No Crying In Baseball

Patti 0:17
Hi and welcome to episode 437 of No Crying in Baseball, the Gotta Have That Swagger episode. My name is Patti. I'm here with my friend, Pottymouth. Hey, Pottymouth..

Pottymouth 0:26
Hey. How's it going in the frigid backyard? There?

Patti 0:29
It's winter. It's winter. I'm very chilly, but that's okay, because if we talk baseball, I will warm up.

Pottymouth 0:36
Sounds good. So for everyone. Zinfo, we are not in the same room, because we have a special interview today that we'll talk about in a moment. But that means that Patty gets a little chilly during the during the recording, because her studio is removed from the house.

Patti 0:51
That's right. That's right, no central heat. But, you know, that's what blankets are for. You know, it'll be fine. It'll be fine. And my very warm personality, I think, will overtake all this thing, yes, so we were out drinking very nice, warm hot cocoa with the intern yesterday. Also, I'm moving a little bit slowly today, but boy, was it fun. I love our hometown. Around the holidays, they keep doing fun things. We were not in our pajamas this time, but we were in fact going from place to place. And there was a little mezcal, there was a little bourbon. They were all cut very nicely with hot cocoa, once with cider. It was a good day.

Pottymouth 1:26
Yeah, so this is the takoma park cocoa crawl. If you're anywhere in the area, come by next year, because it is super fun. Every little place has their own twist on cocoa. I am a weirdo, as often says, and I don't like cocoa. I don't like chocolate. I know that's fucking weird, but our neighborhood bar like, what is kind of like the cheers of takoma park, I would say, happened to have a cider bourbon thing with a little lemon and a little cinnamon and a little rim. And so I hopped in at the end of the crawl, and, you know, it was good. It was really good.

Patti 1:58
It was very tasty. I would like one of those things right now, possibly just to put my fingers in, but that's all right,

Pottymouth 2:04
if I had been together enough, I was really tempted to bring a toddy in, but I didn't think of it until too late, because we have, we have some toddy mix that's really, really good. Oh, good to know. Anyway, we got shit to talk about, right? But I first have to do a Patreon, promise that. Okay, I just gotta say, I love all of our Patreon patrons, but Shane is now my favorite for the moment, because you know that our patrons who join at the teammate level get to have us say something on air. And so I inquired, and Shane gave a request for, does Yankees lose? How did I do? Was I good as big Poppy? That was pretty good. I so that is, like the fucking favorite thing that I've been able to that I've been asked to say on this podcast. That is awesome. Our other teammates are Aiden, Jenna, Chris Camden and Brian. If you too, want a duh, jankies, you lose or something, whatever your version of that is, right? And if you want to, you know, fuck around with us and make me say something that, or Patty something that we might not normally say. Sure that is also totally welcome at the teammate level, and everybody else listen up at the end. Will tell you how to join us on Patreon. Yay.

Patti 3:15
That's great. Hey, on today's show, we are hot stove has polar bears, which is a little weird for a hot stove. Our boyfriends today are the from the angels and the pirates, and we have our third and final interview, maybe final interview in our in our series interviewing women who have been drafted to the women's professional league. So today, we're going to welcome Brittany Apgar. So please stay tuned for that interview, the quick hot stove thing. There's many, many things happened in the past week. The one that's most important to me personally is that the polar bear, former boyfriend, pionezo, is coming to Baltimore, which I didn't see coming for five years, for $155 million which means the Orioles spent money. And also that makes me worry for my friend Ryan mountcastle, who I really do adore at first base, but I'm happy to see the checkbook open, yeah, so there we go. So that's all I'm gonna say about that.

Pottymouth 4:06
Yeah, I totally agree. The Red Sox made a lame offer, apparently, and they were much more, I guess, predicted to have something to do with them. So I don't know it's gonna be fun to see them at Kempton yards, sure enough. All right, baseball boyfriends. So every week, we've been each choosing one guy per team, because there's something super cool about him. And then at the end of this, the off season, before the season, we're going to make our fantasy league. And you guys should join us, because it's super fun. The prize packs have been received. I believe, I hope, and I hope you guys from our winners from last season. So there's all sorts of stuff, fun stuff involved. If you join us for fantasy baseball, we start from the worst and go to the best, as far as records go and the order of picking our baseball boyfriends. And this week, we start with the American League with the Los Angeles Angels. I have to say it again, right? Los the Los Angeles. Angels, angels, if you translate it all to English, says the angels, angels, which is just really kind of funny. We'll see what happens with the angels this year. They've been struggling a bit lately. I'm a little bummed that I did some premature picking on von Grissom, who I picked when he went on the big fucking trade between the Atlanta team and the Red Sox. And I thought it was in the Red Sox favor, and it ended up being totally not. Chris sale had a great year. Von Grissom did not, and now von Grissom is going to be able to hang out in Los Angeles. I cannot pick him. However, actually, I am so excited and happy about this pick, and I really hope I don't babble for way too long, because Gustavo campero is a great guy. I hope to fuck. He actually plays. He is listed as an outfielder, and despite the fact that two years ago, he was catching outfielder, 28 years old, five foot six inches, that's my size kind of guy, and it and his and his MLB profile actually says five, six. I was gonna ask they

Patti 6:01
didn't round him up to five, nine. To five nine is usually like code for under five

Pottymouth 6:05
nine, right? Yeah. And I the first, like, I went to check and it said 1.68 meters, for those outside of the United States. And I did the little conversion, and it's like five feet, 5.51 feet, like they rounded up to five six, like he's barely five six, but he has a huge heart and a huge attitude. And I love this kid. So he's from Columbia. He raked in double A two years ago with the trash pandas at that that was, like his kind of breakout season in the minors, he was third in trash pandas single season history for stolen bases. He tied for second with four triples, and he had the team record of being hit by pitch 20 times in a single season. So at that point, he had been a catcher from drafting in 2016 all the way up, and he wanted to do more this five foot six giant. He said, I'm an athlete. I can run and jump. The catcher is only one position. I talked with the organization about giving me the opportunity to play another position, and they asked what I can do. I said, I can catch a fly ball and run in the outfield and boom, they add him to the outfield in 2023 so he was actually drafted by the Yankees in 2016 at age 19, a Scouter found him in Colombia, sent him to Dominican Republic, because Columbia is not a lot of scouting going on there to try out he came from a really humble background. There's an amazing interview that we'll link. It's in Spanish, and it doesn't have subtitles. So find a friend, because it's, it's lovely. It's in the in the backyard of the of where he grew up, and it's under the Mandarin tree, and it's, he talks about how he used to hit them instead of baseball for practice. Super sweet. And he really goes into his childhood a lot, and talks about how he never knew his dad. His dad left when he was a kid, and his mom was the rock after being drafted by the Yankees, he had, I mean, he's older now. First of all, he was drafted when he was 19, which is unusual for Latin America. So that took a bit. I'm not quite sure what went into that spent seven years in the minors, including being at the Pulaski Yankees in 2019 when we were there. So we probably saw him play with his teammate, Anthony Volpe at the time. So folks, go to minor league baseball, you never know what's gonna happen. I looked it up, and he was playing on July 13, and the way that I could find the date that we were playing is because I looked up the cow yoga. Because, remember I did yoga in the outfield with cows that I do. Yeah, craziest, best yoga on the field

