TurfTalk

In this episode of Turf Talk, the host interviews Brendan Hossworth, a junior pitcher for Mount St. Joseph. Brendan talks about his pitching style, which focuses on attacking hitters and trusting himself. He also discusses how he got into baseball, initially not liking it but eventually falling in love with the game, especially the Cincinnati Reds. The conversation then shifts to the topic of growing the game of baseball, with Brendan emphasizing the need to make it more approachable and accessible for young kids. They also touch on the issue of limited access to televised games. When asked about the greatest baseball player of all time, Brendan mentions Willie Mays as his personal choice, highlighting his all-around skills and accomplishments. The interview concludes with Brendan talking about the importance of baseball as a life teacher and the valuable lessons he has learned from the sport. Welcome to the first episode of Turf Talk. I'm here with junior pitcher for Mount St. Joseph, Brendan Hossworth. How are you doing, Brendan? Good. Thanks for having me, Luke. No problem. We're just going to talk some baseball here. So, Brendan, you are a pitcher here at the Mount. I am. Describe your pitching style. That's interesting. Well, I've really never been a guy that throws, you know, really hard. I've always been kind of a middle-of-the-road guy as far as velocity. And now at the college level, I'm more towards the bottom end, you know, velocity. So I've never been a guy that really is going to overpower guys. I had pretty good stuff in high school. I still have, you know, pretty good stuff, but it's harder pitching at a higher level. But I would say pitching style is attack, attack, attack. It's kind of just the best way I can put it is just constantly trying to throw strikes and, you know, because hitting is hard. I mean, hitting is one of the hardest things, if not the hardest thing in all sports. So just, you know, putting the hitter on the defensive constantly is, in my opinion, the best thing that you can do as a pitcher, no matter if you're throwing 75, 85 or 95. So, yeah, I would say attacking hitters is number one. And really trusting yourself, I think, is a big thing, too. A lot of young guys, especially like on our team, tend to kind of shy away from the strike zone because, you know, they get hit around a little bit and, you know, that doubt kind of creeps in and they don't really, you know, they kind of get away from their selves. And, yeah, just attacking the strike zone and trusting your stuff is, to me, I guess that's how I go about pitching. 100 percent. That's a good answer. I wish more of our guys would do that, but... They're getting there. They're young. You've been here for a while. You know the ropes. So, second question, how did you get into baseball? What made you fall in love with this beautiful game? That's actually a good question because when I was younger, my dad always coached me and I hated it when I was, you know, really starting out first grade, second grade. I didn't like it. I really did not like baseball at all. I kind of wanted to quit and really got into the Reds, you know, when I was like 10, 11 years old and I kind of fell in love with them and then, you know, emulated players and just really kind of kept playing. I got a little better the more I kept playing and so that helped with, you know, the love of the game. But, really, it changed probably, oh, I'd say fifth grade. Fifth, sixth grade really was when I kind of started to take off and really, really loved the game and constantly just wanted to keep learning about the game and, you know, I've played ever since really. But, yeah, I would say the Reds have definitely played a big part in that because I grew up, you know, a fan and watching them and wanting to be like them and emulate them and so that was a big part for me. That's crazy. I'm completely different. I remember my first instructional league game. I was six and I hit a ball to the pitcher and I slid into first base and I don't think since that moment I've ever, like, stopped loving the game. Wow. Yeah, it's crazy. I don't remember much from, you know, that time. Obviously, I was six but I remember that vividly and, yeah, that's interesting. Obviously, we don't have an MLB team in Indianapolis where I'm from but, yeah, I do. I remember going to some AAA games, some minor league games down there and, yeah, I've fallen in love with it ever since. Nice. Next question. If you could change one thing about the game of baseball, what would it be and why? Hmm, well, that's tough. That's something I'd probably have to think deeper about but I think, and like a lot of people would agree, you know, the biggest problem right now with baseball is the fact that we, it's gotten better the last few years but growing the game has been so difficult, you know, and really the biggest factor in growing the game has been stuff like the WBC and, you know, these international players really coming and, you know, the United States really taking off, you know, the Otanis and Darvish and, you know, all these Dominican players and, but I think, you know, trying to grow the game I think is, I don't know how you would change it, I guess. It's kind of hard to answer that question but to me, I think the biggest thing that needs to change is, you know, the fact that we have to create, we need to make the game more approachable for young kids. I think, I think we get away from the fact that it's a kid's game. You know, these are professional athletes but this is a kid's game and, you know, creating an environment at the ballpark for the kids and, you know, you know, it's like football, you, all these games are nationally televised. So on a Sunday, you can sit down and watch every single player that you, you know, you want to watch and you want to emulate as a kid, right? And so it's easy to follow football. Baseball is the complete opposite. You have to buy all these packages and you have to live in a certain area to watch whoever you want to watch and so as a kid, it's very hard to, I mean, Mike Trout is the best player of my generation and I've maybe watched him play a handful of games but a guy like, you know, LeBron James in the NBA or, you know, guys like Joe Burrow and Brady and these quarterbacks in the NFL, it's, I can watch them whenever I want. So, yeah, I think we need to do a better job of growing the game, you know, on television, on, you know, with just social media in general. I think the game is in good hands. It's fine. The game is going to, the game is going to be the game. You know, we have such exciting players in the game. It's just about growing it. Yep, I think that's a really