S3 EP 7: Joshua Palacios

[00:00:00] Speaker A: What's up, guys? It's David Wright with the New York Mets, and you're listening to the talking. [00:00:03] Speaker B: 21 podcast with my man, Danny Torres. [00:00:05] Speaker A: Hi, everybody, this is Eric Davis, aka Eric Eric the Red. I'm talking 21 with Danny Torres. Be there. Be square. Much love. Hi, it's Bob Costas, and you're listening to the talking 21 podcast with Danny Torres. Hey, this is Derek Shelton, manager of. [00:00:22] Speaker B: The Pittsburgh Pirates talking 21 with Danny. [00:00:25] Speaker A: Torres, retire number 21. [00:00:27] Speaker B: Welcome, everyone, to the talking 21 podcast with Danny Torres. And once again, thanks for tuning in. As we conclude 2023, we pause to remember and reflect on the untimely passing of Roberto Clemente Walker on New Year's Eve and why he boarded a DC seven plane and why he is always remembered as a humanitarian. That's the Clemente we celebrate and honor 365 days of the year. Our next guest is a proud member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. During the 2023 season, Joshua Palacios had a memorable year with the Buckles. And in this podcast, you'll hear why fans have gravitated to this Brooklyn native who said in this episode, I set monthly goals on how to improve. You'll even hear the excitement in his voice when he was asked to play right field on Roberto Clemente Day in 2023, including running in the outfield, waving the puerto rican flag. And before we kick off this podcast, I want to make a slight correction. I stated David Wright's final game was in 2019. The correct year was 2018. My bad, David. But you're going to hear why I misspoke and why I wasn't at that final game at City Field that day. I was invited to meet a special guest in Cooperstown, New York. So sit back, get comfortable, and listen to my conversation with a buckle of Pittsburgh Pirates, Joshua Palacios. [00:02:17] Speaker A: Then look who's taking the field, heading out into right field with the puerto rican flag. Josh Palacios by himself, his grandfather from Puerto Rico. Nice touch. Joshua Palacios. That's really cool. He gets it, doesn't he? Josh Palacios, he is something. Really is, man. [00:02:41] Speaker B: From Brooklyn with ties to Puerto Rico, Joshua Palacios. Welcome to the talking 21 podcast. How are you feeling, my brother? [00:02:48] Speaker A: I'm feeling great. Feeling great. Thank you for having me here. It's an honor. [00:02:51] Speaker B: Sure, absolutely. Well, I know we're New York natives, but let's be honest for our listeners and viewers. I'm from the boogie down Bronx, the. [00:03:02] Speaker A: Home of hip hop. [00:03:03] Speaker B: So what should we say about Brooklyn, New York that can top someone that's. [00:03:08] Speaker A: From the boogie down Bronx, there's a lot. I mean, Brooklyn, New York, home of the best pizza, where they do it the best in hip hop. Y'all started it. We did a little better. At the end of the day, beautiful place, beautiful basketball, home of crossover as well. So we got a lot going on in. [00:03:25] Speaker B: I know, I know. Well, listen, let me tell you, your journey to the big leagues. I mean, it's a fascinating story. I wish we had a lot of time to get into that journey. But I'm going to tell you right now, to be very honest with you, Joshua, because I know your mother likes you to be called not Josh, but Joshua. Tell me how supportive your parents have been throughout this journey. [00:03:49] Speaker A: Oh, my parents have been incredibly supportive throughout this journey. Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without my parents support. I mean, my dad and my mom working long hours, like my dad waking up at 05:00 a.m. Going to work, working overtime, and then getting home at, like, 839 and taking us straight to the batting cage as soon as he got home, throwing his batting practice for hours with no complaints. Never hear him once complain anytime we needed help or anything, he was there. And my mom working long hours and helped making sure that the grades are white, help tutoring us and help us with the homework and sats. I couldn't have done it without them. Couldn't have done it. [00:04:25] Speaker B: Well, there's someone that you have not given credit to. And I'm not talking about your brother Richie. I'm talking about Uncle Ray. Tell me about Uncle Ray. Tell me about those three homers that he hit in his three season. And also, did he play with Bo Jackson? Bo Jackson was his teammate, right? [00:04:42] Speaker A: Yes, sir. Crazy Uncle Ray. He played with Bo Jackson, Kansas City Royals. He played with George Bret as well. He won't let anybody forget that. And, yeah, he has some big time home runs. He had the home run he had on video, the walk off. I've seen it about a thousand times. I can tell you exactly how it