The Johnny Salami Podcast - Dante

Episode Date: February 12, 2020

On this episode of The Johnny Salami Podcast, we are joined by an individual who's name will remain unknown. With that said, I finally get to have my first conversation with a baseball prodigy from Rhode Island and the laughter becomes uncontrollable.

All right, what's going on, everyone? Welcome to another episode of the Johnny Salami podcast. Today, we have a special guest, Dante Baldelli, man. I appreciate you coming, dude. Seriously, you are the coolest person to be in this room ever. Thank you. Thank you. I think there's probably been some cooler people in here than me, but... I don't think so, man. I think you're definitely the coolest one. But no, man, I'm excited to have you here. We got the new setup going. I love it. The multi-cam, triple camera, triple camera action.

And dude, you're one of the people I haven't really honestly ever talked to. I don't think we've ever had a legitimate conversation. No, I know we played high school baseball against each other a little bit. I think Little League maybe, possibly. But yeah, I don't think we actually had one so you like knew who i was though oh yeah well i knew like cumberland guy like john psyche played baseball in cumberland like knew him knew you yeah and then i saw like on the instagram because i followed you on instagram because we were cumberland guys obviously yeah um the podcast

and stuff and your comedy so i was like this guy's funny as hell yeah so and then you had the johnny salami own instagram page so i followed that oh yeah and that's been fantastic too so and then you reached out so i was excited to yeah dude uh josh told me that you watch my videos and that they make you laugh and i was like gotta have him on dude yeah we always send him to each other and he's like bro he's hysterical he's like you got to get on so i was like i'm like i don't really know john too well like and then you reached out like a couple months ago so i was like yeah for sure dude i love uh i love just talking to people who like i know but i've never talked to just just to see you know what i mean

like sometimes you know it's a hit or miss well i'm one of those people for sure yeah because we haven't had that uh real conversation like you said so but i mean i've been following you with baseball um you were always great man you know what i mean but we were like opposites you know what i mean like i was like the kid with like the breasts and you were the kid who was like normal sized you know what i mean like knew what you were doing well i had the inverted chest too like a bowl of cereal and i had the peacock chest yep yep but like personality why you know what i mean like because i always look like i'm gonna like you know fight someone and you're always smiling but like deep down i'm like oh i'm happy to be here you know what i mean so it's always confusing for me you know yeah like i can imagine some people were like oh like who's that kid at

third base you know what i mean like is he okay like but yeah man it was always uh i was kind of like a football player playing baseball and i always always looked at you as a baseball player. Appreciate that. I know you played football, though, too. Yeah. You were pretty good at football. End of high school, I played. I always wanted to.

I always was interested in playing football. Did you just moss people, or was it just like... Oh, well, so I was big in like... It's funny, because I didn't actually play football until high school. I used to always crush front yard football with my two neighbors, who I would moss. Oh john lynch and andrew whalen i'm sure you know those guys yeah johnny's a huge fan of the podcast yeah i i'd moss them they can attest to that i think they'd agree yeah um and then once i played sorry just like thinking about me bragging about playing front yard football i mean those were the glory days.

Yeah. You know what I mean? And then I was like, shit, I should probably play at some point. And then my coaches were my gym teachers at Hendrickson. So they were like, why don't you come try out for the team? I was like, sure. So junior year, I did it. And I joined Lake.

I should imagine you like like throwing the football in an oncoming car wow he's getting wicked into it dude that's why i was laughing thinking about him like moss and him and we had a couple incidences when we were younger uh he'd uh yeah he wouldn't talk to us for a little bit really he was like upset about it yeah yeah there were one time supposing me and andrew were picking i mean i mean john we're picking on him a little bit i don't even know why i'm laughing so much i feel like i'm gonna puke from it that's funny damn i had to stop talking about it but yeah i played in high school uh senior year had had a blast probably the most fun i've ever had uh doing anything so it was great um and yeah

just had a great time doing it so like andrew whalen and johnny lynch you were kind of like your uh like your hangout buddies growing up. Yeah. I had a similar situation. I grew up with a kid who I would like – we would play basketball and I'd beat him 112 to two. Keep inviting him over. Yeah, he told me the funniest story ever, though. He was like, yeah, man. He wanted to get into football.

Yeah. But he didn't even know how to play football. So, like, first play of the game football so like uh first first play of the game dude dude first play the game he's on offense and he tackles someone they had to like take him out of the game he had no idea how to play but he probably didn't play again did he i think he finished out the season but they probably didn't you know they probably didn't give him a lot of playing time after that first offensive snap tackling the wrong yeah that's that's not good yeah we don't even know

that i like talking about that stuff though like uh i i grew up with andrew like we were on the basketball team at bat one basketball team together and uh we were on this maroon team uh boston college actually that was the name of our team oh nice ironically yep and i remember we were playing these dudes and we were getting absolutely demolished and uh i think i think andrew uh i don't know if it was andrew but someone on the team inbounded the ball to me and I shot a three on the wrong basket. And they counted it for the other team. Everyone was so confused, dude.

So you get those three points? The other team did. So you don't get any points? No, I got taken out of the game. Didn't know how that worked. My coach didn't even look at me. He was like, yeah, we can't have you out there. Emotionally, I was just like, I was done.

Yeah, but I love talking about that stuff. I mean, I think personally those were like, I don't know if you felt this way, but those were the most enjoyable days. I mean, I tried to play college baseball, and it was just too serious for me. You dropped tanks in high school. Yeah, man. High school was fun. I thought it was like...

