December 9, 2024 • 35 mins
Simon Gregersen and Robert Hogan join Darren Headrick and Darren Williams to talk Kentucky Baseball.
Podcast presented by American Trust Wealth.
Podcast presented by American Trust Wealth.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into another episode of Behind Kentucky Baseball. We're here
at Kentucky Proud Park. I'm Darren Hedrick, my co host
Darren Williams alongside and dubbed this episode. Obviously we're this
podcast is called Behind Kentucky Baseball, but today we're stepping
into the spin zone, right.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hell yeah, we're excited. Man, play some Mac Miller.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Let's got it there.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Love that we've got a familiar face with us in
Robert Hogan, who was a part of last year's run
of the College World Series, and a new face Simon Gregorson,
who a lot of Kentucky fans got to see pitch
at Kentucky Proud Park last year with Indiana State. Now
a member of the Wildcats pitching staff. And Simon, great
to have you here. Man, We're excited to do it,
to watch you do your thing.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Yes, thank you, it's been it's been a wild ride.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
We can't wait. I'm excited to get to know Simon,
especially these two having the relationship that they do. Man
and I got I gotta start with my boy, Robert Hogan.
Bobby Spins. What's it like back now as the big
veteran you know, you've been through this once. Everybody in
the building can know what you do and what you
what you can do at this level. What's been year two?
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Like, so far, it's been fantastic, Honestly, I love it.
Especially I got some like familiar faces now with Cole
Hage and my boys Simon over here, Like having them
here is awesome, And it's something where being here, like
I actually know what we're doing, what's going on, what
the team is supposed to look like. And being able
(01:31):
to kind of be that veteran and know everything that's
supposed to happen, it like makes me more comfortable and
helps me teach the freshmen and kind of bring them
up to speed. And I think the freshmen have kind
of accepted everything that everyone said and they've done a great.
Speaker 6 (01:47):
Job so far this year. And I just I think
it's it's so fun.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
A lot of raven on the freshmen, a lot of
so far about with our guests, that's right.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
That's right. Yeah, we're gonna have to get these young
guys on at some point. Speaking of what you just
talked about, kind of building off that, Robert, obviously, when
you're playing in college over a career, guys come and go,
they graduate, or they transfer. But this is a unique
case where a lot of the guys that you fought
alongside last year and battled with either graduated or were drafted,
(02:17):
and now a lot of new faces. So to that point,
having some of these guys that you're you have known
for a long time coming in here, how much did
that help to have some friendly faces in the locker room?
Speaker 5 (02:28):
It's it helps a lot, honestly, especially me and Simo. Geez,
we've known each other for what seven years now at
least at least and same with age, and it's something
that like we just kind of go back to our roots,
you know, And I know having Simo here is going
to help push me. I mean, he likes to spend
the ball, and I like to spend the ball, so
we're gonna see you can spend it.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
The best, Simon for you. I mean, coming into a
brand new program, new staff, new surroundings, but having a
guy like Hogan in the locker room, how much did
that help you settle in to a new environment.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
I think it was more of you know that you
have a job. You know that he's competing for the
same job as you. You know that he's very good.
You know that, you know you're trying to be the
best version of you. It's a lot nicer to be
able to kind of look at him and be able
to compete with him because you know that he's going
to give you your absolute best. Because you've known this
(03:20):
guy for so long, you know that he is an
extreme competitor, and I like to think that him and
I compete at a very similar level. So being able
to have a lot of those guys in locker room
that compete extremely well and are extremely aggressive, it's really
it's really simple to kind of be able to get
behind that and compete with them.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah, some of my first question for you is before
we get into your relationship with Rob or Uk at all,
let's take it back to last May Man. You're a
Indiana State team, had an unbelievable season, unbelievable past two seasons,
and me and Darren were on the call that regional
final game where you slung the rock. You had an incredible,
(04:06):
very impressive outing in front of eight thousand people that
did not want you to have a get outing at
the time. What was what was the KPP regional atmosphere
like for a visiting player.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Intimidating to say the least. The fans here doing an
amazing job of letting the players know that they have
their backs and that they aren't straying away from them.
I'm fortunate enough to have met a few fans here.
I've actually played here at least once in the past
(04:39):
for two years that I played for Indiana State, so
I did have a little bit of familiar faces in
the crowd. But really, when when I was jogging in
from the outfield bullpen and just seeing everybody just erupt
knowing that I'm coming into a dogfight, like I'm here
to battle, they are here to battle, and the fans
(05:02):
are not on my side. And I always like to
talk about all the all the kids in the background
that like to jump up, yell and scream. I think
that that's awesome, whether you're facing it or whether that
you know whether they're on your side or not, like
being able to see you know, from from kids to
adults to grandparents. Uh, the fans really do a great
(05:26):
job here, and it's intimidating and it's extremely fun.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
So when you were in the transfer portal and getting recruited,
obviously you can see the facilities. You can talk to
the coaches, but pitching in that environment and the and
the takeaways you took from that, how much did that
weigh on the decision when you decided on Kentucky.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
When when I was kind of getting down and making
a decision, you know, they they had asked me if
if they wanted me to, you know, come here, come
on a visit. Rob and I were going back and forth.
We were really kind of chatting it up to be
able to be like, you know, is is this for real? Like,
you know, is this what what people say it is?
Is this actually what I experienced? Or was that kind
(06:11):
of new and being able to have played here, to
have pitched here, to kind of know the facilities. We
had an extreme rain out during that regional, so I
was able to go underneath the field into the batting cages.
I was able to see a lot of the things
that are kind of behind the scenes here at KPP.
(06:33):
That really was like I can see myself there, I
can see myself calling that place home. And being able
to have Hogi here and Hage here, It was like, yeah,
I feel like this is the perfect spot for me.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Makes a difference, don't they Hogy.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
From being from here, it's it's really different because you
understand the culture of you know, growing up in Kentucky,
you root for like Kentucky basketball, football, baseball is your
professional sports team. And they showed out last May. I
mean the crowds were insane for the regional and super regional.
(07:13):
Welcome to the SEC. I mean that's gonna be every
week that's every weekend here on the road. How many
how much experience have you had playing in the SEC?
You've have you been to places other than Kentucky.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Yeah, I mean we played against Kentucky in a three
game series two years ago. We played Vanderbilt each year.
I would say another place that has a very similar
SEC environment was when we went to TCU. That was
extremely intimidating. But other than that, I mean Vanderbilt in
Kentucky has been pretty much like the main places that
(07:46):
I can remember playing at that was significantly louder, significantly
more fans, and a significantly higher like competitive outlook by fans.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Players.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
You have to be just a static and fired up
to be playing SEC baseball every weekend and the spring
is absolute war for an entire weekend.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
I can't wait.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
So, and that kind of brings me to another question,
and we'll come back to Robert and w could probably
answer this to a little bit. And that's with Kentucky
traveling to some of these mid major programs. You went
to Southern Illinois, you went to Eastern Kentucky last year.
I can't see upstate and you see Upstate as well.
Up State, those guys love it when the big Dogs
(08:32):
come to their ballpark.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Oh yeah, And I'm schedule hadn't come out yet, but
I would assume that there's a couple of mid major
trips you know, on but you have to get used
to that. I think that's one of the best things
that we did changing from the twenty two to twenty
three schedule is twenty two, we went on the road
for one weekend and then we were here, you know,
the whole other non conference. In twenty three, we flipped
(08:55):
that and we went on the road for two weekends.
