Extended Interview with MLB Player Mike Montgomery ⚾
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Season 2: Episode 97 Description
Ten News Gets Extra: ⚾ What is it like to play in the big leagues? Today we’re going to talk to a REAL Major League Baseball player. 🧢 Ten News Head Writer, Ryan Willard, is in the studio with Mike Montgomery from the New York Mets to talk about being a pro athlete! ✔️ Fun Fact Check: this left-handed pitcher was the youngest to ever play in Major League Baseball! And, test your MLB knowledge on today's Trivia on the Ten. ✅
Sources
8 Youngest MLB (Major League Baseball) Players Ever - Oldest.org
Max & Ollie's Guide to Baseball (maxandollie.com)
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TRANSCRIPT:
Ryan Willard 0:02
Strike one. Strike two. Strike three, Bethany's out!
Bethany Van Delft 0:08
Ryan, I feel like maybe this would be more fun with a real baseball bat.
Ryan Willard 0:13
Yeah, it's surprisingly hard to hit tiny paper balls with pencils.
Bethany Van Delft 0:17
What is it like to play in the big leagues? Today we're going to talk to a real major league baseball player. I'm Bethany Van Delft. It's Saturday, April 9th, and this is no ordinary episode of the Ten News. This is the Ten News gets Extra.
Various Voices 0:32
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Bethany Van Delft 0:40
The Major League Baseball season is here. And Ten News head writer Ryan Willard sat down with Mike Montgomery from the New York Mets to talk about being a pro athlete.
Ryan Willard 0:53
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are here to celebrate Major League Baseball's opening day with the man the myth, the legend, a person named Mike Montgomery, Mr. Montgomery, who are you? Where are you from? And what do you do?
Mike Montgomery 1:08
Hey, how's it going? I am Mike Montgomery. I'm a left-handed pitcher. I've been with a lot of different teams, but most notably the Chicago Cubs as, you know, the final pitcher in the 2016 World Series. And I currently play for the New York Mets. And I'm going to be headed to AAA to start the year. I'm from Southern California, born and raised there and drafted out of high school and have just been traveling around playing baseball since then.
Ryan Willard 1:41
Very cool. Now, when you're a professional baseball player, what is your day-to-day life and schedule like?
Mike Montgomery 1:49
So during the season is a lot different than, say, the offseason, but for the season, it's a lot of moving parts, a lot of traveling, you have spring training, you know, you got your early days in spring training, and then it switches to the season where you play about six games a week. And they're mostly night games. So you're going to the field around one or two. And then you're there until about 10 You know, 11pm at night and you're always on the road, sometimes you're at home, sometimes you're in one city, you could be in LA one week, and then all the way in on the east coast the other week, so it's pretty hectic, but it definitely something you get used to overtime. How fast
Ryan Willard 2:30
Can you throw a baseball? And what's your specialty pitch?
Mike Montgomery 2:34
Um, you know, I thought baseball in the low 90s, but today's game is changed. So it's it used to be really hard. Now it's kind of average. But I think the beauty of pitching is that it's not about speed. It's about everything else command and like you're saying that my specialty pitches for sure my curveball. And I think that ability to throw that and then mix in a fastball and be unpredictable and creative out there. That's what's made me good. And that's kind of how I go about playing and pitching is just trying to go out there and throw what they're not ready for.
Ryan Willard 3:14
When did you first start playing baseball? And how hard was it to become a professional baseball player?
Mike Montgomery 3:21
So I started playing when I was a kid, but I was into a lot of other sports. And you know, when I was about 12, or 13, I was the left-handed pitcher that started to get some interest and travel teams and stuff. But I was always more into basketball. And, you know, by the time I got to be in high school and then going into my junior-senior year, I started to really physically develop. And that was when my interest took off. And I thought that this was something I could actually do as a profession. So I'd say right about that junior year of high school, my aspirations to play beyond just high school really, you know, blossomed, and I didn't know I'd be still here. 32 years old playing, but that's kind of the beauty of it. It's just unpredictable. And you never know what's gonna happen.
Ryan Willard 4:09
You threw the final pitch and got the game-winning out in the 2016 world series with the Cubs when they had not won in a very long time. How did it feel? And what were you thinking when you entered the game in that last inning?
Mike Montgomery 4:24
It's really what you dream about. When you're a kid on the playground, you're like, Okay, you know, game seven, the bottom of the night, and game on the line. And it just, it finally happened. It was kinda like a surreal feeling. And, you know, it was kind of one of those Well, looking back, I wouldn't want to think about what happened if you gave up a home run. So it was pretty, it was pretty intense and a lot of fun. Something that I'll be able to tell my kids about and you know, just it lives with me forever. So it's really cool.
Ryan Willard 4:57
Do you still have fun when you play baseball?
Mike Montgomery 5:00
Yeah, that I think is the key is, as you get older, you have to still think about it as you were when you were a kid playing the Five kids game, and you're having fun with it. And I think that's a lot of times where we remind ourselves when things aren't going right. Or you might be struggling a little bit. It's fun. And if it's not fun that I think it's hard for me to not play, but I'm definitely having fun with it.
