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[00:00:28] Speaker C: AM 1280 the Patriot is WWTC Minneapolis St. Paul FM 107.5 K298CO Minneapolis Intelligent Radio.
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[00:00:41] Speaker C: I'm Bob Agnew in Washington. Some Los Angeles area residents have begun returning to their still smoldering neighborhoods to search for memories. For many, like Pacific Palisades President Greg Benton, it's been a first look at the staggering reality of what's been lost.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: Well, this is what's left of the.
[00:00:59] Speaker A: Home that I grew up in for 31 years.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: We just had, just had Christmas morning.
[00:01:06] Speaker C: Right, right over here, right in front of that chimney. Political observer Ben Dominant says California's wildfires have been exacerbated by environmentalists who oppose basic forest management practices. Clearing underbrush has become something that's far more controversial, particularly among the environmental community, than it ought to be because you.
[00:01:26] Speaker B: Have to make choices and there have.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: To be trade offs.
[00:01:29] Speaker C: The blazes have killed at least 11 people and obliterated neighborhoods. This is SRN News.
This week in the Town Hall Review with Hugh Hewitt. A win for free expression from Meta's Mark Zuckerberg.
[00:01:44] Speaker B: So we're gonna get back to our roots and restoring free expression on our.
[00:01:48] Speaker C: Platforms and we'll hear from the 45th and the soon to be 47th President of the United States.
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[00:01:55] Speaker C: Level that nobody else has and we're going to take advantage of it. We've got all this and more.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Tune in to the Town Hall Review Saturdays at 9am and 7pm and Sundays at 5am and 11pm on AM 1280. The Patriot is your New Year's resolution to say goodbye to sore feet.
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[00:05:38] Speaker A: And the views expressed do not necessarily represent those of this station or its management.
[00:05:43] Speaker C: This is Open youn eyes radio with Dr. Cary Gelb. Good morning, I'm Dr. Cary Gelb and welcome to Wellness 1280 on Open youn Eyes Radio. Please listen as I discuss the newest information in the world of health, nutrition and sports every Saturday morning, 6am Central Time on AM 1280 the Patriot. Also, please share your thoughts by emailing me at drkerryelbmail.com that's D R K E R-Y-G-E-L-BMail.com and visit my new website, wellness1280.com where we have all guest links, Wellness 1280 info and previous shows. Wellness is taking over the Patriot Airways for the next hour. Sit back and enjoy my interview with professional baseball player Brian McKenna. Today's guest is professional baseball pitcher Brian McKenna, who has played at many levels, including Triple A, independent leagues and international leagues. Becoming a professional athlete requires relentless hard work, discipline, overcoming injuries and dedication. Brian will share valuable insights about his journey and offering pitching tips to help listeners and viewers elevate their game. Brian, I want to thank you for joining me today on Open your Eyes Radio and podcast with Dr. Kerry Yelb.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: Absolutely. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to have a conversation with you. Looking forward to it.
[00:07:11] Speaker C: Brian, I've known you for a while and I always respected you when you had an injury. You work with the kids and now you're back to playing professional baseball. You're playing in Venezuela. Tell us what it's like to play in the Venezuela Baseball League.
[00:07:28] Speaker A: Oh man, it's not like anything I've experienced so far, that's for sure. But I mean, the baseball is really, really good. It's definitely the highest level that I've played at.
One of the advantages of like a league like this, a winter league, is that since it's not during the same season as the United States's major leagues and the minor leagues that we're able to guys that aren't in affiliated ball like myself, are able to play against guys that are in the major leagues and AAA and double A are currently there. So I mean, it's, it's just, it's a different opportunity and it's exciting. I mean, the, it's. And the fans are super into it. I mean, there's just a level of pride that's, that's being played with down here that you don't see too often in the States.
[00:08:19] Speaker C: And you play with professional baseball players that are in the major leagues. Can you tell the audience how much is the difference or what is the difference between a, an MLB player, a triple A player, a double A player? Is there that much of a difference between the levels and the players?
[00:08:37] Speaker A: From just a strict talent perspective, I would say no. But from a consistency of kind of showing that talent, then yes, you know, the same 95 miles an hour or even 100 miles an hour, you know, that you see in rookie ball or a ball or double A is the same, you know, 100 miles an hour that you'd see in the big leagues. The difference is, is their ability to locate, you know, their consistency with that pitch, and then their, their secondary and tertiary offerings are just way different. And as far as the hitters, you know, they're not going to make it. They're not going to miss as many mistakes as, as a younger, less experienced hitter can. But I mean, as far as having the same, they know they hit the ball 450ft, 400ft at every level. You know, there's big, strong guys at every level, but it's just really the adaptability and the consistency that I've seen is the biggest thing that changes from level to level.