Patti 8:51
photos to prove it. So

Pottymouth 8:53
folks, if you haven't been listening with us since 2019 feel free to write in for photos. He does. So to give the Yankees some credit, I really do have to say nice things about them. Once in a while, he credits them for teaching him English, and apparently he's fluent now. And even works to support, you know, rookies who are not speaking English, works as a translator for other players. The angels picked him up on the Rule five draft in 2020 he was in single a, 21 and then double A, 22 and then there was that huge breakout year, 23 which may have been spurred by his participation on the World Baseball Classic in 2023 he was backup catcher to Jorge Alfaro and Elias Diaz, two of my former baseball boyfriends, and he was key when they had a two to two tie against Mexico, and of course, Mexico was the one to eventually go on, but they were in the 10th inning in this tie, and he hit the RBI to win the game, and he talked about how the WBC is like another it's just another experience. He said it's the greatest players representing their countries. So then he had a banner. 24 you know, after all this time, you know, in the low miners, he was the southern League Player of the Month with a 333, average, 1.088 ops. And so then went up to triple A, only there for 14 games. And in September 15, 2024 he had his debut for the angels. He went off the bench, and he didn't get a hit, but he did get a sack in the ninth inning. That was an RBI, albeit in a six four loss. His second game was his first hit, and that also was an RBI. And he started off really well, five hits in his first five games. He hit in nine out of the 13 games that he played in, 2024 So things are looking bright. Things are turning around. And then comes 2025 which was a really shit year for him. Unfortunately, start in triple A they brought him up in the end of April, but may 6, twisted ankle out for May, up and down, kind of rehabbing, not doing great in June and July. And then he was back up with the angels in August. And I saw the video of this, and it's really ugly. August 12, the same fucking angle. He his foot got stuck scaling the wall to try to rob a home run, which he did not rob. But because of his foot kind of stuck between the two panels in the wall, it was a huge sprain. So he was out. After that, he only played 28 games in MLB in 2025 with just nine hits. But before that ankle situation, he had been doing really well in triple A, 322, average, 875, ops. Because I think a little bit of this rocky season, he was actually non tenure tendered at the end of the season, but then they re signed him on a minor league contract. So here's the Who knows if he's actually going to play next year? My fingers are crossed. There might be room in the outfield. Mike Trout is getting up there. Maybe he'll be moved to DH. You don't know, the catcher situation looks pretty solid for the angels with oh happy. And Matt theis is back up. So I think he's going to stick with the outfield. But there's so much more to love about Gustavo. He started his own nonprofit as soon in two years ago, 2023 called at latest de nuevo agrado, and it helps kids age five to 18 in Colombia with free baseball lessons after school, tutoring and support with healthy meals and character development, and I saw some video of him down there with the kids on the baseball field. So it seems like he's really committed to giving back and so much winter ball. He might now be with the tortoise de last day and lead on in the Dominican Republic. I'm not sure how the ankle situation is going, because it was a little rocky there. So he might have done 14 games and then left. I couldn't find him on recent lineups, but he's still on the roster. Tortoise de last day also include lots of former boyfriends, jamer Candelario, John Kenzie, no well, and Ronald Guzman. He Gustavo, not only did he actually catch and play outfield in this little bit of time he's been with the tortos, but he played a couple games at second base. So I'm hoping this opens up my like ability on Yahoo. He also previously played in Venezuela, last year with the Bravos de magrita. The year before, he was in Mexico with the venados de masatlan. And the years before that. Two years before that, he played in the Colombian league with the caymanes de Barranquilla, and that's where he actually first tested out. The outfield. So much more to love. This isn't all. He plays chess before his games online in order to enhance his focus. And he talks a lot about how one of the first things he learned was that the game is 80% mental, and he's like, I'm small, but I've got the focus and I've got the attitude, and it's more discipline than talent. Is how he credits it. Married with two kids,

Patti 13:50
some of my best friends are small but mighty. I'm just saying, There you go. Well, I wish him well, but I don't want him to play second base, because my guy, Christian Moore, is playing second base for the angels. I like Christian story very much. He was born in Brooklyn, okay, his dad was a great big Mets fan, so even though he and his brother, CJ, are big Yankees fans, I'll forgive him for this one, because it's kind of a good story. Okay, his dad would not let them go to Yankee Stadium, to boatloads of Mets games, but would not take them to Yankees games. There's a lot of smack talk around the house, but all in good fun. So yeah, it's right. His favorite player was Robinson Cano, also fine. So he went to college in Tennessee. Apparently, this Brooklyn boy is a big country music fan. Go figure if that happened. What came first Tennessee or country music, but anyway, sure. But while playing as a volunteer, he set their single season record for home runs with 34 the previous record was 25 Whoa, it's a big difference. He also holds their record for career home runs as a volunteer with 61 his big claim to fame there not just the. Records is he hit the lead off homer in the third game of the champions championship series for the volunteers to take their very first College World Series title. Wow. So that's pretty exciting, right? It was exciting enough for the angels to pick him in the first round of the 2024 draft, and he signed for almost $5 million so but one of the really fun things about talking about the angels is you get to say trash pan does a lot, right? So, of course, he started single a, no, again, this was the 24 draft, right? This, this is a fast track. This guy's on a fast track. He started the 2024 season. And single a played two games, got bumped to double a to the, you know, trash pandas started 2025, last season, at double A went to triple A in May, with a 999, ops in 20 games, and at triple A, you know, a double A to get to triple A, June, 13, right? This is like, less than a month after that, he got the call to debut at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Oh, hey. So the nice thing for him was his parents could drive down from New York, right? It wasn't one of those. Oh, my God, I've got to get a flight across the country. His parents could just drive on down to see him play. Now, the game wasn't great. He went oh for three. Over the series, he went like, oh for eight. You know, the strikeout that first game. There were two rain delays that very first debut game. And he says it's the best day of my life. I mean, you know what? It's a dream come true. You know it's like, it would be great to have a great game. But he was joking with his brother, CJ, about, you know, not doing well in this debut. And he said I was talking to him about after that Baltimore series. He was like, at least you'll get your first hit in New York. And I said, Well, I hope so. I got four games to do it. Well, wouldn't you know it? So three days later, they start a four day series in in New York and June 17 at Yankee Stadium, in front of 40 friends and families at the ballpark. In his third at bat has first hit, which is a triple, wow. Past Aaron judge.

Pottymouth 17:02
Holy shit. So you know, for being denied Yankee Stadium for so long, that's like the way to make your mark there, right?