happened, where it happened, when it happened. Dude plays at every family function. So, yeah, Uncle Ray, he was definitely there. He was the help. He was checking in with my dad, and they were always watching my swing. And at the time, I was a catcher, so he teached me a bunch. [00:05:09] Speaker B: Of catcher, you know, talking about Uncle Ray, let me ask you this. I mean, three years in the big leagues. Listen, he made it to the big leagues, but was there any advice or something that has stuck into your mind about not only what your parents have shared. But what Uncle Ray said, because Ray did get to the big. [00:05:28] Speaker A: Yep, yep. The number one piece of advice he always reminds me is, you haven't done anything yet. Every level that you level up to, you start at the bottom of the barrel. You got to keep working your way up, and as soon as you get some success, don't feel comfortable, because he always remind me, you ain't do nothing yet. You ain't do nothing special yet. You got to keep pushing. You got to keep evolving and adapting, getting better every single day, or else you get behind. [00:05:51] Speaker B: I like that from Okrey. I look forward to being Uncle Ray. Well, I'm going to tell you, I got a chance to speak to someone that I'm sure you know from your 2023 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the buckos. And it's not a teammate, it's not your manager, it's not one of your coaches. But I want to read what they said when I spoke to them. Joshua quickly became a fan favorite with his boundless energy and his contagious enthusiasm, an absolute breath of fresh air. Brooklyn swagger to the bird, cannot say enough good things about this down to earth pro and capital pro. He plays with confidence and determination, and there is no doubt the Pittsburgh Pirates feed off of him. That is from Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster play by play announcer Greg Brownie Brown. When you hear something like that from Brownie, what does that mean to you? [00:06:57] Speaker A: I mean, it's an honor. It's an honor, and it's a blessing just to be a part of that and to bring joy and a breath of fresh air to the guys like that. For me, I'm just playing the game that love. I'm spending time with a bunch of guys that I really enjoy spending time with, and I'm doing what I dreamed of. So every day for me is waking up to Christmas morning. I just enjoy and I love everything I get to do. And it's a blessing that those guys can share words like that. And I can't wait till we get to playoffs and World Series and we can bring all that to the Berg and have that energy in that place rocking like that, man, I can't wait. It's lovely over there. [00:07:31] Speaker B: Well, when you see Brownie and Braden said, you say, yo, my man, I like what you said to David. [00:07:35] Speaker A: Yeah, respect. Respect, brownie. [00:07:39] Speaker B: So listen, here it is. This year, this past season, you hit ten home runs. Your first major league homer was with the Pittsburgh Pirates. You 40 ribies, what could we say if you played 150 games? But what do you believe Joshua was your biggest accomplishment this year? Some memorable homers. But what were your goals? What did you go into spring training and say, this is what I want to try to do in the 2023 season? [00:08:10] Speaker A: Well, unfortunately, my number one goal in the 2023 season was to win and try to make a playoffs. So that was the number one goal there. Like, I wanted to be part of play off baseball. [00:08:21] Speaker B: And a hell of a start for the Pittsburgh Pirates, man, a hell of a start. [00:08:24] Speaker A: We had an amazing start. At the end of the day, we came six games short of a wild card. So that was crazy to sit there and think about that and all the things you could do just to win six more games in a wild card. But it was definitely number one, was to win experience winning baseball and play in the playoffs. And then number two, prior years, I would put numbers together and I put stuff, but this year my goal was just, how can I get better month to month each month? How can I find ways to make myself a better player than I was last month? And I locked it on that heavily this year, and I'd follow those numbers and try to adapt to what was going on, where my weaknesses were, and try to grow in that next month. [00:09:00] Speaker B: Would you say, I like that thought process? Would you say it's something that you jotted down? You went back to your coaches and you said, okay, the month is over. What did I accomplish? What did I do correctly? What do I need to improve on? So that's pretty cool to think that that was your understanding of what you had to do month to month. [00:09:18] Speaker A: Yes. I try to take, like, a long term process of if I could keep getting better month to month at the end