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Now, I think often in life you can get caught focusing on problems instead of solutions.
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Hi, I'm David Farrier, a New Zealander who accidentally got stuck in America, and I want to find out what makes this country tick.
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SPEAKER_01
Now back home in New Zealand, we're obsessed with cricket.
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 Saudi, three to tie, four to win.
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Sharma on strike.
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He hits big, he hits too big!
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He's done it!
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SPEAKER_01
 You don't really have cricket in America.
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There are no wickets and stumps, innings or overs.
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SPEAKER_01
No, the closest thing you have to a real sport is baseball.
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A confusing game involving fastballs and flyballs, bunting and home runs.
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Baseball is the third biggest sport here in America, following basketball and football which sits comfortably at number one.
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Around 16 million Americans play baseball in some kind of organized fashion.
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 and worldwide it has about 500 million fans.
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Now 500 million fans sounds like a lot, until you consider cricket, which has 2.5 billion fans globally.
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But I have to stop thinking like this.
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I'm in America, land of the free, home of the brave, and I'm surrounded by 16 million baseball fans.
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 I live here now, I need to fit in, I need to love baseball, or at least understand it.
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So grab those gloves, or mitts I think you'd call them, maybe get a bat, and head out onto that pitch, I mean field, because this is the Baseball Episode.
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 Okay, well, my dad will be very happy to hear those stats on cricket because he played cricket as a young boy.
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Well, he thinks he played cricket.
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That was just part of the sim.
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You know, like he's been implanted with that memory, but he hasn't really played.
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But he believes he did.
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Did you absorb any of that in your childhood?
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Did you ever watch cricket or anything like that?
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 No, is it even on American TV?
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I don't think so.
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You have so many channels, or are channels still a thing?
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So many internet sites.
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There must be cricket somewhere.
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But I'm yet to walk into an American house and see anyone watching cricket, ever.
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It's kind of true.
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I wonder why we swayed away from it.
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I guess we were like, look, maybe we're not that good at this, so we're going to invent a sport.
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We're just going to do this thing.
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It's invented here, right?
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Baseball?
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 It was.
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It kind of, I mean, it had its origins in the UK, but it became baseball here.
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I always like to claim that things came from the UK.
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But origins are all there, but we'll get to that.
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We'll get to that in the documentary.
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Just out of curiosity, where do you sit in your enthusiasm of baseball?
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 I love going to baseball games.
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How many games would you say you've been to ballpark in my life?
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Um, 20, 20, maybe more.
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I used to go in Atlanta a lot.
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Braves go Braves.
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They won the world series.
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So just saying, so I won the world series.
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Um, no, yeah, I,
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 Oh God, is it bad?
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The sound?
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It's fine.
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What is that?
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Is that a leaf blower?
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I think so.
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Okay.
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So I was actually going to raise this with you.
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I've got a list of episodes for this podcast that I'm not sure are worth diving into.
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Okay.
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And I've been doing some recording and this came up and I want to know if this plagues all of us.
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This is outside my window.
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Okay.
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 It just goes on and on and on and on.
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I've been recording these leaf blowers for the last couple of months because sometimes I'll go to write these episodes or I'll be recording the voiceover at my little apartment.
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Yeah.
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And all I hear is.
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 that and so what i'm thinking like this could be an episode i think because i feel like it's not all across america but definitely la and new york have a problem with leaf blowers well okay no i think all of them by the way why don't they have leaf blowers in new zealand don't you guys have leaves you probably have more leaves than us
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 they're meant to do?
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They're meant to fall to the ground.
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Sometimes wind comes along and blows them away, and they decompose.
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SPEAKER_01
For some reason, in America, you see a leaf and you have this obsession with blowing it somewhere else.
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A lot of the time, I've been watching these leaf blowers, and sometimes they're not even putting them into a bin or anything.
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They just blow them somewhere else and walk away.
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SPEAKER_02
 It's so people don't slip and fall and get sued.
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SPEAKER_02
People are slipping on leaves.
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SPEAKER_01
We have so many trees.
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No one in New Zealand has ever slipped on a leaf.
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SPEAKER_01
They slip on banana peels.
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SPEAKER_02
Oh my God, cartoon characters you are.
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People are slipping on leaves.
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That's even worse.
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Okay.
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SPEAKER_02
Okay.
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SPEAKER_02
I actually then, you've raised enough questions that this would be a good episode.
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SPEAKER_01
Okay, great.
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SPEAKER_01
So leaf blowers is going to be one.
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Okay.
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Just quickly, because these are things I haven't settled on.
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Paper towels.
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SPEAKER_01
 And New Zealand will generally use a bit of cloth to maybe wipe something down.
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Here, it's endless rolls of paper towels.
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That's just our obsession with convenience.
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SPEAKER_01
 That will include paper plates, which is another topic I've got.
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You love eating off paper plates.
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I do love it.
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It's so easy.
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SPEAKER_02
It's bad though.
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SPEAKER_01
It's really bad.
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SPEAKER_01
Okay.
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Electric kettles.
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You hate electric kettles here.
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Every house I'm in, I'm turning on a flame.
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SPEAKER_01
I'm boiling it like I'm an old druid in some sort of medieval times or Lord of the Rings.
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SPEAKER_02
I'm so glad you brought this up because I tend to overspend, but I refuse.
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SPEAKER_02
And I drink tea every morning.
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SPEAKER_01
 You refuse to get an electric kettle?
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SPEAKER_01
Yes.
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SPEAKER_01
Okay, just quickly, and this is a baseball episode, but why?
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Do you know the hours of your life you're wasting for this thing to boil?
0
SPEAKER_02
Because it's like, it's doing the same thing.
0
SPEAKER_02
I can't muster up the 80 bucks for the kettle.
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SPEAKER_02
I'm buying you a kettle.
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SPEAKER_01
I'm buying you a nice kettle.
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SPEAKER_01
The temperature's important though.
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Certain teas should be brewed at certain temperatures.
0
SPEAKER_02
 That's because Rob, you're a tea connoisseur.
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SPEAKER_02
I can't get into that.
0
SPEAKER_02
I drink a nice English breakfast.
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SPEAKER_02
Is it part of the ritual of doing it, or is it purely... It is part of the ritual, but also, I mean, I will be honest, when I put the water on, I have this cute little enamel pot.
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SPEAKER_02
Well, because I did have a little teapot, but it burnt up.
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SPEAKER_02
So I have an enamel pot.
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SPEAKER_02
When I'm waiting for it to get hot, I am annoyed.
0
SPEAKER_01
 Okay, well, electric kettle will solve all that.
0
SPEAKER_01
In about 20 seconds, that water is boiling.
0
SPEAKER_02
I just can't do it.
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Do you have nice looking ones now?
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I'm going to sort you out.
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SPEAKER_01
I was staying with a friend when I first got here and I bought an electric kettle.
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When I left, they threw it in the bin.
0
SPEAKER_02
 They hated it.
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SPEAKER_01
They hated it.
0
SPEAKER_01
Okay, shower curtains.
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SPEAKER_01
Americans are obsessed with shower curtains.
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SPEAKER_01
Any hotel I've stayed in or a house, the house I'm in at the moment, the shower curtain is there.
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SPEAKER_01
It's always getting stuck to me.
0
SPEAKER_02
Oh my God, David, what are you talking about?
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SPEAKER_01
Why do you not have shower doors?
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SPEAKER_02
Oh, a lot of, you're so bougie.
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SPEAKER_02
A lot of like fancy places have shower doors.
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SPEAKER_02
 But if you can't, I'm showing my privilege.
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SPEAKER_01
So all I'm saying is in New Zealand, where I come from, I would argue and I may still be showing my privilege for sure.
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SPEAKER_01
But I definitely think most homes, whether they're a mansion or whether they're like a dingy flat, tend to have a door on every single bathroom, though.
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SPEAKER_01
 I've never encountered a shower curtain in New Zealand.
0
SPEAKER_02
What?
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SPEAKER_01
I came to America.
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SPEAKER_01
They're getting stuck to me.
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SPEAKER_01
They're getting moldy.
0
SPEAKER_01
I don't know what's going on.
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SPEAKER_01
That's because you've got to replace them.
0
SPEAKER_01
Those are liners.
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SPEAKER_01
In a hotel, I'm like, how many bodies have been stuck on this thing?
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SPEAKER_02
Oh my God.
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SPEAKER_02
I don't love it in a hotel.
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SPEAKER_02
But yeah, you've got to replace the liner and also let it dry out.
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SPEAKER_02
And why is it getting stuck to you?