We went on the road for a couple of midweek games, right,
And it just prepares you better because when you know,
eight thousand people are screaming for you to lose when
you are in college station or fourteen thousand in Baton Rouge,
like you got to be used to being the only
people in the entire building that want to have success
(09:16):
and want to win. But another you know, and these
two can speak to it very well because they're they've
both pitched in late inning games in big spots that
just fires up the adrenaline. Like and this guy to
my right, Robert Hogan, he rolls on adrenaline, right, and
it dials in your confidence, it dials in your focus
(09:40):
a little more so pitching in them big time moments
on the road, Like you, that's something you learn over time.
And I think scheduling the way we have in the
last two years has helped us have more success on
the road in the conference.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
What was it like pitching in those postseason environments for
you last year?
Speaker 6 (09:58):
It was it was unreal. It was so fun.
Speaker 5 (10:01):
I mean, it was one of those things where I
haven't really gotten to experience pitching in the postseason yet,
and having that many fans behind you and you can
just tell they're all cheering and they got your back.
It like Dove said, it's it's that adrenaline. Adrenaline just
running through the body and being able to pitch and
know everyone has your back and just knowing that you're like,
I'm gonna do everything, not only for the team, but
(10:23):
for these fans.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
And I think it was.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
Just one of the greatest experiences ever and it's something
that you can't get back.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
What was the adrenaline like first time you're running out
of the bullpen in Omaha? Because that, I mean, that's
gotta be a different type of adrenaline.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
You could talk about all the environments you want to,
that one is different. I mean, I'm.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Gonna be honest, that people here is great. Twenty three.
Speaker 5 (10:49):
Yeah, it was that I'm not gonna lie was probably
the most nerve wracking, like I've ever been. Yeah, like pitching,
like because it's like you got twenty three thousand people
just rounding you and you're just like, all right, this
is a little bit more than yeah, like this is
a little bit more than usual, but here we go.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Like, I think that's a great experience though for everybody
coming back to this year's team, because you've walked out
there and done that, it doesn't matter, like, yeah, you
can do whatever situation that you get thrown into this
year basis loaded one out, Okay, cool, I'll pitched got this.
You know how much confidence does that give you?
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Because it's like even like with our inner squads, it's like, okay,
I like roselle. It tells us like we've been to Omaha,
like you should not be nervous about anything stepping on
a field, if we're at uc Upstate, if we're here,
if we're at Ole Miss, like anywhere, Like you've been
to the biggest stage in college baseball and you've pitched there.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Was it everything that you had dreamed of? Cause it
was it was awfully cool being there. We had a
good time. Man, we had a good time.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
How fun too? Was it for you? As the fans
embraced the team, They embraced all the eccentricities of the team,
let's get weird stuff. They embraced Bobby's spins. What was
that like for you?
Speaker 6 (12:07):
That was fun?
Speaker 5 (12:08):
It was something where I've never really had like a
nickname like that. And you know, I loved how everyone
kind of took to it, you know, being that guy like, oh,
he's gonna come spend the ball, spin the ball, and
like I mean I was, I mean, come on, the
Spins is playing. What else do you think I'm gonna throw,
you know, and it's something that like it's cool to
(12:28):
like know like that you kind of have that like
purpose or like that meaning, you know, and it just
kind of gives you that confidence that, like, you know what,
like I'm gonna do this for everyone here.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
I don't think that's the only nickname he's got.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Yeah, got a few of them.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
This got another one.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Maybe Simon might be able to tell us something more
on that one.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
That's what I'm hitting at.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
I can tell you in my phone.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
Rob's contact is Rob Bob Robert Bobert Spin.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
I like it.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Very official, very professional.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yeah, so let's go.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Let's dive in a little bit into your Roles relationship. Hogy.
You get home from Omaha, you see your boys, Simon's
in the portal. What are you thinking?
Speaker 5 (13:17):
I mean I was literally in Coozi's office and we
were just talking about how the Indiana state coach just left.
And I was like, oh, I know exactly who to call.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (13:25):
I was like, yo, Simo, uh, you want to come
and play play at Kentucky?
Speaker 1 (13:30):
You want to go?
Speaker 6 (13:31):
You want to talk to Koozi real quick?
Speaker 5 (13:32):
And he was like wait, what, like because I mean,
I mean I told Kozy, I'm like, you know him.
I'm like, he's the guy that carved us up in
the regional.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
And I just literally just saw it too.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
Yeah, and I'm like he's like that, he's competitor. I mean,
I mean, if you want another me on the team,
I mean I think it's great. Oh yeah, Like I mean,
Simo is gonna fit perfect. He's got that leader, that
leadership ability, He's got that competitive edge, he's got that
dog in him.
Speaker 6 (13:58):
I said, I'm like, he's guy.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Heave. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
I was like, I'm going to call Simo. I know
he'll love it.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
So what was that phone call like for you?
Speaker 4 (14:05):
Nerve wracking? I had literally just recently hit the portal.
I was on my way to lift and I had
gotten a call from Rob and I was like, hey, man,
like like what's up, Like you guys are you know,
you guys are in it? Like like what's going on?
And he's like no, like like you're in the portal right?
(14:26):
And I was like, dude, are we really talking about? Yeah,
the biggest stage, Like like I'm sitting there watching the TV,
nervous for you.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
And I'm not even there.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
Yeah, And he's like, well, you know you're in the portal,
do you want to talk to our pitching coach? And
at the time, I was like recently in the portal,
like I didn't really know like what was going on
or what kind of interest level there was. So I
was like, hey, like absolutely, like you want to give
him my phone number? And he's like, why don't you
just talk.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
To him right now?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
I was like, wait, what do you mean?
Speaker 4 (14:59):
Was going yeah, and and Rob is a guy that
when something needs to get done, it gets done now.
So all of a sudden, I'm sitting at a red
light and I'm talking to him like he's like, here
you go, and I'm like, wait, what, I don't have
anything like prepared. I don't have anything like I like
to do a lot of research on it, just to
(15:20):
make sure that I'm asking all the right questions. And
I'm getting what I want to know out of a
phone call. And now I'm talking to him straight up
right then and there, and he's, oh man, it was.
It was nerve wracking, but at the same time, like
I've already told him several times like I wouldn't be
here unless he was willing to call me.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
And that just speaks volume.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
So how did you two? How did you two grow
to become friends?
Speaker 4 (15:45):
So we played on the same club team in Minnesota,
and then baseball and baseball at the club level wasn't
a big thing in Minnesota. Like actually, a lot of
high school coaches didn't really want you to play club
baseball because it kind of took away from from their
fall ball kind of like development piece where they are
(16:08):
allowed to kind of work with you.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Right.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
So him and I had played club baseball together, and
then we actually played against each other. Now, I'm from
northern Minnesota, Rob's from more of like the Metro City area,
and I had actually signed on with a team to
play in the Senior Salute Tournament when Covid hit for
(16:31):
a different team that was in his division. So Rob
and I actually got to face each other one v one. Now,
I don't really like to talk a whole.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Lot about it.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
I didn't win that battle.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Rob was an extremely good hitter and an extremely good
pitcher at the time, and he ended up hitting a
triple off me. You can ask him. You can ask him.
He's more than willing.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
To show you the video.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Him in the box nowadays, though.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
Man, nowadays, he has no chance but then Rob went
Juco down at Nayak in Iowa, and I went Juco
down at DMAC and Iowa also in the same kind.
So DMAK and Nayak have been rivaling for quite a
long time. And I got to face Nayak quite a lot,
(17:26):
and they didn't really like me a whole lot.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
That's fine. The only people that need to like it
or us, right exactly.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
But hey, if you want to tell him about the
Nayak DMAC showdown, you can.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, so the DMAC Nayak showdown.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
It was at our place.
