We sit down with the Chicken Farmer himself minor league pitcher Blake Wehunt.
The Pesky Podcast
The Pesky Podcast episode 134 With Blake WeHunt
point video is brought to you by the Boston Sports Entertainment Network. Please consider liking and subscribing for more Boston SportsCon. Shot to right, slicing toward the pesky pole, down to the line and it's got to be. Line down to right field line toward the pesky pole, leaping up, now Paul is gone, that's a home run. The rot of our Nissan team as well. High fly down to right field line headed toward the pesky pole, that one tucked in, and that ball is going to be against the wall and in the second base, a number of tires and a run by a zebra is trying to retire that baseball inside a pesky pole. Welcome to another episode of the pesky podcast. I'm your host, the Rit. With us, like always, is the OG George Sutherland. Oh, there we go. We've got Rob bouncing in and out. We're trying to figure this out here. All right, I guess we're going to go. Oh, there we go. How's it going? Yeah. Good. We've got Rob and we've got our producer Brandon, who is trying to fix things the best as possible. Yeah, we're going to have to sit there and make a layout for five of us. Yeah, I think we're just going to go with this for now. And this is always brought to you by the Boston Sports Entertainment Network. Make sure that you go over and follow us on YouTube BSCN 617. And before we introduce our guests, let's go around. George, how's it going? Good, man. I'm going to be back home for a couple of days, and then Devin and I are off to see some friends for a week or so. But that's good to be back home. And Rob. I'm doing good. Just literally got home from work and ran a marathon mile. So I'd have been that. I'm doing great. And Brandon. I'm doing good, man. I was going to say to you and Rob, Rit, I don't know if you guys, I know your big gamers like myself. If you've heard of pro baseball spirits, that new baseball game out of Japan, I imported it. And it is absolutely amazing. The graphics put, and I'll be the show to shame. So I'm hoping they step up their game next year. But other than that, things are going good. Yeah. Well, guys, we have another interview from a Red Sox minor leader. Last last time we had on, we had Noah Dean, and Noah Dean gave me great high regards for the great. Chicken farmer, Blake Wee Hunt. Blake, man, what's going on, man? How you doing? Nothing much. It's just good to be here, you know. So, man, we were talking a little bit beforehand, and, you know, it's going to be a great interview, not only when another player highly recommends you. But then when you got your mom and dad talking to you also, and, you know, on your dad's, you know, he wouldn't give up any stories that would put you to shame. So, but man, it's great to sit there and have you, though. I appreciate it. So it's good to be here. I assume that he would give you some stories to mess with me about. But I think he, let me sit there and George, I'll let you start off. Let me scroll through through the message. Sure. So, yeah, you're in a second year with the organization. Just finished that up. There's the year up in my neck of the woods up in Portland. Let's talk about your experience so far in the minor leagues after coming out of college at, you know, Kalasau State. The absolute biggest difference in the world is going from a roughly 60 game season to 140 games. And in my head, the only thing I really wanted to do throughout the season is remain healthy. You know, the best ability is availability. So I just tried to stay almost like stay on top of doing stuff in the training room, doing stuff in the weight room to just try and keep me out there and let the baseball port kind of handle itself. And I did a pretty good job at being healthy. So that was the biggest thing. So what was the one particular thing you did and concentrated on to help keep you in the game, you know, for basically double what you used to play in. Yeah, like for me, it was just being able to manage the workload, you know, you're at the field every day. So it's like, how much do I need to throw on this day to feel good tomorrow? How much do I need to throw on this day to feel good for my bullpen? And it was just kind of learning the schedule and the routine to the point where I got it down. In the end of the season, it was like second nature. It was, it was kind of to the point where I was used to it. Therefore, my body adjusted, you know. Excellent. So it's still looking for stories. Yeah, he didn't give me any. Well, I'll throw one at you. And I know Rich's going to love this. We talked a little bit off the air about your dad telling us that we got to give you crap and tell you to get back on the chicken farm because he's got chickens to tend to and you told us that your nickname was the chicken farmer when you go out there and pitch. So how did that nickname come up? See, I, I believe that when I first got to Greenville, I wore a t-shirt that said we hunt farms on the back of it and was a big chicken. And so I think when I wore that, everybody started messing with me about it. And then the word got around to the whole organization, you know, that I was the chicken farmer. And then next thing I know, Greenville Drive, post a lineup on Instagram and they're like, Oh, on the mound is the chicken farmer. And ever since then, it kind of just expanded like every time I pitched, it was chicken farmer takes the mound again, chicken farmers on the mound tonight. And so I kind of just got used to it to the point to where if they didn't call me chicken farmer, it was like, Oh, what's going on, you know. So that was kind of the whole ordeal with that. And I assume that it got started from the t-shirt that I wore, or it could have started because, you know, when one of the coaches asked me, Hey, what's your parents do or where do you come from? It's like, Oh, I grew up on a chicken farm. And then the pitching coach in Greenville, Bob Kipper is a trip. And he loves to just give you crap over and over and over again every day, because that's just kind of his way of messing with you know, and every single day I heard something about chickens or farming. And so I guess it just kept getting around and everybody just went with it. Well, you think about a chicken farmer, like you got to be, you got to be one of the quickest people on the team with reflexes, you know, just because I would love to put a bet on how many people on your team could catch a chicken. I mean, I don't know if any of them could, to be honest with, and actually, I think that would be like a sight to see who. Oh, absolutely. Overall, with everything. A bunch of guys chasing chickens would be hilarious, because I don't think any of them could catch one. But, but Blake, man, you, you're one of your highest accolades this season was a South Atlantic League player of the week. So, what was that and how that mean to you, you know, when you got news that you were the player of the week. Man, it's, it's a great feeling, you know, when you, you go out there, obviously you have a good outing, and then you kind of, for me anyways, you just kind of flush it. And it's like on to the next one, who do we got next week, you know. And so, at the end of the week, they give out the player of the week, you know, or picture of the week, whatever, whichever one. But, so to see, to have that outing and then kind of forget about it almost, and then be able to get recognized for it, that's, it's a great thing. It's a great feeling to have, you know. So, it's kind of like a, it's kind of like a good pat on the back, where it's like, okay, I got to get the next