1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - 1-on-1 with DP live from Blur Events: June 18th 11:00am Segment 1

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

1-on-1 with DP live from Blur Events: June 18th 11:00am Segment 1Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Boom. In your face. We're events. We are live from the College World Series Omaha. We're Omaha Hilton. We're events, Stacey and Crew, they put together another fantastic week of events here. It's an honor to be included in it, to be a part of it. It has been a great week.

of college baseball at its highest level. Today, it doesn't change. You've got two matchups that don't need any high. One group from Coastal Carolina, the hottest team in all of college baseball. The two higher seeds in number three-seated Arkansas and number six-seeded LSU, they will have at it this evening at 6 o'clock.

And then you've got the folks from Louisville, the cardiac cardinals, won't give up, and they won't give up their parents. pass, they have an opportunity. Now, Louisville has to win today. They have to win today in order to advance. That's just how it works. The same can be said for Arkansas.

They have to figure out a way to win. LSU with a win advances to Saturday's final game one. Coastal Carolina with a win today. They advance to Saturday's final game one. That's what's at stake in order to extend it. In order to extend it, you have to be locked in. locked it. It's been epic eighth and ninth inning baseball.

That's what's going on. Again, the folks here at Blurr, want to thank me if you're looking for a way to be a part of this thing. You don't have game tickets. Come on up. Blur tickets. You can go to Blur tickets slash Omaha. It will give you all the insight.

You $64 packages, especially for Saturday. Today, $64 for lunch, dinner, etc. 94 for lunch, dinner, buffet, beer, wine, cash bar 114 everything's all inclusive and for Saturday beginning at 3 o'clock Saturday they will go from 3 until midnight Saturday here with the price list $64 options $14 options everything all included so we appreciate them for having us up it should be a great day coastal Carolina and Louisville first pitch around one o'clock.

They're expecting the weather to hold off, fingers crossed, again, the Omaha World Series. You never quite know what you're going to get, but that's okay. We're going to flexing this thing and get through it. Appreciate y'all hanging out with this. You can be a part of what we're doing. 402, 464-5-685.

The Sarnahman text line, you want to be a part of what we're doing. And this is with the what's up, and we will take you through. We'll get you on air and give you the shout-out. And then, if you want to follow on the, all the live video streams, Facebook, YouTube, X, Allo Channel 961. If you will, you can follow what's going on.

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I am joined next to me by first of all, Jake Bach over it. Bach, what's happening, brother? Hey, glad to be here and love it here. This is like I said, Omaha College World Series. We're getting into the four. Some of these teams are gone. Some of the teams are fighting for the lives now. So it's a lot of fun and then what better place to be in there. It's a great event. It has been well done. The food's good. The company's good all along. And then the All-American joins us. Steve Taylor, QB-9. What's happening, brother? Nothing, man. I'm like, the food is good. The environment's good and the grass is good. Like getting on turf, right? That, listen, to be able to put this thing through, they put us,

in a different spot this year less of the the the the the the humid beat down that happens on the other spot right with sun on your back for for six hours well you got you got the three big screens here you got the sectionals of big comfy chairs and everything everything's set up nicely just to sit back relax taking the whole environment you know have some food a couple of cocktails and and just taking up the world series which you know i've been watching it it's been some great baseball some great great baseball i'm ever the more and more i watch it i was like i don't know can i have played college football i'm in college baseball i mean these guys are are in profession these guys are really really good and the plays that they're making uh it's just a lot of fun

a lot of excitement do you do you miss not having played baseball at the level at the highest level possible is that ever a thing that you think back and go uh i really wish i do i miss it especially around this time um often when i'm i'm out of the ballpark and you smell the grass you smell the dirt remember what I remember what that was like and get that itch and everything you know it's I I have some friends that have played at a very high level in the big leagues and it's fun it's exciting and I often ask myself could I have played because my it's a totally different temperament as you know you're you're a player you play that and that's all often

question that but you know I'm okay with everything and I just love watching just great baseball and there's nothing better than the playoffs then also in the World Series, the college World Series, the process of getting there. Where would you put this? Where would you put playing in the College World Series, playing in a bowl game, playing in the Final Four or maybe the NCAA tournament? I think being at this stage of the College World Series where there's only four teams remaining. So this is the final four of college baseball.

I would have to say before the collegiate sports in football, the playoff system, you would have to say college baseball is awesome. I mean, because it's a win or go home type of atmosphere. And you get a chance if you lose one game, you can come back. But there's nothing better than a true playoff because you can get hot at the end of the year. You can get hot doing the tournament, you know, and have a chance to win it all. So I would say baseball before they started the collegiate football playoffs and now that they're going to expand that, then they're going to get a taste for that. But baseball, that's why the, that's why the World Series is so nice, so popular.

