SALVADOR PEREZ Leadership Beyond Language; an MLB Captain; Royal Blood | Ep13

World Series Champion catcher, and beloved KC Royal, Salvador Perez, known affectionately as “Salvy”, joins the Diggin’ Deep Podcast with former teammates Eric Hosmer & Anthony Seratelli, along with Process & Development Coach, Justin Su’a and 12-year MLB veteran pitcher, Peter Moylan. Salvy provides a heartfelt and genuine look into the life and challenges of a Major League Baseball catcher. The conversation picks up with light-hearted banter that shows the long-standing friendship Eric Hosmer has kept with his World Series teammate; a bond so strong he refers to Salvy as his brother. Salvy’s easy-going nature shines through, which belies the depth of his experience and the respect he commands on and off the field. This conversation reveals not just his journey but the personal connections and friendships he’s developed throughout his career, emphasizing the importance of relationships in a competitive sport.

Salvy humbly discusses being a team leader, sharing candid anecdotes about his role as a captain; including the moment Mike Sweeney surprised him in a team meeting with a “C” for captain on his jersey, even after Salvy expressed his respectful declination to publicly display such an honor, out of the humbleness in his heart. He talks about the responsibilities of guiding younger players and how he balances respect and authority without distancing himself. This part of the discussion provides an inside look at the dynamics of a clubhouse and the leadership qualities that are valued in sports. It’s an insightful peek into how a seasoned player like Salvy views his role and his impact on team morale and performance.

The episode explores Salvy’s personal growth and the cultural challenges he faced arriving in the U.S. from Venezuela at a young age. He talks about the initial difficulties in communication and how he overcame these barriers, eventually becoming a pivotal figure not only within his team but also in the Kansas City community. His story is a testament to the resilience and adaptability required to succeed in MLB, making it a compelling listen for fans and aspiring athletes alike. This narrative arc from a young, hopeful immigrant to a seasoned Major League Baseball team captain offers a profound commentary on the American Dream as lived in the world of professional sports.

Guest
https://www.instagram.com/salvadorp13/

Hosts
https://www.instagram.com/hosmer305
https://www.instagram.com/justinsua
https://www.instagram.com/petermoylan

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You know, in the beginning of your career, me and you, same way. Everybody want us to work out and do all this type of stuff. It can help you with baseball. And we were like, okay, but why? We just want to go hit in the cage and play baseball. We don’t think that’s important. But now, you got like 30 years in the big leagues at this point. And you’re catching 130, 140 games. And earlier in your career, everybody’s saying, Hey, Salvi, you can’t do this. Because when you get to the back end of your career, you know, it’s not going to help you. You’re going to be tired. It’s going to hurt your knees and all that type of stuff. And you just keep getting better and better and better hitting 40 homers and all that. So how have you learned to, to now, you know, I got to eat a little healthier sometimes I got to work out. How have you learned to take care of your body? Yeah. Um, you know, I wish I can listen to the people tell me there was too many games early in my career me. Yeah, but I, I think everything started in the off season, you know, and one of the guy Motivation me Was Alex Gordo? Mm-Hmm. . You know how hard he work, you know, to ashamed. So every day it’s crazy. Every day to the gym, you know, at only Chama 37 years old, he’s still 303, you know? So when I look myself in the middle, what gonna play you wanna be or who you wanna be in this game? Okay? You just wanna be a guy, just make it to a big league cup of coffee and. Bye bye. Or you wanna, you know, do something good, you know? So I think everything started in, in the offseason. I, we love to play. You, you know that we played together for a long time. And we don’t like to see ourself out of the lineup, you know? Because when you prepare yourself in the offseason for 162 games, I know it’s super hard. And I get it when people tell me that, Salvi, it’s hard to catch 162 games. But I catch 150 plus 17 in playoffs, so what’s the difference? You know? So I’m like, I’m ready. I prepare myself in the offseason. I, I, I try to eat better. Arepa is so good, man. That’s my wife, that’s my wife. Arepa, right, you know. There would be times where we were sitting there in the locker after a game, and the bench coach would come up to Salvi, Hey, you got tomorrow off. He said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And he goes right into the office with Ned, Hey, Salvi wants to play. It’s saved. You want me to sit? Right here, right here. Come on, man. You still look like 25, man. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. You know what? Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. El Niño. El Niño. Easy question for me, okay? Nothing but easy. No questions, it’s easy. I know. Me and El Niño go back. You know what I’m doing. You were 16 years old, I was 18. 17 or 17. I was 18. You were 16. I was 42. Tell everybody where you come in Myanmar. No, I didn’t tell everybody. You tell Romek. Now Bobby, what a memory, Bobby. Yeah, I’m going to remember now. He went from Nino to Myanmar every time I see him in Myanmar. We just, we love each other so much. We were so far back, but now El Capitan. My goodness, man. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Sweeney, I was in Texas last year. And JJ, Skip, Sweeney was there. Like, hey, we think about you a lot. We know what you do for the city, for this thing. And I think it’s time for you, you know? Yeah. With the C in the chest. Oof. I was like, Uh, I don’t know if I’m ready for that. Ha ha ha. You know, we got young guys. Last year was a young group. Uh, I’m like, hey, I think they know already. So, why have to wait to see? And, uh, let me think about it, please. You know? So, let me call my wife, my mom. What do you guys think about this? Uh, how the young guys, you know, Is gonna look me up for that? and they was like, okay, so the next day exhibition game takes, I like, skip. I don’t think I’m ready for that. I think, you know, they already see me like that, so I don’t, I don’t think I have to work the seat, you know? I appreciate that. Thank you, Sony. Thank you. And okay. S will respect you, your decision and all that. Okay. Okay. Opening day, boom. Super excited. Think about opening day. I saw in the board meeting like two hours before the, the, the game. And I’m like, okay, midi, I see my shirt, is it a pup or no? So I see it, uh, Sweeney, George Braves start to talk about, hey, have a great season, come on, have fun, play hard, skip, I wish you the best, God bless everybody, oh, thank you. Sweeney get up, on a jersey. And I’m like, hey, Salvi, I know you tell me that you don’t want to do it, but hey, you’re the captain now. So that’s when I’m like, oh my God. Awesome. Get out, man. They were excited, you know, and, you know, that’s, yeah, that’s how they want me to be a captain. That’s crazy, man. Mala tuya. Mala tuya. So, el capitán, el capitán, right? So, let’s go back to El Niño. El Niño, El Niño. He’s the first guy to come here, El Niño. Si, we played rookie ball together. And what’s so special about me and you, we’re brothers, not even best friends. In the beginning of our friendship, some of the stuff we’ve already said on here, You know, you’re from Venezuela. You come at a young age. I’m straight out of high school. My mom’s Cuban, but I don’t know Spanish. I should know Spanish. So we hit it off instantly in rookie ball. We don’t even speak the same language and immediately like stuff happens in the game. We just find ways to communicate with each other in the locker room, on the bus, all types of stuff. And. We shared the the subway story Okay, so You come from El Nino at 17 years old learning how to speak English learning the language to now being the captain and you Being the leader of a city, of a team, all that. So for the young guy to come over at a young age, we’ll help you. Get more comfortable here in the U. S. Get more comfortable with your teammates and feel confident to do stuff like you’re doing now. Yeah, I think first thing the young guy has to do is try to, you know, learn the English, you know, because you have to communication, you know, we’re coming from Venezuela, Dominica, anywhere, you know, to come into the United States. So you have to have communication. You have to, you know, sometimes it’s kind of, it’s kind of hard for us, you know, I’m not. It’s very hard. Yeah, sometimes, yeah, yeah. It’s a little hard. But I think Kansas City do something special for the young guys. There we got teacher. We got Monica Ramirez. They help the young guys to trying to learn English. Do you remember those classes when you were 16? Yeah, yeah, I remember. Do you remember me coming? For try to learn Spanish. To try to learn Spanish. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So. On your way to invite me? Mala mia. Ha, ha, ha, ha. So, yeah, I’m like. I appreciate Kansas City for that. But, at the same time, after one game, we’re super tired, we go back to the hotel. We’re staying in Holiday Inn, something like that, in the Bell Road, yeah. Kind of tired, we get back to the hotel, so we have to get up every day, yeah. You know, uh, I think the class was like 6 p. m. So, there are some people coming like, you know, tired, they don’t want to listen, they don’t want to pay attention, so they should pay a little bit more attention to that because we’re going to need it. So, I think I was so blessed that I got guys like, you know, like Eric, like Telly that was there with me and helped because he cared. I think to live in Miami, you know, born and raised in Miami, my mom from Cuba and all that. He can understand a little, a little bit more, you know, uh, to the Latin player. So he always there, not even for me, for everybody, you know, uh, I think we’re so blessed to, that’s, that’s what I think. So I think first thing is learn English, you know, communication. And when you don’t know something, just ask, because if you’re afraid to ask. That’s an attitude thing though, too, he had from the get go. He was in those classes, doing what he had to do, but he was also hanging out. Even though it was early, he was still trying to figure out the language. He wanted to be around it. I mean, you still see him today, walking around, smiling around the field. That’s no act. Like, that’s, that’s Salvi. From day one, like, he’s been around everybody. Always smiling, happy, wanting to communicate whether he could speak it or not. If not, he asks for help, just like he said. So I think, one, the Royals did a great job doing that. But two, if you have the attitude to go out and want to learn and figure it out, you’re going to, and Salvi, top notch, baby. And communication, too, for a pitcher to catch her. You have to be able to communicate with your pitcher. