Tyler O’Neill is Happy To Be A Red Sox Player || 310 To Left Ep. 6
All Aboard it’s another edition of 310 to left the train is leaving the station once again the conductor Alex spear the Boston Globe is standing by I’m just the Breakman Tom Karen from Ness and how are you this week Alex just shoveling coal just shoveling coal that’s I’ve I’ve been accused of shoveling other stuff so that’s fine uh we need conductor’s hats that’s what we need for this uh podcast if you’re watching budget allows for that yeah in all again tangentially uh what what you once left me a captain’s hat for my boat so you are uh you know as true Parkinson is to gorilla suits uh you are to uh to hats I guess we we’re coming up we need to like plan out a long time in advance the 20th anniversary of the gorilla suit episode that’s uh that’s going to be a memorable one yeah I think that that one probably has a little more staying power in Red Sox lore than the two of us wearing conductor’s hats we need to find the pizza delivery guy from that night that would be I mean that’s investigative reporter has a the oral history of the pizza delivery guy bringing pizzas and uh Theo getting in the gorilla suit and leaving uh but I digress as I do the uh the the the focus this week is going to be the St Louis Cardinals as the Red Sox head out there for the inter league weekend the iconic franchises and in the middle of it all is going to be Tyler O’Neal traded from the Cardinals to the Red Sox this offseason we’ll talk about him and talk with him in just a little bit he’ll be joining us talk about the weekend ahead uh but I want to start this week Alex by by talking about this offense and and how they will generate the necessary runs to win games and that 12 inning win the other night against the Tampa Bay Rays uh was was you’re not going to hang it in a Lou anytime soon uh but it was a grinded out win and it seemed to be the template by which Alex cor is going to have to try to manage these things just try to scratch and Claw and get enough offense to win a game they they’re they’re playing and competing the hard way you know this is this is low-scoring baseball where we’re not used to really the Red Sox being a pitching and defense team that’s trying to be opportunistic and cobbling together with sacrifice bunts um winning R game tying and and game-winning rallies but but here we are and that’s a hard way to play that is a hard way to play over the course of the season that’s a tiring way to play um we’ve seen it work out in we’ve seen it work out in the past I think back to the 2017 season when the Red Sox had a young core that was that was largely underperforming right like that was after after breakout Seasons across the board for mooki Betts and Xander Bogarts and Jackie Bradley Jr when they had all been Allstars in 2016 in 17 the same results didn’t come and uh in the Red Sox just had to have kind of layer after layer of Bullpen guy coming in and contributing with their success was predicated on winning Extra Inning games which was uh exhausting exhausting over the course of a season they managed to walk that Highwire for the long for the long term but we have also seen it work the other way where Red Sox teams that struggle to score runs can have flashes of pitching Brilliance that looks like oh my gosh can they win the hard way and then it all falls apart like in 2014 they were a team that had tremendous ping at the top but the offense was just non-existent again getting to that young core that we were just talking about and that was when they were in a deeper period of struggle as they were transitioning to the big leagues and it just it they could not they they could not find a sustainable formula for victory and it ended up trading everyone or at least all their veterans away uh in the middle of that season so it’s a hard way to win and one that can it can it can it can divide like a sinker and a slider well yeah and it also uh leaves a very thin margin for error right a day after that 12 inning win uh three unearned runs the Red Sox have been much better defensively over the most recent 20 games compared to the first 20 games had 26 un runs in the first 20 games it’s been much better since this but when you add it all up it is they have still allowed the most unearned runs of any team in major league baseball three of the four unearned runs in that Wednesday night game uh leading to the 4-3 win for Tampa Bay they’ve got to play I mean almost spotless defense if you’re going to try to win games this way right right you can’t engage an acts of self-sabotage if you don’t have a huge margin for error which is where they’re at offensively so yeah they need to be able to you know we the reason why they’ve hung around is because and Alex cor has talked about this a lot he said look our pitching has a chance to be really good and to keep us in it but only if it’s backed up by defense that’s making all the plays that we need them to make and uh it you’re you’re 100% right Tom that like this is this now represents an aberration where it was when San rafhaela made that throwing error in Extra Innings against the Rays on Tuesday night it was like oh that’s we’ve we’d seen that before but not for a while and they need to avoid having that become now a pattern because um because their their defensive execution has been really pretty darn impressive and you know they’re they’re steal they’re preventing runs they’re doing a good job especially in the Outfield of of uh providing excellent support for the defense we’ve seen we’re seeing jiren Duran make really nice strides uh in center field and allowing um a lot of the other parts to kind of fit together but yeah if they if they start giving away runs and they’re in trouble because they don’t score enough runs to do that uh pitching wise it’s been very good obviously it’s still the lowest I think the only team still with an erra under three uh as a staff uh and and ostensibly getting better right pavetta is back home Run’s been an issue since coming back obviously he’s got to get that back under control uh Brian beo came back the other day and you got to see Garrett Whitlock this week uh in Worcester with the woock uh he looked good by all accounts what’ you see yeah I mean just you know there was there was comfort in his delivery and uh he was able to he was able to land his Sinker at 9495 out of the shoot the velocity tapered down a little bit as he got