Welcome to Elevate with Elsner. Join us for inspiring conversations with individuals who have transformed their lives and are making a difference through the work that they do. And now, What does it take to be a 23rd round draft pick the 699th player selected and still make it to the biggest stage in baseball? It takes belief when nobody else has it. It takes work when the lights are off. And it takes the kind of grit that small towns in Pennsylvania tend to produce. Today's guest is a World Series champion, a St. Louis legend, and the man Cardinal fans still talk about when they hear the name Clayton Kershaw. Big city's in Yeah, thanks for having me. Uh, looking forward to this episode and, uh, you know, sharing a little bit about my life and my story and, That's right. Well, for, for those that, you know, might not know who you are and if you're from St. Louis, that's probably not possible. Give us the quick version. Who is Matt Adams? Yeah, a little small town country boy that grew up in a small town called Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania, went on to play three years at Slippery Rock University, which is in Western Pennsylvania. It's a Division Two school. Like you said, drafted in the 23rd round by the Cardinals, played two and a half seasons in the minor leagues, and then made my major league debut in 2012 and played 10 straight years in the big leagues, winning the World Series in 2019 with the Washington Nationals. Went even went up to Kansas City in 2022, played independent ball, went to Mexico in 24 and played internationally. And then retired after that season and then transitioned into the coaching world last year with San Diego Padres at their triple A affiliate as their bench coach. And this year back with the back of my. Home, St. Louis doing a lot of stuff with, you know, the Cardinals alumni group appearances around the city, giving back to the community and just, you know, dipping my toe and really enjoying the media side Yeah. I love how involved you are. I ran into you at a blues game one time and you're talking to people. I mean, you're the most down to earth human out there and the Cardinals do a tremendous job in the alumni. Like you say, bringing them back, keeping it involved and that's truly special. So going back to like, you know, the small town in Pennsylvania, what was that like growing up A little hectic, if you could believe that. Everybody is kind of in everybody's business. They know a little bit about everything, which once I got into pro ball, and then even at the major league level, it was a little crazy. Outside of going back and seeing my family and friends and whatnot, I really enjoy being in the Midwest where I can kind of go at my own pace and whatnot. But no, I mean, my hometown is what made me. Like you said earlier, it gave me that grit. allowed me to have determination. It, it showed me the power of saying no, um, and sacrificing. So, um, I'm super grateful that I was born and raised there. And, um, you know, that's a, that's a place that I still call home and I'm Yeah, that's awesome that, you know, you still, still go back there and get back there. But so some people, I don't know, do a lot of I don't know. I mean, I was just back at, I was just back at Slippery Rock with some of my teammates. My coach had the field named that for him. So I got to see a lot of my former teammates, guys that, you know, came before me and they always, you know, I think just because of my long professional career, they thought that I only played first base, but no, I was actually, I was actually drafted as a catcher, which, was wild. But thank God I didn't, you know, be drafted to the Cardinals. Thank God that I didn't stick with trying to put the catcher's gear on because I don't know if I would have had the career that I would have had Yeah, that would, that would have been tough and all state catcher too. I mean, that's, Like it's a small division, not division two, but you know, double-A level high school. We played above our level every, every year, every season we played triple-A schools, we played quad-A schools. So we played really good competition. And then once, you know, once playoff time came, We were, we were locked and loaded, ready to Yeah, no, that's awesome. So then you go to slippery rock university division two and you absolutely, you know, the record books you hit, I think a career average of about four 75 slugging almost 800. I mean, so you led that. And in 2009, I think you were the division two player of the year. Uhm, so you know, by every measure you are like one of the top college baseball players at your level and then the draft comes along and you go 23rd pick 699. How did Frustrating, going, it's funny that we're talking about this because I kind of relived it this past weekend being with my boys back at Silver Rock. But no, I mean, I went to all these pre-draft showcases, Citi Field, Yankee Stadium, here at Bush. Even went to Georgia, did some stuff for the Braves and the Royals. And everybody said, hey, you know, we love what you did in college. And we're thinking that you're going to go 7th to the 12th round. I'm pretty sure