Yankees to Blue Jays a pitchers journey with Chris Smith - Part 3

0:00 Hey, Chris. I'll have to have you back here again, man. And you know, we talked about your history in the game before, and to me it's exciting to see somebody who's had the opportunity to play so many different places, whether it be with the Yankees organization, the Blue Jays, the Tigers, the Nationals, I believe as well. And frontier League Pecos. Man,, you saw quite a bit of career and we kind of traveled with you on some of that. The last time we talked. I think we were getting to the point where you were going to be with the Blue Jays. Tell us how that step happened. Yeah, so I was signed by the Yankees in 20 13. I unfortunately showed up to camp with like a stress reaction in my middle, in my forearm.

0:41 So I missed my first full year with the Yankees. Re-signed with the Yankees in 2000, or stayed with the Yankees in 14. Had a good year. And then 15, I got res resigned. And then I had a really good camp, actually, but then, I don't know, I don't even know if I brought this story up to you, but I got released the last day of camp in 2015 by the Yankees, and I'd only given up one hit all spring. I was pretty, I thought I was gonna go to Double A, you know, they gave me the, I was, I guess I was at 26, man, Ann, on that AA roster and I'll never forget it. And I, I'm packing up my locker got my car all packed up. I'm ready to drive up to Trenton, New Jersey. And I go, I'm like they tell me to meet, meet him back in the back room. And I thought Danny Burrell was my pitching coordinator at the time, and I thought, oh, like, he just kind of tell me like, Hey, just continue to do what you're doing, da, da, da.

1:25 So I go back to the pitching coaching office and nobody's back there except for Greg Pavlick. He was kind of our rehab coordinator and everything like that. He's an awesome guy and. He goes, Hey, good luck, Smitty. You gonna keep pitching? And I was just like, what do you mean? Am I gonna keep pitching? Of course I am. I said, I'm like about to go to Trenton, New Jersey. And he is like, oh, oh, okay, well good luck to you. So I walk out of the room and I already, mind you, I've already been released three or three times at this point. So right then and there I was like, something's about to happen. So I walk out, I text one of my good friends, Alex Smith, who's on his way up to Trenton already, and I'm like, dude, I think I'm about to get released. He's like, man, no way. And then Sure. Shit, two seconds later, you know, Gil Patterson comes over, he is the other pitching coordinator at the time, and he goes, come here, Smitty in.

2:10 And I was like, uhoh. I was like, there's the reaper. I know. And so, and I've been seeing guys, you know, it's, it's, it's tough. During spring training we talk, this is another thing too about spring is you see a lot of your buddies that get cut. You know, and get, get released. And that's a, that's a difficult part of the game too, is like you lose friends in this game that go to different organizations or lose their job, you know, that's a, that's a very tough pill to swallow for these guys. But yeah, they called me back and they went back there and Gary Denbow was our farm director at the time and kind of just told us, told me basically, you know, like there's some guys that they wanna give opportunities to and didn't really see me fit in the needs of the organization and. and, and it's, it was a tough pill to swallow, you know? It's like you feel like you kind of give your all, but at the same time you understand the value that's next to your name, and that's a dollar.

2:54 So the dollar amount, unfortunately, in the game of baseball means a lot. And I got a plane ticket, you know, to spring training in 2013 and then 14. You know, I, I had a decent year enough to, I felt like I'd get an opportunity again in 15. But hey, we had to stack, we had stack rosters all throughout our system in that year, so, Yeah, so whenever they released me went home. I signed another independent ball contract cuz I was, I mean, the previous year was the first year I was hit 95 as a reliever. So I thought, you know, like they, they moved me from a starter to a reliever at that point. And so then I was like, Hey, like I can't, I got too much gas in the tank to let it go, you know, I can't, I can't quit now, so come back home. I signed a contract with St. Paul Saints and then I was home for about a week and then I got a text from Danny Burrell and he said, he just sent me like, Hey, how you doing with like a smiley face?

3:42 And I was like I'm doing great. Obviously wish I was still like pitching right now in the season. He goes, and then next thing I know, I got a, a call from from the assistant farm director and they actually resigned me to come back. So the Yankees resigned me to come back. They told me I was gonna go up to double A. They put me in extend spring training for a little bit for like three or four weeks. And then I went to High A pitched well, and then I went to double A and I, I don't know if I mentioned this to you last time, I had a really good month and then I had one bad outing. Probably the worst outing in my career. Yeah, I gave up seven runs and like two-thirds of an inning. Broken back fits. Yeah, it was, it was tough. My parents were there in the stands. Danny Burrell was at that time. I had like a 1.2 or 1.3 RA through my first whole month.