into the middle Innings he was more 92 to 93 at the end but able to execute in the locations more or less that he was trying to the sweeper was fantastic so good in fact that he stopped fighting the battle about whether or not to call it a sweeper he’s he recognizes that that’s no longer the hill to die on so so he said yeah yeah the sweeper was really good but uh it was it was terrific um it was overwhelming for triaa hitters we’ll we’ll see how it translates to the big leagues but the command of it was exactly what he wanted in ter and in in the counts that he wanted it um the change up and the uh the change up was still you know kind of searching for consistency with it I thought a little bit and the gyro slider uh wasn’t employed quite is extensively but from the standpoint of how he feels and what he believes he can execute he’s he’s in a good spot to be able to come back and probably out of the shoot is it going to be five six Innings not sure about that but you know by that second start probably will be and all this leads to the tough decisions they’ve already made one right Josh wincowski was there came in yeah we’re gonna send him to Worcester and groom him to be a starter he’ll go every fifth day as a starting pitcher while he comes in to finish an inning after Whitlock and then goes the next couple and I thought it was really interesting that Craig breso on our pregame show about as blunt as I’ve heard him on anyone uh saying that listen we know he’s a major league pitcher we can’t say with any certainty he’s a major league starter I I know they want him to refine his pitches separate a little bit more between pitches maybe Master a third pitch but but that was one decision what to do with wincowski he sent down now you got Cooper Criswell who who’s pitched really well for the Red Sox and and gives them depth they could probably go six for this busy stretch go a six-man rotation when whitlaw comes back but eventually they’re going to be tough decisions and all of this represents how far they’ve come right that what Alex cor has been asking for for the last couple of years Major League ready starting depth they’re finally getting there aren’t they they have more than 13 major league pitchers right now which is a position that it’s been a long time since we’ve seen the making option decisions like wincowski wincowski is someone who’s been very effective at the big league level since the beginning of the 23 season at least in terms of uh outcomes and results which which is what matters frankly but uh but right now we’re in an era that’s so focused on what’s under the hood that uh that it’s like well even when kowsky when I talked to him yesterday was like my ER speaks for itself but my WBA and ex WBA aren’t what they need to be because I’m not striking out enough guys so that’s what I’ve got to work on and uh the fact that they have a guy like a wowski who is a major league quality pitcher but can but the Red Sox want to see if they can take him to another level see if they can get some consistent swing and Miss from him and allow him to develop more in the minors that is a uh that’s a transformation of where the organization is and it’s uh it’s I I think an unexpected one given the skepticism that a lot of us had about uh about what they did and more particularly did not do over the course of the offseason um but they’ve uh they deserve a lot of credit for having done a lot of work and the pitchers themselves of course deserve the most credit for the way that they’re executing for the way that they’re adapting in ways that have given the socks literally at any given time this year 13 major quality Major League options on their on their pitching staff all right uh interesting to see how it plays out this weekend it’s against Cardinals team that that you know has people in an uproar out in St Louis uh and one of their more popular players and a few years ago one of their best players before injuries Tyler O’Neal won a couple of gold gloves with the Cardinals top 10 MVP voting uh back in 2021 with the Cardinals now uh playing with the Red Sox and uh got off to such a tremendous start had that collision with rafy de uh the concussion symptoms concussion that he went through for a few days uh now he’s back uh wearing sleeves from time to time because Major League Baseball demands it uh you’ll be happy to know that both Alex and I did wear sleeves uh for this podcast though we had talked about going sleeveless with conductor hats uh that’s uh something we’ll try later but uh this is all further Ado so without further ado uh let’s get to this week’s interview it’s Tyler O’Neal the former Cardinal now Boston Red Sox outfielder on 310 to left joined this week by Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neal world’s colliding a bit for you this weekend here Tyler going back to St Louis uh after your time there what’s it going to be like for you this weekend I’m sure you get to see some PE some friends and visit some old haunts uh what’s it going to be like coming in as a visitor to St Louis yeah I’m looking forward to it I’m looking forward to it um you know my wife and I we still spend the offseason out in St Louis we got a house there um you know so that’s home base for us for now so I’m looking forward to getting home for a little bit um you know obviously built a lot of lot of good relationships with uh many people over there so I’m looking forward to seeing some people over the weekend um playing in the ballpark again man it’ll be fun yeah you’ve played for two iconic franchises and and people talk about the Cardinal Way what was it like to come up in that organization and what is the Cardinal Way mean to you yeah it was uh it was awesome uh so I got traded over in 2017 um I was in tripa actually with the Mariners uh at the time and then I was traded over in 2017 uh around the deadline finished out the season over there and spent one spring training um out in out in Jupiter Florida before being able to crack the team early in April um that year so uh it it was good man you know they focused a lot on fundamentals obviously the richest historic franchise you know there’s a reason they’ve had so much success over over the years um you know it starts with fundamentals like I said like defense base running uh doing the little things right so that was instilled in me early on and um really propelled me um you know got me got me moving in the right way