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SPEAKER_01
I have a squeegee in my shower.
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SPEAKER_01
I'm obsessed with cleanliness.
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SPEAKER_01
So I squeegee down the
1
SPEAKER_04
 walls of the shower and I squeegee down the shower curtain because I just cannot gather moisture.
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SPEAKER_08
Okay.
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SPEAKER_08
I have a shower curtain that I love very, I love it.
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SPEAKER_08
It's never getting stuck to me, but I would say Rob in your primary bath, do you have a shower curtain or a door?
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SPEAKER_05
We have a curtain.
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SPEAKER_04
Americans love the curtain.
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SPEAKER_04
I think it's because you love the pretty patterns you put on them.
1
SPEAKER_08
 Oh, I mean, I do love the pretty pattern on mine.
1
SPEAKER_08
Shout out Nikki Kehoe if you want a good shower curtain.
1
SPEAKER_08
But it's not that, it's a cost thing.
1
SPEAKER_05
Okay, I really am showing my... And it's if you want a bath that can then be a shower.
1
SPEAKER_05
You can't put a door on a bath like that.
1
SPEAKER_04
Exactly.
1
SPEAKER_04
I have an issue when I'm surrounded by a shower curtain that I can't see who's coming.
1
SPEAKER_04
 Like, in Psycho, there's a reason she gets murdered, because she's got a shower curtain.
1
SPEAKER_08
Don't say that to me!
1
SPEAKER_04
If I have a clear door, I can see who's approaching, and I can get ready to fight.
1
SPEAKER_04
And then what are you going to do?
1
SPEAKER_04
So, shower curtain's going to be an episode.
1
SPEAKER_04
Energy drinks, any service station I walk into.
1
SPEAKER_04
That's a great one.
1
SPEAKER_04
Okay, energy drinks, great.
1
SPEAKER_04
Um, bang.
1
SPEAKER_04
What's the other one?
1
SPEAKER_04
There's some big ones.
1
SPEAKER_04
 And there's no paid parental leave in America.
1
SPEAKER_04
I'm curious about that.
1
SPEAKER_04
And I still need to sort out an episode I think about specifically about medical insurance, because I still don't understand it.
1
SPEAKER_04
Whenever I try and go to a doctor, because I've got the type of insurance that you can't pick where you go, I can never go.
1
SPEAKER_04
So I end up going to Hollywood Urgent Care because it's a hundred dollars and they just see you straight away.
1
SPEAKER_08
Wait, didn't we do an episode on healthcare?
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah, but I want to delve more into the actual like... Oh, the insurance details?
1
SPEAKER_04
The insurance, because it's so confusing.
1
SPEAKER_08
 Yeah, I'm starting to panic because now at month eight and I haven't worked in SAG yet this year, so there's a good chance... You need to sort that out.
1
SPEAKER_04
I know I'm gonna have to get a different entrance.
1
SPEAKER_04
I got a weird rash on my lower leg on the weekend and I was like, what is this?
1
SPEAKER_04
It just popped up.
1
SPEAKER_04
Did you shave?
1
SPEAKER_04
I'm not gonna show you.
1
SPEAKER_08
Did you shave?
1
SPEAKER_04
Not shaving.
1
SPEAKER_04
No, that's the thing.
1
SPEAKER_04
It just appeared.
1
SPEAKER_04
 That's what I thought.
1
SPEAKER_04
So I'm like, I have to look at this.
1
SPEAKER_04
So instantly went on to my little insurance thing.
1
SPEAKER_04
I pay about $400 a month for this thing.
1
SPEAKER_04
Couldn't find any GP on a Saturday that would see me under that insurance care.
1
SPEAKER_04
So off to Hollywood Urgent Care, which is where I went when I had strep throat.
1
SPEAKER_04
So I went back there.
1
SPEAKER_04
I'm back.
1
SPEAKER_04
And it's always surrounded by all sorts of people in there.
1
SPEAKER_04
 So I went in, that woman came in, in like a full big mask and rubber gloves, because she was worried about the pox.
1
SPEAKER_04
And she looked a bit worried.
1
SPEAKER_04
Another doctor came in and looked in full gear.
1
SPEAKER_04
10 minute consultation.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's not monkey pox.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's fine.
1
SPEAKER_04
What is it?
1
SPEAKER_04
They looked at it.
1
SPEAKER_04
They did all the things.
1
SPEAKER_04
They're like, it's no eczema.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's not syphilis.
1
SPEAKER_04
I was like, that's great.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's just a heat rash because it's so hot.
1
SPEAKER_08
Oh, yeah.
1
SPEAKER_08
And you've been walking a lot and probably your shorts are doing it.
1
SPEAKER_04
Shorts are probably rubbing away.
1
SPEAKER_08
 Okay.
1
SPEAKER_08
This is why you need to get back into your Viore.
1
SPEAKER_08
Exactly.
1
SPEAKER_08
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_04
I've got to get into those shorts.
1
SPEAKER_04
They're not going to rub.
1
SPEAKER_04
All right.
1
SPEAKER_08
Okay.
1
SPEAKER_08
Back to baseball, but that was a really fun detour.
1
SPEAKER_04
Onto baseball.
1
SPEAKER_04
So I went with Rob on this little boy's trip to San Francisco to see a game.
1
SPEAKER_04
It was the Chicago White Sox versus the San Francisco Giants.
1
SPEAKER_08
This is exciting because Rob had somebody to root for.
1
SPEAKER_04
 Oh, Rob was so excited.
1
SPEAKER_04
Anyway, sort of before the game started, I sort of wandered around the arena and talked to people about what they were doing there and how I could survive.
1
SPEAKER_04
And this is what people had to say.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's a stadium.
1
SPEAKER_04
What did I say?
1
SPEAKER_04
Arena.
1
SPEAKER_04
Oh, it's a stadium.
1
SPEAKER_04
Oh shit, I didn't even catch that.
1
SPEAKER_04
Oh, I love that.
1
SPEAKER_04
This is great.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's going to be through this whole episode.
1
SPEAKER_04
Is baseball the best American sport, would you say?
1
SPEAKER_02
It's opinion based.
1
SPEAKER_02
I like baseball.
1
SPEAKER_02
I've been born and raised to love baseball.
1
SPEAKER_01
 This is a beautiful stadium.
1
SPEAKER_01
I love the atmosphere, and I love to be here.
1
SPEAKER_01
I love baseball, but my nieces and nephews, they hate baseball.
1
SPEAKER_01
It's too long.
1
SPEAKER_01
It's too long.
1
SPEAKER_01
The main thing is there's no clock compared, let's say, like basketball or football.
1
SPEAKER_00
I would say it's my favorite, probably because it's my wife's favorite, too.
1
SPEAKER_00
So we get to go to do it together.
1
SPEAKER_00
We've probably been at least 15 games just this year.
1
SPEAKER_00
Any advice for first game?
1
SPEAKER_00
Like, what should I eat?
1
SPEAKER_00
What should I drink?
1
SPEAKER_00
 Well, you talking to the big guy right here, so let me tell you about food.
1
SPEAKER_00
My favorite is the San Francisco cheesesteak sandwich, A+.
1
SPEAKER_00
It will put a smile on your face when you see it.
1
SPEAKER_00
It'll put a smile on your face when you complete it.
1
SPEAKER_04
 You sort of appear to be selling autographed balls and bats here.
1
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, so basically just set up and sell autographed memorabilia, which is really cool.
1
SPEAKER_04
Is it kind of like a bidding system?
1
SPEAKER_04
Do I come in here and like put down a bid?
1
SPEAKER_02
We have an auction till the end of the 4th and after the end of the 4th we have a storefront after that.
1
SPEAKER_02
And we just sell everything on the table basically.
1
SPEAKER_04
 What's like the highest an autograph has gone for in your experience?
1
SPEAKER_02
I've sold, so that jersey back there, it's a Shohei Otani signed jersey.
1
SPEAKER_02
We sell that for $2,100.
1
SPEAKER_02
And we sell it all the time too, which is pretty crazy.
1
SPEAKER_02
Like I just sold a glove that was $1,300.
1
SPEAKER_04
Any advice for enjoying my first baseball game?
1
SPEAKER_04
I hear it's they're quite long games.
1
SPEAKER_02
Have garlic fries.
1
SPEAKER_02
Do you agree on the garlic fries, sir?
1
SPEAKER_04
And beer.
1
SPEAKER_04
 So what have you got in there?
1
SPEAKER_04
In New Zealand, we'd call this a chili bin, but I think you'd call it a Kool-Aid here.
