, Thank you, sir.
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