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. I keep telling you guys I had one pitch man. You don’t have to speak. I was easy. Did the sinker feel good today? No, slaughter. I told the sinker we’ll be right. When we think about slaughter, I’m like, alright Salve, we’ll go slaughter again. What’s really interesting to me just hearing all of this, so having a lot of experience, like you all, going from clubhouse to clubhouse in the minor leagues, talking to the American born players First time playing with players who are from other countries and then talking to the Latin players or players from other countries first time playing with American players who speak English and coaches as a, as a, let’s say a Latin player, you have a coach who doesn’t speak Spanish trying to communicate with you and you’re like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you leave. You’re like, I have no idea what the coach just said to me. And so my, my, my, I wonder how, I don’t know. How did you guys build this? Because it is not easy. It is not easy for someone who speaks a different language and a different culture to be able to connect with somebody else. It was, you know what, man, honestly, it took both, it took both groups of people. You know what I mean? So, me being from Miami and my mother being from Cuba, my grandfather used to show me Kendry’s Morales, videos of him in the Cuban League and the Cuban National League and all the different type of Latino players that he idolized and then I became to idolize. So. For me getting in a clubhouse, you know, I wanted to communicate with those guys and those guys wanted to communicate with us And you know, I don’t have a problem saying this there’s some of the times in some of these clubhouse it’s the american guys that make it hard to communicate with a lot of these guys because They don’t want change. It’s a different culture. Why are those guys so loud? Why are they always talking like that blah blah blah, but the guys that we talked about in kansas city They wanted to be over there communicating with them. They wanted to get loud with them. They wanted to join that conversation. And I just think it took both parties of guys to to really be like, listen, we’re in this together. So even if I don’t speak your language, I’m going to make it a point to try and figure out how to communicate with you. And that’s why we’re all family to this day. Exactly. That’s why I think. We become like a family, you know, and believe it or not, I think that’s how we win in Bigley, you know. Uh. Learn how to understand your teammate, teammate, you know, and just play hard as you can. And we know each other for a long time. All the group, we know each other for a long time. So, I think that was Big key to, you know, win in, lose in 14 and win in 15. Have you noticed a change in the guys in the clubhouse? When you guys were around each other, minor leagues, big leagues, you used to hang around, you used to go to dinner, you used to do a lot together, on and off the field. Is that still the same sort of feel? Nah, now it’s different. I wish, you know, it’s a lot of Especially in Kansas City, last year was a lot of young guys. I want to see now the other moves, the, the, the team make in the off season. Uh, I want to see how it’s going to be this year, but yeah, last year it was a lot of young guys. They, they just want to, you know, go even the, the people they know from minor league, you know, it’s not a young guy like Max, he, Junior is different. Bobby with Junior, he’s a different, he’s in another level. It’s a super kawaii papo. And yeah, and so. We’ll go see, now we have some few guys, they got a lot of years in Big League, so hopefully it can be back when we play. You mentioned the Latin guys are loud, and there’s one From America, people get mad. Keep it down. Keep it down, it’s 9 in the morning. I never understood, I never understood when we went out, you know, playing in America, when They walk on the field, you got the guy coming down from the first baseline, all the way out in the outfield. Oye! Mi hermano! Like yelling across the field, I’m like, man, these guys are so loud. And I’m like, why are they so, like, they can’t go over there and say hi? But when I was in Japan, there weren’t many Americans. And when I saw one across the field, I was like, yo! What’s up brother? I was so happy, I was, so I was like, I get it man, cause it’s, it can be lonely. I mean, coming over here, you don’t know the language. You cannot speak to anybody else. So it’s like. Your eyes light up like, what’s up my man? As soon as you know somebody speaks your language, you’re just like, okay, let’s go eat. I’m your brother, my friend, you know. That’s your opportunity to say something to him. Yeah. That’s incredible. How about, so Venezuela, you got to play now, WBC a couple years. Yeah. With Miggy, you know, prior years Victor Martinez. Yeah. To be able to look up to those guys, and now those guys are your boys. Isn’t that crazy? Super crazy, Papua. Where I’m coming from, I don’t think I can be the guy I am right now, you know. It’s a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifice. But everything is paid off and thank God for, for everything. Uh, yeah, super excited, you know, play with Miggy, I think he’s going to be a Hall of Fame. Victor Martinez, uh, Marco Escutero, I don’t know if you guys remember him. So, yeah, super excited. The WBC in Miami, I think it was amazing, Papo. Even the Caribbean series, you know, I was there for the final. So it’s, it’s good. You know, I, I proud of myself. How about so, so you being a