Because you're playing with all your good friends who you did grow up with. You're trying, but it's still not like a job. College baseball, man, it's eight hours a day. I never told you this though and i went to one of your games because we there was a tournament in high school or something to that to that i don't even know what it was exactly but we played at johnston um memorial park and you you had a game before and we show up and you're jogging the bases and they're like you see that baseball i'm like yeah like john psyche just hit that it was at right field and john oh yeah i have a video of that absolute tank yeah and that was my i never hit a home run in an actual game

that was like a it was a script i think it was like because we were scrimmaging yeah something like that yeah yeah man i i don't know i like the thing i hated about baseball the most was like i mean your dad was the best when i came to this was like implementing just like natural strategies you know like hey like confidence like be yourself you know be smooth and relaxed like get into a good groove what i hated was like the scientific dudes yeah you know like i mean break down the smallest of them yeah it's like every like i don't know man it just like it fucked me up a lot yeah because my dad brought it up because i told him i was coming on your podcast he's like yeah i remember john like baseball like

we coached like coached around a little bit when we were younger obviously yeah he's like yeah john john was really good and he's he's different uh i know he hasn't coached me since whatever that when we were that young but uh yeah he uh he was great like he just tried to keep it simple like yeah to try doing the same simple stuff over and over not trying to make it too complicated which uh yeah just sometimes like yeah just implement like practice and hard work yeah but like for me especially when it came to pitching like a lot of people were like oh man like you have a good arm like if only you used your body and i was like what does that mean yeah like what does that mean they were like oh like you know like uh like i implemented like turning my hips more like you know facing my ass cheek towards the uh the catcher like you know that stuff and it just messed me up man like I was getting injured like it just wasn't

for me yeah but I mean I think it works for some guys but I mean your dad was always good at just being like hey man have some confidence like you know what you're doing yeah you know it's not rocket science yeah especially when we're that when we're younger too when you shouldn't be overthinking it I get to the point where when you're older like sometimes when you're trying to get better than all these guys like little things like it's okay to try and complicate it more and yeah think about it like that but at that age like just just have some fun in college do you think they like uh did they implement that a lot well especially now like you've probably seen with all like the technology nowadays like everything is like i'm everything's video like not just my school but like every most

places and like professional like yeah a ton of them just use like video like they have these different pitching machines that see your spin rate stuff like that like so they're trying to do and find like the best way to use their guys i guess and find their best uh strategies to just improve their guys so it's uh it can be a pain sometimes for everyone just because like it's a lot more different than just working on hitting off the tee and batting practice and stuff but if it's helpful then i understand i understand it should be uh it should be used then yeah what is like the like the fastest pitch you've ever seen well i don't even know off the top of my head like a specific instance but probably there was one last year actually against a kid from North Carolina. He struck me out.

It was 96 down the middle. What was it like seeing it? Or did you not see it? Exactly, exactly. I basically didn't see it. It's like you would think 92 and 96 aren't that different. There's so much. 92 and 96 has that extra giddy up at the end

where it just like gets on you and you don't expect it so probably that and i definitely didn't see it because i missed it for sure yeah um but i'd say 90 96 97 probably i've always wondered what it'd be like to see like a 94 mile an hour like slider like a like a chap like that kind of stuff yeah slider i haven't seen anyone like that i've seen like 80s, but still like 94 and 88 is so much different. Like those guys are insane. Like Chapman that can just throw 100 and then one 92-mile-per-hour slider. At the beginning of the year, do you like travel to play like the more elite teams like Texas A&M and stuff like that? Well, let's go to warmer weather.

So this year we're going to Florida for the first trip. Then we actually go to Arizona State the second trip, which which is gonna be nice i've never been there and then we have like a spring break trip which will be our third trip of the year and this year it's in south carolina so every year for the first three to five weeks it's always away because it's so cold up here you can't even play yeah just like reminds me of our high school baseball days so it's like it's tough but uh dude i remember when i was uh playing at ccri dude we went down to uh florida and we were playing like the junior college teams but it was just like some of those kids are like division one players that just like can't read you know what i mean yeah like legit it's true because there's a

lot of really really good uh junior college kids that you see all across the country. And they're just as good as any Division I player, but there's some reason or another they can't play at a D1 school at the time, and so they're just going to JUCO, which I understand too because they get to play good baseball and worry about upgrading whatever it is they're trying to get better at. Yeah, it's like they're like last chance you pretty much. But, yeah, yeah man it's uh i mean you guys like you guys are pretty much like um i mean top tier though like a top tier program you would say yeah we uh

the year before i got there they made it to a super regional against miami um since then we made the post post season or the acc uh post seasonseason two times since we've been there. We're going to have a good year this year. Really good lineup, really good staff. We should be the best year since I've been there. But a lot of stuff should go right, and hopefully it does. Where have you been in the lineup? I've literally been all across the lineup from one to nine in my three years.

You like it, though? Yeah, I like it. It doesn't really matter. I don't really think about it too much wherever I'm hitting the lineup. Usually, when I think less about that, usually it's going better. So, honestly, thinking less is just the best thing to do, depending on what's going on. I feel like that can mess you up a lot.

Yeah. Especially if you're in the sweet spot, dude like three or four three or four hole that i did that a couple times my sophomore year and because we had a couple guys go down with injury and uh it was it was just different being there because i'd never been in that spot like thinking being the three hitter for any acc team like you don't i wouldn't really care i'd want to be in like the eight or nine like a 450 average get a fastball down the middle three pitch in a row dude I remember Josh Brodo was in like the eight or nine spot when he was a freshman and nobody knew who he was so he batted like 900 yeah and he was he was like he was an unbelievable kid to have in your

like people like who's this like short little lefty right now and then all of a sudden he's smacking gap shots off you like yeah man so good that nobody nobody even when like he played like upper deck like they would go down south for like the nationals and like they're just like wicked redneck dudes like crapping on rhode island for no reason yeah for no reason like who are these people and then like j like, Josh batted, like, 600. They were just like, all right, well, maybe they're all right. Maybe they're okay at baseball in Rhode Island, whatever that is. Yeah, man, that's awesome, man, honestly. I've always wondered what it was like because you went to Hendrickon,

which is an all-guys school. I found that out late. I was like, there's definitely chicks that go here. You know what I mean? Yeah, it always confused me because, like, it's like, I mean, you guys got a chicks that go here you know what i mean yeah it always confused me because like it's like i mean you guys got a lot of women you know what i mean like outside of school but it's like someone was like dude it's an all guys school i was like what how are they getting all these chicks huh that always confused me we had we had a sister school which is bay view so a lot of uh oh the school in uh east providence i think is it in

