On March 5, former Hanshin Tigers and Chicago Cubs player Matt Murton joined JapanBall’s “Chatter Up!” to discuss his time with both clubs, what he believes to be the best use of analytics by players, and what his thought process was while breaking the record for hits in a single season. For a recap of this discussion, you can check out the recap here, or watch the full video for yourself on our YouTube channel:
Shane:
Let’s continue on to our special guest, Matt Murton. So I’m gonna introduce Matt, and then I’ll ask a couple questions, then I’ll open it up to Q & A, so use that “raise hand” feature. If you have questions for Matt, you can raise them whenever you’re ready, and I’ll get to you. Matt, I’m gonna put you in the spotlight so everyone can see you. Hello!
Matt:
Hello, everybody! Thank you for having me!
Shane:
You’re welcome. Thank you for joining us. All right. So I think everyone on this call knows your story, but I’m going to give it anyway, just for the record, and in case anyone’s not too familiar. So Matt Murton was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but became a prized baseball prospect and recruit in Georgia. He went on to play ball at Georgia Tech. He burst onto the scene as a freshman and never really looked back, becoming a first-round [pick] of the Red Sox in 2003. He continued to rake in the minor leagues, so much so [that] the Cubs wanted him; he was a part of a huge trade with Nomar Garciaparra in 2004, and then the following year, [he] made his big league debut, and the year after that, became the Cubs’ everyday left fielder; that would be in 2006. The next few years were a bit unsteady. There was time in AAA, he was traded to the [Oakland] A’s, to the [Colorado] Rockies, and then he finally settled down or I guess you could say settled down, because he really just kind of took off with the Hanshin Tigers in 2010. So in 2010, he etched himself into NPB’s history books by breaking Ichiro Suzuki’s single season hits record, and then went on to play five more seasons with the Hanshin Tigers. Over those six years, he became one of NPB’s greatest import players ever, and despite the frequent media flack [he] got, he still was adored by the Tigers’ faithful, who are passionate fans there, and they all love Matt, and I know we got a lot of Tigers fans on here that can attest to that. In addition to Matt’s hits record, he had four all-star appearances, four best nine awards, a Central League batting title, and really just a tremendous career in Japan. Most recently, Matt worked in Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs. If LinkedIn can be trusted, he’s currently helping out at the baseball team at Grace Christian Academy in Tennessee, and also raising his beautiful family with five kids with his wife, Stephanie, which I’m sure is more than a full-time job. So anyway, Matt, thanks so much for joining us today. Great to see you. I’ve been wanting you to come on this for a long time, so I’m glad you’re here. And thanks to Paul Pass, who’s on the call today, for putting us in touch.
Matt:
Yeah, for sure, man. Thank you.
Shane:
You’re welcome. All right, so I’m going to start with a couple foundational questions about [the] early part of your career, and then we already have some hands raised, so I’ll kick it to the audience right away. So, I’m just curious about in 2010, or the end of 2009, how did the offer to go to Japan materialize? And what was your decision-making process like in accepting it?
Matt:
Yeah, for sure. So, you know, I think when you’re met with that opportunity, I think a lot of it is dictated or dependent upon kind of where you’ve been over the last few years, and I know, for me specifically, having gotten to the big leagues at a relatively young age, my mind and my heart was fully set on playing in the big leagues. So in 2009, when I received a phone call from my then-GM Dan O’Dowd of the Colorado Rockies, kind of suggesting that there was this opportunity at first, I wasn’t necessarily really keen on it, to be honest with you. It took me some time. My wife, Stephanie, actually knew far before I did, she was pregnant with our second child – [Macy] was born in Kobe, that first year that we were there – she kind of knew far before I did, that this is kind of what she felt like we were supposed to do. And so slowly, but surely, I got there, and it was a slow burn for me. But once I finally get to that conclusion, then it’s all-in. So I didn’t want to make that decision until I was all and we did, and it was an experience that we’ll never forget.
Shane:
That’s awesome. I’m sure you’ve come across a number of players who were making that same decision themselves after you. What advice do you typically give to guys who are trying to make that decision of whether to go or not?
Matt:
Oh, for sure. You know, I think so much of it is dictated based on the individual, and what they face when they get there, because we could spend a long time talking about the variance from one club to another, even within Japan, and how foreigners are received in one place versus potentially another. But generally speaking, I think that one of the biggest piece[s] of advice you can give is that you need to, first and foremost, recognize the fact that, while you should never forget who it is that you are and where it is that you come from, you need to be prepared to adhere to a new culture, a new style of sorts, and you need to come open minded. If you’re willing to come open minded, and ready to compete, and engage culture, I think you have a far greater chance of staying around for a little while. But if you go in with this idea of, “I’m going to go in and do it my way,” I just don’t know [if] that’s necessarily going to be the best end result when it comes down to it.
Shane:
Yeah, did you have exposure to Japanese baseball before, or anyone who really helped you early on, at least to familiarize you when you got there?
Matt:
Did I have any experience with Japanese baseball? Not really a whole lot prior to this opportunity coming about. But then in that moment, like anybody else, I’m an information gatherer, and I was very blessed to have a number of different people- in fact, I think some of which are on the call- the [Thompson] family had already been over in Japan had been there with with their company- IBM, I believe it was- for five years, and there was a mutual friendship actually there back in Atlanta. And they connected us, and we were able to talk through what it was like to have lived over there. I reached out to my uncle who had spent a lot of time traveling internationally, I wanted to know what that looked like. I was told I need to read “You Gotta Have Wa” [by Robert Whiting] and to watch “Mr. Baseball.” So between the two of those, I was supposed to understand Japanese culture and Japanese baseball a little bit. I did my homework.
Shane:
I think that for a lot of people on this call, that book and that movie were everyone’s introduction to Japanese baseball, for a lot of us, so you’re not alone. Alright, we have more questions, but I want to kick it to the audience, and I’ll just sprinkle mine in as we go, since we’ve got some hands raised. Ian, you’re up next.
Ian:
Hi, so it’s nice to see another redhead. I just looked at your Twitter, and I saw your five kids in that jump house, and your life must be utter chaos, and I commend you. I don’t have any kids, but I work with kids, so I feel your pain.
Matt:
We are busy, that’s for sure.
Ian:
I have two questions. I asked Craig Brazell this, can you talk about the difference between the ball between 2010 and 2011? And can you talk about what fans get more drunk at games – Tigers’ fans or Cubs’ fans?
