GBag Nation
Rangers SP Kumar Rocker on MLB debut, reuniting with Leiter
This podcast is brought to you by Men's Tea Clinic. Men's Tea Clinic is the team I trust with my total wellness optimization, and so should you. Five DFW locations with North Frisco, El Dorado Parkway at Dallas, North Tolway, now open. Call 972-go-men's tea or visit mensteclinic.com. Hey Mike Vlini here, host a cash to ticket alongside my partner, Jim Costa, it's really simple. Are you tired of podcasts claiming there are a bunch of pro betters when they live in their mommy's basement? Are you tired of podcasts that claim they hit 80% of the games when really, they just lose like most of us. I think cash to tickets is the spot for you. We're real, we're transparent, we're having a hell of a good time with it, and we sit there and we're there for the sweat with you guys. We're just trying to figure it out just like you. Follow and listen to Cash the Ticket on the free Odyssey app or wherever, you get your podcasts. (upbeat music) It is time now for the Rangers player show here in the G bag nation on your home of the World Series champs. It's brought to you by Golden Chick and Globe Life. Everyone has beneficiaries, not everyone has life insurance, but Globe Life, who's your beneficiary? Is Kamar Rocker joins us now here on your home of the Rangers and a good afternoon, sir. Thanks for joining us. - Of course, thanks for having me. - Right on, dude. Well, congrats on your debut last week. How did it go from your perspective? - Well, there's some pictures I wish I could have back, a little bit more efficient with them accounts, but overall, like what I saw. - You looked very comfortable out there for, you know, your first go around in the show. How did it feel for you? - It felt good, it was intense. I look back at the film and I don't remember a lot of pictures that I threw, so I just told you where I was at. (laughing) - Gotcha, gotcha. So what's different about trying to get big league hitters out? - Just understanding the counts and understanding when it's time to challenge them and when it's not too. And understanding that they're gonna put the ball in play too. - Dude, it was so much fun to watch you and the movement that you're able to get while throwing super hard. I mean, what about that breaking ball? Can you give us the history of your breaking ball if you wouldn't mind? Where'd you learn it? Did somebody help you with that? - I learned it when I was younger. I had a guy named Matt White. He was my agent for still my agent. And we just worked on it in a thousand high school. I tried to throw it like a fastball. And over time, it developed into something that I had a pretty good feel for. And then since then, since high school, going through college, I just had feel for it and I trusted it, so it's a good pitch. - Not many guys have an agent that can like double as a coach. Is that pretty rare? - I can tell you, I just know he played a good bit of pro ball. - Right on. Hey, Camar, I played against your father when he was at Auburn. And I kind of see a lot of your toughness from him. I mean, at LSU, we couldn't block him at all. So yeah, he was a nightmare. And I know you were a nightmare for the Mariners the other day, but he was able to come see you play. How special was that for him to take some time off from his job with the Titans and get to see you play? - It was awesome. I know he's been there from the start, both my parents have, and he showed me work at the, he taught me how to work. He showed me how to be tough and definitely having poise and body language since I was as early as I remember being nine years old. And just, I'm glad he gave him the toughness that he did. And I get to show it now. - So do you have an NFL team that you root for or do you root for whoever he's working for? How's that go? Whoever he's working for. I mean, back then it was whoever's paying the bills. So if I wanted to eat, I was rooting for him. (laughing) - That's tough. You got to pull for Will Levis as your quarterback now, it's a challenge. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - What did you think about that defensive line? They gave you like a big shout out video on your first start day. - That was big. I got to know, I've always known it as defense line, but in the media rooms, and I haven't got to meet these guys yet, but I'm excited to this year. - Number 80, where's the number 80 come from? - So when I went into Vanderbilt, I figured it was like big sell sheet. Like I had R as my last name, and I was all the way below, and I had 80 next to my name, and I was like, no way Coach Corbin's gonna make me wear 80. So I show up at the field, then 80's in my log, and I'm like, dang, I'm an 80 man, come on. And from what I did at Vanderbilt, I decided to keep it. - Yeah, yeah, good football number as well. Were you a football player? - I was, I played two years in high school. How'd it go for you? - It was good, you know, I think I was coming in my body. I was about 235, then I was probably about 63. I just didn't really have any mature muscles at the time, and I think I was growing into myself. - So was it, was there a choice? Like do I wanna pursue football or baseball in your mind, how'd that go? - There definitely was. Once I got to my junior year and I started, the draft became a thing, and I just getting more looks from people, and being a defensive lineman at the end in high school, I needed my fingers. I couldn't afford any broken fingers at that time, so I chose baseball. - I have to imagine those Vandy coaches, football coaches, were coming and knocking on that door from the door. - For sure, I would love to help them. - The relationship between you and Jack going back to Vandy, obviously, well documented, but how special is that now for both of you to experience your first taste in the major leagues together on the team? - I