east province i think it's ep um and so that was like a bunch of people would like go to dances or like meet people through there so um that was like an easy route for hendrick and to kind of meet some meet some girls and whatnot but yeah all definitely all guys for sure yeah and then like uh i feel like a lot of people would like i was never into like trash talking or anything i didn't really speak a lot in general i would speak like once a year and be like people like all right let's listen to them you know what i mean so it was like uh yeah everyone would like crap on you guys because you were like an all guys school this is when i found out yeah but realistically i heard it was like awesome i uh i still tell people to this day i would never do anything

different like i like lasalle or no i loved hendrick and like the friendships and like the memories from there like it was unbelievable like there was a point uh my sophomore year like the beginning of the year i was like i just want to go to cumberland i was like josh broder like all my buddies that i used to like hang out with all the time. And my only friends I had before I went to Hendrick and where I was like, I miss hanging out with them. Like it's just different. And then like baseball season came around my sophomore year and I was like, just excited. Like I was like, oh, maybe, maybe this place isn't half bad.

So I loved it. It was a great camaraderie, like just good, good friends that I have to today. So I definitely wouldn't change anything about it. i i loved it it was uh great camaraderie like just good good friends that i have to today so um i definitely wouldn't change anything about it and a lot of the people i went there with would i think agree because they we always talk about like the memories and stuff from there yeah yeah man i mean everybody would like everyone was always with negative sometimes you know what i mean yeah like every school has like their own like uh judgment level yeah i don't even know what people people just think like carmel Cumberland kids are just assholes.

But they're right, you know what I mean? They're not wrong. You know what I mean? A lot of people didn't like us, but I don't know. I just kind of, like, sat back and watched. Yeah. A lot of, like, there was, like, I think our sophomore, or my junior year, we played Cumberland in the championship.

Yeah. Or, yeah, championship. And the trash talk was just like from the Cumberland people was unbelievable. I remember going on social media after and it was just like, Hendrickson shouldn't be allowed to play. It's shitty that they get all these recruits. It's almost like a Patriots vibe. Yeah, it's the same type of thing. Like Yankees, Patriots, they shouldn't have this, they shouldn't have that.

If I went to another school, maybe I'd be saying the same thing. That's kind of shitty. They shouldn't have that. Which, like, if I went to another school, like, maybe I'd be saying the same thing. Like, that's kind of shitty. They get all the kids. It must be worse, though, with, like, Hendrick and LaSalle, though, because you're kind of, like, competing overall for, like, prestige. Yeah. Definitely between the two, like, the cocky LaSalle kids versus, like, the cocky Hendrick and crowd. Like, it definitely can get, like, very, like, heads up, like a lot of trash talk going on.

But we try and kill LaSalle anytime we could in any sport. Yeah, makes sense. I mean, it's the same thing year after year, so it's like, you know. Yeah, no, that's why I understand the other schools, like, it's kind of unfair. I mean, I do agree. Yeah, I mean, you guys, like yeah i mean it's kind of i mean you guys like recruit and like you have a well that's what everyone says like on social media like

really like it just i mean not recruit but it's like word of mouth yeah exactly like oh like that's like me like leaving hendrick and be like oh you should go to hendrick and like i guess call call it what you want but like there must be like generation after generation you know oh yeah a lot a lot of that goes on to like brothers like fathers went to um that's where my brother went to yeah Rocco Rocco went there my other brother went to Mount St. Charles so yeah that's what I that's what I thought but again man I was just kind of like sitting back watching you know I was just like this is cool man wait waiting for your one word uh of the year yeah man I never really had much to say man baseball was always kind of like

peaceful and quiet. What about football, though? Any trash-talking football for you? Not really. No, man. Unless I got really mad. I was one of those kids that... I've always been like this. It's really hard to get me mad, but if I do get mad, there's going to be a genocide. You know what I mean? I remember one time like the first time i ever got mad in football uh i was a junior and like my coach would scream at us all the time which is completely normal yeah but like when you're young you're kind of like why are you yelling yeah but then like you get older and you're like thank god he yelled at me and like and i was always a wicked lazy kid man

like i had a bunch of talent but i was wicked lazy and uh just from like a shitty childhood like kids are always like that. You know, they're like, why should I be doing this? You know what I mean? Yeah, 100%. So I remember like one time I got my position taken. And I was like, because I was playing like, I was playing left tackle and I was just like titty bumping people.

I was just like, oh, this is boring. Yeah. And my coach literally like just ripped me a new one. But like, it wasn't even like that. Like he was like making fun of me. He was like, Oh, I'm John Turkey.

I'm the water boy. Like, yeah. Like just absolutely shut on me. He was like, I'm John. I don't even speak. And like,

dude, I got so mad. Uh, so they put me on the scout defense and I was like, all right, well, and I'm like legitimately screaming at kids and people were like, what's going on?

I haven't said a word all year, dude. And I'm literally just like trash talking everyone.'m like yeah like i'm gonna literally kill everyone on this play so they're like testing it out so my coach is like all right just run a play to his side see what he does so this uh the left tackle went in for me it was like wicked good man okay great block on me but i just did like a spin move. You went like JJ around him. Exactly, dude. Spun around him and just leveled the running back. And my coach was just like, I thought he had like a legitimate aneurysm.

He was just like so confused. He was like, why can't you just do that every play? And I was like, because I'm mad, dude. You just made me wicked mad. You just pissed me off right now. So it was like ever since then, though, like it helped a lot like in terms of like knocking the laziness out of me but in baseball i would never i don't think i'd ever get that mad you know what i mean i feel like you can't do if you get bad in baseball it's like i feel like when you're getting mad and like upset like you're done like you're done and especially i feel like

in baseball just because like you're going up to the plate thinking about how mad you are like yeah maybe some people use their anger to like hit, like, I don't know, but I've never been one of those people. I think I'd go up there and strike out every at bat. So people don't understand, like whenever you hit a home run, like you're not really anticipating it.