um you know in all Fast some all fastest of my game early in my career Tyler on this podcast we asked the tough question so I got to ask you the big one which spring is colder for a fan of the sleeveless look is it tougher to be sleeveless in Boston in April or in St Louis in April oh they don’t let us cut they don’t it’s not they don’t let us but it wasn’t really a thing to cut off the shirts over there so um you know over here it’s a little more Rowdy which I kind of like you know me and me and Duran we kind of get got that going um for BP Suns out guns out we call it so we go to we got to work on the shoulder tan line um you know it’s a work in progress of course it it’s it’s a shame that you were from Seattle early in your career before you got to debut there you could have been sleeveless in Seattle and we would have had a whole thing to uh to unspool for your career um but as as we do think about like kind of some of your movements around to to different organizations um I guess uh how how attentive are you to to thing to you know how much do you pay attention to what’s happening with the Cardinals are you like oh they’re missing some Outfield production over there um or do you kind of focus on where on where your feet are yeah i’ be following those guys for maybe a little over a week now um you know I like to do my due diligence with my scouting reports and stuff so um you know I’m just keeping an eye on what those guys look like um you know good to see good to see him throwing some runs on the board um see the boys doing well as of late uh you know obviously I want to go in there and sweep them at home that would be really sweet for me but uh yeah man it’s cool I’m still rooting for for those guys over there um you know a lot of good guys like I said a lot of good teammates and stuff so hope hope nothing but um you know positive U results for those guys but uh you know obviously when we play them you know want to want to take it to them it is interesting to think about some of your career movement not just from the standpoint of what it what it’s meant on the field and we should we should get to that in a little bit but also you know I’m curious about how you’re you’re I I get the sense you’re a passionate sports fan particularly with hockey right um grew up in grew up in BC had you know you you were going to be able to stay in the Northwest and be you know like every once in a while probably drive up to to Vancouver for hockey games and you uh stayed around with Mariners didn’t so much happen that way were you were in St Louis when they when they beat the Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals uh now you are in Boston H how how much do you allow your allegiances to transfer how much are you are you a Bruins fan uh in this uh in in this playoff run no it feels like my hockey team keeps changing man you know obviously I’m I’m a Vancouver Canucks fan at heart growing up like that uh follow of the Blues for a few years they’re man there they had a good run you know when I was when I was playing out in St Louis so it was good to see those guys went to a couple playoff games uh unfortunately last couple years man I haven’t been able to keep up too much with hockey and playoff stuff you know I I got a kid at home and just time time is a little shorter and a little more sparse than it used to be um but yeah I’m a conu fan man we’re playing the Oilers right now so it’s the dog fight of a series uh so rooting for those guys right now but uh yeah I’ve been itching to get out to to Bruins game man obviously so much so much Rich history over there to you know original 16 uh just such iconic colors and you know just such awesome fan base out here uh you know rooting for those guys would be an awesome atmosphere to be into these things can change obviously but as we sit here we could have a rematch in the finals you could have the Bruins against the Canucks and you know you’re becoming a really popular guy in Boston would you try to lay low a little bit if that was happening I know it’s like it’s tugging on two two ends of the pole there for me uh that would be awesome if it came to if it came to a Vancouver canag Boston Bruins finale man I’m I’m going to be there for sure just don’t know what kind of uni I’m going to show up in yet we’ll see you got to get one of those uh where they sew the two together right we have the half Bruins half conu yeah yeah yeah yeah exactly you got to get a custom tailor for that one it seems like youve it seems like you’ve done okay in uh in just going with the uh with the tailoring with the Red Sox right I think that you’ve uh you’ve been able to make a pretty favorable first impression uh in your new baseball uniform without uh without having to to sew anything together um as I went around the clubhouse recently asking people like you know describe Tyler O’Neal for me as a player uh I think that I heard six different people say intense um do you view yourself as intense and if so uh where does that come from yeah I’m definitely intense out there man I’m a competitor and I want to win um and that’s that’s the four um you know that’s the first thought that comes to my mind so um you know I think this year I I took a mature curve and you know I’m just trying to be a tough out at the plate you know most of the time I’m not trying to do too much you know sometimes get caught up in the moment a little bit but for me it’s just about slowing it down taming it down and reeling it in a little bit you know not trying to do too much using the whole field um you know take a walk when when it’s coming my way um and you know that that’s a key for me too and it’s more mental than anything of course obviously I’m all you know jacked up and and wired up you know I love being in the weight room I love just getting after it and and you know going hard and stuff but uh you know for me it’s that’s that’s my that’s my challenge being able to reel it in and take it back and being able to be calm and focused so you know I kind of tug on a couple different things to I lean on a couple different things to to balance that out for me a little bit um but you know I wouldn’t have it any other way you know I want to be intense I want to be a competitor uh and I want to be dialed like that so um yeah you know it’s just about being able to to balance it on a day-to-day basis you know the game the game is 160 games in the romance a long season so it’s