of the year, I'd be a better player than when I started. So it was shout out to the Pittsburgh coaching staff, from the mileage to the major leagues every month and pretty much every week, being able to check in with the guys, even the pitching coaches, checking in with them. How would you pitch me? What is my expected sluggle? What do my numbers look like? What do I need to improve on? Where is the cold zones or where you see that I'm weak and where do you see that I'm strong? And then constantly getting that feedback, constantly working back and forth with them and then learning how to grow in that, how do I make my strength stronger and how do I eliminate my weaknesses or at least hide them a little better? [00:09:56] Speaker B: That's true. I like that. How do you hide them a little better? Well, let me say this to you, because I think you already know, and I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say for the 2023 season. You could say, joshua Palacios, you are part of history because not only with the pitch clock, 15 seconds between pitches, 20 seconds, they're looking to drop it down to 18 for 2024, banning the shift. Obviously violations from the standpoint of if one of the infielders obviously didn't position themselves correctly, larger bases, the amount of times that a pitcher could throw over the first base. So once again, you're part of history. How did you, Joshua Palacios, adapt to these rules? [00:10:41] Speaker A: For me, it was actually a lot easier than most other guys because last year I had a good amount of time in AA and the whole year in AAA. Last year we had these exact rules. So for me, I got to adapt to it. Last year I got to get a feel and not going to lie the pitch clock and all that. At first you have to build the internal clock to really have understanding and a routine to make sure that you're not getting strikes called on you. So this year was a little more like last year where I made my adaptions, which was great in the minor leagues, and I could kind of flow into the game of what I was kind of more normal to me because I played a whole year doing. [00:11:14] Speaker B: You know, you talked about from the standpoint of adjustments, you're talking from the standpoint of having the experience being the AA. But I'm going to throw a word at you, and it's just a word that's been permeated throughout Major League Baseball these last seasons, probably within the last ten seasons, when you really think about it, is analytics. How do you look at analytics as a ball player with the Pittsburgh Pirates? Now, obviously, you were in two previous organizations with the Nationals and the Blue Jays. But how does Joshua look from the standpoint of when coaches are coming to you? Obviously the index cards that we see on tv or at the ball game, how does Joshua look at the numbers, so to speak? [00:11:56] Speaker A: So the way Joshua looks at the numbers is, first thing I do is I look at the analytics of the past. I like analytics in terms of measuring what has happened, and then I'll take it, look at the past, all right, x it could split it up and I'll look at what has happened and then I could use that as somewhat of a rail and a guideline of what could happen in the future. And I have that in the back of my mind. And then from there I use my feel and I use the game and what's telling me and the adjustments to make, but I just use those guided rails, like, all right, it could go in this direction. I've got a plan for the way it could go, and then from there, I just make my slight adjustments. It's as things are moving for me, I don't really try to use it to predict the future. I just kind of keep a note of what could happen in the future by using some analytics. And I love the way it measures what you've done in the past. I used it to help figure out, am I getting better after last month or am I getting worse? And what did I change, what am I swinging at more? What am I not swinging at? And things like that. [00:12:52] Speaker B: Do you find the routine that a lot of times when I'm sitting in a press box is obviously, unless they show it on the monitor, when I'm at home on tv, immediately you see players look at their tablet. Is that just something of a norm, that a player will turn to a tablet after a particular bat? Is that something that Joshua does? [00:13:11] Speaker A: Yeah, a lot of guys use the tablet for a lot of different things. Looking at their bats, looking at the pitches thrown me, I'm a big guys. I try to stay away from looking at my mechanics too much on the tablet. And when I go back, I might want to know all, like, was this pitch where I thought it was at, and what did this pitch look like? It's the big leagues, man. These guys are doing nasty curveball sliders and everything. And you may sit there and think it's doing one thing, and