1
SPEAKER_03
We've got a bobble head.
1
SPEAKER_03
We have a fruit bowl.
1
SPEAKER_05
Two deli-style sandwiches.
1
SPEAKER_03
This is a glove with two oranges in it, just in case there's a home run coming my way and I need to catch it.
1
SPEAKER_03
This is really lush, what you've got in here.
1
SPEAKER_03
It is very nice.
1
SPEAKER_07
You're gonna have a great time.
1
SPEAKER_07
It'll fly by, don't worry.
1
SPEAKER_07
A beer and a hot dog, you'll be all good.
1
SPEAKER_07
The nuts, get the candy nuts.
1
SPEAKER_07
Those are the best.
1
SPEAKER_04
 My takeaway was that eating is just as important as the game.
1
SPEAKER_08
It is, it's kind of like ding, ding, ding, the Superbowl.
1
SPEAKER_08
Same thing, like food is as important.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's so funny to me because sport in my mind is equated with health and wellbeing.
1
SPEAKER_04
You're out there running, you love sport, but the other side to sport is you're just sitting and eating and drinking and like celebrating that side of things.
1
SPEAKER_04
And I'm not judging that, they're just very different worlds.
1
SPEAKER_04
It's like there's fit people on the field and then everyone watching
1
SPEAKER_08
 Baseball is a little more.
1
SPEAKER_04
That's an interesting thing.
1
SPEAKER_04
And I get into this because it's the one sport where you don't necessarily have to be fully in shape.
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_04
There are these all sorts of body types out there on the field.
1
SPEAKER_08
 So I was just on my way back from New York and on my way home, Waze, which I don't normally take.
1
SPEAKER_08
Ooh, maybe that could be an episode, Waze.
1
SPEAKER_04
What's that?
1
SPEAKER_08
It's a maps app.
1
SPEAKER_04
Oh, okay.
1
SPEAKER_04
And you use that instead of Google Maps.
1
SPEAKER_08
A lot of people do.
1
SPEAKER_08
I don't use it, but most people do.
1
SPEAKER_08
They think it's the fastest one, but it sometimes takes you like really, really weird places.
1
SPEAKER_08
Anyway.
1
SPEAKER_04
I'm writing that down.
1
SPEAKER_04
That's another episode.
1
SPEAKER_08
 So it took us by Dodger Stadium to come home.
1
SPEAKER_08
The first thing my friend Callie said was, they have a gluten-free Dodger dog.
1
SPEAKER_08
I know, she has celiac.
1
SPEAKER_08
So it was like, the first thing when you drive past the stadium is about the food.
1
SPEAKER_04
 Wow.
1
SPEAKER_04
That's the first thing that jumps out.
1
SPEAKER_08
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_04
I mean, there was a lot of food there.
1
SPEAKER_04
I ate a lot of food and I think Rob and I, we both ate a lot, didn't we?
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah, we did.
1
SPEAKER_08
What'd you get?
1
SPEAKER_04
We got garlic fries or Rob got them and I stole them.
1
SPEAKER_04
I really liked the hot dogs.
1
SPEAKER_04
I got one horrible one that was like pre-wrapped awful.
1
SPEAKER_04
Then I found another one which was freshly cooked and that was a complete delight.
1
SPEAKER_08
 Interesting, just a different stand was serving a different type.
1
SPEAKER_04
You gotta look around, you gotta walk around.
1
SPEAKER_04
And I did get a bit bored of some of the games and so I did do a lot of walking.
1
SPEAKER_04
But maybe we should just crack into a little documentary because I like to think that I learned something and maybe can teach you something about baseball.
1
SPEAKER_08
I'd love to hear it.
1
SPEAKER_04
 I'm about to watch my first ever baseball game, and I've already messed it up.
1
SPEAKER_04
I was struggling so much with a footlong hot dog in this recording gear, I temporarily forgot I had to stand up when the anthem started.
1
SPEAKER_04
Realising my mistake, I stood up before making mistake number two.
1
SPEAKER_04
My hands still full, I forgot to take my hat off for about the first 20 seconds of the anthem.
1
SPEAKER_04
Remove my passport and put me back on the boat.
1
SPEAKER_04
I'm a bad American.
1
SPEAKER_04
 Earlier that day, I'd arrived in San Francisco's Oracle Park with my producer Rob.
1
SPEAKER_04
The stadium's right by the ocean, and seats just over 42,000 people.
1
SPEAKER_04
Rob is a giant baseball fan, so unlike me, knows this game inside out.
1
SPEAKER_04
We'd come to the home of the San Francisco Giants as they prepared to take on the Chicago White Sox.
1
SPEAKER_04
I was here to get schooled in baseball.
1
SPEAKER_04
 How are you feeling right now, David?
1
SPEAKER_04
I just don't like it when I don't know what's about to happen, and it feels like things are about to happen that I don't know about.
1
SPEAKER_05
Yeah, it's like going to the dentist and seeing all those utensils on the tray.
1
SPEAKER_04
I see a bat, I see just a lot of gear, which is concerning.
1
SPEAKER_04
I meet the man who's about to be my teacher.
1
SPEAKER_04
My name's Kai Correa, and I'm the bench coach here for the San Francisco Giants.
1
SPEAKER_04
What does it mean to be a bench coach?
1
SPEAKER_04
Are there different sorts of coaches?
1
SPEAKER_06
 Yeah, so every staff in the major leagues has a variety of assistant coaches that assist the manager.
1
SPEAKER_06
You can have hitting coaches, you can have pitching coaches, you can have a bullpen coach, the bench coach just kind of assists the manager in-game with strategy, does some day-to-day scheduling, and then my area of expertise or what I coach primarily is defense.
1
SPEAKER_06
Alright, so head over there.
1
SPEAKER_04
Kai gestures to the field and hands me a glove before firing up what I think is a ball machine.
1
SPEAKER_04
He says he's going to shoot me some ground balls.
2
SPEAKER_00
 and whatever the heck ground balls are.
2
SPEAKER_00
I'm standing about 20 metres away, it's about 65 feet, and these very hard baseballs are hurtling towards me.
2
SPEAKER_00
I thought having them rolling along the ground would make it easier, but I'm still scared of them.
2
SPEAKER_03
 Alright, get lower, get lower.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I'm ready.
2
SPEAKER_03
Here we go.
2
SPEAKER_03
Spread your feet out.
2
SPEAKER_03
Spread your feet out wide.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, they're wide.
2
SPEAKER_00
Here we go.
2
SPEAKER_00
Jesus.
2
SPEAKER_00
The reaction times are very slow, as you may have noticed.
2
SPEAKER_00
I'm terrible and flummoxed.
2
SPEAKER_00
If it does hit you, what's the worst thing a bullet can do to you?
2
SPEAKER_00
It could break your body.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, you could break a bone or have a severe bruise.
2
SPEAKER_00
 It's at this point Kai reveals he's just been hitting me foam balls.
2
SPEAKER_00
I want to sink into the ground.
2
SPEAKER_00
Bury me right here now, under that pitching mound.
2
SPEAKER_00
Make it quick.
2
SPEAKER_00
Producer Rob steps in.
2
SPEAKER_00
He actually manages to catch some balls.
2
SPEAKER_00
Well, all of the balls to be precise.
2
SPEAKER_00
What do you think of Rob's skill level from the short amount of time you've spent with him?
2
SPEAKER_03
Well I think it's all about perspective and relative to you, he's quite the fielder.
2
SPEAKER_03
 If you could describe your coaching style, what's your vibe?
2
SPEAKER_03
My vibe is pretty attention to detail and preparation driven.
2
SPEAKER_03
So it's a lot about consuming information and film ahead of time and then giving it to the players in the form of a resource.
2
SPEAKER_03
 The fun thing about professional baseball, unlike other professional sports, is there are 162 games spread out over the course of 180 nights.
2
SPEAKER_03
And so each one is important, and each one feels like there's some substantive gravity to them.
2
SPEAKER_03
But in actuality, good baseball teams are about performing over time in a larger sample size.
2
SPEAKER_00
 I feel like when you compare it with football, which is barely any games a year in comparison, you guys are much less lazy than football.
2
SPEAKER_00
Like, you're busy.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, I'm not sure if I would use the word lazy, but they play 16 games over the course of their season, right?
2
SPEAKER_03
So we play 10 times more games.
2
SPEAKER_03
And so 10 games are equivalent to one game in regards to the impact on the total winning percentage.
2
SPEAKER_00
 I suppose football involves a lot more collisions, so it's probably important football players aren't playing 162 games a year.