[00:09:33] Speaker C: And how about the mindset that a professional baseball player has? What's the difference in the amount of nervousness they get? And at that level, even at your level playing with Major league baseball players, do Major League baseball players still get nervous? And you get nervous playing against Major League baseball players? I mean, you've been a triple A baseball player. So how do you manage, and if you do, how do you manage the nerves to make it a positive thing?
[00:10:02] Speaker A: I think it's normal. I think that when anybody starts out, their nerves are going to be a little bit higher. And then as you go, you know, you get more accustomed to it, more relaxed in your routine or just the environment, you know, So I think it's like anything else. You know, experience makes you, and being experienced in what you're doing and also able to do it, confidence in yourself kind of alleviates a lot of that nervousness. Maybe the first time you go out there and you're in front of 20, 000 people and you're facing a guy that just hit, you know, 25, 30 homers in the big leagues this past year. You're, you know, maybe weary or a little cautious or kind of second guessing yourself. Especially maybe someone like me in my position. I haven't been at that level, but once you do it a couple times, it really kind of goes away. Now, you know, you're looking forward to those opportunities to more of like, prove yourself, you know, Especially for me, as far as the major league guys, you know, honestly, the higher levels you go up, the less they seem to be nervous and the more, the more fun that they seem to be having. And I don't want to say they don't take it as serious because I know that they do, but it doesn't, doesn't show it as much. You know, in, in double A and aaa, the weight room is, is really littered with a lot of guys, you know, doing like extensive routines, extensive lifts before, after the games. And I've seen that at the higher level, players kind of, they focus more on just playing the game and they're not so, they're not so entrenched and these things that are outside of the game, you know, they're just very concerned with, with how they play and maybe, maybe that helps. I don't know, they, they just seem to have a much more looseness about the game. You know, they're smiling, they're joking with guys in the other team they know, talking with, like, waving at fans, you know, so maybe that could also be the environment down here because they're also, you know, we're in the Venezuelan League, so they're all Venezuelan. They all have known each other for a long time, but you see a lot of joking around with guys on the other team. You know, I mean, they take it seriously, but at the same time, you know, they're having a lot of fun. And I've seen more serious games at when I was coaching 14U than I've seen out here. You know, guys are easy to kind of roll with the punches and, and have a laugh with the guy. You know, when they get to first base, it's not, you know, so like, like, I gotta beat this guy, you know, but, you know, the will to win and compete is definitely there, but I think there's more of a middle ground of having fun the higher you.
[00:12:39] Speaker C: Go up and you've been able to throw as high as 97, maybe 98, you know, 94 to 97. 98. Is that something that you think you were born with or is that something that you were able to train yourself to be able to do?
[00:12:55] Speaker A: Well, I've actually had this, this conversation with a lot of people. I think that it's, it's not so like cut and dry. I think that you can train an individual athlete to get to a certain point with velocity or anything really strength training or, but in this case velocity, but it's really capped out at their, their genetic potential. You know, not everyone has the genetic ability to, or the fast, you know, the fast switch muscle fibers to throw the ball 100 miles an hour. For me, I would say that, I think that any, you know, capable bodied, healthy male adult could probably be trained to throw the ball 85, 85 to 90 miles an hour with a really, really consistent routine. And, you know, starting at a young enough age, because specifically in throwing, there's this, there's this thing called humero retroversion that happens as your bones are developing that your humerus will actually twist into the shoulder socket to facilitate this external rotation. And if you don't start that adaptation at a young enough age, I think they've shown that you won't be able to have the movement capability to really throw the ball at the 97, 98 mile an hour range. But again, that's probably just a sweeping generalization. But most of the time they found that when you start young throwing, then it gives you more opportunity to throw the ball harder when you get older. But.
[00:14:36] Speaker C: And do you think that at what age you think a kid should start throwing and how often should they throw?
[00:14:43] Speaker A: Oh, well, I think that, you know, you got to get them involved in the throwing. I mean, I don't know if any age is too young. I think that maybe pitching specifically where the load and the volume and the intensity is super high, maybe they should wait until they're, you know, if I had a kid, I'd probably wait till he was 14 or 15. I heard Roger Clemens didn't have his son's pitch until they were 16.
But I think you can start him throwing at any, you know, at any age, but just try to, try to make it so that the volume isn't, isn't too much because that's really where the wear and tear comes from, is from the, the excessive volume. You know, throwing isn't inherently dangerous. But when you make a kid that's not fully developed throw 100 pitches three times in a week, you know, you're asking for trouble with.
[00:15:26] Speaker C: Speaking with minor league pitcher Brian McKenna, Triple A pitcher he's playing in the Venezuelan Winter league. This is Dr. Kerry Gel for Open youn Eyes Radio. I'll be back after the break.
[00:15:37] Speaker B: I went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot. Being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called My Sight. This specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the us it is proven to slow down the progression of nearsighted and best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom and when she plays sports. I Recommend you visit openyourizeradio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn
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[00:17:37] Speaker A: I.