one. Yeah, especially, you know, one of your best performances I said, I was looking through was July 5th, the after 4th of July, when, you know, you threw five innings pitched nine Ks, like, you know, what's your thought process. When you're pitching, and all of a sudden you're realizing, and it's just you're on cruise control. So, the, that was against Asheville at home, and the first time I pitched against Asheville, they kind of touched me up a little bit. It was like, four, four innings, three runs, I gave up a two run homer and a solo homer. And so, going into that start, I was like, I'm just going to come, I'm just going to pitch backwards from what they saw the last time. And, you know, Kip was like, yeah, let's, I like that plan, like, just fill the zone up, do you. And so, the first couple innings kind of, you know, went by quick and I didn't even realize it like, I was just kind of in that zone, you know, where, like, in my head, I'm untouchable on the mound. So, I get to the last inning, you know, and soon as I got the last out, I come off the mound and I'm like, looking at Bob Kipper, I'm like, you got to get me one more. He's like, no, you don't need another inning. Like, it's great outing. Just hang your hat on that. So, so that's just kind of what the thought process was going into that. And then I also, I wanted to ask you something. When it comes to being a starting pitcher, now I know Noah Dean, he said there's no routine. Being a starting pitcher, do you have any pregame routines or any rituals that you do to get prepare for a start? Not necessarily rituals. I would say, like, I'm on a routine to where I do the same things. You know what I mean? Like, I'm not one of those guys who's, who's like, oh, at 446, I have to do this at 449. I'm not that guy, but I do do the exact, like, pretty much the exact same things, like, throughout once I get to the field. Like, I'm not as, I'm not as superstitious as some guys are when it comes to that. Like, some guys are, you know, have to eat the same breakfast, have to eat the same lunch. But for me, I'm just kind of like, I do what my, I do what I think will help me the most on the mound. And if it works, like, I'll do it the next week. If it works, I'll do it the next week. If it doesn't work, then probably won't do it again. And then I also want to ask you to, as, since you had, I looked up, you had a three-pitch mix. Is there anything, any new pitch that you wanted to develop or add into your repertoire at all there for the next season? Or was there anything that you were working on towards the end of this season at all? Yeah, so I actually, I throw five pitches. I throw a fastball cutter, sweeper, cutter, splitter, and then a pitch that's new, that just like is coming into baseball, it's called a death ball. And yeah, I know that sounds crazy, but that is like what the proper name for it is. And it's essentially just a fast curve ball. So the last couple weeks of the season, I was really like trying to hone in on getting that to where I wanted it. But so next year, I'll probably have that down, hopefully. How to keep that in mind, a death ball, that sounds a very interesting name for a pitch, I'll give you that. It is, it is very odd. And I don't know where the name came from. I don't know how they named it, but that is just what it's going by now, is literally the death ball. So you talk about things, you know, coming into baseball and things like that. Tell me about how like, you know, some of these new rules, because I know they test them out for you guys in the minor leagues first before they get to the big leagues. Have these new rules that they've implemented, you know, even the one last year with the challenging balls and strikes that I know is coming to MLB in spring training men for just announced. How have those rules affected the way that you prepare for games or haven't they? I mean, for me, the challenge in the balls and strikes at the end of the day, I think is maybe a good thing. But it just kind of takes the human element out of the game to where like the umpire makes mistakes, that's part of the game, you know, like umpires aren't going to get every call right. So, I mean, I understand it like I could be for it and against it in both ways because, you know, if an umpire is giving you an inch off the plate, like you're as a pitcher, you're going to try and exploit that as much as you possibly can, because you're just given an edge. But then again, you know, you strike a guy out looking or something with bases loaded, and then they call it back and it ends up being a ball that could be a dagger to the ending. So, I mean, I understand why they're implementing these rules, but I don't know, in my opinion, they're hit or miss. So, so they don't really affect the way that you prepare for things then you just go about your business and whatever happens at the end of the day is what happens. Right, it's not you can't really necessarily prepare, you know, for that type of rule change so it's just one of those things that you just got to go along with it as it goes. So you grew up in Georgia. I'm, can I guess that you were a brace fan growing up. Yeah, I was absolutely. Okay. So, did you ever try to model your style or your approach after any particular brace picture or was somebody else around the majors that you kind of looked up to and say, I want to be like him. Max Scherzer to a tee. I, when I was growing up, I loved Max Scherzer just because he was kind of that psycho starting picture on the mound, you know, you don't see many starters act crazy on the mound. And he was one of the few that was, you would let his emotions show, you know, and try and go out there and dominate and I just growing up idolized Max Scherzer the way he pitched the way he acted. So he was like really the one that I idolized growing up, although being a brave fan, it was tough because he was on the mat. Well, maybe he'll, maybe he'll, he'll, he'll hear that or we'll get back to him and maybe he'll reach out to yourself and who else. With that strange things happen. Yeah, that would be wild. That would be, that would be. Your approach in the mound is, you know, you said it's just to just go out there and do your thing. And I'm, I really did that death pitch is like Rob said that's got me that that's got my head spinning and figure out how the heck that, that's going because usually you want your curveball and fastball to some kind of delta between it so that the catch thing to hit her off. I'm guessing that a faster curveball is designed to really screw the school with the head of the batter. Right, it's, it's supposed to look like a fastball, have the same like, have the spin enough to apparently where they cannot recognize it. And then it just falls off the table off the table. Yeah. Cool. Like to see if you'd like to see, like to see a few of those. Yeah, hopefully we can get that down. So is that something that the organization is trying to bring in or is that like somebody. You know, kind of start to throw it and everybody goes, Oh, I want to try that. It was a little bit of both. So Cooper Adams actually is the one who initially showed me. And we were in Greenville together. And he was talking to me because he went to tread, which is, you know, one of those training facilities that has a lot of guys gets a lot of guys drafted gets a lot of guys signed. And he said that for his repertoire, they wanted him to throw a death ball. And I was like, Oh, you know, what is that? I've never heard of that before. And well, we got to talking about it. And once we got to talking about it, the next thing I know, I, I'm being told by our assistant coaching