that maybe 7th to the 10th, 7th to the 12th, somewhere around there. And then, you know, my family and I are sitting there watching the draft and, you know, Round 12 goes by, round 13 goes by, round 15, round 20. And I'm like, man, did they just blow smoke up my butt or are they actually thinking that they wanna take me? And then I was so upset that I had to get out of the house. I had to get my mind off the draft. Went to my best friend's house and played a pickup game of Wolf Ball, even threw the pigskin around outside a little bit just to get my mind off of, baseball in the draft and then my phone rang and, you know, it was Cardinal saying that we're, you know, we're going to take you next round and that was 23rd round. So yeah, the whole process was frustrating going through it, but super grateful that I really did get that opportunity to hear my name called during the draft and then be able to, you know, hit the ground running in pro That's a, that's a really neat story because you know, a lot of guys I feel like would let that become, you know, a negative chip on their shoulder in a way. Um, so obviously for you, it became fuel. So how, you know, besides obviously going to play some wiffle ball, how did you reframe that? You know, you kind of walk out, you're frustrated, you know, you kind of got to zone back in, in a way you get that call and you're like, Yeah, I so I mean, I dealt with it my whole life, you know, going to a small high school. I was supposed to go to University of Pittsburgh. They pulled my scholarship, told me that that they over recruited, that my scores weren't good enough on my test, got them to where they wanted to go, reach back out to them. And they're like, yeah, no, sorry, we're. We're pulling your scholarship. You can come walk on if you would like. So I dealt with rejection and all that stuff from an early age. So this was no different. I used it as a positive. I wanted to prove everybody wrong. I wanted to use that for fuel. I wanted to keep that fire lit inside of me. And I knew that being a 23rd round pick, Going into Pro Bowl, I knew that I had to perform every single day, night in and night out, to be able to show everybody that I can do this, that I want to move up the ranks. And I eventually, you know, believe in myself and want to make the And that's exactly what I did. I used it for, you know, I spun it into a positive and just, I told myself night in and night out, hey, you know, you belong here. Just go out there and show everybody else that doubt you, that, you know, make them believe that you belong here. And that's what I did in rookie ball. That's what I did in single A. I was the double A, you know, I was the MVP of the Texas league in the double A. So I didn't hit below 300 until, you know, I made my debut in the big league. So I used it for a positive. I made sure. And it's work. You've got to work that mindset. You've got to work at making a negative into a positive. So it's something that I'm super grateful for looking back on my career. And I believe things happen for a reason. So I believe that I was meant to go in the 23rd round and prove that somebody from a small area in central Pennsylvania played division two, could still make it to the big leagues. And that's exactly what Yeah, that's, that's special right there. Was there ever a moment where you go, I, I maybe I'm, I'm not meant for this. Maybe I shouldn't sign and pursue something else. Or were you like, um, Yeah, no, I was all in from, you know, from day one. I, you know, I believed, I think after I went away after my, Sophomore year in college and played in the NECBL up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and that's like kind of a step below the Cape. It's one of the I think it's one of the top three college summer leagues, or at least it was back back in my time. Things may be a little bit different nowadays, but I was the MVP of that league, and that was against, you know, Division One guys from North Carolina, Virginia, Clemson, like all the powerhouse school, LSU, Tennessee, all the powerhouse schools in Division One baseball. I played against those guys, and I dominated that league. So from that moment, I knew that, like, you know, I could play against the Oh yeah, that those were. I remember kids that I went to school with. They were up in Iowa and they went over to the Cape League and they were playing. Yeah, like some of the best of the best kids throwing gas ball moving all over the place. So you did that. Obviously get to the minor leagues. Obviously there's a lot of people that say it's kind of where your career either develops or it dies right in the minor leagues and you know you move faster in the Quad Cities, Springfield, Memphis. Talk about like constant grind, like you said. So what does life actually look It's it's stressful. It's, you know, not getting paid a whole lot of money in the minor leagues. You know, I think I made, you know, a month after taxes. I think I made maybe 800 bucks until I, you know, until I got up into the double A. But like in that moment, I was I was, you know, 21, 22 years old. I wasn't worried about the money that was coming with, you