you go back on video and you realize it's doing something else. So I try to, after that bat, take a look, figure out where those pictures was at, and then after that, kind of just wipe it. And what do I have to do next? [00:13:45] Speaker B: How has your brother adjusted to all of this? I mean, when you get a chance to speak to him, what's his thoughts on the analytics? Analytics? The new rule changes things along the lines of where he is with the St. Louis Cardinals and obviously you with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Just something that maybe you brainstorm. Maybe even when that particular day when he was there at PnC park, where maybe he said to you, yo, my man, I saw this. I don't know how you didn't hit that, or how did you misjudge that fly ball? Is that something that you tend to hear from your brother where he might have seen a game, and you get feedback from your own brother? [00:14:23] Speaker A: Yeah, we both collaborate all the time. So when I get my by the way, when we were playing each other the first time, everybody's like, yo, how do you get your brother out? And it was vice versa on the other side. And I was like, look, man, I really don't know. I'm not a pitching coach. So everybody kept asking me, I was like, bro, you specialize in this. You'll figure it out, but we'll collaborate a lot. And I'll go over after I'm done doing my research on the day I'm doing my studies, I'll go back and I'll watch his game, like on the database and watch all his at backs, and he'll do vice versa. And then we'll compare notes. Like, yo, I saw this on this picture that I faced last week, and we're in the same division, so he could be like, oh, yeah, but I saw this. And we compare our little scatter reports and notes, the pitches, and we try to help each other out as best we can in terms of trying to beat other teams. [00:15:05] Speaker B: Now, I like that you're saying that word collaborate, because if there's something that a lot of times you hear with today's athlete, how many players actually watch the game, watch the pitcher, watch a particular at bat, learning the game from that perspective, not just simply getting an index card or going to the tablets. So I'm getting a sense that Joshua Palacios and even his brother Richie, that you guys are in tune in the game to see if there's things that you could pick up where it's going to improve your style of play. [00:15:40] Speaker A: Yes. And that's one thing that Uncle Ray and my dad preached from young, is that you always got to be watching the game and paying attention because you never know you're going to get that edge. When you're watching, you're paying attention, you're in tune with the game. It's always giving little signs of what might happen or a little edge that you might be able to pick up. And you miss those things. You miss out on big. [00:16:00] Speaker B: Know, you talked about your dad. You talked about Uncle Ray, one of your teammates. I'll keep him nameless. I'll tell you after the fact. He did actually tell know a lot of where even his own dad has said things to him similar to what your father has said or Uncle Ray has said. So I find that dynamic rather interesting that, yes, you have your coaches, but there's just something about turning to your significant other, who happens to be the person that is called your father, of getting things and hearing little tidbits about the game of baseball. And even, especially as much as you could crack jokes about Uncle Ray, it's just some things that you've been able to think about and know Uncle Ray is right. So for me, hearing you say that, joshua, I got to applaud know Roberto Clemente day, how special it was when we think of a few things. Number one, you ran out to the right field, your position that day, thanks to our mutual friend and your manager, Derek Shelton Shelte, who, along with his coaching staff, they, yo, man, we got to put the boricua out in right field. I guess the first thing I want to ask you before I even continue, whose idea was it for you to run into right field waving a Puerto rican flag? [00:17:23] Speaker A: All right, so they came to me prior to, and they let me know the situation. First of all, I was honored. I still can't even believe that I was able to be the first Puerto Rican since Roberto commented to play right field, Pittsburgh. That'd be forever. I'm going to put down my grave, man. That means so much to me. But they came up to me, I was like, yeah, you're going to be the first Puerto Rican in the years. And I was, all right, cool. And I was like, yeah, it'd be cool. They were like, yeah, would you ever be interested in running on a flag? And I'm like, bro, I'm down for that. So they was like, yeah, we'll have you like Sammy Sosa with a little flag. So they had a little flag there. I'm like, man, Puerto Ricans, they