Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Mariners Broadcaster Gary Hill Jr. Talks Julio's Stardom, Rivalry With Blue Jays and More!

Episode Date: February 16, 2023

On today's episode of Locked On Mariners, Ty is joined by Mariners broadcaster Gary Hill Jr. to discuss the Mariners' offseason, the rivalry brewing with the Blue Jays, what it's like covering Julio Rodríguez's stardom as a broadcaster, the art of keeping things interesting on air during Spring Training games and much more.Be sure to follow or subscribe to Locked On Mariners wherever you prefer your podcasts! For questions and other inquiries, email: [e-mail] the show on Twitter: @LO_Mariners | @danegnzlz | @CPat11For more of Ty and Colby, check out their Patreon: patreon.com/controlthezone/Join our Slack!FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today's episode of Lockdown Mariners, Mariner's broadcaster Gary Hill Jr. joins us to talk some ball. Let's get into it. You are Locked on Mariner's. Your daily Seattle Mariner's podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

It is Thursday, February 16th, 2020. This is Tadine Gazzalus for the Locked on Mariner's podcast. Thank you so much for making us your first listen. Subscribe, like, and turn on alerts if you're watching on YouTube, or subscribe and leave a five-star review on your preferred podcast. podcast platform if you like what you hear. And if you want to hear from us even more, please consider sending up for our Patreon. The link as well as our social accounts is in the description below. On the show today, we're talking with Mariners broadcaster Gary Hill Jr.

We both reflected on the Mariners epic comeback in Toronto and also talked about Seattle's offseason and a whole lot more. Before we get into that, though, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and leave a comment below this video to increase your odds of winning a signed Walter Ford card from Colby's collection. The winner will be picked on Monday. Now, without further ado, here's Gary Hill Jr. We have a returning guest joining us today on Locked on M's, Mariner's broadcaster and hosts of the Mariners pod. Gary Hill

Jr. Gary, always a pleasure to chat with you. First... Great to see you. Yeah, great to see you. How was your off-season? What did you get into this winter? Oh, it's good. Off-season is a lot of time with the family. Once first pitch of spring training gets thrown,

it's pretty all-encompassing once the season starts. It's every day, even off days, really on our off days. So the off season, there's a time just spend as much time with the family as possible, relax, taking some hoops, you know, try and recharge more than anything. So my wife watches pretty much every episode that we do here on Lockdown M's, and still to this day, she says that her favorite episode that we've done is the one that you and I did the day before the drought ender. And so this whole off season, she's been hounding me. When is Gary

coming back on the show. You got to get Gary back on the show. You got to message Gary. Well, Caroline, I message Gary. Gary's back on the show. He's here in the flesh. So we're going to talk some memes. Gary. I'm feeling pressure now, just so you know. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, you got to live up to these expectations. I know. So the last time you and I chatted, like really chatted, was about an hour or so before first pitch at game two of the Wild Card Series in Toronto. You came down to the 500 level concourse, talked to my buddy Keith and I for a few minutes, just about, you know, the game the night before and what we were hoping to see out of Robbie. And obviously, you know, things didn't really go according to plan. It really nothing went according to

plan in that game. You know, and I think you and I really couldn't have possibly wrapped our heads around what we were about to experience that night. And, you know, we haven't really talked since then. And so I want to start here, like, what was that whole experience like for you? And, you know, what was the, what was the celebration like? Because I had a great time afterwards. Yeah. It's hard to put into words. It was really indescribable, the way everything unfolded. And I think you hit it perfectly. There was no way to know when we talked just hours later what we had in store for us, because that game was incredible. It was an all-timer. There's just the ups and downs, roller coaster ride,

uh, was amazing. And the way it, you know, it's so funny because I, I thought about it as the game was kind of progressing. And the thing that always sticks in my mind is when Romano came in late in the game. I'm like,

this is great. Because for tomorrow, he's not going to be able to throw as many pitches as, you know what I mean? That's where my mind was as the game's going on. Even at that point, I wasn't thinking, hey, they're going to come back and get this thing.