know, playing the game of baseball. I was solely worried about reaching my dream and reaching a goal that I set out for myself. And that was to be eventually a baseball player. So that that's where my, that's where my mind was. It was a lot of long bus rides, 20 hour bus rides, uh, from Missouri to Texas, uh, all over the place, all over the country, playing with a lot of cool people, getting to meet, um, different, you know, people in different walks of their life. And guys that I still call friends to today so it is a unique lifestyle like you said it is a grind but if you frame it the right way and use it as a positive. I loved it and you know I always had. I was always able to impact whether it was my teammates, whether it was my coaches in the minor leagues. I carried myself at such a high level from the early get go of my professional career that I stuck out. And I'm unapologetic about that. I had a mindset inside of me that I wanted to be the best. I worked, I sacrificed a lot. I hardly went out. I knew that my main focus was to play baseball and that's what I wanted to do. And that's what I carried with me through those two and a half, three years in the minor Yeah, clearly you know how to frame everything that's don't to make it through all that adversity, the levels, the grind is just, yeah, you have to reframe everything to a positive, like you're saying. So in 2011, like you had said, you were the Texas league MVP Cardinals minor league player of the year. And I feel like, you know, from what I've read is like, that's kind of the year people started going, wow, this guy's. this guy's the real deal. So, um, clearly, and then in 2012, you make your major league debut. So between that, you know, that minor league player of the year award and making that debut, Yeah, it was like, it was fun. It was, it was a lot of like, you know, there was a lot of talks out there of, you know, this is the next, you know, first baseman in the Cardinals. So like I had to do a really hard, hard job of, uh, blocking out the noise, blocking out everything that was being written about me, everything that I was reading, everything that people were telling me on a daily basis. I had to put my blinders and my earbuds on just to block out the noise, block out all the negativity, because I still had, even after that season of being the Cardinals minor league player of the year, the Texas league MVP, I still had doubters. Oh, this guy, you know, this guy's not gonna get it done at AAA. This guy will never be a major league baseball player. So I, like I, what I dealt with, you know, what I said earlier, what I dealt with my whole life, I, here I am again, after I proved, after I had another year of proving all the, all the haters, all the doubters wrong, I had to go out there and prove them again, because I wasn't, I wasn't like a golden boy in a sense of, you know, in baseball, in the baseball world. I still, you know, still 23rd round draft pick still attached to my name. So people are like, Oh, he just got lucky again and all that. So I can do a really, really good job of just, you know, keeping my head down, put the work in like, like I have up until that point and, you know, ended up, May of that year, getting the phone call that I dreamed about getting, being able to call my parents and tell them that I was headed to Dodger Stadium to make my major league debut. So it was stressful, but it was fun at the same time because it was just an area where I was used to. I was used to being doubted. I was used to being looked over. So I was like, OK, here we go again. Let's just get back to work. Let's put Yeah. And, and yeah, you definitely did that, but the work and you made it and that, and that's, you know, you become a Cardinal and, and obviously in your first, a lot of people know this, like, I think it was your first 10 plate appearances. You had three home runs, two doubles, three singles and a walk, right. Something like that. I mean, so like you, you even come out, you make a statement like that. And now you're like, all right, look at me now. You guys still, you don't believe like, you know, so, Yeah, I think those numbers might have been the start of the 13th season because I was only up for So like 2012, like my first month in the big leagues, like it was eye opening for me. It was like, I was like, man, like this is a whole nother level of the game of baseball. And then, and then, you know, flash forward to 2013, making the team out of spring training. three homers in a row. And like I was like, okay, like I feel like, okay, this is, this is what I felt like double way, triple way, like walking to the plate with a little bit of swagger, a little bit of confidence. Um, expect them to get the job done. My first Homer in 13 was I pinch hit, I think for Lance Lynn. Um, I didn't start the game, but I came off the bench, I think in the sixth inning, and hit for the pitcher back when the pitchers still hit the national league. So his day was done. And I think it was a game tying home run against the reds. And then, you know, started the next day, hit a homer off Homer Bayley started the next day against the brewers were