Patti 17:08
He also scored the game's only run. He was an automatic runner in the 11th and and got hit in by with a double. And then at the bottom of the 11th, he threw out Paul Goldschmidt at home. Wow. So that was pretty good. Like, if that could have been the debut, that would have been ideal, but pretty good, first time for all the things, right? Yeah. So, like the next A few days later, June 21 he had his first home run at his Angel Stadium debut. So that was pretty cool. So hello, my new home stadium. Here's my home run. Had a good diving catch the whole thing, and he said, You got to have that confidence. You got to have that swagger that can't go away ever, because that's who you are. So I just try to keep it, keep that every day. A few days later, June 24 versus Boston, had his first multi Homer game, including his first walk off home run. This is all happening. This is all happening like, you know, in 12 games, like all of these amazing things have happened, right? Well, he peaked early, hit a big slump, got sent down, back to triple A and then on September 1, he got sent back down, and they said it was to clear his head and work on his swing. And then two weeks later, he was back up. And what he said was It was nice to get a breather and reset my mind a little bit. I figured out why I got here in the first place. My head's a little more clear. Now I can just play ball. I found my happiness again, enjoying the game, being a kid, going out there, diving around, and just having a good time again. So I'm hoping he catches that, that early season magic again this year, as we start with the with the angels and the new season, but I really liked reading about him, and I love that baseball was so important. And I love a house with smack talk about sports. Oh, totally, right. So I feel good. I feel good about my new best friend, Christian Moore,

Pottymouth 18:54
all right. Best wishes to the angels. All right. We're heading across the country to the Pittsburgh Pirates for our national league team this week. And I this was a no fucking brainer, right? Soon as I saw this trade go down, I was like, That's my dude. Justinson, elirio, Garcia, outfielder. He just turned 23 years old this past Friday. Holy cow, baby known as the password, because you try to spell justinson, it's right, it's probably not the way it's actually spelled. So that is a well earned nickname, not fanatic in any way. Yeah, hoof it. And I definitely had to practice on the pronunciation there. He was part of a five player trade just a few weeks ago with the Red Sox. I was very sad to lose him, but I understand that the Red Sox outfield is crowded. I'm hoping the Red Sox do a little bit more with getting rid of outfielders. He was their number three prospect before the trade. I totally fell for him. I mean, you know, there was all this great press around his name and. Everything going on, but last August, when we went to a double header at the woo socks that turned into a lucky double header because of bad weather, the day before, we got to hang out with our friend Callan. Hey, Callan, key was just magic. So in the first game, he went two through two for three with an RBI on a three to two win over the iron pigs, so that was key. And it was like, okay, yeah, he's you could say he was key for winning the game, right with that RBI. But then game two, right after that, he hit a fucking Grand Slam in the bottom of the third inning for a five to one win. So he also pretty much won that second game. And the QR quality hair above replacement trademark our friend Ollie, but oh my god, look at this guy. He has great, great hair. His debut was at Yankee Stadium in August last year, and I remember like the stress around it and the pressure around it, and he did have a hard time after his call up. The sad part about his debut is that his parents couldn't be there because of visas. And he's from Venezuela. And so that's another you know, as you see all the news in Venezuela, remember that we have a lot of MLB players from Venezuela who have family in Venezuela. A lot of them are playing right now in Venezuela. So let's not attack the country. Shall we? Good on the Red Sox. They flew his brethren so his younger brother, Joanne Fran, who's past, who's not password. Nickname is username to go with password. You know, his parents were creative. There. He's in the Red Sox system. He's 20 years old, and he's a catcher in the Red Sox system. And the Red Sox surprised justinson by flying in his brother for the debut at Yankee Stadium, because they knew that the parents couldn't make it. He was in high a Greenville at the time, and Justin said, I don't have anyone else here in the US for him to be here is very amazing bonus. John friend got to take batting practice, you know, because he was there. So that was his first time on a big league field. And actually, his signing was tipped off by his brother, his oldest older brother, justinson, tipped off the Red Sox right after signing. You know, check out my brother. They checked him out. They signed him, unfortunately, at Yankee Stadium. The most action that justinson saw in the box when he was up to bat was a squirrel. So I don't know if you folks remember, but this was a squirrel that was, like, all over the field for a while, kind of like, snuck back off, and then while he was in the on deck circle, the squirrel, like, literally ran up to him and ran into his back leg so he didn't get a hit that game.

Patti 22:44
It also did not hit the squirrel, which is good, right, right?

Pottymouth 22:47
That is, that is very good. But his first hit actually was against the Orioles the 28th it was double off of Povich in the last game of a Red Sox sweep at Camden Yards, two days after the this trade. So now you know, off season gets traded to Pittsburgh. I was just talking about lots of red stock stuff there. He debuted with the navagantes de Magian is in Venezuela. So he's in Venezuela right now, playing in the Venezuelan League. His first at bat in the winter ball, he hit a double. He went three for four that game with a walk. He had the Red Sox permission to just stay until December 21 so I'm not sure what happens now that he's a pirate, if the pirates let him stay a little bit longer, but it's actually his first season in Venezuelan ball. He still needs to earn his spot on the pirates. You know, this is new trade. Spring Training is going to happen. There is room in the outfield. O'Neill Cruz is out there in center and Brian Reynolds in right field, both former baseball boyfriends. I think they're both yours, actually. But you know, you never know what could happen. So he's originally from a small town called apure in Venezuela, and they're actually no MLB players from there, not a scout spot. But apparently softball is a thing. His dad, whose name is John, John, right? Okay, like,

Patti 24:14
I mean, I feel like that. They didn't live up to expectations there. I mean,

Pottymouth 24:19
yeah, so he was, he pitched for 20 years on the Venezuelan national softball team. He was in four softball World Cups, two Pan American Games, five Central American and Caribbean games, and they sort of call him the Venezuelan Otani, because he pitched and he also hit really well. He had multiple MVPs. He was pitcher of the year one year, and he held the batting title another year. And so dad said about the difference between his son's name and his name. John, quote, we chose a big league name for him, and now he is one. He wanted something uncommon, and then he said, My wife took charge of how to write it. Ha.

Patti 25:00
Haha. I think it involved, like, putting a lot of like, like Scrabble tiles, just dropping them and seeing where they landed.

Pottymouth 25:08
Yeah, if only you could, like, use, you know, proper names for Scrabble, that would be a great one.

Patti 25:13
Oh, my God. So many points. So many points. I selected a very easy to spell player, also local boy, Spencer Horowitz, 28 years old, started first base, maybe at second base. He's from Timonium, Maryland, which is shouting distance from, from, you know, Orioles Park. So we grew up as an OS fan, went to Camden Yards. A lot. Love to go watch Manny Machado and JJ Hardy and says, I love that ballpark so much. And me too, Bud Me too. Me and Spencer were like this. Okay, so please note that the last guy that I just profiled a minute ago, his name was Christian. Spencer is Jewish and went to a Catholic high school, so I don't know. I can't really identify a theme and my guys this time, but maybe you can pull something out of there. I'm just

Pottymouth 26:03
like, This holiday season, right? You know, starting Christmas is coming, sure.

