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00:00I'm not gonna waste any time here. We're going straight out to the River Islands guest line because my my childhood idol's on the line
00:06uh
00:06Really? Yeah, i've told him this uh when he comes on I haven't had a chance to interview him many many times
00:11But i've told will this uh, but plenty plenty of times before. Yeah, uh number 22 as a kid
00:17Uh thought I did a pretty good nuschler impression
00:20Um, some people will know what that is
00:22if you don't know now, you know now, you know the nickname get a look on his face and um
00:27Took it to actually an embarrassing degree that when I would get over to second base
00:31I would start trying to mimic exactly what he would do when he would get to a base
00:35And uh, my friends in high school were like dude, that's weird
00:38Um, but whatever he's uh, he's with us now as we do our giant season preview. Hey, will what's going on?
00:43Thanks so much for your time
00:45Gentlemen gentlemen, how are y'all today? Uh, we are doing well
00:49Yeah, pretty good. Pretty good having you on man and uh, and hope springs eternal. So it's that time of year
00:56This is the question we've been asking our listeners. We'll ask it to you
00:59What what what would you say is a successful year for the giants this year?
01:04You know what? Uh, i'm i'm looking at the playoff
01:07Uh, the reason being because you know, everybody's talking about the dodgers and how much money they spend all that sort of stuff
01:14But you know the way the giants have uh situated themselves
01:18Uh, especially since buster posey took over. It's it's pretty uh, pretty amazing
01:23I mean you look at our pitching staff logan webb. Robbie ray. Justin verlander
01:27Uh, jordan hickson and uh, kyle harrison and then uh, waiting in the wings of some of the younger guys landon root
01:35uh, hayden birdsong
01:37tristan beck
01:38uh, just to name a few and uh,
01:41You know for me personally, uh, if our pitching staff comes through we should make the playoffs and that should be our goal
01:47and when you look at the ballpark will and
01:49Considering the dimensions and you know the division and everything else that the dodgers have and that
01:56San diego has is that the best way to go about it with pitching and defense?
02:01Definitely, um, you know, that's what wins baseball games believe it or not. It's pitching and defense, you know
02:06Offense is going to come and go offense is going to struggle sometimes
02:09Uh, but you know, you should have the upper hand as far as pitching goes and you should definitely be able to catch the ball
02:15And uh, you know, so if san francisco giant do that this year I envision
02:20Some some good things happening for the organization
02:23Well, you've certainly had some things to say about where this team was the state of affairs under the past regime buster now takes over
02:32For most of us we haven't seen exactly what that means yet, but I bet you have a good idea of
02:37Of conceptually how that's going to change things behind the scenes. So what's your take? How's it going to be different?
02:43you know my take on that is
02:45you know buster buster knows the the history of the giants and
02:51He is definitely trying to bring that back without a shadow of a doubt
02:55And so for me personally, um, you know when you walk in that clubhouse and you know, you see
03:00The the willie mays pictures and the deloitte perry's and juan marshall's and all that bringing back the history of of the san francisco
03:07Giant is really important
03:09Buster embraces that and I know bob melvin being a former giant as well is embracing it. So, you know for me personally
03:17uh
03:18You know the giants fans
03:20expect to win, uh, this organization has been turned around since the mid 80s and
03:27And has been a force in the nof and I see it happening again this year
03:32So i'm actually really looking forward to the giants playing the kind of baseball. I know they can't
03:37And how much does that matter to you?
03:39And i'm thinking about you as a young player back in the 80s when you came to the giants and you had
03:44You know willie mccovey around and of course willie may still here in the cha-cha orlando cepeda when you're a younger player
03:50How much does that legacy matter to you when you're trying to uphold the standard?