4:25 And then that one bad outing shot me up to like a six or five or something like that. And then the next day I got put on the Phantom dl and then the next day we went to Binghamton and was in Binghamton. Throwing a bullpen and then two days later they, they sent me down from Trenton, New Jersey back to extended spring training. So I drove 17 hours all the way back down to extended. Yeah, I was in extended spring training for about another week, and they put me back in high A. I was in high A. And I went in about about a month and a half, two months without giving up a run, and I got that eerie feeling again. I don't know, I, I never forget it. I called my agent and I was like, man, I was like, I'm getting a lot of weird looks. And I was like, I know we got some guys that are coming off the d l And this is another thing too, like no fault to those guys that are coming off like the disabled list.

5:11 Like they're, they're my buddies too. I understand. Like where they are in the organization, I understand them. The money that's next to their name, again, we're talking about that value, that number. And so yeah, then they called me in Tommy Phelps was my pitching coach. And Called me in. We just got done from a doubleheader and in to like one o'clock in the morning and we drove four hours across the state. And then we walked in the next day and we were in Jupiter Florida. I dropped off my bags and they said, Hey, Smitty, we need to see in the office. And I was like, all right, here we go again. And that was tough. That was a really, really tough pill to swallow. And this is like, and I knew it was gonna be my end of my tenure with Yankees. I just knew it. You know, you just kind of get that gut feeling. It was very challenging because like I told, like I said, like I lost, I felt like I was losing like 25 of my best friends out there.

5:56 And they were also looking in there going, well what more could have this guy could have done? You know? And that, and that was very disheartening cuz it's like, well that tells me that doesn't matter about what you do, it matters what numbers next to your name. Right? And, and I kind of emphasized. To to the coaches that were in there with me. You know, obviously I was a little kind of butt hurt about it, but but I understand it's a business. The game of baseball is a very big business. And then I was like, you know what, like, Kind of picked my head up and called my mom and dad and was like, Hey, I'm getting released again. And, you know, it was kind of devastating for me. So I had a buddy that was with the New York Yankees too at the time, and he had a house down here in Tampa. He let me stay in his, like, kinda mother-in-law suite in the back.

6:37 And I just kept my arm kinda ready. I I was, I would throw in the middle of the street with the catcher, catcher West Wilson at the time I call him. He was like the backup catcher to Kyle Higashioka. and I said, Hey man, do you mind coming playing catch with me before we go in the field? He'd come over a few, few times throughout the week just to keep my arm in shape. And then a week later, that's whenever the Blue Jays traded away, like literally all their players, you know. That was the David Price year. They got David Price, Russell Martin Tulowitzki, and they traded away basically half for farm system. Well, my agent thankfully had a good friend within the Blue Jay's organization and that's how I was able to get signed by them and they kind of signed me over. They said, Hey, he's ready to go. They signed me over. I went over to High A with the Blue Jays. And Vince Horseman wasn't the kinda the first pitching coaches that I was able to kind of come across.

7:22 And I'll be honest, he was kind of a huge proponent and accelerated my career from there cuz he believed in me. Whenever I kind of showed up. One of the first questions he asked me was like, well, why did they release? And I said, I'm wanna be honest I just don't think I fit in the organization. I guess they didn't see future plans for me. I guess I was too old at that time. I was like 25, 26 in High A. And, and he goes, well, he goes, we don't care about your number. We don't care about the age here. We care about if you can pitch or not. So we're looking forward to seeing what you can do. and the first night in Dunedin, I, I popped like in 95, I was 95, 96, I was, I was like pitching with my hair on fire, man, So I was feeling like 95, 96. And I was actually surprised myself, but I don't know if it was just a little bit of break that I got in between.

8:06 And I started a different workout routine and. I'm telling you, I just, and then the whole, and then I, all the guys that were in the bullpen were like, who is this guy? And you know, then I, then it's establish, and again, we're, we're going back to a new team and you gotta meet new guys, reestablish yourself. So it was cool. So then Blue Jay signed me, went to High A there. Pitched there for about a month, didn't give up any run. Gave up one gave up one solo homer. And then then they called me up to double A for like the last like five games of the season cuz they needed somebody. And ironically it was against the New York Yankees and Trenton. Oh boy. Oh yeah. So it was cool. I got a little revenge. I, I had two appearances in those four or five games and I ended up a run and it was, It was exciting. And then the Blue Jays in inevitably ended up re-signing me again.