Patti 26:08
So also winter sports include ice hockey. So at St Paul's High School, he was a defenseman on their hockey team, and that team won states twice, twice while he was playing for them, and he says, I wasn't the best skater, I wasn't the best puck handler, but we were lucky enough to win two state championships. I think I had about 10 goals in my whole career, but one of them was a game winner in the championship. That was really special. But, man, I love to play hockey. It was so much fun. Again, I don't love to play hockey because I can't stand up on skates for more than a hot minute, but I sure do like to walk watch it. So again, hey, Spencer and I were like, this

Pottymouth 26:47
reminds me of our friend Ernie Clement, right, who talked about hockey being good training,

Patti 26:51
right, right. Okay, so Spencer went um to Radford for college and got drafted out of Radford in 2019 by the Blue Jays in round 24 now this is 2019 remember, in 2020 there were only five rounds. This man would not have been drafted if it was the covid year draft, right? So round 24 he played for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic in 2023 which meant that he wasn't able to go to his very first major league spring training, right? But he said these were also the very first games he ever played in a major league ballpark, so that, I think you know, for him, accounted for a lot to have that experience playing in front of, you know, 40,000 people in a major league ballpark, even though, you know, no spring training happened. So his actual debut was at Texas and June of 2023, and he said, I was on deck, I could see my family in the stands, and I just looked around at the stadium. And took a moment, the Texas Stadium is ginormous. And I was like, holy. Like, this is unbelievable. Now, I don't know if it was holy something else. But this was in, this was in a an article written for his high schools, his Catholic high schools paper. So there may have been, you know, but holy, I think sure that could stay anyway. He singled in his first at bat on his debut. He got his first RBI in that game, and he walked twice. So that was a good way to start his career. And he said the dream didn't do it any justice. It was everything I dreamed of times 10, which was good because he got sent back down after three games, but spent, like the rest of the season in triple a buffalo. The Bisons named him their MVP for that season, right? So among the many great things he did while he was in triple A instead of staying up in the majors was he had a six RBI game. He had 37 multi hit games. He his single season on base percentage was more than 26 points higher than the franchise record for a single season on base percentage. So he had a pretty good minor league season the next year, 2024 he didn't play 97 games for Toronto. December, things moved quickly. December, 2024 he was traded to Cleveland for Andre Jimenez and Nick Sandlin. And then that same day, he was traded from Cleveland to Pittsburgh for you're gonna love this one for a pitcher, Luis Ortiz. Really remember how we talk about, you know, how you decide who won or lost a trade? Yeah, Luis Ortiz, you know, going to trial for gambling. Oh, shit. Probably Pittsburgh won this trade. Yeah, probably won this trade. Yes, yes, he was there for Ortiz and and two prospects. So damn good luck. You know, good for you, Pittsburgh, right? Yeah. So he his debut for Pittsburgh was late because he had a wrist injury. So he started the season on the IL but that in July, he kicked in. He debuted. He's playing for Pittsburgh. He had like verse in the three game series versus Detroit. In July, he had back to back three hit. Games, followed by his very first Career Grand Slam the next day. So he recovered pretty well. He's got a tattoo that's kind of interesting. It's four dots with half a parentheses in between. So if you look at it, one way, it's a smiley face and the other way, it's a sad face, right? You can kind of picture that. He said that, you know, it's depending on how you want to look. It said, I'm just going through the highs. Going through the highs and lows of baseball. I'm trying to keep the even keel. I saw that, and it spoke to me. So when players weekend came around, he used that image that he has on his tattoo for green custom cleats and an orange and yellow bat. And he said, what that was for? Because this whole even keel thing, he was championing mental health awareness, and he actually, he auctioned off the cleats for a charity that promotes mental health awareness. He said he's been struggling with anxiety and depression since he was a child, and said he was he's been supported really well, friends, family and also, you know, the celebrities that speak up about this, right? So like having public figures talk about it, as well as people that know him helping to, like, stand him up. And he says he wants to pay it forward. So what he said about that was going through my own struggles with it, and seeing family and friends, hearing other athletes talk about it, has helped me. I think it's kind of my job the next few years to do it. So we love that. Yeah, the guy who's, you know, willing to use, you know, he uses platform for good and to, you know, to help other people and to play hard and to work hard and do good in the world. So yay. I'm very excited about Spencer Horowitz, Sure, that sounds great. Next week, we're talking Baltimore and the hammers.

Pottymouth 31:39
Yeah, fun stuff. All right, normally, at this time this show, I give a winter baseball update, but we have a lot going on today. I just want to say really quickly that Salvador Perez is playing in Venezuela right now. So more reason to like, let's not do anything bad with Venezuela. We have a lot of people we love down there. What's interesting is that he just debuted with the Leones del Caracas, who he hasn't played with before. He played in Venezuela a few years ago with the Aguilas de sulio in 2022 23 and then before that, it had been 10 years when he played with the tiburones de guayra, and he got Rookie of the Year. He that was like the beginning of his career, you know, beginning of his breakout. But it was his mom's dream. His mom is a Leones fan, and you know, you got to, like, honor the mom's wishes. His mom wanted him to play with the Leones. So you know, at this point in his career, he can play wherever the fuck he wants. He's playing with the Leones. He also, in the other experiences in the Venezuelan League, never reached the playoffs, so he's hoping that that happens this time around. And he and a whole bunch of other guys are saying the whole the same thing who are doing winter league is that it's helping him train for the World Baseball Classic. So excited to see him there. There is so much World Baseball Classic news. I'm not going to go through it. I just want to say, Fuck the Reds for not letting Ellie de la Cruz play with the Dominican Republic. I can't even, like, I can't even, there's going to be so many superstars on that team. And really, really, I don't know that's okay. Yeah, it's not okay. And how, I mean, people want to see Ellie, he's like that, you know, lightning bolts, magnetic kind of person. So I don't know. I'm guessing that's a decision higher up than than Terry Francona, the other just quick World Baseball Classic is HOLY SHIT Mark vientos is playing for Nicaragua after he said he was not going to play for Nicaragua, and I'm thinking dusty Baker. So he is the superstar. This also gives him the chance to be the guy on the team. So he is the bat that they're going to be planning around, and I'm excited to watch. I'm sad we're not going to be there in person like we were last time, but, but we are not, we are good. We gotta, we gotta follow it anyway. So that's this week's International. There will be more of that next week. All right, folks, we are here in yet another edition of one of the draftees for the upcoming women's professional baseball league. It is happening, and this week we are here with Brittany Apgar, third round, I believe, pick for Los Angeles. So Brittany, you're the first person that I can't offer a place to stay because our other two are going to Boston, and that's where I'm from. Don't know anybody in LA, but you know you've got enough sunshine out there to keep you warm and happy. So welcome Brittany to no crying in baseball.

