BachTalk

In Season 2 Episode 5 of BachTalk, I sat down with Scott Stocker. Scott is currently the pitching coach for Moeller High School. Moeller is a well know school in the state of Ohio due their consist accolades in sports and in the classroom. Scott also coaches for the Midland Braves which is apart of the highly prestigious Midland Baseball Organization. This past offseason Scott has worked with pitching pros such as Matt Marksberry, Nick Bennett (Milwaukee Brewers Organization), and Zach Logue (Toronto BlueJays Organization). Scott is becoming a "new age/data driven" pitching coach in the greater Cincinnati area. Before becoming the pitching coach at Moeller, he was the head coach at Madeira High School in Cincinnati which was to home of current Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi. Being a teacher at Madeira High School has given Scott a great foundation to become a coach and being personable with his players. Scott is always looking to improve his coaching style and he thinks the new age of pitching and technology has given him a new outlook on coaching. Please join me in listen to Scott and "Always Remember Be Yourself".

In Season 2 Episode 4 of BachTalk, I sat down with Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jacob Heatherly. Jacob was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 3rd round of the 2017 MLB draft. Jacob is currently in Arizona for early instructs and tells about how completely different spring training is compared to the years prior. During the 2019 off season the Cincinnati Reds hired new pitching coordinator Kyle Boddy and Assistant Pitching Coordinator Eric Jagers. Jacob talks about the new implementations such as edgertronic, pitch design, and weighted ball routines. In 2019, Jacob pitched for the Dayton Dragons Low A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Jacob only pitched in 4 games due to an injury. Jacob talks about his 2019 season on how it was one the hardest years of his life and most humbling. We talk about his offseason and how he completely changed his workouts and how he prepared for the upcoming season. We also talk about the possible new changes to the minor leagues including the automated strike zone and possible eliminating of 42 minor leagues teams in the 2021 season. I am really excited to see how Jacob progresses in his 2020 campaign. Please join me in listening to Jacob and "Always Remember Be Yourself".

In Season 2 Episode 3 of BachTalk, I sat down with Ryan Engels. In 2019, Ryan was a Development Coach for the Houston Astros Double A affiliate. A Development Coach is the 4th coach on the field. The Development Coach helps in every aspect from strength/conditioning, player development, technology, and scouting for each affiliate. Ryan played college baseball at Southwest Minnesota State and graduated with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. Ryan attended South Dakota State and received his master's degree in health/nutritional sciences. While at SDSU he was biomechanics laboratory assistant and worked with all different ranges of sports. During the 2018 season, he worked for the Seattle Mariners as a strength and conditioning coach/applied sport science with the club's rookie level team in Arizona. Next season Ryan will be a Development Coach for the Triple A affiliate of the Houston Astros (Round Rock Express). Ryan is a very intelligent human being with a drive to help players perform at their highest level of potential. Please join me in listening to Ryan and "Always Remember Be Yourself".

In Episode 2 Season 2 of Bachtalk, I got to sit down with Brandon Bailey. Brandon pitched for the Corpus Christi Hooks in 2019. Recently in December during the winter meetings he was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the Rule 5 draft and selected to the 40-man roster. During the summer, I was able to see how in-depth of a thinker Brandon really is on the mound. I was able to watch most of his side bullpens during the season. He is the definition of a "new age" pitcher using technology to help him excel at pitching. He is a pitcher that knows every statistic about himself and uses it to his advantage. During the offseason he was a pitching Intern at Driveline baseball which is the most well-known data driven baseball facility in the country. I really enjoyed our conversation and learned a lot. Please join me in listening to Brandon Bailey and "Always Remember Be Yourself".

Welcome to Season 2 of BachTalk! The first episode of Season 2 includes Grant Peters and Hunter Kraynak. Grant Peters attended Owens Community College and was conference pitcher of the year in 2016. After Owens, he received a scholarship to pitch at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. Hunter Kraynak grew up in Chicago and played at Owens Community College in 2016. After Owens he attended South Suburban Community College in 2017 and for his last two seasons of his college career, he attended Cedarville University. Attending Junior College was one of the best decisions of our lives. As a group we wanted to explain to kids why Junior College is great choice for school. Attending Junior College can be looked down upon and is no reason for this. Please join me in hearing about our Junior College experiences and "Always Remember Be Yourself".