2
SPEAKER_00
That's not to say there aren't injuries in baseball as well.
2
SPEAKER_00
What's the most horrific thing you've seen out there on the field?
2
SPEAKER_03
The toughest thing is when you're standing in the dugout and you watch two players collide, running full speed, because they can't see each other, they're focused on the ball, and it's like a car accident and you know it's going to happen.
2
SPEAKER_03
 Right from afar you can see their trajectories lining up, and then bingo.
2
SPEAKER_03
So that's the worst thing that can happen for me out here.
2
SPEAKER_00
I type horrific baseball collisions into Google, and find that yeah, there are a lot of horrific baseball collisions.
2
SPEAKER_00
When your eyes are focused on the sky while you sprint your heart out, disasters are bound to happen.
2
SPEAKER_00
 Something I find sort of amazing about baseball is how players are always getting better.
2
SPEAKER_00
That's partly down to training, but it's also down to data.
2
SPEAKER_03
 down to each decision that is made in a game.
2
SPEAKER_03
And so I think if you imagine baseball as continuous movement in regard to strategy, it becomes more exciting.
2
SPEAKER_03
And then I think baseball is an amazing social sport.
2
SPEAKER_03
It allows for discussion and argument and second-guessing between action.
2
SPEAKER_03
That is also what makes it great to be consumed by a fan.
2
SPEAKER_00
 The other thing I associate baseball with is drama.
2
SPEAKER_00
I feel like baseball is the sport where entire teams get furious, all storming the field at once to scream and punch and shout.
2
SPEAKER_00
I've seen videos of coaches yelling at each other on the field, so close it's like they're about to kiss.
2
SPEAKER_03
 because you have the element of martial arts, one man versus another, a man with a stick versus a man with a ball, right?
2
SPEAKER_03
The collision, the head-to-head, the crescendo of the music and the crowd, the time in between.
2
SPEAKER_03
So that drama makes it really theatric.
2
SPEAKER_00
The other thing, like speaking of drama, I feel like of any sports I've watched, people lose it.
2
SPEAKER_00
If they get angry and stuff, people are down here, I feel like they're throwing things onto the field.
2
SPEAKER_00
It gets chaotic.
2
SPEAKER_03
Without question, because when you think about basketball or football, you can say, hey, you dropped that one, throw it to me again, throw it to me next time.
2
SPEAKER_03
 Hey, I missed that shot, but I'm going to have an opportunity of redemption.
2
SPEAKER_03
That redemption is within my control.
2
SPEAKER_03
A mistake in baseball, a bad call, a missed catch, a strikeout, a poor pitch doesn't automatically have immediate redemption, right?
2
SPEAKER_03
You might wait for the ball to come to you again.
2
SPEAKER_03
You have to wait eight batters for your spot to come.
2
SPEAKER_03
So the gravity of each of those moments seems so much more severe because you can't guarantee you're going to have an opportunity to redeem yourself.
2
SPEAKER_00
 Before Kai leaves me to coach some actual baseball players who'll play tonight, he makes me stand with a bat while he pitches to me.
2
SPEAKER_00
I'm not wearing any protective gear, so he pitches the ball, kindly, a few meters to my right.
2
SPEAKER_00
It's still terrifying.
2
SPEAKER_00
I truly hate it.
2
SPEAKER_00
 What's the fastest someone would, um, I was about to say bowl, but what's the fastest someone would pitch?
2
SPEAKER_03
Well, we've got a guy on our team named Camilo Duval or closer and he's throwing the ball as high as 103 miles per hour.
2
SPEAKER_03
So I was probably throwing it to you right there, 75 miles per hour.
2
SPEAKER_03
So you're talking about 28 miles per hour harder than that.
2
SPEAKER_03
So over 25% harder than I just threw it to you.
2
SPEAKER_00
I guess in cricket, bowling speeds are sort of similar to baseball speeds.
2
SPEAKER_00
A cricket ball can get up to a hundred miles per hour easily enough.
2
SPEAKER_00
 And I suppose that makes sense when you remember cricket and baseball all kinda came from the same place.
2
SPEAKER_00
All modern bat and ball games evolving out of early folk games in the UK.
2
SPEAKER_00
As the games developed, cricket ended up being a much longer game than baseball.
2
SPEAKER_00
Cricket games can range from six hours to multiple days.
2
SPEAKER_00
 By the mid-18th century, a game popped up in the south of England that involved pitching a ball and then running a circuit of bases.
2
SPEAKER_00
This used to be called goalball, roundball, and my favourite, fetch-catch.
2
SPEAKER_00
Eventually, as things were refined, fetch-catch became baseball.
2
SPEAKER_00
But yeah, cricket came first, the word first appearing in the year 1550.
2
SPEAKER_00
The word baseball was first recorded 150 years later, in the year 1700.
2
SPEAKER_00
 Do you think cricket will ever take off in the United States, or is it just destined to fail?
2
SPEAKER_03
I never say never, but I think the similarities to baseball are one of the limiting factors.
2
SPEAKER_03
In the same way that countries that are dominated by cricket, baseball hasn't taken off.
2
SPEAKER_00
 Before I leave Kai, there's one final humiliation.
2
SPEAKER_00
I'd put my microphone down, but alas, it picked things up anyway.
2
SPEAKER_00
What's your favourite baseball film?
2
SPEAKER_00
Favourite baseball?
2
SPEAKER_00
Well, I watched Friday Night Lights.
2
SPEAKER_00
It's like a series.
2
SPEAKER_00
But that's football.
2
SPEAKER_00
Oh, that's football?
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_00
Oh yeah, fuck.
2
SPEAKER_00
Ugh.
2
SPEAKER_00
You fetch the coffin.
2
SPEAKER_00
I'll start digging.
2
SPEAKER_01
 David!
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_01
That's so embarrassing.
2
SPEAKER_00
I was really embarrassed.
2
SPEAKER_00
I'd kind of, they knew that I didn't know a lot, obviously, and I'd already embarrassed myself with no skill, but then to also not even know what a TV show is.
2
SPEAKER_01
 You barely even knew Friday Night Lights was about football.
2
SPEAKER_01
I'm surprised that's now your, like, go-to show.
2
SPEAKER_00
I think anyone mentions, like, your favorite sports show, I'm like, Friday Night Lights.
2
SPEAKER_01
Wait a minute.
2
SPEAKER_01
I can't believe it's taken me this long to even bring this up, and I'm so disappointed.
2
SPEAKER_01
Why didn't you say Moneyball?
2
SPEAKER_00
I haven't seen Moneyball.
2
SPEAKER_02
 You cut it out, but you went on about how cinematic baseball was for a little while, and then you gave Friday Night Lights as your example.
2
SPEAKER_00
I try and fit in.
2
SPEAKER_00
That's the trouble with this show.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don't know anything.
2
SPEAKER_00
That's the problem.
2
SPEAKER_00
I'm thrown in.
2
SPEAKER_00
I'm flummoxed.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don't know what's happening.
2
SPEAKER_00
I'm trying to redeem myself in a small way.
2
SPEAKER_01
 Okay, do yourself a huge favor and watch Moneyball.
2
SPEAKER_01
It has Brad Pitt, Chris Pratt.
2
SPEAKER_01
I would have loved if you would have interviewed one of those two people for this, because they have a lot of insight.
2
SPEAKER_01
I saw on the home edit, Chris Pratt still has his baseball bat from that movie.
2
SPEAKER_00
It's about the statistics, isn't it?
2
SPEAKER_00
And the analysis.
2
SPEAKER_01
And the math of it.
2
SPEAKER_01
 It is such a good movie.
2
SPEAKER_01
I watched it like 42 times in the last two months.
2
SPEAKER_00
I promise I'm going to watch that film.
2
SPEAKER_00
I should have watched it before I did this.
2
SPEAKER_01
You really should have.
2
SPEAKER_01
It would have given you a flittery feeling about baseball.
2
SPEAKER_00
I mean, I felt lucky going because even though I struggled to get enthusiastic, I had Rob by my side the whole time.
2
SPEAKER_01
Oh, but Rob's a rascal.
2
SPEAKER_01
I'm surprised he didn't whisper in your ear, Friday night lights.
2
SPEAKER_00
No, he's always out to embarrass me all the time.
2
SPEAKER_00
That's all he does.
2
SPEAKER_01
 Also, I don't like that you keep reiterating that it's a British sport.
2
SPEAKER_01
It's not.
2
SPEAKER_01
The only sport that's British is Quidditch.
