The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Astros Reliever Brian King Joins the Show

Episode Date: May 13, 2025

Astros Reliever Brian King Joins the Show

132, Matt Thomas show with Ross. We are happy to have, and we've had them on a yearly basis the last couple of years. Astros Reliever. Proud McNeist Cowboy. I don't see, can't say McNeist Day or they get mad at you. And apparently, Brian King, is there any chance I go to Daryl's next week, and we find a Brian King sandwich pole boy with your name all over it and your specialty? Look into it.

Wait into it. Yeah, I can hear you're a star now in the major leagues. You're one of the best. You're like top five in appearances. You should have your own sandwich and have to yourself by now. I'll have to go visit and see if I can get on the menu. All right.

So Ross and I are going to Lake Charles next week for a couple days. A little R&R. What's the number one trouble spot? Not illegally, but legally besides the casinos we could do in Lake Charles. If we really want to get down and dirty with the folks of Lake Charles, Louisiana. The local spot. The local spot. I mean, definitely

Obes, Cowboys, coolers, there's a couple little bars down there. They got hit with a hurricane, a couple hurricanes in 2020, so I'm sure it looked a lot different now, but, you know,

those are the spots we used to go to back in college. Old bastards? Yes. That's okay. We have to check that out, right? Ross, we're going to old bastards. Hi, old bastards.

We're going to drop your name and see we get at least one free beverage out. Yeah, let's do it. You said Brian King. send us. Hey, congratulations on another successful start of the season for yourself. Let me ask you, I've been asking a lot of the guys

this last handful of days. There's 17 games and 17 appearances and I asked your manager about this when he was with us at last hour. It almost feels like right now if you get the call to go warm up, you're going to pitch because you just can't waste those nights getting hot in the bullpen. Is that fair to say?

Yeah, I mean, it just depends on the situation, right? You know, we've had a couple a couple times warming up this week that we haven't gone in. You just, you never know. It's a tough situation being in the bullpen, and it all kind of depends on what the team needs that day. And right now this bullpen has been used a lot.

How are you kind of navigating through the waters? Are you one of those guys that always wakes up in the morning going, I need this day, or do you feel like you need advance notice as to when you're going to get out there? I mean, do you have that kind of leverage at this point in your young Major League career? No, I mean, whenever they call you, you've got to be ready to go. That's how the business works. That's how the game goes. And, you know, everybody down there, whether we've pitched a day or two, I mean, you've got to be ready to go.

And that's kind of the beauty of it is, you know, if you have a bad one, you're back in there. If you have a good one, you're back in there. It seems like you've been established as the seventh inning role with a bray taking over eighth and Hater at ninth. Was that ever discussed formally, or did Joe or anybody talk to you about that? it just kind of happened. No, I mean, at the beginning of the year, they told me, like, hey, you've got an opportunity to pitch and leverage situations. You know, I'm grateful to get to do that. But like I said, you know, it doesn't matter when the name gets called.

I'll be ready to go. What was that like for you to kind of hear that? You know, you've been through so much in your career and multiple organizations, Tommy John's surgery. Was it like, did it make you nervous, happy, all of the above? What was that like? What were those conversations like for you? No, I love it. I love pitching when the game's on the line and in those high-pressure moments.

I think that's when everything is elevated a little bit. And, you know, obviously, everybody wants to pitch when you're winning. So I'm just glad I get to do it. Brian King with us here on Sports Talk, 790 Astros Reliever. Can you explain the difference for us lay people? You throw a sweeper. Of course, for years it had been called a slider. to you is, do you call it a sweeper?

And what exactly is the difference? I kind of go back and forth. I always call it a slider, just because that's how I think of it. I mean, technically it isn't a sweeper. I think typically most people think of a slider is a little more depth, and a sweeper is more lateral movement. But, you know, they're kind of the same thing to me. As long as you get a whiff, you don't care what it's called, right?