That's where my mind was. I was already playing it forward in the next day. And what do you know? They make it happen. The celebration was incredible. The Mariner fans that stayed all gathered behind the dugout. And the celebration was on. It felt like after the clinch game,

where people just stuck around forever, the players were, the celebration between the players and the Scott and the coaching staff. And just after all this time, you know, clinching and getting to the postseason was obviously significant. But then to win a postseason series against a really good team, the Blue Jays really good. And they were playing really well at the time. And to me, a really scary team. And to do it at their place was incredible.

It's still hard for me to put into words, especially being there and experiencing it. But it was awesome. It was insane. Like, definitely the, the craziest sports moment of my life. Definitely the craziest game that I've been to in person. And I was at the James Paxson no-hitter. And that just topped it tenfold. It was crazy.

You know, I tried to get down there with the rest of the fans. And they had the ramps from the 500 level to the down below blocked off. So I couldn't get down there. I could only exit. So, but, you know, from the top, I saw everyone celebrating. I saw, you know, Julio walking off and everyone chaining the MVP and all this stuff. And that game was just nuts, thinking about how that thing started. I mean, like, you know, you were thinking about the next day and what was going to happen the next day.

And I mean, all the fans around me, I could see them, like, buying tickets for Sunday, you know? And I'm thinking, like, I don't know if I can do this again, like going tomorrow. Like, I'm already a nervous wreck as is. Like, I don't know if I could do it an elimination game. like maybe I'll just stay home. I don't know. Like, you know, and then like the chance to Robbie, Robbie. I was in hell. I was in hell that whole game. Can I show you, can I step off camera for a second?

Yeah, go for it. You know a souvenir that I brought from the clubhouse after the game from Toronto. I think you'll like, do it. Do it. Just give me a second. Yeah, sure, sure. So we stayed on the air forever after the game. and we had one of those post games that went forever. But then I went into the clubhouse after and no.

Nice. I mean, the whole thing I think was fabulous. The Blue Jays logo on it is. So this is a keeper. This is an all-timer. Yeah, you have to have that one. I have a couple of the towels. Actually, I think they're upstairs.

But I have a couple of the rally towels from from that series and everything. Nice. Yeah, I'm. never going to forget that day at all. Like, and even the day before, too, like the, the, the Louise Castillo performance, just the whole experience of those two days was mind-blown. Like, I still, like, kind of have to pinch myself because it just, it still doesn't feel real to this day.

It's, it was just wild. You know, it's funny, too, and I talk to people about this all the time. It is something, too, about watching your team in enemy territory and an opposing building, especially with everything on the line like that. It's an experience that I hope everyone gets to experience at some point because it's really unique to be just surrounded by the wildness and everyone going nuts for the opposition. And there you are kind of on an island. And there are other Mariner fans you can see, obviously. But it's like you against the world, it feels like.

And to watch Castillo deal in that circumstance and just shove. I got to say he watching him pitch is one of the great joys of my life at this point. He is unbelievable. It's the whole thing. It's the stuff. It's the flare that he does it with. The joy that he's pitching with on the mound, the smile. I mean,

the whole package. I love it. And that Toronto game was perfect. Yeah. It's amazing, man. Especially Colby and I were talking about this on yesterday's show. with the Frankie Montes injury and thinking about how easily that could be the Mariners. The Mariners could be the Yankees in the situation and the Yankees could have Luis Castillo

and just how, I mean, how much does that set the Mariners back if they ended up trading Edwin Arroyo and Noel V. Marte, et cetera, for Frankie Montes instead of Castillo. Just like, that decision as a whole might have changed the course of the Mariners for the next five, ten years, really. Like when you really think about it, even just going back to when we were talking about it, yesterday, I feel like I understated just how crucial that whole scenario is to this team right now. So that's, that's just, it's crazy to think about Cassio's amazing, watching him just dominate, just absolutely shove in front of all those fans was wild, just one of the coolest moments ever.

I got to tell you, though, the most conflicting moment of that whole weekend for me was when JP tied it on the bloop single. and, you know, Springer and Bichette are down on the ground, and I'm in enemy territory, and on the inside, I'm freaking out because I'm like, oh, my God, we just tied the game. But also I'm like, I can't cheer right now. I cannot. I literally can't. I'm like, looking around, like, at people next to me, I'm like, yeah, man, that sucks.