can respect little flag. You need to do it big. So they even got a bigger flag. He was like, bro, all we have is this humongous flag that's outside. I was like, I looked at the little one, I was like, go get the humongous one. And that was the flag that we ended up running out to right field with. [00:18:08] Speaker B: Wow. So here it is. They were going to give you some rinky dinky Borica flag. And he's like, nah, nah, that ain't happening. Give me the real deal. [00:18:17] Speaker A: One of the people there knew me. He was like, you know, I know. Pilo, would you mind? We got a huge flag outside. Would you rock with that? I'm like, man, the Puerto Ricans want to see the big flag. They want to do a big man. You know how we do it? Pr. [00:18:28] Speaker B: That is so cool, man. That is so cool. Well, let me ask you this feeling. You got a chance to hold Clemente's bat, his jersey, and his glove. Now I'm going to tell you honestly, as someone who has a Roberto Clemente collection directly right behind me. And by the way, I got a Clemente autograph, right? He actually signed that program. Got some pretty special items. But my beef always when it comes to handling something that is Clemente. If you go to the baseball hall of Fame, I could tell you, because I've had the honor of being in the vault of the baseball hall of Fame. They have you put on white gloves. I'm not a big fan. I kind of cringe. I saw them just holding Clemente, some white gloves. That would have made me laugh if you would have told, yo, my man, I can't hold that literally. Where's the white gloves get? I'm not holding it. That would have been pretty damn funny. But obviously you said the word the holy grail. So for Boricas, Puerto Ricans, whether you're native or New Yorkans like ourself, that was something that you're never going to forget. That not only you was able to hold his jersey, see his glove up close, and see this unbelievable heavy bat that I guarantee Joshua can't come around on that bat because I've held clementic bat again. What was the feeling that you're knowing that you're holding something that belongs to someone who sadly, tragically died this year, 51 years ago? [00:20:06] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, it's crazy. The feeling was, I couldn't believe that it was happening. And then the second thought is like, there's got to be more hits in this thing. I'm trying to siphon all the hits that I can out of this. My bay had 3000. He definitely had a couple 2000, about 3000 left in his tank. So I was trying to rub off with a good juju on me and everything, but it was crazy. Even like, I went to the Roberto Clemente museum, I did the tour. I got to see the bat and the gloves and everything in there. And never did I ever think that I'd be able to hold it, especially without white gloves. Just touching his bat, touching the jersey. The jersey was crazy, though. It was wool. I know my boy was itching in that jersey. It was probably hot in Pittsburgh. He was still doing his thing. And then the glove, too. It's hard to even explain and put into words. It was literally like holding the holy grail. I didn't even know I was possible. I didn't know it was possible. [00:20:53] Speaker B: I will tell you this. Have you ever been to Cooperstown, to the baseball hall of Fame? [00:20:56] Speaker A: Yes, I have, a long time ago. But I went there. [00:20:59] Speaker B: Okay. If you got a chance to go over to Clemente's bronze plaque, when you walk into the gallery of the bronze plaques of the hall of Famers, it's on the left side. And I could tell you, because I've been there numerous times, that of all the bronze plaques, you look at Clemente's. Clemente's plaque is really the one that you could tell is quite worn by the amount of hands that have touched that plaque, that it doesn't have that look, that bronze look, so to speak. It's almost like so many, the countless hands that have touched that bronze plaque. I even had the opportunity, which it was. Check this out. You got to appreciate the story. So David Wright plays his final game at City Field. [00:21:45] Speaker A: Remember that? [00:21:45] Speaker B: Say, was it 2019? I believe it was, right? [00:21:48] Speaker A: Yes. [00:21:49] Speaker B: And you would think I would know, because I'm a met fan, and I remember one of my friends that works at the hall of Fame, she goes, Danny, what are you doing Saturday? That's September day. And Saturday I said, I'm going to be here for David Wright. He's my guy. We've had him on talking 21. He's my dude. And he goes, I think you want to come up to Cooperstein. I said, why? Roberto Clemente's oldest living brother is going to be here. I think I'll be passing on David Wright. And I've known his daughters. His daughter, Janet Clemente, was on our podcast, and it was my first time meeting the