catcher and you know, in the beginning of your career, me and you, same way, everybody want us to work out and do all this type of stuff. It can help you with baseball. And we were like, okay, but why? We just want to go hit in the cage and play baseball. We don’t think that’s important, but now. You got like 30 years in the big leagues at this point and you’re catching 130, 140 games and early in your career. Everybody’s saying, Hey, you can’t do this because when you get to the back end of your career, you know, it’s not going to help you. You’re going to be tired. It’s going to hurt your knees and all that type of stuff. And you just keep getting better and better and better hitting 40 homers and all that. So how have you learned to, to now, you know, I got to eat a little healthier sometimes I got to work out. How have you learned to take care of your body? Yeah. Um, You know, I wish I can listen to the people tell me there was too many games in my career. Oh, man. Yeah, but, but, but, I, I think everything started in the offseason, you know? And one of the guys motivation me was Alex Gordon. You know how hard he worked, you know, too. So, every day, it’s crazy. Every day to the gym, you know? 37 years old, he’s still 303, you know? So when I look myself in the mirror, what kind of player do you want to be? Or who do you want to be in this game? OK, you just want to be a guy, just make it to a big league, a cup of coffee and that’s it. Bye bye. Or you wanna, you know, do something good, you know? So I think everything started in, in the offseason. I, we love to play. You, you know that we played together for a long time. And we don’t like to see ourselves out of the lineup, you know? Because when you prepare yourself in the off season for 162 games, I know it’s super hard, and I get it when people tell me that, Salvi, it’s hard to catch 162 games. But I catch 150 plus 17 in playoffs, so what’s the difference? You know? So I’m like, I’m ready. I prepare myself in the off season. I, I, I try to eat better. Arepas are good, man. That’s my wife’s fault, that’s my wife’s fault. Arepas are good, man. Papuano. Hey, there would be times where we were sitting there in the locker after a game and the bench coach would come up to Salvi, Hey, you got tomorrow off. He’d say, No, no, no, no, no, no, no. And he goes right into the office with Ned, Hey, Salvi wanted to play. I got to play him in there. And we talk about all the time, lead by example, right? So as a guy, like a guy like Gordon, I’m a guy like Gordon. Gordon doesn’t say much in the beginning when you get to know him and all that. He definitely does. But a young player going in there, seeing the way he works out and how he sticks to his routine every single day. Isn’t that a prime time example of leading by? That, that, that is huge because a lot of times, well, people will do the young players, kind of like kids. We have children, they won’t necessarily listen to what you say, but they’ll watch what you do. And sometimes they’ll just observe and watch. And you know how baseball players are. They, they’ll just see what your cage work is like, see what your drill drill package is like as a pitcher or whatever. And that’s so true, which leads me to, I was wondering now that you do have the C on your Jersey, did you have to make any changes? Did you make any adjustments? No, I just tell the young guy like, Hey, don’t be afraid to come in and talk to me. Okay. I know now when I put my jersey to see, so they got a little bit more like respect or sometimes they can, uh, I used to try to talk to me, you know, and, and I do a meeting. Hey, that’s me. You know, I think I’m sincere for this, bro. I don’t want you to guys, you know, see me some different, like, Salvin as a character. We have to be afraid to talk to her and all that. No. Just come into me and talk to me. So, yeah, they were doing, we got some really good group right now. I think the reason why the Royals were so comfortable doing that kind of behind your back and saying, no, no, I think he’s ready, is because you’d already accepted that role as captain. You said that you were already that guy. So, There wasn’t going to be a case where you got the C and then all of a sudden you thought, Oh no, I’ve got to change everything now. I’ve got to be the captain. You were the captain and they could see that, man. I knew that when I was there, you guys were all together. You, you were in there making sure it went well. Even at 16 years old, the fact that you’re willing to learn English because you know, Hey, that can make me better on the field. I can have better communication with my pitcher. So that I feel like is, is you go back to that. Hey, he started this at a young age. So this guy, All those little check marks. You need to be a captain that you’ve been proving it since you’re 16 years old. So you’re going to go Superbowl this year. Watch my home. Hey, after, after the window was serious to get, I think that was the second best thing happened in my life. I was my first and I think my only Superbowl, you know, I’m kind of like Miguel Garcia, he likes out before we go to another Superbowl. And they lost, it’s gonna be 2 1, but now it’s 1 1, we’re still here thousands, so we’re not going to the Super Bowl anymore. So, but I was super excited, uh, excited, excited again, crazy game. Uh, Patrick Mahomes, he’s from another level. Uh, but that was my first time, I was super excited for that game. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. We had, so we talked to Bobby Witt the other day, and like you said, this guy, he young, but oh, he, he on another level, Bobby. He’s young. Mentally, physically, he just seems like a good guy, humble guy. And, you know, we tell him now, Hey, I remember in 14, when we were going to the playoffs, we were good. Riley Banias came into our clubhouse at 40 something years old. And he’s, he comes up to me, he comes up to you and says, Hey, you know, this is your guy’s clubhouse. You tell me how I fit in here, what I need to do. We’re like, well, you’re 47 years old. Like you’ve been in the big leagues for 20 plus years. You know what I mean? So why are you coming up to us doing that? What? You know, that was what we built over there. So now, you know, you being the captain and, and your day to day, you’re talking to the pitchers, the pitching coach, how much are you going to rely on Bobby now to be like, Hey, listen, man, these young guys, you know, there’s some times where you need to say some stuff to them. And are you guys in communication? Yeah. Yeah. A hundred percent. But yes, it’s easy for me because he’s. He act like he’s 35 years, you know, 35 years, like he’s been in Big League for 20 years already. So it’s super easy to me. Hey, Junior, you take care of this. If something happens, just come to me and I fix it. If you don’t know how to fix it, just come to me. But you have to do it because, believe it or not, I know you’re only 23, 24, whatever, but you’re going to be the next captain in Kansas City. You know, I don’t have too much in my tank, so you gotta be ready for that. So start right now, you know, and he, Pablo, he, I, like, I’m, it’s unreal, you know, I don’t, To be super young at that age and think about, like, you’re 40 or something like that. It’s, it’s, it’s impressive how that kill, you know. Do you have any, just hearing you talk now, even since 2017, 18, my last couple of years, you’ve seemed to even matured even more. Do you have aspirations of maybe joining a front office or becoming a manager one day? I think you’d be a perfect manager at the big league level. You know what, Gabby said, no, no, come on. I don’t want to say no right now, but at least I want to have at least two years after, you know, seeing my kids right now, because it’s kind of, it’s a, it’s a, It’s a sacrifice, what I said in the beginning. It’s a lot of hard work. And God bless me with a great wife because she took care of the kids. You know? But, we’ll go see. You know? You never know after I’ve been home and see my wife for too many days in the road. So I may be going a couple, you know, a couple couple years with mom, I’m like, ah, I think it’s time to go. So, we know, you know? Uh, Yeah, we’re gonna see. Maybe, I don’t know right now. Hey, so off the field, you’ll be like, Papa, obviously you want to come, but this could be your seat every day. And the off season now I call this guy, Hey, Papa, what are you doing? Hey, I’m in Okachobee. I’m hunting. Hunting. When you start hunting. That’s my school. That’ll fall. I know him from the WBC in 2013 in Puerto Rico. So, and I don’t know, he liked to fish, like hunting. You know, and I start to be around him a little more and I start to like it, you know? So every time Papo calls me, hey, can you come to my house? We’re going to watch football or something. Ah, Papi, sorry. Okichobi, man. Okichobi. I got a couple deals. I had to kill it tonight, Papo. I said, okay, gringo. You’re gringo now. Si, si, Papo. But I like it. You know, now it’s, you know, off season, we travel. We travel a lot. We stay at least, you know, 12 or 15 days. My wife and I, we go to some different place and we take the kids and somewhere else, Aruba. We love, we love Aruba. And after that, okay, now it’s my time. Let me go, you know, hunting a little bit. We like to shoot some play, too. You’re good at it, too. Yeah, I like it. They did one video, they shoot out a couple things, you go, ta ta, okay, boom. Before that, before that, I miss like, like thousands. That’s why you don’t post it. Yeah, you don’t post it. Exactly. So how, how important is it? A guy that works this hard and every day you’re consistent to your routine. When the season is over to decompress a little bit and take 10 to 12 days and then get back to work after that It’s kind of like when you’re doing a workout a bench press or whatnot and you’re going your muscles are tensing They’re tensing and then you can’t do any more you you need to rest the same is true for the mind for the energy There are three finite resources. We always talk about you have limited time you have a limited energy Attention and limited energy and to be able to point your attention to relax and to recover and to spend time with your family. One thing I’ve we’ve we’ve already been talking. You talk about your wife all the time, even in this little conversation talking about your being a dad, how do you balance? Being the best player you can be. And also maybe balance isn’t the right word. How do you have harmony in between being the best player and also being a great husband and being a great father? Because you’ll read these stories, the greats in any industry, a lot of times they pursue greatness in their craft, but at the expense of family or being a dad, how have you been able to have that Yeah, it’s, it’s sometimes a little hard. But at the same time, at my age, you have to separate, you know, that’s the thing. As soon as you close that door in the clubhouse, okay, now it’s time to work, you know. That’s how, that’s how I bring the food to the table for all my family, even the people in Venezuela that I have. So I have to be concentrated, I have to be locked in, you know. And after the game is over, you know, a couple of hours, okay, now I can, I can