Matt:
Get more drunk? Oh, that’s a good question. So first of all, going back really quickly to the bouncy house you saw there in the garage, the backstory is actually that we were hosting a party in Japan for our children, and we went to rent a bounce house. We found out that renting the bounce house was actually more expensive than if we bought a bounce house, so that bounce house was actually purchased while we were in Japan, it was set up in our living room in Japan, when we were in an apartment, and our kids could get some activity that way. And it’s made its way all the way back to the US. It does have some seams that are starting to break, but it’s still holding up enough for my baby to get in there. So anyway, the backstory on that bounce house is that it goes all the way back from Japan. I know the last question you asked, but the first one was the difference between the ball correct, between 2010 and 2011?
Ian:
Yeah, I just want to point out, there’s a website called NPB stats, and your OPS in 2010 was .894. And are you familiar with WRC plus?
Matt:
I am not, go ahead.
Ian:
It’s like OPS plus, basically. So your WRC plus was .138. And then the next year, your OPS was .762, but your WRC plus was .134, so basically, you’re pretty much the exact same player. But your OPS was like 132 points less, like that’s a big difference in the run department. That’s why I asked, because it’s such a big difference from one year to the next.
Matt:
So one of the things I think that certainly was, just like anything in our life, we have personality traits, character traits, if you will, that certainly have their gold, the good aspects of it, and also the shadow aspect of it. Well, I’m super analytical, which helped me when I was competing against guys in a foreign country. I would pay attention to all the little details of what they would do, and how they would attack me and all these things, I would sit and take notes on it. But with that also comes the fact that you’ll sit in your hotel room at night, thinking about the coefficient of restitution, and why the numbers have changed, and how the numbers have changed. And really, as an athlete, it comes down to simply competing in the environment, but I will tell you and attest to the fact that I was guilty of worrying about how the environment had changed. So after the 2010 season, the NPB then decided… which I really think at the end of the day, it probably made a lot of sense… they were looking to make a more uniform baseball, because prior to that there were different manufacturers, and each club basically determined which ball it was they were going to use, so certain baseballs had more life to them, while other balls did not, and all of that was really dictated based on relationships with the clubs, or whatever that may have been. So going into 2011, it was a season in which they believed they wanted to make a more uniform ball, which completely makes sense, right? A little bit more like the Major League-type standard, and there’s one baseball for the entire league. With that… and this is where I’m not privy to all of that information… but the reality is, run production was significantly reduced, and ERAs, and everything else. Obviously, there was a direct correlation between batting averages and run production, and how the pitchers were performing. And typically, what you’ll see is when you look at like any set of data, you’re always gonna have outliers, but when the entire whole, the mean if you will, ends up moving that drastically, something typically is up. We always used to joke, not every single pitcher has that good of an offseason, right? There’s just no way they all have that good of an offseason. So yeah, there was some pain for us as hitters, because you come into the league and then you kind of become accustomed to a certain thing, and I’m sure it was a lot harder for guys that had been in the league far more than just the one year I had been there, but it was something we had to wrestle with. And there was a difference, and whether that was a positive difference or not, at the end of the day, that’s probably not something I should touch. But more or less, really about the fact that getting to a uniform ball made sense. And then in regards to the Cubs and the Tigers, here’s what I’ll tell you. So in Wrigley Field, the joke used to be that if you turned the seats around backwards, they would still sell out, because at the end of the day, they’re just there to have a good time, you know? So they’re there for the party atmosphere, it’s Wrigley Field, they’re in Chicago, they’re having a good time, and really, you can put those seats around. And on the reverse of that… and I’ll let you be the judge of which one of these is probably having a better time… on the reverse of that, when I was at Koshien, I was just taken aback by the fact that from the first pitch, almost legitimately to the last pitch, it never stopped. And in the outfield, I was trying to sit there watching all of the fans in the outfield, and trying to define what that was. It’s got to be some mix between Southeastern Conference college football, and international soccer. But I used to jokingly say, I wonder who goes home more tired, the players or the fans, because they are just so into it. I feel like the culture of Japan, generally speaking, they toe the line, right, and it’s very honorable to hold their emotions, which is something that I certainly can learn from, and so look to engage in that way and try to become better, but I think that was their moment where they can just let it out. So between turning the seats around backwards, and going home dog tired from a long nine inning game? I don’t know. Maybe you’ll be the judge of that.
Shane:
Chad, you’re up next.
Chad:
You have to go to the Cubs fan here! Well, I was 25 in 2006, and we were all pretty drunk in the bleachers back then, so Matt, that’s probably right on that one. But thanks for doing this, Matt, you were one of my first favorite players post-Moneyball when it comes to analytics and everything, and one of the few that actually took walks in the mid-2000 cubs.
Matt:
I was a little bit before my time, I guess.
Chad:
You definitely were! Maybe if you had Joe Maddon as manager instead of Lou Pinella, you would have had a you’ve been appreciated more there.
Matt:
But you know what, going back to that though, man, there’s a plan for everyone, and it was intended. I love my time in Chicago, but it was intended for me to be in Japan. But anyway, go ahead.
Chad:
Well, my wife and I went to Japan in 2018, and went to Koshien [Stadium] and became Tigers fans from there. And I know you just started talking about it, but I was meaning to ask you about Wrigley and Koshien and the differences and similarities of playing there, in these old ballparks that maybe don’t necessarily have the most updated amenities. How does that affect you as a player to play in? When you go play at a new ballpark, and you have the top-of-the-line training stuff, you have the batting cages and everything, but when you go to Koshien, or Wrigley, you have these kind-of cramped quarters. I know at Wrigley they changed it a bunch in the last couple years. But their players were always complaining about not having the same kind of facilities. How does that affect you and your preparation? Or does it affect you and the other players going forward?