Greenville assistant pitching coach. That hey, like we want to try that with you and see how, you know, see how it moves. And, and then my, my first bullpen throwing it, it ended up being really good, you know, flashes of being really good. It was like, Oh, let's, let's try and, you know, get that more consistent and throw that. So that's how the death ball came around. Cool. Well, like, looking at the 2023 draft class of the Red Sox. And, you know, there's a lot of names that are standing out to me because, well, one, a lot of these names are coming on our podcast, we already set up. But, you know, just the one stands out and it's Christian Campbell. So being drafted with them and then coming in with them and seeing where he is now. And, you know, just two seasons, you know, not even two full seasons. Well, what are some like development, like you being a pitcher and watching him hit, watching him feel that, you know, Red Sox fans can consider and have hope out for, you know, in the future. He, the thing about Christian is he is just the hardest worker, like you can imagine. He's always in the weight room doing extra things, you know, trying to try to get better, trying to get bigger, faster, stronger. And he's always been unbelievable baseball. Like, I played against him my last year in college. He was at Georgia Tech. I was at Kennesaw State. So we were kind of in state played each other a lot. And like when we played him, it was always watch out for the Campbell, watch out for the Campbell kid. Like he, he will tear us alive if you let him. So, getting drafted with him and like getting to know him, he's so such an easy going guy. Like, he's one of the coolest guys in the locker room, and he's one of the hardest workers, and he has just his unbelievable work ethic. So, I mean, that guy's going to play until he doesn't want to play anymore. You know what I mean? He's just naturally talented and works his butt off. And, and going into this year at Salem, you know, looking at the roster that was put together, and you know, there's a lot of people that if you don't pay attention to the, you know, the Greenville Drive and the Salem teams like you, you know, you don't know what, you know, what you're missing. But you guys had a great roster put together on opening day. You know, who did you kind of, I don't know, kind of like buddy, buddy up with, you know, throughout, you know, spring training and then going into the season. I had a few, I was, I was really close with Dean, obviously we're roommates now in Florida, and, but Matt Duffy, Max Carlson, a lot of guys from my draft class, I was big buddies with CJ wines he actually got traded to the Tigers. And he was one of my super close buddies and we were all pitchers, you know, like, so we always kind of hung out this stuff together after the games, you know, threw together ran together worked out together. So we all kind of just were super close. So when I got called up to Greenville, it was almost like, dang, like it was almost sad, you know, because I knew that like, I wasn't going to be playing with those guys right in that moment. When some other guys started getting, you know, getting up there to Greenville, that's when it became, you know, super fun because then there was guys that was already in Greenville like Zach Fogle, Kate Feeney and Connolly early. So, once we all like got back together it's just like our draft class is like one big friend group to be honest with you. And that's one thing that you know we've had a hundred albums on, and it was always trying to catch, you know, people call it up and then you've got to try to catch it, you know, catch up to them. And it's kind of like once as soon as you see them, it's just like, you know, you guys didn't skip a beat overall, Hunter always said. Exactly how it is, it's, you know, getting caught up it's kind of a, it's kind of an exciting thing but it's also like nerve-wracking because you're going into a new locker room. You don't know how, you know, the locker room vibe is, you got a whole new team behind you, a whole new team hitting for you. So, it's nice that when you get there and you see everybody it's like, oh, okay. It's just like, the guys that I've been buddies with for months now, you know what I mean. Yeah, Rob. I wanted to ask you two relating on that. Since you got called up so quick, which is amazing to see how fast your development has been, do you feel like there's a pressure to perform in the next setting when you get called up? You know, somewhat, yeah, I mean, when I first got to Greenville, my first start, it was kind of that pressure feeling where I was like, I gotta do this, I gotta do this. And then after that start, it was, it was decent, wasn't great. Some of the guys that I got dragged with on the team were like, hey, man, like, it's just baseball. Like, you're supposed to be here else, they wouldn't have moved you up. So it kind of, once the first time, once I got through the app, then when I got called up to Portland, I was like, it's just baseball. Just go up there and do what I've been doing and, you know, I'll be fine. So no need to add on this pressure on myself, you know. And also my question for you is because I know growing up to when I would, like, pitch in high school, I would have a bad start. Eventually think about, okay, how am I going to go out my next start? What's something that you do, like, after a bad start? How do you, like, get over it and get ready for the next one? It's kind of just like, I'll, honestly, I'll sit in my bed, like, and just watch and rewatch all the pitches that I threw. And like, kind of analyze them and be like, why didn't that work? You know, why, why were they hitting this? Why weren't they hitting that? And it's, a lot of times it's a lot of stuff that I should, like, have noticed on the mound, like, in the moment. So I kind of just like to rewatch it and figure out where, like, whatever problem I was having, where if they were hitting the ball or I wasn't throwing strikes, like, I like to kind of figure out where that problem was. And if sometimes I don't even see anything and I'm just like, well, you know, it's just part of the game. Brandon. Yeah, so, you know, you were talking about baseball there, you know, for, you know, it's just baseball, stuff like that. But obviously, you know, we all love baseball. And, you know, Rob mentioned he played, I played in high school, I'm sure. Written OG played back in the day and, but, you know, those of us, you know, like yourself, who, you know, get to actually get drafted and called up through the levels and, and do it professionally. I just, I'm just curious, what's your, like, what's that moment that made you fall in love with baseball and how surreal is it to, to, you know, take a look at it and go, you know, I'm playing professionally and doing this thing that I've loved. For a living. There's, there's been so many moments to where I fell in love with the game that I can't even sit here and explain them, but I've had a couple different, like, true, like moments where I was like, wow, like I can't believe I'm doing this. And one was when I made my first star in Pro Ball, and it was in Delmarva, Maryland, and it was like 35 degrees sprinkling rain, so it was horrible conditions. And I just got out on the mound. I was like, I cannot believe that this is like my job. This is what I'm doing for a living. So obviously, like, that moment and then, like, the draft, the draft was like, like crazy eye opening, because, you know, before that, I had always, like, obviously hope to get drafted. That's what every person, every kid who plays baseball wants to do, but so I, I went