good answer. Yeah, I would 100% agree. Yeah, like in Cincinnati, the Valley Sports, we can't even watch the Reds. Yeah, they black out every game. They black out every single game. I feel like, I think there's a handful more teams that are still blacked out. You got to buy all these packages or go to the games or, you know, it's just difficult. Exactly. Good answer. All right. Next question. Who is your GOAT of baseball and why? Well, I'm not going to say Babe Ruth because that's just not true. Good answer. I would 100% agree. To me, and I've kind of thought this pretty much since I was in high school, when I started to kind of understand the history of baseball. But to me, I feel that Willie Mays is really, when you're looking at a complete baseball player, he, you know, and having the longevity of the career, I think Willie Mays is, to me, the greatest baseball player that we've ever had. Just, I mean, 600 plus home runs. I mean, he's got double-digit gold gloves. I mean, played, you know, center field, which, you know, it's not a catcher, it's not a shortstop, but center field is not an easy position to play. And he was the best center fielder by far of, you know, that 30-year span. And, you know, his ability to steal bases, hit the ball out of the ballpark, play gold glove defense. He's the greatest defensive center fielder of all time. And, you know, I'm not going to get into a bunch of numbers, but to me, obviously I never watched him play, but, you know, looking back at his career, you know, he's somebody that I think is easily, I mean, without a doubt, he's in the top three. But to me, he's number one. And I kind of mentioned, you know, I mentioned it to you guys sometimes, like Griffey is very similar. I think if Griffey was to not get injured, you know, somebody like him could be, you know, because he came over the Reds and it was just injury after injury, kind of like Trout is now. But Griffey is a guy where, I mean, he could have hit 750 home runs. He might have broke the record. I think he was on pace at one point for like 760 home runs. I mean, he basically played half his games in Cincinnati. You know, like he was hurt half the time and he still ended up with, you know, over 600 home runs. And so somebody like that, you know, he played in the steroid era and he was clean. And so, you know, he's playing against these guys that are all throwing, you know, 95 plus and the good stuff. But yeah, I definitely think Ohtani is probably the best. He's probably the most talented guy ever. And he definitely, if he stays healthy and continues to pitch, he's going to be, without a doubt, the best player ever just because we've never seen anything like that ever. And we, you know, I want to say we may never see that again, but I feel like more guys are doing that. I see more two ways. But yeah, I'd say Willie Mays is probably the best answer I can give you. It's not the most popular answer either. I feel like a lot of guys. What do you think? I don't care about steroids. I think Barry Bonds is the greatest baseball player of all time. And I'm not going to disagree with that just because I think before he took steroids, he still was in the Hall of Fame. I mean, definitely, I'm not saying the steroids didn't help, but 750 home runs. I just don't even think he needed them. I don't think he did either. He would have been a first battle Hall of Famer without them. He's probably not hitting that many homers. He's definitely hitting 500. Oh yeah, he was well on pace for that. So I don't hate that answer. That's a better answer than Babe Ruth. Yeah, I have Babe Ruth haters over here. Last question. Why is baseball important to you? What are you going to take away? You've got the rest of this year and one more year. What are you going to take away from baseball? Well, pretty much since I've played, I've always been taught by either my dad or other coaches about the fact that baseball is a great teacher of life because baseball is so unforgiving. Very. You can be the best player on the field every single night, but you can have the worst night on the field at any given night. I think it's a lot like life. You can prepare for anything in life. You can be ready to conquer any sort of trouble that comes your way, right? But you're not always going to be able to handle it, and you're going to fail. You're going to fail a lot. And I think baseball is very similar to that. I think there's a lot of guys that – I mean, it's so hard mentally to deal with the failure of baseball. And I think that just makes you a tougher competitor and makes you a tougher competitor in life. So I think the biggest thing I can take away from baseball is that baseball taught me how to be a man, really. And even when you're a little kid and you strike out and it's like the worst feeling in the world, but even – you get better and better and better, and hey, you're still going to strike out. You're going to fail 7 out of 10 times, like everybody says. And if you're lucky enough to fail 7 out of 10 times, you're going to do the whole thing. You're a really good baseball player. Yeah, so I think that's the biggest thing you can take away from baseball. And I think a lot of people, you know, they shy away from it because it is so hard, but that's what makes it such a beautiful game. Yeah, I know so many people that were good at a young age and, you know, they just couldn't handle that failure. I feel like it's the hardest sport mentally to play, especially you strike out and then you've got to go play defense. And then maybe you don't even get up the next inning and then you've got to go play defense again and you're still thinking about it. You have to be able to handle the adversity of it. Yeah. And know that, you know, in football, you know, you fumble or, you know, you throw an interception. You know, you're coming right back onto the field relatively quickly and, you know, you've got to make the same – you know, you make that same pass. In baseball, you know, you may chase a fastball up and then you're next at bat. You're like, all right, don't swing the fastball up. And then boom, you have a slider down and you're swinging it down. And you're like, oh my gosh, I just – you know. Your mind's just absolutely racing. It's the game of failure, but when you are rewarded, it's one of the best feelings. Oh my gosh, it is. When you're going good, everything else kind of takes care of itself. Right. Yeah, it's awesome. Yeah, baseball is just a great – it's a great teacher of life. That's the best way I can put it. That's a great way to – that's a great ending to the first episode of Turf Talk. Cool. Thank you, Brendan. I appreciate it. No problem. Thanks for having me. Yep.