Chicago Cubs pitcher Porter Hodge joins the CHGO Cubs Podcast! | CHGO Cubs Podcast

Chicago Cubs pitcher Porter Hodge joins the CHGO Cubs Podcast! | CHGO Cubs Podcast

[Music] [Applause] [Music] hey Chicago what do you say it’s the chgo Cubs podcast on a scheduled off day for the Cubs it is June 3 Luke stuck Ryan Herrera Cody delmendo Cubs just finished playing the Reds the white socks are coming up next and on this podcast we have coming up in just a little bit an exciting surprise for you one of the Cubs players is going to join us on this podcast and so far this season he is absolutely perfect initials PE pH that’s all we’ll say pH see if you can figure that out uh rough weekend guys you know I said this was a nine game stretch where they they have to Feast right and it’s nine games against the Reds and white socks and losing two out of three to the Reds I know uh Cody was riding the emotional roller coaster but it it was not certainly the way to start this nine game stretch I mean I don’t really have you know how I said the like last week that like I don’t know what to say yeah I still don’t know what to say like that’s not good we you know long podcast every day Cody I feel like when I went on that little mini rant uh when Ryan had joined from the ballpark I mean that was kind of like the the clock kind of resetting like I’m back I was back in the angry mode and now I’m back into just like I’m kind of numb and if we lose if even if we don’t sweep the white socks I’m I’m probably going to be back at the angry mode again so like and it has nothing to do with the fact that they the white socks is the fact that the white sock have lost 11 straight games and they’re not a good baseball team and so you if you’re going to be a playoff team you need to win these games especially with how bad you’ve been playing like I you know Saturday I know the the weather conditions were bad but the defense was bad then yesterday it’s like Ben Brown finally looks human and the offense can’t pick him up you know and then Friday I mean I’m so glad we didn’t have a show on Friday because I would have came in here and just yelled about Willie Harris for 45 minutes no less no less all right and so like it was just an overall frustrating weekend and the Reds they haven’t been playing good man and so like it’s not even like you’re getting you know Milwaukee who’s been playing well or the Cardinals who had started playing well when you went to St Louis like you got a Reds team that has legitimately not been playing with well and a De La Cruz has been who has been their best player all season has been slumping he did nothing against you this weekend and you still managed to lose two of three I mean I thought God cried enough on Saturday can’t win on Sunday to win two in a row when the last time his team won two in a row like I it’s I don’t know what to say anymore the only good thing I can say or the positive thing I can say is that you know the pitching continues to be good and you know like that’s it and I the defense fundamentals Cory and Brennan talked about it a ton yesterday but like it’s got to be better man it’s a new month we’re one in one in June it better be a better record by the end of the month man Ryan I didn’t Council say something too he kind of addressed the the offense thing he’s just he seems still seems confident that this is a blip on the radar and and the offense will be okay well to for one I I think it’s I I I don’t I think it’s more than a blip in the radar I think he’s kind of acknowledged it like there’s yeah struggles right and that they’ve going through for a long time um but yeah you know yesterday Council saying um you know our hitters are going to get hits in those spots that will come I promise you it’ll come but when you’re going through it it doesn’t look like it it’s going to come there’s some numbers that won’t continue to go this way and we’ll get those hits and like C is a very even killed guy I think um he doesn’t get too high he doesn’t he’s not like overtly angry for the most part after games I think when umpires throw him out of a game for um foul tip call versus hitting in the hand call a little a little more clear um on just like he’s a little frustrated with that uh but I think in his own way he’s showing the frustrations like he’s showing when is just constantly saying like like this this is gonna this will stop this will come this will turn I mean I feel for me I’m like I feel like I can only drive say say that so many times myself before I started driving myself crazy um but no I yeah like at this point it’s until the front office goes out and makes moves or younger guys in the minor leagues are ready to come up and try to contribute that’s kind of where you have to be is you kind of have to like just have faith that the point that Jed has made and and console has agreed with is that guys do have track records guys that are underperforming and some of them by a lot do have track records of being better hitters and like so that gives them confidence that those guys will turn things around those guys will perform better and hit better and like and it’s not even just offense right like there’s the the the sloppy play defensively there’s running running it out on the base pass there’s a lot going wrong um and I think at this point they’re not know someone like I tweeted something out and someone replied that they’ve dug they’ve dug themselves in two far of a hole and it’s like no they haven’t like they’re it’s beginning of June they’re two games under 500 they’re a half game out of the Wild Card like does NL Central like the Brewers look very far away at this point yes but there’s a lot of baseball left and no they’re not they’re not in a huge hole but I will say yeah like the at this point it’s just like they have the belief and the confidence that these guys will turn things around and play better because honestly in my eyes like at this point that’s all you you have until things change as far as roster construction wise like all you have is that confidence and those guys to do better like you