No, you hit it when you don't like literally the exact opposite moment of ever expecting. That was always my biggest problem. Like if I was just like, it was almost like, this is a lot of things though. Like in football,

not so much, but in like baseball, I mean, you're in a groove and you're kind of just like in a coma, this is a lot of things, though. Like, in football, not so much. But in, like, baseball, I mean, you're in a groove, and you're kind of just, like, in a coma. Literally. Literally in a coma. Basketball, same thing. Like, you have a hot hand. Like, you're not really thinking about it. You just, like, feel.

It's muscle memory. Yeah. You're in, like, some sort of, like, mental zone, and, like, your body's just in sync with it. And, like, you're not even thinking. Yeah. Like, the ball just looks huge. Yeah. Looks like a basketball.

You're just reacting. Yeah. That's,'s like when it's going the best for for basically baseball basketball yeah i see that 100 football was like a lot different though football was like every like uh i mean the average play is probably like five seconds yeah so you're just trying to go as fast as you can as hard as you can yeah five seconds and uh like you're just thinking about every play and like yeah i mean i get like i don't know i would always get hurt if i got mad i dislocated my knee when i was mad once oh really yeah man during football yeah freshman year dude i i dislocated my knee because we were doing like um what's it called i think they called it like the pit uh where you literally

just get in a circle and like two people go after it and like whoever pushes the person out of the pit like wins oh is that like oklahoma drills or no not like that oklahoma's when you're laying down oh and then you get back up okay um yeah we were i was going against a kid who was like 315 pounds though ricky goodrow do you know i remember i played uh might have played basketball with ricky when i was in middle school massive man 315 pounds i don't know if he was actually 315, but he was definitely a massive. He looked, yeah, he was a big guy. He was 6'3", like, played Division I football, and it was just me and him left. And I remember I got mad and, like, I was actually pushing him out of the circle, but

when I got up, my knee just went to the side. Like, my kneecap literally just fell off, and everyone was, like, traumatized. You're like the Hulk. You're like the Hulk. Yeah, but everyone was traumatized. Like, yeah, my coach started crying, like my freshman coach. Oh. Yeah, the varsity coach was just like, yeah, just have him walk it off.

And then he saw it, and he was like, all right, maybe not. He teared up, too. One of my coaches was praying for me. I'm just like, come on, man. Just let me die. I remember telling him that. I'm like, dude, can you just kill me right now? Because I looked down, and I was like, it's over. Take me take take me out back yeah the dude's in the ambulance bro they were like

yeah man we don't know if you're gonna walk i was like dude you tell that to everyone like yeah it's like be positive man it was only a dislocated knee too i went to the hospital they just popped it back in that probably didn't feel good some indian chick came in i was like all right well close your eyes all right yeah man it's crazy though yeah but sports man i mean like i said dude i like i'm always like especially this podcast just talking about like the like i don't care so much about like you know college as much as i care about like little league and stuff yeah so i feel like that's when the magic happened well that was like i said like when i think of moss and whalen like that's when the magic happened. That was, like I said,

when I think of Moss and Waylon, that stuff, all those great memories. Poor Waylon. I'm just burying him right now. There's a picture of me and Andrew on Instagram. On your Instagram? Dylan Jepsen's birthday party. They had a front flip contest

in the bouncy house. Me and Andrew won. We were doing belly flops and front flips. He's graceful. me and Andrew won we were doing like belly flops and front flips he's graceful me and me and John always say that about Andrew he's very graceful with everything he does Andrew was a good uh good baseball player yeah man played at uh Linden in Vermont yeah nobody knew where that was but well I remember when he told me at first I I obviously I didn't really know where it was and then he was like it's in Vermont I'm like all right go go up there and have some fun. Yeah, I would have never guessed it.

I was just like, I was thinking it's in like Pennsylvania. Yeah, some random spot. Yeah. I think that was Sammy McQuaid, though. Sammy McQuaid played. I remember Sammy McQuaid, Little League, too. Yeah, man. I haven't seen.

It's funny how like everyone knows each other from Little League, too. Like, oh, he played Little League. That's where the magic happened. Like you said. Yeah, I did. Everyone, Leo Lake. Yeah. Trying to think of people that you definitely would know.

Pretty much just like everyone. Everyone, yeah. I mean, I feel like a lot of people are like, what else would you do if you didn't play Little League? You know what I mean? You'd be the kid at the snack bar. Well, lacrosse is pretty big now, though. Yeah.

Lacrosse is like a big deal now. The Lax Bros, but who cares about that, man? No. You know what I mean? Not me. But, dude, so your brother got like, what, coach of the year? Yeah, man? No, not me. So your brother got Coach of the Year? Yeah, Manager of the Year for baseball. Pretty cool award, I guess, to win.

What do you think of that? I thought he was very deserving of it. I don't remember what the exact number was. It might have been like 22 more wins from last year. I think the Twins had like 78 wins. They got like 101, so maybe like 23 wins, whatever. So he had a great year. He had a great time.

Have you ever been down there? I went once when he signed his contract last year, and then once, or this past season during August, when they played the Indians for like a four-day or four-game series. So we were there for like four or five days. It's a really nice city in Minneapolis. I've never been been up until that's what i've heard man yeah it's beautiful like you think about the viking stadium like i feel like yeah minnesota in general is like a great place to live yeah great the people out in the midwest midwest are like unbelievable really

nice probably really nice too yeah super nice people and then like you said the vikings uh stadium brand new too it looks like a architectural like yeah museum from the outside so nice seriously man have you seen uh the raiders new uh stadium it looked like a tint it looked kind of tinted i think that that's what it was it's crazy i was like jesus christ man yeah man i've uh i've heard some people who uh did uh comedy in minnesota and they were just like yeah man people were just like awesome like denver and minnesota kind of have that like that positive vibe for them yeah but i mean minnesota is like right next to canada so like they probably have that accent too or it's just like that you can you can sense it a little bit in some of the tim hortons vibe yeah

yeah they're all they're all nice all great people out there like and it's just a nice nice area like very uh very outdoorsy stuff like that so it's nice yeah do you get mad when people are like uh like they compare you to your brother are you kind of like hey man like i'm a different person like that's been my answer uh as i've gotten older for sure um when i was younger i was like oh like that's kind of cool but like then i was like i'm nothing like that like he was just a freak athlete like literally could do things that like people don't even like understand like his athletic ability and like the different things he did i was like nobody does that like that's what like lebron lebron james does that kind of stuff that he was doing so um i'm just like yeah i'm my own person do my own thing like yeah i'm a different

player than he was so that's just kind of my plan i try and keep it pretty that's what i thought but i just i can only imagine like people are like so like how's your brother doing yeah how's your brother doing like are you trying to be like your brother it's like oh no yeah he was in the major leagues yeah i'm gonna be like my brother yeah but you got you you got drafted in what like uh the 39th round so basically not even drafted but uh technically you did get drafted yeah Yeah, my senior year by the Phillies. So that was a cool moment for me and my family. So that was nice. What's your goal in terms of getting drafted again?

