Gwynn & Chris On Demand
David Peralta discusses his incredible road to the big leagues
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I guess I'll start with some info that I heard, David, by wishing you a very happy anniversary today. This is, yeah, I don't know that a lot of us in the world, when we think of anniversaries, we think of a lot of different things in this, but this is your 10-year day for service time to major league baseball, and that is a big deal. And I think also, congratulations are in order to any of you great athletes who make it that long in the big leagues. Thank you. Thank you very much, guys. Yeah, I know this is a special day for me, for my family, too. It has been a long journey for me. It hasn't been easy, but, you know, I made it. I did it. I'm here with the Padres, and I always thank the Padres for giving me the opportunity to believe in me and give me the chance to keep playing the game that I've lost. David, talk a little bit about that. I mean, that journey, as you mentioned, it wasn't your typical journey. I mean, you started this game in the professional realm as a pitcher, had to go play some indie ball, wade your way back as a hitter. I mean, it's quite, if you sat back and thought about it, because it's kind of remarkable the path that you've had, and yet you've been able to reach this 10-year mark. Yeah. I mean, it's a long story. I'm going to try to make it a short and quick and fun, but, you know, I started my career in 2004 as a pitcher with the Cardinals. And this stuff didn't work. It didn't work for me, obviously. Like, I had two shoulder surgery. I was trying to work my way up to get healthy. That didn't work. And obviously, like, when I went back, I got released in 2009. I went back to Venezuela and I'm trying to, like, figure out what to do. But, thankfully, I have my parents that were supporting me 100%, and they were like, "Hey, let's try hitting." You know, I was still young. I was 21 years old, and I'm like, "Hey, you're still young. You can do it." So, I started doing the term formation, you know, like, changing my body, like, trying to work different to make an impact as an outfielder, because I was telling myself, if I want to come back, I said, "For a different position player, you have to, you know, do something to get attention from the sky." So, that's what a day I moved back to the United States, and I started playing an independent ball, which wasn't easy for me to get a job, an independent ball. And then I finally got a job, an independent ball, and hardly your touch, so that was my first team. And the funny thing of that, like, I didn't have money to fly over there, to be honest, and I had a drive over there. I didn't have money for the gas, too. So I had to work at McDonald's to collect money to drive, to pay for the gas. So, I worked for a month over there, and I was like, actually, that was my real job, ever, and it was tough, but, you know, I went through that. You know, I had to work at McDonald's, and then when my time was done, I had to go work out, I'll play practice, and all this kind of stuff. But I played two and a half year in the independent ball, and finally, the DBAT gave me the opportunity to come back to the athletic team, so they sent me to the high A in 2013. So, a year and a half later, I got colored to the big league from double A, and that everything started my whole story. That is an unbelievable story. I certainly hadn't heard it before, and I think we just all kind of assumed that you guys just materialized in the major leagues, you know, and it just, that's what happens. But to go from pitching to Venezuela, to McDonald's, to the independent league, I mean, this was a five or six year journey. So, no wonder that 10 years means so much to you. David Peralta is our guest. He is the pride of Venezuela, as he mentioned there in that last answer. I'm curious, David, I pitched a little in college. The reason I did is because I couldn't hit. I stunk, and so I thought, "If I'm going to do anything, I'm going to do it as a pitcher," and I was able to play up into some college ball, were you always a decent hitter, or did you pitch because you couldn't hit either, and then had to learn how to hit? No, I mean, I used to do both, hitting, you know, I used to play center field, hitting and pitching, but, you know, in this time, a couple of scouts told me, like, "Hey, you have a good arm, you're lefty, and it's going to be more easy." That's what he said, "More easy to make it to the big league because there's not a lot good left-handed pitchers in the big league, so it's going to be much easier for you than outfielders." And I was like, "Okay, so start pitching." But I used to love, like, you know, I love playing outfielders and everything when I was a player. And I used to have not for power, but I used to have a lot of land drive and everything, and that's what I was like, "Okay, I'm going to start pitching, so you tell I want to play baseball, I want to be a professional baseball player," and that's why they told me, and I did it. So I'm assuming that's why my shoulder couldn't handle that. That's what I had to show you on my shoulder, but, you know, I think things happened for a reason, and it means to be that way, because all that I went through to get to these points, like, helped me to become a better man, to become a better person, a better husband, a better father, a teammate, and grow up as a person, and if you ask me, like, "Hey, if you have to go back on time, will you change anything?" I will tell you no. I will do the same thing, and I will go through the same. All that I went through to make it to this point again, because it was a journey for me. It was hard, but I put a lot of hard work, dedication, discipline, to get to this point. So that's an amazing story, David. This is a reminder to people out there that, you know, if you put your mind to something that you really want to do, no matter what the obstacles are put in front of you, it can be done. Now, David, you're here with the Padres, and you're playing on an offense that is one of the better offenses in the National League, and you're playing a little bit