That was actually really hard to watch. Yeah. And it's funny because I was asked the top five moments from this past Mariners season recently, and there's a lot of it. When you really start to think about it, there's a ton of great moments. And I just, I couldn't put that one in there given it's obviously hugely significant to the Mariners season in that game, but just that side of it, the Springer side of it. I just can't do it because of that. It's just, I give him all the credit in the world and all those, the entire, I mean, everyone was going after that ball like the game was on the line because the game was on the line.

And unfortunately, it was just hit. And, you know, fortunately for the Mariners, it's hit in the right spot. Unfortunately, for those guys, it was just, it was brutal. I mean, I give you credit for, I mean, talk about going all out. They did. And it paid price, unfortunately. Brutal. Absolutely brutal.

But, you know, just looking back on that series, I think that builds just, you know, even more to what this. I mean, because it's always been kind of a rivalry, right? Especially with the Blue Jays fans invading Timo and, you know, over the years. And just the fact that these two teams have been. very much in line and you know in wild card positioning for not just this past year but the last couple of years as well i i think that's just kind of one of the great like underrated rivalries that we have going on right now on baseball i'm really looking forward to seeing how that plays out this year and you know seeing that stadium now like ever since like you know i've walked by there

a few times and i just i get chills man thinking about that that weekend yeah erin goldsmith and i talk about it all the time when that place is full there are it is right now that is right there with best atmospheres in all of baseball. It is incredible. That place gets so loud. And I thought kind of a big factor in that series was how the Mariners were able to keep them quiet, quiet-ish, for large portions of those two games, just because especially the first game with way of Castillo pitched. But that atmosphere is unbelievable. That's what you want, right? That's exactly what you want. And you're right about the rivalry. And I think Tyosker on the Mariners side now spices things up a little bit too when you can look at the Mariners in Blue Jays.

So again, you kind of forecast what this thing could look like and the way things play out this season, we could see another tussle between these two teams again, which would be pretty great. More for my conversation with Gary Hill Jr. in just a moment. But first, a reminder of this episode of Lockdown Mariners is brought to you by Fandul. The midway point of the NBA season is here. And now is the perfect time to download Fandul, which is America's number one sportsbook. because new customers get a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000.

That's bonus bets back if your first bet doesn't win. Just download the Fanduals Sportsbook app. It's safe, secure, and super easy to use. Then you can bet on everything, like the Timberwolves at minus 3 against the Wizards tonight. Plus, Fanduel even let you combine your bets for a chance at a bigger payout with a same game parlay. So don't miss the chance to get your no-sweet first bet

up to $1,000 in bonus bets when you go to fandul.com slash Locked On. That's Fanduil.com slash L-C-K-E-D-O-N to learn more. Make every moment more with Fandul an official sports betting partner of the NBA. You're listening to Locked-on Mariners podcast. Thank you again for making us your first listen. Let's get right back into my conversation with Gary Hill Jr. So you mentioned him.

Tay Oscar's here now. He's ours. He's no longer cranking dingers off of Robbie Ray in the Wild Card series, which is great. He was literally the reason for all the Robbie Chance. And, you know, you add Colton Long as well. Obviously, you lose guys like Mitch and Carlos Santana and Adam Frazier and Eric Swanson, but, you know, you also take a couple of interesting flyers on A.J. Pollock and Tommy Lestell, et cetera. So, you know, what do you think about this offseason as a whole for the Mariners? I mean, it's been a pretty divisive

offseason on social media for the fan base, but what do you think about it? Yeah, and I understand it. I understand where that comes from. I will say, I don't think there's any question the Mariners are better. I think clearly they needed more at second base. And I love Colton Long. I think he's a really good player. I think he's an upgrade offensively. And I'm really curious to see him defensively this year, especially with the new rules. As we all know, second base is going to be critical defensively, even more so than it's been the past few seasons. So I'm interested to see how that plays out. I love Teaska Hernandez. So do I, man.

My offensive advice, I love guys to hit the ball hard. I just think that if you were to put, if I were to summarize hitting, I think you're trying to hit the ball as hard as you can, as often as you can. That's how I would just simply put it. And Teoska Hernandez hits the ball really hard. It's funny, we had a conversation before the Blue Jays series talking about just the matchups and how things line up. And Vladi Bischet.