8:48 They went ahead and gave me a new contract for the next year. And then that's kind of when I went to Puerto Rico in the off season for winter ball for my first opportunity in winter ball. So it's, the story continued from there. That's how I initially got with the Blue Jays. Yeah. Wow. Wow. What was Puerto Rico ball Like? What, how was that? It was, honestly, it was great. First time I felt like I ended, started up making money in minor league baseball. Cause when you first signed this like seven year contract, unfortunately it's not like that's the thing is everybody's, oh, you signed, you signed with the New York Yankees, your millionaire da da da. No, no, no. My first year of the New York Yankees, cause I literally cleared$11,000. So it's like, that's just a little bit of a perspective that a lot of people don't, I guess, don't understand.

9:30 So did that and then went to Puerto Rico and they ended up kind of paying you a little bit better down there. And I'm gonna be honest, it's where you kind of learn how to win. Like winter ball is the first place where you really, really learn how to win. Because down there they don't care. They don't care. But like, they don't, they're not there to develop you, you know, in the minor league system, they're, they're there to develop players. So, I mean, teams could go. 25 game there, or 500. It's okay if they're like, top guys. Were just getting developed, moving on, you know? But in Puerto Rico, the Dominican, they don't care all their, their only goal is to win. So I went down there and they, they put me in the setup row. Adam Kolarek was a seventh inning guy named Joe Jimenez, who's with, he was with the Tigers.

10:14 He was our closer, he was only like 20 years old at the time. And we had a great, then I was in Carolina, so that was cool. I got, I mean, I was away all year. Went straight there, pitched there. I had like 22 appearances. our team got eliminated from the playoffs, and then the Dominican team the Australians called me after we got eliminated and was like, Hey we'd like to kind of have you come over here. So on New Year's Day, I flew from Puerto Rico to the DR,(Dominican Republic). They have a, they have a 14 game round robin in the Dominican, and I threw in about seven of those 14 games over there. No so I, I had about 22 appearances in Puerto Rico, and I had another like seven there. So I had like 30, almost 30 appearances even in winter ball. So then winter ball kind of was coming towards an end and I just got back and then our team in the DR got eliminated.

10:59 I fly back home and it's so funny because I just ran across the gener, the, the manager at the time, his name is Manny Acta for Lesey, and they wanted to draft me. So that's the way the. Dominican works and like Winter Ball leagues is once a team's eliminated, they're trying to build like a super team for their like Caribbean series, right? So so they try to draft me and then I'm, and then I was like, Hey. I was like, I'm sorry, I literally just got home from like 10 months, 11 months of being away. I'm just trying to spend a little time with my family. And I was like but I ended up not re going back down there for the playoffs and then shortly after Puerto, and then I was home for like a week and I got that baseball itch again. And Puerto Rico calls me and is like, Hey, we'd like you to come pitch for us in the Caribbean series. And I was like, man, I was like, don't know if I'll get this opportunity again.

11:42 And I was like, so I accepted it. So, and ironically the, the Caribbean series was back in the Dominican So I flew back to the Dominican and got to, got to pitch pitch two times down there against Cuba and Venezuela, and then came straight back and went to spring training again with the Blue Jays. And then went to, then went to the Blue Jays minor league camp. Got a couple like those like kind of come over to Major League camp and back up a couple times. I had one appearance over there, which was cool, and then went to AA and became kind of the closure there. And it was just it was, I don't know. It's like I said, I could, I could spend all day talking about kind of the career that's happened, but yeah, that's, and then Vince Horseman, like I said, I, I, I'll.

12:23 Not say this, but that guy was so pivotal and believing in me, and I think I even talked about the last podcast, you know, just having somebody in your corner that can be like, this guy can do it. You know? And then putting that like, and at that time I'd already been like, again released like, Four times, twice in the same organization, twice in independent ball. So getting that opportunity and then them actually sitting down and believing me, putting me in a closure role and Double A going, you deserve to be here. We're not sending you to High A. We're not, we're not releasing you, we're not putting you in AAA. Like, we know what you got. We just wanna see you come and like really bring out your full potential. And I'm gonna be honest, like Vince Horseman did that, he started working with me on a daily basis. We had a great routine Bob Tarpey and Brian Pike. They were like my trainer and my.