in town, Marco strata dead center Homer. So like, I was like, okay, like these are, these are some like, household names in Major League Baseball that I'm doing damage against. So that confidence came right back and picked up right where we left off the previous year and believing in Yeah, I meant 2012. You had started, you know, you started, obviously it was the first pitch you hit right up the middle. I think it was. Yeah. And then 2013, you had those those plate appearance. So like the combination of 2012 to 2013 has just was an incredible like this. Like you said, this guy is going to be a big deal. And David Freeze, you Yeah. Yeah. So that, uh, um, that spring training in 2012, Berkman was kind of the guy that gave it to me. It kind of came up and that, you know, obviously I'm a little bit smaller now than I was back then. And like in 2012, 2013, but showed up to spring training the one day, I'm not sure like exactly when, but I think it was early on in spring. And we were out there in the cage, and Berkman put his arm around me. He was like, hey, I'm tired of big guys being nicknamed big country, so we're gonna call you big city. And that kind of stuck that year, and then Berkman was gone in 13, and Freeze loved it. Freeze kept it rolling. And my wife and I, we live in Clayton. We'll be out walking the dogs around the neighborhood, and Cardwell knows me like what's up city like so like they like the nickname like I like I enjoy the nickname it's it's a great great nickname not only in baseball but I think in in sports it's it's it's one of the better ones and got some photos around the house that have a big city on it it's it's cool and I'm super super grateful that a guy like Lance Berkman One of the best switch hitters in the game of baseball felt like coming around and putting his arm around me and giving somebody that wasn't even proven yet in the big leagues a nickname. That meant something Yeah, that was a, that was a special time. I, he needs to, he needs to go on the next car shield commercial. When you see Berkman on there, I think I just They're doing some, they're doing some big things. You might, uh, you might see big city on one of them. So we'll, uh, we'll, uh, we'll see if we, if we can't make that happen, but yeah. Barking would be great for a TV commercial. He he's. He's got a great sense of humor. He's he was an unreal teammate, just Yeah, you could tell. I mean that whole time. I mean holiday for, you know, freeze Molina Wayno. I mean that was a truly incredible culture. Just me growing up being a being able to watch that as a young kid. It was truly and special. So let's go to the NLDS game for runners on. Cardinals are down to a Kershaw's on the mound. Take Well, I tell everybody now if that plate appearance happened right now in 2026, I would have gotten the whistle from the manager and I would have been walking back to the dugout and the right handed hitter would have been walking up to the. So I'm happy that that happened and grateful that Matheny left me in and believed in me to get the job done. But no, it all started on the on-deck circle. I saw how it was shaken out, runners on first and second. telling myself, you know, as I'm walking up to the plate, you know, just, just be yourself, you know, trust yourself, be yourself. Don't try to do too much, get a, get a good pitch over the middle of the plate and get the barrel to it. And, um, I saw that. I think, I think the count was one Oh. And I was, as a hitter, I was always on time for a fastball. And that was back when Kershaw was still throwing 94, 95 with a banger of a curveball. So I was on time for the heater. And that's what my mindset was, just be on time for the heater and stay back if you see off speed, if you recognize off speed. I saw that thing pop out of his hand and I just I told myself, my eyes lit up I didn't you know don't get too big don't take a hard swing get the barrel to the ball and all my homers I felt like were effortless to say, like I didn't feel like if I tried to swing hard, I was, you know, I was underneath of it, I was swinging and missing. It was not a good spot to be. So took my nice, easy, effortless swing and, you know, felt the ball, hit the bat. But one of those, you know, when you really square a baseball up on the sweet spot of a wooden bat, you don't really feel a whole lot. It feels like it's kind of hard to explain. But I knew that I got it. And then the ball went flying. Hands go up in the air at home plate. And then I like I'm standing there and I see Matt Kemp like sprinting back to the wall. See the ball kind of like heading towards the top of the fence. I'm like, oh shoot, I better get going. Because I, I would have not heard the end of it if that ball would not have gotten over, you know, the fence and I would have been standing at first base and not on second base. So start running a little bit harder. Then I see the ball land in the bullpen. I see my, you know, my teammates out there in the bullpen jumping, going crazy, walk his arms up in the air. Seth Maness is jumping up and down. And that's whenever like the big city leap takes place. And so like I turned to the dugout