Liam Doyle Meets Busch | Cardinals Insider: S10, E20 | St. Louis Cardinals

Liam Doyle Meets Busch | Cardinals Insider: S10, E20 | St. Louis Cardinals

Coming up on Cardinals Insider, meet first round draft pick Liam Doyle. Just being able to walk around here for past 10 to 15 minutes, you know, it’s definitely a unbelievable place to play and uh I can’t wait to get in front of the crowd and just start pitching out here. Plus, go behind the scenes with JJ Weatherhol. I’m JJ Weatherhol here at the MLB Allstars future game. Let’s go Cards. And later, the Savannah Bananas take over Bush Stadium. Now coming to pitch, Adam. Those stories and more on a brand new Cardinals Insider. [Music] Welcome to Cardinals Insider. I’m Azie Smith. The Cardinals selected first round draft pick Liam Doyle in the 2025 Major League Baseball draft. It’s been nearly three decades since the Cardinals had the opportunity to draft in the top five. The lefty from the University of Tennessee stopped by Bush Stadium to sign papers and make it official. Take a look. With the fifth pick of the 2025 MLB draft, the St. Louis Cardinals select Liam Doyle. [Music] Well, Liam was someone that we knew coming into the season was going to be an exciting arm. We had heard from our scout in the fall that his velocity had just taken another jump from his sophomore year and that he was looking like he was able to repeat his delivery. And so for us, the question was ultimately through the year, could he stay starting? And he answered the bell. And not only did he answer the bell, he was dealing with some injuries. uh blister problems and yet he missed no time. He continued to gain more and more momentum as the year went on. At pick five, you’re you know you’re going to get a good player, but you don’t know which player is going to be there when your time is up. And so as the as the clock kind of ticked down, we were thrilled that he was there for us at pick five. It was a pretty emotional night, you know, uh put in a lot of work to get there and being able to celebrate with uh pretty much everyone in my life that has impacted me some way, form. We had like 200 people there and being on the couch with my mom and dad was pretty special. I feel like I’m pretty fierce, you know. I love uh attacking the zone, going after hitters. It just brings the competitiveness out of me and uh makes me want to win. I always have a huge drive to win. Uh it’s where I try to do it at every program I’m at and now now in St. Louis just brings that competitive attitude to me and that uh underdog mentality that I’ve always carried with me. [Music] I think a lot of thirdparty publications talk about the unsettled nature of the top five, top 10 picks and I think draft boards maybe varied uh widely. Uh we do know that some third party publications though had Liam Doyle as their number one ranked pitcher in the class and so you never know how a draft is going to shake out. Teams have different strategies, different mindsets, different ideas going into it. Uh and so it was a great surprise for us. Obviously, [Music] it’s a extremely historic franchise with a unbelievable fan base and a very passionate city about their baseball. Just landing here today, you’ve been able to see all the Cardinal jerseys in the airport to come here and stuff like that. And just being able to walk around here for past 10 to 15 minutes, you know, it’s definitely a unbelievable place to play at. And uh I can’t wait to get in front of the crowd and just start pitching out here. Shortstop JJ Weatherhold was invited to the 2025 Major League Baseball All-Star Futures Game. Cardinals Insider went behind the scenes with the top prospect in Atlanta. [Music] I’m JJ Weatherhol here at the MLB Allstars future game. Let’s go Cards. It’s been a blessing. Um, season’s been going really well. Been able to face a bunch of really good competition. Like you said, it’s just going to keep getting better and better and uh get challenged and just embrace it. You know, you build those relationships and you love those guys, but of course like if you face them, you know, you want to you want to beat them. So, it’s that like love competition and you want nothing for the best best of them, just not when you’re facing them. The track record of after this is insane. You have guys that debut right away and get called up and and people that go on to have tremendous careers. So, I mean, you know that coming into here and you know, you don’t want to raise the stakes and get outside yourself. You just want to play your game, but it’s definitely really cool seeing the people who come out here. So, I mean, I got way too much stuff. This is a custom one I got. It’s a largemouth bass cuz I love fishing. They