just about it’s that mental grind and being able like I said just to balance it all it’s really interesting to hear you talk about the desire to use all Fields right and you’ve you’ve done some int very intentional pregame work where like you’ve been trying to get angles you know angles of front flips front toss in order to be able to drive the ball to right field at the same time in games uh you’re pulling the ball in the air a ton right like you are more probably any other time in your career and that’s worked pretty well the uh that’s a that’s a not a bad formula especially if you’re playing games at Fenway Park um I I’m interested in your offensive approach and like you know as you know when you see that you know when when you know that the results can be very rewarding for pulling the ball in the air at Fenway how do you reinforce to yourself uh no I want to use all fields and why yeah 100% um I love that green monster you know first and foremost it’s awesome you know 310 ft you know you put it in the air you’re going to have a chance for some slug over there so it’s uh it’s it’s tempting you know it’s tempting all the time and you know I feel like you know I’ve gone through a bit of a stretch you know over the last couple weeks where I have been a little pull happy a little more pull happy than I’d like um and it’s leaked into my work and it’s leaked into the game and you know for me that kind of comes with just comes with discipline it comes with discipline with my pregame work and my preparation everything thing um you know I was uh just feel a little frustrated you know I was barreling a lot of balls but I was pulling them foul you know it’s probably happening for about two weeks in a row and you know obviously that’s not what you want you know you want to catch something right and keep it in play and end the at bat and and cause that damage that way and not give the pitcher extra strikes so um you know I feel like I’ve kind of gone through that phase a little bit and I’m working through it and I’m working out of it um you know so I’m really just trying to work on opening up the field again you know really really being able just to you know feel confident to be able to see the ball deep um you know I’m not trying to force anything to right field or or push it over that way but you know being able to see the ball deep and then trusting my prep to you know make sure my Barrel’s on plane and being able to use all parts of the field so you know I feel like I’ve done a little better job of that but I can still improve of course you know you trying to use all fields at the plate you’re also defending all fields at Fenway right you’re going back and forth sometimes within games quite often now within a game you’re flipping from left to right and they couldn’t be more different right what is that like and what are the biggest challenges and differences between that right field where if it gets by you it’s going to Rattle around forever and that left field where you know it’s gonna ping pong Off the Wall right back at you what’s that been like for you yeah I’m enjoying it you know obviously they’re they’re very unique positions even though they’re both in the corner um but you know I feel like I see the ball really well in the corner um you know left field it’s just not a lot of ground to cover so I’m just trying to play like you know a step or two sh allower uh than I normally would um you know I haven’t had too much too many tests Off the Wall yet but you know I feel relatively comfortable out there and you know I can trust my athleticism on my arm to be able to make a strong throw a second and then right Fel I just really have to get on your horse you know obviously a lot of ground to cover um can’t underestimate the corner you know a ball gets rolling in there it can kind of bounce around a little bit so make sure I’m feeling the ball cleanly um setting my feet and then making a proper throw so again you know for me it just comes down to fundamentals slowing the game down slowing my feet down um and just trusting just trusting my defensive ability you know I don’t I don’t try to think about it too much um just understand the situation of the game and make sure I’m throwing to the right guy you know Alex will attest when when Manny Ramirez played left field for all those years there was actually a worn out spot maybe about a third of the way behind the shortstop because he stood in the same spot every day right and then and he almost looked down for it okay I’m in the right place if it gets by me it’s going to bounce back to me have you found that spot yet or do you move around a lot in left field yeah it’s funny you know as a season goes on you kind of start to see the wear patterns of where outfielders play uh in the specific positions so there there’s a couple Foreman out there um you know obviously we have our we have our in-game cards so it kind of it gives us an idea of where to stand um based off of a reference point but uh you know it’s it’s it’s just getting comfortable out there you know as just reps more reps um but yeah there there’s uh there’s not too much moving around over there you know I just want to make sure I’m taking taking away the line drive in front of me and you know trying not to give up extra bases over my head as best I can your defensive credentials are considerable you’re a multi-time Gold Glove winner uh at the same time like I I knew that when you were coming here on opening day in Seattle you blew my mind like you came in on a you picked up you fielded the ball cleanly and uh and made a throw at full speed and then did did a front somersault uh in the air um aerial acrobatics and I was like what what just happened uh I had not recalled seeing one that was executed with that kind of precision flying through the air I showed it to my kids the next day like they were both kind of losing their minds with like what what is that um there there are a lot of names for this kind of throw I’m not sure uh how much you’ve explored that there’s the janitor throw because of a you know there’s a there’s a YouTube thing on the idea of the janitor throw uh jiren Duran called it that but then said no we gotta we got to give it something better like the to special or something I think that there’s there was a former famous politician based out of Massachusetts named tip O’Neal so I think flip O’Neal would be pretty good but you know how much