Ryan Willard 5:24
What would you say to kids who want to be professional athletes that are exploring sports at their age right now,
Mike Montgomery 5:30
for me, the key is to not get too focused in on one sport, definitely branch out and try new things in different sports, because I think it just gives you a better perspective and to develop different attributes that you might not, if you just play one sport, I would recommend playing all the sports, you know, play everything, sign me up for soccer, football and hockey and everything that you can and just know that you'll have time to really hone in on one sport later on down the line.
Ryan Willard 5:59
Cool. I heard a rumor that your wife, Stephanie Montgomery, wrote a children's book, can you tell us about that?
Mike Montgomery 6:07
She sure did. And I'm super proud of her. She's been around the baseball world for a long time. And she has a different perspective than say I would and, and I think now that my son is three years old, it kind of just came together nicely. And she had these ideas about, you know, little kids getting knowledge of the game of baseball, but in a super fun way that sometimes baseball can be hard to explain. You know, there's a lot of rules a lot going on. It's called maximize guide to baseball, and it's really fun little book for young kids.
Ryan Willard 6:42
Awesome. We'll have to put that in the show notes. So our listeners can check it out as well. You make a living by playing a game. But how do you feel about video games?
Mike Montgomery 6:52
You know, I love them. Sometimes, my wife would say too much, but I'm super competitive. And I feel like ever since I was a young kid, I played games and going out with each other's houses and, you know, competing, so I feel like for me, it's definitely been a form of a way to compete. And, you know, use that. I haven't just, you know, just my super competitive nature, when I'm not playing baseball, and it's definitely been a big part of my life. And I think it's is that a lot of fun if you can find that competitive game that you like, well, if you're a casual fan, too, like there's a lot of games for those kinds of people. I love video games.
Ryan Willard 7:36
If you were gonna play me in one video game right now that you are convinced you can beat me in what game? Would it be
Mike Montgomery 7:42
Two games Rocket League, which I've spent a lot of time into? Or Clash Royale, you know, for the phone? Definitely a game that I've just played a long time and I would say consider myself pretty good at the game. Okay,
Ryan Willard 7:58
Well, I'm not very good at Rocket League, but I'm okay, A Clash Royale. So I would like to play you after this interview. Just so you know, or at some point in the near future. Who are some of your biggest inspirations and why
Mike Montgomery 8:11
I got to watch guys like Ken Griffey Jr. I got to watch like that generation of players. And I just thought it was so cool. You know, like, what What can be cooler than being a player like Ken Griffey Jr. And that was speaking of video games, playing his video game when I was a kid, like going over to your teammate’s house and, you know, fighting over for the controller to see who's next on the game. Like, that was kind of what drew my interest. And then, you know, and also just my parents as well, they always pushed me to just give everything I had, and it wasn't about winning or losing, but it was, you know, what, if you go out there, you give everything you got and develop that work ethic and the ability to do that. And that's, I think what definitely propelled me to where I am today.
Ryan Willard 9:03
Thank you so much for joining us on The Ten News. Is there anything else you want to say to our Ten'ers?
Mike Montgomery 9:07
Go out there and live your lives to the fullest and enjoy it.
Ryan Willard 9:11
Thank you so much, Mike. And back to you, Bethany.
Bethany Van Delft 9:13
Thanks, Mike and Ryan, I root for the Yankees. But I'm a big fan of baseball. So I hope I can catch a Mets game to this year. Hey, Tessa, do you have any tidbits or cool facts for us today?
Tessa Flannery 9:29
I do. Indeed. Bethany. Did you know that the youngest major league baseball player ever was just 15 years old? No way. That's right. Joseph Henry Nuxhall played his first pro game in June of 1944. And pitching for the Cincinnati Reds and 484 games. He still holds the record for most games pitched by a left-handed player.
Bethany Van Delft 9:53
Now it's time for a special shout-out. Oh, I love Special shout-outs. April 2nd is National Sibling Day. Big thanks to nine and a half-year-old Eddie for letting us know. Eddie asked for a shout-out to his two little sisters named Rosie and Eleanor. Eddie said they deserve a shout-out because they're fun to be around and they make me laugh. They're my best friends. Oh. If you want to send a shout-out, visit thetennews.com/contact and leave us your shout-out. Up next, it's time for.
Various Voices 10:32
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 10:35
Trivia on the Ten. I bet you already know about Jackie Robinson, the first black Major League Baseball player but did you know he wasn't actually the first 60 years before Jackie Robinson broke down barriers when he laced up for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This man played major league ball for the Toledo Blue Stockings. Is it a) Moses Fleetwood Walker? b) Roberto Clemente or c) Willie Mays? Did you guess it? The answer is A. Moses Fleetwood Walker was the first black baseball player at Oberlin College in the University of Michigan. Then Moses made his major league debut on May 1, 1884. As a catcher for Toledo. He famously caught bare handed and had a better than average batting record, his brother Weldy joined the team to pretty cool to play baseball with a sibling right after retiring from baseball, Moses bought a movie theater, a hotel and started a newspaper. This dude knows how to live. That's our show. But before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thanks for listening to the Ten News. Look out for our new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a coproduction of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeartRadio. The Ten News creative team is forming a softball team and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, Ryan Willard, Logan DeYoung, and Tessa Flannery. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft and thanks for listening to the Ten News. All right, Ryan, Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Hey, batter, batter, hey, batter, batter, swing!