sent me some cleats. And here we got the old futures game jersey. I’m sure he’ll play well. When you see him on the field, he does stand out, especially like defensively or even on the bases. Like, he might not be the fastest, but he’s going to put pressure on the pitcher. trying to steal the bangs because off towards left. It’s going to split the defense here. Looking for extra bases. JJ Weatherhole with the bang. Thinking about three, but he’ll take a lead off double all day long. This kid’s a player. That’s why I wanted him at the top of the lineup. He’s uh he hangs in there lefty on lefty. I think you’re going to see him starting in uh in St. Louis here pretty soon. Straight ahead on Cardinals Insider. Keep score with Cardinals broadcaster Mike Claybourne. I keep it in a traditional manner. Well, I don’t know if there is a traditional manner when you think about it because everyone does it differently. [Music] The Ted Savage Cardinals Care Classic is coming to Whitmore Country Club on Thursday, September 4th. Enjoy a round of golf and mingle with Cardinals alumni from the 1985 National League Champion Team, all while raising funds for the Cardinals Nike RBI program. Registration includes golf with the Cardinal Celebrity on Course, pre and postgolf refreshments, golf swag, and more. To register for the Teds Savage Cardinals Care Classic, or to learn more, visit cardinals.com/golf. That’s cardinals.com/golf. There’s no right or wrong way to keep score. Whether you draw diamonds or prefer a different method, keeping score is a fun way to keep track of the game, here’s how Cardinals broadcaster Mike Claybornne keeps score. So, here’s how I set my scorecard up. And first of all, the way I did it this year, uh, I was looking for a different way to create more statistics and have more information. And I found out about a couple gentlemen at Webster University and we started talking about putting this database together. And so as we kept talking, I said, “Well, where are you guys from?” They said, “We’re from Kazakhstan.” I said, “Well, that’s great.” I said, “I didn’t know they played baseball there.” He said, “They don’t.” They’d never been to a baseball game before, but after having a chance to spend time with a baseball player at Webster University, they had a kind of an idea, so they put it together. So, this is what I do every day. We start off with both teams. So, the Cardinals are a guest team. So, you type in St. Louis and all of a sudden you have their their whole roster, the 40man roster. It show you the umpires and then we put in Pittsburgh and their roster would come up. So like today, so I’ll just show you two of them just so you get an idea what it looks like on the scorecard. So this comes up and this is what the scorecard will look like. So you have Brendan Donovan. He’ll be playing right field, left field. So right here you have numbers like what does he do on the first pitch, how much what’s his percentage of swinging on the first pitch, what he hits on the first pitch. So with all that information, you feel like you’re pretty pretty much ready to go. And so when the game starts, you just keep your normal score. Uh I keep it in a traditional manner. Well, I don’t know if there is a traditional manner when you think about it because everyone does it differently, but it’s pretty similar where you can understand what I’m doing. Uh, I like to say if a guy has guy has a base hit, I put a line down and I put whether he went to left, right, center, or maybe it’s an infield hit just to for future reference and you try and keep score that way. So when you can go back to it and see what a person’s doing from a streak standpoint, I have even a section of what his streak is and also what he does against that particular pitcher. So that’s pretty much in a nutshell how I try and keep score. A little bit different. Uh, a huge database is updated every day, so I don’t have to worry about that. So, this is how I keep score. I have a little printed card, but the next time you’re at the ballpark, swing by and get your score card, and start keeping score. You’ll be amazed at how much fun you’ll have keeping track of the game. Straight ahead. All right, come on. Try the churro. Oh, wait. Chip and Brad are hungry for some ballpark grub. [Music] No place takes you in-depth with the Cardinals like our YouTube channel. Get to know the players. Come along for one of a kind experiences and hang out with personalities from across Cardinals Nation. Plus, we capture the days and moments that make Cardinals baseball so special. Just search St. Louis Cardinals on YouTube and be sure to subscribe so you never miss a video. St. Louis Cardinals baseball. Cardinals broadcasters Chip Carrey