and just natural emotion just comes pouring out of me. My first base coach had the kind of, you know, I gave him a high five. I think I may have broke his hand at the time. He kind of pushed me back towards first base to make sure I didn't miss it. And then it didn't feel like my feet were touching the ground the whole way around the bases. And then Touchdown played celebrated with my teammates and then I see as I'm like jogging back to the dugout to celebrate with the dugout. I see the DeWitt family sitting front row right by the on deck circle. They're waving the white rally towels going crazy like 50,000 plus just erupted and gave a current call. And then what a lot of people don't realize is I had to go down. It was the bottom of the seventh. So we still had we said to get six more outs. Because we did not want to have to get on a plane and go back to Dodger Stadium for game five. We did not want to do that at all, because that's a tough environment to play, especially in the playoffs. So I had to go down in the batting cages and kind of lay down and gather myself and regroup and catch my breath. And I had to tell myself, hey, Get it together, you got you got six more hours and don't get on defense. So better lock it in and you know, you know, be the best person you can for your for your teammates to close this out. And so now it was just a such a cool memory that I will never, Yeah, really. I mean, I feel like most people who are Cardinal fans, I mean, they can picture in their head, you jumping or skipping, however you want to call it. It was, but yeah, everybody can picture that in their head and it was special. So. Yeah, no, obviously everyone knows you like see all around and and then you get, you know, not to just, you know, go faster that but to move on into like you got traded, you get traded to Atlanta, then you get traded to Washington, Colorado. And you know, being traded is something obviously is never fun for players. But you know, you dealt with a lot of adversity as it is. So what's that experience like just as a person or just as a, you know, Yeah, it's a. Player it was hard because like at you know up till that point Cardinal baseball was all I really knew. You know I built a lot of great relationships friends for life on the Cardinals and you know just getting ready for a Saturday night game. I'm in the shower like that was like part of like my pregame like routine. I'd shower then, you know, put the jersey on and then, you know, headphones go on, get my mind right and go out and get ready for the game. And I'm in the shower and, you know, one of the clubbies comes in and was like, hey, you know, Skip needs to see you in his office. And I'm like. did I, like, I don't think I did anything wrong in BP. Like, I don't like at this point, like I was, you know, it was my going into my fifth year, fourth year, fourth or fifth year in the big leagues. So I knew that I wasn't getting sent down. My numbers were good. So I was like, well, I either got released or I got traded. That's like what was going through my mind. Um, I walk in the Mathias office, still like dripping, like water's dripping out of my hair. Like I'm like, like what's going on? He's like, Hey, uh, We traded you the Atlanta Braves. I kind of knew, my agent kind of gave me a heads up, like, hey, keep this on your radar. They're getting x-rays on Freddie's hand. He left the game a couple nights ago. If it's broke, they may want to make a move. We've reached out and kind of let them know to bring it on. When you're getting ready for a big league game, you're not really thinking like, hey, this is what's going on. So walking into that office being told that I got traded, that was Saturday night. I was on a 5 a.m. flight to Atlanta for a noon game the very next day facing Strasburg with the Nationals. And I'm like, Dang, this is a hard task at hand. And needless to say, probably one of the worst games of my major league career. I think I went 0 for 5 with four strikeouts on about two and a half hours of sleep. Went back to the hotel and literally grown ass man bawling my eyes out because I just wanted to be back in St. Louis with all my friends. teammates and stuff. So at that point, it was a very tough thing to go through. But looking back, probably one of the best things that could have happened for my career went on. Everybody says, you're the man that made Freddie Freeman move to third base. Well, yeah, I did, but it was only for a week. He got healthy, and I did so good that He went to the, he went to the GM went to went to snip was like, hey, we, we got to figure out a way to keep this guy's bat in the lineup like he's like I'll move to third base. And I was like, no way Freddie Freeman gold Glover like that's his position that's his hometown team like. he's willing to move to third base, like, let's go, like, this is awesome. And then that only lasted for, that was very short-lived, I think it was a week. He came in and was like, yeah, man, sorry, my arm's not built up for that long throw. But he's nasty, like, he's just, he's a gamer, turns some double plays. He's got an absolute cannon, by the way, like, so I don't know what