Catching Heat with Major League Catcher Yan Gomes
On today’s episode, Sandra and Sandy are joined by professional baseball catcher Yan Gomes of the Chicago Cubs. Yan is one of the best in the game, having spent ten years of his thirteen-year career in the major leagues, including as a world champion with the Washington Nationals in 2019. He kicks off the episode by sharing his journey from growing up in Brazil with a family of athletes to finding his feet in the US through baseball and finally heading to the University of Tennessee before becoming a pro and playing all around the country. Sandra then asks about life behind the plate and the risk inherent in catching, and Yan shares that he loves that risk because it makes him feel involved in the game no matter what. He thinks physical collisions are all part of the job and isn’t a huge fan of rule changes that try to eliminate them.
Of course, it’s not just physical risk that catchers endure, and Yan next discusses the mental processing he does during a game in his role as real-time game manager and leader of the infield. In particular, he talks about the relationship between pitcher and catcher, the differences when dealing with rookies and veterans, and the importance of accepting compromise instead of bullishly insisting on your way. The conversation then shifts to Yan’s time on the World Series-winning Washington Nationals team, and he gives some insight into how they recovered from a pretty miserable record by changing their mentality and learning to have fun while playing. Yan also shares how it felt when he caught the last pitch of the series, securing the win, and the memories that still give him goosebumps to this day. And, to round off the episode, Yan gives his opinion on umpires, his contributions as a hitter, and the routines (not superstitions!) he follows before a game.
The Finer Details of this Episode:
Quotes:
“I actually just ran away from school one day. I just wasn’t adjusting very well, but then, to kind of loop back around, my sports brought us all back together. I had a really good friend of mine that we played baseball with, and they started noticing that I could play baseball. And that’s how I adjusted better and started making friends.”
“I actually came up as, like, a super-utility guy. And I just always felt like there could be a whole game where I wasn’t even a part of the game, like I’ll be hiding out in left field or hiding out at third base sometimes. So catching, to me, it was always like, man, no matter what, I’m always involved. No matter what, I can show the bruises that I got in today’s game.”
“It taught us to really just go one and oh, worry about what’s in front of us right now. What’s tomorrow is gonna come. And that really changed our mindset. And we truly started having a lot more fun, started really, truly playing for each other, and that’s the recipe for a winning ball club, really.”
“It was a moment where we had a guy like Ryan Zimmerman, who’s been with this organization, with the Nationals for as long as the Nationals have been there. Watching the look in his eyes when he’s like, I can’t believe it. Like, we’ve done it. You know, we’re all grown men, and we’re all in tears. It gives me goosebumps to even think about it because I remember those moments like it was yesterday.”
“I think as the game evolves, the beauty of baseball and baseball players is that we evolve as well. I can tell you, when I first came up, there was no chance I could hit 100 miles an hour. Now, you’re seeing that every day. So, 100 miles an hour, it’s still really fast, but we’ve been able to slow the game down and been able to slow down 100 miles an hour.”
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