you mentioned roster construction and like I’m I’m I’m more frustrated about roster construction or roster Management in season like like all of Cups Twitter was like celebrating like we won the World Series when they demoted magical yesterday but they demoted Nick magical to bring up David bod and it’s just like we are in a season where you want see young guys who actually have a future with this team like if if daavid bod performs great if he do if I’ll be happy and if it means that that that that you’re getting some some better production Off the Bench I I do have confidence that he’ll perform better than Nick magical did but like how you you called bod up and then you start him right away Luis Vasquez gets called up you don’t play him at all and you gets one at bat when in you’re in a nine to2 blowout like it doesn’t make sense to me considering the the the season that we’re in you know what I mean like it it’s I understand that playing Luis Vasquez whether you play him as much as I would like or not is probably not affecting a ton of wins or losses but at the end of the day this season to me whe making the playoffs or not is all about learning about some of these young guys that you have your number two farm system that you keep promoting to us like the fact that you didn’t play him at all send him back to Iowa and then you give David bod this opportunity and then you start him the first day that he gets here which I understand in the fact of the matchup for yesterday I get that but the the the process the thought process of it you know what I mean is what is just frustrated me so much with the front office and again I’m not rooting against Dava body it’s just it doesn’t make sense to me and here’s where I’m gonna disagree with you I’m gonna cut you off I’m gonna disagree with you because if you want to make the play if you want to turn this thing around it’s not about playing young guys it’s about playing who’s going to help you or who can help you get wins who’s playing well and can help you get wins and if you look at Luis vasquez’s Triple A numbers offensively not very good like you know 737 Ops like it it you’d want a guy to be hidden a lot better than that to expect him to have the kind of like the performance that can really contribute to wins offensively at the big league level David bod was hitting a lot better than him at the at the Triple A level and like I’ve said it like I was surprised that David bod came back up I thought you know something something bad would have would have happened for him to be back up and in a way it did because the Cubs are playing so poorly and had such a bad May um but like I would I’m shocked I was a little more shocked to see David bod back up if if you would have told me a year ago I probably wouldn’t have believed you but he’s hitting he’s hitting better he’s hitting well in Triple A he’s hitting better than a guy like Luis Vasquez and if you’re you’re Craig Council again it’s just like you you you are going to play guys who you think are going to contribute to wins every day clearly he didn’t think that Luis Vasquez in a starting role was gonna do that well the only thing I can say to that is that Matt mvis has been matching for two years in Iowa and even PCA this year was not playing well in Iowa until like the last week whenever the Cubs sent him down and oh you know however many days later they realize how much of a mistake that was you know and and and he had a a good stretch so like it’s it’s not that I don’t take the AAA numers seriously it’s the fact that we know what David bod is if David bod completely outperforms whatever I expect then I’ll give him all the credit and I’ll put my hand up and say I’m wrong here but I I don’t expect to see anything different the only the only thing that’s gonna the only thing that’s you know that I somewhat agree with you on this Ryan is that like we know the role he’s going to play he’s going to play Third Base and he’s going to play against lefties and that’s it and that’s fine that’s fine I just again it’s the process to me that bothers me and it goes back way more than just calling up David bod you know what I mean I I I hear you Cody I will say that like a week ago when I was saying I don’t see any way bod’s coming back because it’s a financial thing and they won’t do it well it ended up being a roster move with with aleli but whatever I I do think if you would have asked me straight up who gives me my my best flexibility and production at the major league level forget development is it Master bony is it Madrigal is it bod I probably would have said bod even though I would say you know long run that’s not going to solve anything for you but if you’re trying to win five games this week I’d rather have him being that flexible guy now Vasquez another question if you think that’s possible but if it’s Madrigal or Master bone my answer is actually probably David bod but and that’s fair think bod had has had some success offensively at the big league level it’s been a few years obviously but right and it’s been a while I mean was it like 600 days since he was on the major league Rost or something like that like it has been a while I’ll give you that but he’s the longest tenur player isn’t he like uh Kyle HRI years Kyle HRI but he’s been in the organization I think the long years 11 or 12 for bod yeah yeah it’s just it’s I’m not again it’s just for me it’s who’s who’s gonna you’re you’re not it’s not a developmental season anymore it shouldn’t be and I I get the wanting to see young guys play seeing if they can contribute seeing if they can provide a spark I get that but at the end of the day it’s who who’s going to be the best lineup who’s GNA be the best roster 26 man roster to help you get a win on any any given day and like I said like I Craig counil clearly felt that Luis Vasquez up up at the big league level wasn’t the guy to start and and he didn’t feel that starting him every day every other day even I know if he got a start um was gonna help the team win a game that day uh but he got the start yesterday this again