Speaker 5 (17:44):
It's a small park and everything like that, and dug
out super close to each other, and I did not
have the.
Speaker 6 (17:51):
Best hitting that weekend at all.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
And his team was chirping me because of course Simon
had to give him the load down, right, and so
they were just like kind of chirping me on where
I was committed blah blah blah blah blah. And then
I get on the mound and someone was like, oh, yeah,
by the way, he's gonna throw you sliders and he's
gonna throw hard, and they're like okay, and then they
just keep chirping and chirping and chirping. And I mean
(18:17):
I pitched good, but I could not hit because I
just could hear him chirping the entire time.
Speaker 6 (18:22):
The whole.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
That's when you decide to be a po.
Speaker 6 (18:24):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
A lot of people don't know this about Rob. Rob
was an extremely good hitter hockey player. Yeah, he he
could hit so well, and a lot of people see
him now as you know Bobby spins and you know
he's up there throwing fuel and he's spinning the heck
out of it like he was an extremely good hitter.
(18:49):
And looking at him now and now, obviously I don't think.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Who would be the best hitter on the pitching staff
this year Bobby spins.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Well, we do have a couple of freshmen that are
two ways that I think should be canceled out of
the runnings number.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Yeah, just post, yeah, best best po If you gave
Rob some time to swing the bat a little bit,
I pay for Jackson no to swing.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I would love to see Cole Henschel swing.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Oh, I would love to see that too.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
Absolutely sounds to me like we've got a challenge now.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
That's what I'm saying. We'll talk to coach Rozelles.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
See if it's okay with him.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Let's take a quick time out to tell our listeners
about American Trust Wealth, the proud presenting sponsor of behind
Kentucky Baseball. American Trust Wealth, a Kentucky proud wealth services
firm offering financial planning and investment management for over forty years.
You can find out more at American Trust Wealth dot com.
That's American Trust Wealth dot com. Just a little background
(19:55):
for our listeners. You both are from Minnesota's it's safe
to say, right outside Minniepple basically, so.
Speaker 5 (20:01):
I'm right outside Minneapoli because so I'm like twenty minutes
probably from there, and sign was about hour and a
half maybe our fifteen like Elk River area North.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Okay, So were you guys like maybe thirty minutes apart.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Then forty five forty five something like.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
Depending on the traffic, Yeah, Minnesota traffic.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
What was it like trying to You've already talked about
a little bit how they really didn't want you to
play club baseball? So where did the love for baseball
start growing up in Minnesota? Because obviously that's a hockey
football area and yeah, basketball, but where did the love
for baseball come from.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
For me, it was the fact that my parents didn't
really want me to play hockey. All my siblings played hockey,
and growing up, I played a lot, and it was like,
you know, I fell in love for baseball because all
my older brothers played baseball and I have six siblings.
(21:01):
I have three brothers and three sisters, and my dad
would just like group all of the guys together, like, hey,
if I'm going to drop you off at baseball practice,
you guys are all playing on the same team. So
I played several grades above me, and it came down
to I had the confidence to play at a high
(21:23):
level for my age, some might say. And then all
my siblings played hockey. But I kind of wanted to
just keep playing baseball, like I loved it. I was
good at it, you know, I wanted to keep going.
And my dad was like, well, you know, maybe we
should find you a fall team just to kind of, like,
you know, keep playing, so then you know you're staying
(21:45):
in shape and all this kind of stuff. And then
I ended up at a Blizzard try out an hour
and a half, you know, south of where I am
used to playing, you know, and that's kind of where
I met him.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I heard you guys talking about Blizzard where we started
this podcast. Explain to our listeners what Blizzard is.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
So, Blizzard Baseball was located in Vadness Heights of Minnesota.
Rob and I played there. Rob has formerly coached there.
I coached there during the off seasons during the wintertime,
and basically it's just a large family of just lovers
(22:25):
of baseball.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Like it's cool.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Like I said earlier, baseball isn't a big thing in Minnesota,
and Blizzard is a travel ball organization. They travel all
across the country and play the best talent and they
bring everybody from anywhere. Cole Hage, North Dakota guy, he
came and played.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Blizzard with us.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
I've had former players from South Dakota, Wisconsin.
Speaker 6 (22:51):
I had some guys from Texas too, Yep, a.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
Couple of guys from Texas. But basically we're trying to
bring at the Blizzard the love for the game, to show,
you know, scouts, and to show college institutions that we
have some guys in Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Like it's not just up there too. Yeah, it's not
just hockey and football. Like, we got some legit baseball.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Players that come out of there and It's pretty crazy that,
you know, both Rob and I ended up at the
same time.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
So die hard Twins fans all your life.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
I love.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Oh yeah, teams for sale if you want to buy them,
good luck.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
I'm hoping to play for them instead.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
That'd be cool.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
So low key was the American League Central one of
the hardest divisions this year, with three teams in the
playoffs and the Twins being pretty good themselves. You got
the Tigers and the Royals and the Guardians all in
there that that's a pretty stout division.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (23:46):
Yeah, But then you got to think about it's the Minnesota.
Speaker 6 (23:49):
It's Minnesota Nesota sports.
Speaker 5 (23:51):
Where uh one day, man, Yeah, I mean, you get
to the playoffs and we lose first round.
Speaker 6 (23:56):
It's just how Minnesota is.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
But I will say fortunate enough. Now some might say fortunate,
but while they were at Almaha, I was able to
go and watch the Twins there you go, and the
atmosphere there as well has grown so much.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
It's a nice ballpark to target field.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Yeah, and it's it's been really hard now. You know,
everybody talks about like you have to have a good
team to bring in fans, but with the Minnesota weather
and how it changes and all the ups and downs.
The Twins lately, you know, in the last five to
ten years, have been able to bring in a lot
more people that are passionate about baseball, and that, to
(24:42):
me is probably the most impressive thing that the Twins
have done.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Now.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
They've had a lot of great runs, they've had a
lot of really good teams, they've had a lot of
all stars that have come through there, but being able
to grow the game of baseball in Minnesota has been
outrageously good.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
I gotta ask you a question you're and you can
explain to the listeners since you may be the expert
on it. You're from Minnesota, you played at Indiana State.
How do you pitch in freezing cold weather? Because you've
done it a lot, it sounds like, I mean, in January,
February and March, how do you get hot to where
(25:21):
that you're not shivering out there on the mound? You know,
you have a routine or anything specific.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
A lot of coaches say that, like being cold in
that kind of stuff is kind of a mindset. Honestly,
It's kind of the same thing that I do with
the crowd. Like when I get out there, I get
to kind of stand on my on the mound and
I just get to kind of get a second with myself,
and it's like, you know what, it's you. It's you
(25:50):
and the catcher, It's you and your team. Like all
of the outside things don't matter because I can look
up and I can see all the crowd, and I
can step off the mound and I can feel myself shivering.
But at the end of the day, like you are
out there because you are the best person for the job.
Roselle harps on it all the time, like if you're
(26:12):
out there on the mound, then you're the best pitcher.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Yeah, Like you are the guy out there.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
So when you're out there and it's freezing, a lot
of the times, it's raining. Every time I've played here
at KPP, it's been raining, and it's like, you know what,
I have to get my job done. I have to
give my team a chance to win, and I'm just
gonna do the best that I can, no matter how cold,
no matter how hot, no matter how crowded, no matter
(26:37):
how loud. I need to do the best that I
can to give my chance with my team a chance
to win.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Win anyway. I love tip of the spear. I love it.