he was saying that his arm wasn't in shape. But no, I mean, that's the player side of it. I mean, as a person, like, I mean, I don't know. I look back and like I, you know, after getting traded to Atlanta, I ended up started, you know, I started dating my wife who, you know, you know, I can build a relationship with her. And, um, just looking back, like life was great. You know, I think life still would have been great if I would have stayed with the Cardinals, but like, I, like I said earlier, I think things happen for a reason and, um, how, you know, build a lot of great, uh, relationships in, in Atlanta. Um, made a lot of friends and just, yeah, I mean, good training is just, it's part of the game. So like, once you get that through your head and realize that like, Hey, like this is, this is nothing but a business decision. Like you still go out there, you still put a baseball uniform on. It's the same game that everybody plays. It's just in a different city for a different fan base. So like it, once I was able to adjust to that frame of mind, like it was, it was, Yeah. And then it made a full circle because then you get go to the nationals and. Part of the national part of that world series was knocking out the Cardinals, right? Yeah. So what was that like, you know, beating the team that kind of made I mean, it's kind of, it was crazy. I'm going to, I'm going to rewind for just the previous year. Cause I signed with the nationals in 18 and then I get traded back. to the Cardinals at the deadline in 18 for the last month of the season. So like, that was wild. Like, I took my wife now, like we were dating at the time, but like, she took me into the stadium at Knax Park, dropped me off. And like, I wasn't even like changed out of my street clothes that like I got called into the manager's office. uh, told like, Hey, you're being traded back back on the St. Louis. And I was like, you're joking. And he's like, no, like we're like, they, you know, they're in the, they're in the middle of a playoff push right now. They're there, you know, standings are, are tight. They need a left-handed bat. They traded for you. So I called my wife and. I said, hey, I need you to turn around and come pick me up. She goes, what do you mean? I said, I just dropped you off. I said, yeah, I know, but I got traded. She goes, shut the hell up, where? And I said, we're going home, back to St. Louis. She was like, you're lying. And I was like, no. I said, we're going, we're going home, get to put the Cardinals jersey back on and play. And then fast forward, and then in the offseason, I signed free agent deal back with the Nationals. And then, yeah, we play them in the, I think it's the NLCS. Yeah, we play the Dodgers in the NLDS, and then Cardinals in the NLCS, and I believe we swept them 4-0. Yeah. Yeah. We we we had their number and it was cool like I one of the I think it might have been my only about that whole series was a pinch hit. At bat in Bush off Wano and kind of kind of the same thing. He hung me a curveball and I I didn't hit it over the fence but it towards the same same bullpen that I hit the Kershaw curveball for Homer but it hit off the wall and needless to say I hit it so hard that I It bounced right the right filter, so I got a single out of it. But before that event, standing ovation in Bush Stadium as a visiting player like it's it was a full circle moment and very cool to be able to come back there in the playoffs and experience playoff baseball inside Yeah. And thanks for bringing up the 2018 part because of the rental, you know, you don't think about the whole where, you know, what they call it, like rental players is kind of like, but you know, what are they odd? Like some actually end up staying, but I guess a lot end up don't right. They just, it's like they say, it's kind of like a, you know, use use for the end of the year to try to get that playoff push. Is that still kind of happened a lot? Like now in today's world? Um, I don't, I don't think it happens as much, um, because, because the trade deadlines earlier than what it was back then, like back then it was August 31st. I think like, so you're, you really got one month left to play in the standings or, I mean, one month left in the regular season and a lot could happen. So like, that's whenever a lot of like the rental players were, you know, To your point, like they were being added to teams because I think you needed to be added to the roster by September one to be playoff eligible for the team and whatnot. So there was a lot of like business decisions that went on behind the scenes that a lot of baseball people didn't really know about. But yeah, I mean it's. I feel like I had a lot of those business deals going on behind the scenes. I was with three different teams, two different times. One of them being the Nationals, and I ended up being with them three different times, because I was back with them in AAA in 23. So obviously, I was doing something right for those organizations to want to bring me back and whatnot. I No. So but it's, you know, you become a World Series champ and not to say you were like out of shape, but you always joke like you