go and take care of my family. That’s the way that I look at it. Even, I think, be a catcher. You know, teach me and I learn from separate that two thing. Because a catcher, if I strike out, base is loaded, you know? I can’t I have to be concentrated. After I strike out, it’s done. Go put your gear, and you have to go think about it, how we’re going to make the guy out, you know? Or how he missed last time, something like that. But if I can manage that too, and I, you know, take my frustration or something to the home plate, it’s not going to work. I don’t have my pitcher to, you know, to, to be able to make the guy out. That’s a great point. So that’s when you have, when you have, when you, Starting this game and you’re by yourself, it’s one thing, and then when you get a wife and you have kids, it’s very important that you do. You shut, if you take that mood home with you, then you’re not only having a bad day at baseball, then you get home, then your wife’s pissed off with you, then your kid doesn’t want to hang around you, and everything starts to build up, and then the frustration is just going to carry on. If you can shut that down, especially as a reliever, man, for me, if I have a bad outing, I’m I’ve got to forget about it by the time I walk out that clubhouse because it’ll drain on me until that next time I’m out there. We don’t get many opportunities per year to prove ourselves and when you give up runs it’s like, oh my God. And in my situation it can be looking over your corner, maybe getting sent home. So to take those frustrations and just wipe them as soon as you get home and enjoy life with your family, it’s the most important thing. He’s speaking in generalities because you get a lot of, you had a lot of, you know, Appearances with the Atlanta, I believe, right? You’re a record holder. I think yeah It’s interesting that you do say that so there is a there’s a guy who is a special forces instructor And we were talking about how do you separate? How do you separate work from home? How do you walk into your house the best version of yourself? You And I asked him how he did it. We were in a group, a group of us. And, and he said that he would just what he wears. So he would He would wear his uniform and he’d wear it home, but what he noticed over the course of his career, he would take his work home and he didn’t like yourself. He didn’t know how to separate. And the one thing he did, he, two things. The first thing was he changed his clothes before he left the clubhouse, his, his, his work. So let me get back into my regular civilian clothes. And then when he was driving home, he had a little sticky note on his driver, on his driver’s wheel. Um, that says, how do you want to show up to your house today? And so it was a decision that he’s like, okay. And he said he would sit in a car when he was, sometimes when he wasn’t ready to walk in with a good attitude, he would sit there and wait, take a few breaths and say, okay, I’m ready to walk in with a good attitude to my wife, to my kids, because I want to bring, I don’t want to bring it home. So I just think it’s really cool how you’ve learned to separate that. I think it’s very important. I think be a catcher. It’s going to, you know, at some point it’s going to make you, Do that, you know, be separate hitting for different. So that thing, that’s how I learned about it. I never thought about how, how that separation has happened that fast. You know, you give a bet at bat, you could sit in the dugout. Like I don’t have to put gear on, just mosey back out to to whatever position and still thinking about it, taking a ground ball, flipping it over there. Still pissed off. Yeah, that’s kind of it’s hard for the young guy to learn that. Sometimes they strike out and, you know, I try to blow some piece, work hard and do right feel. Yes. Cough all the way. Soon as he get to the, to the dugout, I’m like, man, I need to talk to you. What’s wrong with you? That’s the, they say don’t take your at bats. They say don’t take your at bats out of the field, but that’s one thing for a middle infielder or even an outfielder, because you’re going to get maybe one ball an inning. You’ve got to be locked in straight away, man. You’re putting down the call and you’ve got to be, okay, let it go. You’ve Let’s lock in on how we get these next three guys out. Exactly. Now with the pitch con, you don’t have that kind of time. I’m curious, so I’ve talked to some catchers, and correct me, you know way better than I do. Could you tell as a catcher when some pitchers are losing focus or they’re not as confident? Can you as a former, as a pitcher, right? And so can you as a pitcher, can you as a pitcher tell when a catcher is taking an 0 4 4 a day behind the dish and he’s not focused? Yes. He might not, yeah, it’s things like, like, a normal frame job will be a drop, or, or he, he, he won’t put an effort in on a ball that’s, that’s two or three inches off the plate to try and steal that call, he’ll just let it, you know, be a, be a ball and throw it back. So, I could definitely see it, not with him, because he was locked in all the time, but there’ll times where there’ll be guys that will take a lazy approach because they’re like, oh man, I’m 0 for 4, it might be a one run game, but you’re 0 for 4 has had more weight in your mind than what you could potentially do between now and the game. Yeah. Yeah. Even if you go for four, one block, I can win the game and you can beat the guy. Even if you strike out four times, I strike out five times one day in, in Guaishou. And I have to throw somebody else a second base and that’s how we win the game. So