think it's awesome. I mean, every day you get to wake up, and we get to grab breakfast, go to dinner, and little things like that go a long way for me knowing him for so long, and I would get to help each other. That's the biggest thing. - Hey, Camar, the journey you had to make to even get to this point with the rehabs and stuff, and they always talk about how lonely that is. Now, I know you had people along the way help you, but how was that journey for you? You've had so much success in your life, and now you have to go through all that. - 100%, and I think it comes at a certain point, like the highs come with the lows, and the lows come with the highs, and it was great, I got to know myself more. My first rehab was, I really didn't have much. I wasn't on a team at the time, so that was hard. I didn't have people that were in a similar situation. Then the second rehab, I'm signed, I'm on a team, it's a little bit different, and you just get to know yourself a little bit better. - Camar, rocker here with you on 105, through the fan home of the champs. So, starting against this Toronto team Thursday, are you gonna be locked in, watching the game? Are you studying, or do you wait for the film? How's that process go? - A little bit of film, which we're gonna do here soon, and then, of course, seeing the team play for two days is big, I like to see swings, I like to see the players, just how they go about their business, and I try to put my best stuff on the field when it comes Thursday. - What type of superstitions do you have? Game day routines, I know like Mad Max Scherzer, he's like one of those guys you can't even, you can't even get within 10 feet of 'em when he's starting. - I like to keep it pretty chill. I don't talk much on game days, but I plan on my food pretty accordingly, and I like to be hydrated for sure. - Okay, well, we love the food talk here on this show, so what's the food looking like here for you? - Game time. - So far, so far it's been, got to eat probably three hours before game time, we'll probably eat chicken and rice from Chipotle, and just keep it really simple. - Oh, okay, very nice. - Very stupid. - Yeah, yeah. - Every single day. I think we just saw a dude do this on TikTok, like he had Chipotle a thousand days in a row and got some special calls. - Hey man, good for that guy, I like that. - What do you got playing in the headphones on a game, Dick? Come on. - I'll do music every day except game day. I just like the chill over there. - You're all gogging it on game days, I did. - Yeah, you got it. - You have a raw dog to flight? - The beast of the flight? - Yeah. - No, never, I got the music going the whole flight. - Oh, any rookie tasks to this point? I mean, I know it's pretty neat to me. - Not yet so far, I know they're coming here soon, I think we're just getting comfortable. - Come on, rocker with you here on your home of the Rangers, what are your plans for the off season? - Definitely catch a couple of Titan games, go see my family, travel with my mom a little bit, and then I'll start cranking up near December and January. - How confident are you, Camar, that you can make the big league team next spring training in March? - With the work I've been putting in these past few years, I'm pretty confident, I know what I need to do, and I just gotta go out there and execute it. - Have you ever had a pitching teammate stronger than you at anything? - Stronger than me in anything, you're talking like weight room or something? - Yeah, I'm talking weight room, come on. - And I don't know the picture that's in the weight, like I am, I've seen some guys squat more than me, I will say I don't squat a lot, but when it comes to everybody's stuff, I think I got him. - I'll tell you, your boy, Jack, he's from the waist down, he's like a 300 pounder dude, I bet that guy could squat a brick house. - No, he can't squat a brick house, I've been able to impress him man, it was a easy, 3, 45, 3, 50 for that guy. - Wow, okay, what's the Camar rocker, we all show up in the weight room, it's just you in there and we're like impressed us with something, what's the thing you're gonna do in the weight room to be like, watch this boys? - If I had to do it, I'd probably grab this, 70 pound dumbbells and I'd just say, watch me rub this out. (laughing) - Just bench pressing that thing, huh? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Camar rocker, Rangers pitcher, thank you so much, congrats on your success and we wish you nothing but the best sir. - I appreciate it, thank you for having me. - Thank you. - Let's go. Brought to you by Golden Chick and Globe Life, everyone has beneficiaries, not everyone has life insurance, Globe Life, who's your beneficiary? - Yeah, and we're also gonna give him a hundred dollar gift certificate to pluckers, we got eight of those in the DFW location, so we thanks Camar and thank the Rangers for providing to us today. - He was outstanding man, it's great and the thing that really stood out besides his stuff is just how comfortable and confident. - He looked very easy pitch and yeah. - He stood up there. - What a laugh too, his laugh is, I mean like, raggedy wordy for all time laughs. - Yeah, it was like cartoon characters. - Amazing. - Hey Mike Vlini here, host a cash to ticket alongside my partner Jim Costa, it's really simple. Are you tired of podcasts claiming there are a bunch of pro betters when they live in their mommy's basement? Are you tired of podcasts that claim they had 80% of the games when really, they just lose like most of us. I think cash to tickets is the spot for you. We're real, we're transparent, we're having a hell of a good time with it and we sit there and we're there for the sweat with you guys. We're just trying to figure it out just like you. Follow and listen to Cash The Ticket on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. (upbeat music)