thought have you given to that and uh how much do you love that play I like that flip O’Neal man that sounds good um yeah yeah I don’t know I just kind of I just broke it out a few years ago um you know I’ve really been working on my arm strength the last few years making sure that I’m keeping that up um so you know it just kind of came to fruition when I was just playing long toss and trying to stay loose like you know like we were talking about earlier in the show um very tight very wound up so I need to work on like reeling it back and being loose being flexible being mobile and stuff so I just you know I’m tinkering and exploring and I’m always trying to find ways to be better um and then I just started kind of you know not really like decelerating um playing catch and playing long toss just kind of rolling through it and throwing through it um and then I just got more comfortable and more accurate with it as I went on um you know I found the confidence to break it out in the game um you know shortly thereafter and it started being relatively accurate with it so you know it’s just I’d rather I’d rather just roll through it than kind of pull up hard on it if that makes sense um you know I feel like I get more on the throw that way um I feel like I’m relatively accurate that way as well so as long as I’m not all over the yard you know and once in a while it’s going to happen you know you’re going to throw balls away and you know just stuff like that happens but you know just trying to keep the ball down you know make sure the trail Runners aren’t taking extra bases on me when I do it um but you know I have a relatively good idea once I release the ball it’s like I don’t even need a look where it’s going like I know if it’s going to be online or not as soon as I release that ball and that’s exactly what I practice for do you remember the first person you do you remember the first person you you threw out with with the throw um I think it was it was either in 22 I think it was in 22 I threw it Colton Wong at home plate against those card cards versus Brewers um and yeah it just base hit right at me and just came up throwing just let it rip and it was right on the money you should have done like a backflip in order to celebrate it right like you’re you know St Louis Cardinals Go full Aussie Smith on the celebration of of that yeah yeah I don’t I don’t know if I could do a back flip I’m still working on the front flip I’m working on it the double flip O’Neal will come later uh it what blows way though is is how you stick The Landing I mean that’s the more I watch these now like you’re you’re almost coming into a pose it it’s it’s it’s Marvel Comics is to be like you’re sort of you get the throw off and you’ve got this down now where your arms sort of on your knee and you’re watching the throw go in how much practice did that take it’s just athleticism I got to say you know like like I said like I’m not I’m not practicing like a full flip and roll through like when I’m playing catch but when you know when we’re warming up and doing pregame stuff I’m definitely making sure that you know I’m stretching it out I’m getting all the way out there and I’m I’m just rolling through it you know I’m rolling through it the right way you know any anything that happens after the throw I don’t even think about it just kind of happens um but you know obviously I’m lined up the right way if I’m landing in a in a relatively athletic position you know some sometimes it might not be as pretty we’ll see it’s not it’s not the last time I’m going to execute the throw so we have a couple more opportunities I still haven’t got a guy yet this year so I’m I’m working on us still so you also have time to work on the backflip to celebrate it so well we’ll we’ll keep uh we’ll be watching for that it is interesting though right because like part of part of the reason why that’s such a like it’s why it’s such a striking demonstration of athleticism is because like your movements are really compact within that and I’m I’m curious as you you know obviously like I don’t think this is a secret you spend some time in the wait room right like you’re uh you are a you have kind of a a very compact powerful frame like how much do you try to within you know because of that how important is it to find ways of making your of of balancing athleticism with like these compact movements um to kind of allow the strength that you have to kind of pour into what you’re doing on a baseball field yeah I think um I think I think like you know I’m just I’m in a really good spot when it comes to my prep and and my weight room routine and stuff you know the the I’m working with the trainers here in Boston and these guys are awesome and on a day-to-day basis you know we’re able to adjust and adapt and make sure that I’m feeling as good as I can every day uh to go out there and compete so yeah I’m just making sure that I’m warming up my body the right way and just getting into good position making sure I’m doing my maintenance and my activations and stuff and um you know lifting where I can so yeah there’s there’s a lot of stabilization so I you know core engagement um you know along with the lifts and and the warmup and stuff that I do so everything we’re doing in there has put me in a good spot to go out and execute and just be able to play you know not having to think about my body hurting or anything like that and obviously you know 160 games man your body’s going to hurt and it’s going to change every day and things are going to feel different every day but from a maintenance feel spot and you know I’m just able to I’m able to play man that’s that’s the big thing for me is just I’m able go about the game and think about the situation not think about things hurting or you know other things getting in my head like that so um yeah no I I feel like you know there’s different things that I do every day um that would attribute to just general athleticism but you know I’m not doing like flipping Med ball throws or anything so within within that though the fact that you have been able to feel good every day save for the fact that you did uh you got you know a gaping head wound and one point earlier in the season but that’s separate separate subject how good does it feel to be in a position of feeling healthy after on a day-to-day basis after the last couple of years and like has there been has it been it it had been a struggle