Matt:
Yeah, for sure. So the one good thing was that, in my going over and transitioning over into Japan, I could not have been in a handful of maybe at one or a few environments, like back in the US, that would have prepared me for what I was about to face. And the fact that I had been a Cub, and had faced the media in Chicago and has dealt with all of the fans in such a positive way. But it’s like anything else, in Chicago, or whether it’s Japan or anywhere else, they want the team to win, right? So like when you’re playing well, they love you, and when you’re not, they’re gonna let you know. And so the good thing was that I, at least from having experience playing in Chicago, had an idea what it would be like in a sense, I was somewhat prepared for it. With that being said, my point in saying that was that I really enjoyed the history of the ballpark, it started to become like this thing, you get to go back and look at old footage of Chicago and some of the old games that were played there, even the lights going in… I think the lights were in ‘88… Yeah. So when I get to Japan, the one thing about Japan that I didn’t love that they changed about Koshien was they got rid of the “lucky zone.” So there was this lucky zone that was at Koshien that was in the gaps, and they got rid of it. So for a hitter, it’s felt like it was unfair that we didn’t get to play in it. But anyway, so you walk down the halls of Koshien, there’s a picture, probably a replica picture obviously of Babe Ruth and the time that he had been there, and you see the history of the High School Tournament. So that I say all that because the history of a building to me means so much, so whether you’re playing in the most fancy stadium or not, I personally enjoy the history behind the ballpark. Now, the part that you’re kind of attesting to that actually does matter… back at Wrigley Field, when I was playing there, and we used to have a clubhouse [that] was pretty narrow and small, and as a guy who maybe was coming in off the bench, all we had was like a little net that barely had enough room to actually take a full swing and a tee. So you’re getting ready to go out and face 95 to 98 miles an hour late in the game and get a hit, and your ability to warm up amounts to like a half swing off the tee. Whereas now in more modern stadiums, they have full batting cages you can run around in and move around, there’s a lot more advantages to how you can prepare your body for competition. So that does play in, the aspect of the facilities, in preparation for the sport more than the comfort of the sport. And at Koshien the one thing I will say is that I was fortunate enough for the majority of my career there to be starting, so it was all about pregame preparation. The one thing that Koshien had that was amazing, and I think it went back to Kei Igawa if I’m correct, but when he signed, I believe it was to come over and play for the Yankees. Back at that time they were getting these nice chunks of money in terms of like a posting fee, and the Tigers were willing to reinvest that money back into their clubs. So we had this indoor facility that was attached by a breezeway of sorts, like you would have to think of it almost like a jet bridge on a plane, but we would be connected to this indoor facility that was phenomenal. So yes, facilities matter, but we could get all kinds of work in there when it was raining, and you know in Japan, there’s plenty of rain. It’s like being down in South Florida. But yes, to answer your question, it does matter, but again, it matters more in preparation, than it does comfort.
Chad:
Great, and thanks for being with the 2016 Cubs.
Matt:
Yeah, man. Thank you. That was fun. I mean, I wish I would have had a little bit more involvement, but I was exactly where I was supposed to be, and I really was excited. I had a chance to be with some of those younger players that year in ‘16 in Iowa [with the Cubs’ AAA affiliate] to see them get to go up and contribute to be a part of that team, that was really cool. And congrats to the Cubs fans – Omedetō – “congratulations” in Japanese.
Chad:
Thank you Matt. I was a season ticket holder that year, so I went to all the playoff games and it was an experience.
Ted:
Hi, Matt. Thanks for being here. I have two questions. One is, what was your best day you’ve ever had as a player? And the other question is, when you’re in a slump, and everybody gets in a slump, what do you do to get out of it?
Matt:
Those are good questions. Okay, so I’m going to separate, if it’s okay, I’m going to separate my career in the US and my career in Japan in terms of my best day. In the United States, I thought it was really cool to have been able to participate in a playoff game. It’s hard to say that though, in some ways, because we didn’t fare so well in those games, but that was really special, just to have had that experience. Certainly Opening Day, I mean, the first day that you get called from the Major Leagues, you’ll never forget that moment, what it’s like to get that phone call. I was in a Day’s Inn in Kodak, Tennessee, and I remember getting the phone call and standing on the balcony and hearing that I was going to go play in the big leagues, and I don’t think it really fully sunk in. I do remember trying to figure out, do I need to shave or cut my hair, or how do I need to present myself and getting no sleep. And anyway, it was, it’s something you’ll never forget. And then in Japan, I mean, there are so many different memories that were amazing. But I will say the one that probably stands out the most to me, was in 2014, when we were playing in the Tokyo Dome in the Climax Series finals, and they’re obviously one of our big rivals there in Japan, they usually had a tendency to have the upper hand with us. And so for us to be able to go in there and collectively, as a unit, be able to win that game and then see the emotions of all of the fans in the stadium that were there to support us, because our support in Japan was amazing, no matter where we went with the Tigers, and to see the emotions of the fans, and just to have this sense of like we did it together, especially given the idea of wa (“harmony”) within Japan, it was just really cool, really special. I’ll never forget that day. Unfortunately, it didn’t go so well with the Hawks. But anyway, I’ll never forget the day that we won in Tokyo Dome, and were all celebrating together.
Ted:
And when you’re in a batting slump? What do you do?
Matt:
Well, you pray a little bit harder. You go to the cage probably a little bit more. You know, there were some trying times for me in Japan. I did, I was very fortunate to have a lot of success, but 2012 was a very difficult season, ‘15, the last year I was there, I felt like I was fighting against it the entire season. And a lot of times for me, it was like staying up late at night watching videos, constantly analyzing everything that was going on, almost to a fault. So I think sometimes when you get into a slump, one of the best things you can do is almost just like go back to being a kid, and go out there and compete, and just give it in literally lay it out on the field. Because my mind is super analytical, I’m always trying to figure out the whys, where sometimes it’s probably better if I were just going out and play. In fact, you know what, I think you can tell by my answer there, I still probably don’t have a good answer, but if you can figure that out for me, please let me know, and maybe I can share it with the kid one day.
Ted:
No, I like that answer because I play senior softball, and I know what it’s like when you’re in a slump. If you think about it more, you’re going to do even worse, so I don’t even think about it just go out there and play, so I like your advice.
Matt:
There we go. Good. Thank you.
Shane:
Maybe this wasn’t your favorite day in Japan, but I want to share this video and ask you a follow up question on it.
(Shane shows a video of Matt Murton hitting a sayonara walk-off home run at Koshien Stadium)
Shane:
I imagine that must be the best feeling in the world, or at least the best feeling in sports. Can you tell us what it’s like? Walk us through it, the ball coming off the bat or touching home, what sticks with you? And what is that feeling like, hitting a sayonara home run?