[00:17:38] Speaker B: Went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor Told me about a new FDA approved product called My Sight. This specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the US it is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom and when she plays sports. I recommend you visit open your eyes radio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn more at open your eyes radio.com.
[00:18:38] Speaker C: We'Re back with Brian McKenna, professional pitcher. He's giving us some insight on baseball. Before the break, we spoke a little bit about how often should somebody throw? How often should a kid throw? He mentioned about Roger Clemens and have his kids start throwing pitching until they were like 16, but just having a catch as a kid to learn the mechanics or to get used to the mechanics of throwing. How often do you think kids should throw? Like a 7, 8, 9 year old kid and then how about a junior high school kid and a high school and a high, high school kid. How often should they throw, throw a baseball, would you say?
[00:19:20] Speaker A: Well, I guess it depends on the season and their goals, if they're, if they're a position player. I mean, I would recommend at least three times a week in high school when they're young. I mean I, I'm, you know, maybe once a week to start out and then if they show an interest in it, you know, you can progress them. But it's all, again, it's all about just controlling the volume, especially at, well, really at any age, even in my level, you know, because volume is really where you get hurt. And I think that when, if you have a kid that's starting out, you know, probably just once a week, if it's literally his first time throwing, you know, once a week, see how his arm adapts. You know, throwing is, you know, a very kind of strenuous process on, on the whole shoulder and elbow unit. So you just don't want to overdo it when you're young, you know, you feel like you're invincible. I mean I did, I threw all the time. I would pitch 100 pitches and then long toss after the game. And you think that, you know, you're fine because you're 12 and you just never experienced any, any sort of arm pain or anything until you do. And then after that everything is focused on, on your arm. But I think that just listening to your body, you know, I don't know if there's any One real cut and dry plan to give somebody that's like, okay, if you do this you won't get hurt or if you do this, you're going to throw 100. But it's really just about listening to your body and constantly being willing to adjust based on how you feel. You know, if you, if you feel strong, you can do a little bit more. But as a general recommendation, I would say no more than for a high school kid, no more than five times a week throwing. And you could limit like a high intensity days to two or three. I mean that, that would be ideal. No more than that. And you want to be able to always give your body time to recover. You know, seven more is more. That's, that's what I've really learned throughout my whole pitching and throwing career is that, you know, you really have to give your time, your body time to rest and doing a lot of lifting and, and other strenuous things for your arm and for your body, your, your, your elbow and shoulder. Don't know the difference between throwing a baseball and lifting a weight. You know, it's just, it's stress in the joint and the muscle and you just really need to be able to recover from that. And as long as you're adequately recovering in between these high intense sessions, you know, I think that you're going to be in a, in a safe spot. But as a general rule, I would say at least, you know, two days off a week. You know, when I'm, when I'm ramping up my off season program, I usually do like one or two weeks of throwing three times a week and then one or two weeks of throwing four times a week and then one or 2 weeks of throwing five times a week. And then I'll stay at that, that five times a week until the season. Because I mean, unfortunately in the season you could throw seven. You know, if you don't have an off day, you could be out there throwing seven days a week. But even in that situation, you would still adapt the intensity. You know, you wouldn't be going 100% the whole time. And it's funny, you know, the higher you go up, the more you see guys are controlling that volume, you know, and if you go to watch a ball, double A before the game, if you watch the pitchers throw, you might, you see a lot of guys maybe long tossing and really kind of exerting themselves throwing with their partner. And if you would watch some of these older guys that have been in the major leagues for a while do their pre Throw before the games, you'd be, you'd, you'd wonder if they even did enough to get loose. So it's, it's really about just controlling that volume. And I think that these older guys that have been doing it for a while understand that. And I'm kind of learning a bit from them as well and adapting my own routine to it.
So it's interesting. It's, it's not, definitely not a one size fits all model, but really just listen to your body and try to make sure that you're recovered well in between those high intent sessions. Because if you're, when you're fatigued, your muscles can't absorb the force as well. And that's when you get hurt. You know, that's when the insertions of the joints start to start to break down. And you know, it's, it's, it's very rarely one throw or one event unless it's like a really, like a traumatic incident, a collision or something like that that's gonna, you know, rupture the ligament in your throwing arm. It's just kind of that over time, that wear and tear and then that straw that breaks the camel's back.
[00:23:49] Speaker C: Why do you think there's so many more arm injuries with pitchers now than there were 20, 30 years ago? Does anybody have a feel for that?