to stay on the field a little bit in 2022 2023 you had been asked a million times can you get can you be the player that you were in 2021 how how do you feel like you’re that player do you feel like you’re a better version of that like how how how do you feel about the the player that you’ve been while being in the lineup every day yeah I feel I feel refined for sure there’s obviously you know things that I’m going to have to Tinker with and uh play with my Approach and stuff and you know the game changes every day how you’re going to get attacked and the algorithms and stuff so I feel like you know like the gear you know they they give me a really good opportunity to be able to play and be me every day Kora he’s giving me an off day when I need it um I’m in the lineup pretty much every day um and you know he you know or whatever it looks like you know I know I know I’m going to be playing every day so there’s not like that anxiety of am I in there or am I not or if I go 0 for four you know am I going to be in there or it’s not like that here it’s like there’s a confidence with the with the staff and with me that you know they understand the player that I am and that I can be and you know they’re going to you know they’re going to trust that over 160 games so there’s just like it’s more mentally Stressless than anything if that makes sense so I just feel like you know the last couple years over in St Louis it was like I wasn’t playing every day you know I wouldn’t play against certain starters um and just the confidence it wasn’t the same um you know unfortunately and that’s just kind of the way it went you know at the end the latter stages over there but uh it’s a different ball game over here man so I’m like I’m feeling increasingly comfortable increasingly confident um you know obviously right now it’s I’ve been working through a little bit of a tough stretch but you know like just to have the confidence of the staff that you’re mod on the other side better and um you know that that able to focus on really helped me a lot I when when did that happen in St Louis like when did you feel when did you have to start feel like you were starting to question yourself obviously like the the incident last year where I think a lot of people were surprised when you know there was kind of this public benching which you know doesn’t happen there’s not a ton of that that happens across baseball um was uh did that kind of change your relationship with the Cardinals organization was it there that you started having some questions about what your role was with them um I think it started it’s kind of started in 22 I would say um unfortunately I went to arbitration in 22 um and that that leaked into the season man I had like my arbitration Hearing in the middle of May and I wasn’t hitting too well man it was like it was looming and it was on my mind and it was just a really really shitty experience for me to have to sit in front of and it at this time it was in on a computer it wasn’t in the courtroom because of covid regulations and stuff um so you know I had to sit in my hotel room and and listen to the Team rip on me for 5 hours and like we all know what we’re getting into man we all we both knew what we were getting into going into arbitration and it’s not anyone’s fault just freshly wipe the Slate clean coming into 2023 um you know fresh Beginnings kind of reset um and you know go from there and then obviously the stuff happened earli in the year you know I was working through some stuff man I was playing through a bit of like dead leg you know it was a WBC year so there was a lot of travel and spring training uh I actually had the flu or like food sickness right before the season 2 so my body just wasn’t in a good spot I wasn’t strong yet and um man it’s just just a bad just a bad bad you know Bad series of events that happened over there um and then yeah Lo lost a starting job man they just took it for me like a week or two into the season uh really affected my confidence from there and you know just not being able to be in a a consistent routine um you know for my body man like I’m such a routine oriented person like I need consistency I need confidence in the people around me and I need like I just need I don’t know like the the consisten consistency aspect what wasn’t there for me over there and it really it just got in my head and it affected me it affected me physically it affected me mentally and you know unfortunately I was dealing with multiple injuries over the last couple years but um yeah you know it’s all good man it’s all good I was able to finish out the year over there um I’m just happy that you know I was it was it was coming to the point it was coming to the point with them obviously like it wasn’t the question of if I was going to get traded it was where I was going to get traded to um so it was just a matter of time so you know when I when I got that phone call from our po man and he was telling me that I was going to the Boston Red Sox I was really excited about that really excited for a a new Fresh Start really excited to play in a ballpark like Fenway um you know I was always saying Fenway was my favorite road ballpark to play in um before that season so the irony of going there and playing in a white uniform in Funway Park was really appealing to me um and yeah I’m I’m just really enjoying it so far so love where I’m at you know you you mentioned arbitration like you said you know what you’re you’re getting into right I mean your professionals that’s part of everything that goes I don’t know if you ever heard this story being a hockey guy uh Mike Milbury the former bruan who’s general manager of the New York Islanders went to arbitration the goalie was Tommy solo it was back in the 90s and and Mike was so loaded for Bare for the team that the poor goalie actually broke down in tears in the middle of the arbitration like he made you know he made such a compelling case he actually got and you that guy was never the same for them they had to trade him they had to move on like it can be an ugly thing and I know you get through it but we’ve heard so many stories over the year and I I bring that up because now you know you’re entering a free agent year did you have to make it a conscious effort to make sure that you’re GNA move the business part aside not let that you know in any way impact anything that goes on for you on the field this year yeah yeah