brother, and he's 94, I believe, now. And it was just amazing. That was his first time ever in Cooperstown. Got a chance, took a picture with him in front of the plaques, and it was his first time. And you could see how emotional he was, touching his brother's plaque and being there for the very first time. But let me ask you this, Joshua. If, let's say Clemente was still alive, Clemente right now would be. You ready for this? If Clemente was still alive, Clemente would be 89 years old. [00:22:56] Speaker A: Wow. [00:22:57] Speaker B: Yes. Next year would be his nintieth birthday. He was born in 1934. So if we were to ask you if Clemente had something to share as a coach with Joshua Palacios, what is it that you maybe want to get some tidbits, some pointers on offensively on Clemente or defensively, what would you would love to hear from Clemente? [00:23:17] Speaker A: I mean, offensively, I would love to hear, but I would have to ask him, what was your throwing program, bro? You had a cannon. You were throwing darts from all the way in right field on a line to home plate. I would ask him, what was your throwing program? What was your process of getting your arms stronger? How'd you go about doing that? I would love to have a cannon like Clemente, man. [00:23:37] Speaker B: Interesting that you said that, because I've asked this question numerous times, and it's more the cannon, the arm, never. Because Clemente, what he did offensively gets 3000 hits. [00:23:50] Speaker A: That's ridiculous. [00:23:51] Speaker B: Batting titles. But everybody wants to know, what was your regimen, your routine to build up the arm strength? The closest that I ever saw someone, I'm 57, closest I ever seen somebody with that kind of arm was, I'll be honest with you, as I met Darryl Strawberry, player that played with the Expos, Ellis Valentine, and a Pittsburgh Pirate by the name of Dave Parker. Those guys had unbelievable arms. But I'm going to tell you something, because you're going to appreciate this next question, because this question ain't from Danny Torres from the boogie down Bronx. This question is from an 80 year old fan who's a huge fan of Joshua Palacios. His name is Jim O'Frill. He lives in Cranberry Township, not too far from downtown Pittsburgh. And he said this, and just before I even tell you what pretty much tell you, share with you what the question is. He actually met Clemente in 1956. [00:24:46] Speaker A: No way. [00:24:47] Speaker B: He wrote a poem dedicated to Roberto in 1973. The Baseball hall of Fame loved not one, but two poems that he wrote. It is now in the archives in Clemente's folder, Jim O'Frill's two poems. So, Jim O'Frio, I wanted to make sure that I got this question in for you, and you're going to appreciate it because you hear it. Absolutely. And I'm sure you're going to meet him. So this is the question, because he loves how you play. He said you were called up and the bulk of your home runs were at the latter part of the season. No one really talked about your pop in your bat, and it's there. How have you developed that pop in your bat? And if you were able to play beyond the 91 games, it's quite possibly Joshua Palacios would have had 20 home runs. So he wants to know, what is it about how you developed that pop, that home run swing? And what do you predict maybe how many homers you would have had in 2023 if you would have played x amount more games. [00:25:50] Speaker A: All right, so how I developed the pop, it was definitely two things. One was learning the league and learning the pitching, like learning how they pitched to me and learning how they went about sequencing pitches and stuff like that. Two was learning what to look for. I think this year I spent a lot of time studying myself and I realized, okay, I can hit these pitches and drive them really well. So let's swing here and let's let go of the other stuff. And then the third thing would be a small swing adjustment that got me from hitting ground balls to second base to just staying through the ball and hitting those same balls for home runs, especially like the lower inside part of the plate. Lower or in. I would like kind of roll over and go east to west. And I learned how to just properly get my bat through the path and it was able to elevate the baseball and hit it really hard. So those three things were a huge help. And it's development when you learn yourself, and a lot of old veteran guys say that when you learn yourself and you learn what you're good at, hitting, it's a lot easier to hit for power. [00:26:48] Speaker B: You've been getting some wise advice from people and obviously, I think a lot. Honestly, Joshua, getting this opportunity to speak with you on a talking 21 podcast with Danny Torres, getting the opportunity to see how you've made adjustments, how you're watching the game and