three years in Mississippi and kind of went through some stuff, you know, and didn't do well, didn't perform well. I transferred to Kennesaw State, and that's when I started to fall in love again, because I was like, man, like, baseball is so much fun. You know, when you get guys around you that you like your big buddies with playing, you know, and you're doing well and you're winning, essentially, like. So when I got to Kennesaw State and we started, we started doing pretty well. That's when I was like, okay, like, this is the most fun thing in the world, like, I can't imagine doing anything else. That's awesome. For you, you know, I want to sit there and kind of reference for the love of the game, the movie, and for you being out there, is it just like, like, the movie for you, where you hear everything, and then you just, your mind shuts everything off. So it's just you and the catcher. Yeah, how does that work for you? For me, kind of like, I don't even notice the crowd, to be honest, like, once I get it on the mound for the warmups, then I'm just like, it's just me and the catcher playing catch, you know, like, I couldn't tell a difference if there's 60,000 people or there's 200 people. So I just, I just try and block all that out and just play the game I love, you know, and just go out there and perform. George. So I got two part question. First is, tell, tell us something that people would be surprised to know about you, you know, maybe in a hobby that's, you know, off the books, maybe, you know, you do something that's a little different from other people. One, if I, if I wasn't playing baseball, I'd probably most likely be a chicken for her to be honest with you. It doesn't come as a shock. But the first one, something interesting, I, I'm not sure. I play a lot of Call of Duty. I can do a lot of hunting and fishing, but you could probably assume that. I'm, I'm trying to think. Yeah, I mean, other than that, like, I'm a, I'm a big outdoorsman. So anything outdoors, I love to do like go fishing, go hunting, go hiking, you know, I love just being outside. Well, that's cool, man. I mean, you know, I, I myself love being outside as well. So, you know, it's, you know, some perfect way to lose yourself sometimes just to kind of make things right with the world. So, yeah, absolutely. Cool. Yeah, but Blake with the whole, the whole chicken farm and thing. And, and what I'm about ready to say is completely wrong. Don't ever do it, you know, but man, like, I would love to sit there and go egging with you sometime. Can you imagine a 95 mile per hour income flying at you? Yeah, no, I could, I mean, that would hurt astronomically, because we've always like threw eggs, you know, as a joke, like, if we get an egg and it's cracked, you know, you can just kind of throw it in the woods. So, and I've seen these eggs hit trees, you know, pretty hard. So I, I can imagine how big of a whelp it would leave if it were to hit somebody. I'm not saying go out and do it. I'm not saying, you know, you have done it. I'm, I'm just saying, it would be pretty cool. You know, 95 miles per hour, as long as I'm not on the other end of it. You'd be cool just to watch it. Rob. Like you were saying, when it comes to like gaming, like, first things first is a Call of Duty. Have you played the new new town yet? Have you got the chance to play the new Call of Duty? Do you like it? That's one. And then two. On your travel days, you guys game a lot, especially like when you guys have some free time during the road games. Yeah, most a lot of guys will bring their play stations onto the bus and their monitor onto the bus and we'll be playing games like on the bus seat. But so a lot of guys will take their play sessions every single road trip. And, you know, when you get free time, that's what a lot of guys like to do because, you know, they tell you just to chill out and relax. And the best way to do that is, you know, cut on a play station. But yeah, I do play the new Call of Duty and I have played it. And I like it a lot. It's just, I think the maps are trash. But other than that, I mean, the game is good. And as for the new new town, it's the same old map. It's just chaotic in this game. I feel like with all the grenades and all that stuff. So I try to not play it a whole lot, but it is fun. I do like the new Call of Duty. Yeah, I think it's fun too, especially like in to play the old map, again, just being able to fill in nostalgia. I also want to actually a gaming related to out of everybody in the clubhouse who thinks the best gamer, like the most skilled gamer in the clubhouse. I don't know. Dean is pretty good at everything he plays. He's one of those guys that could pick up a game and play anything and compete, you know, whether it's Fortnite, Call of Duty, Rocket League, it doesn't matter. Dean's one of those guys to wear. I mean, even like MLB The Show, he talks about him being bad at MLB The Show and he's not bad. So I would say probably no, a Dean is probably the best gamer. And it's funny, brought up MLB The Show because Brandon brought up his gamer card, like his profile picture on MLB The Show and how horrible it looks. I'd say Blake, yours looks a little bit more like you, but Noah, what did he say he references? He said he looked like a bird. So what's that last week we were talking about it? Yeah, are you the real 99 cards? Is that what you're referring to? Yeah, yeah, then the player models that they model you guys after. Yeah, I mean, I've seen some brutal ones, man. Like, there has been some that doesn't even resemble even closely to the person that has gotten them. You would sit there and think that they would be like, Hey Blake, you know, can you send us in a 360 view of your head, you know, for facial, you know, now? Right, you know, you at least think they would look at a picture, you know, like we've had some guys not even get their hair color right, like just height and weight is the only thing they, you know, they try to get right. I think that is comical when someone loads into you, you know, so excited to use your own guy in a video game and then it doesn't even look like you at the least. You bring in. So, so staying with video games, we've been talking about that for a minute. Just out of curiosity, you know, you talked about Call of Duty. I know that last week we talked with Noah about Fortnite for like 10 minutes. But, you know, what were some of the games that you grew up with, you know, Rob said this, you know, the nostalgia feel of what kind of stuff did you like gaming growing up and, and stuff like that. The first game I would say that I really got into was probably Call of Duty. Black Ops one, like the original Black Ops, it came out on my birthday when I was nine years old, and me and my brother shared a PlayStation three. And so we would take turns playing and that was the first game that I ever played that like I actually played a lot, you know, and I played a lot of like, you know, Madden games, NCAA college football. MLB 2K. It's like I played the sports games every year, but like best for like online gaming and like gaming with other people, it was always Call of Duty. George. All right, well I'm not a gamer, you can probably guess by that. So, you know, talk about, you know, you've risen through the system fairly quickly, you know, coming out of college. I'm anticipating you're probably thinking you're going to start in Portland this year. You finished up there last year. Of all the things you've experienced on the road in each of these, you know, going from Salem to Greenville and to Portland. What's been the hardest thing when you transition to a new city. It's really just getting