this looking at what Craig counil how he’s gone about it the last couple weeks clearly felt that David bod yesterday gave them a better chance to win than Vasquez any of the days that he was up and that’s why you know that that why the playing time kind of went that way want to make sure we got enough time for our special guest coming up so real quick in one minute what do you expect from white sock series to be really to be really really annoyed that’s what I expect I’m gonna be really annoyed probably by the Cubs and then like if the the socks manage to win one game it’ll be like I’ll have to log off the internet for a day because it’s just going to be I hate this rivalry to be honest with you guys I hate this rivalry this is it’s very Cubs fan of me to say that like this isn’t a rivalry but I’ve really never thought it was a rivalry this has always been a if you live if you grew up live in Chicago that that is that is the Rivalry people who grew up on the South Side people who grew up on the North side I didn’t grow up here man I grew up in rural Central Illinois where it’s Cubs Cardinals all right like I whenever they play each other the four the four times they do every year like yeah I want the Cubs to win but like like some of the some of the [ __ ] I see related to Cub Soxs it’s like from someone on the outside like it’s it’s actually really ridiculous like oh yeah it’s like we’re all Bears fans why are you talking [ __ ] about this person but you know whatever man like everyone can fan however they want to fan but that’s just how I feel like I I hate this rivalry it’s it’s fun I just don’t don’t take it too seriously everybody now what you should take seriously is penro seltzer Penrose brewing in Geneva Illinois seltz hard seltzers with real fruit led by Lemon seltz up a national gold medal winning hard Seltzer with real lemons they created our 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personally I like to just like not be lazy or just sit around because like it just makes me doesn’t really make me feel that good so I like to go move around a little bit the park or whatever just just do a little bit of stuff and then like to get a good dinner going on maybe get some sushi or whatever because I’m a big Sushi guy so have you found a good place have you found a good sushi place here I’ve been um I’ve been to one when my family came into town um it was called Sushi mura I think it’s on Southport yeah yeah yeah I haven’t been to that one but no I know which place you’re talking about no it was pretty good though but I know they have good steakhouses here so I’ve gotone a few steak hous and then me and Luke little went to RPM uh Seafood the other night so it’s pretty good I saw on your Instagram story last night that you were at Prime in Provisions yeah I’ve never been there what’s it like um I mean as I was wearing a hat so as soon as I walked in like sir can you please take off your hat like I was like all right I was like let me go to the bathroom I need to fix my hair got Bad Hat hair but relatable but um it was good vibes uh good scenery for sure nice low lights but food is pretty good service is good couldn’t complain yeah you can’t go wrong on any of the Chicago steakhouses there’s like at least 10 of them that are all really really good you should have showed up in your uh Cubs uniform with a hat they wouldn’t have made you take your hat off then funny yeah um actually I’ve been to last time I was in Chicago I went to STK um stk’s they have one in Arizona too but that one’s not as good as the one here I don’t know if it’s from Chicago but like it was just not it have have you tried the pizza yet like everyone talks about the pizza here illuminatis um I’ve had Luminati in Arizona I don’t know I haven’t had it here yet um I haven’t had the deep dish yet here I’ve had the um the flap whatever it is you right yeah cross right they everyone says everything’s better in Chicago anyway so you do got to get it here fact I still need to try Portillo Portillos yeah oh yeah Portillos that he’s getting he’s still getting used to everything here he’s out of town this is a pretty good City to be hanging out in the summer when you don’t have games going on so I’m I’m jealous of you having lots of free time and being out and ready to go and hit all those restaurants um when did you get the call from the Cubs and know I know you had to notify like family and stuff that you were coming up like how fast did that whole thing happen and and how did it happen for you um so it was um I want to say I can’t really remember the day I think it was Thursday night um I was in Syracuse um with the triple A team and I had just got done pitching and I was ready to go out for my second inning because like down there we usually pitch two innings whatever um but then uh Marty said I was so I was like huh that’s weird um and then uh I go into the locker room and then he calls me into his office and then just talks to me about in a bat and I thought because I thought that was it because he’s never called me into his office so I was like huh it’s a little bit strange and then uh and then I get back to my hotel and pretty much as soon as I’m just chilling in my bed he calls me and tells me I’m going up to Chicago so I was like just really ecstatic about it and then uh didn’t really sleep at all I caught maybe two hours of sleep because like I was packing and just like so ecstatic about it and then uh the next morning um landed in Chicago and that’s when I really told my family and stuff so got the word out you got called up well like you made your like you were officially put on the active roster on my birthday actually really yes and uh we do these things called a Friday 120 club and and we uh hang out at Murphy’s before the game and then we we all sit in the left field bleachers we have a shirt and everything and we’re trying to you know get a a sea of green shirts out there uh to you know just it’s kind of a community building thing but I remember you walking out to the bullpen that first time what was it like going out there for