Obviously as high as possible. There's no number. I just want to have the best senior year possible. Hopefully we're successful all the way around as a team too. So honestly, the better team too so honestly the better the team does the better obviously everyone's doing so yeah that's all you can really hope for so there's no there's no like number or anything like that um right now maybe when it gets close to that point and everything's going well then that's a different story but do um yeah mix i

feel like a lot of people get drafted and then they make the right decision by going back to college because they want to get drafted higher yeah a lot of high school kids expect like unless you're like a first couple rounder and you're making some like a million dollars or at least something like that like you should probably be going back to school so do they uh do they like pay based off of like potential um like in terms of like triple a and like double a are they just like all right this kid has a lot of potential we're gonna pay him more or yeah i guess like when you're in high school in college too but like when you're especially when you're high school like some like thin wiry kid that's a really good athlete like

he might be going higher than like a lot of people would think because they think they'll grow into his body and like he's already a really good player in high school and one of the best in the country so like i guess every case is different but like that's just like a small example like and that kid might make seven million dollars and like if he gets drafted in one of the first couple picks so stuff like that honestly like that very projectable that's what they look at yeah for everyone it makes sense though yeah you know what i mean but like a lot of those guys must be like living out of their cars and like struggling to chase the dream you know what i mean like i remember we um for upper deck we went

down uh i don't even know where we were dude uh but it was uh for the region it was rainville rainville brought us to uh jay rainville yeah yeah brought us to a double a game and he was like yeah man like a lot of these guys were just living out of their cars man trying to chase the dream and i was like wow man i didn't know it was that depressing well you see on like social media a lot too like not uh not even the players themselves will come out and say it but a lot of people like that know the industry pretty well will be like yeah these guys are making like no money like literally no money um and it's like tough because like every family situation is different so not everyone has the

luxury of like their parents helping them out or like their brothers or other family members or stuff like that. So the people that are probably more on their own, it's tough because like there's just not enough money being given to the players, I guess. And everyone wants to make as much money as they can. So like it is really tough. So some other, like for one of the guys on the Twins, actually, he was an indie ball player a couple years ago. Okay. And in the winter, he was an Uber driver. So he would work out during the day and throw, and then at night, he'd be an Uber driver.

And that's how he made a bunch of extra money. So every case is different, but a lot of people do just different stuff to make some money. Yeah. I feel like a lot of people who are chasing a driver, I mean mean, everyone does that, but like everyone's like day jobs different. It's always fascinated me. Yeah. Cause like during the day I'm a banker and people are like, wait a second,

dude, you work in a bank. And I'm like, yeah, it's wicked confused. I'm confused. I'm like, why did you give me,

yeah. Why'd you hire me? Like, what are you doing? It's crazy. People are just like, yeah, like I went into the bank,

he just looked at me and then i left like it was yeah man no i i hate like uh i hate professionalism man in like the banking industry not like in like i think it's important to be like professional the thing with me is like i don't know what i look like externally but people tell me so it's like you know what i mean i might be in a good mood someone might be like dude are you like you want some tissues like i'm just like dude i'm having a great time right now you know what i mean so it's like it's always been confusing for me especially in the bank you know what i mean because i have to be wicked professional and like and then like at night you know i'm telling dick jokes yeah so it's like if somebody from the bank

saw me on stage they'd be like whoa you know it'd be like my football coach seeing me try or like, you know, it's always like that first word thing where they're just like, did he just speak? Like, did that just happen? You know what I mean? So I'm trying to figure that out.

The thing with me though, dude, even if I like, you know, if I exert like emotion, like even like professionalism, like I feel like I'm being professional, but realistically I went from like here to like there. You know what mean like in my head though i'm like oh you just ramped it up

you're trying so you're trying so hard yeah but it real realistically it's just not anywhere near where you think it is which makes me happy though because i don't want to like i'm always like one of my number one fears dude is like getting caught up in like the finance industry and like being one of those dudes who's like excited to buy like tubbleware on the weekends you know what i mean has like a has like a time share like dude that scares the shit out of me you know what i mean i'd rather just be like the guy who's like yeah i'd rather just tell dick jokes at night you know like be myself and see what happens you know what i mean like i'd rather just be like a janitor and do that like i wouldn't even mind you know what i'm saying like just have my thoughts you know what i mean like in the bank it's rough man you know what i mean like i'd rather just be like a janitor and do that like i wouldn't even mind you know what i'm saying like just have my thoughts you know what i mean like in the bank

it's rough man you know you got like these old people coming in and like you definitely can't tell dick jokes to those yeah no man well i like to keep my private life to myself which is another thing that i like learned you know what i mean yeah you can't just be telling people like yeah man i do comedy like people don't even know what comedy is really no you know they're like oh you think you're funny it's like fuck off man you know what i mean like i do it uh yeah man just like this whole like there's like a day job thing and then at night you know like i have to like you know tell dick jokes and it's just like yeah it seems like an easy transition but it's it's rough man you know what i mean so i can only imagine like being an uber driver during the day and then throwing fastballs it's like i don't know man

well i know on your uh instagram too not only like do i see the comedy but a lot of like lifting uh a lot of lifting videos yeah man i like i uh yeah man a lot of that's changed i mean like you're lifting some pretty serious weight that's that's yeah man well when like – yeah, man, a lot of that's changed. I mean like – You're lifting some pretty serious weight. Yeah, man. Well, when you're younger, like that's kind of seen as like a douchebag move. You know what I mean? Like it's like a Chad move.