I love it talking with you HOGI about how coach
Roselle and coach Salo and coach Minge have worked with
this pitching staff coming off of the College World Series appearance.
You know, it's easy to roll into school in August
(27:02):
September and be like, you know what, we did it
last year, Like we're good, we don't have to work hard.
And I guarantee that they're not letting you guys do that.
So how have they pushed you guys to a point
where we get back this year?
Speaker 5 (27:14):
I think the biggest thing that they're they're pushing on
us is like throw strikes, like you're here for a reason.
I mean, every single one of us is here for
a reason. There's no one else they'd rather be here
than us, right, you know, and they keep pushing like
if we're gonna win, we're gonna throw strikes. If we're
gonna win, it's gonna be off pitching in defense. And
(27:35):
that's how you get back. I mean, that's how you
win championships. Right, And every time Roselle talks to us
like he forces us to like whenever we're in the bullpen,
I mean, you know it, like Yeah.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
It's you locate. You locate, you locate.
Speaker 5 (27:48):
You don't try, you don't like go all out, you
don't throw your body where it's not used to. Mmm,
it's you compete. And that's like Minch says all the time,
you compete no matter what it is. And that's what
I think is going to bring us back because I
love how everyone that has come here and that has
transferred in or that's new, they've embraced it, they've embodied it,
(28:09):
you know, and they've been everyone has been able to like,
you know what, we're gonna compete. We're we're going to
really just be all into the program and everything that
everyone's telling.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
How much does having Devin Burkes back again help that
It actually helps it tremendously.
Speaker 5 (28:25):
I Mean, you know him, you know how his energy
from behind the dish, the way that he communicates, the
way that he takes control of the game, you know,
and he's talking to the picture no matter what. Like
even during games, like the biggest games of the year,
you see him back there, like hey, keep that shoulder in,
Like hey through me, like you know, like just stay
with us, like.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Because coach behind home Blake literally yeah.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
And like we just talked about the other day, like,
it's better for us to have your peers, like your
teammates tell you what you need to do, then have
a coach keep harping on it because you know what
you're gonna more than likely listen to your teammates is better, Right,
That's a fact. And so having Devo back and really
like him helping out even Raf and the freshman catcher,
(29:11):
like they listen and they want to get better, just
like Devo.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
It takes a championship level catcher to get to Omaha. Oh,
no doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
The middle it's where the championships are born, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
What have you seen out of Coach Rozel so far,
Simon that you know you guys are working on, and
also what this pitching staff is like so far?
Speaker 4 (29:30):
You know, Uh, coming from Indiana State, I've closed the
regional two years ago. They sent us the TCU two
years ago. This last year we came to the regional here.
Being able to kind of have the experience of pitching
in the postseason has been a tremendous gift that I've
been blessed with and coming here it is like everything
(29:55):
that I think about of what I need to do
to get myself back and ready to go. Like Roselle
is already one step ahead of us. Like we we
harp a lot on you know, throwing strikes, but a
lot about Roselle as a pitching coach is leadership throughout
their staff. We talk a lot about what we need
(30:19):
to do to get back and a lot of that
is from our former teammates and from like our former
guys that have been to Omaha that that knows what
it takes. I mean, we we are fortunate enough to
have guys to call each other out to be like, hey,
like that isn't going to get us where we need
to go.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
We need to get back on track.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
Yeah, and having them kind of be like the guidelines
for us to kind of get us going in the
right direction. You know, we talk about the tip of
the spirit all the time. It's like they're you know,
they're on the outside and they're they're pushing us forward
to be able to get all of us together as one,
to be able to go out there and compete. Because
(31:02):
when you hand the ball off, you know that you
know what, right now, I don't have this stuff to
do it, but this guy will. I did whatever I
could to help the team win. This guy's gonna come
in and do the exact same thing. And being able
to have that leadership and that trust in the pitching staff, honestly,
to me, is one of the most important things.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
I know. It's one of the most important things to
Roselle as well.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
I love that, no doubt about it. I was just
sitting here, and I know we've already talked to you
about coming to Kentucky and the decisions in the transfer portal,
but I was sitting here thinking about the fact that
as we tape this, I'm joined by three guys who
all had an experience in the transfer portal, and it's
part of the game now, it's going to be part
of the game in the future. All three of you
(31:47):
had a different experience in the portal, and Simon, I'm
just curious about yours because your program that you were
with in Indiana State was going through a coaching change.
Your head coach got another opportunities somewhere and decided to
take that. So what was the experience like with your
program going through a change and then you deciding to
(32:09):
get into the portal and come to Kentucky. Just a
different experience than what some other guys may have.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
Yeah, basically, Coach Hannis, I respect him so much.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
We do too here in Lexington, I can tell you yeah.
Speaker 4 (32:25):
And he reached out to all of us and gave
us a heads up beforehand, and we were able to
get together as a team and be like hey, man,
like what are you going to do?
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Like what are you going to do?
Speaker 4 (32:38):
And basically it came down to you know, and and
a lot of people know, like over ninety percent of
our team from last year has transferred somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
So it was.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
And when I got into the portal, I was like, really,
you know, kind of shocked. We were kind of going
back and forth, me and and a lot more of
my teammates of like like what if we stayed?
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Like what if we stayed?
Speaker 4 (33:10):
And what if we created another championship team with this
new coach and Indiana State were kind of going back
and forth with who they were going to hire, and
it came down to, like the portal was going to
be closing soon. Sure we didn't really know, you know,
who was coming in for me as a pitcher, you know,
(33:32):
bringing in a head coach, But they had no idea
of what kind of pitching coach.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Was going to come in kind of got to jump in.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
So yeah, it kind of it kind of almost forced
my hand a little bit sure where I kind of
got in, and I didn't really know what the interest
level was. I mean, I'm a I'm a fifth year
this year. I was a closer last year, had a
pretty dang good year. But I didn't really know because
I haven't seen the portal a whole lot. I went
(34:02):
to Juco for two years and I transferred to Indiana
State after that, and I've been there for two years.
I've never really had like a true portal experience, So
when I got in, I didn't really know that it
was exactly what everybody said that it was the wild,
wild West.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Man. It didn't take long.
Speaker 4 (34:17):
No, it didn't take long, man, and three weeks a month. Yeah,
being being able to like when I had entered, you know,
I was. I was fortunate enough to be with my
family and they kind of helped me out through it
a lot. But it was like I don't know what's
gonna happen, Like I don't know who's gonna call. I
don't know if anybody's gonna call it all like like
(34:40):
I I knew that I had a good year. I
knew that that My love for the game of baseball,
I like to think is a lot more than others.
But when you get in the portal, Man, it's like, yeah,
who knows, who knows what's coming, and it's a it's
it's a scary spot to be as a baseball.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
It's that's what I get a lot when I ask
guys about the transfer portal. When you first go in,
it's a little bit scary because you don't know the
interest and all of a sudden, your phone starts blowing up,
your your direct messages start blowing up.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Yeah, it doesn't stop. It was nuts.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Yeah, Simon, we're we're excited to have you here in Lexington,
Man and Hogan obviously, we're excited to have you back
for another year and can't wait to see how you
guys do in the spring.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
I appreciate you all joining us.