Those are the obvious guys in their lineup that's scary. But we talked about Teosker as a guy that you don't want to face with a couple guys aboard because he's scary with that power. He changed the game with one swing. And we saw it play out. It just so happens the Mariners came back and overcame it. But we saw what he's about. I think he's a legit middle of the order to thumper and a game changer for this team.

And I love him and Julio, that dynamic, both on the field and off the field. field, I think is going to be super fun. Task is a really fun guy. I think he's just going to be so much fun to watch. And I love the bat in the middle lineup. Paul, too, I think is super interesting because he still crushes lefties and you look at the platoon situation. And I think all our eyes are on Kellnick. I think that's a story that we'll all be watching early in the season, especially with the Tremel News, this came out, which is unfortunate. But, you know, because you look at kind of how the offense shapes up and you kind of look at projections and where could they get the most gains. You know, Kellick's kind of the guy you're looking at, right?

That's kind of the biggest unknown when it comes to the offense this season. What is that platoon going to look like in left field? What will Kellnick and Pollock bring to the table offensively in left field? I'm optimistic. I'm still a Kellnick believer. I mean, he's super young. I think that gets overlooked. a lot.

And I don't think he'll have as much pressure on him coming into the season. Because I felt like at times, like when he first came up, it was almost like, here's the savior has arrived kind of thing. I don't think he has that kind of pressure to be a pillar offensively because they have, I think they're just solid up and down. But I think health is going to be a big key. And there's no way around that. Yeah, yeah.

Health is going to be a big key, but it's a big key for everything. Everybody. I know. You can say that to everyone. Yeah. Yeah, you know, so the thing with Kellanick, too, and, you know, we had Jerry on here a couple weeks ago, and he was telling us, you know, thank you, thank you. Yeah, that was a, that was a pretty cool opportunity for us. Jerry's, Jerry's fantastic. Just a wonderful guy, really way more generous with his time than he needed to be. It was great. He, but, you know, he talked to us about Kellnick and just, you know, and Trammel before, you know, he had the context of the injury, of course, about, you know, just how. important it would be for this organization if one of those guys actually hits and you know you get it right like obviously now you're in a in a space where you can't wait too long on these guys you have very high aspirations for yourself this year but you know you kind of want to see like you don't want to block them outright because if one of them actually breaks out here you have a controllable outfielder for the next six years who can produce that, you know, if you're, you know, trying to assume here with someone like Kelnik, I mean, essentially a fringe all-star level at the

very least. And so that changes the whole dynamic of the Mariners as a whole from a roster perspective. And then it puts less pressure on you to go out and maybe target one of, you know, like the Brian Reynolds's of the world. And so, yeah, you know, so I'm really, really interested to see Kelnick this year. And, you know, if he comes in a little more, you know, trim, you know, to help him develop more of a fluid swing so he can catch up to those, you know, fastballs in the middle top portion of the zone. And I think that would be huge for him.

I think that would really change the makeup of his game and hopefully lead to finally some success for him. And like you mentioned, too, you know, the importance of taking that pressure off of him now. He does, there is no pressure on him. It's just, you know, you either contributor or you don't. And we're going to move on if he don't. and that's what it is. You hit on, yeah, and you hit on, I think,

one of the more interesting questions with where the Mariners are at right now. And it's a question I've asked Justin and Jerry, and it's, you know, what is that line where the expectations are high? Trying to get to the postseason, trying to win a division. Yet you still need to develop young players.

So that balance is sometimes can be tricky. But you think about it in last year's context. Think about Cal Raleigh season. struggled to begin the year. And then we saw what he turned into during the course of the season. And part of his injury, he got that opportunity again because Tom Murphy got hurt, but he took advantage of it. But to me, that's an example of why you just can't shut the door on young guys,

especially guys that in the scheme of things have not had a lot of time at the major league level. Because Cal Raleigh now has turned himself into one of the best catchers in baseball at this point, I mean. And it's crazy to think about too, right? Because he only went to AAA for, what, 10 days? Yeah, I know. And then he just came back just a totally different place. Like, how does that happen?

How does that happen? You know, we talked to him a couple weeks ago. It's interesting. I love talking to guys about, you know, situations like that. Like, how did you do this? And, you know, a lot of times. And with him, he talked a lot about just relaxing more than anything. And, you know, it's the human part of the game that it's hard to talk about because, you know, we don't know what's going on in guys' minds.