On episode 22 of BachTalk I got to sit down with Dominic Cotroneo. During the 2019 minor league baseball season he was the second announcer for the Houston Astros Double A affiliate (Corpus Christi Hooks). Dominic was chosen to be a broadcaster for the Arizona Fall League All Start Game in 2019. Dominic is only 25 and has four seasons of professional baseball under his belt. He was also a broadcaster for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Code Baseball League. We talk about minor league baseball as a whole and the life of an upcoming broadcaster. Dominic has a passion for the game of baseball and will eventually become a "Big-League" broadcaster. Please join me in hearing Dominic's story and "Always Remember Be Yourself".

In Episode 21 of BachTalk I got to sit down with Xan Barksdale. This past summer, Xan was the Bullpen Coach for the USA Colligate National Team. He traveled to Chinese Taipei and Japan during this stint. Before USA Baseball, Xan was an Asst. Baseball Coach at the University of Louisville from 2006-2011. He was then an Asst. Baseball Coach at East Tennessee State University from 2011-2015. Xan is the owner of two businesses Xan Barksdale Baseball and Zeni Athletics. He wrote a book called Catching 101 which was a huge success and one of the first true catching books that was put onto the market. He has become a fitness freak. He has competed in bodybuilding competitions participating in the classic physique category. He also appeared in Men's Health magazine to show his crazy fitness journey. Xan is a true "Renaissance man" and has been a big inspiration in my life. Please join me in hearing Xan's story and "Always Remember Be Yourself".

In Episode 20 of BachTalk I got to sit down with Mac Welsh. Mac recently finished his year with the Chicago White Sox Organization in the Arizona Rookie League (AZL). He finished his summer pitching in 12 games, 12.1 innings of work, 19 strikes outs, opponent batting AVG. of .196 and a WHIP of 0.89. Mac is a side arm pitcher and explains how he can be effective at the next level. Mac attended the University of Louisville as an engineer not knowing he would eventually be a walk-on for the baseball team. He tells us about his crazy first year of college and how he says "He ran around with his hair on fire the whole year". He tells about how he was so successful being an engineer in school and being Division 1 athlete. Mac is a very humble human being and I wish him the best of luck in the upcoming season. Please join me in hearing Mac's story and "Always Remember Be Yourself".

In Episode 19 of BachTalk I sat down with Triple Crown hiker Ben Moster aka Tailspin. The Triple Crown consists of three trails in the United States: Appalachian Trial, Pacific Crest Trail,and Continental Divide Trail which is in total around 7,800 miles worth of hiking. Ben just recently completed the Continental Divide Trail hiking a connected footpath between Mexico and Canada. He started hiking north bound from New Mexico but switched and hiked south bound from Montana due to snow. This hike took him about 5 months to complete. This was his final hike of the Triple Crown. Ben tells us about his experiences on all the trails and what it is like to hike for 14 months. Ben currently has a YouTube channel (TrekkingWithTailspin) that consists of all his hikes. Ben is the definition of an adventurer and a grinder. Please join me in hearing Ben's story and "Always Remember Be Yourself".

In episode 18 of BachTalk I got to sit down with my best friend Isaac Stidham. Isaac is currently trying to play professional baseball in Europe. Isaac played college baseball at University of Cincinnati- Clermont. This past season he broke the single season homerun record at University of Cincinnati-Clermont. Isaac has had a crazy life and has overcome a lot of odds. He was cut from his high school baseball team and barely played his whole career, his dad passed during his junior year of college and his mother was just released from jail after three years. He has been through so many hard ships but has allowed himself to keep an amazing mindset. Isaac explains about his whole mentality through life and the lessons he has learned along the way. Please join me in hearing Isaac's story and "Always Remember Be Yourself"