Speaker 6 (35:26):
Yeah, thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
He's Robert Hogan, Simon gregorson co host here my partner
in crime. Is what I was about to say, Darren Williams,
I'm Darren Hedrick. This has been behind Kentucky baseball. Stay
tuned for more episodes here on the UK Sports Network,
Welcome into another episode of Behind Kentucky Baseball. We're here
at Kentucky Proud Park. I'm Darren Hedrick, my co host
Darren Williams alongside and dubbed this episode. Obviously we're this
podcast is called Behind Kentucky Baseball, but today we're stepping
into the spin zone, right.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hell yeah, we're excited. Man, play some Mac Miller.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Let's got it there.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Love that we've got a familiar face with us in
Robert Hogan, who was a part of last year's run
of the College World Series, and a new face Simon Gregorson,
who a lot of Kentucky fans got to see pitch
at Kentucky Proud Park last year with Indiana State. Now
a member of the Wildcats pitching staff. And Simon, great
to have you here. Man, We're excited to do it,
to watch you do your thing.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
Yes, thank you, it's been it's been a wild ride.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
We can't wait. I'm excited to get to know Simon,
especially these two having the relationship that they do. Man
and I got I gotta start with my boy, Robert Hogan.
Bobby Spins. What's it like back now as the big
veteran you know, you've been through this once. Everybody in
the building can know what you do and what you
what you can do at this level. What's been year two?
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Like, so far, it's been fantastic, Honestly, I love it.
Especially I got some like familiar faces now with Cole
Hage and my boys Simon over here, Like having them
here is awesome, And it's something where being here, like
I actually know what we're doing, what's going on, what
the team is supposed to look like. And being able
(01:31):
to kind of be that veteran and know everything that's
supposed to happen, it like makes me more comfortable and
helps me teach the freshmen and kind of bring them
up to speed. And I think the freshmen have kind
of accepted everything that everyone said and they've done a great.
Speaker 6 (01:47):
Job so far this year. And I just I think
it's it's so fun.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
A lot of raven on the freshmen, a lot of
so far about with our guests, that's right.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
That's right. Yeah, we're gonna have to get these young
guys on at some point. Speaking of what you just
talked about, kind of building off that, Robert, obviously, when
you're playing in college over a career, guys come and go,
they graduate, or they transfer. But this is a unique
case where a lot of the guys that you fought
alongside last year and battled with either graduated or were drafted,
(02:17):
and now a lot of new faces. So to that point,
having some of these guys that you're you have known
for a long time coming in here, how much did
that help to have some friendly faces in the locker room?
Speaker 5 (02:28):
It's it helps a lot, honestly, especially me and Simo. Geez,
we've known each other for what seven years now at
least at least and same with age, and it's something
that like we just kind of go back to our roots,
you know, And I know having Simo here is going
to help push me. I mean, he likes to spend
the ball, and I like to spend the ball, so
we're gonna see you can spend it.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
The best, Simon for you. I mean, coming into a
brand new program, new staff, new surroundings, but having a
guy like Hogan in the locker room, how much did
that help you settle in to a new environment.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
I think it was more of you know that you
have a job. You know that he's competing for the
same job as you. You know that he's very good.
You know that, you know you're trying to be the
best version of you. It's a lot nicer to be
able to kind of look at him and be able
to compete with him because you know that he's going
to give you your absolute best. Because you've known this
(03:20):
guy for so long, you know that he is an
extreme competitor, and I like to think that him and
I compete at a very similar level. So being able
to have a lot of those guys in locker room
that compete extremely well and are extremely aggressive, it's really
it's really simple to kind of be able to get
behind that and compete with them.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah, some of my first question for you is before
we get into your relationship with Rob or Uk at all,
let's take it back to last May Man. You're a
Indiana State team, had an unbelievable season, unbelievable past two seasons,
and me and Darren were on the call that regional
final game where you slung the rock. You had an incredible,
(04:06):
very impressive outing in front of eight thousand people that
did not want you to have a get outing at
the time. What was what was the KPP regional atmosphere
like for a visiting player.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Intimidating to say the least. The fans here doing an
amazing job of letting the players know that they have
their backs and that they aren't straying away from them.
I'm fortunate enough to have met a few fans here.
I've actually played here at least once in the past
(04:39):
for two years that I played for Indiana State, so
I did have a little bit of familiar faces in
the crowd. But really, when when I was jogging in
from the outfield bullpen and just seeing everybody just erupt
knowing that I'm coming into a dogfight, like I'm here
to battle, they are here to battle, and the fans
(05:02):
are not on my side. And I always like to
talk about all the all the kids in the background
that like to jump up, yell and scream. I think
that that's awesome, whether you're facing it or whether that
you know whether they're on your side or not, like
being able to see you know, from from kids to
adults to grandparents. Uh, the fans really do a great
(05:26):
job here, and it's intimidating and it's extremely fun.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
So when you were in the transfer portal and getting recruited,
obviously you can see the facilities. You can talk to
the coaches, but pitching in that environment and the and
the takeaways you took from that, how much did that
weigh on the decision when you decided on Kentucky.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
When when I was kind of getting down and making
a decision, you know, they they had asked me if
if they wanted me to, you know, come here, come
on a visit. Rob and I were going back and forth.
We were really kind of chatting it up to be
able to be like, you know, is is this for real? Like,
you know, is this what what people say it is?
Is this actually what I experienced? Or was that kind
(06:11):
of new and being able to have played here, to
have pitched here, to kind of know the facilities. We
had an extreme rain out during that regional, so I
was able to go underneath the field into the batting cages.
I was able to see a lot of the things
that are kind of behind the scenes here at KPP.
(06:33):
That really was like I can see myself there, I
can see myself calling that place home. And being able
to have Hogi here and Hage here, It was like, yeah,
I feel like this is the perfect spot for me.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Makes a difference, don't they Hogy.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
From being from here, it's it's really different because you
understand the culture of you know, growing up in Kentucky,
you root for like Kentucky basketball, football, baseball is your
professional sports team. And they showed out last May. I
mean the crowds were insane for the regional and super regional.
(07:13):
Welcome to the SEC. I mean that's gonna be every
week that's every weekend here on the road. How many
how much experience have you had playing in the SEC?
You've have you been to places other than Kentucky.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Yeah, I mean we played against Kentucky in a three
game series two years ago. We played Vanderbilt each year.
I would say another place that has a very similar
SEC environment was when we went to TCU. That was
extremely intimidating. But other than that, I mean Vanderbilt in
Kentucky has been pretty much like the main places that
(07:46):
I can remember playing at that was significantly louder, significantly
more fans, and a significantly higher like competitive outlook by fans.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Players.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
You have to be just a static and fired up
to be playing SEC baseball every weekend and the spring
is absolute war for an entire weekend.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
I can't wait.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
So, and that kind of brings me to another question,
and we'll come back to Robert and w could probably
answer this to a little bit. And that's with Kentucky
traveling to some of these mid major programs. You went
to Southern Illinois, you went to Eastern Kentucky last year.
I can't see upstate and you see Upstate as well.
Up State, those guys love it when the big Dogs
(08:32):
come to their ballpark.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Oh yeah, And I'm schedule hadn't come out yet, but
I would assume that there's a couple of mid major
trips you know, on but you have to get used
to that. I think that's one of the best things
that we did changing from the twenty two to twenty
three schedule is twenty two, we went on the road
for one weekend and then we were here, you know,
the whole other non conference. In twenty three, we flipped
(08:55):
that and we went on the road for two weekends.