You got small-time schools. You got big-time schools. Everyone has a chance. And that's what makes it so fun, so exciting. Well, see, you just launched into a space where if a team in a program like Coastal Carolina. Murray. Right?

Murray State. If you can get here, you can figure out a way with all the maze that is college athletics and how business is being done. If you tell me that Coastal Carolina not only can put together a team that finishes the season on a 25-game winstreet and then gets into the tournament and sends people home, look, they're the Turk, man. Coastal Carolina is the measuring stick. It lets me know that there is a way for Nebraska, Great. Power schools to get here.

And I don't know what the problem. I don't know what the bridge that needs to be crossed in order for that to happen. But how is it that in a game that we love, and we know that, quite frankly, you can be a five-star talent or a no-star talent. But on the baseball field, you still have to make pitches. You still have to make plays. You know, you're exactly right. And that's what's amazing. And as we watch here and you see the UCLA, Nebraska, we beat UCLA.

We could have had an opportunity to make it that far. And then you have a team like Arkansas, who's been almost number one the entire season. I mean, it's touching go with any team. you look at that and you look at the talent there are great baseball players all throughout the country and it's amazing the largest school the smaller schools the schools that are somewhere in between you get the right chemistry the right players you got a chance you got a chance to win it all so and that's what's nice to see that that's a true playoff system when those teams have hope and a chance to know that hey we can win it all and you still have to win games and you still have to win games like

it's it's amazing we watch yesterday we were watching yesterday and there's an opportunity when in critical moments, teams panic or they go out of their comfort zone. Runners, bases loaded, you're a two-run lead. You make a decision. You make a decision. Do you play your infield in? Do you go for the double play ball up the middle? Do you change pitchers and try to go to your arm, your sniper, who can get you out of any situation?

and then you get a ground ball, which we all identify as a routine ground ball. And then things happen. I say it all the time. The most difficult thing in all of sports is to finish. Learning to finish, not go outside of yourself and not make a moment bigger than that. Bach, as you're watching the ground ball hit the short, what's going on in your head? What do you think? What do you think he was going on in Alisaia's head?

Well, you're hoping that, obviously, I mean, it's a routine, right? You've been there before. You should be able to play it down. But again, that's when these stakes get hired. It's kind of funny because, again, I play basketball, so kind of directly relate to that and kind of think, you know, those free throws, you do them, you do them, you know, how many times in your life, thousands, thousands, thousands of times.

But when it's the finals and it's the fourth quarter and you need to hit that free throw, it becomes a little bit more difficult for some reason. You know, and I will add to that because I obviously I play both sports. and I talk to a lot of my fans, a lot of my friends, we talk about, you know, we talk about golf, we talk about football, we talk about basketball. And I often tell them that I think golf is the most challenging because of the mental aspect,

the time that you have to think about all the negative things. And when you, when I noticed those errors that they had yesterday, imagine, imagine being out there in the infield, in the outfield, on the, on the mound, pinching, and things are moving is taking so long. and it happens very quickly. And you have to be mentally prepared to be in that moment. And it's not, it's instinctive, but it's not as instinctive as playing basketball or playing football because you're more so reacting.

Where baseball, you have a lot of time. And I'm glad with the new pitch count of what they're doing, speeding things up, the game moves a lot faster. So that does help. But that is a difference. And you saw the mistakes and the errors that they had yesterday during those games. That is primarily due to the stressful situation. and them not being in that moment or being in that situation time and time again. I'll ask you that because in those critical mass moments,

Mark Manning from Nebraska Wrestling always says don't make a thing bigger than it is. Don't make a thing bigger than it is. And you would think Great Cup moments behind center. There's always a moment in a Great Cup game or in a playoff game or in a bowl game where the next play you make is the most important play of the game. And you never know when that play is. Exactly. Right.

So how do you slow it? Or that at bat. Like how do you slow it down? It could be the next pitch. It could be the next play. How do you slow it down? You know, that's when you go back to just game preparation and being in a moment and not trying to do too much.

And the bat that the Louisville player had the other day, I think was tremendous. And he talked about it after the ball game when he had to fly out, hold him, for them to get the winning run. All he wanted to do was find a good pitch, make a good swing. advanced and advanced ball. And that's exactly what he did. And to see that happen and how he slowed things down, he slowed everything down,

he had the ability to do that. And it was great to see it. These kids are performing on a very, very high level. Next to the World Series, you can't get a more pressure situation. And the pitching, the pitching has been outstanding. Because every pitch, the game could be over.

And you know that. A little inside, the strikes on the outside, the strikes, a little high, it's over. Have you ever been a part of a no hitter? I've thrown a couple. I actually have. Okay. So walk me through this.

And you're doing it in a part of the country where the baseball is super competitive. At a high school level. Right? Well, but at the high school level in the area of California that you're in, there were some dudes. So to go through the moment where you recognize that I have it going on, is that a bullpen thing? Is that a first inning thing? Is that a third anything where you go, huh, this, this, this feels different today. I got a chance to be, be special.