were bigger than you are now. So, you know, I want to give your wife a lot of credit for that because I know she's been in Pilates for years. And so shifting to that side of the story real fast, you know, how your wife helped you transform your transform. I mean, you're a professional athlete, you know, transform your body. Yeah, it was a and a lot of like tweaky injuries early on in my career that kept me off the field and I knew how important it was to be on the field at that level. So it was after my in 15 I missed, I think, three, three and a half months. I tore my tendon off my hip bone and that was that was kind of the last straw. I was like, OK, like I really I need to make I need to make a change. and get a little bit healthier. So like fast forward to the spring training of 16, they Cardinals bring her down to kind of try out for, you know, to be the polite instructor for them. I go through her first workout and I was like, Damn, this is intense. And we weren't even on, like, this is all, like, supplies, equipment behind me. We didn't even have any of the equipment. It was just, like, floor Pilates that, like, she was taking us through, like, a workout in the clubhouse. And I felt great. My body, like, it was like I activated muscles that I never even knew that I had. So then, like, after spring training, get to St. Louis. I'm in her studio and I like at this point is probably had five or six sessions under my belt. And I sat down I said hey like listen like I want to like I'm going to stay here in the off season. I want you to like write me like I'm going to like I want you to train me up because like she's worked with professional athletes at that point it was, you know, 15 years, like now, now she's going on over 25 years of experience of working with, like, high level athletes, and With that knowledge and her background, I was like, I want you to write my off-season workouts, and I want you to do everything. I paid her monthly. She handled my food. She handled my strength workouts. She handled my conditioning workouts, the Pilates workouts. And it was like it was so in depth that like it depended what like everything I ate depended on what my workouts were for that day. And like it was it was so detail oriented that I was like, man, like. Like she knows her shit. Excuse my language, but like she, like she gets it. She knows it. And, uh, and then like 2017, uh, like I go into, I go into spring training. I lost 38 pounds, I think 13% body fat from the, uh, like in three months from the off season of 16 going into spring training of 17 and 17 was the first time in my career that I never spent one day on the, uh, On the aisle so like that was like that was like my but it was the best that my body has ever felt and still to this day now that I'm now I'm retired collides is a big big component for you know That's, you know, that's interesting to think about, like you, you're not necessarily out of shape, but it was just staying healthy, which in a way is, I guess, out of shape, right? If you can't stay healthy, there's something wrong. So to figure that out, I mean, that's, that's, that's incredible. I didn't even realize that you stayed off for that first year. That's, that's truly. Um, incredible. So yeah, no. So going forward and, you know, come back, let's just go to your retirement, you know, in 2000, was it 24 announced your retirement, come back to Bush stadium looking great Pilates fit, you know, you're just loving it. Get to throw out the first pitch. What was that? You know, you signed the one day contract Yeah, it was a very special for for my family and I. I knew you know my wife and I talked a lot about like whenever I was in in Mexico. That 24 season. I went to Mexico because I still want. I still wanted to play. I still felt that I could play at a high level and I wanted to make it back to the majors. And when that didn't happen, you know we had ongoing conversations the whole year about, you know. Just making sure that I wanted to go out my way. I wanted to retire on my terms. I wanted to end my playing career on my own terms and yeah, made the decision. I was like, reached out to the Cardinals. John was a lock and shot him a message and I said, hey, this is what I'm thinking. Not sure what your thoughts are. If you guys can make that happen. He hit me back instantly. He was like, yeah, he goes, we love it. I just have to. clear with MLB and whatnot, because there's no monetary value in the contract. It was just paperwork to say I've retired a St. Louis card and where it all started and whatnot. We brought a videographer with us to get behind-the-scenes action, signed the contract, just walking through. You know, Bush Stadium, my parents came in town, my grandma's came in town. My stepson and his friend were there. My mother-in-law was there. It was just, it was, it was a great, great day that they added that a little tribute video before I threw out the first pitch. And then we went up into, into a box and, and, and got to watch a game and Jim the Cat Hayes. gave me a game interview family right there beside me. So it was it was a special day and something that I hold close to my