Matt:
Yeah, for sure. So [Kazuhisa] Makita-san, the guy that was pitching in that particular game, he’s actually the starter, and that was I believe, probably the fourth time I’ve been to the plate in that game, and I do not believe I have had a hit to that point. But Makita-san was one of those guys that was kind of a unique case, because most of the time when you face guys that are like sidearm right hand pitchers, the tendency is that you have to really focus on hitting to the back side of the field, and throughout that entire game, I felt like I was jamming myself over and over and over again, and just hitting weaker balls to the right side. Well, you know, when you jam yourself sometimes or you hit the ball, you’ll put a little crack in your bat, right? And in this particular at-bat, it was probably the fourth time I’ve been up, and I remember looking down- I used to have this routine, especially in big moments, I would look up at the facade, and there was a [COTK] up there. And that’s another story. And I would also look down here, and they had like the little NPB logo, that was like a sticker that they would place on my back to say that they were approved, because they’re from the US- I would always look down at that sticker and kind of have like a focal point, I had to focus on something here, so that I could then take my focus from the bat, to the pitcher. So it’s all this mind game about how I was focusing, I remember looking down and I saw like a little crack in the bat. And this isn’t the middle of the AB, in fact, it was the pitch before, and I looked down like “Now I can’t hit with this bat.” So I asked for time, I run back to the dugout, I give it to Okita-san, who is our translator, I get the new bat, I run up there. And now I’m at a place where I don’t even really have a whole lot of time to think. Going back to the whole slump thing, thinking for me sometimes got me in trouble. So I don’t have time to think, I get up there. And I’m like, “You know what? Forget this, I’m not going to try to hit the ball to the backside off Makita, I’m just gonna swing it.” And he was probably fatigued a little bit, and he left the ball over the plate, and my approach had changed. And I was fortunate enough to get the barrel on it. And I don’t know that I had a lot of hits against him, but I did have one right there, and it was really special. I mean, when you’re running around those bases, and you know your team has won the game, there’s really not a feeling quite like it, to be honest with you. Hitting a home run is amazing, but then to do it and celebrate it with all of your team and the coaches and certainly the stadium. It’s really cool. It’s really special.
Mark:
Hey Matt, really an honor to meet you this way. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention we have a couple of people in common, Theo Epstein, probably among many others. And also I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I was at that same game in Wareham when you guys won the Cape League Championship in the bottom of the ninth. So my question is, you were part of one of the most notorious trades in Red Sox history, and it was so dramatic because the established star of the team, Nomar [Garciaparra], you went to the Cubs on August 1, if memory serves. But I’m just wondering what your memories are of that and what it was like? And you mean, you weren’t really in Boston, I don’t think, but you were part of the Red Sox, and we all know that was 2004. Anyway, I was just curious about that.
Matt:
Yeah, so thank you for the question. I actually signed my professional contract with the Boston Red Sox, July the 8th, of 2003. And at that time, and I believe this rule has now been abolished, but I do think that at that time, the rule was that you had to be with the club that drafted you for at least one calendar year before they can trade you. So I was signed on July the 8th of ‘03, and July the 31st, at the trade deadline of 2004, I was traded. So essentially almost as soon as I could have been traded, I was traded. So with that, I didn’t even get through my first full season before that happened, and so for me, it was kind of a realization. I remember I was in Dunedin, I believe at the time in Florida. I was playing in the Florida State league. I was playing with the Sarasota Red Sox at the time- they’ve since moved out of that league- but I was down there playing, and I remember getting this phone call that I was traded, and I was gonna go be a part of the Chicago Cubs. I really was taken back by it, to be honest with you. What was really crazy though, was that like any baseball fan, the Red Sox and the Yankees have always been big, but during that time period, with the history of the Red Sox, and not having won [a World Series] and all of what was going on, it was really really big. And I believe it was in ‘03 the year before, I was sitting there watching Aaron Boone hit a home run that essentially sank the Red Sox in 2003, and just being such a big fan of the game, and now here I am getting traded with the guy, Nomar Garciaparra, who was bigger than life in Boston for a very long time. And not only that, but had Georgia Tech roots, where I had where I had gone to school. So it was really kind of surreal, to be honest with you. I think, again, I was so young, I was only 22 years old, I guess it was at the time, that it’s really hard to process all of that. We were traded, and they won. That’s what it came down to. We were traded, and they won. So anyway, I didn’t have a whole lot to do with that, obviously, but yes, it was certainly a unique part of my story, and certainly could have been a part of that story that ultimately was going to land me in Japan.
Matt:
Well as a Tigers fan. grateful for that, and, again, great to see you.
Trevor:
As always, good to see you Matt, and I’ve always got like dozens of questions for you. But I’ll just stick to one. I want to ask you about hero interviews in Japan.
Editor’s note: hero interviews refers to the practice of having a player be interviewed live in front of the stadium after a victory, similar to NHL’s Three Stars, or the Super Bowl MVP.
So it’s kind of a two-part question. The first one is, when do you start thinking about that, like during the game? If you get like a late clutch hit, are you already kind of thinking like, “I might be called up after the game?” Or do you wait till like the third out of the bottom of the ninth to kind of process that, and someone gives you the call, like, “Hey, you’re up?” And then, what types of questions did you enjoy being asked? And what types of questions did you kind of feel like you weren’t left with a lot to say? Or it was really hard to get something going on that podium?
Matt:
Yeah, for sure. So thank you for the question, it’s good to see you. I would say that it’s really hard during the competition, the one thing I will say is that I felt like I always did a decent job of [being] present in the moment. So it’s really hard to think about that, but the bottom line is that when the game concludes, and you have won, I mean, I think every athlete would admit to the fact that at that moment, once the game is finally over, you’re kind of thinking, “Oh, I had a pretty good game, or maybe I did this or that, and so there’s the potential that I’m going to go up there and that hero interview stand.” But the way it works for us is that [Oki-san], who was there in the dugout, would always inform us, and sometimes we would find out almost immediately, as soon as the game was completing. And then it was always a lot of fun, especially as you became more kind of, I guess you would say, accustomed to getting up there. And for me, the longer I was there, and I wasn’t very good at it, but I tried to incorporate some Japanese, and the beauty in incorporating Japanese is that my Japanese vocabulary is very limited, or was very limited. So when it comes to answering questions, I would get away with very simplistic answers. So I can kind of manipulate my way through an interview in that way by just saying something Japanese and moving on. But it was always funny because there was some kind of cadence to it, and whenever we would watch like, especially Japanese athletes get on the stand, it always felt like this, like a similar type response over and over and over again. So if anything, we were hoping- I was at least hoping- to give something a little bit different. But yeah, I enjoyed it. I would say that some of the hardest questions, to be honest, did not happen on that hero stand. It would tend to occur after, and those are the tough ones. But yeah, the hero stand, usually after you had won the game, you obviously to get up there and had some sort of a good game in some way or another and so it was usually pretty light hearted.
Trevor:
Can I ask a quick follow up question? Do you know who decides who gets to get who gets called up to the podium? Like, is it the club? Is it the media? Do you know?
Matt:
What would you think? I’m gonna give an answer, I’m not trying to skate around it. But what would be your guess on that? What do you think it is?
Trevor:
I would guess the club.