and Brad Thompson love to sample unique food in every stadium they visit. Check out their latest food review on this week’s Ballpark Buffet. Well, we welcome you to beautiful Cleveland, Ohio and Progressive Field where the Cardinals and the Guardians are going to play. And we play a lot of day games. Yeah. And they’ve taken the hot dog to a new level, we understand, here in Cleveland, because they too play a lot of day games. They figured get three square meals a day into one food item. It makes sense. So the first food item we’re going to try is really unique. It’s a ballpark hot dog. All right. I’m in with mac and cheese. Love mac and cheese. But the twist is Froot Loops. What? There you go. Fruit Froot Loops. I don’t know what we do here. Let’s try it. Okay. Go. What do you think? Oh, look at that. Froot Loops. Didn’t need them on there, but good for color, little crunch, little texture. Mac and cheese. Fantastic. That’ll get it done. Would I order it? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe when you’re not looking. They have a new pizza here. It is a spaghetti and meatball pizza. Do you want some Froot Loops on it? Cuz that’s doable. That looks amazing. How many Fred Birds are you giving it? Uh, well, I was going to say, uh, you take a bite, too. I think it’s excellent. The only thing it’s missing is Provel cheese. If this had provel cheese like we have at home, it’d be absolutely magnificent. It’s still very, very good. I am scared on this publication to disagree with you. I get it. I do disagree with you. I think this is the correct cheese. What do you think? It’s very good. Yeah, I hear it. Mhm. Mhm. And a good meatball. As they say at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland does indeed rock. Nice job. This is one of the highest rated two for two. Apparently, there’s a third thing coming. Oh, there is. Churo Sunday. Oh god. [Music] A churro sundae. Yeah. Okay. Let me get that. You’re such a good teammate. I am. I try my best. Okay. A churro sundae. I’ll let you. Brad, you love Mexican food. I look excited. Here we go. Oh, sprinkles, too. Okay. Uh, what’s the deal with churo? Well, churros are delicious. What do you mean? What’s the deal with a chur? You can put a churro in anything. Yeah. And it’s a party. Is it crunchy? Here. Not chip. All right. Come on. Try the churro. Oh, wait. Wait. Chip. Oh, god. What could go wrong? No. It’s good. You didn’t get it anywhere. Oh, no. You know what? Sears sucker hides a lot. Just so you know. Oh, it’s on your collar. Oh, it’s on my shirt. Well. Mhm. [Music] This is Breakfast of Champions here. Yeah. Everything about this. So now, was it a little messy? Yeah. Yeah. Was it worth it for the entertainment value for them? Yes. For you? Not sure. Yeah. But I’m This thing is amazing. Yeah. Cleveland, way to go. Nine. I need a shower. We’ll see you next time on Ballpark Buff. We’re really good. Still on deck. Travel to Warm Springs Ranch. So, we’ve invested six years of time from the time we even make this baby until the time it makes the hitch. [Music] We just living for the good times. Nothing better than the good times. for the good times. [Music] [Applause] This is the 10th season of Cardinals Insider. We’re celebrating by revisiting some of our favorite features from the past 10 seasons. Here’s a look back at Cardinals Insiders annual visit to Warm Springs Ranch, the official breeding facility of the Budweiser Clydes. So when a baby is born here at Warm Springs Ranch, we take a lot of care in making sure that they grow and they’re healthy and strong. And the end goal is that these babies are going to make our world famous eight horse hitch. So we’ve invested 6 years of time from the time we even make this baby until the time it makes the hitch and goes around Bush Stadium. So even at a very young age, these babies already start kind of telling us what position they’re going to be in. And it’s not unlike, you know, the different positions you might have on the baseball field. You know, your your short stop might be short and fast or, you know, whatever the case might be. Our hitch um have different positions. And so the Clyde sails that are the closest to the wagon, those are big, strong, really beefy Clyde sails. As you move forward in the hitch, the horses get a little smaller. And when you get up to the lead horses, those guys are small, but man, they have a lot of action. Action is what we call when they pick up their front feet, they’re fancy. So even at a young age, we can start kind of figuring out where these horses are going to end up in the lineup. And so the baby that we met today, Stag, he’s going to be one of the big wheel horses. He’s going to be monster. You can already tell he’s