It's like, oh, you think you're tough, dude? Put up pictures of you lifting and stuff. Well, they don't even pick. They're just videos. Just a deadlifting video or something. Yeah, man. The gym helps me a lot. Yeah.

The gym and like running at the track at – That's another one I always see. It'd be like during the rain. Tonight, dude. Tonight I'm going to be at the track. Listen to some Shania Twain. Just letting it all out. Love Shania Twain.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah, man. That's just my way of, especially now that I'm older, I'm more stressed out. So that's my way of just letting it all out. Releasing a little bit. Thinking about my childhood and just deadlifting a shit ton of weight. People think it's cooler now than they would before though you know what i mean the thing is when i was younger i'd agree with that statement because before i'm like why are people posting

videos and i'm working out now i see like athletes that i like follow or anything like that i see videos i'm like that's kind of cool i'm like yeah i think i'd love to see what they're like workouts are like and stuff like that to get better and all that kind of cool stuff I think it's really cool man I think any form of exercise is cool man as long as you're getting after it I had a dude on here yesterday who is handicapped

and he was telling me he goes to the gym and just goes on the elliptical I'm like dude how do you even do that he's like I just use my arms so he's just got his legs flaring and he just uses his arms but i'm like dude how do you even do that he's like i just use my arms so he's just got his legs flaring his shoulders his arms his shoulders must be like i'm like dude if i saw that like if i walked into the gym and i saw some dude going as hard as he can can't even walk dude i don't want to run through a brick wall yeah you know you are gonna run through that brick wall

yeah seriously but i mean i mean think about it like when we were in high school and stuff like i don't think fitness was that like not as popular as now like especially nowadays with like girls bending over and stuff like yoga pants yeah lemon gym shark out of like fitness channels now man like it's it's you know it's expanding well the thing is like it's i mean i could just sit on instagram all day and scroll through the explore page that's that's all that's literally what i could do yeah all day long and i'm sure a lot of people could would agree with that like yeah that's literally what instagram is now like you you get one you're getting a thousand of them because it's one after the other yeah and it's it's all like an algorithm too so it'll take something that you like and just

show more of it you know what i mean yep so if I see a girl doing glued bridges, I'm going to see another girl doing glued bridges. You know what I mean? But it's like, if I'm on my coffee break, that's probably what I'm going to be doing. It's sad, but it's true. You know what I mean? Not going to talk to Janine about like bank statements. You know what I'm saying? You don't give a shit about what janine i eat lunch in my truck i'm like fuck all these people man yeah i told this uh i don't know if i told this on the podcast man we ended up going to a uh a work dinner man and uh the thing is i'm trying to picture it right now yeah dude so i show up in sweatpants like my my Asics on, just a sweatshirt. And we show up to this Portuguese restaurant. So there's like 15 of us. All of my coworkers.

Not my employees, my coworkers. Got that one mixed up. They'll be working for you soon, don't worry. A few days. Dude, so we're like eating this dinner. And like the whole time, I just don't even say a word and uh i just thought about me like taking a piece of steak and like throwing it at this chick so i started like laughing about nothing and this girl was like she's like oh like why are you

laughing john like is something funny i was like oh, I was just thinking about a joke. And she was like, oh, like, why don't you tell us? And I was like, nope. And my manager's just like, yeah, John's just a psychopath, whatever. You know what I mean? So, dude, like, the dinner ends, and my boss is like, yeah, John, like, we're going to this bar afterwards if you want to come. I'm like, yeah, I don't drink, man, but I'll just stare at you guys if you want. You know what I mean? And everyone's just talking about work, like, you know, like, oh know like oh my god like it's the best thing they've ever done yeah

man telling stories that are just absolutely terrible i'm like just sitting there the past game was on so i was watching the past game but i'm still at the table like trying to like be present but i'm not like nobody even knows i'm there yeah and all of a sudden dude two of the bartenders yell motherfucking hummus yo in my direction. And I'm like, dude, what are you doing? And the bar was right next to the Comedy Connection, so I'm there all the time. But I don't even know these guys, dude. They just yelled motherfucking hummus yo at the top of their lungs and looked in my direction.

So I'm looking around. I'm like, did anyone notice? And everyone's like, oh, John, do you know those people? And I'm like, no. And they were like, dude, what are you doing the next show no and i'm like and uh i was just like yeah man i can't hear you and i just got up as fast i couldn't walk over him and i was like yeah man i like to keep like my private life to myself and stuff and it was funny because like nobody even really noticed from work they were just like oh like you know those guys i was like no i think they were just confused yeah they're worried about their bank statements and they were just like oh like you know those guys i was like no i think they were just confused yeah they're worried about their bank statements yeah and they were still talking about

that's it and they were like all right well cool john and then like uh some guy was like yeah man like you're a hard read john and then just left and i was like all right man good talking yeah i'm gonna go tell dick jokes tomorrow night dude you can talk about bank statements you know what i mean so it's like things like that but like i could have been like oh yeah Yeah, I'm going to go tell dick jokes tomorrow night, dude. You can talk about bank statements. You know what I mean? So it's like things like that. But like I could have been like, oh, yeah, he's saying motherfucking hummus, yo, because that's something that I yell on stage in front of hundreds of people. But I was just like, yeah, no idea.