But, you know, there is a lot of pressure. And there's a lot happening, especially hitters just coming out now. Pitching is so good. Hitting is so hard. Harder than ever, I think. And especially for young guys getting a taste of that for the first time, it is incredibly difficult. So there's just, there's a lot at play for young guys. and the fact that Cal did what he did

in pretty short order as you mentioned the turnaround was so fast and man just to see the season he put together the home runs I mean it's something that none of us could have predicted in April and he turned out to be such a pillar to what they did and turned in one of the biggest moments in franchise history

and no matter what happens with Cal the rest of his career I mean he'll always have that yeah he'll always have that and then I mean he goes on in the postseason, you know, with a piece of his thumb broken off, catches 18 innings. He hits, you know, one of the biggest home runs in the whole postseason for the Mariners in Toronto to kick the scoring off there. Like, what he was able to do at the end of the season,

given the injury that he was dealing with, is insane. It's truly, like, remarkable what he was able to do. Just absolutely unheard of. You know, you've talked about how you've talked to some of these guys over the course of the offseason. You've conducted a lot of offseason interviews over the years at 7-10. And I'm curious now that the team has ended the drought. Have you noticed the difference in the messaging than in years past from both the people that have been with the club for some time and those that are just now entering the organization like Tay Oscar? I saw that you guys talked to Tay Oscar during the luncheon.

Like, is there a different feel around this team than you've seen before? Like, has this team truly built a different reputation for itself? You know, it's a really good. question. I would say yes, because I think about, let's look at this through Paul Seawald's eyes, just for example. Paul Seawald, who has been with the organization, this will be year three. So he was with the organization the previous two years. All Paul Seawald knows, like he's heard about the drought. He's answered plenty of questions about the drought. But all he knows of the Mariners org as a team that's won 90 games in two years. And for a team in year three has expectations to go the playoffs again and win 90 plus games again and compete for a division title.

So the drought, I think, has stuck with us who have been around for a long time or have been fans for a long time. But I think when you look at it through the eyes of the team and a lot of the team is really young, I think their view of themselves and the Mariners is totally different in that regard. I mean, and Paul's a great example. Like, all he knows is winning with the Mariners. That's what the Mariners are to him. And you go down the list, Gilbert and Kirby and Brash, I mean, check them all off.

That's what they know. Obviously. So, yeah, I would say yes, for sure. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, especially from someone like Tay Oscar, who comes from a great situation in Toronto, a place where he has a lot of friends and has won a lot of games. and to hear him be like, this is where I want to be though.

Like that's different, right? You don't hear that from a lot. And obviously he didn't have necessarily a say in coming here. You know, he gets traded for and all that. But he doesn't necessarily have to say that, right? Like, you know, obviously these guys, you know, they'll say things for the fans and all that.

But like, it's nice to hear a player of someone of that caliber say, I can win a World Series here. Yeah. Not just like. And, you know, it's another thing, too, that we no longer have. to hear like, oh, I want to be the, you know, I want to be a part of the club that helps, you know, in the drought and all this stuff. We don't have to talk about it anymore, right? It's just about we're just like every other team now. Like, we can just talk about making

the playoffs, winning the division, win in a World Series. Like that's, you know, it's just nice to be kind of in that space where you don't have this dark cloud hanging over you the entire time and this whole like extra goal on top of everything else that teams focus on. obviously we're still so early on in Julio's career but as a broadcaster I'm really curious to hear your thoughts on this is it hard to not get a little bit complacent with a star like Julio when greatness is just the expectation for him oh that's a great question so I do my best to not take that for granted because I think we are watching a superstar develop I think he's in the early stages, but he's got all the tools, he's got everything. He's got absolutely everything

to be a superstar in this game and a transcendent star beyond baseball, which is saying, I know that's saying a lot, and that's putting a lot of expectations on it, but I don't take it for granted, or I try not to take it for granted because it is super fun to watch him every single day.

He's the kind of guy when I think about, if you're driving around in your car and he's batting, like you're staying in the driveway to hear how that a bat plays out because he could do something amazing. I think about every pitch at Team Mobile Park. Like the next pitch, he could hit it out of the stadium legitimately.