03:56You you're exactly correct
03:58You know when you are a younger player
04:01You knew who came before you and you knew that
04:04You know the san francisco giants were based on a winning baseball team and so for me personally
04:10You know that that was a big deal when I came on board in the mid 80s
04:14and you know where we have been here in the last few years is not what
04:21uh, the san francisco faithful is used to and so I want to get back to winning baseball and
04:28You know, I think I think we've taken some some big time steps in the right direction
04:32You look at willia diamond on the uh on the left side of the infield with matt chapman and uh,
04:38I see I see a lot of potential of of those two cornerstones of the team
04:43Will clark with us here on weatherden dibs 95.7 the game
04:47Well, I was just talking a little bit earlier about this whole idea of looking
04:51Uh at the season before it starts and fans going man
04:55They got no chance against the dodgers like this thing's gotten kind of out of hand and fans talking about how there's no player
05:01That they want to buy a jersey for their kids for
05:04Like does the families have a confidence problem right now in in your mind?
05:09Uh, you know what? I don't know whether it's a confidence problem
05:13But you know, they haven't seen exactly what we would call, you know, your typical giant baseball last few years and you know
05:21So whether it's a confidence problem or whether it's a problem just hey, look we need to get back to winning baseball
05:28uh for me personally, um
05:31You know, that's that's what i'm envisioning for, you know, this spring training is, you know
05:36Bob melvin's got a got a bunch of choices. He's got to make uh, he's got some some bench requirements
05:42Uh, tyler fitzgerald should be moving from shortstop to the second base
05:47And so he's got a lot of stuff that he needs to look at in order to figure out, you know
05:52What kind of product does san francisco giants gonna put out on the field?
05:56You were a first baseman and i'm looking at your fielding log and I think you only ever played first base
06:02You didn't even do like a little stint at third or a little bit of dh or you didn't pop out in the right field
06:08So you look at bryce eldridge as a first baseman who is gonna be the next big thing for you as a legacy first baseman
06:16Maybe the second best in giants history behind willie mack. How do you go about helping him without putting too much pressure on him?
06:24You know, uh, you know from first off as far as you know me
06:29Not being able to to go around the infield. It's a little tough when you're a left-handed first baseman. So, uh,
06:36You know, that was that was a little tough
06:39Come on will
06:43Um, but you know as far as as far as bryce eldridge goes and i've told a lot of people this without uh,
06:49Without a shadow of doubt he is going to be a major leaguer you write that on you write that on the wall
06:57Bryce eldridge right now has only got less than a year up under his belt playing first base
07:04And so, you know, that's the thing that that bryce eldridge is going to do right now is is you know?
07:09Get a little bit more seasoning at first base and being able to to move around
07:15You know the diamond know where he's going know when he catches the ball what base to look up to next
07:21Etc. Etc. And so, uh, you know, i'm i'm actually really looking forward to seeing bryce eldridge and what he does this year
07:29But he is going to hit that first off and he is going to be a major leaguer at second off
07:35Will has the organization gotten you with him yet? Like are you working directly with him?
07:40Yes, I have been uh, I saw bryce, uh twice last year
07:45I saw him, uh
07:47in uh in uh
07:49Richmond and I also saw him
07:51In um, wait and take them back. I saw him three times. I saw him in richmond
07:54I saw him in eugene and then I also and san jose and then I saw him in the fall league
08:00so I saw bryce quite a bit last year and uh,
08:04So, you know my my recommendations on on bryce are pretty well founded
08:09And like I said, he will be a major leaguer
08:13That's uh, you know without a shadow of a doubt and I want to see you know him just
08:18Get a little bit better at playing the corner position
08:22Can you speak to the specifics that you see as to why you are so confident to say he will be a big leaguer?