used to the city itself, I think, you know, when you're moving different places like that it's, it's hard to get adjusted to, well, one the city and then like the team as well. You have to kind of feel out, you know, the team's vibe and the team's, you know, where it's at. So, and you also having to move all of your stuff out of an apartment and move it into a new one, you know, with the chance of you getting called up again weeks down the road. So it's, it's kind of almost like living out of a suitcase, you know. Because when I did get when I got called to Portland, I flew out of Greenville at 7am or fly left at 7am. I had to pack my truck like slammed full of all my stuff for my apartment and leave my truck in Greenville because I wasn't going to drive, you know, 16 hours or whatever it was so I just kind of left everything and took one bag and got on the plane. So, when I was in Portland, I essentially just lived out of a suitcase. And I would say that's, that's kind of like the toughest part is like figuring out what to do with your stuff that you had at the other place, you know, it's. And thankfully, thankfully Salem and Greenville are only about four hours apart. Whereas you don't get that with Portland and Greenville. No, no, but flying out of the jetport is not a whole lot of fun either because there's not too many flights go there. So, when I flew out of Portland to go back home. I was supposed to leave my plane was supposed to leave at 830 in the morning. At 5am, I'm in line and they tell me that there's not enough room on the plane for my bag. Oh Lord. And so I checked in, you know, checked in my bag after getting it all figured out and she handed me my new flight and my new flight didn't leave till 3pm. And so I had to sit in the airport in Portland for about seven hours with nothing to do. So it was brutal. I just kind of walked around the airport all day. So all my teammates come in to fly in and leave and they're like, Oh, whatever you flying, 330. What time are you flying in, you know. Yeah, for those of you to know the jet port in Portland is an extremely small airport with not too many gates. There's not a whole lot to do there. But it does service the area well, but yes, it's not Logan and Boston. So, you know, that's kind of interesting. So, who'd you run with that in Portland while you were there. I was with Alex Benelis. Okay. Great, great. You kind of make your life easier for you in the clubhouse. Oh, yeah, for sure. Well, he was kind of the first one that I met that wasn't in my draft class, you know. It was kind of like, you know, I walked in the place and was like, Oh, hey, I didn't, you know, I had no idea who my roommate was going to be. But me and him found some, you know, common ground where we both like to do your hunt. We both like to, you know, do stuff outside. So we kind of just talked off that. And then of course I hung out with like Connolly early and Drew Earhart, which was in my draft class. So. And being in spring training, you know, your first time going to spring training. You know, they have a lot of the alumni there and stuff. Was there anyone there that kind of you were like in all of, but, you know, held it back and held your composure. Yeah, I mean, seeing, seeing Pedro Martinez, you know, in person on the field is. Pretty well, especially, you know, when you grew up. Kind of watching, I kind of grew up watching like the back end of his career. But everybody knows everybody who watches baseball knows who Pedro Martinez is. So it was like, it was insane, you know, just walking on the field and it's like, Oh, who's that? And then, Oh, that's Pedro Martinez like, Wow. Okay, this is real. And then, you know, obviously David Ortiz. A lot bigger than I thought he would be, which is, I mean, I guess that's why they call him big Bobby, you know what I mean. But he is a monster. But all these guys are super nice. Now, Blake, did you get a chance to watch the Netflix documentary yet? The comeback. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. Okay. And we're going to keep with Pedro related here. Uh, when Pedro, you know, Pedro has had his put, uh, his hitter's backs. Oh, absolutely. A hundred percent. Okay. So I'm going to kind of put you on the spot here. Right now Portland Sea Dogs, who's the one pitcher that you could compare to that, that aspect of Pedro, that he's got, he's got the hitters back 100%. And he's not afraid to sit there and throw the, the high heat on the inside. I, to be honest with you, I think every single one of them would do that. I think in that situation, every single pitcher would go up and in, you know what I mean? Because I'd, on that staff, I don't think there's a guy who would be like, no, I can't hit him. I think everyone has that, had that edge to him to where like, you say the word and I'll let it eat that type of vibe. So, I mean, I think any of them, to be honest with you. Okay. It was just, it was just watching it back then was one thing, but then watching it and then with the commentary with it, like, when Pedro is just looking at off the mound, he's just pointing, you know, right? I think, think, you know, like, that's, that's the stuff that, that, you know, everybody knows Pedro got your back. Don't worry. Absolutely. I love that aspect of baseball to where he, you know, when he was looking at him saying, like everybody in everybody on the field knew what he was talking about. And that's just one of those things that like you don't really notice until you go watch it again. And when he's explaining what's going through his head is, is awesome to watch. I mean, that's all time, you know what I mean. Now, quick, quick follow up. Have you ever had where you hit someone by accident and the guy, and the guys like, you know, he's upset about it. And the catcher's there, like, who, who was the funniest catcher that you can sit there and have that conversation walking down first baseline. Like, dude, you don't want to go out there. Like, dude, no, it's calmed down. It was an accident. Like, like, what catcher do you think would be the funniest one to try to calm someone down? Probably, it, out of the catchers that I know, I think it would be hilarious to hear Kyle Teal try and calm someone down because Kyle Teal is hilarious as it, like, to begin with. And I just, you know, in my head, I can picture him saying, Hey, man, Hey, man, calm down, you know, that type of stuff. And I think that would be comical to hear Kyle Teal try and calm someone down. Rob. I want to ask you based relating on that spring training question. What is it like going into spring training? What was it like for your first spring training and out of any of the drills? What was your favorite drill to work on? Because I know when spring training, it's like rubbing the rust off the rails, basically. Yeah. I mean, I had no idea what to expect, to be honest with you. And I, you know, I'd talk to guys and be like, Oh, what's it like? And they're just kind of like, you just got to experience it. So, I mean, seeing how many guys the Red Sox have, you know, it's pretty crazy. And then just casually seeing guys like Jared Duran and Tyler O'Neill, you know, just walking around. It's, it's pretty cool because, you know, you kind of hold them on a pedestal when you watch them on TV. And then you realize that they're just, they're just normal guys like they'll come up and talk to you and like they're super easy going. So that was, that was like the biggest eye opening, like cool moment was like, Oh, like they're just regular guys. They're nothing special. As for the drills, I'd probably say like when we do like PFPs like picture fielding practice, I, I've