We went on the road for a couple of midweek games, right,
And it just prepares you better because when you know,
eight thousand people are screaming for you to lose when
you are in college station or fourteen thousand in Baton Rouge,
like you got to be used to being the only
people in the entire building that want to have success
(09:16):
and want to win. But another you know, and these
two can speak to it very well because they're they've
both pitched in late inning games in big spots that
just fires up the adrenaline. Like and this guy to
my right, Robert Hogan, he rolls on adrenaline, right, and
it dials in your confidence, it dials in your focus
(09:40):
a little more so pitching in them big time moments
on the road, Like you, that's something you learn over time.
And I think scheduling the way we have in the
last two years has helped us have more success on
the road in the conference.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
What was it like pitching in those postseason environments for
you last year?
Speaker 6 (09:58):
It was it was unreal. It was so fun.
Speaker 5 (10:01):
I mean, it was one of those things where I
haven't really gotten to experience pitching in the postseason yet,
and having that many fans behind you and you can
just tell they're all cheering and they got your back.
It like Dove said, it's it's that adrenaline. Adrenaline just
running through the body and being able to pitch and
know everyone has your back and just knowing that you're like,
I'm gonna do everything, not only for the team, but
(10:23):
for these fans.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
And I think it was.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
Just one of the greatest experiences ever and it's something
that you can't get back.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
What was the adrenaline like first time you're running out
of the bullpen in Omaha? Because that, I mean, that's
gotta be a different type of adrenaline.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
You could talk about all the environments you want to,
that one is different. I mean, I'm.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Gonna be honest, that people here is great. Twenty three.
Speaker 5 (10:49):
Yeah, it was that I'm not gonna lie was probably
the most nerve wracking, like I've ever been. Yeah, like pitching,
like because it's like you got twenty three thousand people
just rounding you and you're just like, all right, this
is a little bit more than yeah, like this is
a little bit more than usual, but here we go.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Like, I think that's a great experience though for everybody
coming back to this year's team, because you've walked out
there and done that, it doesn't matter, like, yeah, you
can do whatever situation that you get thrown into this
year basis loaded one out, Okay, cool, I'll pitched got this.
You know how much confidence does that give you?
Speaker 5 (11:28):
Because it's like even like with our inner squads, it's like, okay,
I like roselle. It tells us like we've been to Omaha,
like you should not be nervous about anything stepping on
a field, if we're at uc Upstate, if we're here,
if we're at Ole Miss, like anywhere, Like you've been
to the biggest stage in college baseball and you've pitched there.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Was it everything that you had dreamed of? Cause it
was it was awfully cool being there. We had a
good time. Man, we had a good time.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
How fun too? Was it for you? As the fans
embraced the team, They embraced all the eccentricities of the team,
let's get weird stuff. They embraced Bobby's spins. What was
that like for you?
Speaker 6 (12:07):
That was fun?
Speaker 5 (12:08):
It was something where I've never really had like a
nickname like that. And you know, I loved how everyone
kind of took to it, you know, being that guy like, oh,
he's gonna come spend the ball, spin the ball, and
like I mean I was, I mean, come on, the
Spins is playing. What else do you think I'm gonna throw,
you know, and it's something that like it's cool to
(12:28):
like know like that you kind of have that like
purpose or like that meaning, you know, and it just
kind of gives you that confidence that, like, you know what,
like I'm gonna do this for everyone here.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
I don't think that's the only nickname he's got.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Yeah, got a few of them.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
This got another one.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Maybe Simon might be able to tell us something more
on that one.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
That's what I'm hitting at.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
I can tell you in my phone.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
Rob's contact is Rob Bob Robert Bobert Spin.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
I like it.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Very official, very professional.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yeah, so let's go.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Let's dive in a little bit into your Roles relationship. Hogy.
You get home from Omaha, you see your boys, Simon's
in the portal. What are you thinking?
Speaker 5 (13:17):
I mean I was literally in Coozi's office and we
were just talking about how the Indiana state coach just left.
And I was like, oh, I know exactly who to call.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (13:25):
I was like, yo, Simo, uh, you want to come
and play play at Kentucky?
Speaker 1 (13:30):
You want to go?
Speaker 6 (13:31):
You want to talk to Koozi real quick?
Speaker 5 (13:32):
And he was like wait, what, like because I mean,
I mean I told Kozy, I'm like, you know him.
I'm like, he's the guy that carved us up in
the regional.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
And I just literally just saw it too.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
Yeah, and I'm like he's like that, he's competitor. I mean,
I mean, if you want another me on the team,
I mean I think it's great. Oh yeah, Like I mean,
Simo is gonna fit perfect. He's got that leader, that
leadership ability, He's got that competitive edge, he's got that
dog in him.
Speaker 6 (13:58):
I said, I'm like, he's guy.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Heave. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
I was like, I'm going to call Simo. I know
he'll love it.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
So what was that phone call like for you?
Speaker 4 (14:05):
Nerve wracking? I had literally just recently hit the portal.
I was on my way to lift and I had
gotten a call from Rob and I was like, hey, man,
like like what's up, Like you guys are you know,
you guys are in it? Like like what's going on?
And he's like no, like like you're in the portal right?
(14:26):
And I was like, dude, are we really talking about? Yeah,
the biggest stage, Like like I'm sitting there watching the TV,
nervous for you.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
And I'm not even there.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
Yeah, And he's like, well, you know you're in the portal,
do you want to talk to our pitching coach? And
at the time, I was like recently in the portal,
like I didn't really know like what was going on
or what kind of interest level there was. So I
was like, hey, like absolutely, like you want to give
him my phone number? And he's like, why don't you
just talk.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
To him right now?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
I was like, wait, what do you mean?
Speaker 4 (14:59):
Was going yeah, and and Rob is a guy that
when something needs to get done, it gets done now.
So all of a sudden, I'm sitting at a red
light and I'm talking to him like he's like, here
you go, and I'm like, wait, what, I don't have
anything like prepared. I don't have anything like I like
to do a lot of research on it, just to
(15:20):
make sure that I'm asking all the right questions. And
I'm getting what I want to know out of a
phone call. And now I'm talking to him straight up
right then and there, and he's, oh man, it was.
It was nerve wracking, but at the same time, like
I've already told him several times like I wouldn't be
here unless he was willing to call me.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
And that just speaks volume.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
So how did you two? How did you two grow
to become friends?
Speaker 4 (15:45):
So we played on the same club team in Minnesota,
and then baseball and baseball at the club level wasn't
a big thing in Minnesota. Like actually, a lot of
high school coaches didn't really want you to play club
baseball because it kind of took away from from their
fall ball kind of like development piece where they are
(16:08):
allowed to kind of work with you.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Right.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
So him and I had played club baseball together, and
then we actually played against each other. Now, I'm from
northern Minnesota, Rob's from more of like the Metro City area,
and I had actually signed on with a team to
play in the Senior Salute Tournament when Covid hit for
(16:31):
a different team that was in his division. So Rob
and I actually got to face each other one v one. Now,
I don't really like to talk a whole.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Lot about it.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
I didn't win that battle.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Rob was an extremely good hitter and an extremely good
pitcher at the time, and he ended up hitting a
triple off me. You can ask him. You can ask him.
He's more than willing.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
To show you the video.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Him in the box nowadays, though.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
Man, nowadays, he has no chance but then Rob went
Juco down at Nayak in Iowa, and I went Juco
down at DMAC and Iowa also in the same kind.
So DMAK and Nayak have been rivaling for quite a
long time. And I got to face Nayak quite a lot,
(17:26):
and they didn't really like me a whole lot.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
That's fine. The only people that need to like it
or us, right exactly.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
But hey, if you want to tell him about the
Nayak DMAC showdown, you can.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, so the DMAC Nayak showdown.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
It was at our place.