heart moving forward. Yeah, I bet that that is special. And then, yeah, to be interviewed by the cat. I mean, clearly one of the local media legends here in the Lou, we all know that. So, you know, you obviously you retire and, you know, one of the last things you kind of did, you jumped into coaching and Yeah. So what was that? You know, you went from player to coach. What Yeah, it was cool. Very cool. I mean, she'll was a manager over there in San Diego. So like kind of hit the ground running with him and got to spend the whole spring training last spring training in on the big league side. So around guys that I played a lot of them where I played against a lot and just being able to work and kind of give back, you know, my um, experience and whatnot, but to be able to do it with a great group of individuals from the coaching side, like I learned a lot from, from show, um, and the way that he went about his business, um, as a manager and, um, keys that I will hold. Cause like my end goal is I want to be a manager. So it's, it's keys that I'll hold, um, with me moving forward. Um, just. Really, that organization, that team last year had great communication. So carrying that on after spring training, going into the season at El Paso, that's one thing that I wanted to make sure that I did, which I wanted to communicate well with my guys. And I was the bench coach. I coached first base, coached third base. I got to manage, I think, six games on my own. got thrown out of three games, I think, across the season, got fined. So I had a little bit of everything on the table my first year coaching. But to be able to do it at the Triple A level right after retiring, that was awesome. I think we had one of the older teams in Triple A last year. So I was around guys that I can relate to, that they wanted They wanted my help. It was fun working with them in the cage. It was fun working with them on ground balls and stuff because I was in charge of the infielders. So it was just a fun dynamic to be able to get these guys prepared to go out and perform night in and night out. I just kind of tapped into what I did as a player and you know, gave it to my guys and, you know, they adopted the routine and went out there and we had, you know, I think we missed the playoffs by one game, but had a really good, fun season So hopefully we see more of Coach Adams, right? Because I'm I know before we jumped on here, I got an alert saying the Phillies let go of Rob Thompson and Mattingly is going to take over. Got some friends on that team, so Mattingly being in charge, that's going to be good for the fields moving forward. But yeah, I, you know, this year, you know, chose to not take some things that were offered to me to pursue other avenues, but really having fun diving into the Cardinals alumni group, doing appearances down at Bush Stadium, appearances in the community. I'm doing media stuff I actually haven't got a TV show I gotta hop on here in about 30 minutes so yeah really really enjoy and just being involved in the game of baseball in whatever way that I can impact and that's a word that I carry with me daily, I just want to impact people, I want, whether it's. through a coach, whether it's a manager, still in uniform, whether it's on the media side, whether it's through, you know, the alumni appearances. I just, I'm a people person and I just, I want to impact people. I want to make sure people are getting the most out of their life and moving forward. That's the way I'm going to Yeah, you for sure are a man of the people. I think I saw you one time in the 300s in the blues game. Just man of the people. I appreciate it. No, I really do. Big city. This is awesome. Everything. Thank you for coming on here. Thank you for sharing your story and kind of walking us through the levels and the heartbreaks and the amazing accomplishments of what you've done in life. It's truly incredible to sit here and listen to it all. And I'm sure and I know people will listen to this and take it and be like, wow, I didn't I didn't know some of those things about big city. So I hope and I hope some kid maybe in small town Pennsylvania is What I tell people is like, yes, I was a baseball player. That's what I did. That's not who I am. It gave me the platform to be able to tell my story and make sure that I'm able to impact people. But the lessons that I went through in the game of baseball, you can apply them to everyday life. Cause you're going to be met with heartbreak. You're going to be met with haters and doubters and all that stuff. So, you know, hopefully whoever's listening to this, get something out of it and you can apply it to your life. And just, I think the biggest piece of advice I give anybody listening is just don't take no for an answer. Believe I love that. I really appreciate you coming on here. And, uh, Absolutely. It was, it was a great, um, great hour that we spent Thanks so much for tuning into this episode. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show wherever you consume podcasts. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. And if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review and tell your