always loved, you know, doing PFPs and spring training is like the king of PFPs. I mean, we would, we would line up a shortstop as pitchers, you know, and try and make plays thrown across. So like to me, that was the most fun because I love fielding in high school, you know, growing up, everybody wants to be a shortstop. So like getting to do that at this level, you know, kind of messing around with all the other pitchers that was, that was probably the most fun drill we did was everybody line up at shortstop and a coach is going to drill ground balls at us. So that was, that was awesome. And I also want to ask you to playing it obviously in spring training with the Red Sox being one of the few teams have a replica of their own ballpark as a spring training ballpark. What is it like? Is it a, do you feel like there's a different feel to playing up and waste out there being F and waste out compared to family park? Yeah, I mean jet blues unreal. And I mean, in spring training, the crowds that they'll get for spring training games is unbelievable. So like, I feel like it's kind of special, you know, when you do get to go on the field and do stuff on that field, it's like, oh, this is, this is what it's like, you know, this is the goal is to be at this one, except in Boston, you know, it's, it's, it's unbelievable. I love it. Sorry, I think the mic cut off for a second. I also wanted to ask you, would playing baseball growing up? Obviously you mentioned about playing doing the field of practice at shortstop. Did you ever play any other positions growing up? And if you had to play any other position, what would you choose and why? When growing up, I feel like I've played every position, you know, through travel ball and like middle school high school ball. When I, when I got to high school, I got to be pretty good like I was good in the field. I played a lot of third, a lot of first, little bit of outfield. But if I had to choose now what would I want to play it probably be first for sure. I've just, I can catch the ball, you know, I could scoop the ball back in the day. And I don't know about the hitting part like 95 with a wood bat just doesn't sound fun to me but other than that. Yeah, I think I would play first if I had a choice. And I think I would jump in real quick, playing first. Okay. So did you see the World Series? I watched a little bit of it. Okay, I'm sure all over social media. There was a play, he wasn't playing first, but he was supposed to be covering first. Right. Okay. So I'm kind of curious. What was you out there and you didn't cover first, how worried or scared would you be of what your dad would say to you for not doing something that you were taught in T ball. And my dad would give me so much crap, especially on that floor, you know, the World Series and you just, you don't cover first, you know, that's, that's crazy. My dad would light me up probably. And I think my dad wouldn't even be the one I'd be, it'd be my teammates, you know, it's like, my bad. That's not something you could just say, oh, my bad for you know, that's kind of like a lack of effort play, almost. That is probably the biggest reason why he opted out of his contract to get out of New York. Yeah, I can imagine. Imagine. You got to know the rit that Blake's Blake's daddy's not diverse. So, it's a little, it's a little different there but, you know, one of the first things that I said to you when we, when you came into the room here was nice mustache. And you know we talked about how the mustache is making a comeback and, and I just was curious, you know, what were some of your favorite mustaches throughout baseball and who do you model yours after. The, the one that I tried to model mine after honestly isn't even baseball. It was Sam Elliot the actor. Yeah, I just feel like he is just, you know, honestly he's just like a, a badass and everything he plays. And he just has the thick gray mustache you know and he, I just saw every movie with Sam Elliot and I've liked so it was kind of like oh, you know he looks sick like intimidating, even though he's you know 75 years old or whatever it is but he's a scary So I kind of just grew up and just idolized that because everything he played in I liked. So, I'm always curious about how ball players feel about other ball players in terms of, you know, talent level or, you know, seeing something that, you know, we watch as fans but it's other ball players look at it. Is there anybody in the organization that you've played with that you'd say, you know, look out for this guy, because he's flying under the radar. And I don't think, you know, I played with him. People don't really understand how good this guy is. For me that's probably drew the guy who he signed is a free agent in my draft class catcher kind of utility guy. And it seemed like every time they did give him a bat he would leave the yard. It was like Greenville, you know goes four for four starts one night of the week goes four for four with a homer and two doubles. And it's like, he doesn't play again for two weeks. And I mean the dude is just grinding the whole time like in the weight room in the cages, and then gets up to Portland, he gets the call. And I mean, first at bat in Portland he's like single double homer. And I got, you know, this, this guy makes the most out of every time he gets on the field and if behind the scenes like live at bats and spring training he owns me. To be honest, he owns me. And he knows it too, because we talked about it. But there has been times where like I'm doing live at bats and he hits a hundred and four on our line drive back at the middle. Oh, my God, dang. Well, you know, how did you, what are you doing? And he's just like, I just, I knew it was coming. So, so for Halloween, you dressed up like Garrett Cole and he dressed up like Raphael Deborah's. That would have been the same thing. That would have been about. And it's funny because I bet you told you about it on the bench too, right? Because it too, he, I've messed with him about him in Portland, like, I just got to figure out how to get you out and then I think I'll be fine, you know. Hey Blake, if you want to, he's our guest next week. So, so we're going to, we're going to try to break down, you know, what he thinks about when you're, he's facing you, and then you just watch it back and then do everything the opposite of what, you know, he's expecting you to do that. Yeah, that's what it's going to have to come to, because when we first got drafted, this is my first live A.B. ever, you know, in Pro Ball. And I faced Ado Berto Mendoce first, and then I faced Drew, and they just swapped back and forth on the bats. Drew, first pitch I throw him, it's like single, like, oh, okay, whatever. Next at bat, it's three, two count single. Like, my God, I can't get him out. Next at bat, double off the wall. I'm like, Drew, what are you doing? You know, like, I've gotten Ado Berto Mendoce out at least, but I can't get you out. And he's just, he's a grinder, man. Like, that's the best way to put it is he's just, he works hard and he knows baseball, so. You have to listen next week and then, you know, take, take notes and then mess with him in spring training. That's right. I got to figure out a plan. Oh, yeah, you got some, you got time. So, you know, we'll have the other. That's right. I can plot and plot my plan. So, Blake, real quick question. When I was trying to get some good stories about you, Jeremy Davis, are you familiar with them? Oh, yeah. That's like my best friend back home's dad. Okay. He thought that, you know, didn't he get thrown out at first base one time from centerfield? And then your dad