Yeah, you've probably been in that mold where I pitched a few games where you're just on. I mean, your curveball is working, your fastball, your riser, your slider, whatever it may be is working. It doesn't really start to hit you until like that fifth, sixth, or seventh inning when you realize you're getting close to the game being over. And you legitimately have a chance to have a no hitter. And so, and every pitch. could be a hit and that's when you really like all where you got you got to make parts

and win in that when you got to make parts the one to open or whatever it may be you just got to hit the fairway you got to sometimes the most difficult thing to do is a two putt and when you're pitching on the mound that's in your mind once you know you're close to maybe having that no hit because if you're slight off with one pitch a hanging curve ball you throw a meat fastball or whatever it is the guy makes connection it could be a hit You just have to stay in the moment. Trust what you have and your catcher. Your catcher is great with that.

He positions you and calling the right pitches and everything. But it's mentally it takes you to a whole new level. And that's why it's not done very often. And that's why when it's done, it's greatly appreciated. When you're pitching, do you prefer to have your catcher call pitches or the pitcher or your coach calling pitchers? Well, it's almost a mutual thing. You have to, you would, I would defer to my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, I really would. But he knows how I'm throwing.

He knows the batter. They're the quarterback out there. And they're, so things have changed now where the coaches are calling the plays. But back then, the catcher pretty much called the plays. And the pitcher would shake him off. You remember that? The pitcher would shake him off. No, no, no.

Until he wants to go to something that he feels good about. But most of the time, I would probably go with the catcher unless I really felt like I can throw this pitch. We were talking about it yesterday. And I, as a coach, I always told my catcher that it was his job in the bullpen and in the warm-up pitches to determine the pace and the play call, pitch call for those innings. We would talk about the batters that were coming up. We would talk about situation. But he's the only one that can see in the warm-up. You know what?

That slider's running. No, he's having difficulty getting his plant foot. Is he tipping pitches? There's a whole line of things that in that conversation between catcher, pitcher, that I can't be a part of in the dugout. I just can't make that decision. And I always felt weird calling pitches for a catcher and a pitcher who are in, who are in it. That picture, listen, the conversation that you have in your head,

as a pitcher, quarterback, and as a golfer is the most important thing. and a coach can never get in your head. I can never know when the pitch is standing there going, oh, that breaker ain't running, man. It's not snapping. The snapper's not snapping, but what do I do? Oh, coach wants me to throw the slider. And he looks over like, you sure?

You know, you sure? When you talk about that, I mean, and I had a good relationship with Mike catcher. Herb was Mike catcher probably from pop, we call him Boss Hogg, his first name was Herb, from Pop Warner into high school. So he knew, he knew, he knew, he knew what I, he knew what I threw well. And that's why I defer to him most of the time.

And it also equates to a golfer and a caddy, that relationship that they have, you know, and even though, because you're in a moment, when you're on that mound or you're on there, or you're about to make that putter, make that drive, you're in a moment, you think you can do this and you need someone to say, hey, calm down. Let's come down, slow it down. Come down. Let's just hit it to a nice yardage where you can, you can lay up and make par, or you, you, hey, you can hit this shot, you can hit this three wood and be on and two,

or you can throw this currant, or whatever it may be. So it's nice to have that guy that you have that relationship with that you trust, that you trust. And I think that's the best analogy I can give to it would be a caddy and a golfer and a catcher and a pitcher. Because you've got to have that camarader. You've got to have that respect and you've got to have that trust. What's the toughest one to get through as an individual in this space?

The conversation with golf that you have with yourself. from shot to shot. You as a quarterback, you've called the play, you know the formation, you're standing behind center, and you're about to initiate the play. Or as a pitcher or a baseball player, locking into a moment that, you know what,

it's three two, he's throwing me two breaking balls and a fast ball on the hands. What's the toughest, most stressful conversation that you have with yourself as an athlete? I would probably think, and I break it down this way, even when I played in professional we call later my career I call a lot of my own plays as quarterback

I was experienced enough and knew what I was doing but I will go back to coach Osborne we were we almost had that we had that relationship he would call plays throughout the course of the game and by the time say the third or fourth quarter when I saw Dana Brinson or healing Hawkins running in that play I knew exactly what that play was going to be very seldom very seldom and I could probably count on my fingers, how many times Coach Osama said, hey, what do you think about this? How do you feel about this? Otherwise, I had so much trust in him that he had set everything up that whatever he was calling, I had told, I had blinded trust.

I can count maybe one or two or three times that he asked me, okay, how do you feel about this play? Now, when you go back to golf or you go back to pitching, it's more so, I think, the individual, the golfer. You're going to get influence and direction from your caddy or from your catcher, but in the end, you're going to go with what you think you can do, unless a coach overrides it. Trust is the word.