Matt:
I would say that that’s probably pretty fair. I do think that the club and the media certainly have… like anywhere, look, I don’t care where you are, that’s the way it works, I think there’s a relationship there. But generally speaking, I would say yes, the club is probably the one dictating that; maybe the PR department is deciding that, but I’m not 100% certain. All I know is that Oki-san would come down and be like, “you’re the hero tonight, you need to go up on the stand.” Yes, sir. [Japanese]
Trevor:
Alright, so because different TV stations would be hosting these games or broadcasting the games, and it was usually one of the broadcasts or someone from that station that would do the hero interview, correct? Like, it wasn’t a Tigers PR guy, it was actually someone from that particular media. Is that right?
Matt:
So here’s what we need to figure out. We want to really get some “P.I.” work going, we need to figure out based upon the particular TV station that’s covering the game on that particular day, do they have any kind of tendencies towards who it is they tend to choose? And then we can start to figure out, “hey, is it the TV that’s actually doing this? Or is it somebody else?” Because certain stations might have certain tendencies, so if you get those foreigners up on the stand, maybe there’s a station that’s more willing to put those foreigners up there. I don’t know.
Trevor:
It could be a conspiracy theory.
Shane:
Trevor, we’ll look forward to your deep dive on that subject on your website. Alright, Toshiki, you’re up next.
Toshiki:
Hi, Matt, it’s truly an honor to be able to ask you a question, even though I’m a Giants fan, sorry. So I understand you are an analytics guy, as I am as well, and could you talk a little bit about some of the downsides of being analytical, and how would you adjust that to your players?
Matt:
Yeah, so I think when you speak of analytics, like there’s a lot of different ways we could try to define it. I think that, if you were to try to… I’ve been going through this more recently with some leadership type training, and not to say that this is the end-all, be-all, but I think that people that are super analytical tend to lead from the mind quadrant, and so, in leading in the mind quadrant, the thing is that sometimes the pitfalls of that is that you can become very narrow, you can really have this tunnel vision of what it is that you’re trying to accomplish from time to time, because everything’s so black and white to you, it’s one plus one equals two. And that’s why I love math, because it just made sense, it seemed to be really objective in its analysis. And so, I think with that you have to- and I’m still trying to figure it out- but you have to be able to recognize that sometimes it’s not always as easy as one plus one equals two. And there are people that think differently, and don’t see things through the same lens that we see them through, and how can we meet those people where they are? So like in teaching and coaching, it’s understanding different personalities, and recognizing that while this may be a strength, it can also be a detriment to me if I don’t manage it correctly. So I am always trying to work in, “How can I utilize that as a strength, and still recognize this other quadrant, this heart quadrant, or relational quadrant, to where I don’t get so focused on the analytics of whatever it is that I’m walking through, that I lose sight of the relationship that’s right next to me?” And I’ve always enjoyed people, I always enjoyed my teammates, I enjoyed all those things. A part of I think what made me successful in the game was that I did have the ability to really lock in on what was in front of me, and I would see nothing else but what was right in front of me. And so, the only detriment to that is that sometimes along those lines, when you’re going down that track, you start to lose sight of things that really matter. And for me, looking back, hindsight’s 20-20, it’s easy to see situations where it’s like, “man, I guess I could have handled that a little differently. I wish I would have done that a little better.” So I don’t know if that answers your question, but more or less, I think it’s just understanding who you are, understanding who I am, why I was created or made that way, and then how can I have more efficiently or more productively utilize that as a strength, while also recognizing this part of me that I can grow in. Is that even what you were asking?
Toshiki:
I guess I was asking from a coach’s perspective.
Matt:
100% and that’s where I think like analytics… so like, I’ve been into a room, even as early as this past year, and you sit down in a room and you start to (again, because you’re analytical) present your case, or you present your PowerPoint presentations from the mind of somebody who’s very analytical, and I would sit in the back of the room and I would watch half of the room glaze over. These are athletes, half these guys don’t really have a clue what you’re saying, or they don’t really care. So I think it’s just the awareness. I think awareness is a big part of it, understanding which athletes you can approach in that way, understanding that, okay, while this data might be super useful, and it might be something that I can really help these guys with, I need to get it down into layman’s terms. I need to figure out how I can utilize this to help them, without having to go directly to them with the analytics. So I think it’s just managing personalities, and that’s where it goes back to awareness, and just understanding that we’re not all the same.
Shane:
I wanted to ask about Theo Epstein, when you mentioned that you were facing Makita for the fourth or fifth time, I know [Theo] wouldn’t have let that happen. But now that Toshiki asked his question, I’ve got to ask about Theo Epstein, and what your impression was of him as a leader, and as a baseball mind when you worked with him with the Cubs?
Matt:
I think obviously, Theo has cemented his place in the game. He has been fortunate enough to – based upon obviously a lot of hard work, certainly skilled – involved in, and I’m sure he would probably attest to, he surrounded himself, as many people who are successful do, with a lot of really good people. But he has turned around, he took two franchises that hadn’t won in a long time and…
[Matt’s Audio Cuts]
Shane:
You were talking about Theo Epstein, but I did have one follow up on that, because he’s in a pretty unique position now, where he’s tasked with improving the on-field product of MLB. If you were in his shoes, do you have any things, pet projects that you’d like to implement on the major league level?
Matt:
I think he’s probably more versed in being able to answer that, but you know what, here’s the hardest thing with the game. The hard thing with the game today is that, I believe in some ways, we live in a microwave culture, right? Everybody wants it now. Technology has made it such that, like everything else, all of our information is so much more readily available, in everything that our life has set up, right? And what is it about the game of baseball that, traditionally speaking, so much of us have loved, or those that love the game have loved? The history of the game, and the nuances between the matchup between the pitcher and the hitter, the cat and mouse game between counts and situations throughout the game, and the fact that it’s timeless in the sense that there’s no clock, right. There’s so many things about the game that have made it, playing catch in the front yard with dad or whomever it was, and going out and enjoying the competition of the game, certainly the history of the game and all those things. So culturally speaking, we are transitioning further and further away from that old timeless type value, to more of a, “I need it now.” Kids today are inundated with technologies, my own are, to the point where it’s just… from mine, I guess specifically, so much of who we are is about the environment by which we grow up in. So because they grew up around the game, there’s still an interest in the game, they feel the value in the game, but generally speaking, for the average fan or the average person, it’s kind of boring to a lot of people. So I know [MLB], they’re looking for ways to speed it up, to make it have more of a flair, whatever it is. To answer your question, I do think that if they can find a way to put contact, if they can find a way to value contact again in the game, to put a premium on putting the ball in play and creating more action, I do think the game will be more enjoyable. I do think that when you come to the three true outcomes of walk, homer and strikeout, like you can only do that so long before the game really slows down. So finding a way – and I’ve heard different ways that could potentially try to meet that goal – but finding a way to make contact more of a [premium] again. Even in how we value players, it’s just that that aspect of the game is being lost. And I think that if you can find a way to bring that back, I do think that the game becomes a little bit more interesting. And then marketing, which they do a phenomenal job with, but continue to market and grow the game throughout the world, I think the WBC obviously, they’re looking to accomplish that, and it’s really about education. It’s about educating the younger kids, making it available, allowing them to understand the values that come through the game, and why it’s fun to play. I really think you got to do it. If you’re really going to do it, you gotta do it from the underbelly, which is the kids, you gotta make them want to do it again, you’ve got to give them avenues by which they can do it, and make it fun. And then if you can grow the game from that base, that’s how it was right? I feel like so many of us love it, because we all played it when we were little, and we did it with dad or whomever it was, and we all love the game because we’ve all experienced it. So I think it’s a matter of getting young kids to experience it again. And then the Padres this year, certainly seemed like a fun team, the Dodgers have been a fun team, the Cubs have been for a long time… there’s a lot of great teams, but there’s some teams that are coming out now with some players that are a little different than they were in the past, and maybe they’ll help the younger generation too.