So I don't want to have that conversation with Janine. You know what I mean? Yeah. It also puts your job in jeopardy. People don't find that funny. Yeah. They probably wouldn't but i mean i think they'd just be focused on the fact that i'm actually talking they'd be like wow they

wouldn't even know the words coming out yeah they would be in legitimate shock john's talking way too much right now yeah but i mean dude i like being quiet though man yeah like i think it's a i think it's a decent attribute to have you know what i mean like i like observing people not in a weird way you know what i mean like i like observing people not in a weird way you know what i mean yeah i mean if a girl bends over me and like you know in front of me at the gym i'm probably gonna look like most people are but like in terms of just like being quiet and like observing men i don't really mind it you know yeah like no one's really gonna bother me i'm not reserved there's nothing wrong with that yeah but it's just like people are always

like oh joan like say your first word and i'm like well that's funny jeff when you really just want to like stuff jeff's face in the copy machine just keep him there but gotta stay calm man yeah can't do that at the bank with him yeah or janine fuck janine man but yeah like do you uh like do you see yourself like are you like one of those people because like for me i feel like i have that mentality where i'm like okay comedy is the dream people think i'm crazy for having comedy as a dream like do people think you're crazy for having baseball as a dream um i don't think crazy especially in my like family like they're not crazy but they're also they also say too like you also should think about other stuff like you shouldn't just think of academic yeah like

like i guess not even academics just like think about what else. Like you shouldn't just think. In terms of academics. Yeah. Like, like I guess not even academics, just like think about what else would you want to do in your life? Like other, like who gives a, because I'm going to be a comm major. Like I don't really care about communications. Like just think about what else I'd want to do though. Like in life.

So they always say that kind of stuff to me. Right now it's more like I'm in senior year playing baseball so i'm just trying to like think about that the next six months and just get get my school working and whatnot and then if baseball doesn't work out in six months then start honestly kind of rolling the dice and thinking about other stuff um i mean but yeah i'm starting to definitely think about like yes i think baseball is a dream and a reality right now but like i just want to i also i'm putting other stuff in my mind just because like it's probably smart to do that like not just think about baseball smart but i thought this is what kind of what messes me up is like uh like

with comedy like everyone says like you shouldn't have a plan b you know what i mean yeah but i have a job so that's technically like my plan b yeah but if i mean there's like a smart side to it and then there's like a like yeah a dedicated side to it yeah like you're just gonna you know you're just chasing one thing or do you have like all these other things yeah like in my in my head like especially right now i try not to think about excuse me too much else like failing yeah i want to think about exactly i don't want to like keep thinking about other stuff because then in my head that turns to like baseball is not really the option right now when realistically that's all i want to do right now so yeah so you're kind of like you're kind of like yeah

i'm capable of doing this if i if i stick with it yeah exactly that's how basically i've kind of turned to it so i'm just going to hopefully play this year and everything turns out the way i want to do so if not then then obviously plan b comes into play um but i've literally could not tell you the slightest thing that i want to do like if baseball didn't work out because like i think that's awesome yeah because everything else i do it's like literally resolves around baseball it's like every day like hitting or throwing and working out and running to keep my legs in shape and other than that like eat a shit ton of food like that's all i try to do how does that work like what kind of um what do they have you doing for like training in terms of like um obviously you're not going to be dead lifting like, you know,

max effort like – Yeah, I guess everyone's a little player specific. At school it's different because we mostly have like the same program. But like during the summer, I actually went on a diet for the first time to like gain some weight because gaining weight has been like the most challenging thing in the world. So I had like red meat every day with like rice and like a bunch of fruits and vegetables but like i made sure like my i did like the my fitness app on like my phone i've

heard of that yeah it's like some track here yeah yeah so i would type in every meal i'd be like mom like how much you think it was in that like steak like how many ounces you think it was all that stuff so i would do that every single day and i made sure i would be like above like between like 35 and 4500 which like isn't a lot for some people but for me it's a lot i ended up gaining like 20 pounds so like that weren't went well like during the summer so that was a good thing other than that like just a ton of like more lifting yeah and like it was less running for me during the summer and now that i was back at school we run a decent amount so it's like a good balance of running and lifting every day what do you do for like lifting though like what type of lifts um back squat for like our main ones would be like back squat bench um trap bar deadlift um we'll do

like some rear foot uh squat so like you'll put like one just like the single leg uh squat with like the dumbbells whatever those are like would be like main ones for the day and then everything else would be like barbell hip extension like rows like pull-ups uh seated row a bunch of stuff like that weighted push-ups like a wide range of stuff and the pitchers and position players will do like a little bit slightly different ones um so yeah that basically and then for running like like this year we toned it down on the running before our lifts because like i'm not a condition guy at all. I'll put that out there.

I can't stand it. So like we do that before we lift and like this year was way more like explosive, like fast twitch, like just trying to get our sprints better, like not as much conditioning. So that was good. So I like running sprints way more than like obviously running like a 300-yard shuttle. Yeah. I can't stand that stuff so um that's just kind of like the range of stuff that we would do i guess for like lifts and run and all that kind of good stuff yeah man i did a diet and it's like night and day man it's like crazy

how much it helps when you have a set plan we're like yeah that's all it is when i like meal prepping changed my life and like having a set plan yeah like the set plan for me was like the because like before i love mcdonald's yeah and like i'd be like for me like it's not even a cheat day i just be like yeah dad i like i'm not eating at home with you tonight like or mom like i'm going to get some mcdonald's right yeah like it's like a friday night and like they're like don we're like we're having some dinner a little bit like i'm gonna get some mcdonald's tonight get a mcgang well i've seen that video for you, too. The McGang Bang. No, I haven't.

What do you usually get at McDonald's? I'm a big nugget guy. Like a 20-piece? Usually a 10, because I like to get some burgers, too, with it. So I'll get like a 10-piece. Either like two or three McDoubles or like a McDouble and a Big Mac. Okay. With like a french fry

but no mcgang bang no that's diabetes right there 10 000 calories in the mcgang bang or something at least man yeah yeah man i used to love mcgang bangs just like sitting in the parking lot and eating them that's how you get tits man that's how you get tits bro yeah so yeah no more no more mcdonald's haven't had that since like may and like that's been like my favorite treat meal i guess i've ever had i never i don't even have it anymore because like i can't imagine what it would do in my stomach i'd probably be on like the toilet in like two seconds yeah man if i go on a diet dude and like i'm eating healthy like what's your diet though like what would you have usually for years i eat uh meatloaf burgers with some rice and some spinach yeah sometimes i have like chicken breasts

the breasts yeah get rid of tits eat some tits man you know i'm saying uh yeah man i eat pretty healthy at least try to have some yogurt between some oatmeal man rice kind of changed my like whole eating thing like that's one of the biggest things i like flavored rice though like i mean i don't mind white rice brown rice but i'm a psycho i'll put like ketchup or barbecue sauce like really pour it on a little bit mix it i do that but with like uh guacamole okay guacamole is my shit yeah that's i've never heard that really yeah i'll never put guacamole on my uh meatloaf burgers man life-changing man i actually just tried guacamole's my shit, yeah. I've never heard that. Really? Yeah. I've never put guacamole on my meatloaf burgers, man. Life-changing, man.