2
SPEAKER_00
Look, all I'm going to say is the first sport where they sort of start running around bases was in the UK.
2
SPEAKER_01
Whatever.
2
SPEAKER_00
And it was called fetch catch, which I wish they had kept.
2
SPEAKER_01
 Also, I sang the national anthem at a Braves game three times with my chorus.
2
SPEAKER_00
On the field?
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_00
Wow.
2
SPEAKER_00
Can you just talk me through that experience?
2
SPEAKER_00
Were you nervous?
2
SPEAKER_00
How was it looking out and seeing all those people?
2
SPEAKER_01
It was incredible.
2
SPEAKER_01
I mean, I was with my whole middle school.
3
SPEAKER_01
 You can sort of hide in the group a little bit.
3
SPEAKER_02
I lip synced a lot in that chorus because I would get embarrassed and scared.
3
SPEAKER_02
I was an alto, which is the deepest sound.
3
SPEAKER_01
Right.
3
SPEAKER_02
And that is embarrassing for a little girl.
3
SPEAKER_01
Oh, you're meant to be angelic high.
3
SPEAKER_01
Exactly.
3
SPEAKER_01
No, you would have owned it.
3
SPEAKER_01
You would have been great.
3
SPEAKER_02
 Well, I didn't.
3
SPEAKER_02
I just mouthed it.
3
SPEAKER_02
Anyway, it was really exciting.
3
SPEAKER_02
I remember on our way there, I did it sixth grade, seventh grade and eighth grade.
3
SPEAKER_02
We were running late and I was screaming at my dad.
3
SPEAKER_02
I was just screaming.
3
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, we're going to be late.
3
SPEAKER_02
I'm going to miss it.
3
SPEAKER_02
Oh my God.
3
SPEAKER_02
I was so panicked, but I made it and it was a really exciting thing.
3
SPEAKER_02
It felt special.
3
SPEAKER_02
It felt like I was
3
SPEAKER_02
 really American, you know?
3
SPEAKER_01
Because the whole stadium's silent, just listening, aren't they?
3
SPEAKER_01
And then that huge eruption of clapping at the end.
3
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_02
Wow.
3
SPEAKER_02
Crackerjacks.
3
SPEAKER_02
That's so cool.
3
SPEAKER_01
Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird.
3
SPEAKER_01
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors.
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It turned up in the post, I unfurled it, and I've been sleeping on it and sleeping well ever since.
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 It's annoying how much time we spend sleeping, because I just want to be out there living.
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And going back to the Duffer Brothers again, I don't know how to create a fictional bit of storytelling because I only work in documentary, but I feel in starting my Duffer Brothers class, I feel like I'm beginning to finally get an indication of how you actually create something like Stranger Things, which I never thought I would get to do.
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SPEAKER_01
 I hope I get to sing the national anthem on a field sometime while I live here.
3
SPEAKER_02
Do you want to do it right now?
3
SPEAKER_01
Absolutely not.
3
SPEAKER_01
I think it's time to get back into this documentary.
3
SPEAKER_01
I've got so much more to learn.
3
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_01
 Players are starting to arrive.
3
SPEAKER_01
I meet up with Logan Webb, who claims he's a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants.
3
SPEAKER_01
I'm a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants.
3
SPEAKER_01
I look to Rob for confirmation.
3
SPEAKER_01
He nods.
3
SPEAKER_01
This is my man.
3
SPEAKER_01
Logan is only 25, a spring chicken.
3
SPEAKER_01
I always assume any athlete is at least in their 30s.
3
SPEAKER_01
But of course, they're always way younger than me.
3
SPEAKER_00
Are the Giants a good team?
3
SPEAKER_00
 Yes, they are.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, we're a good team.
3
SPEAKER_01
Logan got drafted eight years ago and made his Major League debut in 2019.
3
SPEAKER_01
He's now a starting pitcher for the Giants.
3
SPEAKER_01
 What's it like to get drafted?
3
SPEAKER_01
Is that like, oh, yes, finally, this is it, this is the moment?
3
SPEAKER_00
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
3
SPEAKER_00
For me, it was my high school graduation.
3
SPEAKER_00
That's insane.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it was a great day and I was just super excited.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it was like, fuck yeah, you know what I mean?
3
SPEAKER_01
No, I don't know what you mean, but I kind of feel like I sort of grasp it slightly.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
3
SPEAKER_01
 It's exactly what fuck yeah means, you know what I mean?
3
SPEAKER_01
How did you know that you were a good... Is it throwing or pitching?
3
SPEAKER_01
What do you call it?
3
SPEAKER_01
Pitching.
3
SPEAKER_01
Pitching.
3
SPEAKER_01
How did you know you were a good pitcher?
3
SPEAKER_00
When I was young, I just played baseball and my arm was always pretty good.
3
SPEAKER_00
So usually when you're younger and the coaches see that a kid has a good arm, they'll just kind of say, hey, try out pitching.
3
SPEAKER_01
 When I was at school, I never had a coach tell me anything.
3
SPEAKER_01
I guess mostly I was trying to avoid doing physical education at all.
3
SPEAKER_01
Or whatever you call it here in America.
3
SPEAKER_01
Gym class or something.
3
SPEAKER_01
 I always found it quite shocking.
3
SPEAKER_01
One second you're in school uniform sitting at a desk writing notes, then for one hour a day you're thrown into these tiny shorts and a t-shirt and sent out to engage in physical battle with your fellow students.
3
SPEAKER_01
Then after that you cover up all your body odour with some foul deodorant, change back into your uniform and go back to maths class, or maybe take some history.
3
SPEAKER_01
Logan says that part of the reason baseball players are pitching harder and hitting faster is that kids are getting into sport way earlier now.
3
SPEAKER_00
 Kids at younger ages are learning the right mechanics to throw.
3
SPEAKER_00
And also I think kids are getting into weight rooms now at the age of 12, whereas I don't think people were doing that back then.
3
SPEAKER_01
I wasn't doing that at 12, I can assure you of that.
3
SPEAKER_00
 I wasn't even doing that at 12.
3
SPEAKER_00
I think I started lifting weights when I was like 15 and I know where I work out now.
3
SPEAKER_00
I got like 12 year olds in there and they're talking shit to me and like calling me out, you know, throwing as hard as me.
3
SPEAKER_00
I'm like, what the fuck?
3
SPEAKER_01
 It's like bullying you at the gym.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, they're like, you know, you're 25 years old, I'm 12 and I throw as hard as you do.
3
SPEAKER_00
This is bullshit.
3
SPEAKER_01
It strikes me that Logan's life is all about pitching.
3
SPEAKER_01
It's his one big thing.
3
SPEAKER_01
He tells me that even if he wanted to bat, it's no longer even allowed.
3
SPEAKER_01
Not just him, apparently in professional baseball, pitchers can't bat anymore.
3
SPEAKER_00
 Unfortunately, no.
3
SPEAKER_00
We got the hit last year, but this year we're not.
3
SPEAKER_00
They took it out.
3
SPEAKER_01
They took it out of the rules or something?
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, so there's a, it's called a designated hitter.
3
SPEAKER_00
He hits for the pitchers now, instead of the pitchers hitting for themselves.
3
SPEAKER_00
Why did they change the rule?
3
SPEAKER_00
 because pitchers were not good at hitting.
3
SPEAKER_00
It was just a disaster up there.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yes, but that was the most fun, though.
3
SPEAKER_00
It's like if a pitcher went up there and they got like a base hit or a home run, it was like, holy shit, the crowd would go crazy.
3
SPEAKER_00
But they took that away, unfortunately.
3
SPEAKER_00
So the day I pitch,
3
SPEAKER_00
 I do the exact same thing at the exact same time, every single time.
3
SPEAKER_00
I have three Red Bulls the day I pitch.
3
SPEAKER_00
So, like, right when I get to the field, I have a Red Bull.
3
SPEAKER_00
Two hours before the game, I have another Red Bull.
3
SPEAKER_00
And an hour before the game, I have another Red Bull.
3
SPEAKER_00
That's got a lot of caffeine in the body.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it's terrible for me, but it makes me feel better.
3
SPEAKER_00
 What else are you doing?
3
SPEAKER_00
So my warm-ups.
3
SPEAKER_00
I do the exact same thing in the exact same order.
3
SPEAKER_00
I have to put my right shoe on first before I have my left shoe.
3
SPEAKER_01
It's really stupid, honestly, but... I'm not OCD, but I have certain OCD tendencies.
3
SPEAKER_01
I totally get the idea of doing things in a certain way.