the different things that you're picking up is obviously somebody getting a chance to see you in 2024 to see what you're going to do. So finally, and even before we say finally, you had a chance to have some time with this 2015 Roberto Clemente award winner and Andrew McCutcheon. How was Andrew, aka Kutch, as a teammate and what was it like to be alongside someone who is obviously probably going to have his number retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates and quite possibly might even have a statue outside of PNC park? How was it having Kutch as a. [00:27:40] Speaker A: Teammate the first day I got there? I'm not going to lie, I was starstruck. I watched Kutch growing up. I don't get starstruck very often, but when I first saw him, I was like, man, I can't believe this is cutch. So I was a little nervous. Man, he's a big dog. MVP. Like, he's in the city is doing it. But this dude was amazing all year round. He was amazing. He was just one of the guys. He was kicking it funny with the dudes, keeping everybody loose, especially like being there. It was my first time there. It kind of kept things loose and made me feel comfortable and at home there and I would just spend as much time as I could with him that dug out, chopping it up and learning, like little tidbits of the adjustments he made in his career and some things that he worked on and some process they used that worked in the past. And it's been a major blessing to have a guy like that around for the valuable lessons that are learned. And then also, too, for just the great man he is and keeping everybody comfortable and not big league of nobody. It's just being one of the boys and enjoying the day with the guys. [00:28:33] Speaker B: That says a lot, Joshua, because it says to me, as someone who plays in major League Baseball, how much you give credit to those that have been in the game of baseball for so many years. Because a lot of times I'm a big believer that a veteran presence in the clubhouse, having someone that's been there for x amount of years is literally someone that you would want day in and day out to help with you with those adjustments, the good days, the bad days, the in between days. So I'm glad and happy to hear that Kutch has been that for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and hopefully he'll be that for 2024, if he certainly does come back, because there's a Milestone that I believe he wants to reach and love that, to be wearing the Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. So I'm going to ask you this one now. This one you're going to love. So we've heard this question before, but I put a little twist to it because now I'm going to ask Joshua Palacios. Three dinner guests. Now check this out. Three dinner guests. I want you to provide the menu. [00:29:44] Speaker A: Oh, wow. [00:29:46] Speaker B: Hold on, let me finish up. Now, what you're going to serve. So you're providing a menu, what you're going to serve, where's the place that you're going to eat? No one say it's got to be Brooklyn. Maybe it's kaboogie down. Maybe it's somewhere in the United States. Maybe it's somewhere outside the United States. So the menu, what you're serving food wise, where are you eating and what are you wearing to represent? Not Santurse, but Brooklyn, New York, because this was Clemente's first team, the Santurse Crabbers. So get the menu where you're eating and exactly what are you wearing that represents Brooklyn? [00:30:25] Speaker A: The menu, I got three dinner menu. We got to first go to the place that we eat in. The first place that we eat in. Man, that's a tough one. New York City. We got mad places we could go. [00:30:39] Speaker B: Be. [00:30:40] Speaker A: It's going to be in New York City, though. Come on. Have they been in New York City or not? I need that one. You ever been to New York City or not? Is there. [00:30:45] Speaker B: First time. Your three dinner guests could be anyone. Let's even keep it in the world of baseball. Let's keep it. Three dinner guests. World of baseball. [00:30:54] Speaker A: World of baseball. Three dinner guests. [00:30:57] Speaker B: Living or deceased. Living or deceased. [00:31:00] Speaker A: I mean, if you could do that. I'm bringing Roberto. Hey, we need to chop it up. You'll bring Roberto? [00:31:05] Speaker B: Roberto, number one. [00:31:07] Speaker A: The second guy I would love to have, great mentor to me would be Devon White. I love Devon White, man. He's been a mentor to me. He's taught me so much. And then the third person I would love to have, I mean, I think babe Roof would be a character to have for dinner. [00:31:22] Speaker B: Babe roof. Babe. [00:31:23] Speaker A: Yeah. Babe roof. So if you're Roberto, bring my guy Devo. Babe roof. And then I think I'll take him to carmines. I'll take carmines up east side. The