I actually just tried guacamole. It's funny you said that last week because I got bad allergies. I actually was going to tell you before I came on the podcast, your mind not eating any peanut butter before I show up. I already knew that. Oh, you knew that? I hid my peanut butter. Oh, that's fantastic.

I didn't know because it's just one of the precautionary things I always try to warn people, especially if I'm hanging out with them. Obviously, my friends and my family know, but someone coming over to your house for the first time, I'm like, maybe I should tell John that I'm allergic, like deathly allergic. I had the EpiPen in my pocket actually slipping out right now. I already knew, man. I was like, yeah, I got to hide this peanut butter, man, because he might, you know. I eat it all the time. Really? Yeah. Well, not all the time like i eat it with the oatmeal yeah because oatmeal is so plain so yeah some peanut butter in there dude it's like one of

the like things that people just crush like i obviously don't experience it but um like so many of my friends are just like dude like a night like it's just a great snack like i'm just what do i have like they get peanut butter and like put it on something like, yeah. Yeah. So the thing with me is like, if I'm hungry and I'm on like a, you know,

like a deficit diet, if I just have like a scoop of peanut butter, like that'll, that'll do me good. I tried like soy nut butter once and like, it's like the fake obviously. Yeah. And I was like,

oh, it's like, well, they have almond butter too. I can't have that. Really? Yeah. That's a shame. Yeah. All the nuts. It's, it sucks. That's why I was like, oh, it's like, it's not bad. Well, they have almond butter too. I can't have that. Really? Yeah. That's a shame.

Yeah. All the nuts. It sucks. That's why I got the EpiPen's always on tap. Everyone's always like, how do you use that thing? I'm like, you really want to know? Yeah. I'm like, Josh has instructed well.

He's one of my number one guys in case I ever go down in front of everyone. Yeah. I think he knows what to do right away. Honestly, I would have no idea dude yeah i'd be flaring my arms everywhere you'd be like this kid's a fucking idiot dude i'm like trying to talk to you and like i can't breathe like yeah my throat's closed yeah so you're googling how to stick someone with an epi pen as i'm choking and i can't breathe that he he's one of them in in line though o'neill is definitely one because he's known for a while calibro um a couple guys that i would i think trust to use that thing on me

um yeah man i mean they have like uh instructional videos on that stuff they're always bullshit it's like check the scene like why am i checking the scene who the fuck just stab him dude well everyone goes we're like where do you stab him like people like in the ass like the neck like what's the deal i'm like no right right in the thigh like right there right even over the legs you're like through the pants it goes right through yeah ricky bobby dude yeah in the hospital yeah you're a big movie guy i actually was that was one of the things anymore now no uh i mean i think movies suck nowadays man like uh i mean granted like there are some good movies but yeah i don't know man i'm more of like an old school movie kind of guy like lethal weapon uh you say old school yeah like well old school the movies yeah yeah so like

mitchell palooza i i uh that's one of my definitely one of the classics for me yeah old school the movie dude um i just like older movies man wedding crashes you like wedding crashes yeah one of my favorites man it's a really good one yeah todd he's uh he's good yeah that's a genius idea for a movie too man we were talking about that on the podcast the other day too i was talking about wedding crush oh because we're talking about borat we're talking about sasha barrett cohen and uh his wife was in wedding crashes you know the redhead oh yeah yeah that's his wife i don't know why i can't yeah yeah like vince vaughn yeah yeah that's his wife i don't know why i can't think of like the thing is that's like my thing in life and i

can't just can't think of her name right now in the movie that's crushing to me yeah she's great she's great in that movie they're they're both good that's a good one i'm a big i like dodgeball i think that's a good just a classic movie but i mean those are all older movies but like nowadays i feel like it's too like technological like it's like uh i don't know man the computer design that goes into it it's just like too unrealistic for me those are just i mean obviously like you said they're older movies like they're just so good like i could watch them all day long like they're just so funny nowadays i feel like it's like the same thing over and over again yeah you know what i mean it's like oh my god like buildings everything's just like bizarre like it's either like one of those or like just some weird movie i'd be like now i'm good like i don't i don't want to watch some like psychotic movie for no reason yeah i think i

said it like i said yesterday on the podcast with uh he was talking about like die hard and i was like yeah nowadays dude it's literally just like what it's like the rock dude and like he's just got like six dicks and like buildings are falling down he just curls them and throws them back up and it's like people are like going crazy it's like dude it's not realistic at all it's like at least show like some realistic scenes i mean like the old jurassic park movies were like pretty realistic love jurassic park yeah but now it's just like well the two new ones are like they don't look anything like the real dinosaurs they use in the first yeah it's just like well the two new ones are like they don't look anything like the real dinosaurs they use in the first yeah it's like it's a robot yeah yeah like that literally made by a computer like the first three i thought were great like that kind of stuff i i agree 100 yeah

yeah man but honestly dude uh no man i appreciate it for coming dude seriously and i uh i don't think i told you this man what. What was I going to say? I was going to say something wicked nice. Oh, shit. We were talking about baseball. Oh, no. Because when I watched you,

like, I would always notice like how good you are. You know what I mean? But not just like, I'm not just saying that. Thank you. I think you were. Appreciate it.

Like, I like to watch you, especially like when fly balls were hit your way, man. Like, I'd never see you like, you know, you know, misread a ball. Thanks.

Appreciate that. And like, I remember pitching against you, man, and your hands were just like too fast for me so i was like should i just hit him in the dick like stuff like that take him out of the game but seriously i thank you for coming man appreciate this is a lot of fun dude yeah thanks first conversation ever man put it in the books dude seriously man thank you though thanks for having me