Detroit Tigers Right Fielder Kerry Carpenter joins Jon and Jim to discuss the team's incredible late-season run, mentoring the ballclub's young players, and more.
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00:00Kerry, good morning. Thanks for joining us.
00:02Good morning. I'm glad to be on.
00:05So tell us the feeling, what it's like going to the clubhouse, going to each game now.
00:09It's pretty special. It's really fun. I haven't been a part of a playoff push yet in my career,
00:16so this has been extremely fun and a bunch of confidence and a bunch of, it's just a
00:23little more intentional, intense with everything that we do during each lead up to every game,
00:31and so it's fun going in there every day.
00:33When did the mentality shift of, hey, we want to finish out the season strong, to we can
00:41make the playoffs, to now you guys are, you control your own destiny. When did the mentality
00:47shift for you guys?
00:50I'm not sure if there was like a certain day, but definitely probably at the beginning
00:55of this month is when we started winning really good games against the playoff teams, against
01:01really good, on the road, and so we were just, we gained a lot of confidence through that,
01:07and then, yeah, it just happened that some other teams have not played well, and right
01:14at the time that we've played well, so it wasn't a certain day, but throughout this
01:18whole month, we've just really been gaining confidence.
01:20Is there a different pressure now because you are in playoff position versus, hey, we're
01:26playing just to make this fun and get back into it?
01:32I don't think, at least speaking for myself and at least the players, there's not really
01:38any pressure because we feel like we're playing with nothing to lose, and that's what got
01:42us here, so we just feel free, and we're just having fun and winning baseball games,
01:49so I think that's been one of the keys.
01:51I wonder if some of that's the makeup of the team, just so many young guys, Job, the latest
01:55to get the call, but certainly, I mean, it's a theme with this team.
01:58Is the youth a strength for you guys?
02:02I think so, yeah.
02:03I don't know how or why or how to explain it, but yeah, I think the youthfulness is
02:10pretty amazing, and one of the things that makes us so good.
02:15How do you help a young guy, because now you guys have had this experience, whether it's
02:19Jace Young, it's Sweeney, now it's Jackson Job.
02:23All guys that are getting ready to have their first appearance in Major League Baseball,
02:28how do you help them prepare for that moment?
02:33I don't know if it's as much me helping them prepare for the moment, but I think what I
02:40can do is come alongside them and encourage them and kind of help them keep their head
02:47up after a bad game or a bad at bat or, say, even a line out and it gets caught or something.
02:56Everything gets magnified at the big league level, and so it's harder on people, and I
03:02know it was for me, and so I always appreciate it when people would come alongside me and
03:08encourage me and give me any kind of words of encouragement, and so that's kind of the
03:16way I want to be to these young guys, is to be a voice of reason and encouragement and
03:23just loving on them any way I possibly can and help them realize their full potential.
03:30We're talking to Tiger slugger Kerry Carpenter this morning on Kosta and Jansen with Heather.
03:35Take us inside your season a little bit. You missed some time, and it was an injury where
03:40a timeline, timetable wasn't super clear. Did you at any point question if you were
03:45going to make it back this season? I'm not sure if I ever questioned that,
03:50because it wasn't a—I don't think it was ever a season-ending injury, but there were
03:56definitely some times where I wish it had gone quicker than it was going, but no, I
04:02always had confidence I was going to come back. I didn't know as much as everyone else
04:07didn't know exactly when that was, though. There had to be some frustrating moments.
04:12How did you handle the frustration of, if I could just play, I could be helping the team,
04:18knowing that at some point you could come back, but it had to be frustrating in that
04:22time that you were hurt? It definitely was frustrating. In my entire life, I just pray
04:30that God's will be done. When I'm hurt and when I'm doing well, that's exactly what God
04:37wants me to be going through at that moment. Everything happens for that reason. He let me
04:45come back for this little playoff push, and I'm glad I can be helping the team now. That's the
04:50way I go through things like that. We find these moments to trace back to when things turn,
04:55whether it's Williamsport, you coming back was part of it, different things that have just kind
04:59of aligned for this baseball team. Kerry, your role on the team—A.J. gets asked all the time,
05:05are we going to see him against lefties more? The platoon role, you've owned it.
05:08Are you ever pushing A.J.? Hey, I'd like to see some lefties, too.
05:14I think he knows that I do want to see lefties, but I haven't pushed that envelope yet.
05:20I don't know if it's exactly my place to do that. We all trust A.J. with the lineup and
05:26what he's doing. Clearly, he's pushing the right button. Obviously, I do want to be in there
05:32at all points, but I understand, and I have not pushed that envelope, not necessarily.
05:39What does the next five games look like? Obviously, you're only concerned about tonight,
05:42but have you guys thought about clinching and actually sealing the deal on being a postseason
05:50team? Yeah, we've definitely thought about it, but like you said, we're just focused on
05:57we can't clinch without doing our job each and every night, and that starts with tonight.
06:05That's kind of our focus is going out tonight and winning, but we feel really confident about
06:10doing that, so it's fun. Have you guys been scoreboard watching like we do as fans? Hey,
06:17you guys win one and the twins lose one, or it's Kansas City. Obviously, you don't have to do it
06:21when you're playing Kansas City, but are you guys doing any scoreboard watching? Yeah, I think so.
06:26I think people would be lying if they said they weren't, but yeah, we're keeping up. We like to
06:32see where we're at and what other teams are doing, but it really does start and finish with what we
06:38do, so yeah. So you mentioned one game at a time. We'll talk tonight's game here for a second. This
06:44is a chance for the fans to really come out and support you guys. What's the message that you
06:49would give to fans who are heading out to the ballpark? Man, we're excited to see the fans,
06:55and we're excited to see them pack out Comerica Park, and yeah, it's amazing, our fans, the
07:02support that we have, and when they come and it gets loud, and I know it's a tough place to play
07:09for other teams, so we're excited to see them tonight. There's a chance on Thursday, if all
07:15goes according to plan, where you guys win and the twins keep losing, or even Kansas City,
07:20that you guys clinch a spot. It's a one o'clock game, 110. What's the best excuse you could come
07:26up with for somebody that's in high school, middle school, to say, hey, you need to miss
07:33school to watch the Tigers, but don't want to actually admit that you're skipping school to
07:37watch the Tigers. Man, that's a tough question, but I think, man, school's going to be there on
07:46Friday. We only get to play 110 Thursday games every once in a while, and you can go back to
07:53school the next day, so I think you should come out and see us. Well, Kerry, we appreciate your
07:58time this morning. This has been a wild run for us. I can only imagine for you guys, and we're
08:03all enjoying every minute of it, so thank you. Of course, God bless you guys. It's Kerry Carpenter,
08:08Tiger Slugger, it's 97.1.