08:30Well, he's 19 years old and you know, how many 19 year old coming out of high school, you know are fed a consistent
08:39You know diet at 95 96 mile an hour fastballs and able to turn them around on a regular basis and uh,
08:46that's kind of what bryce is doing and you know, he's
08:49He's making it look pretty easy. I mean he hit at three different levels last year
08:54uh, plus like I said, he went to the fall league and did real well in the fall league and um,
08:59yeah, I mean i'm
09:01Really really confident in you know, my assessment as to him being a major leaguer
09:07Is it easier now for a 19 year old to come up and make a
09:11fast move because i'm looking at your own career will and you were drafted at
09:1518 and you went to mississippi state and you played there and you did well and then at 22
09:20You made your splash is junior baseball and aau now and all the rest of it
09:25Make it easier for a 19 year old to make more of a fast track
09:30Um, you know, there's a lot of different leagues you can play in now and so, you know, I think that
09:36You know, some of the younger kids now are getting way more advanced
09:40um
09:41You know, but you also have to be taught the game and you know, bryce is bryce is a perfect example
09:48He never played first base and well now all of a sudden, you know
09:52He's trying to make his mark in pro ball as a first baseman and as a hitter
09:57uh, and you know, one of the things that we talk about is
10:01when you are
10:03A hitter you're gonna have over fours over fives over threes, whatever but you cannot have
10:10consistent failure on the defensive side of things you have got to be able to play defense and stop the other team and
10:17So, you know bryce this year is going to get more seasoning at first base
10:21And uh, you know if he keeps hitting like I said, he will be a major leaguer
10:26Well clark with us withered and dibs
10:28Well just recently maybe even this morning rob manfred was saying his biggest concern is competitive balance
10:34But then he's repeatedly pointed out that the dodgers have not broken any rules all true
10:39Um, but what should be done? What if anything?
10:42What's your take on on the way the dodgers have played this and and the fact that nobody else seems to be doing the same?
10:50Well, you know, I mean I look at the dodgers right now and it's like almost like the george steinbrenner era of the yankees
10:56I mean he went out and did the same thing he went out and spent the money and
11:00Put on the field the best team money could buy and uh, you know, that's kind of what the what the dodgers are doing
11:06but you know one of the beauties of
11:09Uh major league baseball is you have to play a 162 game schedule and there's a lot of things that can go, right?
11:16And there's a lot of things that can go wrong when you start playing that many games and so, you know for me personally
11:23You know
11:24They're not doing anything out the ordinary that that hasn't been done in baseball before
11:28And and you know, you still have to go out play 160 games and win a division to get in the playoffs
11:35And so that's what i'm talking about with the with the san francisco giants do it, you know
11:39Uh getting into the playoffs should be our goal because we have not done that here in the last few years
11:45and
11:46You know, i'm looking forward to what 2025 brings for the san francisco giants
11:50And when you look at this team going forward, it's only february I know but what makes you most excited about their chance to over
11:57162 last and thrive and be a team that can get into the playoffs and maybe make some noise
12:04Yeah, no, I mean, you know
12:07from
12:08Looking at where we were last year
12:12We were not that far
12:14you know out of playoff contention and stuff like that and
12:19You know, we got we got uh, one or two little
12:22little setbacks
12:23during the middle part of season that wound up putting us on on the on the slide instead of
12:29You know on the ride and so for me personally
12:32Um, if we can get to that middle part of season and and be set up, you know real nice
12:39and be in position
12:41Uh, you know baseball is about how you finish. It's not how you start
12:44It's how you finish and I think that the san francisco giants can do that
12:48Uh, hey, well, who would you like to see be the starting right fielder this year?
12:53You know what, uh, mike jastrowski did a great job last year he wound up
12:58you know being a gold glove candidate and so
13:02You know, I think that he's got the the leading edge, but we also have
13:08You know, uh other outfielders coming up. Uh, heliot ramos, you know had a great year last year
13:13Uh jung-woo lee got got hurt early in the season
13:17And so i'm looking forward to seeing jung-woo come out and have a full season as a san francisco giant
13:24And yeah, I mean other than that, uh
13:28You know, we're gonna we're gonna have a lot of people contribute to to the giants. I mean it's we're gonna have a pretty
13:35solid lineup
13:37Uh, and and you know, we may make a little shift here and there but for the most part
13:41We should be able to run out the same guys day in day out
13:44I'm, just looking at your numbers will and i'm looking at a career hitting average of 303
13:50And i'm thinking now if you hit 303 this year
13:52You might like win the batting title when you look at modern day baseball and thinking about your career
13:59You had some thump for sure
14:00But you also knew the value of the base hit when you look at the modern day baseball game
14:06Do you kind of pine for the old days where a base hit actually was important?