said, no, that was Gabe. You know, tell us about this story because I'm curious. How do you get thrown out at first base from centerfield? So, when I was, you know, a kid and like 12 years old travel ball, this is like, you know, I was a big kid. So I was not fast. And I hit them all hard sometimes. You know, I mean, for a 12 year old kid, I could hit. But back in the day, if I hit the ball to right field, like a single, I was getting thrown out at first every time. And so the guy you're talking about, Jeremy, he was one of our coaches with, along with my dad. And we were playing in a tournament in somewhere in South Georgia, I think. And one of my teammates hit a, like, I mean, just a missile up the middle. And was kind of like celebrating. This is to lead off the game, like the first pitch of the game. And the centerfielder comes up and throws him out at first. Like they're playing super far in. And we were like, well, we might get torched this game because these got like that they were good. And then we went on later to get destroyed that game. But yeah, first lead off the game, he got throughout it first and he wasn't a slow kid. So it was like, Oh, God, like you got to hit it in the gap for a single against these kids. Rob. I wanted to ask you, when it comes to pitching too, obviously, over the years when you get, develop your pitching, obviously you develop velocity. What's the one thing that you do to develop your velocity and things that teach growing velocity over time? I think the biggest thing is just the weight room. Like, I think it's, it's pretty, you know, basic knowledge that if you get stronger, you know, and you do things faster and you can, you can do things quicker than you're going to be better at whatever you're trying to do. Like, if you're, you know, if you're trying to throw harder, I think if you crush the weight room and get stronger. Technically, there's no way you shouldn't throw harder. You know what I mean? Like, and anything with like weighted balls, I think if you're advanced with throwing, then you can do weighted balls, but up until that point, I think like young kids should not be throwing weighted balls. I think they should stick to trying to get their body stronger, but once you get to a point, you know, a lot of these guys in Pro Ball, they really can't get any stronger because they're strong as they get, you know. Like, that's when you start moving on to the weighted ball aspect and trying to train your arm itself to be faster. So I think like, you know, younger kids, the weight room is the way to go and just try and get your body stronger and used to, you know, the force that you're putting out on the mound. And if, you know, if you can get better at that, then I think you'll gain velocity naturally. And then also I want to say too, with the game changing a lot and over the years, obviously, the development of the pitch clock and integrating it into the game, how has that changed your approach on the mound? The pitch clock, it's just kind of like, you know, you're conscious of it, but you're not paying too too much attention to it. I've always been a pitcher that works pretty quick. And so for me, the pitch clock didn't really bother me. It was just kind of aggravating, knowing that, hey, I have to throw the ball in seven seconds, you know. But other than that, I don't think it really affected me. Just because I've always been, you know, working fast, working fast, working fast. So with speed coming back in the game. And there's that new rule, or I guess not so new, but somewhat new, you can only throw over two times and the third time you got to get the guy out. I think within, I think it was the World Series this year, I think I saw for the first time that rule actually come into play where he threw over a third time and didn't get the guy out. How does that rule deter you from trying to pick guys off at first base or does it not? No, it absolutely does. That is one of the few rules that I think is just dumb. Like, I understand the concept of it, they want to make the game pace faster, you know, but I think it's starting to shy guys away from picking off because then, you know, you get to that third one, the runners obviously going to have a bigger lead at that point. And they're going to be, you know, jumpy, twitchy. So, like, for me, like, I just, I didn't mind picking off. I just, I never would do it twice in a row because then it's like, oh, now the runner knows. Like, if I don't get him out here, I can't pick off. Right, like, it's kind of stupid to me. I look at a lot of it and like I under, like you said, I understand the rules and speeding up the game and all that because we were getting to a point where things needed to change but I think the way that some of these rules are getting implemented takes a lot of the strategy again, absolutely is really sad. Absolutely. Like, if you have an experienced space runner, you know, that gets picked, you know, picked at a lot, you can really like use that to your advantage. And I mean, teams now are starting to exploit it to the point where like, we know this pitcher doesn't want to pick off because he's already picked off twice. And there's not many guys that are going to pick off that third time. Because if you pick off that third time, you may get him, you may not, but you know, worst case scenario is he gets the next bag which he's going to get anyways. So it's kind of like a, I'll just, you know, almost like a let them have it if they go this time, you know. And then we'll go around one more time, and then we'll wrap things up here. Yeah, let's talk about pick off moves. I mean, I think I agree with you. I think that it's part of the game. It keeps the runner close. It helps you. Right. You know, that base hit up the middle. So the guy standing on third, you know, you get it first and second, you'd much rather pitch with runners on first and second than have to worry about a guy on third. So I think that they've all been managed it to some extent. In that regard. How would you do in talking to a pitching pick off moves, how would you grade us? I would say for a big guy, I got a good pick off move. I would say I have pretty quick feet. And, you know, growing up, that's all they honed in on me was, Hey, if you have quick feet, you know, your arm will follow. So practicing a pick off move like that was the main thing I tried to do. So I would say my pick off move is right at average. Anybody at the professional level? I have not. I didn't pick off a whole lot this year. I might have picked off three or four times, you know, just to kind of show them like, Hey, I will pick off. But other than that, like most guys like aren't real like run threats that we face like we've we faced a few that were like, Hey, he might steal. But we never faced a guy that was like, Oh, he's for sure going. So it was kind of one of those things where like, if I don't think he's going, like I'm not going to waste a pick off, you know what I mean? Right. All right. Super. Red Sox wise. Who would you, who would you try or who would you rather try to pick off? I mean, honestly, I would try and pick every one of them all because I know that there's a good chance that they're going. So it's kind of it's kind of one of those one of those things like. It just depends on the situation. Like if he's if they're leaning, you know, dancing at first and I'm going to try at least once. And then past that past that point, it's just like I got to trust my catcher, you know, try and be as quick as I can to the plate and trust the catcher, which all three of those guys you named are about as fast as I get. So, especially with Duran, if you missed