Brittany 34:31
Oh, guys, thank you so much. Thank you so so much. We're so happy to have you here. Awesome. So jealous. They split up the DC force crew Boston really like starting off as rivals doesn't leave a good taste in my mouth. But what happened?

Patti 34:45
Yeah, yeah, oh my gosh. So the way we usually start our interviews is we ask, what's your baseball origin story? How did baseball happen for you?

Brittany 34:55
Oh gosh, it's like a villain origin story too. Because, like, if y'all. Ever picked up a baseball in a baseball bat? You know, it's rage bait. It is so terrible to play in the best way possible. But I just started by playing catch in the backyard with my dad and my brother. We lived in a town called Farmville, so there was literally nothing to do. There was no Internet, there was no TV. There was only baseball fields and peanut fields, so

Patti 35:26
like a series on The CW or something from like 10 years ago, I don't

Pottymouth 35:29
have on the phone now. We need this. I'm thinking Field of Dreams. Actually, there

Brittany 35:35
was corn fields in the back. The only reason you wanted to hit home runs was to go through them later. It was fun.

Pottymouth 35:42
That is awesome. So, so Farmville is that North Carolina.

Brittany 35:46
It is North Carolina. It's a I always tell people I'm from Greenville, because if you know where ECU is, you know somewhere where I live.

Pottymouth 35:54
So that's what you know. That's what we had going for you. We had Greensboro listed from your wpbl stats, but we connected with you through DC girls baseball, which is how we got all our leads. And I'm wondering how you got connected with DC girls baseball, and if it was kind of like Clara's story with the baseball for all situation,

Brittany 36:13
it was actually so growing up in North Carolina, there was an all girls team when I was younger. They were called the terminators, really, yeah. So we the first tournament I ever played with them. We entered a tournament called the boys of summer tournament, and we ended up doing the entire thing. Changed the name to the kids of summer tournament. That was my introduction to all girls baseball. It was so fun. It was so nice to know that there were so many girls that played in North Carolina, like Meredith. She plays for team USA, now bullpen catcher for the South Carolina Gamecocks. But we ended up going down to Georgia one year and played in a tournament there. And that's actually when I met Paloma, the DC force. I got to play as, like, a fill in player for them for one game. And it was so much fun. Like, I loved I just fell in love with Paloma. I fell in love with her parents, her brothers, like, they are such good people, and you just love being around them. So they were like, well, we're putting together an all girls team to enter this all girls tournament. And I was like, sign me up guys. Like, I would love to play with you guys again. And so I started going up, driving up the DC like it was my own house. And I just remember I would drive up randomly. We'd get there at four in the morning, and his parents would be like, Oh, Brits here again. Oh, gosh. Oh gosh. They were like a second family to me when we were growing up.

Patti 37:44
That is so cool. Good was the Georgia thing. I think Paloma was talking about a tournament where there was a shooting range nearby. You guys were playing, and you kept hearing like guns going off.

Brittany 37:52
Yes, that was the tournament. Good old Georgia. No love to southern hospitality.

Patti 38:01
Did you then play baseball in school or little league or soft I mean, like, were you like softball? It was a weird

Brittany 38:10
transition era. Actually, I was one of the unfortunate few that got pushed into softball, and I figured, oh well, you know, I was pretty good at baseball, so I should be pretty good at softball, and I, you know, figured it would have been the same, but it never was, to me. I just decided, you know, what, might as well go to college for it, because I'm supposed to go to college. That was, like the idea. So I decided to just try to go to college. And then when I went to college for softball, I was like, you know, I just don't love it. And I really didn't love the way the coach treated the players, how players started treating the players because of the coach. So I was like, You know what? Like, I don't know who I am outside of sports, so I should probably figure that out. I'm in my 20s now, you know, I just, I replay a lot when I was still playing softball, getting cut from the baseball team in high school, because what the coach said to me just really stuck with me. He said, So baseball was a big deal in my small town, so the tryouts for the baseball team were an entire week, Monday through Friday, and I made it all the way to Friday. He gave the welcome speech to the team, congratulated everybody. I was on the top of the world. It was so fantastic. And then after that welcome meeting, he pulled me aside and let me know that he just can't have a girl on the team, because I'm not big and strong enough to play with men, and it felt like my whole world just came crashing down. So I was just like, I can't do this anymore. Like, I hate always being a first doing something, having to, like, break through. So it killed it for me.

Pottymouth 39:48
You know, how old were you that at that point in high school?

Brittany 39:52
So I think I was 14 or 13. It was like, one of those, like, it really felt like I would. Ever fit in in that town anymore. It was a small town. Everybody knew everybody. They kind of were set in the way that they wanted to think already, so they didn't like when you were trying to break that mold. It just it really kind of changed who I was as a person. And for a while, I didn't let it change me in the right way. But college, it finally made me start realizing, like, some people are losers, like, they'll

Patti 40:25
say more about the like, not letting it change. You went the right way.

Brittany 40:29
It like it started making me question myself. Like, why do I like this? Why can't I just like softball? Why can't I just fit in where I'm supposed to it for, I guess, a high school girl in a small town, it was, it was hard to figure out who I was as a person, and so getting cut from that baseball team wasn't just walking away from baseball, it was me questioning my identity, like, why couldn't I just fit in where they wanted me to, you know? And then I went to college, and I realized that, you know, some people, they they can't be themselves, so they have to make sure that you can't be yourself either.

Patti 41:07
That is, how do you connect from that like, what? How do you turn that around and say, Okay, I'm going to take active steps to be who I want to be.

Brittany 41:16
I met this such a weird girl in my freshman year, Courtney James, she was the first, like she was the first person who met me when I kind of felt like I had nothing, like I didn't have baseball going for me, like I only played softball, and she just was my best friend, like she was my roommate in college too. She made me realize that some people are going to be there for you when you have nothing, when you are nothing, just because you're a good person. And so it kind of like flipped this switch in my head that, like I can literally be who I want to be, and if somebody does not like that, then there's a million other people in this world who do you know just be kind to people. She really taught me how to just be kind to people.

Pottymouth 41:59
That is such a good byline that is so good, I mean, so as we're looking into you it, you've been in the press since a really young age. So you're talking about, you know, when, when this, dealing with this in high school and going into college, but you were on major media when you were, like, 11 years old. So like, there are a lot of girls who play baseball who end up in the press because it's like, like you're saying the one kid in the Little League or the one kid in high school. But you had some additional challenges going on. So could you tell our listeners a little bit about your background there, and you know also what this spotlight has meant to you? Mean to be looked at as the only one?