menu is going to have the. It's going to have the Porterhouse steak. It's going to have the vodka rigatoni. It's going to have the olive and garlic spaghetti. We're going to have some baked clams, some calamari. We're going to do a big. We're going have to the bread there. It's going to be very nice, very classic. And then what am I wearing to represent Brooklyn? I got a nice leather Brooklyn jacket, and it's like a Brooklyn Dodgers jacket. It's blue with a little black made by Vanson. That just cop probably some nice jeans, some Jordan Ones, the all blue joints. Be nice. And then we're going to have the old school Brooklyn Dodgers ebb and fear. You know what? We're going to get Ford. Then again, because I'm bringing Jackie Robinson, too. [00:32:13] Speaker B: You know what? And you know why now we bend the rules a little bit. Because you represent Brooklyn with the great Jackie Robinson. [00:32:22] Speaker A: Yep. I'm pulling up with Jackie. I'm pulling up with Jackie, man. [00:32:25] Speaker B: I'm glad that you said that. And let me ask you this last thing. Now that you got all these baseball guys and all you're going to do is literally do this, what would be the one question you quite possibly want to ask each of those guests? [00:32:42] Speaker A: One question I would ask. What is the one adjustment that brought you the biggest amount of progression or gains that you had in your career? And it'd be open for all them to answer. [00:32:55] Speaker B: Wow, that one is actually quite deep to think about it. Think about that. [00:33:02] Speaker A: Yes. [00:33:03] Speaker B: I want them to think, what would you be eating when they're talking to sharing that with you? What you eating? [00:33:09] Speaker A: I'm not eating nothing. The food is going down. Taking notes. I got my phone out. I'm taking notes. Okay. Boom. I'm writing that all down. Unless I got to. [00:33:18] Speaker B: Take the foot in. And you put it around, turn it around. You do the Ken Griffey Jr. [00:33:26] Speaker A: Right? [00:33:26] Speaker B: You do the Ken Griffith Jr. What. [00:33:32] Speaker A: A did it I be man. [00:33:33] Speaker B: Let me tell you that we finally got a chance to have you on talk at 21. I can't thank you enough. [00:33:39] Speaker A: Thank you. [00:33:40] Speaker B: Because at the end of the day, while Danny Torres, wish you lived and grew up in the boogie down Bronx, for me, that you're representing not only Brooklyn, you are representing New York City as someone that made it to the big show, knowing, as we talked in previous conversations, how sadly the way it's structured, it just doesn't seem that the love is given to what the product that could truly come out of New York City as it pertains to baseball. Because baseball is not dead in New York City. [00:34:20] Speaker A: That's a fact. [00:34:21] Speaker B: Still alive and well. Maybe traveling, maybe we don't see it the way in my generation, but at the end of the day, we see it in high schools. We see it on a collegiate level. And listen, major league Baseball, don't forget New York City, especially Brooklyn, and definitely the boogie down Bronx. So, Joshua Palacios, thank you very much. Representing Boricas, representing everyone. Even though I know you played for team Netherlands. [00:34:49] Speaker A: My mom wanted to know. [00:34:52] Speaker B: I know we got to listen. Everybody wants to talk about the Boricuas side, but we got to show love to mommy. And I certainly hope that mommy gets a chance to hear talking 21 with Danny Torres. So once again, Joshua Palacios, thank you very much, and I look forward to seeing you in 2024. And, brother, have a great holiday season. [00:35:10] Speaker A: Thank you for having me, man. It's been an honor. It's been a blessing. I had so much fun on this thing, man. Appreciate it. [00:35:15] Speaker B: I appreciate you, brother. Take care. Thanks so much for listening to the talking 21 podcast. And as we wrap up another year, a special thanks to the entire team, including our executive producer, rasquevara. We appreciate every subscriber, every like comment, and make sure to like that YouTube video and rate us on Apple and Spotify. But I want to also thank my own family, especially my wife, Roxanne, and my two daughters, Talia and Sierra, my family and dear friends, for all of your support throughout this talking 21 journey. And I dedicate this episode to my mother, Teresa Torres Pastrana, who passed away on September 22, 2023. I love you, mommy. Tequiero Ibandicon, I want to take a quote from Joshua Palacio's uncle Ray, who said to his nephew, you haven't done anything yet. So to everyone, keep pushing forward, because the next chapter in your life is always in your hands. And then you can finally say, I did it. Happy holidays, happy new year. And Felice anonuel from the talking 21 podcast family.