[00:23:58] Speaker A: I think that it's a combination of, of understanding what creates velocity as far as mechanics, the youth, the youth having such a high volume of throwing and then also just a high volume of games like travel ball, high school ball, rec leagues. You know, there's, there's no shortage of areas where kids can throw. And, and the thing is, if you're, if your son or if you're good or daughter is good at throwing a baseball, especially at a young age, coaches are gonna, are gonna use them and they're going to use them disproportionately to maybe how ready they are to throw at that volume. And then also their counterparts, their teammates. I did that. I mean, when I was a kid, I hurt my arm. And it was probably because every team I went on, they wanted me to pitch and catch and play shortstop. And I had a good arm. So when you throw hard, you always want to throw hard. And especially when you're young and egotistical and competing with your friends and teammates, you're like, check this out. Look what I can do. I could throw it first further than you, I could throw it harder than you. And you just are always, always operating at that, that intent. It's Just not.
It's not. It's not good. You know, it's just, like I said, that that volume is really the, The. The killer.
[00:25:20] Speaker C: In Venezuela, you're playing with a lot of major league players. What's your mindset when you're pitching and an MLB pitch player comes up? Is it different than if it's somebody who never was in the mlb? And what are, who are some of the players that maybe that you pitched to? Use a specific type of strategy? And what kind of strategy was it?
[00:25:44] Speaker A: Luckily, the strategy, I get this kind of taken care of for us. Our pitching coach and our scouting department has good information on a lot of the hitters. So they have. We have a good plan of attack. And then luckily, you know, I have. We have couple catchers that have also played at the major league level, so they are relatively familiar with some of these guys. And so a lot of that strategy and stuff I kind of just leave to the catchers. Like, I don't like to shake off my catchers a whole lot, especially because I'm in the bullpen. I come in in the eighth, ninth inning, and I haven't, you know, I watch the game, but my perception is not nearly as good as the guy that's one foot behind the batter, you know, for two or three at bat. So I, I generally defer to. To their expertise. But unless I see something, you know, like I look for, if guys are late on the fastball, if the guys are able to take a good slider down, like if I think I executed a slider that broke late from strike to ball and. And they take it, then I know that they're looking. That they, that they're looking for that pitch, or at least they're waiting long enough to see it. And I believe that that makes them susceptible to the fastball. You know, you can freeze them with that. But as far as mindset with the major league guys, like, at first, like we were talking about earlier, you know, I was a little nervous with that, you know, not having that experience. But once you throw the ball, once you throw one fastball and they swing through it, you know, it's just. It's just any other guy that's up there, I mean, you understand that, you know, maybe you can't. If this guy report says don't miss down and in, don't miss down and in, because there's, you know, more often than not, they're gonna, they're gonna tattoo it. But I found that it's exciting, you know, to face those guys because it challenges you and, and it tries to kind of prove yourself. I mean, we faced. I mean, he hasn't played in a little while, but Yasio Puig is, was in this league. He was one of the more intimidating hitters. I mean, Eugenio Suarez, Ronaldo Nunez.
[00:27:46] Speaker C: We.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: Have Itamar Vargas is on our team. He's a starting second baseman for the Nationals. Luis Angela was our shortstop. He's. He's going to be probably the starting second baseman for the Mets this year.
A lot of major league arms too, in this league.
Let me think about some of the other big leaguers. I mean, he's a little bit, he's a little removed by Alex Amarista. He's playing on the team that we're playing currently. He's the second baseman. He's got seven or eight years in the big leagues.
This is a lot of, a lot of guys. But there's really, you know, the mindset doesn't change. You just are aware that you really need to be focused on, on executing your pitches and not missing because you find that the better hitters, these guys, these big leaguers, you know, they don't miss the mistakes. You know, that's what they're looking to hit. They're not trying to, they're not going to hit. You know, if you execute a good pitch on the, you know, that's going to get people out. I mean, pitch good pitching beats good hitting most of the time. It's just when you miss over the plate and give them an opportunity. Those major league hitters, they don't miss that too often. So that's where you get in trouble.
[00:28:57] Speaker C: Watching these professional guys who. Have you seen from a hitting point of view that you say to yourself, damn, I just can't believe somebody could actually hit this good?
[00:29:07] Speaker A: Well, actually, we got this new guy. So in the, after the playoff, after the regular season, you're able to draft one up to three players from the three teams that didn't make it. You can pick and it's based on how you finish. So we finished first. So we had the first pick. So we picked up Harold Castro from the Leones de Caracas and, and he's, he was in the big leagues for four or five years. And yeah, he hits the ball. I mean, he came in and he was just, I mean, he won MVP in the league and it was just, it was crazy, like him hitting in the first couple rounds of the round robin. I think he, he went off his front foot like one off one hand, hit a homer to center and like stuff like that. And then I actually faced him in the season, I only faced him once, but he took a first pitch fastball and so I thought, okay, I could throw another one.