you know like free agent year arbitration year whatever it is man I’m I’m like just grateful for a fresh start you know wear wearing a you new wearing a you new excuse me wearing a you uniform uh just getting in a new place new environment um new league it’s all good for me um you know I’m obviously I’m going into free agency next year and that’s going to be awesome and exciting and stuff we’ll we’ll see where that goes um but right now I’m just focused on Boston man I’m focused on Fenway I’m focused on enjoying it um and like I said like I really do enjoy it here man I’m having a great time with these guys and playing in this B Park and and it’s going as awesome as it could um for me so I just want to I just want to enjoy that and see where it goes over 160 games and um you know whatever happens in free agency or or with Boston in the future man we’ll see we’ll see where that goes but you know what I can tell you is I’m really enjoying where I’m at right now and um yeah we we’ll see what happens well it’s been super fun to watch and I got to ask before you go you brought up on ESPN the the idea of playing in the Home Run Derby taking part in the Home Run Derby uh you we won’t ask you to lobby for it we’ll do that for you because I think it’d be great you’ve got the personality it’d be a lot of fun I think you should do it sleeveless if you get the opportunity you should absolutely do the uh the the seamless and and then maybe go shag and do a flip O’Neal while you’re out there you just put on you know it’s like a skills like the the hockey skills competition you can put that all together but but have you thought about what that would be like being able to be part in Marquee event like that in Texas yeah that would be awesome that that would really be awesome it’ be a dream come true of mine you know to be able to participate in a home run derby um you know I definitely feel like I have the pop to do it um I have the B path to do it and you know I I could compete in there for sure um but you know I feel like I feel like I’m going to hit more home runs once I open up that right field and start getting base hits the other ways so uh you know that’s what I’m focused on right now um but man that that would be an unreal experience for me um so you know we’ll see what happens would you have throw who would throw uh I think I would get Ramon to throw Ramone Vasquez our bench coach I really like the way the way the ball comes out of his hands just like a true four seam it’s kind of running in on me a little bit um yeah I’ve had some good BPS with Ramone so we’ll see it’s he’s he’s a highly in demand BP thrower so you know you’re uh you’d be in good company it’s it’s good for him to get his Spotlight moment as well yeah yeah we got to keep him sharp too just in case so but if he throws to you he has to go sleeveless too all right I’ll see what I can do on that end that’s that’s awesome yeah there you go I love it it’s a rating it’ll be a rating Spike it’ll be the highest rated Home Run Derby in history uh Tyler we know it’s busy you’re in a stretch of a lot of games right now we really appreciate you taking some time uh the one thing I didn’t get to is you know Alex mentioned the Collision I said on the air that night there are easier ways to look like a hockey player I know when you were a kid you wanted to grow up being a hockey player eight stitches above the eye you know we we knew you were tough you didn’t have to do it but uh what’s real quick what’s it been like coming back from that because that’s not it’s not a knee it’s not a shoulder it’s not you know it’s your head like how scary was that for a couple of days yeah it was it was pretty crazy you know I’ve never had a concussion or anything like that before um you know raf’s a big boy man he he he knocked me pretty good you know we’re both trying to go get the baseball there um it’s just it’s just a terrible play man you know those those betweeners or two guys are going together those are those are the worst plays in Baseball so you know unfortunately we kind of we bonked heads there and you know happens like that but yeah man I was like I was like I was foggy for a couple days like I couldn’t think right things were slow like there was just this um there was just this like Marine layer about everything that was going on with me for a little while uh and that that took like three days three plus days to get by um so I I was like I wasn’t sure what it was going to look like um for a few days there you know I didn’t know if like this is kind of if this is what it is now or like if this is going to take a week to go away or something but you know about a three or 4 day Mark I kind of started to feel a little better um and then it was just kind of dealing with like headaches and fatigue man I was just like mentally fatigued like very quickly for for a few more days after that you know I kind of I probably came back like right on the cusp of if I was ready or if I need needed a couple more days but I really didn’t want to like be out for more than a week there cuz then I would have felt behind and you know borderline would have had to go get some at bats and a rehab assignment or something to catch back up so I’m I’m happy with how it all went down man the doctors took really good care of me you know they stitched me up good I feel like feel like everything’s healing pretty well right now it was the sunglasses that got me it wasn’t even like really Ry or anyone uh that cut me out but this the sunglass just gouged me out real bad but uh no they stitched me up good and they gave me they gave me the necessary rest and you know it just didn’t like didn’t throw me to the hounds to the media or anything or like put me on a specific timetable like cor like they all handled it really well cor and breslo gave me some space and gave me what I needed to do um and that put me in a good spot to come back as soon as I could um without as much stress as it it as it could have involved so um really appreciative for you know obviously I don’t appreciate the event and how it happened but really appreciated everything thing that went on after that and um how it was all handled well we’re glad you got backed as quickly as you did uh and again enjoy the weekend in St Louis go show them what the socks are all about we appreciate the visit Tyler we’ll catch up soon thanks guys thanks for having me today ah great interview and uh really