3
SPEAKER_01
It's all psychological for your own brain.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, and it's only one day a week that I do it.
3
SPEAKER_00
It's the day I pitch.
3
SPEAKER_00
Every other day, I'm a total slob.
3
SPEAKER_01
 Looking at him, he's not a total slob.
3
SPEAKER_01
He seems pretty fit.
3
SPEAKER_01
But I get to thinking about other players I've seen, and I realise baseball is a sport where you can sort of be any shape and size.
3
SPEAKER_01
It doesn't really seem to matter.
3
SPEAKER_00
You could be any size.
3
SPEAKER_00
And you could be a great baseball player.
3
SPEAKER_00
You could be 5 foot 6.
3
SPEAKER_00
You could be 6 foot 10.
3
SPEAKER_00
You could be 300 pounds.
3
SPEAKER_00
You could be 150 pounds.
3
SPEAKER_01
 I don't know if you caught that just then.
3
SPEAKER_01
It was a very loud, angry swear word drifting in from the fields where some White Sox players had been warming up.
3
SPEAKER_00
I've heard about this guy.
3
SPEAKER_00
What's his name?
3
SPEAKER_00
Liam Hendricks.
3
SPEAKER_00
Actually, he's from Australia and he cusses a lot.
3
SPEAKER_01
We like to swear in New Zealand and Australia.
3
SPEAKER_01
There's a lot of C words.
3
SPEAKER_01
Which is a word you can't use here in America like you do back home.
3
SPEAKER_01
That's why I wasn't saying it.
3
SPEAKER_01
 So a quick deviation here.
3
SPEAKER_01
I've discovered that in America there aren't many words more offensive than the C word.
3
SPEAKER_01
C it's beeped.
3
SPEAKER_01
Point proven.
3
SPEAKER_01
This is a confusing transition to make, because back in New Zealand, and next door in Australia where Liam Hendrix is from,
4
SPEAKER_02
 It's a lot less offensive.
4
SPEAKER_02
I mean, sure, it can be an insult.
4
SPEAKER_02
It all depends on the pronunciation.
4
SPEAKER_02
But to call someone a good c*** is a term of endearment.
4
SPEAKER_02
An honour.
4
SPEAKER_02
That phrase just doesn't work the same here.
4
SPEAKER_02
Okay, back to the interview.
4
SPEAKER_02
The screams on the field are too distracting.
4
SPEAKER_02
 I say a big thanks to Logan and follow the screaming.
4
SPEAKER_02
The screams have actually now stopped by the time I get there, but I finally am Hendrix leaning on a fence next to the field.
4
SPEAKER_02
Weirdly, the man who was screaming fuck and cunt earlier seems very, very calm.
4
SPEAKER_02
 You seem very relaxed and very chilled out.
4
SPEAKER_02
It's good to see.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I mean, there's no point in stressing about it.
4
SPEAKER_00
You can't change anything.
4
SPEAKER_00
You're not going to be able to change a damn thing if you're stressed.
4
SPEAKER_00
So you may as well just hang out and do what you can.
4
SPEAKER_02
As a New Zealander, I don't think I've ever said this before, but hearing this Australian accent while in America is like finding a beautiful watering hole in the middle of a desert.
4
SPEAKER_02
It's wonderful.
4
SPEAKER_02
It's music to my ears, chapstick to my dry lips, a cold beer after a hard day.
4
SPEAKER_00
 Do you have any emotions you go through before a game?
4
SPEAKER_00
Rage, generally.
4
SPEAKER_00
I mean, if anyone has seen me pitch, I just scream a lot.
4
SPEAKER_02
The best thing, when I was sitting over here doing an interview before, it was so wonderful to hear the C-word just rolling across.
4
SPEAKER_00
 Yeah, I can't whip that out because it's not normal.
4
SPEAKER_02
It's the worst worging in South America, but as you know, it's also like one of the terms of a wonderful endearment.
4
SPEAKER_00
It's determined.
4
SPEAKER_00
It all ends up as the pronunciation of the tea.
4
SPEAKER_00
Soft tea, good.
4
SPEAKER_00
Hard tea, bad.
4
SPEAKER_00
Anyone who's Australian or New Zealand or British or anything like that will understand that one.
4
SPEAKER_02
 Liam retreats off the field and into the bowels of the stadium.
4
SPEAKER_02
Me and Rob follow him.
4
SPEAKER_02
I think this is genuinely the first time I've really enjoyed talking to a sports player before.
4
SPEAKER_02
I feel like you are kind of an outsider in this deeply American sport.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it's a different vibe.
4
SPEAKER_00
I got into this pretty much the same way that most kids from where we come from get into it, and cricket's too long.
4
SPEAKER_00
 T-Ball on Saturdays was 30 minutes and cricket was about six hours.
4
SPEAKER_00
So that was not the reason, because I keep getting yelled at by my mom for saying that reason.
4
SPEAKER_00
But no, we followed a friend group into T-Ball and we kind of just stuck with it.
4
SPEAKER_00
I mean, at the end of the day, I still bring my own little vibe to it, my own little, not necessarily agenda per se, but just my different way of thinking than your gen pop.
4
SPEAKER_02
 And this really holds true, especially when it comes to pro sports players.
4
SPEAKER_02
He says what's on his mind.
4
SPEAKER_02
Flicking through his Instagram, I see a t-shirt he's in that says Stars and Stripes and Reproductive Rights.
4
SPEAKER_02
And when Liam signed up to a three-year deal with the White Sox just last year for $54 million, he insisted that the White Sox had a Pride Night.
4
SPEAKER_02
He wouldn't sign it until he made sure they were gay-friendly.
4
SPEAKER_02
He's not gay himself, he just wants things to even out a little bit more in society.
4
SPEAKER_00
 I remember as a kid, it was always never quite a positive.
4
SPEAKER_00
I don't understand how everything has to be, oh, well, that's not normal.
4
SPEAKER_00
Well, who's to say what normal is?
4
SPEAKER_00
Why don't we just change that tone?
4
SPEAKER_00
It makes it a hell of a lot easier.
4
SPEAKER_00
I have always wanted to make sure that I was never that guy.
4
SPEAKER_00
I was never that guy that was like, oh, no, I'm going to put you down because
4
SPEAKER_00
 you're different, or anything like that.
4
SPEAKER_00
Don't get me wrong, I've never been perfect, but in saying that, I've always wanted to make sure that everyone is included in things.
4
SPEAKER_00
It's inclusive, it's a lifestyle that we make sure everything is taken care of.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I think, especially in baseball, there's been other sports players have come out, and no one in baseball, and baseball is a...
4
SPEAKER_00
 I don't mean this in any way negatively, but it is a very white Christian sport.
4
SPEAKER_00
And a lot of people are moving towards that different way of viewing it, where it's not condemned and all this sort of stuff.
4
SPEAKER_00
But I wanted someone to put a face to it.
4
SPEAKER_00
Because at the end of the day, people click on the face, and then they read the story.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I'm not the only one.
4
SPEAKER_02
 It's encouraging to see a mainstream sports star, one who's really good at what they do, actively speaking out about this stuff.
4
SPEAKER_02
There's nothing to be gained for him, but he seems to be breaking some of the old rules.
4
SPEAKER_00
Baseball was always known as a very stoic game.
4
SPEAKER_00
You give the same cliched answers, you give the same, like, drab responses to things.
4
SPEAKER_00
And then it coincided with me starting to play better that I got a bit of a voice.
4
SPEAKER_02
 Liam says he started to really play better just a few years before that big deal with the White Sox, thanks to a dramatic attitude shift.
4
SPEAKER_02
Out with an injury, sidelined with not much to do, he basically learnt to relax.
4
SPEAKER_00
Why don't you just sit back and not let everything come to you, but like,
4
SPEAKER_00
 You set no expectations.
4
SPEAKER_00
And when there's no expectations, you can't get annoyed when something that you're expecting doesn't happen.
4
SPEAKER_00
So if you go out there with no expectations, everything you get is a blessing.
4
SPEAKER_00
It keeps you hungry.
4
SPEAKER_00
It keeps you driven.
4
SPEAKER_00
It keeps you moving forward.
4
SPEAKER_00
And that's one thing that has been fantastic.
4
SPEAKER_00
Also moving to the bullpen because I have what they call, I don't have a dugout personality.
4
SPEAKER_00
 What is a dugout personality?
4
SPEAKER_00
Well, in the dugout it's all the hitters.
4
SPEAKER_00
Hitting is a game of failure.