Brittany 42:39
Well, listen to address the elephant in the room, right? I was born without my right hand. It's a congenital birth defect called hypoplasia. Just in layman's terms, your organs don't fully get formed, so I am missing my right hand. They can't hear they can't see this, right? So because I was born without my right hand, I've always heard that there's things that I just can and can't do in this world. And playing sports was a big reoccurring one when I was a kid. It was never the fact that I am a woman playing sports, it was the fact that I had one hand. So it honestly never occurred to me that girls playing baseball was, like, frowned upon, until I moved to a city and I was I realized that people hate that stuff, and I was like, That's so weird. I honestly love challenges. So being born without my right hand like it sparked that love for me, you know, trying to figure out how to do something, even though it might look a little different than other people, like tying shoes, like people don't think I can tie my shoes, but that was the first thing that my parents taught me before I went to school, to make sure that I could always take care of myself. I fix cars. I can basically almost do anything I want to do, and that's why I fell in love with baseball so much. You hear all the time as a kid, when your coaches are first trying to teach you to love the game, that baseball is 90% mental and 10% physical. And I think that that's why I always love baseball so much, because I can out think somebody, even though I don't have a hand, I can take my glove off and throw it and I can, if I keep working at it, I could do it faster than people with two hands. So it just meant so much to me that I had a challenge to overcome. And it wasn't just, oh my gosh, is this pitch going to be a strike? Am I going to catch this? It always takes my mind off of over anxiety about stuff. You know, it's a it's a secret weapon, in my personal opinion,

Pottymouth 44:41
that is such a great way to phrase it. I love the secret weapon.

Patti 44:45
So when you had to figure out the you know, how you are going to play, did you have to figure that out yourself? Or did you have models or help for accommodations or equipment or what I mean, wow.

Brittany 44:58
I have a father named Thomas Apgar. Are, and he is very involved in everything that I do. So when I first told him that I like the sound of him playing catch with my brother in the backyard, the next day, I had a ball and a glove. We were playing catch in the backyard like we would, honestly. We started without a glove, just getting hand eye coordination back and forth. He taught me how to throw first, because I have to throw and catch with the same hand. So learn how to throw first, and then catching was pretty easy, just, you know, catching the ball. And then when I started getting older and we went into kid pitch, I realized that I love pitching. I love being in control of the game. So my dad would stand really close to me, and I'd throw the ball at him, and he'd throw it back at he would have, like, another ball in his hand just to quickly flip it back at me, because he was so scared that I would get hurt, that he wanted to make sure that I was so well trained that I would not get hurt, like a line drive back to the face was his biggest fear, and it never even crossed my mind because of how fast I could do it. So we would watch videos of Jim Abbott pitching in the major leagues. We would take those and modify it for me, and then we found like quicker hacks, quicker ways to do it. And I am so excited to show it off, because I have a few new ways that I can flip the ball up and transfer, and I'm so excited for the women's professional league to finally show that off.

Patti 46:23
Oh my god, I can't so now, but now you're playing outfield. Is that right?

Brittany 46:28
Yes, center field, I am such I love diving. I guys, I'm an attention whore. I'm so sorry.

Pottymouth 46:35
I have to relate.

Brittany 46:37
If there is a reason for me to dive, I am diving. I'm one of those. I'm sorry, sue me.

Patti 46:43
Yeah, we defense is sexy. I love good defense. People lay out.

Brittany 46:48
I like the way you think,

Patti 46:50
yeah, for sure, for sure.

Pottymouth 46:52
We totally need that shirt that is so awesome. All right, so you're made it to WPS, DPL. So how did you go from your taking some time off college softball to tryouts like, What? What? What happened between the years where you left playing organized baseball, softball in college and ended up trying out for the women's professional league?

Brittany 47:17
You know, when I stopped playing baseball, I truly thought that was the end for baseball, and then when I stopped playing softball, I was like, this is the end of sports for me. And I hated that thought and feeling, because I was like, I went, I have a nine to five job, co clock in, clock out. I work at a gym, and it's great. But I really thought that sports like I something felt wrong in my like, soul like, deep in my chest, that I'm just not doing what I'm meant to be doing, even though I love it. And I would, I was looking into trying out for the Paralympics, starting to get into Taekwondo, because I just wanted to be competitive. I wanted to do something like shoot me and my friends picked up pickleball, or, you know, rock climbing or something um. And there was, there's another professional league that professional, but there's another league that has women playing, and they had a tournament in Durham, North Carolina back in 2024 and I only live 50 minutes from Durham, North Carolina, so I saw Paloma post about it on her Snapchat, and I was like, Oh my gosh, you guys are, like, right down the road for me. Like, when are you playing? So she told me what time she was playing. Me and my buddies, we load up in the car. There's four of us. We drove down to Durham, and we're watching the game. And my friend, he's also my roommate. His name's Ben. We were talking about, like, just how much fun it was watching them like they all were all up on the fence cheering, putting their bodies on the line for plays, like they cared so much about it that it was so hard to just watch. I had, I had the worst FOMO of my life, guys. And I was like,

Pottymouth 48:56
and running out there, what if you

Brittany 48:57
put me in please? I'm right. And I was so I was just so happy seeing all my friends that I'd grown up with playing baseball still like that was so heartwarming. And then after the game, we were chatting, I got to see palomas parents for the first time in years, like we were adults now. And it's so weird, because like watching them play, it just brought me back to being kids with them. And then, like, a couple days later, Paloma had posted on her Instagram story, and she was like, Justine was putting together a professional baseball league. And I was like, Oh my God. Like, did I? Did I manifest this? Like, what's going on,

Pottymouth 49:39
you know? And you're talking about Justine Siegel, okay, the founder of baseball for

Brittany 49:44
all, yes, the founder of baseball for all. This was back when the woman's professional Instagram only had like 100 followers, like, literally just made that page. And I was like, No, I'm not gonna do it. I've been too far out of the. Same. So I kind of forgot about it. I put my email into the information, like, sign up for information, and I totally forgot about it. And then April comes around and I get an email saying, so we're now looking for videos to invite people to try outs, please send in a video. And I was like, there's no real I really did not think it was real for a little bit Sure. And so couple couple months later goes by and we get emails saying, congratulations. Like, you've been selected, where tryouts are going to be in July or August. Like, please get ready and all this stuff. And I'm like, Oh my God. Like, Ashton landstell, she plays D, 1o o, Miss softball. Jamie McKay, there's Team USA players. Like, I can't compete with them. I'm out of shape by three years. Like, I'm a loser now. Oh my god.

Patti 50:56
I mean, like, you have, like, a couple of us, what do you do?