And the first one was, and he took it looked like he didn't really see it. And then I threw the next pitch away and he hit a, he pulled a double off the wall in right center. And I was like, wow, okay, I got, I gotta keep that one in the, in the memory bank. I'm just, I'm glad he's on our team. But there's a lot of guys, you just wonder like I don't know how they can hit. I mean, there's guys throwing 100 in this league. There was a, you know, a lefty on the team. We played the other day throwing 100 into.
[00:30:26] Speaker C: We're up against the break. I'm speaking with pitcher Brian McKenna. This is Dr. Kerry Gill for Open youn Eyes Radio. We'll be back after the break.
[00:30:38] Speaker B: I went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this, this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called My Sight. This specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the US it is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom and when she plays sports. I Recommend you visit openyoureyesradio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn
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[00:32:37] Speaker B: I went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called MySight. This specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the US it is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom and when she plays sports. I recommend you visit Open youn Eyes Radio to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn more at open your eyes radio.com.
[00:33:38] Speaker C: We'Re back with professional pitcher Brian McKenna. And before the break we were talking about a pitcher who was throwing 102 miles an hour down in Venezuela. Tell us a little bit more about who that is and what it's like to see something like that.
[00:33:56] Speaker A: I'm not sure his name. I think it's Felipe Vasquez. But he's one of the closers on the Maggie on his team. But there's a, I mean you'd be, you'd be surprised. I mean I was a little bit surprised at the amount of high velocity, I mean supremely high velocity throwers that are down here. I mean every game you're going to see someone throwing 100 which is kind of, you know, you wouldn't expect that. You might think that all the 100 mile an hour arms are already in the big leagues. Well, a lot of these guys are maybe three quarters of them. And then the Other ones that aren't probably have a reason, you know, like a disciplinary reason or, or social one.
But I mean, we have, we have a handful of guys on our team that are routinely topping out 98, 99. So I mean, watching those guys throw, I mean, sometimes you're just like, wow, I, I can't. I don't know how they're able to do that. Especially when you see how little some of these guys do in the weight room and their bodies. It really helps you understand that a lot of this is, is genetic. You know, it's, is really, some guys are really just born with it. I mean, you can train and get yourself really good and up to a point, but I mean, just to, to show and, and be able to throw like 102. I mean, that's, that's just God given in my opinion. I don't know if you can make yourself throw 102. It's just, you know, the, the exercises and conditioning and routine is gonna, is gonna amplify it a lot, you know, and make it so that you can express that movement for a long period of time. But as far as being able to achieve it, I really do. I think it's God given. I think that your workouts and conditioning just allows you to have a career doing it. You know, you see guys that, they're able to do it for a short amount of time and they get hurt and they never get back because they don't have that foundation of, of, of hard work and strength training and, and really understanding kind of how they were able to do it. And you know, that's also why maybe some of these guys don't make great coaches because they were just kind of, they just always picked up a ball and threw or always picked up a bat and hit and it kind of came naturally to them. And when you really are asking them, hey, teach me what you did, they're teaching, you know, things that, that don't work. They're teaching mindsets and they're teaching feels and it's not, if you put it on video, that's not what they're doing. So it's, it's interesting. But you know, it's, I think that you can, when you, when you're that gifted, it's really, it's God given. And your workout and everything that you do outside of the field kind of just allows you to, to do that for a long period of time.
[00:36:35] Speaker C: And how big are these guys generally? Are there any little guys that can throw that hard?
[00:36:39] Speaker A: Yeah, there's, I Mean, the, I wouldn't say they're little, you know, but I mean, I'm considered relatively small for being a pitcher. You know, I'm six foot six one, like 195. You know, you do see a body type that, that produces a hundred, that's for like 6, 3, 6, 4, 23 2, 40, in good shape. You know, they're just proportionate. But then you see guys that are, you know, really out of shape doing it as well. So I, you know, there's no really one size fits all approach. But I think to optimize yourself, I mean, you'd want to be in, in good shape and you want to be a bigger guy. But you know, we have, there's this little guy. I mean, look at Altuve, he's tiny. We have this, this one of the best hitters in this league, amarista, he's, he's like five four, hitting.370, 380, you know, so I don't think that, you know, you could be, you could be tiny and do it. But as far as throwing hard, I don't see too many guys are throwing 95 plus that aren't 5 10, 5 11. I mean, that's, that's pushing it. But just, I think more pitchers just tend to be taller. I think the scouts look for that too. So I don't know if it's, if it's more, you know, causality like. But you don't generally see tiny guys throwing hard. If you did, I mean, they might have an advantage.
[00:38:00] Speaker C: So how about what kind of exercises do pitchers do when they are in the weight room? Or, or is it mostly bands to get stronger or to stay more flexible or to prevent injury? What kind of, what kind of exercises would you would do you do and you see other pitchers do.