4
SPEAKER_00
So like the best hitters in the league are getting on base maybe three to four out of ten times.
4
SPEAKER_00
So that means six times they're mad as hell.
4
SPEAKER_00
So me, I'm in the bullpen, I joke around at all times.
4
SPEAKER_00
So they have to put me 450 feet away to make sure I don't disturb the guys who are grumpy for getting out.
4
SPEAKER_02
 How have you found your attitude fits in with Americans?
4
SPEAKER_02
Because I feel like you do stand out, and I feel like some Americans would look at you and not quite know how to take you, especially when you're just kind of entered the sphere.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, that's the best reaction ever, isn't it?
4
SPEAKER_02
 I thank Liam for his time, and head up into the main stadium.
4
SPEAKER_02
In time, it fills with tens of thousands of fans.
4
SPEAKER_02
We're in San Francisco, so it's mostly Giants fans.
4
SPEAKER_02
But me and Rob go off and sit with a bunch of White Sox fans.
4
SPEAKER_02
Rob's from Chicago, so it makes sense.
4
SPEAKER_02
For me, I guess I've just been won over by the Australian.
4
SPEAKER_02
I look at the group in front of us.
4
SPEAKER_02
They're kitted out in all the year.
4
SPEAKER_02
They've got branded blankets and jumpers and hats, and Maria is clutching a giant box of garlic fries.
4
SPEAKER_02
 And what do you think about the seats we've got right now?
4
SPEAKER_01
Oh, they're the best.
4
SPEAKER_01
You've got a nice view.
4
SPEAKER_01
I brought my husband, my daughter, my granddaughter and my grandson.
4
SPEAKER_01
So, yes.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yes, indeed.
4
SPEAKER_02
I don't have a husband or a daughter, a granddaughter or a grandson, but I look next to me and I have Rob.
4
SPEAKER_02
And around us, we have 32,000 baseball fans.
4
SPEAKER_02
And it feels pretty good.
4
SPEAKER_02
 I really enjoyed watching your face the second Liam Hendricks came on and started talking in his accent, and I was talking in my accent.
4
SPEAKER_03
It was jarring.
4
SPEAKER_03
Because I think he sounds not all Austrian.
4
SPEAKER_02
That's pure Australian.
4
SPEAKER_02
It is?
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, that's a really intense Australian accent.
4
SPEAKER_02
And saying that, look, maybe I'm talking up my ass.
4
SPEAKER_02
Maybe there's a bit of American in there.
4
SPEAKER_02
What do you think?
4
SPEAKER_03
It sounded like almost Southern.
4
SPEAKER_02
It was pretty Australian.
4
SPEAKER_02
 Yeah, it's like, in my mind, that's pure Australian.
4
SPEAKER_03
Wow.
4
SPEAKER_02
It's like pure, unadulterated Aussie.
4
SPEAKER_03
That's really interesting.
4
SPEAKER_03
I was like, oh, he's picked up a southern accent, an American southern accent, but then the Australian's like peeping in.
4
SPEAKER_02
 Yeah, it's just like in America, different parts of Australia have more intense Australian accents than others.
4
SPEAKER_02
And he was just so, so on.
4
SPEAKER_02
Well, I really liked him.
4
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_03
You were tickled by him.
4
SPEAKER_03
I could tell.
4
SPEAKER_02
I was really starstruck.
4
SPEAKER_02
Rob was teasing me because I got quite starstruck, but he was so kind to me.
4
SPEAKER_02
He'd do things to make me feel at home.
4
SPEAKER_02
Like he got a baseball out and was like, can you sign this for me?
4
SPEAKER_02
Oh,
4
SPEAKER_02
 And stuff like that.
4
SPEAKER_02
So he sort of treated me like a big baby and sort of adopted me, which is my favorite thing.
4
SPEAKER_03
You better have signed it cinnamon.
4
SPEAKER_03
He was lovely.
4
SPEAKER_03
I love all the social awareness.
4
SPEAKER_02
He speaks out on any kind of political issue that comes up.
4
SPEAKER_02
Just gives us two cents.
4
SPEAKER_02
And I feel like so often in sport, press conferences are so boring because, and they are in New Zealand as well.
4
SPEAKER_02
 Players are just like, oh, we did the best we could on the day and whatever, whereas he's actually talking about stuff that he's passionate about that isn't sport.
4
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_03
It's funny because when you first hear him and he's screaming the C word, I was not expecting him to then just be really kind and care about the world.
4
SPEAKER_02
 And I've gotten into huge fights about the C word as well, because I know it's a deeply problematic word, especially when it's being said by a guy.
4
SPEAKER_02
That's a whole other topic.
4
SPEAKER_02
But just honestly, hearing it yelled from my personal perspective, it was just so funny because it was just so over the top, so unexpected.
4
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_02
Even New Zealand, that would be unexpected, even at that volume.
4
SPEAKER_03
Sure.
4
SPEAKER_02
In America, while I was interviewing this, this Giants player, I was like, what is happening?
4
SPEAKER_03
 Yes, that's another entire topic, I suppose.
4
SPEAKER_02
Okay, I'll write that down.
4
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, we'll do another episode of that.
4
SPEAKER_03
I actually do kind of want you to do an episode because I want to know where the negative element came from.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, absolutely.
4
SPEAKER_02
And it's so interesting with any swear word, but also who's using it, why are they using it, who they're using it to.
4
SPEAKER_03
 I mean, obviously, with the n-word, we do know why it's problematic.
4
SPEAKER_03
We know.
4
SPEAKER_02
Absolutely.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, but how does that become sexualized and in a certain way and negative as opposed to positive?
4
SPEAKER_03
Right.
4
SPEAKER_02
Or something.
4
SPEAKER_03
It's interesting.
4
SPEAKER_02
I do want to do another episode.
4
SPEAKER_02
This reminds me about ratings over here.
4
SPEAKER_02
 Because I went to see Showgirls on the weekend on a big screen, a very controversial film.
4
SPEAKER_02
The director that made Robocop and Starship Troopers made it.
4
SPEAKER_02
A lot of nudity.
4
SPEAKER_03
Sure.
4
SPEAKER_02
It was NC-17, which I didn't realize was different to R. Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_01
 And as a young person, I guess a teenager, you're not allowed to go, even if you have an adult with you, you've got to be 17 and up to see it.
5
SPEAKER_01
That blew my mind.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I know.
5
SPEAKER_01
I mean, maybe people don't go to the movies anymore, so people aren't sneaking into theaters and stuff.
5
SPEAKER_01
I don't know how the rating system kind of works here, but I want to learn.
5
SPEAKER_00
 I mean, I wonder how many movies are still getting that rating.
5
SPEAKER_00
I feel like it's dropped off like crazy.
5
SPEAKER_01
I also feel it's funny because films would get such intense ratings and then you just, you're watching Netflix now, which is open to everyone.
5
SPEAKER_00
Oh, exactly.
5
SPEAKER_01
I'm like, this is ridiculous what I'm watching.
5
SPEAKER_01
Anyone could be watching this.
5
SPEAKER_00
Oh my God, speaking of, I was on the plane and I watched Worst Person in the World.
5
SPEAKER_01
Oh, Worst Person in the World, an incredible film.
5
SPEAKER_00
Oh my God, it was good.
5
SPEAKER_00
But also, there is a lot of nudity
5
SPEAKER_01
 Who was next to you and who was behind you looking through the cracks?
5
SPEAKER_00
So I didn't know it was going to be that intense.
5
SPEAKER_00
And all of a sudden, I mean, full nudity.
5
SPEAKER_00
Also, there's one point where she takes her tampon out.
5
SPEAKER_00
And I was like, oh, my God, oh, my God, the people next to me are going to judge.
5
SPEAKER_01
For years, because living in New Zealand, whenever I went anywhere, I would usually be on a plane because we're a tiny little island.
5
SPEAKER_01
For years, I was always worried about the people to my left and right.
5
SPEAKER_01
 And then I realized, oh my goodness, it's even worse the crack behind the seat, because that's who's got direct vision of your screen.
5
SPEAKER_01
That's the ones I should have been worrying about.
5
SPEAKER_00
True.
5
SPEAKER_00
Could have been a baby.
5
SPEAKER_00
 Could have been.
5
SPEAKER_00
Oh, how many babies have I scarred?
5
SPEAKER_00
I have a few things we must address.
5
SPEAKER_00
Okay, please.
5
SPEAKER_00
How many times do I have to tell you, it's math singular.
5
SPEAKER_01
Am I still saying it?
5
SPEAKER_00
You said maths class again.