the first time you know on that day even though you didn’t pitch that day but just like you know experiencing rley field dude I mean it’s definitely the first time I’ve walked out with that many people there um and grigley Fields super cool um just I’ve been here before without the fans but like to finally see it with the fans is just like so cool to see it and The Vibes of everything like especially from noticing like uh how the fans are at Bush Stadium and like Milwaukee it’s just a different vibe at Wrigley I think yeah you like Cody mentioned you didn’t pitch the first day you came I think it was five days later when when you finally got into a game against the Braves uh but when you did come up what was the message from Craig Council and the rest of the the coaching staff what was what was the message that they gave you about you know your role and how you’d be used and just what um they expect from you uh up at the big league level I mean um they don’t really have a role for me um I don’t think a lot of guys have roles technically um just I’m just here just to do my job get get the guys out you know try and strike everybody out as I can you know don’t walk guys that’s for sure yeah yeah you you definitely did the strikeout thing uh in your in your debut I mean when you go Bing Bang Boom and it’s like three of the biggest hitters in baseball you go right through the Braves lineup one pitch away from an Immaculate inning do you do you know that’s going on or is that like an outof Body Experience until after the game you’re like I just struck out like three of the biggest hitters in all of baseball and and I dominated in my debut I mean it was like when I got in there it was just like uh my body was just like all over the place my emotions I was trying to keep them controlled did I thought I did a pretty good job of it um but yeah I just it the thought crossed my mind but I was wasn’t very sure that it was going to be Immaculate ending but then like I threw that ball and then everybody’s like ah and then and then I was like well yeah that was an inculate ending going to be did the uh the little bit of time in between you coming up and you actually getting into the game did that have any positive effect of like okay like you’re not maybe nervous on your first day and getting into a game like you’re able to acclimate a little bit at the big level just being around the guys and then getting the game yeah I I totally think that’s what it was just like getting um Everybody guys everybody’s opinions like uh just talking me through and like what to do how to keep ready so it definitely a little nice for me on my part yeah what’s uh what’s the uh you know you spent a lot of time in doublea last year correct yeah so like this is the first year you spent you were like getting time in triaa like what was the transition like from double A to AAA and then now like just getting your feet wet here with the major league team like how how is that transition or um you know the process of preparing changed for you I mean it’s I wouldn’t really say it’s preparing because like I know I just got to trust my stuff at the end of the day you know it’s going to get guys out regardless but it’s just like it’s more of the ABS system that you have to deal with in tripa which is really tough it um I like the challenge system a lot but um when it’s the strike ball call automatic one um it just changes the whole aspect of the game so just like realizing like you can’t be I don’t know you can’t really be a reliever you have to be more like a starter because like you have to throw it in the zone more in those bats because if they know you’re not throwing strikes or whatever like they’re good hitters obviously and they’re going to take like they’re going to have more comfortable bats you know they’re not really going to chase so it’s always got to be on attack mode so that I would I would say that’s the biggest difference now in your debut you threw mostly your fast ball right what through all fast balls yeah what makes it what makes it so unique I mean it’s 95 96 whatever but like obviously that’s fast but what makes your fast ball unique cuz that’s the one word I always hear when people mention your name this goes back to like two years ago when we first started hearing your name um from Prospect guys and Max Bane was always dropping the name Porter Hodge and and by the way I love the name cool name but what what what makes your what makes your fast ball so unique um I just they love the it’s a cut ride as they say you know um it just stays you know how it’s how they uh have the pitches on like a 12 clock tilt whatever one o’clock uh my fast ball pretty much the way I release it stays like at a 12 o’clock tilt pretty much the whole time so and then it it’ll just slowly cut the way and the way I throw it slowly cuts and rides so it’s not normal like a normal F where um it stays with with our arm and has run MH so it’s more effective I guess and I get good extensions so that helps it out a lot well clearly gu the Braves the the there prettyy clear signs that it was effective yeah um you know I keep going back to like the minor league stuff but you know you’re a two-time state champ in in high school and then you were part of the South Bend team that won the Midwest League like winning I clearly you’ve been winning a lot over the course of your Prof your professional and even high school career like what kind of how’s that experience like kind of like bringing that experience of winning bringing that to the major league team how can that help affect other guys around you you know moving forward even though you’re a rookie even though you’ve been in the major leagues for what a couple weeks like how how do you think that you can bring that kind of experience to help bring that to the to the Cubs um I think just getting myself exposed to those things you know um feeling the whole aspect and dynamic of the games um getting myself like I said exposed to like tight situations that definitely helps um getting a good vibe of everything because like when