[00:38:21] Speaker A: Well, I've seen a whole different assortment of things. I mean, there's, there's a lot, a couple different schools of thought when it comes to optimal training for pitchers. Some people really only want to focus on being loose and not getting tight. And then there's a lot of guys that they feel that there's a lot of strength in, in like this heavy strength training, you know, almost kind of like a bodybuilder type of workout. And I think it's just having a good understanding of your body. I think that for any athlete, but especially pitchers, you know, you need a good strength base. You know, you should, you should do the main movements, squat, hinge, lunge, press, pull, and have a, just a good strength foundation in your joints for those movements because that's just going to help you express your overall movement capability better.
But after you're maybe a certain age, you know, you're physically developed, you have to start to try to maybe optimize for your sport and make sure that whatever you're doing in the weight room doesn't restrict you from your, your skill. Because I mean, at the end of the day, you're really just lifting to be better at your sport. And as long as you aren't doing anything that, that contradicts what you want to do out there. Like you don't want to be feeling tight or hurt your back or hurt your shoulder, bench pressing and you can't throw. So it's really just understanding kind of what your goals are and then not doing anything to get in the way of that. I don't know if there's anything specific that is perfect for a pitcher, but I mean, I like to, personally, I like to make sure I do a lot of single leg stuff, you know, because baseball, but pitching obviously specifically is very single leg oriented. So I want to have good balance, you know, a lot of single leg hinges and a lot of lunges, squats, squat jumps for my upper body. I try to do, keep it light with mostly bands and lightweight stuff. When I was younger, I would, I would crush the heavy dumbbell bench and a lot of rows and stuff like that. But I, I hurt my elbow a couple times when I was younger and being in this league has actually helped me change my perspective a little bit on what's optimal, especially for me is in, in season is I've. Because of the situations down here, the, the extensive traveling and some of the accommodations that we have at the other fields, you know, I'm not always able to get a good workout in. And I've found that, you know, my arm feels better when I'm not constantly crushing it in the weight room. If I'm not, you know, like, I'm not always gripping something and I'm not always kind of stressing my whole just nervous system and my body with those weights and I've been, been able to throw down here. We played 55 games. I threw in 27 of them. I had 30 innings. And you know, I mean, that's a lot. That's a lot. That'd be, you know, almost 75 appearances if it was, I mean, maybe more 75 appearances if that was in the big leagues. And that would be, you know, that would probably be one of the most appearances that anybody would have. So I think what Allowed me to do that was kind of mitigating what I was doing in the weight room and just kind of. And optimizing it for myself, you know, just keeping it light, making sure just. I did the least effective dose for what I needed to just feel strong and feel flexible and prepared and activated for that day.
I think that people, pitchers, having a routine before they throw is probably the most important part of what they do in the weight room. You know, making sure that they're loose and able to accept force, you know, able to have their, their back, t, spine rotation, you know, overhead mobility, get some shoulder activation, some sub scap stuff. Some scap stuff, forearms, if you want to do like some light gripping. But really, it's just. It all comes down to expressing your skill and optimizing that is. Is the main thing. So you want to find lifts that make you feel good, make your hips feel loose, that you feel like you can. You want to be fast and explosive as opposed to feeling tired and tight after you get done in the, in the gym.
[00:42:43] Speaker C: How about the difference between relief pitcher or closer like you or setup guy or a starter? Is there a difference in the routines? Is there a difference in the training, when and the mindset?
[00:42:55] Speaker A: Oh, I think they're absolutely. I don't have experience with. Well, I started a couple games, but I never did enough starts to really get into a routine. But I've watched the starters, and sometimes you get a little jealous of the starters as a reliever because they throw their four or five or five or six innings and then they get five days off. So they're. They're really entrenched in their routine and they can get a good workout in like, and don't get me wrong, I think that, that the lifting, if for certain people, does optimize their bodies for throwing on the mound.
And so as a starter, you're able to get your lift in either the next day or two days later. And then, you know, couple that with having a structured throwing program to just optimize as you. For that fifth day. You know, as a reliever, I have to be 100 every day. So if I throw tonight, ideally, you know, I would like to lift tomorrow or the next day. But if I have to pitch, it's kind of about understanding, like, where am I putting all, like, my energy? You know, if I, if I throw here and then I. And then I lift, like, I'm just kind of really leaving myself depleted for that, that next outing. So I try to.
If I, if I maybe throw two or Three days in a row and I know I have an off day. That's will be a time when like I can, I can lift when. Well, a starter knows that he's going to pitch on Monday, he's going to lift on Wednesday, he's going to throw his bullpen on Thursday, and then he's going to start again on Saturday. You know, so they're able to just really have everything very orchestrated for them.
And a reliever kind of, you just kind of get it in when you can, you know, like if you feel good that day, if you need a long toss, maybe stretch it out. But understand that maybe, you know, you might have to pitch in the game so you have to mitigate the volume and the intensity. A starter, you know, on his third day, when he, when he lifts or before his bullpen knows he can long toss and exacerbate his himself because he'll have the time to recover. So for me, I mean that's, that's the biggest difference is that the relievers need to be prepared every day and the starters can really optimize their routine for that, that fifth day.