5
SPEAKER_00
Oh no, I'm so okay.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, okay.
5
SPEAKER_01
Writing that down, like the sports.
5
SPEAKER_00
 Math class.
5
SPEAKER_00
And since last time we were talking about things you say a little wrong, one popped up in America, we would say debut, not debut.
5
SPEAKER_00
I heard that too.
5
SPEAKER_01
I mean, I worry about this stuff because chances are I'm also saying it incorrectly in New Zealand.
5
SPEAKER_00
Well, I don't know.
5
SPEAKER_00
I don't want to say that because we have to get another Kiwi on to corroborate.
5
SPEAKER_01
 I'm going to say just so it's less embarrassing that it's just an American problem that I have.
5
SPEAKER_01
I'm going to go with that.
5
SPEAKER_00
Debut and singular math.
5
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_01
I'm noting this down.
5
SPEAKER_01
It is the worst thing when you discover you've been saying a word wrong.
5
SPEAKER_01
I had a friend that always said vinyl as vanilla and they only found out about that like very late in life.
5
SPEAKER_00
 And they were probably mad at their friends for not correcting them.
5
SPEAKER_01
So I thank you for telling me on this platform where other people can... We all have holes in our knowledge and it's all good we're learning together, isn't it?
5
SPEAKER_00
All right.
5
SPEAKER_00
Well, this was really fun.
5
SPEAKER_00
I loved hearing you try to play baseball.
5
SPEAKER_00
That was my favorite part.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, it was scary.
5
SPEAKER_01
There's one other trivia I wanted to throw in and the hat I'm wearing today.
5
SPEAKER_01
I've actually had this already and it got so worn out I just bought a new one.
5
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_01
 This is a baseball team called the Kansas Cats.
5
SPEAKER_01
So I've got some facts to read out about them.
5
SPEAKER_01
They were called the Kansas City Cats.
5
SPEAKER_01
This company called Ebbets Field reprints the hats and sells them for exorbitant fees, which I always spend money on them.
5
SPEAKER_01
But in 1914, two brothers named Ike and Mike, that's amazing.
5
SPEAKER_01
Ike and Mike opened two drugstores in Kansas City.
5
SPEAKER_01
 I've seen a photo of the pharmacy and it had a giant cat head on the roof.
5
SPEAKER_00
No.
5
SPEAKER_01
This cat head.
5
SPEAKER_00
Did you feel like you were coming home?
5
SPEAKER_00
Did it feel visceral in your body?
5
SPEAKER_01
I was like, finally I can get behind a sports team because I love cats.
5
SPEAKER_01
So anyway, this drugstore sponsored a baseball team.
5
SPEAKER_01
And so basically the team, this wasn't their logo.
5
SPEAKER_01
Well, it was their logo, but it was the logo of the pharmacy.
5
SPEAKER_01
 A couple of other facts about this place.
5
SPEAKER_01
At the start of World War I, cats drug stores became famous because they're allowed to stay open until 6pm despite wartime curfews.
5
SPEAKER_01
They absorbed the new 10% tax on cigarettes instead of passing it on to the customer.
5
SPEAKER_01
Very pro-smoking.
5
SPEAKER_01
Not so great, but a kind thing to do.
5
SPEAKER_01
They also sold more than just drugs.
5
SPEAKER_01
They had a grocery store inside, a soda fountain, a lunch counter, and they also sold live animals, including cats.
5
SPEAKER_00
 This episode took a big turn.
5
SPEAKER_00
I don't know how all of a sudden we started talking about your favorite topic on earth, cats.
5
SPEAKER_01
Well, I just love that this is probably like the one baseball team, it no longer exists, but it's the one team whose logo I really, really, really love.
5
SPEAKER_00
It's a cute hat.
5
SPEAKER_01
It's a really good hat, right?
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it looks good.
5
SPEAKER_01
Oh, one final fact.
5
SPEAKER_01
 Cat's Drugstore was one of the first sit-ins during the civil rights movement.
5
SPEAKER_00
Oh, okay.
5
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_00
I'm on board now.
5
SPEAKER_01
It was sold in 71 to Skaggs Drug Company, which eventually merged with Osco Drugs, which eventually merged with CVS.
5
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
5
SPEAKER_00
I like CVS.
5
SPEAKER_00
Do you want to tell people just really quickly your journey with your cat?
5
SPEAKER_01
 I found this little cat in the hallway in my building.
5
SPEAKER_01
I had it for a weekend because I couldn't find where it lived.
5
SPEAKER_01
I had it for two days, and then I went and knocked on all the doors in my apartment block again.
5
SPEAKER_01
There's probably about 45 doors.
5
SPEAKER_00
Wow.
5
SPEAKER_01
I found the owner, sort of an old man.
5
SPEAKER_01
I say old, sort of 60s.
5
SPEAKER_01
He'll probably be 60 soon, not that old.
5
SPEAKER_01
Weirdly, didn't seem that grateful to me for returning his tiny kitten that had somehow escaped.
5
SPEAKER_01
He just said, that's my cat.
5
SPEAKER_01
 took it and sort of shut the door.
5
SPEAKER_00
Okay, it sounds like Mr. Heckles from Friends.
5
SPEAKER_01
It was so, so strange.
5
SPEAKER_01
This reminds me, Friends, Rob, who was the player?
5
SPEAKER_01
His walk-in music onto the fields was the Friends theme song.
5
SPEAKER_01
It was Flores on the Giants.
5
SPEAKER_01
 Right.
5
SPEAKER_01
Wilmer Flores.
5
SPEAKER_01
Wilmer Flores.
5
SPEAKER_01
So we'd be watching this game and just randomly this friends theme song was playing.
5
SPEAKER_01
And eventually I said, why is this happening?
5
SPEAKER_01
And Rob explained it to me.
5
SPEAKER_00
Well, I fucking love it.
5
SPEAKER_00
And, and Rob sent me and Dax a like video of it or something, acting like we were going to be appalled.
5
SPEAKER_00
I'm like, do you even know me?
5
SPEAKER_00
I love this.
5
SPEAKER_01
And this is the best thing ever.
5
SPEAKER_00
This is the best thing.
5
SPEAKER_00
I love him.
5
SPEAKER_00
He loves friends.
5
SPEAKER_01
 Yeah, there are so many funny little things.
5
SPEAKER_01
Some of the songs they'd sing, there'd be little catchphrases and catch songs, and it was all a mystery to me, but suddenly the whole crowd would be chanting or singing, and it's a real crowd favorite, isn't it, baseball?
5
SPEAKER_00
It really is.
5
SPEAKER_00
Oh my gosh, on the Jumbotron screen, did they have the games?
5
SPEAKER_00
At the Brave Stadium, they have games where there's a pitcher of three cups,
5
SPEAKER_00
 and that you see that there's like a dice under one cup, and then it like moves super, super, super quick, and you're trying to figure out where the- Where the dice is.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it's so fun.
5
SPEAKER_01
So it's like you're watching little magic tricks.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yes.
5
SPEAKER_01
If you don't wanna watch the game.
5
SPEAKER_01
I love magic.
5
SPEAKER_01
I love that.
5
SPEAKER_00
Well, it's not instead of the game, it's in between.
5
SPEAKER_00
In between.
5
SPEAKER_01
Imagine if they just put magic tricks up on the screen during the entire game.
5
SPEAKER_01
I would just be staring at that the entire time.
5
SPEAKER_00
Okay, well, I think you got- Baseball.
5
SPEAKER_00
 a little more American, but then you backtracked, because you mainly made this episode about an Australian.
5
SPEAKER_01
I did.
5
SPEAKER_01
And I also mucked up, not on purpose, not taking my hat off at the anthem, which was a real muck up.
5
SPEAKER_00
Uh-huh.
5
SPEAKER_01
So I think I might have actually gone backwards.
5
SPEAKER_00
And you said Friday Night Lights.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_01
And I was bad.
5
SPEAKER_00
And you said cricket a lot of times in this episode.
5
SPEAKER_01
I think I've gone backwards.
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
5
SPEAKER_00
All right.
5
SPEAKER_00
Well, we have a lot more to go.
5
SPEAKER_01
Thanks, Monica.
5
SPEAKER_01
And thanks for correcting my errors.
5
SPEAKER_00
Try it.
5
SPEAKER_00
Try saying it.
5
SPEAKER_00
Say it.
5
SPEAKER_01
 Meth.
5
SPEAKER_01
Meth.
5
SPEAKER_01
Meth!
5
SPEAKER_01
Cinnamon's learning.