Brittany 50:59
Yeah, guys. Okay, I this is gonna sound like crackhead stuff, but like, I knew that I had to train insane to be able to keep up with them, because they are getting d1 level attention right now. They are getting professional like banana league too. What are we talking about, right? So working a full time job, it was I convinced myself I didn't have the time, so I was like, You know what it was cool. I'm glad that I was like, selected, but I'm not gonna go. And then I told my, one of my friends about it. She was like, You know what? Like, I joined the army at 30 because I didn't want to be my age now and regret not doing it. And that flicks something in my head. So I would wake up for runs at like around six, then I'd come back get ready for work. We would I have work from like nine to three. At three I had a lunch break, so on my hour lunch, I'd come home, we'd put on 20 pound weighted vests and run like, mile repeats, Hill sprints, just anything insane that would make a normal person, like, want to die. I was like, that's what we got to do. And so I would take the 20 pound weighted vest off. We'd rehydrate. I'd go back to work at four, four to seven, I'd have to finish out my day. And then seven would come around. I would drive to my dad's house. He just got done working at a warehouse, and he would throw batting practice to me until the sun went down at about like 845

Pottymouth 52:27
ish, yay, summer. Yeah, right. We

Brittany 52:30
miss it. God, seasonal depression. And then I would get done hitting with him, my best friend, Courtney, her boyfriend, would sneak us into the college like, that in case, because he plays college baseball and he had the keys. So don't tell anybody. I'm not gonna drop the name, but shout out. So we would hit in there until probably about, like, you know, 1010, 30, and then my best friend Zay, he's a college wrestler, which who is in better shape than a college wrestler. They have full total body conditioning, you know. So I would meet him at the gym, because the gym I work at is 24/7 we would work out together till probably about like 12 or so, good God, and then come back and do it all again the next day. And we did that day in, day out. It was terrible, it was miserable, and it was the most loved I've ever felt in my life. My friends would text me every morning, asking if I ate, asking if I take my vitamins, bringing me lunch to work, like making sure, like I was stretching. Just it was so incredible to see how much they showed up for me and like they adopted this dream with me. So like they some of my friends came, my girlfriend, she came to tryouts with me in nationals field. She was calming me down every day, like making sure I wasn't panicking over these emails to find out if we made it to the next day. It meant so much to feel that much support and like it's carrying me through training, even more so because I was going to not get cut at Nationals field, but now we're going to win this whole championship.

Pottymouth 54:05
Shebang. Heck, yeah. Oh my god, man, you had a squad. Like, that's like, squad

Brittany 54:10
support never happened without them.

Patti 54:14
So you get here for try here, because we're, you know, we're outside of DC,

Pottymouth 54:19
and Patty was there.

Patti 54:21
So you walk into, you know, the NATs Academy for the first day. What's it like? What? How does it feel? What's it feel like?

Brittany 54:28
It was so surreal being back we Oh, right, yeah, when we were kids, we would do some stuff there, have some training stuff there with nationals players. It was incredible. There was one time that me and Paloma did a photo shoot for Under Armor there too. I don't know if she mentioned that.

Pottymouth 54:46
No, that's so cool. I want to see the photos.

Brittany 54:50
Yeah, it was called, she plays, we win. Look it up. It was really fine. And so that was the last time I'd been there for that photo shoot when we were like, 15, maybe. Yeah, and so being back there as a 22 year old trying out for a professional sports league was a feeling I still haven't quite figured out how to put into words yet, like it was exactly where I felt like I was supposed to be my entire life. It was such a deja vu feeling, and I was like, I'm finally like, where I'm supposed to be in life. It's such a like, imagine getting to do your absolute favorite thing in the world for a living, and you thought you were done with it. You thought like getting cut in high school baseball was the last time you would be able to say you were a baseball player. And now, like when people ask what I do, I can say I'm a professional baseball player. That's amazing. You can't even

Pottymouth 55:46
conceive of that totally and not to mention a trailblazer, like, you're going to be known in history as part of the inaugural season of this league. That's huge.

Brittany 55:57
It's so surreal, because I feel like I can feel everybody's dreams, everybody's hopes, like every time someone I see somebody in the comments saying, Man, when I was 10, I wish I could have played baseball, or, like so many dreams were lost because this world wasn't accepting of women playing baseball, like a whole sport was created just so women would not play Baseball. And like softball is great. Girls love playing softball too. That is some real talent to underhand pitch those balls, because I've played and it's so hard to hit a riseball, I look stupid every time, but it never felt the same as baseball, and it just did not feel fair to me. So walking into that tryout felt like I was carrying everybody's dreams with me, not in a weight way, but in the like I feel like I am carrying everybody's passion with me. It's driving me through this like in anything y'all throw at me, it doesn't mean anything, because all of these people wish they could be here right now. This is for everybody. I sat

Patti 56:59
in those stands at nets Park watching this, you know, just like blown away by all of you amazing players out there, but also blown away by all of these little girls running around in the stands getting autographs from people who are trying out and knowing who the players are and getting excited about and and it's a whole, you know, freaking see her be her thing. I mean, we say it all the time, but, yes, but I was watching, it actually happened. It's like, look at you guys out there on the field at a major league ballpark.

Brittany 57:28
Thank you so much for saying it. Because, like, these girls have heroes now, like when we were growing up, we didn't have women heroes that were getting dirty, putting their bodies on the line, like these women are heroes now, yeah, it's such an I'm so happy. I wish, when I wish I could grow it right now.

Patti 57:44
I wish you could start over and kind of happy,

Pottymouth 57:50
yes, yeah, yeah. There's so many, like, clips of players talking to their young selves, yeah, you know, like, what I wish I could have told myself when I was young, guy is going to be okay, right? Like, just keep at it. It's going to work out.

Brittany 58:04
It's so weird and so funny how life has a way of working out. And the fact that I'm alive and get to play in this league is like, five years later, and I felt like I would have been too old or five years earlier, and I wouldn't have had the confidence This happened when it was supposed to happen. And I'm so honored to be a part of it.

Patti 58:20
So I gotta know, how did your squad celebrate you when you got drafted?

Brittany 58:24
Oh, my, we were all at my best friend's apartment. She's on the second floor too, so I'm sure her neighbors hate her. Now, my mom started doing that.

Pottymouth 58:39
Oh, I feel that like we have been that mom, yeah, we

Patti 58:42
have 24 year old kids, so

Brittany 58:46
Oh my gosh. It was like, we all just made the LA team. Like it was so my dad had shirts printed out of my face on it. It was, ah, he's ridiculous in the best way. But it was just so, like, it felt like we all made it, like, I finally get to play on a platform and promote this. But now this also helps my friends lives. Because if they want now, they can say they trained a professional athlete like now my coaches, who coached me, can say they trained a professional athlete like this helps everybody. And you know, there's the saying, when you share joy, you double it. When you share bird and you have it, it felt so true in this instance, because we just quadrupled it even more.

Pottymouth 59:26
So that is so awesome. So, like, we've heard sort of mixed things about how much people know about the next steps, all right, so you get drafted, you're you're on La, but you're not going to LA yet, right? What? What have they told you about? What happens next?

Brittany 59:44
So I will spill some insider info. Yes, I can. I honestly feel like Paloma might know a little bit more. But the other day, I just offered my official contract. Yes. So I haven't texted and asked anybody yet, because I'm really scared to upset anybody who hasn't got it yet. But we don't know much of anything. The contract basically says they'll move us out once you sign it, it starts, it guarantees an active spot roster, so on and so forth. So that's big. I have no I've been sitting on it for a couple days. You guys are the first people I've told

Pottymouth 1:00:26
us and our closest friends, congratulations.