road to first base at all, he's on third, he's standing on third. Yeah. Yeah, he's he's unbelievably fast. Rob. Well, last question for you is out of out of anybody in Major League Baseball right now. Who is the one player you want to face and how would you approach them. Um, the one player that I would want to face. I would like to try and give myself a challenge so like I feel like I would, you know, like an Aaron judge or like a devors or like, even like a Bryce Harper type of guy, you know, just somebody that I know is really good at this game. And just to see like where my stuff would line up with them and where like how I would pitch them in that moment. So yeah, I would probably pick one of those three guys. Brandon. Alright, so I'm going to end it with kind of a fun one. You know, you being from from Georgia and me, a guy that gets a lot of my seasonings and spices and stuff like that imported from that area because I just love the food down there. What is your favorite or your go to meal and or dish. Um, I would say like some like southern comfort food, you know, like like fried chicken mashed potatoes macaroni like the stuff that that my family has for Thanksgiving like I'm sure, you know, you guys have different things for Thanksgiving and my family's like a, like a southern Thanksgiving which is, you know, fried chicken macaroni mashed potatoes, corn, corn bread that type of stuff. So that that's probably like my go to that's probably like my favorite meal. Right on we usually do turkey around here but last year me and my mom did a chuk roast and we looked at each other and said we're never doing turkey again. Oh yeah, it's good to switch it up. Okay, I'll ask my question first and then I'll let George wrap it up for us. Oh, George wants me to do it. Oh man. Okay. It's your thing man. Oh, but well, I had two questions so I'll go there and ask. Okay. Being from Georgia, I'm sure you're a big falcons fan right. My dad is a die hard falcons fan as well. Okay. I'm kind of curious and George is probably doesn't want to go with this. I know you're going with this. So, well, and don't get me wrong. I'm a giant span, but I'm curious how it felt that Super Bowl against the Patriots being up by that much and watch it dwindle away. And to be honest, we were celebrating a half time, you know, it was, it was 28 to three. It was like, Oh, there's no, this game's over. Matt Ryan is picking the Patriots apart like Brady can't do anything on offense. So it was like, Oh, like the Falcons just won the Super Bowl. And then the second half comes out and Edelman catches the ball where he's laying on the ground. I told my dad, I was like, the Falcons aren't winning. Like, you don't have stuff like that happen. And you win, you know, that was brutal. That was the, that was when everybody still thought the Georgia sports curse was still in there because today has it won since 89 at this point, and the Braves hadn't won in a while. The Falcons haven't won. So everybody just started talking about this Georgia sports curse. So it was just like, Oh, another, another cop out, you know, to blame it on his. Well, we're cursed. We can't win anyways. Okay, so I get, I get to ask this is a question that usually read us, but we call it the hot tub time machine. If you could go back and pitch to any player in baseball. Who would that player be and why. Oh, this is a good one. I think Chipper Jones, just because I idolize, you know, growing up Chipper Jones was the man in Atlanta switch hitter. He was a great third baseman. He was a good leader. And I would like to pitch against him just to see like, yeah, it's kind of like an nostalgia moment, you know, like one of my child. I had a fat head of Chipper Jones. So just kind of one of those nostalgia moments where it's like, Oh, like, I just wanted to see. I would want to see where my stuff would line up with him and just see if I could pitch him, you know, switch hitter. One of the best third basements of all time. It would just be. It would be nostalgic and probably my favorite of all time. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Blake, thanks listener and given us some of your time. I asked Noah ahead of time. So he had plenty of time to think about his hot time machine question. So, but Blake, thanks for coming on. And I wanted to sit there and give you time to where people can reach out to you and all that good stuff. Yeah, I mean, just reach me on Instagram. I mean, my user name is Blake dot we, I think. Or, or Twitter or any of the social medias. I think my username is all the same. So Blake, we hunt 22. Is that what it is on Instagram? No, I know that's what it is on Twitter. Yeah, I think it's. Yeah, that could be right. But yeah, that's, that's pretty much it. Instagram, Twitter, whatever, whichever one. Okay. Yeah. So guys, we're going to go around to a final thought. Rob, plug whatever you want and give us a final thought. So if you guys want to find me a TikTok, Fade Lines, what is the not an S same thing with Instagram and then Blake, I just want to thank you for coming on and taking your time out of your day to talk to us. Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate you guys having me Brandon. Yeah, more of the same. You know where to find me real BC X three on all social medias and we have black Eagle two four zero seven streaming on YouTube. Twitch and all that stuff. And we just actually signed up for whatnot. We're going to start selling vintage sports jerseys and stuff on there. So I got a lot of stuff cooking in the pipeline and like Rob said, thanks for coming on, man. Absolutely. George. First, yeah, Blake, this is a, this has been a blast to talk here. I really want to thank you for coming on. You guys know where you can find me. You know, I'll be back on a more frequent basis now on the podcast and you can always find my Sunday morning coffee thoughts and I promise I will be publishing more during the week. And guys, you can sit there and find me here. You can find me on Twitter underscore the underscore bread. Blake, I would sit there and say, well, try to hook us up with your roommate to come on the podcast like I did Noah, but, well, you guys are roomy so I can't ask you that one. Yes, right. So, but no, really thanks for coming on. We really sit there and appreciate you giving us some time. That's what we like to do at the SCN and pesky podcast overall, you know, get to bring, bring my link players on, build a relationship with them and just go watch them and, you know, on their journey to the majors, you know, that's the one thing we love. We built a lot of relationship, our copy CT, feel a Denver, you know, to name a few. And, you know, this, this season here, we, you know, even sit there and gone above when, of course, so and I got over, I think I probably got a half of your draft class. I don't want to wind up with this, which is kind of funny so, but thankless and their stopping by. But guys, let's sit there and head on over to our store bscn 617 dot square dot site, check out not only all your red stock stuff for the off season, but also your your Patriots, your Patriots, your Celtics and your Bruins merchandise that are, that's over there at bscn 617 dot square dot site. Also, this will be dropping tomorrow live on for all platform, whether it's iHeartRadio, Apple, or Spotify, but for Rob, for the OG, for Brandon, and for the chicken farmer Blake Wieheim. Check us out next time on the pesky podcast. ♪ I'm gonna tell you story ♪ ♪ I'm gonna tell you 'bout my town ♪ ♪ I'm gonna tell you big fat story baby ♪ ♪ I talk 'bout my town ♪ ♪ Yeah, down by the river ♪ ♪ Down by the banks of the river ♪ [BLANK_AUDIO]