you know you have a good vibe going on like you’re usually like a good team you’re going to win so I just think from experience like it’ll help me because like um I remember in Tennessee um I pitched a lot in in the playoffs so just getting in those spots will help me prepare myself for up here like um I pitched in a I finally got in a good uh tight game against against the Reds um because it was tied so just need to get more endings like that up here at least because I got some Innings and situations like that in the minor leagues but obviously it’s different up here I think one of my favorite things about baseball not just like the game but like the whole thing you know the whole process is not just the minor leagues but that somebody who was drafted number 400 or 402 403 like 13th round pick somebody that was picked that far down in the draft can be a major player at the major league level like that doesn’t happen in the NBA they’re not going to take somebody that was number 400 and and turn him into a key piece of a bullpen as in a rookie season so when did it when did that process click for you when do you think you felt like wait a minute I’m I’m not I’m not a guy that was drafted below the 10th round I’m a guy who’s going to get to the majors and I’m not only going to get there when I get there I’m going to strike out the first three Braves I see when when did it click for you that your stuff played and it was going to work and it was going to work at the major league level well in the beginning when I first got drafted like I kind of had a chip on my shoulder um because like I I didn’t really get exposed much in high school to the scouts and stuff so I was like picked up late um but when I got drafted I was like well I don’t really really want to go to college so I was like well guess I’ll just do this but uh yeah I kind of had a chip on my shoulder um in The First beginning of my professional career I kind of battled an injury had a back injury going to co year so that kind of like set me back a little bit but not really because we didn’t play but then uh next year I came in a little overweight and uh I called myself fat because to me obviously I was fat um but then after that I was just like something needs to change so that offseason in 21 um I lost 30 pounds and I felt the best I’ve ever felt and I got into good habits got myself into good habits and then as soon as I started doing that I started doing much better on the field so ever since that happened it made me feel like I had a chance to make it you know had a lot of positive feedback a lot of stuff going my way so just stuck with me I think one of the cool things uh is like you’re up relieving now but you obviously haven’t been doing that for as long as you I mean you were a starter for most of your minor league career um and then around midseason is when that switch kind of fully took form and and you started coming out of the bullpen pretty exclusively what you know at the time what was the conversations like as far as like you converting from starting to relieving and what have you learned or like the the challenges or the differences between between the two and and and stuff you had to learn to to kind of make that transition yeah so last year um I kind of struggled starting the first um like three weeks whatever and then uh I won pitcher the month in the southern League the next month and then I uh had uh one more start and then they told me that I was going to the pen so because they were like you could probably potentially help us up there in the big leagues this year out of the pin because like we we think you have good stuff obviously so I was like all right well we we’ll give it it a go um and then uh just I know it’s like I threw out a little pen in out of the pen a little bit in my high school career but it’s def it’s not even the same at all um and then I threw a little bit in 21 when I when I came up to Myrtle Beach but then now I had to really find like what works for me in the pen so I was just trying to ask everybody like see what everybody does like to get them prepared um when a lot of guys just get up and start throwing I’m like dude how do you guys even do that like I’m coming from the starting role like I there’s no way I can do that so like I just think finding what works best for me in uh the bullpen to get myself ready um it’s gotten a little easier um I found a I found that if I just move around um keep moving around like I’ll be my body will always be ready to go because like if you stay warm you it’s pretty easy to start throwing when you’re warm so I was listening to Justin Steel’s podcast and there was one episode where he was talking about when he first came up and how the used him out of the bullpen and he used the word anxiety like he he said it was like you know when you you start every fifth day um you know it’s it in some ways it’s easier because when you’re in the bullpen there’s he he always had that anxiety of like um you know having to come in I I don’t ex remember exactly how he put it but I just remember him using the term anxiety so like do do you have a similar type of anxi or a similar feeling in terms of anxiety I guess like compared compared to like starting I wouldn’t say it’s anxiety I would say it’s uh more of an adrenaline rush more than anything um I think just the adrenaline makes you have anxiety I think maybe because like you just start overthinking stuff like you’re just like starting to go and then if you don’t slow yourself down and like realize what’s going on then that’s when you can get anxiety for sure MH so I’m still I’m still thinking you lost 30 pounds what what were you eating Porter and now what are you eating to to have that body transformation as a professional athlete that’s unbelievable to lose that much weight yeah um I I don’t know how I got that big I just was like wasn’t even realizing what the bad habits I had really um the or the food I was eating how much I was eating um but I just like started going to Costco dropping a lot of money on bulk food and prepping eating like