different role than you had in Arizona. How have you transitioned from being pretty much an everyday guy to kind of getting the starts against the left, the right-handed pitching, and kind of spot-starting here and there? You know, you have to understand the game, and you have to adjust to the game. And for me, I understand my role, and I always prepare myself the same way it doesn't matter if I'm playing that game at that day, if I'm going to start a line out or not. But I'm always ready, because I know it's always going to be an opportunity for me to pinch you or do something to help a team. So I always tell them, "Hey, don't worry about me, I'll be ready." And I learned that from years by years, like how to prepare myself to pinch you and all this kind of stuff, so I was always trying to talk to the young guys here, like, "Hey, you got to watch the game, you got to know the situation where it can be your opportunity to pinch you for these guys, so you need to be ready, you have to go to the cage, stretch, be loose, get your swing, and be ready when the manager tells you to go ahead." So that's what I've been doing, and when I gave the opportunity to start in the line out, I just have to go out there and have fun and do my job. David Peralta has been doing a really nice job before the Padres, and I've been saying that the entire time, and I was really excited when you came here. I mean, watching you in Arizona, you win a silver slugger one year, you win a gold glove the next year. That tells me right there, a pretty good all-around player, and you've proven that over time. And that helped take you to the World Baseball Classic to represent Venezuela. What did that mean to you? Well, that means everything for me. I think, like, play in the World Classic, represent your country. We're in the jersey knowing the whole country, the whole Venezuelan is watching you, and what we did was really special. I think, like, for me, I would say I never made it to the All-Star team, and the big lead, but for me, the World Classic was my All-Star. It was my All-Star again, and because I was around with superstar players playing against superstar players to USA. We play against the many kind of Puerto Rico. It was unbelievable. It was so electric, like the energy. I love it. It was special for me. David Peralta joins us here on Gwen and Chris, and David, we're getting close to the break. Just kind of explaining to people, you know, you guys have gone through the attrition that the season started in March, and you get to this point. I imagine there's some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of being able to get some rest. How do you guys keep your mind locked in to finish through these last three games before you guys get a little break? Well, you know, I'm going to keep the sending talent every day. I know we have three games left. We're going to give everything. We got these three games. I know, like, the last few games we haven't do the way they'll get the result that we wanted, but it's baseball. You know, we have to understand that it gets baseball, and a lot of things are going to go your way, and a lot of things are going to go the other way. But we got to finish strong, and it's always good to get a little break, especially mentally, because this game is so hard. And as people, like, a lot of people have to understand, like, it's not an easy game. It's not physical. It's physical, but it's a lot of mental. So sometimes you're going to need, like, we need a mental break, like, a few days, like the days that we're going to have in the break to reset your mind and spend a little time with the family. Refresh, and then come back and finish strong the second half, and that's what we're going to do. Yeah, I tell you, I mean, I don't know how frustrated you were the other day at the end of that ballgame, but when you hit that line drive in the ninth inning, I thought game was tied. Yeah, that's frustrating. You want to do the right thing, you want to be the hero, but, like I said, this game is tough, and sometimes it doesn't go the way you want, and you have to move on and come back the next day and bring your game again and do it again. I can't, I know we got two seconds left. Did you make French fries? Did you cook burgers? Did you work at the front of the store at McDonald's? What did you do? Look, the first day, they have some promotion with a big man, and it was a huge line. I have no idea how to control the scream and everything, and they put me right away to take order. I was planning. I was trying to know what to do, and I was like, you've got to be kidding me my first day, and then they just switched me to drive through, and I was doing a little better over there. But with McDonald's, you have to keep everything like moving really quick, and then you say, you know what David, go start doing fries, and got everything, keep everything on track, and I was going to stop. A week later, I was getting better, and I was like taking order, and I was going to stop, but the first day was their worst. I was like, oh boy, I'm going to get fired on my first day. That's all David. Well, I'm kind of glad you didn't make your tenure anniversary as a McDonald's employee. I'm glad you, I'm glad you made it 10 years in the big leagues. Hey, it was a really fun interview, David. We really enjoyed it. Great stories, and I think all the fans get a little better chance to know you. We look forward to you watching you this weekend and the rest of the season. Thanks a lot. Thank you, guys. Thank you for having me. You don't just live in your home. You live in your neighborhood as well, so when you're shopping for a home, you want to know as much about the area around it as possible. Luckily, homes.com has got you covered. Each listing features a comprehensive neighborhood guide from local experts. Everything you'd ever want to know about a neighborhood, including the number of homes for sale, transportation, local amenities, cultural attractions, unique qualities, and even things like media and life. Things like median lot size and a noise score, homes.com. We've done your homework. 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