13:05 And and I guess our athletic trainer, they, they really like worked with me too and we just had such a good routine. And I just, and then the next thing I know, I was throwing like 97, 98. So kind of established myself and started opening up a few eyes in the organization. Gil Kim was our new farm director. The kind of Blue Jays was kind of changing some people over and had a great year that year in Double A and then got an opportunity in AAA at the end of the year when the September call up happened. And then did pretty well there. They put me in the closure role immediately and AAA all the guys went up and then we got called in the office towards the end of the year and they were like, Hey guys we're going to There's, there's probably like eight or nine of us and they said, Hey, we're going, you guys are gonna basically be going down to hot camp to stay hot just in case we wanna call you guys up to the major leagues.

13:49 And for me to be even part of that conversation after kind of the journey and road I've been on, I'm like, shit, sure, no problem. Like, I'll go, no problem. No, no big deal. Like, yeah, I wanna keep pitching. So I came and, but the only problem was, is I booked a cruise. In like February or January of the year before, not thinking this was even on the radar, to be honest. I thought, oh, okay. If I get an opportunity in AAA and just kind of establish myself there, that'd be great. So they called me in and they say, we've got an opportunity to go to the big leagues. And I was like, oh. but it was like, it was gonna be like 15 or 20 days later once I got in Dunedin. So I thought, oh, it's okay. Like if I'm not called up by them, then I'll just go on this cruise. But obviously if I'm called up, I'll reschedule this cruise.

14:30 Don't care. So ironic. So what happened was I'm down in, down there in Dunedin and everything's. Going Good. I'm staying warm. I'm the only player that showed up for those like two weeks. I'm the only player. And the Cruise Day comes and Gerado, which was another guy in Triple A. He was like kind of lefty sat on, he shows up. And so then I was like, you know what? I'm going on this cruise. I called Gil Kim and like, Hey, I'm sorry, like, It's cruise time for me. Like this off-season, this, this opportunity may happen. He's like, I'm so, so, he's like, damn. He's like, well, hopefully. He's like, hopefully you don't get, like, we don't need you in the middle when you're in near the ocean. I was like, well, there are planes and helicopters that I can maybe get on, get outta there.

15:11 So but it's, it's, it's crazy. So then I go on this cruise. I get off in the morning at like 8:30. I go straight into the complex to work out. Again. It was like a four day cruise. It wasn't like I was gone for like two weeks or anything. I go, I go straight into. I work out, I come home and then I'm watching the game, watching the Major league game, and they're playing the New York Yankees, ironically. And there's a brawl that night. Ooh. And Benoit is running in from the bullpen and he tears his calf Wow. Running in. And then I kind of see that, that he's like rolling around in the out. and they cart him off. They take him off the field and I'm like, my agent calls me and goes, keep your phone by ya. We might get an opportunity.

15:52 And then, I don't know, 15, 20 minutes later, Gil Kim calls me and goes, Hey. He's like, I wanna let you know that we're not putting you on the 40 man roster yet, but we're calling you up tomorrow. Once we kind of know the severity of Benoit's injury, then we're gonna kinda decide if we can put you on that 40 man and on the active roster. And I was. But he's like, you can't tell anybody. You can tell you're like family. Like you can tell your family, but don't tell anybody else. So I was like, okay. So getting that call, you know, like kind of gave me chills, you know, like, Hey, I'm getting called up even to go to Toronto, which was amazing. They're in a playoff hunt, you know, like, So then I called my dad and had a great conversation, let him know I was going up, and then next day landed in Toronto and they activated me.

16:36 So my phone was off, obviously in the air, and as soon as I landed, boom, then I got activated. And that was kind of, that was my kind of first call up to the big leagues. And it was, that was pretty, pretty cool. It's all within like that. Like I said, that one year, and it's been, it was a crazy year, you know, and not to even think that I would be in that position and then getting there and then. It was, there was only six days left in the major league season. But we had, we had three games against Baltimore and then another three against Boston. And I was actually able to be there for David Ortiz's last regular season game. I know we were talking about him earlier and that was, that was amazing. You know, like bunch of the rookies like stayed in the clubhouse and I was like, I'm gonna come out and watch this. So I'm like sitting out on the fence with like Pilar and Tulowitzki and Donaldson and.

17:20 Russell Martin were all like, applauding, like Mary j Blige is like singing the national anthem all like the former World Series guys are coming in giving Big Papi like they're, and I don't know, I was, I was just tickled pink to be there. I was just taking it all in, like first time walking out of Fenway. I made sure like I videoed it. Like I, like I said, I was like a fanboy, but on the team, you know, and, and then my family was able to kind of come up to Fenway. My my first host family I ever had in independent ball with Lake Erie Crushers. They came up to see me. So, I mean, I don't know. It was just, it was just a really, really cool moment. I didn't even get to pitch in those first six days cuz like I said, we were in a playoff hunt. They didn't wanna throw a guy in there that, hey, I hadn't pitched since, I don't know, the end of the season. So, and then that was my first six days in the big leagues was, and we clenched on game 162.

