Strike one, strike two, stoid three. Bethany's out. Ryan. I feel like maybe this would be more fun with the real baseball in b Yeah, it's surprisingly hard to hit tiny paper balls with pencils. What is it like to play in the big leagues? Today, we're gonna talk to a real Major League baseball player. I'm Bethany van delf It's Saturday, April nine, and this is no ordinary episode of the ten News. This is the ten News Gets Extra three. The Major League Baseball season is here, and ten News head writer Ryan Willards sat down with Mike Montgomery from the New York Mets to talk about being a pro athlete, Ladies and gentlemen, Boys and girls, we are here to celebrate Major League Baseball's opening day with the man, the myth, the legend, a person named Mike Montgomery. Mr Montgomery, Who are you, where are you from? And what do you do? Hey? How's it going? Uh? I am Mike Montgomery. I am a left handed pitcher. I've been with a lot of different teams, but most notably the Chicago Cubs as the you know, the final picture in the World Series, and I currently played for the New York Mets And Uh, I'm going to be headed to Triple A to start the year. And I'm from southern California, UH born and raised there and UM drafted out of high school and just been traveling around playing baseball since then. Very cool. Now, when you're a professional baseball player, what is your day to day life and schedule like? So during the season is a lot different than say the off season, but for the season, it's a lot of moving parts, a lot of traveling. You have spring training, you know, you have your early days in spring training, and then it switches to the season where you play about six games a week and they're mostly night games, so you're going to the field around one or two and then you're there until about ten, you know, eleven pm at night. And you're always on the road. Sometimes you're at home, sometimes you're in one city. You could be in l A one week and then all the way and on the East Coast the other week. So it's it's pretty hectic, but it's definitely something you get used to over time. How fast can you throw a baseball? And what's your specialty pitch? UM, you know at through baseball in the low nineties, which UM, today's game is changed, so it's it used to be really hard, now it's kind of average. But I think the beauty of pitching is that it's not about speed, it's about everything else, command and and like you're saying that, my my specialty pitches for sure, my curveball, and I think that ability to throw that and then mix in a fastball and be unpredictable and creative out there, that's what's made me good. And that's kind of how I go about playing and pitching. It's just trying to go out there and throw what they're not ready for. What did you first start playing baseball and how hard was it to become a professional baseball player. So I started playing when I was a kid, but I was into a lot of other sports. And you know, when I was about twelve or thirteen, I was the left handed pitcher that started to get some interests and travel teams and stuff, but I was always more into basketball. And you know, by by the time I got to be in high school and then going into my junior senior year, I started to really physically develop and that was when my interest took off and I thought that this was something I could actually do as a profession. Um, so, I would say right about that junior year of high school, my aspirations to play beyond just high school. Really, you know, Blossom didn't. I didn't know I'd be still here at thirty two years old playing. But that's kind of the beauty of it. It's just unpredictable and you never know what's gonna happen. You threw the final pitch and got the game winning out in the two thousand and sixteen World Series with the Cubs when they had not won in a very long time. How did it feel and what were you thinking when you entered the game in that last inning? It's really what you dream about when you're a kid, you know, on the playground, you're like, okay, you know, game seven, bottom of the ninth and game on the line, and it just and it finally happened. It was kind of like a surreal feeling, and you know, it was kind of one of those well, looking back, I wouldn't want to think about what happened if you know, I gave up a home run or something, but it was pretty It was pretty intense and a lot of fun, something that I'll be able to tell all my kids about. And you know, just it lives with me forever, so it's really cool. Do you still have fun when you play a baseball? Yeah? That I think is the key is as you get older, you have to still think about it as you were when you were a kid, playing fun of a kid's game, and you're having fun with it. And I think that's a lot of times what we remind ourselves when things aren't going right or you might be struggling a little bit, it's fun. And if it's not fun, that I think it's time for me to not play. But I'm definitely having fun with it. What would you say to kids who want to be professional athletes that are exploring sports at their age right now? For me, the key is to not get too focused in on one sport. Definitely branch out and try new things in different sports because I think it just gives you a better perspective and to develop different attributes that you might not if you just play one sports. I would recommend playing all the sports. You know, play everything. Sign me up for soccer, football, and hockey and everything that you can, and just know that you don't have time to to really hone in on one sport. Later on down the line cool. I heard a rumor that your wife, Stephanie Montgomery wrote a children's book. Can you tell us about that? She sure did, and uh, I'm super proud of her. She's been around the baseball world for a long time and she has a different perspective than say I would and and I think now that my son is three years old, it kind of just came together nicely. And she had these ideas about, you know, little kids getting knowledge of the game of baseball, but in a super fun way that sometimes baseball can be hard to explain. You know. There's a lot of rules, a lot going on. That's called Maximize Guide to Baseball, and uh, it's really fun little book for for young kids. Awesome, We'll have to put that in the show notes so our listeners can check it out as well. And you make a living by playing a game. But how do you feel about video games? Uh? You know, I love them. Uh. Sometimes my wife would say too much. But I'm super competitive and I feel like ever since I was a young kid, I played games and going over to each other's houses and you know, competing. So I feel like for me, it's definitely been a form of a way to compete and you know