Exactly, exactly Hey, let me ask you this, Brian. You got four lefties in a bullpen. There are some major league teams, and the Astros are being one of them, if you were a history fan of all of this organization, that sometimes didn't carry any. Is it a little bizarre seeing so many Southpaws in one group like that? Oh, yeah, we always kind of joke about it.

I think somebody looked it up, and we've got 10% of the lefties in the league in our bullpen. You guys forming a gang? Like, what are you all doing here? You all, like, like, trying to group up against the righties, or what? No, not necessarily. We definitely joke around a little bit more. I think that's just kind of how lefties are.

You got to roll with the punches and have fun with it. Everybody's got to claim a corner at the table, though, right? So you don't bump elbows. Yeah, I mean, that's the weird part for me is I do everything right-handed. Oh, okay. So you write right-handed? Yeah. You golf right-handed.

Yes. You throw, what do you bat when you bat? bat, left or right-handed? I mean, I was bad at batting my whole life, but I would always bat righty. I tried batting lefty a couple times, and it wasn't bad. It was tougher for me to recognize pitches as a lefty, but, I mean, I only got a couple of back lefty. Okay, so I'm going to tell you this right now, Brian, and I'm 52 years old, so you and I are like

blood brothers. I'm your older brother because I'm the exact same way. Shut up. I throw everything, I throw left-handed, everything else in my life is right-handed. So let's go to the last comparison between the two of us. What do you top out on your fastball? Probably 94, maybe 95 on a good day. Yeah, mine's 37.

So other than that, we're pretty much the same person. We're both the same person. So how did that happen, Brian? That's just how you've always been? I have no idea. Yeah, I don't know. My parents never really thought much of it. And for whatever reason, I started throwing lefty and it's probably one of the best things that's ever happening.

Let me tell you something. I don't know if you got a girl right. now, but the girls love the you are able to use left and right hand. I'm just telling you right now. Oh, geez. You're going to be diverse. What are you talking about for square dancing or what? No, I'm talking about for baseball and athleticism.

Oh, okay. Yeah. God, get your mind out of the gutter. You brought it up. All right. What else we got going on? Let's see. You got the Astros, got the trip to Arlington.

Have you been up to Arlington before? You've been there before, right? At the new ballpark? Yeah, I went last year or first year. is. Yeah, and it's basically just your home park is a rip-off, right? I mean, let's go ahead and put some words on the bulletin board. Yeah, I mean, it's just

newer. That's it. All the charm of Dykin Park up in Arlington. I like it. I like you. You got kept it nice and simple. Hey, Brian, it's great to have you with us. Congratulations on the Great Star. Keep that an ear and or two. And like I said, if you do, when Ross

and I go up, we're going to Lake Charles a little seriously next week. We're going to get a Darrell's same way after you. We're going to take a picture of it sitting it to you. All right. I would love that. Let me know how that works out. So what would be on the sandwich? We'll just run through the list. The Darrell's special for me was always what I'd get. But I'd probably do something similar like that. I know they have

like a spicy mayo they add on. I definitely have that as well. Yeah. Thank God you're not anti-Mayo. There's some punks around here that are anti-Mayo. It's ridiculous. You go, do you go to Tabasco or the Louisiana-style hot sauce? I mean, usually I use Tabasco. It's a classic. It's good. Do you ever sneak in the casinos when you're underage or is that something we shouldn't even talk about?

It's hard. They scan your ID. Yeah, I don't think I did. I definitely went for my 21st birthday. I got won like 70 bucks. I was pretty happy about that. But, you know, I'm not a big gambler, to be honest. Is there like an athletic department rule?

Like, you guys can't go anywhere near the casinos? No, not at all. Oh, all right. Well, and McNeese, encourage me. That's a good recruiting tool. You get college credit for going to the casinos and McNeese, don't you? I think that's what the kids. Can you go to dealer school and then get some college credit?

A little real life experience. Hey, Brian, thank you for the time. Best of luck to this weekend. We look forward to talking with you down the road. Thanks again. I appreciate you guys. Thank you very much. We'll see later.

That's Brian King joining us here. Left Hander Extraordinaire, Pride of McNeese University.