Shane:
I know that in all the studies they’ve done about getting more fans, the one strongest indicator as to whether or not someone’s a baseball fan as an adult is whether or not they played as a kid. And I agree with the contact thing, but until the powers that be figure out how to incentivize contact, all of us on the call, just remind your friends that are complaining about that, just pay attention to the Japanese game, where there is a lot of contact that comes with it. And come with us on the JapanBall tour if you wanna see it for yourself!
Yumi:
Hi. First of all, Matt, I think you’re so brave. I was born and grew up in Japan, live in [the] Kansai area, the dialect is totally different for me. It’s so foreign rather than English. And the concept of, if somebody yells at you, I get so scared. And you played, and so I don’t know how much you understood Japanese when you played, with people screaming. But it’s amazing. I did not watch because I moved to the [United] States when I was younger, and it did not really watch NPB, and I really watched Major League Baseball. But the last couple of years, I [got] really into Japanese baseball from YouTube, and the news highlights I can watch, especially the spring training this year; I’m watching almost every single day, so I know more Japanese baseball than American baseball. And also ex-Japanese players becoming YouTubers, and they talk about the foreign players and how they succeed. You mentioned how [those that] adapt in a foreign culture and in the practice, those [are] the ones who made it, and also those YouTuber ex-players always ask these questions; I wanted to ask you like I’m a YouTuber, As a batter, who was your favorite pitcher to face? And the favorite player you faced? Maybe you can name a couple people?
Matt:
Sure, for sure. So you know what was really interesting, in the United States, whenever you would face a guy, you had watched them on TV, many of them, especially the time I’d come up, so there was this kind of this aura around them. When you were in Japan, you didn’t really have a sense or know about the majority of more of the elite pitchers there. Now some of them you did, certainly, but you didn’t know them as well. So you hadn’t grown up in the culture of having watched them, so there was no added layer there in Japan, as compared to the US. So I remember in the US, by the time I came up I faced Roger Clemens; even though it wasn’t a lot of at bats, it was Roger Clemens and Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, and I remember facing Roy Oswalt as well. I mean, you go across Andy Pettitte, there [were] just so many guys… I remember sitting on the couch with a kid and watching Andy Pettitte stare over his glove in the playoffs for the Yankees, and now I’m facing them. That’s just an element there that maybe you don’t get when you go over and compete in Japan. In Japan, I always loved competing with [Tomoyuki] Sugano-san for the giants, I felt like he was willing to fill up the strike zone. He wanted to throw the ball over the plate. [Yu] Darvish was much the same way at the beginning of my time there, he was very willing to attack the strike zone. Anytime you’re competing against guys that want to come after you, it’s just fun, it’s a good competition. And then, in terms of guys that I didn’t love facing [Takuya] Asao-san. He was in fact, I believe, in one of the seasons, maybe 2011 or 12, as a reliever. I think he was MVP.
Editor’s note: Takuya Asao won the Central League MVP award in 2011 with the Chunichi Dragons, pitching in 79 games and posting a dominant 0.41 ERA.
He threw like 155 kilometers an hour (96 MPH), and had a really good forkball, and it was just herky-jerky and just not fun. Anytime I would face a pitcher, I felt confident enough to believe that I was going to somehow succeed, and with him, I never felt fully comfortable. He always made me feel a little funny, like something was up. So Asao was probably one of the more difficult ones I’ve ever faced in Japan.
Yumi:
So was it a difficult strike zone? Was it different from the US to Japan? Did you have to adjust to the strike zone? Like a Japanese pitcher tries to just throw the ball, when the count is not favorable for the pitcher, they always try to throw to the lower corner?
Matt:
Yes, 100% right. I’m obviously analytical and I talk and whatever, but when I first was in Japan, I thought the strike zone was bigger, and then I started to question. And the reason I started to question was, is it truly bigger, or are these Japanese pitchers just that much better at throwing it in that same location repeatedly, to the point where eventually it gets called? I still don’t know the exact answer there. But what I would say is, generally speaking, the Japanese pitchers are taught to pitch on the edge of the strike zone, they’re taught to try to get you to expand. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I heard there was a study once done that the Japanese kids that play video games, they threw many more balls as video game baseball players than the American kids did, because it’s strike a ball and ball a strike. So everything is kind of like smoke and mirrors, where they’re gonna make you think it’s a strike and get you to expand or vice versa, whereas in the US it’s more like, “we’re going to attack the plate, and then we’re going to expand,” depending on the situation. So to answer your question, yes, I felt like it was wider. I thought it was very difficult to hit in Japan, once you were identified as a guy that needed to be slowed down within the lineup. I think that part of the reason why I felt like a bigger strike zone, in all fairness to the umpires, was that I think the Japanese pitchers were able to hit that spot over and over and over again, that eventually they’re going to get called. Whereas in the US, they might throw it there once in an at-bat, they might be doing it three times in Japan. Whereas of those three pitches, maybe they start getting strikes called. I just think it’s the repetitive nature of how they entered the strike zone that allowed them to, and the catchers. The catchers are really good at keeping the way they framed it. So there were a lot of factors at play, I’m not suggesting it was easy for the umpires. And the other thing too, is when you’re in the US and you’re not in the middle of the order, they’re throwing the ball over the plate more, as soon as you get to a position where you’re the guy now there’s only everything on the edge of the plate. So that’s another story. But yes, I just think it was a little bit tougher in Japan.
Craig:
I was just curious, especially when you talked about learning a little bit of Japanese and answering in Japanese for those interviews. Do the teams actively try and get the foreigners to learn Japanese? And if so, how do they help you with that? Or do they not even expect that?
