L.A. Dodgers Kick Off The Post-Season at the NLDS

What's up, guys? Young Hollywood back at Dodger Stadium. It is Game One of the NLDS, Dodgers versus Nationals. Let's do it. I know you tell the guys to treat every game as it fits the same. But this is the playoffs. Tell me what that means. What does it feel like?

Yeah, it it's exciting and I think that obviously, uh, you know, we talk about every game's the same and go out there with the same mindset, but we all know that the stakes are higher and everything's more magnified and the focus that we have, the preparedness. It's an easy group to bet on.

I think you said it backwards. I think we go about it during the season and treat every game like it's a playoff game. We show up every day and their goal is to win that game that day. So, uh, we've gone about it all year long that way and uh, nothing's different, uh, you know, now that we're in the playoffs.

It's a different feeling. Uh, obviously you got to come in, take care of business, uh, but we're going to enjoy it and embrace it and uh try to take it the whole way. We just got to keep it as, you know, one pitch at a time, one game at a time. We can't look ahead. Uh, we do obviously have the goal of winning the World Series and but every every single team that's in this, they have the same goal. So, just for us to go out there and compete every single pitch, that's kind of our objective today.

Oh, you got to go out there and give it everything. I mean, uh, there's no holding back now, like you're saying. The playoffs are the playoffs. You don't hold back because you don't know what happens tomorrow.

It means a lot. Uh, it's really nice, really fun. I've never been in one. Uh, my first playoff, it's it's been amazing so far. I think I keep going like that, uh, it's just for me.

How is 2019 different than the other years?

Um, you know, I I think that obviously every year's different, the rosters are different. We've still got a lot of the same guys that endured that that pain in the last couple World Series. We've got some youth, um, but I think that one through 25, I know, uh, the roster is very talented, very deep, and it it's a very, uh, determined group.

It was just another opportunity to, uh, accomplish what we set out to at the beginning of spring training. We all have the same goal. So we're all working for the same thing, but we got to, you know, minimize it and just take each pitch as it is.

Special team in there, man. Uh, the clubhouse, everything, the veterans. I mean, this team just comes together in a different way. It's uh, something special and uh, I think, uh, there's a really good chance.

Besides the 50,000 people in this stadium, who are your biggest fans? Who are your cheerleaders?

It's my family. Uh, my wife, my daughter, my son, and obviously my mom, and, um, so, hopefully these, uh, 4 million Dodger fans that, uh, turned out this year to support me and the Dodgers. This whole city. I mean, this city's great. This city's unbelievable. There's so many diehard Dodger fans. I live here year-round and, uh, it doesn't matter if if if it's the baseball season or not. You drive down the street and you see Dodger hats and Dodger jerseys, uh, walking around town. So, we feed off them and, uh, you know, they're the best.

Mom and dad and my fiancée, for sure. And my brothers, obviously. Uh, just the whole family.

Uh, my family. They've been since the since the day one to to the day 162. It's been really good, really amazing. I mean, they've been everywhere they've been, they they really showed it to me.

I would say my mom, my sisters, my family, my son. Uh, you know, just I appreciate all of them, you know. That's that's what I look out for when I get my text messages after the game.

What do some of the text messages say?

Uh, it's always funny. My mom sends the uh, you know, like pitching stuff, which is awesome, because she's seen me since I was a little guy. So, they're always warranted, I always love them. And so, it always makes me uh, be able to kind of distract myself from a game and then be able to do it again tomorrow.

One for sure is my wife, but also my parents. Um, you know, they're with me since day one and, you know, started having me play travel or travel ball, but just baseball in general when I was four or five years old. So, you know, this is this for them also.

Now, when you were four or five, did you imagine playoffs MLB, you'd be here?

I mean, that was a dream, obviously. I grew up in Atlanta, so, you know, they they won 14 straight in in the division. So, kind of the playoffs, it's kind of expected.

Could you have imagined, here you are on this stage?

No, not at all. I think we all play this game for so much fun and then out of nowhere you get to do it for a job and, uh, you you savor every minute. So it's, we're taking it in every day, but it's, uh, it's a blessing.

As a star Dodger, how many tickets did you get to this game and who did you give them to?

My wife. My wife's here. Yeah.

Nobody's here, you know. 'Cause I I live in Florida, so I'm I'm I'm just far. So, uh, I hopefully that'll save me some money.

I actually only left four. Uh, right now, because we're going to go back to Washington, that's where everyone will meet me.

Now you talked about the youth, they call it the Rookie Brigade here. So, break that down and take me back to your rookie days.

Oh my gosh, my rookie days. That's quite some time ago and uh, it just seems like ages ago, a lifetime ago. Uh, I think the young players now are just so talented and we're very fortunate. You get Lux and and Will Smith and Dustin May and Matt Beaty and all these different guys that have come up and really impacted our club in a big way. And to see the veteran guys kind of embrace those guys and let them be the best version of themselves and let them flourish, it's a credit to all those guys.

You know, it's definitely been special. A lot of guys that have come up here have contributed. Um, you know, that's just kind of the expectations that the organization has for us. You know, I think they prepare us well down in the minor leagues and, you know, they prepare us for this stage. It's a lot of new things, you never see it before. And I'm just I'm just enjoying it.

Take me back to your rookie years. Kind of have to stay in line and now it's show up and play and be yourself. The coolest thing maybe a fan has said to you?

Um, I I think the coolest thing a fan has said to me is, um, basically is no matter what, uh, good and bad, we believe in you and your players and we're here with you.

People name their kids after me, which is pretty crazy. So.

There was a rumor going around saying I might be something like the next Kemp or like Kemp's brother. I don't know.

Do you know that Kemp is in the house? Did you see him?

I do. I do. I said what's up to him earlier at uh, it was good to see him.

Did I really help their son with some self-esteem stuff, you know, with with the bullying. So I was like, oh that's really nice, you know. Make sure you really want to look out for those kids and make sure you're always doing nice stuff, 'cause you never know who's who's listening.

Yeah, you see it in the Dominican. They make like a couple cars that they have they have the newspapers and other stuff. That's really nice.

And Brad Paisley reached out to me. That was pretty cool.

Well, you know what? Brad Paisley was here at Dodger Stadium, uh, about a month ago for Clayton's ping-pong tournament. We had him at this mic.

My strategy is hope that every hit to me is easy and hope the hard ones go to him.

You're like one degree away from him right now. He's touched the mic.

Yeah, exactly. So that's pretty cool. Good company.

Yeah, for sure.