every two hours and after that I started working out twice a day and I was working because obviously we didn’t have good we didn’t make good money at all so I was like I can’t make a living doing baseball just baseball so I would work too so trying to fit that around in my schedule like I know I was always on the go so that made me lose that weight too so was there a point where you’re working there and you’re trying to lose weight that you’re like this this isn’t going to happen even though you had a chip on your shoulder at the beginning um that never uh I never like the self-doubt so just like you always got to keep the positive mindset I think because like if you’re always thinking that stuff like it’s obviously not going to happen you know and I’ve always like dreamed it like envisioned it so like that just helps in my opinion now now that you’re up you’ve been up for a couple weeks now um what have you learned from you know whether it’s guys in the bullpen the the hector neares of the world and and seeing how they go about you know coming out of the bullpen relieving doing that job but even just guys around the clubhouse being around them what what have you kind of learned about how to you know have success or just exist at the major league level um just like if you stay on top of your routine and like you’re not really like sitting around being lazy or whatever getting stuff done like it’ll always it’ll ffect this onfield stuff um from one of a lot of guys I’ve talked to it’s just like finding the best routine for you like always being if you’re not ready to throw find like find a way to be 1% better so you’re able to throw so just like doing whatever works best for you to be ready on the field always is there one particular teammate that’s kind of that you kind of gravitated too since you got here um well Luke’s been my boy in the minor league so obviously so we just hang out that’s why I went to dinner with last night um but Mark’s been Mark’s been really good to me um he’s talked to me the most so it’s been nice to have him there and get his uh point of view on everything so I met Luke’s I met Luke’s dad at spring training are you guys’ parents close ord’s the goat um that his parents his parents are good people yeah um we uh in 21 or 22 uh we were in Myrtle together and we we went to Charlotte on our off day because that’s where he’s from and we hung out there so pretty close with his parents nice can you also relate to somebody like Kyle Henrick who was pitching for the Cubs when you were what like 13 years old I was actually we were talking about that uh when he gra or when he got when he graduated I was seven years old graduated high school um wow it’s yeah um Kyle Kyle’s a man I love Kyle um I haven’t really talked to him much about everything because his way of pitching is very different compared to everyone because he’s got a spot up so and he was a starter you know he’s he’s got damn near 1500 innings in The Bigs um so I just I haven’t really talk to him much about the pitching aspects but he’s a good dude it is kind of funny you know just with the age difference you’re both kind of learning relieving at the same for the first time at the big leagues at the same time despite the fact that he debuted 10 years ago yeah yeah he’s just I mean the way he’s been going about it um because like the way the way he had a workload as a starter is um he would he’s been touching the M every day basically so I was like dude I can’t do that right now I don’t my arm’s not built up for that so who uh I guess playerwise when you were growing up I mean it’s not that long ago but who were players that you watched liked wanted to emulate like growing up was it was it pitchers was it position players who who gave you that spark to be like uh interested in playing baseball I mean um I don’t really have a pitcher in mind people always ask me about pitchers but like I didn’t really like we didn’t have cable growing up so like we didn’t really really watch a lot of sports but um I was um my first City League team was the Red Sox so I like the Red Sox and then I just started watching the Red Sox here and there but like I like the Red Sox when they had Ortiz ukul and Napoli so I even told Napoli that uh in when we were in um cubon so it was just funny and I mean being from the the Salt Lake Area like there’s not a there’s no big league team really close to there like how I can like whoever I want you can’t give me [ __ ] for it I was just gonna ask like how how like as a kid do you you get into the game when it’s I mean it’s baseball’s always been kind of a regional Sport and like how do you get kind of get in the game when there’s not that team you know that close to you and and kind of influencing you as a kid as you you know grow up and start loving the sport um I don’t know I just I think they’ve always just been pretty good and like I like to watch them in the postseason stuff you know it’s just I like I like the players on that team so it’s just like kind of stuck with me my mom liked them you know we just like always became Red Sox fans because like everybody likes the Dodgers or the Yankees and whatever so I wouldn’t even say there’s a there’s a there’s a decent amount of cubs spans in Utah too so mainly just those three teams but and and the Braves but like everybody always gives each other crap for that like just Yankees are the basic teams yeah long as you didn’t say Cardinals or Brewers that doesn’t matter I mean that’d be kind of weird Brewers and Cardinals fans in Utah I what’s uh you know once when you realize that you know pro baseball was something like that like was there a particular picture at the time that you were like kind of not necessarily emulating but like kind of watched more like I know like was he on the Red Sox or you know um just someone out there that maybe you know once you realize that you know pro pro baseball was something you could really do um I would probably say uh Corbin Burns especially when I was a starter because like we have uh his Cutters very similar to my fast ball mhm M so