The next pitch that a pitcher throws, he could rob a home run. I mean, you never know what he's going to do. And as a kid, I got to grow up and watch Ken Griffey Jr. in that capacity who transcended baseball and it was a superstar in every single way. And I'm so thankful that this new generation of Mariner fans get something similar with what I think will be Julio Rodriguez.

They'll get the same thing. He's going to be a Mariner for a long time. And I think he's going to be a great player. I mean, you already got a great year last year and year one. And as we all know, like years aren't linear. Development's not linear. But my expectation is that he's going to have another wonderful. year. What that looks like, I don't know, but I'm excited to see what that is. But I'm just,

I'm so happy that there is this large group of Mariner fans that are going to grow up with Julio and get to watch Julio and Julio be their guy. It's so fun to hear as we went throughout baseball too to talk to guys like, who is your inspiration? Who's your favorite player growing up? And Ken Griffey Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Ken Griffey Jr. And, you know, fast forward this thing, a decade, 20 years from now, I feel like we're going to hear that with Julio. We're going to hear from no matter where kids grow up,

Julio's going to be their guy. Yeah, I really think so because he just, I think we talked about this the last time, and you and I were on here that Julio just, he's everything. He's the full package. It's not just that he's a great baseball player, it's that he does

everything with a smile and that he's just, I mean, like you look at, I don't know if you saw the tops ads that he's been doing, like, where he's like acting and all that's, it's just great. He's just such a charismatic dude that he can, he can be that superstar. He can be the face that really baseball needs right now.

Baseball really needs a guy that they can market the hell out of. And really, you know, because that's, Julio's the type of dude that can get young kids interested in baseball. Again, we talked about this last week. We were asked about,

you know, how we feel Major League Baseball should improve in marketing its game and all this. And I think, you know, Julio's really is, the key to that because, you know, they had, you had an opportunity there with Tatis, but unfortunately Tatis's career has kind of taken a dive off the deep end over the last, you know, year or so. So that's not really an option, at least at the moment right now. So Julio's that guy, right? Because

Trout doesn't necessarily want it. Right. And I mean, you know, Otani is amazing and does so many amazing things, but they haven't really been able to market him, at least in America, how, you know, he's been marketed over in Japan. I feel like Julio's the guy that can be marketed everywhere. Yeah, I agree with you. And reach all, you know, all kids around the globe that might be interested in picking the sport up. And it's a great thing because, you know, it's a lot like Griffey.

I know it's really easy and lazy to make those comparisons to Griffey, but he's very much, he carries himself in a very similar way to the way that Griffey did. And, you know, he's amazing right out of the gate. And, you know, like you said, I think that he's even on a, on page. for an even better year because you look at the numbers i mean those numbers are bogged down by an awful april i know and and so you know and some of that obviously not his fault and then he obviously got hurt a couple times as well it's like dude what is the ceiling for this guy like i think about that all the time like that's the question that you that is the question what is the ceiling and i don't have the

answer which is fun it's really fun to think it's just look at all the tools it's absurd. All the different things he can do and the way he runs at his size and he's a track star. It's all ridiculous. It's ridiculous. It's so ridiculous. So you told me before we hit record on this thing that you're heading down to Peoria on Tuesday.

What are some of the storylines you're looking forward to see and play out this spring? Obviously, you talked a little bit about Kellanick, but you know, you look at this roster right now and I feel like it pretty much writes itself. I don't expect a lot of position battles. it seems like it's pretty much chalk across the board. I mean, there might be a couple here and there, but barring injury, I think this roster is pretty much set. So, you know, for you, as someone that's covering the team,

has to cover the team every day, how are you, what are you looking for? How are you planning on keeping things interesting? Yeah, spring baseball is nuanced to me because, hey, the results don't matter. Like if the Mariners win or lose to the Royals on a Tuesday, it makes no difference, right? standings don't matter. Stats don't matter because there's so many,

it was the wind blowing out, was the wind blowing it, and it was a double-a pitcher throwing. The sun getting the outfielder's eye. There's so many variables at spring training that makes all that stuff impossible. But there's plenty of interesting things that happen within the ball game