Speaker 5 (17:44):
It's a small park and everything like that, and dug
out super close to each other, and I did not
have the.
Speaker 6 (17:51):
Best hitting that weekend at all.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
And his team was chirping me because of course Simon
had to give him the load down, right, and so
they were just like kind of chirping me on where
I was committed blah blah blah blah blah. And then
I get on the mound and someone was like, oh, yeah,
by the way, he's gonna throw you sliders and he's
gonna throw hard, and they're like okay, and then they
just keep chirping and chirping and chirping. And I mean
(18:17):
I pitched good, but I could not hit because I
just could hear him chirping the entire time.
Speaker 6 (18:22):
The whole.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
That's when you decide to be a po.
Speaker 6 (18:24):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
A lot of people don't know this about Rob. Rob
was an extremely good hitter hockey player. Yeah, he he
could hit so well, and a lot of people see
him now as you know Bobby spins and you know
he's up there throwing fuel and he's spinning the heck
out of it like he was an extremely good hitter.
(18:49):
And looking at him now and now, obviously I don't think.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Who would be the best hitter on the pitching staff
this year Bobby spins.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Well, we do have a couple of freshmen that are
two ways that I think should be canceled out of
the runnings number.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Yeah, just post, yeah, best best po If you gave
Rob some time to swing the bat a little bit,
I pay for Jackson no to swing.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I would love to see Cole Henschel swing.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Oh, I would love to see that too.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
Absolutely sounds to me like we've got a challenge now.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
That's what I'm saying. We'll talk to coach Rozelles.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
See if it's okay with him.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Let's take a quick time out to tell our listeners
about American Trust Wealth, the proud presenting sponsor of behind
Kentucky Baseball. American Trust Wealth, a Kentucky proud wealth services
firm offering financial planning and investment management for over forty years.
You can find out more at American Trust Wealth dot com.
That's American Trust Wealth dot com. Just a little background
(19:55):
for our listeners. You both are from Minnesota's it's safe
to say, right outside Minniepple basically, so.
Speaker 5 (20:01):
I'm right outside Minneapoli because so I'm like twenty minutes
probably from there, and sign was about hour and a
half maybe our fifteen like Elk River area North.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Okay, So were you guys like maybe thirty minutes apart.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Then forty five forty five something like.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
Depending on the traffic, Yeah, Minnesota traffic.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
What was it like trying to You've already talked about
a little bit how they really didn't want you to
play club baseball? So where did the love for baseball
start growing up in Minnesota? Because obviously that's a hockey
football area and yeah, basketball, but where did the love
for baseball come from.
Speaker 4 (20:39):
For me, it was the fact that my parents didn't
really want me to play hockey. All my siblings played hockey,
and growing up, I played a lot, and it was like,
you know, I fell in love for baseball because all
my older brothers played baseball and I have six siblings.
(21:01):
I have three brothers and three sisters, and my dad
would just like group all of the guys together, like, hey,
if I'm going to drop you off at baseball practice,
you guys are all playing on the same team. So
I played several grades above me, and it came down
to I had the confidence to play at a high
(21:23):
level for my age, some might say. And then all
my siblings played hockey. But I kind of wanted to
just keep playing baseball, like I loved it. I was
good at it, you know, I wanted to keep going.
And my dad was like, well, you know, maybe we
should find you a fall team just to kind of, like,
you know, keep playing, so then you know you're staying
(21:45):
in shape and all this kind of stuff. And then
I ended up at a Blizzard try out an hour
and a half, you know, south of where I am
used to playing, you know, and that's kind of where
I met him.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I heard you guys talking about Blizzard where we started
this podcast. Explain to our listeners what Blizzard is.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
So, Blizzard Baseball was located in Vadness Heights of Minnesota.
Rob and I played there. Rob has formerly coached there.
I coached there during the off seasons during the wintertime,
and basically it's just a large family of just lovers
(22:25):
of baseball.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Like it's cool.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Like I said earlier, baseball isn't a big thing in Minnesota,
and Blizzard is a travel ball organization. They travel all
across the country and play the best talent and they
bring everybody from anywhere. Cole Hage, North Dakota guy, he
came and played.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Blizzard with us.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
I've had former players from South Dakota, Wisconsin.
Speaker 6 (22:51):
I had some guys from Texas too, Yep, a.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
Couple of guys from Texas. But basically we're trying to
bring at the Blizzard the love for the game, to show,
you know, scouts, and to show college institutions that we
have some guys in Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Like it's not just up there too. Yeah, it's not
just hockey and football. Like, we got some legit baseball.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Players that come out of there and It's pretty crazy that,
you know, both Rob and I ended up at the
same time.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
So die hard Twins fans all your life.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
I love.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Oh yeah, teams for sale if you want to buy them,
good luck.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
I'm hoping to play for them instead.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
That'd be cool.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
So low key was the American League Central one of
the hardest divisions this year, with three teams in the
playoffs and the Twins being pretty good themselves. You got
the Tigers and the Royals and the Guardians all in
there that that's a pretty stout division.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (23:46):
Yeah, But then you got to think about it's the Minnesota.
Speaker 6 (23:49):
It's Minnesota Nesota sports.
Speaker 5 (23:51):
Where uh one day, man, Yeah, I mean, you get
to the playoffs and we lose first round.
Speaker 6 (23:56):
It's just how Minnesota is.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
But I will say fortunate enough. Now some might say fortunate,
but while they were at Almaha, I was able to
go and watch the Twins there you go, and the
atmosphere there as well has grown so much.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
It's a nice ballpark to target field.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
Yeah, and it's it's been really hard now. You know,
everybody talks about like you have to have a good
team to bring in fans, but with the Minnesota weather
and how it changes and all the ups and downs.
The Twins lately, you know, in the last five to
ten years, have been able to bring in a lot
more people that are passionate about baseball, and that, to
(24:42):
me is probably the most impressive thing that the Twins
have done.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Now.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
They've had a lot of great runs, they've had a
lot of really good teams, they've had a lot of
all stars that have come through there, but being able
to grow the game of baseball in Minnesota has been
outrageously good.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
I gotta ask you a question you're and you can
explain to the listeners since you may be the expert
on it. You're from Minnesota, you played at Indiana State.
How do you pitch in freezing cold weather? Because you've
done it a lot, it sounds like, I mean, in January,
February and March, how do you get hot to where
(25:21):
that you're not shivering out there on the mound? You know,
you have a routine or anything specific.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
A lot of coaches say that, like being cold in
that kind of stuff is kind of a mindset. Honestly,
It's kind of the same thing that I do with
the crowd. Like when I get out there, I get
to kind of stand on my on the mound and
I just get to kind of get a second with myself,
and it's like, you know what, it's you. It's you
(25:50):
and the catcher, It's you and your team. Like all
of the outside things don't matter because I can look
up and I can see all the crowd, and I
can step off the mound and I can feel myself shivering.
But at the end of the day, like you are
out there because you are the best person for the job.
Roselle harps on it all the time, like if you're
(26:12):
out there on the mound, then you're the best pitcher.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Yeah, Like you are the guy out there.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
So when you're out there and it's freezing, a lot
of the times, it's raining. Every time I've played here
at KPP, it's been raining, and it's like, you know what,
I have to get my job done. I have to
give my team a chance to win, and I'm just
gonna do the best that I can, no matter how cold,
no matter how hot, no matter how crowded, no matter
(26:37):
how loud. I need to do the best that I
can to give my chance with my team a chance
to win.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Win anyway. I love tip of the spear. I love it.