Trust is the word is the athlete to build your trust the coach, one for the preparation that's been done, the trust in their own work, right, knowing that I've done the work. One, I took care of my body, I rested, I did the scouting reports, I watched film, I know their batting lineup. I know, you know, from the golf course, it's, wait a minute, I know how it's running today.

I walk the course. I know how fast it's playing. I know what the brakes are going to be. In football, it is. Wait a minute. They're cues and things that I need to identify. Listen, I'm watching the walk-up safety. And he only walks up when he's not coming.

So I need to pay attention to it. All of those things are such the vital part. And watching Arkansas throw a no hitter on the biggest stage. And listen, it's difficult. for anybody who thinks that they're going to play at the major league level. The draft is coming up. All eyes are on you. And to think that a first round pitcher, figuring somewhere in the top 30,

gets the ball and has the opportunity of a lifetime. They give them a ball on national TV, all baseball eyes in the country on you, and to stand up and to deliver. what could only be described as a work of art. Yes, definitely. Changing his place in the draft. So if you're, let's say you're the Washington Nationals have the number one fit. Right.

Again. And they had again. And I'll be slightly bitter. I'll be slightly bitter if you, if you can sense the venom because it's real. That, oh, my goodness. But I also know that the last time the nationals did this, they got Bryce Harper and Steven Strasbourg and it paid off. You have the opportunity.

If you're the GM of a Major League Baseball team that is not very good, how do you build the next great thing? Do you go the route of Bryce Harper or do you go the route of Steven Strassberg, the everyday guy or the guy who could be the length pen in your rotation? You know, when you look at baseball and you hear there so often, you talk about guys first of all it's pitching the pitching most of these teams that are there they have extraordinary pitchers and they're deep they got starters they got closers and they're deep and they're very talented and then you need guys that can hit the ball you got guys that can bat

so those are the most crucial things but if i had the choice to pick i'm going to go with the pitching if you got if you got great pitching you're always going to have a chance yeah always going to have a chance. And it's so funny how absolutely finite the line in in the logic and the philosophy, certain teams will tell you, uh, no, I'm drafting. Think about the Braves and what they did over time and say, okay, if we can't draft them, we're going to go get them. We're going to go trade for them. And baseball from the lineup, the one through eight or the one through nine, if you're, finding DHS, that with the day, it changes the way. It changes the way. Because you don't don't have to find a spot one through eight to force them in.

You can give them, you know what, we're going to bring you up and we want you to focus on hitting the basement. And you can do those things, but to think that on the biggest stage, a week before the draft, you throw up a hundred and 15 pitch 19 strikeout masterpiece. Man, that's, I would think that you, you jumped from that 30 conversation into that top 10. And not only that, DP, they're throwing 96. 97. He was throwing 99 in the eighth inning. Exactly. That late in, I was like, whoa, how does that

arm feel? I mean, that's, that, that ball is coming. Listen, to throw that to throw 99 in the eighth inning and then had the moxing, the absolute gumption to throw a breaker. Yes. To throw a first pitch breaker. Like, you've got a guy amped up. He's grinding the, the knob of the bat. with his hands. And then you have the rudeness, the absolute rudeness to throw a breaker to start the count. I went, yeah, this is a no-hitter.

This is not, this is, that's filthy, that's filthy and nasty at the same time. And when you're just don't care. And when you're throwing that hard, that fast, it doesn't take much for that ball to get out of the ballpark. I mean, your placement has to be good. It has to be very, very tight. But if it's off just a little.

Well, he, he hit two batters in the final six out. didn't care. It didn't care. He was like, you know what? I'm out here dealing. Let me cook. Let me cook. And it was special to watch, again, an opportunity that of the 27 ounce, eight of them were put in play. Fair. And three of those

were six hoppers back 60 feet to the pitch of mouth. So it's, listen, his people had the day off. They were chilling. And it was spectacular. You love that day as an infielder. Oh, man. They had a day. They were two. He didn't touch the ball.

First basement over there, water. He's like, hey, yo, hey, fellas. I'm out here. Help a brother out. Anyway, that's when the game is easy. And then you can really just focus on your headbats. You know, if you're feeling good, you can just really focus on your at bat.

I went back and rewatched it because it was just special to watch. Steve Taylor's movie box with me. We're here at Blur, Tailgate. We'll be here until 6 o'clock broadcasting. Again, game one of the day is you've got Louisville, the Cardiac Cardinals, and. Coastal Carolina, Latino clears have been the hottest team in all of college baseball. That first pitch around 1-107 is what they're told.

We will come back from the break. We will thank the folks from Blurr once again for letting us come up here and be a part of this thing. We thank you for listening, text-in on the start of the Hamer Tech Line, if you will. We'll be right back to one-on-one.