now the, And my 32 years older, I learned all that. I see a young guy doing the opposite. Sometimes it’s kind of hard for me. I’m like, how do I can teach this guy? That’s not about you. It’s not about, it’s just about everybody. You know, it’s about the thing. It’s about the dressing that you, that you put it on every night. You know, it’s not, it’s not like we got some, some guy play for us. They just, if they hit and we lose, they come in to see, Hey, we got it tomorrow. We got it tomorrow. But if we win and they don’t get hit. And he know I, who, who I know that guy. Yeah. You know, So, you know, it’s kinda, it’s kind of hard sometimes to just see that, you know? Mm-Hmm. . Yeah. And, okay, let me ask you this, and you don’t have to answer this. This is gonna be a tough question for you. I was the last time the World Series. I don’t think any, any harder than that. and the next one. So in the world now. You talk about catching. I need to, I need to block a ball that can win a game. I need to be locked in for, to call these pitches and this sequence on this guy. Boom, I throw this guy out. Boom, I hit 40 homers in a season. So, in a world now where catching, and I’m just going to say this right now, it pisses me off to see how much disrespect they have on you when they rank all the catchers. Top 10 this, this, and this, because in my opinion, you’re not only a hall of famer, you’re, you’re arguably one of the best catchers of all time. So in a world now where they care about, you know, pitch framing and different things that maybe they value the wrong things a little too much. How do you not care about any of that stuff? Because you just continue to stay locked in focus and you keep getting better and better each year. Yeah. I don’t trying to, you know, to see the, uh, Instagram, they send me that, what they think, or top ten, uh, top ten casher in baseball. You don’t leave it there? You don’t leave the number ten? What they, they just care about framing right now, papa. This experience training, they come to me and tell me, and we’re going to say this too. It’s 83 percent about framing, 5 percent about blocking, and 13 percent about throw people out. So which percent you going to take? They’re framing. They don’t, we don’t, we got almost a month in screen training, and I don’t do one day of blocking. Only one throw to second base. They just care about framing. And as a, you know, big guy, you know, it’s kind of hard for me. So, I will change my position every game. Try to get as close as I can, you know, and try to, you know, give it whatever they want. They just care about framing right now. You kneel down? Yeah, I’m both kneel, I do both kneel down. I wish I can go like, go to bed like that. No, I can’t, I can’t, no. So, yeah, they just care about framing right now. So I’m trying to, you know, to, it’s something new for me, new for me. When I got to a big league, Chino Carajia, they just teach me how to, How to just let the ball come to you, let the ball get to you, okay? Just let, so I was for 17 year, I just let the ball coming to me, so now it’s something new. The last three year, 20, I think it was 2020 or 2021, I was 28, worse and frame me. 2022, I was 16. 2023. I was 10. I still bow for better, you know, I dunno if you understand that. I still . So, yeah. So I think my goal this year is, is to be plus. Right. You know, so it’s something new. I have to work, you know, I have to to get ready. And that why one of my goals this year. It’s crazy. The game changes as someone who’s so seasoned and has had so much success has to make a complete adjustment to their game. Mm-Hmm. . Because of analytics, mostly? I mean, like, is that, like, is that ruining the game? The way, like, you calling a game with your pitcher and getting outs, is that overtaking that? Like, is it going that far? That it’s like, I think they’re trying to get, they may be trying to get the most out of framing before they go to an automatic strike zone or, like we talked about the other night, if it goes full auto, then the value of a catcher kind of disappears. If you, if you’re able to steal, You just go like this and steal a strike. If you’re able to steal a strike, it could completely change in a bat and completely change an inning and, and, I guess it’s, it’s the importance of being able to get those, those little edges and making sure that there’s strikes instead of balls for your picture. What does the framing even do if there’s an auto zone? If it crosses the plate, right? And you, and you catch it like this, but it went through the, it caught it. You know, through the auto zone. What does it matter how you even frame? It’s going to go down to zero percent. I see every catcher, every drill is they start with their glove low and they come up and they try to catch it in one motion to try and fool an umpire. I guess it’s got to be it because a lot of the times you’re catching it, pocket down, and then by the time you grab it into the, into the strike zone, it looks like a strike. So I think that’s what, yeah, that was, but I don’t, I don’t, I don’t like that because they always like, it’s like you lying to the umpire. Right. So, okay, let me put steroid and I like to everybody, you know, I get thrown with your homies You don’t want me. You don’t want nobody to do that. So why would you be? Just catch where the ball are and let the umpire make the decision. I watched, uh, Ryan LaVarnway actually came and caught in the Australian Baseball League. And I’d watched 15 catchers come through the team and have conversations with umpires. And he was the best one that I’ve ever seen. He wouldn’t try and frame