I love it talking with you HOGI about how coach
Roselle and coach Salo and coach Minge have worked with
this pitching staff coming off of the College World Series appearance.
You know, it's easy to roll into school in August
(27:02):
September and be like, you know what, we did it
last year, Like we're good, we don't have to work hard.
And I guarantee that they're not letting you guys do that.
So how have they pushed you guys to a point
where we get back this year?
Speaker 5 (27:14):
I think the biggest thing that they're they're pushing on
us is like throw strikes, like you're here for a reason.
I mean, every single one of us is here for
a reason. There's no one else they'd rather be here
than us, right, you know, and they keep pushing like
if we're gonna win, we're gonna throw strikes. If we're
gonna win, it's gonna be off pitching in defense. And
(27:35):
that's how you get back. I mean, that's how you
win championships. Right, And every time Roselle talks to us
like he forces us to like whenever we're in the bullpen,
I mean, you know it, like Yeah.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
It's you locate. You locate, you locate.
Speaker 5 (27:48):
You don't try, you don't like go all out, you
don't throw your body where it's not used to. Mmm,
it's you compete. And that's like Minch says all the time,
you compete no matter what it is. And that's what
I think is going to bring us back because I
love how everyone that has come here and that has
transferred in or that's new, they've embraced it, they've embodied it,
(28:09):
you know, and they've been everyone has been able to like,
you know what, we're gonna compete. We're we're going to
really just be all into the program and everything that
everyone's telling.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
How much does having Devin Burkes back again help that
It actually helps it tremendously.
Speaker 5 (28:25):
I Mean, you know him, you know how his energy
from behind the dish, the way that he communicates, the
way that he takes control of the game, you know,
and he's talking to the picture no matter what. Like
even during games, like the biggest games of the year,
you see him back there, like hey, keep that shoulder in,
Like hey through me, like you know, like just stay
with us, like.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Because coach behind home Blake literally yeah.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
And like we just talked about the other day, like,
it's better for us to have your peers, like your
teammates tell you what you need to do, then have
a coach keep harping on it because you know what
you're gonna more than likely listen to your teammates is better, Right,
That's a fact. And so having Devo back and really
like him helping out even Raf and the freshman catcher,
(29:11):
like they listen and they want to get better, just
like Devo.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
It takes a championship level catcher to get to Omaha. Oh,
no doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
The middle it's where the championships are born, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
What have you seen out of Coach Rozel so far,
Simon that you know you guys are working on, and
also what this pitching staff is like so far?
Speaker 4 (29:30):
You know, Uh, coming from Indiana State, I've closed the
regional two years ago. They sent us the TCU two
years ago. This last year we came to the regional here.
Being able to kind of have the experience of pitching
in the postseason has been a tremendous gift that I've
been blessed with and coming here it is like everything
(29:55):
that I think about of what I need to do
to get myself back and ready to go. Like Roselle
is already one step ahead of us. Like we we
harp a lot on you know, throwing strikes, but a
lot about Roselle as a pitching coach is leadership throughout
their staff. We talk a lot about what we need
(30:19):
to do to get back and a lot of that
is from our former teammates and from like our former
guys that have been to Omaha that that knows what
it takes. I mean, we we are fortunate enough to
have guys to call each other out to be like, hey,
like that isn't going to get us where we need
to go.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
We need to get back on track.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
Yeah, and having them kind of be like the guidelines
for us to kind of get us going in the
right direction. You know, we talk about the tip of
the spirit all the time. It's like they're you know,
they're on the outside and they're they're pushing us forward
to be able to get all of us together as one,
to be able to go out there and compete. Because
(31:02):
when you hand the ball off, you know that you
know what, right now, I don't have this stuff to
do it, but this guy will. I did whatever I
could to help the team win. This guy's gonna come
in and do the exact same thing. And being able
to have that leadership and that trust in the pitching staff, honestly,
to me, is one of the most important things.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
I know. It's one of the most important things to
Roselle as well.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
I love that, no doubt about it. I was just
sitting here, and I know we've already talked to you
about coming to Kentucky and the decisions in the transfer portal,
but I was sitting here thinking about the fact that
as we tape this, I'm joined by three guys who
all had an experience in the transfer portal, and it's
part of the game now, it's going to be part
of the game in the future. All three of you
(31:47):
had a different experience in the portal, and Simon, I'm
just curious about yours because your program that you were
with in Indiana State was going through a coaching change.
Your head coach got another opportunities somewhere and decided to
take that. So what was the experience like with your
program going through a change and then you deciding to
(32:09):
get into the portal and come to Kentucky. Just a
different experience than what some other guys may have.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
Yeah, basically, Coach Hannis, I respect him so much.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
We do too here in Lexington, I can tell you yeah.
Speaker 4 (32:25):
And he reached out to all of us and gave
us a heads up beforehand, and we were able to
get together as a team and be like hey, man,
like what are you going to do?
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Like what are you going to do?
Speaker 4 (32:38):
And basically it came down to you know, and and
a lot of people know, like over ninety percent of
our team from last year has transferred somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
So it was.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
And when I got into the portal, I was like, really,
you know, kind of shocked. We were kind of going
back and forth, me and and a lot more of
my teammates of like like what if we stayed?
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Like what if we stayed?
Speaker 4 (33:10):
And what if we created another championship team with this
new coach and Indiana State were kind of going back
and forth with who they were going to hire, and
it came down to, like the portal was going to
be closing soon. Sure we didn't really know, you know,
who was coming in for me as a pitcher, you know,
(33:32):
bringing in a head coach, But they had no idea
of what kind of pitching coach.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Was going to come in kind of got to jump in.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
So yeah, it kind of it kind of almost forced
my hand a little bit sure where I kind of
got in, and I didn't really know what the interest
level was. I mean, I'm a I'm a fifth year
this year. I was a closer last year, had a
pretty dang good year. But I didn't really know because
I haven't seen the portal a whole lot. I went
(34:02):
to Juco for two years and I transferred to Indiana
State after that, and I've been there for two years.
I've never really had like a true portal experience, So
when I got in, I didn't really know that it
was exactly what everybody said that it was the wild,
wild West.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Man. It didn't take long.
Speaker 4 (34:17):
No, it didn't take long, man, and three weeks a month. Yeah,
being being able to like when I had entered, you know,
I was. I was fortunate enough to be with my
family and they kind of helped me out through it
a lot. But it was like I don't know what's
gonna happen, Like I don't know who's gonna call. I
don't know if anybody's gonna call it all like like
(34:40):
I I knew that I had a good year. I
knew that that My love for the game of baseball,
I like to think is a lot more than others.
But when you get in the portal, Man, it's like, yeah,
who knows, who knows what's coming, and it's a it's
it's a scary spot to be as a baseball.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
It's that's what I get a lot when I ask
guys about the transfer portal. When you first go in,
it's a little bit scary because you don't know the
interest and all of a sudden, your phone starts blowing up,
your your direct messages start blowing up.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Yeah, it doesn't stop. It was nuts.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Yeah, Simon, we're we're excited to have you here in Lexington,
Man and Hogan obviously, we're excited to have you back
for another year and can't wait to see how you
guys do in the spring.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
I appreciate you all joining us.
Speaker 6 (35:26):
Yeah, thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
He's Robert Hogan, Simon gregorson co host here my partner
in crime. Is what I was about to say, Darren Williams,
I'm Darren Hedrick. This has been behind Kentucky baseball. Stay
tuned for more episodes here on the UK Sports Network,
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