But I had a chance to ask Ryan Ward about that conversation and the way it went and how much it meant to him.

I mean, even just that conversation alone, just like pulling you aside and talking through at-bats and just knowing that he has support behind you and he believes in you, that's special.

That makes you feel really good as a player to know that he's behind you and believes in you and trusts you, whether you're going great or you're kind of going through it.

To know that he's behind you and believes in you is huge, and that's kind of what that was, was...

Just a little positive reinforcement, talking through our paths, seeing where I was at, talking about different strategies we can have going forward from there.

and just that he believes in us and to continue to keep going.

Really don't put pressure on ourselves and just keep having fun.

For a guy that has managed three world championships, has a lot of big-name veterans he has to manage as well, for him to take the time, is that the biggest thing, that he actually cares?

So take us a little bit through your path to the bigs and, and kind of getting drafted and all of the things, um, you know, kind of coming up on the East Coast instead of, like, a California, an Arizona, a Texas.

Yeah.

Um, I never played in, like, AAU stuff growing up.

Um, I played for my high school team in Millbury.

Um, I played legion ball for Grafton Hill in the summers in high school.

Um, and then coming out of high school, I only had one offer, and it was, it was to Bryant.

And, um, I remember going to tour the school, and as soon as we left, it was like, "This is where I'm coming.

For fans that aren't quite familiar with how the, the practice, if you will, or the pre-game routine goes, how early are you there meeting with Dino, and, and what does the pre-game before batting practice routine look like?

What is the impact of El Niño on the hurricane forecast, and what are you expecting for this year in the Atlantic basin?

The, this is...

The hurricane season is one where volatility is really interesting, right? Because what El Niño...

Our nominal expectation is that El Niño creates conditions in the Atlantic and in the Gulf where hurricanes are less favorable, uh, to form.

The wind conditions that there tear the hurricanes up before they can gain a lot of strength.

And so generally we think during El Niño we have suppressed hurricane seasons.

You know, if the basin average in the Atlantic is some seven hurricanes per year, maybe we accept somewhere in the three to six zone, and that's essentially what NOAA has suggested for this year based on, uh, their seasonal forecast runs.

So what impact could this super El Nino have on the wildfire outlook in the US, and what kind of an impact would that have on power markets?

How fun was it to be in that type of inning?

Yeah, that was a lot of fun, you know? Everyone was having good at-bats.

I got up there, bases loaded, was just looking for something up to get it in the air.

Didn't want to hit a ground ball there, and...

Missed the first one and he went right back to it and was able to put a good swing on it.

How much fun are you having right now? How much more comfortable are you right now?

Yeah, absolutely.

You know, I'm having a lot of fun.

Could you describe the feelings even before the game started for you?

Yeah, it was kind of like those debut ones.

The butterflies were there for sure, just knowing that I was in L.A. this time and being able to go out into Dodger Stadium and play and getting out to left field and kind of just taking it in for a second.

I ended my pregame catch pretty early just to be able to stand out there for a sec and just kind of look around.

and take it in, so it was a really cool moment.

How about the fact that you and Freeland were taking batting practice together, and then you homer in the same inning yesterday?

Yeah, we almost went back-to-back there, and we spent the whole morning game planning together and hitting together our routine together and then right before the game together.

So it was really, really cool to hit one, be in the dugout, and then watch him hit one and kind of be able to celebrate together.

Could you describe the feelings even before the game started for you?

Yeah, it was kind of like those debut ones.

The butterflies were there for sure, just knowing that I was in L.A. this time and being able to go out into Dodger Stadium and play and getting out to left field and kind of just taking it in for a second.

I ended my pregame catch pretty early just to be able to stand out there for a sec and just kind of look around.

and take it in, so it was a really cool moment.

Can you remember the ingredients of what was thrown on you in the celebration?

Honestly, I don't even know.

I was covering my eyes trying not to get it in there.

And how crazy is it to say seven years with the Dodgers organization? Can you walk us through how it has, it has been being with the, with this team, going through from all the way to the bottom, to being at triple-A, and now being on the 40-man roster?

Yeah, I mean, it's been a wild [laughs] ride.

Uh, yeah, seven years, drafted in '19.

Um, went to every level, did all the levels.

Uh, this is my fourth year now in triple-A.

Um, but man, I mean, the staff, the coaches, the players that we have here, everyone's incredible.

I mean, I wouldn't be the player I am today without all the Dodgers' help, and all the coaches I've had, and, and everyone pushing me to be better.

What moment do you consider, like, a turning point in your career from when you started playing baseball until now?

What were some of those tweaks, some of those changes you made heading into last season that allowed you to have that MVP year?

Yeah, last offseason, I made a huge commitment to lowering my chase, getting myself into better counts, seeing more pitches, and really hunting one zone while learning to do more homework on pitchers, you know, whether it's a starter or the bullpen guys that I think are going to come in that night and really having a plan, um, and sticking to it.

And that's like something that's been a struggle of mine is chase strikeout rate, not really walking.

So last year, like taking that really to heart and committing myself to it, got myself into better accounts, which obviously leads to more damage because you're probably going to get something better to hit walking more.

Um, kind of went to a, I had a secondary swing that I implemented, if you want to call it more of like a two strike or like, wasn't really seeing the ball well that day versus certain pitchers.

So like, let me just shorten up here.

And it was like little wider stance choked up pretty much just trying to play pepper with, with the infield, move the ball forward and everything kind of paid off.

In your mind, what do the Dodgers do so well in your experience as far as player development?