just seeing the way he goes about a business and like the way he would use his stuff kind of emulate my stuff a little bit okay right por what’s what’s the goal the rest of the season I mean we’re we’re only a couple months into the season you get a lot of baseball left to play I mean obviously you guys are trying to get it turned around here and get in a steady Pace towards the playoffs but for you personally like where do you want to grow this season how do you want to your how do you want to see your season play out um yeah I mean it would definitely be nice to be up here but I know uh things happen but like if I keep doing my job like I’ll probably stay up here so it’ll be good just to stay on top of my stuff and like get the job done when my name’s called and like see how it goes but like um for me I think just from Strike one to finishing the batter like not having long at bats will help me down the road um keep my pitch count down keep me fresher so just staying healthy throughout the year is another goal of mine so is an Immaculate inning is that is that on the goal list as well I mean that’s that’s everybody’s goal I feel like we’ll get there what uh what do you like to do when you’re back home in the off season and and just kind of hanging out is there is there another passion of yours other than just baseball um so when I’m in Utah um I like to go hunt hunting uh camping and fishing so I try and get all that in before it starts getting crappy weather but it’s kind of hard because as soon as I’m done here it’s usually starting to snow a little bit in the mountains but that’s what makes it fun um I like to read um just enjoy the outdoors really also has it been kind of a TR a tough transition going from being like you know an outdoors Utah kid to you’re living in Chicago a big city like the the culture and everything is completely different has that been kind of a a little bit of a huge transition for you um yeah it’s just like it’s a freaking huge city um it’s definitely tough because I’m so used to seeing the mountains like right there like and you don’t really see any of that here at all SE um but uh that’s why I liked Tennessee a lot Tennessee was probably my favorite place because like that reminded me a little bit more of Home Tennessee is like super cool um Iowa’s very mid at bet in every way every 100% mid right the middle but it’s a cool City I like the mo it’s cool yeah Porter I I had just one more question myself is just we’re the Cubs are kind of in this mode of like the last couple years rebuilding and and retooling and and trying to get back to the playoffs and like that’s obviously a goal for the team this year um but a lot of that they hope comes from the young guys that have come through the system the minor Leaguers who are starting to make their debuts or are close to making their debuts what have you seen watching this farm system sort of evolve the last couple years from U you know didn’t maybe as far as farm system rankings like middle to lower in in the in baseball now they’re one of the best farm systems in baseball what have you seen and what are you seeing from the group of guys in that system that are either here already or on the way I mean I from the get-go um well in 21 not really we kind of struggled in the minor leagues but then 22 like it just literally flipped the script we started winning so like every team we have been on we just won um I’ve been on every team I’ve been on with Owen Casey and BJ Murray like we just been on like it’s crazy how much we’ve won like I’m very thankful that my minor Le career has been like that because I know a lot of guys don’t get the opportunity to do that so and I know it’s not like that so it’s definitely nice but like we have a lot of talent and it’s super exciting um how many guys are making their way up coming to the system you know me being one of those guys it’s very hard obviously there’s a lot of guys to beat out or like you could get your job taken but I know we have a lot of talent coming up so it’ll be fun to see what the Cubs do um my last question uh is is the hype real on Kate Horton is he is he gonna be like is is the you know the the the hype that he’s getting like PE Cub fans are like comparing the hype to like when Mark Prior first came up like 20 years ago like um yeah I mean last year Kade was super dominant when he came into Tennessee and he was a good arm for us um I didn’t really get to see him much this year um but I know he’s hurt right now so don’t really know what he’s what’s going on for him but yeah he’s it was really fun to watch him pitch especially in the playoffs last year I mean I wouldn’t have expected you to say anything else just wanted to hear you say it actually word the hype is real put about a position player that you’ve seen where where you watching it bat and you’re like oh man glad I don’t have to face that guy [Music] um I mean BJ Murray’s got a damn good eye I will say like he doesn’t really chase a lot um but even just Owen Casey like he’s just always like hitting bombs oh he’s always hitting bombs he’s got a really good swing and just I don’t know whenever he’s in the Box you always know it’s going to be good I feel like yeah that’s good hey man this has been fun you like baseball you like hunting and hopefully by the end of this you’re okay at least with some of the chto Cubs podcast uh will you hang out with us again sometime for sure whenever you guys want said whenever we want I mean that one you can’t take that back on the Internet thanks Porter appreciate it have a great great rest of your off day and uh good luck the rest of the season we hope to see you out at the Ballpark thanks for having me circus Sportsbook guys I took uh Ben Brown over six and a half strikeouts yesterday he finished with six I’m it this is this is this is gambling it can be great and it can be like painful all right but uh but at least when you’re doing it on Circa you’re having fun all right one reason is they have tight moneyline splits oh yeah the game strive be minus 110 splits on the circus Sports menu unlike