that I think is fun to watch. I think the thing I'll be watching the most is just what the game looks like, first of all, with the rule changes that are going to be implemented in spring training. So what does the pace of the game look like? What does the shift restriction look like? You know, that sort of thing. Just especially, I think it's probably going to be a little rough early on because from what I understand it's going to be enforced pretty tightly for good

reason. They want to get everyone used to it before the regular season. So I'm interested to see what that looks like. For me, spring, I always enjoy seeing the young players that I have conversations. conversations about sometimes I talk to during the course of the season but I never get to see in person so like seeing Miller on the mound for the first time and Wu uh get to hopefully get to see him at some point Hancock you know the young guys to me that's the most fun I think back a couple years ago when he gets to see Julio and Kellick for the first time it's that sort of thing because to me honestly for veterans spring is about getting ready for the season and whether Julio hits 100 or 700 in spring, it makes no difference to me. I feel, I will not feel any differently about Julio going into the

season regardless of the numbers that he puts up. For to me, like health is the number one thing. Run around, get your bats, be healthy, get ready for the start of spring when it comes to veterans. And most of the Mariners are a veteran team. Like, this is not going to be a spring with a lot of position battles. The other thing I, I do watch. And the Mariners have, I think, earn this reputation is every time now the Mariners make a waiver claim with a relief pitcher or something like that. It's just every time one of them takes the mountain spring, I pay extra attention because I've learned the lesson from Paul Seawald and go down the list. Like maybe one of these guys is going to be a high leverage guy down the road. I don't know. So I pay extra attention to any

random reliever that they picked up during the off season. Yeah, we do too. We, we, we, we were joking with Jerry. It was like, yeah, we had no idea who the hell Joseph and Topa was. But, you know, we're like, he'll probably be a top 10 pitcher in baseball. Like, it's just, that's just the reputation they built. I know. I started my research on Topa specifically because, yeah, you just, you don't know. What they're doing pitching wise, which has been fun, kind of big picture. I feel like the organization is in such a good place. They have so many smart people. Like Jerry and Justin Holler are kind of the face of everything, but there are so many great Trent Blank and Joe Furman and Jesse Smith, you know, guys that I think the average American fans don't know, but really smart people doing a lot of really great things within the organization.

And I think about, you know, it kind of gets lost in just everything that happened last year. But you think about for the longest time as kind of Felix and Seeger were kind of the homegrown guys forever that made a bit. big impact in the major league level and you look up last year and it's it's gilbert and it's kirby and it's cow and it's julio and all these guys from in the org popping at the same time and to me that's not an accident they're doing so many smart things with development which i think is the biggest key in baseball right now development of your draft guys your international guys guys like seawald from other orgs to me that's it that's what winning organizations do whether it's the dodgers or the Astros and hopefully the Mariners are following that same path.

So I told you before we were recording that Colby's heading down to Peoria for like a week or so around mid-March and then I'm going down there for like a day or two at the very, very, very, very end of spring training. So I want to know, what are some of your favorite spots to eat in Peoria? Any recommendations for stuff to do outside of baseball? Okay. So I will give you my My days down there

Are just about exactly the same every day So I'll map it out for you It's a wake up early go to the complex Do whatever I have to do Talk to whatever I've talked to then Drive to what is usually a day game Sometimes it's Peoria sometimes it's somewhere else Do the game and then I have a favorite

Hiking spot next to every Ballpark or around Near every ballpark in the Cactus League So that's my thing The hiking, if you like hiking, if you like the outdoors, Arizona is wonderful. And I can give you a recommendation of a good spot near every ballpark in the Cactus League, whether it's Amelback, which is phenomenal, a Pistow Peak, which is great, just a workout spot like Victory Stairs. They're all over the place.

So that's my thing down there. I'll definitely have to reach out and, yeah, ask you about that for sure. Yeah, it's great. I mean, because, you know, the weather's phenomenal. It's usually in the 70s. down there and you just it's remarkable that you can feel like you can drive 10 minutes from a ballpark and hop on a mountain and it feels like you're out in the middle of nowhere which is cool so so i've always wondered this um and this is last question we've already over time i apologize