Matt:
Yeah, so I can obviously speak to the Tigers in my time that I was there. I don’t know exactly. We do talk to other teammates, or excuse me, other friends in the league, but for us for the most part, to sum that up, I’ll never forget the day that I arrived and they gave us a tour of the building that we were going to be living in, and the people that were in place to help support us and, you can figure all that out, dot the I’s cross the T’s on everything. And I remember the gentleman Taru-san, who is in charge of the International department, looking over at me, and I was like, “Man, I’m just so amazed at how well you guys are trying to take care of us and all this, and I’m so grateful.” And he looks back at me, and he goes, “there’s absolutely no excuse for you not to perform well on the field.” So I think that in terms of the Japanese aspects and learning the language, they have so many things in place for us to feel comfortable, that it was easy for us not to, in addition to the fact that the Japanese students in high school learn English, in most of the major cities, there are people that can speak English, so it makes it really easy not to, but I did try to learn some, because I didn’t want to try to avoid having a third party involved? I got to a place where- I wasn’t ever really good at it, let’s be honest – but I could at least say something to them, other than having to use a translator.
Susan:
Hello. Thanks, Shane, for organizing as always, and thank you, Matt, for joining us. At the beginning of your talk, Matt, you talked about how you would advise MLB players of what to do and expect in Japan. What’s your reverse? How would you advise NPB players who are about to come to the states to play in MLB?
Matt:
Sure, that’s a good question. I think that there’s a few things, whether you’re talking about hitters or pitchers, specifically, I think we’ve seen that history has told us the pitchers have historically done better than the hitters on average, and that kind of makes sense, because really, when you look at a pitching, there’s a lot less variables involved; you are the one that is dictating the pace of the game, and you’re throwing into a catcher. Whereas for the hitters there, obviously the game is predicated on variables, changing speeds and locations and counts, leveraging counts and whatnot. And so I would say for most of the athletes, from a physical standpoint that come from Japan to the US, there’s a few things that occur. Number one, one of the biggest struggles I had when I first got to Japan that I had to work through in spring training, was the reality that a lot of pitchers in Japan have hesitations within their windup. So they’re constantly pausing or stopping or changing the pace at which they deliver the baseball. So for a guy in the US, who’s used to like a cadence of like a pitcher, lifting his leg and delivering the ball, you kind of get used to that. And all of a sudden, now your body is prepared to hit, and the ball’s not there yet. So a lot of Japanese hitters have these like gathering points, I would say, within their swings that help them combat that style of pitching, and when they get to the US, they tend to not get their foot down in time, so they need to learn how to more efficiently get on time with a pitch. And then the other part is, they have to really rewire their brain, and even for me coming back in ‘16, I had to spend time in Iowa, while I was there, just trying to rewire my brain, because I was told for the last six years that you should never expect a fastball in this situation, they’re probably going to get you to chase, like all of the above. And now all of a sudden they’re throwing a fastball, and you foul it off. And then you expect there to be an offspeed pitch coming, and they keep throwing a fastball, and you’re like, “I don’t understand, why are you doing this?” And so even for somebody who had played in the US for as long as I had before I left, I had to go through that. So you can only imagine for a guy that had never been over here. So I think it’s a combination of like rewiring the brain, in how you think and how you approach counts and situations, and then also physically changing some of which how you lift your leg, how you get it back down and so forth, if that makes sense.
Shane:
All right, we have two hands raised. Last call for questions, and then I don’t want to keep Matt for too much longer here. We have one question in the chat I want to relay, since Russ can’t can’t get off of mute right now because he has a baby sleeping; what are your favorite parks in Major League Baseball and NPB?
Matt:
Wrigley, obviously, because it was my home ballpark. Florida was special to me, it was a place that I saw my first professional game as a kid, in the place that I played my first professional game. It used to be Joe Robbie Stadium, then it was Pro Player Stadium; they don’t even have the same place anymore. They said that only holds that value for me because of my past or whatnot. ‘08 was a really tough year for me, but I did have a chance to play in old Yankee Stadium, go out to Monument Park, check it out, which is really cool. And then, it’s really hard to not mention Dodger Stadium. I don’t know, something about the Dodger Dogs and being out in California and whatnot, that was really cool. In Japan, obviously Koshien being your home ballpark was amazing, the history there. Outside of [that], I love playing the Tokyo Dome because the energy in that ballpark when the Tigers and Giants were meeting each other was insane and a lot of fun, and it was a great place to hit right. And then obviously, [Meiji] Jingu [Stadium], I don’t know why, Jingu always seemed to be that place for me in Japan, something really good was going to happen, or something really bad was gonna happen, there was like really no in between. So that stadium has a lot of memories in it for me. But those are probably the three main ones off the top of my head.
Shane:
Ian, going back to you.
Ian:
You broke Ichiro’s hit record in 2010, and I’m just wondering, how did it feel breaking that record? What was it like being a foreigner breaking that record? And then how much do you hate Shogo Akiyama that he broke your record?
Matt:
Okay, so first of all, I don’t have any hate for Akiyama. Good for him, I honestly was surprised at the end of that year that he did it; the run that he went on at the end was insane to get there, but good for him. And that’s the reality of it, right? They’re meant to be broken. But when it came down to myself there in 2010, I did hear all of the stories about former foreign players like Alex Cabrera, I believe it was Tuffy Rhodes, who on different occasions had a chance to break a home run record, and as the story goes- and whether there’s truth to it or not, I obviously don’t know- but Sadaharu Oh just so happened to be one of the ones that was the opposing manager at the time, and you’d hear these stories about how they wouldn’t pitch to him and all this stuff. Well, I think there’s two elements at play there. One, I think Sadaharu Oh is extremely special when it comes to the legend that he is, not only in Japan, but throughout the world and how he’s recognized in baseball. And that was the first time that I think the Japanese culture was wrestling with, maybe, the idea that a foreigner would break a record that was so revered. I do think the home runs matter more than the hits in a lot of ways, obviously, so I think that was at play. I think that Ichiro, I did hear that Ichiro had gone to the US, and had broken the US record for hits in a season, and somehow, by him doing that, kind of showed that it’s okay for a foreigner to break a record of sorts. So if it’s good enough for the US to allow him to break it, then why should we stand in the way of somebody else breaking it, right? Whether that’s true or not, but that’s what I heard. And then how did it feel? I had a lot of angles leading up to it. I honestly had gotten to the point where I recognized later in the season that if I didn’t break it, I almost felt like I was a failure, because it was sitting there right in front of me, and all that had to occur up to that point in order for me to have that chance; the odds of that ever occurring again were slim to none, so now I’ve got to take it to the finish line. I just remember being in that game that day and saying like, “Man, we were in a pennant race and like this is bigger than me. I can’t make it about me, too much attention on ‘is he going to do it? Is he not?’ I need to get this hit. I need to focus on my team.” I was lucky enough to be up with the bases loaded, there was less than two outs; I’ve really simplified the game as I just want to knock this guy in from third base. That’s all I’m trying to do, and instead of trying to get the hit to knock the guy in from third, I ended up staying up the middle of the field and getting a hit, and got the record anyway. So it was kind of a sense of relief to be honest with you, and then once it was processed, there was obviously a respect for what all I had been through, all of the people that have supported me to get there. My teammates were amazing. That year in order for me to do it, I had over 600 plate appearances and I hit .349, I believe it was, so to be healthy enough to be out there to have the success to find the holes, and then to be on a good enough team that the we hit well-enough that I would get to the plate that many times and have that many opportunities, and to have a manager that put me out there, just the whole thing was like a culmination of a lot of work from a lot of people. So it was really cool.