14:11I I definitely pine for the old days. I mean, you know, one of the one of the things that that
14:18You know, I looked at last year was it took us till I don't know middle of september right around there
14:24For somebody hit the first three run homer in the san francisco giants
14:28uh in 2024 and so
14:31I uh, you know on on the flip side of things look at you know, some of my old hitting tapes
14:37And it's you know two run homer three run homer three run homer two run homer and so
14:42you know, I pine for the the older days I pine for
14:47guys who
14:49battle every at bat and grind every at bat
14:53Instead of just saying oh hell with it and I strike out and i'm just gonna go sit on the bench, you know
15:00That ought to be the last thing you do is strike out
15:02I mean you ought to just battle tooth and nail to you know
15:05Try to get a base hit try to put a ball in play, you know
15:08When you start striking out as many times as happening now
15:12You don't put any pressure on the defense because you got a lot of guys walking back to the dugout
15:16Because of the strikeout so, uh, you know, we need to find a way to put you know
15:20Pressure on on the opposition and that is putting the ball in play
15:24Uh will clark with us here on willard and dibs. Well, I as I said off the top
15:28I I grew up trying to mimic you on the on the baseball field
15:31I'd like to know who you think that did the best will clark impression during your career
15:37So that maybe I can try to take a shot at him
15:41That's that's a good one right there, uh
15:44You know, I know I know that uh, you know
15:46Kruker and those guys were messing with me about the nutella you even you even said it in the in the little uh,
15:53the pre-segment there but uh
15:56You know
15:57The guys would always screw with you on in the dugout and uh, you know, it's part of it. I loved it
16:02You know, it's part of being you know a baseball player and uh,
16:07You know
16:08The guys in the club out laughing giggle cut up
16:11but at the same time when it was time to go to work they went to work and uh
16:15Those are the kind of guys I love playing with on an everyday basis
16:18i'm
16:18Sure, you've told the story but for our listeners who don't know what the newsler thing is your middle name like where where does that?
16:24Come from what and and you know, how how was that decided as your name?
16:29You know, it was uh, it's a family name thing, uh down south
16:34uh, a lot of people use, you know, family members names and
16:38Nuffler was uh, my my grandmother's maiden name and so, uh,
16:43You know, that's that's how that came into into being
16:46uh me personally, I uh
16:50I I didn't mind it. I thought I thought it was pretty cool. You were not true
16:54You know having having nicknames because everybody in baseball has nicknames
16:58Uh, like will the thrill right? Yes. Yes. Yes, they do. Yeah
17:02Yeah, I mean I mean as cool as newsler is uh, and 284 career home runs is also cool
17:09You know that you have uh, the most home runs you ever hit was against nolan ryan
17:15Yes, I do know that i'm the career leader in homers off at nolan ryan, he doesn't like me too much
17:21That's pretty awesome, including the second pitch that anyone ever threw you in the bigs. Yep
17:26Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that was that was one of that was one of the good ones right there
17:35Yeah, you want to write a script as to
17:37As to how to start your major league career usually when you when you when you hear
17:42Well, he he took nolan ryan deep on on the third pitch he ever saw as a pro that's usually a good way to start
17:48What will you share real quick with the audience what you said was it was jeff leonard who was on deck, right?
17:56uh
17:57I think so. Yeah, and you like what was that kind of because wasn't he if I remember correctly
18:03He's kind of razzing you a little bit doing the rookie hazing thing
18:07Like you ain't nothing till you get your first home run and then two pitches in you've homered off nolan ryan
18:13And then what'd you say to him as you walked back by?
18:16No
18:18He asked me he asked me what pitch he was I said fastball away and uh, you know, but uh, you know
18:25That was one of the things back then, you know rookies
18:28You know and you can say whatever you want about hazing or whatever, but there was hazing back then
18:33And uh, you just had to suck it up as a rookie and uh, so, you know hack man was was one of my
18:40Tormentors, but uh, there were several others as well
18:44That's so good. Uh will great stuff man. Thank you so much for coming on
18:48it is my pleasure guys, and I hope you guys have a
18:52Great day and uh, you know stay with those san francisco giants. We're gonna get this thing, right?
18:57No doubt man and same to you will thanks so much. Awesome. All right guys. Y'all have a great day
19:02All right, you too. There you go. Clark will clark. That's the noosh right there, dude. That's well the thrill