[00:45:03] Speaker C: And can you, you think you could teach control?
[00:45:06] Speaker A: I think that control is more of a mindset and a focus that you need to have when you play catch and not trying to search for it. You know, a lot of guys, they'll play catch very lax and they'll be flipping the ball.
[00:45:22] Speaker C: Hold that thought. Brian will be back after the break. We're speaking with minor league pitcher Brian McKenna, Triple A pitcher. He's playing in the Venezuelan Winter league. This is Dr. Kerry Gel for Open youn Eyes Radio. I'll be back. After.
[00:45:37] Speaker B: I went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie, I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called My Sight. This specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the US it is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom. And when she plays sports. I Recommend you visit openyourizeradio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn
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[email protected] I went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called MySite. This specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the us it is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom and when she plays sports. I Recommend you visit openyourizedradio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn more at Open youn Eyes Radio.
[00:48:41] Speaker C: We're back with professional baseball player pitcher Brian McKenna. He's giving us some insight. So you played with Luis Acuna this year. Give us a scouting report on him for all the Met fans out there.
[00:48:55] Speaker A: Oh, I mean he's great. He's. He's an electric player. Probably played 30 or 40. 30 games with him. 40 games with him. I mean, he was at shortstop a lot, but I think he's going to play second in the big leagues. But I mean, yeah, he's a great hitter, super fast. I think that he was only in this league for half of the season and he might have been first or second in stolen bases. I mean, it was pretty much an automatic double or triple when he got on base. I mean, interestingly enough, our, our offense was last in the league. I believe in, in batting average, slugging percentage, but we were first in the league and run scored. And it's because we had two guys at the top of our lineup that led the league in stolen bases and they were just turned singles into doubles and, or even triples. And they're scoring on a double from first base, scoring on a single from second pretty consistently. So you really see like, at this level, like, speed is not something that everybody has because there's some older guys.
And so if you're, if you have a guy that is explosive and is making things happen on the basis the way he does, can really be the facilitator, spark plug for your team. So I think the Mets are in a good spot having him. They're lucky to have him. He's a great guy.
[00:50:11] Speaker C: So let me ask you, you're from New York City. How did somebody from Manhattan become a baseball player? You know, growing up in Manhattan, is there any grass there to play baseball?
[00:50:21] Speaker A: There's, there's this patch of grass on 57th on 59th street called Central park where we play a lot of, we play a lot of games growing up, but there's no, there's not too many places. In high school we would bus out to Brooklyn to play our games and practice every day. So I mean, it's, it's just, it's just more difficult. But I mean, many. Ramirez is from, from New York.
It happens. There are guys, it's just, you know, luckily I had a great dad that would just take the time with me, you know, and that's really 90 of it, just 99 of it, really. Just having someone that'll go and play with you, you know, if you have friends, you know, you don't need, you don't need grass. I mean, my dad and I would throw every day before school on the street next to the, next to the elementary school. You know, that consistency, you know, having someone to play with is, is the main thing. And luckily I did. There's a lot of. And I grew up in, in the city but in a, in a small enough neighborhood where we had a group of guys that we could, we could go to the field and, and throw with and play with. So that's really, that's really all you need.
[00:51:25] Speaker C: So you're. You. You have a family business which is a, a landmark in New York.
If you could tell us a little bit about that.
[00:51:36] Speaker A: Well, my. Yeah, my, my great. Let me see. My. I believe my great uncle opened up a speakeasy in, in during prohibition and in. In Greenwich Village, I believe. And my, my. It's been kind of passed down. I changed to a bar at the end of prohibition and my uncle had it and then. Well, my, my. Yeah, my uncle had it and gave it to my, My great uncle had it gave it to my dad and you know, he's had it since the early 80s or late 70s, early 80s. And it's on 14th Street. It's called McKenna's Pub. Yeah, it's just a little, a little watering hole, you know, a little, a little dive bar that's been around for almost 100 years now. And I mean, it's great. It let me work there and, and learn just a worker, you know, how to do things, you know, not be the boss's son, you know, do some hard work. So it's been great, but I'm not a big drinker, so I never go in there too much.
[00:52:41] Speaker C: So getting, getting back to baseball and some of the other players that are in the league, who should we be looking for once the MLB starts for the, some of the players that you played with in Venezuela that we should look for MLB this year and which could we expect from them, whether they're pitchers or, or hitters?