other sports books which may use minus 115 or minus 120 splits circus Sports keeps as little money as possible on large Market bets especially compared to other books they don’t limit players based on their winnings either every player has the same limits unlike other books who do limit winning players especially when they get on one of those little hot streaks they take away those boosts they take away those opportunities for extra money stuff like that uh Ciro won’t do that but but they also they do encourage you to download and explore other sports betting apps available so you can compare those lines from each sports book and you’ll see just how much better the odds are for cira and then finally their customer services second and N me and Braggs met up with like their entire team at Murphy’s on Friday uh very nice people um but their their customer service back in Las Vegas at their Resort in casino is uh they’re they’re wonderful people they’re easy people to talk to they’re not chat Bots that’s the big thing they’re not chat Bots all right so uh everything is run by them back at their Circa Sportsbook at Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas so download the circus Sports Illinois app at circos sports.com eloisa to sign up today also be on the lookout for circa events watch parties and tailgates they’re with us for every Cubs Friday 120 club uh next one I believe is June 14th against the Cardinals so if you or someone you know may have a problem with gambling call 1800 Gambler text gb2 833 234 or visit areil winning.com I love tight moneyline splits and I love Blue Moon some beers can say they’re brewed for baseball only Blue Moon is brewed by B by baseball beer and baseball just go together and no beer goes better than the one that was literally born in a ballpark blue moon created at corfield in Colorado it’s a Natural Choice all season long it is summertime shy get out and enjoy a blue moon nothing beats watching baseball or lounging by the pool or sitting on somebody’s rooftop with an ice cold blue moon Blue Moon brewed by baseball to give you a dose of nostalgia and get you excited for the season a beer this good only comes around once in a blue moon but you can enjoy it all season long bring the ballpark to you with blue moon Belgian style wheat ale it’s one of a kind every time get Blue Moon delivered by visiting get. Bloon beer.com chg to see your delivery options that’s get. Bloon beer.com chgo Bloon made brighter celebrate responsibly Blue Moon Brewing Company Golden Colorado all right guys so you know here we go this is it Cubs White Socks and we want to remind everybody um that not only might Porter Hodge be pitching in that game big thanks to him he was great hope he’s gonna have an awesome season right what a what a hero he is to us um he’s our new best friend he’s already our best friend speak a friend of the program Ben zis is also at Wrigley yesterday so he keeps coming back manere and I keep texting his guy and I’m like when are you guys coming back in and he’s like we’re coming back in I promise you we’re just we’re heading back to Tennessee immediately stuff like that but yeah we got to get him at a Friday 120 Club hey speaking of that big takeover the first takeover of the Season cross town tomorrow you can still get those tickets at all chg.com we”ve got the crossover or cross town takeover coming up uh tomorrow night so we’re gonna we got a section let’s make it all Cub fans can we just make it herb Sean and all of us kind of like it was last year so when you have the Epic Morell walkoff you know it feels good it was it was probably the highlight of the year last year am I right Cody uh outside of Mike toan’s catch in St Louis yeah in person that was like mhm I mean we got to see a magical home run in that game too yeah I was going to say Luke like now you’re not going to be able to look like I know go home run well this time I’m gonna have to be look out herb here comes the B home run and here comes the Morell walkoff no I uh yeah I tweeted out the link so if you don’t know where the link is I tweeted it out I’m sure Cody’s gonna put it out again from the Cubs account or his account where or both um but yeah I mean I I obviously was in the Press Box last year yeah uh while you guys were uh in but I believe the same section um watching the game but I could see like there’s always a lot of people that show up for those events oh yeah not not even just our event but just those games in general and yes that morale walk-off in person was one of those moments that even I was like holy crap that was insane we uh I don’t know if you guys know but you know if you want to come to all three of our takeovers you can we have like a price you can get yeah like on our website right um to get to go to all three um yeah yeah right and so like if you want to go to all three and just pay the the the price up front now like that’s possible or you know you can just uh get the ticket for tomorrow um we’re doing a pregame Meetup at Murphy’s um someone already asked me on Twitter if um you need a ticket to to the to take over to even come to Murphy like no if you already have a ticket to the game but you want to come hang out with us at Murphy’s that’s that’s fine too like um but obviously we’d love anyone to buy the ticket that way they hang out with us at the Ballpark too yeah so all right uh we gotta go big thanks to Porter hodj no podcast on Tuesday because we’re gonna be at the Takeover be back with a podcast live for you Wednesday night thanks for checking out the chgo Cub podcast we appreciate it until next time fly the w we all like the May

The guy has a wicked arm and a cool name. Cubs reliever Porter Hodge joins the CHGO Cubs Podcast to chop it up with the guys! Plus, what happened against the Reds and how can the Cubs turn it around for the Crosstown this week? Don’t miss our “CHGO Takeover” this coming Tuesday at Wrigley. Join Luke Stuckmeyer, Cody Delmendo, and Ryan Herrera for the June 3rd edition of the CHGO Cubs Podcast

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