Chad:
I was gonna piggyback on Trevor’s question here in the chat with that another real quick one, but is there a team or a player that you’re looking forward to watching this year, 2021? Like a certain style, or just kind of an enthusiasm? I know you mentioned the Padres, even as a Cubs fan, I’m looking forward to watching [Fernando] Tatis [Jr.] and those guys down there play each day. But which team or player are you looking forward to watching this year? I had another question about spin rates and everything, but I think that’ll be kind of long, so I don’t want to take up too much of your time; I think I’ll just go with Trevor’s question then.
Matt:
Yeah, so back in Japan, there’s a player, [Koji] Chikamoto, the young player for the Tigers, who’s an outfielder and he’s had some recent success. It’ll be interesting to watch him this year. The one guy that I really want to watch, and I’m a little biased here, is a young kid named [Kouta] Inoue. He was drafted recently, and I think there was something that came out that he had said something about, he had mentioned myself, so I immediately had to pay attention. People were like, “hey, this kid said something about you, or what you had done in Japan or this and that.” So he’s obviously a kid that’s on the Tigers that I think is somebody that I want to follow and see how he does this year. I’m always pulling for the foreigners, always checking in on those guys, and hoping they’re doing well. You want to see everybody play well. But anyway, and then in the US. Yeah, I think San Diego, I mean, obviously the Cubs, I think I always will resonate. Cubs have always been home to me in a lot of ways, good, bad or indifferent, so will always root for them. I was a Braves fan growing up, they’re interesting to watch. They’ve got a lot of good young players, they’re supposed to be a force in the NL East this year. And then out west, my brother works with San Diego and all of they have done recently, and kind of positioned themselves to have a chance to dethrone the Dodgers, which is not going to be an easy task, that’s for sure. But to watch San Diego and L.A. go at it this year, I think, could be a lot of fun. One particular player… You know my kids here at the house, They love Javy Baez, and they love Kris Bryant. So I want to see, for Kris’s sake, I want to see Kris just have a chance to go out and compete. I mean, last year was, you know with COVID, it was hard for a lot of people. I’d just like to see those guys get out there and get a full season. The guy’s accomplished so much in the game, he’s accomplished more in the game in the first few years of his career than most anybody would ever imagined to accomplish throughout the course of 10 years, 15 years. So he’s a really special player, that it would be really cool to see him kind of get back to playing. He’s had some issues with the shoulder, or different things that have kind of been hard for him. It’ll be cool, he seems like a really good guy the times I’ve been around him, so I’d love to see him play well.
Chad:
And you got to play with Contreras a lot in Iowa, 2016. He’s one that can really take that next step to be like maybe the top catcher and in baseball the next year or two, as well.
Matt:
Yeah, it’s true. And that’s what kind of makes it unique. I feel like when you look at certain positions on the diamond, you expect production from certain places. And when you can start to get production from behind the plate like that, it really can change the depth of the lineup. So given the fact that he is probably one of a handful of catchers in the game right now that can produce like he can offensively, it certainly gives the Cubs an edge almost every night they go out to play behind the plate, for sure.
Shane:
One quick question before I wrap up questions, what Japanese food or drink do you miss the most?
Matt:
The best food that I miss the most. I would just say yakiniku. It’s always like “Yoshinoya” (a fast food restaurant) – I love Yoshinoya, it’s great but there’s something about yakiniku (grilled meat), the smell of the restaurant with the open flame and the beef being as amazing as it is, with the sauce and the whole deal, the whole nine yards, it’s amazing, and it’s really hard to just replicate that. You know what I mean? It’s just hard to find here in the US. And then what drink do I miss the most? Maybe oolong cha (oolong tea)? Yeah, just a traditional hot green tea.
Shane:
It’s better there, and they give it to you all the time. So final question: what is next for you? You’ve had such a variety of experiences in the game around the world, you got a family; what are you looking to do? What are your aspirations in the short and long term?
Matt:
This is really hard. So for your whole life, you’ve been kind of told where to be when to be there, the whole nine yards, it’s all been defined for you. And now you have the space and I’m getting older, we’re getting into this trying to figure out, “okay, like, how do I like to define that space?” So I’m working on it. I don’t want to bore you with it, but I’m working on it. I feel like I’m getting somewhere. But I do love the game, I do love people, and the transition off the field the last three years, to be able to evaluate and listen to the conversations built around analytics, and R and D has been really healthy for me, I think. If more than anything, it certainly broadens my background, and can give me a different perspective. Right now, as we talk, I’m helping out with Grace Christian Academy, as you saw on LinkedIn, and getting a chance to kind of pour into some high school athletes for the time being, and there’s some conversations around some other stuff that potentially could happen, but none of which we know. So I’m trying to take it a day at a time. I do love the game, I do think I envisioned myself staying involved in the game on some level, and then figuring out how can I make that work for both myself and my family. So for right now, staying local, helping the high school and doing that whole thing. I still have my stuff on, I came straight from practice today to be here.
Shane:
Well, I’m glad you’re sticking around the game, and I’m also really glad you joined us tonight. This is awesome, I really appreciate your enthusiasm and your candid answers, really earnestly answering them and treating our guests well, so this is a real treat for us. I really appreciate having you on, thanks so much, Matt.
Matt:
Thanks for having me, man. I love it.
Shane:
You’re welcome. You enjoy the rest of your night; hopefully, you’re able to get to the ballpark in different ways this year, and maybe we’ll see you there.
Matt:
Awesome. Okay, Otsukaresama deshita. Mata kondo ne. (Thanks for the work. Until next time!)
By
Coop Daley