[00:53:03] Speaker A: Well, the one guy we just talked about, Louis San Hill, I think he's going to be a future All Star. He's got a, you know, he's young, but he's explosive. Does a lot of things really well on the field. And then another guy we had is a catcher, Carlos Navarros. He just got traded from the Yankees to the Red Sox and he actually unfortunately had his last game with us on, on Monday. The Red Sox told him he's got a go up to the states and start getting ready or at least maybe take some, take some time off. But he's going to be making a bid for their, their major league job this year. And I mean, he, you know, he was an anchor for us in our lineup. You know, you don't see too many catchers that are very good back there and then also are hitting I mean, he hit.375, like all year for us, batting fourth. So, I mean, he's going to. He could help.
I know as a Yankee fan, you're probably sad to hear that he's not on their team going to the Red Sox, but it's a good opportunity for him. I think he'll be, you know, the Yankees have good catchers and they have young catchers, too, so I think that he was maybe not getting a ton of opportunities there. I think he did play a little bit this year with the, with the Yankees in the major leagues, but hopefully with the Red Sox, you know, look for him to be a good bat. We have some younger guys, too. I mean, we have. We had two guys this year that I think play a ball or double A that were both throwing 100, that, you know, showed good off speed, good command. There's one is one. His name is Yosef Bar Sanchez. I believe he's with the Tigers. And, you know, give him a couple years, he'll be a reliever in the big leagues, I have no doubt. And then another guy, Gustavo Rodriguez, he was with us. He's sitting 98 to 100 as well. I think that.
I think he just signed a deal, too.
I forget what team. But, you know, these guys, they have a lot of potential, and I think that they'll, they'll debut pretty soon. So look for those guys for sure.
[00:55:05] Speaker C: And you played a lot of baseball. I mean, different. All these high levels. Tell me about some of the coaches that you've had that have had a big influence on you and what makes a good coach versus somebody that's not even. Not such a good coach and, and even at these high levels, I, I would imagine not all the coaches are real good, but the ones that are good that you've learned from. What does it take to be a good manager, good coach of. Of players?
[00:55:32] Speaker A: Well, I found that being a manager is a lot different than being a coach. A manager doesn't do so much like the coaching, you know, like, he's not going to come up to you very rarely. I mean, a lot of managers are players, and you find a lot of them are actually catchers, which is funny enough, but probably a guy like that would not come up to you and, and give you advice on your swimming or your delivery. Right. But maybe more mental, you know, the more mental approach to it. Unless. Unless the guy, you know, unless you're. You're his catcher and that. Or you play the position that they played as a manager and they kind of are telling you something specific that they did, you know, it'd be like little insights like that.
The guys that have the biggest influence on me, especially here, are the bullpen coaches because they're the ones that you spend the most time with. I mean, they're kind of an extension of the pitching coach.
And I mean, our, our bullpen coach down here is Waldo Peraza. He's super. He's been super helpful, not, not only with mindset, but, you know, he'll, he'll work with you on mechanics. You know, he's. He's an older guy. He's got a lot of experience pitching the big leagues for a while. He pitched in this league for a while.
And, you know, just. And anyone, a good coach is really anyone that shows that they, that they care about your process and they care about you being successful in like, an intimate way. You know, where they're going to take time out to, to look at video, if you want to look at video, or just have that conversation about whatever you're feeling, you know, And I think a good coach knows his players, you know, knows their temperament, their personality. He knows when is a good time to critique, when is a good time to be quiet, and when is a good time to just let somebody go out there and perform and also to kind of just nudge them in the right directions. You know, you see a lot of guys that may be focused on the wrong thing or something that's retracting from their mindset and their success. And if you can kind of nudge them in the right direction and, you know, that's without being overbearing, I think that that's really what makes a good coach at the younger levels.
I think a good coach is someone that isn't looking to be too domineering with, with their expertise. You know, you have to let kids express themselves and their abilities before you start trying to correct them. You know, guy takes one swing and you're already putting them into all these constraint drills and, and stuff. You don't really know what you're fixing. You know, luckily, you know, with the older general, with the older players, they have more of an idea, so it's, it's more of a discussion. But really, you know, a good coach is just someone that can coach without doing too much, without being overbearing and without being kind of really dogmatic about their own ideas. You know, they're willing to listen and have a conversation with their athlete.
[00:58:34] Speaker C: I want to thank Brian McKenna for joining me today on Open your Eyes Radio and podcast. People want to find out more about you, Brian, and they want to follow you and learn from you. How can they do that?
[00:58:47] Speaker A: I mean, I don't really have too much of a presence online, but I mean they can feel free to reach out to me on Instagram or email me@brian mckenna213mail.com or my Instagram is McCannon213. I mean if they have kids, I mean I love to talk baseball or anything. Send me their video or just a question and I'll be happy to answer it.
[00:59:10] Speaker C: Thanks Brian. Thanks for joining me today on Open your Eyes Radio and podcast with Dr. Terry Gill.
[00:59:15] Speaker A: Absolutely, Terry. Thank you so much for having me.
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