fascinating guy Alex in a lot of ways um and and you know we didn’t even get into his dad being Mr Canada the fact that he plays the piano I mean we we’ll do all that after the Home Run Derby but I just think you know it’ll be interesting to see uh as good as this Outfield has been if there’s any consideration of trying to keep him around because he is the kind of guy who who is a really good fit here in Boston yes really seems to light up with the environment Alex cor talked about it even before his first home game at Fenway that he thought that this was going to be a guy who Red Sox fans would love and I think that thus far he’s right production has been terrific the swing obviously works very very well at Fenway um the the connection to kind of the the Dynamics of what it’s like playing in Boston um that’s a big check mark at the at the outset so uh yeah it is interesting to imagine the future and what and what that could look like because the Red Sox do have a lot of uh do have not only Willer Abu and jiren Duran but they also have Roman Anthony not too far off on the on the horizon um but you know when you have a player who’s a good fit it’s important not to take that for granted also if you’re out of it in July uh he’s the kind of guy who could represent a pretty valuable trade piece for a contender right so this could go any number of ways over the next few months the forking roads that are in front of us and uh yeah I guess it’s a a bit of a Choose Your Own Adventure for the Red Sox right in so far as if they perform well then they’re going to then they’re going to keep some of those uh those July questions at Bay but yeah that’s uh that that would be a separate conversation for in you know and then they’re potentially opening up the Avenue for uh for reinforcements not just from a health standpoint where we know that Tristan Kasa should be coming back by the middle of the season and um you know you you start to have a different look to your depth but also you know they’ll they’ll they I I do think that this is an organization that is um going to be pretty responsive to where it’s at in the state in the standings this year by the way the forking roads was originally under consideration for the name of the podcast uh but it was uh it was shot down by the powers that be uh and one you know we do our you do your Minor Details usually we talk about what’s happened in miners but congratulations to Roman Anthony friend of the show was with us last week hit his first home run as a 20-y old uh the day after his birthday this week on a game that once again Marcel Meyers was the big story Marcel Meer had uh three hits in that game a couple of doubl so that group in Portland I just continues to impress doesn’t it they do and I actually want to uh kind of point out a guy who’s less known there actually uh just wrote a story in the in the globe about um about Zack Penrod speaking of forking roads Zack Penrod is a guy who the Red Sox who the Red Sox uh signed out of the Indie leagues last summer he was he was thinking hard about retiring at the age of 26 because it had been five years since he had pitched in a in a game for an affiliate he had never pitched above rookie ball when he had been in the Rangers organization before he was released in the middle of uh in the middle of the uh the 2020 like height of the co crisis um and spent three he was in his third year in Indie ball last year and wondering maybe I should contemplate something a little bit different with my life but you know for the Missoula paddle heads he was throwing 96 97 miles an hour with a change up in slider with Red Sox just needed Innings to survive in Greenville saw him as a guy with a little bit of upside ended up signing him late in the season he made four starts in uh in Greenville and then more in the postseason uh for the drive in their Championship run and and ended up being sent to the Arizona fall league where he was in the fall Stars lowest dra among his starter there uh and now is in daa and uh in the words of Kyle teal he is a freaking dude at least in terms of the perception that uh that guys have had um with his performance thus far 2.25 erra through the first 24 Innings the season and putting himself in an interesting spot and with a very different path than that Meer teal Anthony group so it’s a kind of cool story that’s unfolding there want to ask you real quick uh up a triple a niik kavadas hit nine home runs now he’s got 11 something Ops uh 25-year-old first baseman Corner infielder out of Notre Dame is is he making a case for more attention absolutely has to be when you’re when you’re hitting the ball that hard that consistently you certainly are particularly given that he’s made some nice uh he’s he’s been prone to huge strikeout numbers in the past he did a really good job of working to cover a hole at the top of the strike zone being able to get to fast balls at the top of the strike zone in the off season and that’s that’s led to a better approach a better swing path um against all pitch types except he’s still struggling a lot against uh against breaking balls so it’s questionable whether or not the Red Sox would fear calling him up and having him be exposed a little bit if uh on that secondary stuff but he’s he’s putting himself in position to be the subject of conversation about whether or not he can make a difference in a lineup that needs more Thunder all Red Sox on the road uh St Louis then to Tampa you will be in Tampa correct you bet I will you only pick the Mary uh ballparks to attend so the trop obviously is well it’s inspired I think by the D by the nearby Del Museum so I’ll be I’ll be thinking about the Persistence of memory while uh while watching the roof kind of uh mentally like just imagining it dripping down into nothingness yes well we’ll have stories of Shay hillenbrand catwalk shop next week but until then uh he’ll join us next week from Tropic field or at least from St Pete he is Alex spear I am Tom Karen we will catch you next time but thanks for catching us this time on 310 to left [Music]
Red Sox slugger Tyler O’Neill joins the 310 To Left crew to talk about what happened with the Cardinals and how excited he is to be a part of the Red Sox organization. Tyler also shares his thoughts on the NHL playoffs and how he would reconcile being in Boston if the Canucks played them in the Stanley Cup Finals.
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