but um how do you keep a broadcast interesting how do you keep the listener tuned in in the late innings of a spring training game like you know obviously you have to have some stories to tell, but is that something that you consciously tuck away to say for those moments or does it just kind of organically happen? So that's a really good question because I think spring training games are the hardest things to call and the most difficult thing we do. Because you think about a playoff game, it's all right there on the platter for you. It's all happening. Every pitch is critical in a playoff game. So you're just living in the moment. Spring training is the opposite. Honestly, because as I said before, like, whether the Mariners win or lose this game,

the Mariners record, it doesn't matter in the long term. Like when you get to the regular season, like no one, what was the Mariners spring training record last year? I have no idea. What was the year before? Not a clue. So we're calling games where the wins and losses and the results don't necessarily matter. So going into it, you have to know that's the deal. So what I try and do, is I have a lot of conversations during the off season. A lot of them get played during our hot stove shows. Some of them don't. But, you know, I try and just consume as much as possible during the off season.

And then just whatever scenario is playing out in front of me, kind of go back to it. And maybe Matt Festa is on the hill. And, you know, it's things from, it's this dynamic where, hey, we can talk about Festa. and what he did this offseason pitching-wise and what he's trying to do now, or whether it's Festa talking about his trip to Italy during the off-season, right? The fun stuff. So it's finding that. So connecting maybe what's happening on the mound,

but kind of bigger picture where, hey, talking about what Festa is trying to do right now, is you working on a new pitch right now on the mound? Like the results of that don't really matter in the moment in a spring game, But it could have ramifications to the regular season. So that's that's kind of how I think about it. You're always trying to tie it bigger picture and is what happening now. Will that make a difference in the regular season?

So it's tricky. Is that something that you dread doing or do you kind of revel in it? No, I think it's fun. Yeah. Yeah. And spring is pretty loose. Like I'm a guy during the regular season, like, don't miss a pitch like the pitch is the thing and you have a rhythm where you're talking

you pause the pitch is on the way you you hear the either crack of the bat or the pop of the mitt and you have that rhythm spring is a little different like I love to have guests on to just talk like some of the people I just Skylar Shibiyama some of these other people in the org I'd like to have them on and just talk things over and if we miss pitches we miss pitches you know that it's just very loose more than anything else. In that regard, I think spring is pretty fun. Just the conversations we have, the things

we learn, it's really relaxed. As I said, if the Mariners lose that night, win that night, that's not the thing. And like the regular season, that's the thing. The Mariners winning or losing tonight, that's what it's about. Not so much in this spring. It's funny.

I don't, it's so different spring broadcast than the regular season. So I don't get a chance to really talk about it very often. So thanks for the question. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I really enjoyed this conversation. I always enjoy our conversations. They're wonderful. We need to do this a lot more often. Absolutely. Especially so, you know, I don't let my wife down. Because she loves this. Oh, you have to let me know if I lived up to it. So hopefully it. Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure you did. I'm sure you did. I mean, she's tough to impress, but I think you, I think we did get here.

Gary, thanks for hopping on. Anything you want to tell our listeners here before you head out, anything you got going on on 710 or the pod? Anything? No, we'll be putting out some more pods during the course of the spring. And just I'm excited to get going. I'm super excited for the fan base. I love the Mariners fan base.

I grew up here. So I feel like, you know, I have a connection to the fan base here. But, you know, it's such a passionate group. And even when, you know, you're on one side of an argument than the other, it all comes from the same place. It all comes from passion and loving the team and wanting the team to do well, that sort of thing, which I love. So I'm just excited to get things going again.

And I'm excited to see the fans down in spring and especially first pitch during the regular season. So I'm pumped. Can't wait to start. Thank you again to Gary for hopping on with us. Wonderful conversation. Hope you really enjoyed it. That's going to do our far show. Thank you so much for joining us here on the Lockdown Mariners podcast.

I've been your host, Taday Gonzalez. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at L0 underscore Mariners. You can follow me at Dan Gonzalez. This is D-A-N-Z-L-Z-Z and my co-host, Colby at C-Pad 11. That's C-P-A-T-1-1. You can also find all that stuff in the description of this episode. And thank you again for making us your first listen. Now make your second listen to Lockdown MLB Prospects.

Host Lindsay Crosby is a prospect encyclopedia, and he's going deep on the MLB stars of tomorrow. It's free and available wherever you get your podcast just like us. And with that, have yourself a beautiful baseball day. And we'll see you tomorrow. Peace. Thank you.