18:04 So I got to actually party with a team on Game 1 62, got the pop bottles with them in Fenway. It was, I don't know. Like I said, for my"cup of coffee" I have in the big leagues, I have stories for days just because I guess I kind of soaked it all in, you know? And, and that's why it's like for these guys that even get these windows of opportunity, it's just, it's cool. Cause I know, I know they're gonna, I know they're gonna embrace those opportunities probably just as much as I did. Well, we're looking forward to seeing those guys here in the spring training, like I said, 29 of'em with Yankees, and I don't have the numbers for the rest of'em, but I'm sure like you were saying too, because of the World Baseball Classic. There will probably be, you know, more openings. I know the Tampa Bay Rays, I think are sending 12 people to, to WBC.

18:47 Mm-hmm. And there's others I've seen, I think Cardinals, I can't remember how many people they had, but mm-hmm. there's a lot Mm-hmm. Yep. So, so a lot of room for some people in Spring Training. Looking forward to that, my friend. You, you know, a funny thing, it's gonna be interesting for spring training for anybody who's a Rays fan, because they're doing all their homes, Spring Training games outside of the first one in the Trop. Oh, I didn't even know that. Yeah, they're doing their first one down the road with the, I think the ESPN Wild. Wild. Wild, wild. The port anywhere. World wide sports. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you Sir. Yeah. Yeah. And they're doing the first one down there, but after that they're going to the Trop and you know, whichever for their home games during spring training.

19:30 So it'll be interesting. So, no, no Port Charlotte this year at all? Huh? No. Gonna mean the hurricane damage was just Oh, yeah. Too devastating. Too devastating. So, That'll bring a little bit of excitement, even more to the area, you know, and they're talking about moving the kinda Rays out of St. Peter, maybe finding a place in St. Peter, possibly over here in Tampa. So it's, I don't know, there's a, there's a lot of exciting stuff around the Rays, and they've got their stuff figured out there. I just watched, actually a really cool thing about their pitching coach, about how he connects with the players more. Just, not just a pitching side of things, but more on like a personal level too. Like that's like, he's like, wants to make sure they're good on a personal level that he, they e established that between like that connection between each other before.

20:15 I'll be honest, that's, that's number one. It should always be number one. Yeah. You know, it's like, cuz cuz at the end of the day we are humans, you know, like we do make mistakes. We do have lives outside of baseball. There are a lot of influences and stuff that doesn't go into analytics, that doesn't get taken into consideration. And just to hear that guy kind of talk about how he approaches his pitchers, I thought was pretty cool. Kind of being on like a personal level with those guys. I think it's, and professional, but also on a personal level. I think that was pretty cool to Yeah, I mean that, that is critical. Recently I had a sports psychologist on here and you know, a couple things we were talking about as far as coaching is seeing the strength of the player that's out there. You're not gonna go out there and give them a course correction when you see there's already something that's working you know?

21:01 Mm-hmm. you give some positive reinforcement, maybe a tweak or two, but if you've got a talent who's already got that level, there's really no reason to be doing that kind of tweaking. And so the, the kind of individual you're talking about as far as the Rays hitting coach, that's that's outstanding. And I think we all wish there were more coaches like that out there. There. Yeah. Yeah. The pitching coach actually, and I, he. He's with like, like you can see him like walking through and like seeing Glasnow. And stuff like that. Oh yeah. Glasnow even like, yeah, Glasnow's. Even like, man, this guy, he is just, you know, like we have a, we have a friendship beyond baseball, which is amazing. Like, like I said, I have a friendship beyond baseball with that Vince Horseman guy, like he used to live here in Dunedin.

21:41 So like whenever I was trying to get through like my Tommy John injury, he was working with me here and it's because like, Because it's just like it matters whenever you know that these coaches actually care about you both on and off the field. It really does matter. Helps the player just kind of feel a little bit more, you know, like it's not like a fatherly figure, but like a mentor, you know, like you need that and you need. You need these guys that to know that you're, that they're in your corner, not just there to beat you down all the time. Cause the game, like you said, it's a game full of failures. And if you got somebody that can kind of get you through those downs and bring those, get you back to those ups, then that's a, that's a pretty pivotal person in your, in the, the organization. What's his name again?