got long legs. He’s stout. He’s got a huge neck and head on him. When he fills out, he’s easily going to be over 2,000 lbs. He’ll probably be knocking on 19 hands tall and we can tell all that already. So the future is really bright for that guy. So every Clydesdale here at Warm Springs Ranch and within the entire company has a job, has a function, has a purpose and you met one Stan the man. A lot of times we may have you know handicapped children or you know people with disabilities and somehow he knows and he can just be so gentle and so easy with people. So, it’s great to have horses that have a diversity of skills. And so, even though Stan doesn’t really pull the wagon, he’s definitely like one of our favorite, most treasured horses in the company. Stadium Entertainment made a lot of new additions this season to enhance the fan experience. One of those additions is a resident DJ. Meet the man behind the music, DJ Dennis. [Music] I’m Jason Lopez or DJ Ducks, resident DJ for the St. Louis Cardinals. I’m up in the Crown Bar on Fridays and Saturdays uh before the game. I’m here till the end of the first inning. I love that it’s a party up here and everybody that comes up here, they come here for the cheaper drinks and and it’s standing room only. So, it’s just like people kind of just like it’s just feels like a like a like a backyard party. I think the most fun part about it for me is there’s so many people that come to baseball games um old, young, um just like all different ethnicities and trying to put that puzzle together um through music and um and and create the energy. you know, to to make this place u a fun time. The most challenging part of being a DJ is probably trying to put the puzzle together. You have all the pieces. Um you do your best to kind of like I have this music, I have this music, and how can I kind of connect these dots and have it well received by, you know, the fans or whatever the room is. I got the opportunity to DJ uh for the Cardinals batting practice, which was a lot of fun. I’ve actually never been on the field. Um, so it was a little scary at first, but then once I set up the equipment and uh the music started pumping, I just felt right at home. And honestly, it was a really uh exhilarating time. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I look at all the people and I look at all the players and how amazing it is here. Um, and I’m just blessed and, you know, honored to be here. When we return, you ask, I answer. It’s Ask Gazi after the break. [Music] [Music] It’s time for this week’s Ask Azie. Emily in St. Louis asked, “What was the most challenging part about playing the shortstop?” Well, for starters, of course, you got to be able to cover a lot of ground, but most people don’t think about this. We always have a scouting report. And a scouting report is a guide that we go by depending on who the hitter is. Now, it’s easy when a pitcher can pitch to a scouting report. I always prided myself on being able to cover a mistake. If we play a certain way, uh, play a guy a certain way according to the scouting report, then I’ve got to be able to make or cover ground or make cover that mistake that the pitcher may have made. So, uh, playing shortstop is much more than just fielding a ground ball. It’s making sure that you’re in a position that will allow you to cover a mistake if it’s made by a pitcher. a closure position is always tough, you know, because I would say that that is the toughest position because when you come in, the game is usually on the line if you’re that guy that the team depends on. And so if he has a bad outing, um it was important to get him back out there right away because it’s it’s one of those positions that if you have a great closer, probably have a pretty good season. Thanks for the question, Emily. To submit a question, visit cardinals.com/insider and click the Ask Azie tab. But for now, don’t go anywhere. There’s more Cardinals Insider after the break. A sea of yellow took over Bush Stadium for an entire weekend. From a soldout crowd to Cardinals alumni taking the field, fans had a bunch of fun. One could even say was bananas. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] Now coming to piss, Adam. W [Applause] [Music] L W [Applause] [Music] Jason Andrew Her [Applause] [Music] St. Louis. Thank you so much. One of the most electric crowds we’ve ever had. That’s it for this episode. You can catch us online at 400 p.m. each Friday at cardinals.com/insider and on YouTube. Thanks for joining us and we’ll see you right back here next week.

Meet first round draft pick Liam Doyle. Plus, go behind the scenes with JJ Wetherholt at the All-Star Futures Game, and the Savannah Bananas take over Busch Stadium.