Patti 1:00:30
That's so huge. Thank you guys. And then, okay, so like, Springfield is the next thing.

Brittany 1:00:36
Springfield is the destination. So what we've heard, they were talking about doing barnstorming games, I thought, as well where we're going to those cities, and maybe playing a game or two in each just trying to make sure that there's hype in each city. But you know, as much as the frequently asked questions on the website, we have been finding out just as much as they've been posting on Instagram. We honestly find out through Instagram before they email us at this point, that contract is the first thing that I've gotten that has not been posted yet. Contract is good, yeah, good starting point, right?

Patti 1:01:15
So have you like to sort of like, ratchet back the, you know, pre try out workouts to kind of like, get in shape, but not kill yourself, yes.

Brittany 1:01:24
So instead of focusing on, like, weights, where I did pre training for this, I'm really focusing on body weight, stuff, tendon, health, strength. I know I'm only 22 but I'm not 14 anymore. Like I could not move my arm for almost a week after tryouts, it was horrendous. I felt so throwing my body like that, I was like, oh man. Like, gosh, I'm I'm feeling my age right now. So I went into this, like, off season, waiting to find out if I got drafted, with the approach of, I really need to invest in my body's health, strengthening up the muscles around my ACL my rotator cuff, all of that stuff. It is so important for me to make maintain healthy tendons. I'm so scared of tearing my rotator cuff again. Oh, again. Yikes. Yes. Oh, the switch from baseball into softball to my rotator cuff because I guess the weight difference of the ball, yeah, so I was Waka Flocka, look. Ma, no hands for about five months. Five months, yeah, they had me in that nice little sling. It was terrible.

Patti 1:02:32
Yeah, oh, man, I'm so sorry to hear that. Okay, but so you're on the path, you're gonna be ready, you're gonna be in shape. You gotta go to Springfield, and amazing things are going to happen.

Brittany 1:02:42
Yes, yes, I'm like, I'm just thrilled to be able to play again. So the fact that I get to hone in my abilities again, be competitive, learn my teammates, and, you know, get on base where they need me be, where they need me. Like, I really feel like LA's team is stacked, like we're taking it.

Pottymouth 1:02:59
We're taking, oh, my God, you got here, you got Ashton land zone, right? Ashton Jamie,

Brittany 1:03:03
come on now we are. They better be scared, man, that's all I gotta say. At least taking it this year.

Patti 1:03:10
Well, I mean, we were rooting for barnstorming because we want you all back here in DC so we can see you all play.

Brittany 1:03:15
Yes, we've got to give homage there, maybe, like the championship should be there or something, you know,

Pottymouth 1:03:20
oh, that's a great your words

Patti 1:03:23
to Justine's ear, whoever's making those

Brittany 1:03:29
decisions, right? Full circle moment. Or like even Rockford, Illinois, where the first BFA baseball nationals were like, that would be so surreal.

Pottymouth 1:03:39
Not to mention the big time history, right? So you know, wherever you guys are we're going to get to, we're going to make sure that we get to see some games, and we're going to be looking for you. We're going to be looking for Paloma and Clara and whoever else we get to talk to before this this thing starts.

Brittany 1:03:56
It's so incredible. So what

Patti 1:03:58
didn't we ask you that you want to make sure people know about you or about the league, or about what's next.

Brittany 1:04:03
Oh, man, I'm just I'm so excited for everybody to have heroes, because every like, you are gonna find players that you absolutely adore, and you are gonna have some villains in this league too. I'm so excited to see, like, who's who and what happens with it. Like, it's definitely going to be a historic first season.

Patti 1:04:24
Can't wait, sure. Can't wait. Oh my god, Brittany, thank you so much for spending this time with us. I'm telling us your story, and I am so freaking inspired. I can't wait for you to be the hero for all of these kids. This is amazing.

Brittany 1:04:36
Thank you so much. Thank you guys, so much for having me on. This was so much fun. Thank you.

Pottymouth 1:04:40
And I just want to put it out there again that we're going to we're going to be getting back in touch after the play starts. So I hope it's okay for us to keep track of what you're doing.

Brittany 1:04:48
Guys, quote me. Now I'm telling you. LA's taking it. Talk again. I'll tell y'all we're in first

Pottymouth 1:04:53
perfect this Boston girl right here is holding her brush. But power to you, man. Yes, all right, thanks again, Brittany. We will be in touch soon.

Patti 1:05:06
Brittany was so much fun. I hope you guys enjoyed that interview listening to it as much as we enjoyed talking to Brittany, and we can't wait to check in with her later to see how all this is going.

Pottymouth 1:05:16
Inspired, yeah, no, I'm blown away by all these young women. This is going to be a kick ass League.

Patti 1:05:22
It sure is. It sure is all right. What do you have going on this week? Oh, my God, wait a minute.

Pottymouth 1:05:26
Happy Hanukkah, right? So as we are talking right now, the sun is going down, and that means it is almost time to light that first candle. This is the first night of Hanukkah. So Happy Hanukkah to all. And if you could just add latkes to that too, everything would be a perfect day, yes. And actually, the intern did take some luck as we made we didn't get any. So you got to come over this week. We did make a whole bunch. So our little thing about Hanukkah, you know, the story of hanukk, of course, is the oil lasted. It was supposed to last one days, and it lasted eight days. So we get this eight day holiday. But for us, we make Luckies on the first day, and then the smell of the oil in the house lasts

Patti 1:06:01
the eight days. I love the way your house smells.

Pottymouth 1:06:05
That's exactly it.

Patti 1:06:08
Oh my gosh. Okay, yeah, that will be the downside about not recording in the same room today. Oh, well, okay, celebrate. Well, woo hoo, yay. All right, my friends, wow. So next week, we will be back with boyfriends from Baltimore in Atlanta. If you have ideas about that, you know how to find us on social media.

Pottymouth 1:06:26
Sure you can find us in the blue sky. Or if you need to message on Twitter, it'll work the same way. Ncib podcast, Facebook and Instagram are no crying in B ball. Or you can join the friends at Patreon. If you want to join at the beginner level, it's a whole buck a month. You can't get anything for $1 a month, but you can get the good feeling inside of supporting, no crying in baseball, because we believe in the power of the people. We believe in grassroots organizing. So if everybody throws in a buck, you know what? We get to keep doing this fun stuff, and we really like doing it. So many, many, many. Thanks to all our Patreon patrons. And if you want to join at a slightly higher level, like the friends we mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, you get to make us say something fun on air.

Patti 1:07:10
Oh my gosh. All right, hey, if you're traveling for the holidays, we hope you have gotten boosted. We hope you fight the man. It's the right thing to do. Don't forget to send your game balls to Meredith and until next week,

Pottymouth 1:07:21
say goodnight. Potty mouth.

Yours says app is not focused. I don't know why you're not focused now. You're focused because it's too cold. That's probably it. You're just like, I'm shivering, I'm vibrating. It's the Yeah, but don't worry, I have the fog from the breath. Those are cute.