22:23 Kyle Snyder. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Kyle Snyder. Yeah. He is amazing and, and he's amazing to watch too, even on, on the tv this tall, lanky guy walking out there to talk with his pitchers, and it always looks supportive. You know, I, I don't get to hear what he's saying, but it always looks supportive. And it was interesting too because looking at Kyle being the man that he, is it, when we brought in Snell, when we brought in Glasnow with the, with the Rays, He had something else he could communicate in common too, because you're, you know, he's talking with taller fellas and I would think there's some aspects to pitching that are that are I guess, impacted by a player's stature.

23:03 Yep. Kyle Snyder, the, the pitching coach for the Rays. Yeah. I've, I've always admired him. Mm-hmm. And it's kind of funny, I went to a, a FanFest for the Rays a couple years back. Mm-hmm. When I guess Glasnow. And Snell had just been here for a year, so, and I said, what, what's it like working with him? What's it like? Work. Oh man, he's great. He's fantastic. And I thought the energy that these two young men showed me that, that question, I was like, yeah, that's the kinda coach everybody wants. Yeah, and he was just, I don't know, just, you can just tell that guy in people's corner and as, and that's what you need as a pitching coach. Like you said, coming off of a bad outing or something like that. Like guy coming up and telling you like, Hey, one outing, or like tapping on the leg and kind of like, Hey, we'll go back to work tomorrow.

23:46 You know? Like that just gets you going to the next day. Cause you can't like, baseball, like I said, that game of failure. But at the end of the day, there's another game the next day, and then you may not get out there that day, but you can work towards that day to get better on the next day. You know? So there's, I don't know. Just having those guys is, I think they're, Pivotal to these organizations and I think that's why the Rays have such good success and that's why their pitching staff is so good, even with them not having the top dogs. And I'm actually really, really excited to see Glasnow come back this year cuz, I mean, he's, I've actually had a privilege of meeting him a couple times and he's just a, he's a good human being too. He's a great human being. Well, like I said, the Rays, I think very fortunate to have some of the people they have and certainly with Kyle Snyder and Glasnow.

24:27 Mm-hmm. and, and I wanna say that one more time because you're talking about the positivity. You know, when we first started talking on the show and the first episode with you and I, the one thing I put into the title was perseverance. and Chris, that's what I see with you today is a guy who has a direction, you know, he has something where he needs to achieve something. you, you've kind of given us your story with that too. And I, I don't think any of those things would've happened if you didn't have the commitment and perseverance that you did to that. So I think that's a great example whether. You know, in your life, in baseball, in your personal and professional life now. Mm-hmm. And anybody who gets an opportunity to meet you, you know, I think they're blessed to do so. So, man, I, I can't thank you enough for being on here today and sharing that with folks.

25:11 Yeah. Abs, I mean, like, like I said, I, if I could share my story and, and inspire anybody, you know, like, I'm it, I got a lot of breaks, you know, I got a lot of bad breaks. But at the end of the day, like you count your blessings for even getting the opportunity, you know? You know, even when I wrote my retirement letter, you know, like I've always, I was always told like when you played baseball, like as long as you have a jersey on your back, you have an opportunity. And you know, and I really, really, really, really took that to heart, you know? And, and I, like I said, I came across so many good people along the way. I continue to meet good people because of baseball like you, Mark. So it just, That's what I love about, that's why the game of baseball is beautiful is like you just, it just opens up so many opportunities, not just on the field, but even beyond it. And you can just take a lot of those morals and principles that you learn through the game.

25:54 And like I said, kind of put it into to real life situations, you know, and, and I've kind of done that with real estate. You know, real estate is not obviously easy. I mean, it's not rocket science, but at the same time it's, you kinda get out what you put in. So, oh yeah. So, so that's what's kind of cool, like I'm able to kind of, like I said, use my connections and still continue to watch the game I love and watch root on players that I played with, played against, you know, so it's like I said, it's, that's what makes the game of baseball very beautiful. Amen brother. Yep. Well, thank you again, Chris. It's been great having you here today on BaseballBiz On Deck, and like I was gonna say, continuing to share your story with the, with the folks here listening. Wish you again, continued success, my friend, and just keep enjoying the game.

26:39 Yeah, thank you. Hey, I appreciate it. Like I said, anytime you talk shop about baseball, don't get too many opportunities with that. So always enjoying my time speaking with you and talking with you, Mark. All right, well, thank you, brother. Yeah, you got it.