something that was that far outside, which a lot of guys do. He would just let it go and throw it back. But then when there was one that was really tight, he’d lock it in there. And you could see the umpire say, okay, well, he did this on the other one. If he’s locking that one in, it must be a strike. So, and it was crazy. And he just talked to the umpires. He didn’t have a relationship with the umpires. You can get as much from an umpire. With just being nice to them without having to steal everything. And that’s part of the confusion now, I think for the umpires is when you’re doing that every pitch, they’re battling that. So it throws them off. And I’m sure there’s plenty of umpires that have, when you’re behind the plate, you know, you guys are working together back there cause he wants to have the best vision possible. So I’m sure a lot of umpires are saying, Salvi, this is crazy, man. This is making it harder for us. Everybody, they don’t like it. They don’t like the framing. They don’t, they don’t like that. Because now it’s kind of hard for them. You know, they, they have, they get reported every game. And they’re graded with that screen on, the box on the screen. So, some catchers, they really do a really good job, Papa, when framing. Uh, Trevino from the New York Yankees. And Flower was the guy that was in the red. He was, I think he started all this. But he was one of the best. So now the Dombayi is kind of like, oh. So now I feel like everything, too much moving, they’re going to call ball. So you have to be quiet. Still doing. So I think it’s going to make better look for the umpire. That’s true what you were saying. Talk about your relationship. What’s the importance of a catcher’s relationship with the umpire? What’s, what’s, what’s that like? I think I only I think I don’t remember if I got thrown out again one time. I think it was one time. I don’t remember that. And, yeah, I just, you guys, maybe Papo know me, you guys, he know me. So I’m kind of, you know, I’m trying to have, like, good relationship with him. Don’t pay attention. And at some point he’s going to say, like, Salvi, it’s so nice, let me give you that pitch. Yeah. I got you, Papo. I got you. Okay, you know. That happened a lot, Papo. That’s how you do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, now, now you know, huh? So, yeah, I think, you know, some, some people, like, we need to understand they are a human. So one bad call is not gonna, it’s not gonna make you anything. We got three chance to hit the ball. If you call one strike bad, just try to, you know, forget about that and concentrate for the next two pitches. But I think have a good relationship with the umpire is the key. I love that, that game, even as a hitter, because we’re not nearly, around them nearly as much, but, You should chat whether it’s before the game or when they’re, you know, I’m playing third and they’re, they’re bumping third, whatever it is. So you just, you get that relationship, but I always loved that little, the little intricacies of like one that’s just, just, or I think it’s just off calls a strike. I’m like, all right, Jim. I was like, like, that’s, I feel like that’s a little off. He goes, no, I think got the corner. I’m like, all right, I think it’s pretty close. Next one’s right there. Ball. It’s like, all right, I got that one. I earned that one. I love this. But like no, probably nowhere near as many chances as he would get. And on the flip side of that. You’ve earned this reputation now. I remember going into St. Louis as a young player and you take a ball that’s, you know, maybe just off and Yachty turns around to the umpire and says, Hey, where you got that puppy? That’s outside? Huh? I’m like, I better swing at this. They are calling a strike for Yachty. 100 percent 100 percent throwing a strike. But When you were talking about something earlier, you brought up Instagram, and I immediately thought of the videos of you and Lolo Kane. Oh my God. Everybody loved those videos. Yeah, Lolo Kane, man. Manito Kane. Crazy guy. Well, believe it or not, I think he like it. Yeah, he don’t like it. What was the video? What did the video say? Every day, you know, Bobo? Every day, Cain would be, you know, Cain, Cain, he would always be like, Hey, I’m tired and my feet hurt, boy. And he’d walk around there like an old man. And then all of a sudden, ball hitting the gap, and he just, Vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom. So then every time he would, Cain was a body guy. He needed to be on the training table getting stretched out, and then go do his warm up. That was more important for him than going in the cage and taking 30 40 swings before a game So that was his routine So there was times where he’d be on his ipad playing clash of clans. He was all over this game So just picture kane face down on the training table He’s got his ipad there and then all of a sudden you see salvi pop up there Hey, talk to the people, man. He said, get that camera out of my face, man. But towards the end, he started to love it. I didn’t do it for two days. He coming to me, hey, are you okay? Everybody wanted it, too. Video, papi. The fans in Kansas City said, hey, Sal, there’s more videos. Come on, come on, come on. Oh, that was so good. They blew up. They blew up at that time when you got him, you and him getting on there. People were loving that. Yeah. I win an award there. That’s right. You won an award for it. That’s amazing. Yeah. See, you love the camera, Papa. I told you. Yeah, man. You did good, man. A little bit. Yeah. You said, what did you say? 15 minutes? Oh, 40 minutes. Oh, boy. Yeah. Oh, yeah.