use that, Uh I haven't just you know, just my super competitive nature when I'm not playing baseball, and it's definitely been a big part of my life and I think it's it's there a lot of fun if you can find that competitive game that you like. If you're a casual fan too, Like there's a lot of games for those kind of people. I love video games. If you were gonna play me in one video game right now that you are convinced you can beat me in, what game? Would it be? Two games? Rocket League, which I've spent a lot of time into um or Class Royale, you know for the phone. Definitely a game that I've just played a long time, and I would say consider myself pretty good at the game. Okay, well I'm not very good at Rocket Lea, but I'm okay at Clash Royale. So I would like to play you after this interview, just so you know, or at some point in the near future. Who are some of your biggest inspirations and why I got to watch guys like King Griff Jr. I got to watch like that generation of player um and I just thought it was so cool, you know, like what what could be more cool than being a player like King GRIFFI Jr. And that was and speaking of video games, playing his video game when I was a kid, Like going over to your your teammates house and you know, fighting over for the controller to see who's next on the on the game like that was kind of what drew my interest. And then you know, and also just my parents as well. They always pushed me to just give everything I had. And it wasn't about winning or losing, but it was you know what, if you go out there, you give everything you got and developed that work ethic and the ability to do that, and that's I think what definitely propelled me to where I am today. Thank you so much for joining us on the ten News. Is there anything else you want to say to our tenors? Go out there and live your lives to the fullest man enjoy it. Thank you so much, Mike, and back to you, Bethany. Thanks Mike and Ryan. I root for the Yankees, but I'm a big fan of baseball, so I hope I can catch a Mets game to this year. Hey Tessa, do you have any tidbits or cool facts for us today? I do, indeed, Bethany Did you know that the youngest to Major League baseball player ever was just fifteen years old? No way, that's right. Joseph Henry next Hall played his first pro game in June of n and pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in four eight four games. He still holds the record for most games pitched by a left handed player. Now it's time for a special shout out. I love special shoutouts. April to n is National Siblings Day. Big thanks to nine and a half year old Eddie for letting us know. Eddie asked for a shout out to his two little sisters named Rosie and Eleanor. Eddie said they deserve a shout out because they're fun to be around and they make me laugh. They are my best friends. Ah. If you want to send a shout out, visit the ten news dot com slash contact and leave us your shout out up. Next, it's time for what What? What's the big trivia on the ten? I bet you already know about Jackie Robinson, the first black Major League baseball player, But did you know he wasn't actually the first sixty years before Jackie Robinson broke down barriers when he laced up for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This man played major League ball for the Toledo Bluestockings. Is it a Moses fleetwood Walker, b Roberto Clemente or see Willie Mays? Did you guess it? The answer is a Moses Fleetwood Walker was the first black baseball player at Oberlin College and the University of Michigan. Then Moses made his major league debut on May one, four as a catcher for Toledo. He famously caught bare handed and had a better than average batting record. His brother, Weldy, joined the team. Too pretty cool to play baseball with your sibling. Right after retiring from baseball, Moses bought a movie theater, a hotel and started a newspaper. This dude knows how to live. That's our show. But before we go, here's a quick note for the grown ups. Thanks for listening to The ten News. Look out for our new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and extras on Saturdays. The ten News is a co production of Small but Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts. It is distributed by a Heart Radio. The ten News creative team is forming a softball team and includes Tracy Crooks Pete Musto, Ryan Willard, Logan de Young, and Tessa Flannery. Our production director is Jeremiah Tiddle, and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy leeds Kaplan. I am Bethany van Delft and thanks for listening to the ten News. All right, Ryan, take me out to the ball game. Hey, bar so wing Bada,

Strike one, strike two, stoid three. Bethany's out. Ryan. I feel like maybe this would be more fun with the real baseball in b Yeah, it's surprisingly hard to hit tiny paper balls with pencils. What is it like to play in the big leagues? Today, we're gonna talk to a real Major League baseball player. I'm Bethany van delf It's Saturday, April nine, and this is no ordinary episode of the ten News. This is the ten News Gets Extra three. The Major League Baseball season is here, and ten News head writer Ryan Willards sat down with Mike Montgomery from the New York Mets to talk about being a pro athlete, Ladies and gentlemen, Boys and girls, we are here to celebrate Major League Baseball's opening day with the man, the myth, the legend, a person named Mike Montgomery. Mr Montgomery, Who are you, where are you from? And what do you do? Hey? How's it going? Uh? I am Mike Montgomery. I am a left handed pitcher. I've been with a lot of different teams, but most notably the Chicago Cubs as the you know, the final picture in the World Series, and I currently played for the New York Mets And Uh, I'm going to be headed to Triple A to start the year. And I'm from southern California, UH born and raised there and UM drafted out of high school and just been traveling around playing baseball since then. Very cool. Now, when you're a professional baseball player, what is your day to day life and schedule like? So during the season is a lot different than say the off season, but for the season, it's a lot of moving parts, a lot of traveling. You have spring training, you know, you have your early days in spring training, and then it switches to the season where you play about six games a week and they're mostly night games, so you're going to the field around one or two and then you're there until about ten, you know, eleven pm at night. And you're always on the road. Sometimes you're at home, sometimes you're in one city. You could be in l A one week and then all the way and on the East Coast the other week. So it's it's pretty hectic, but it's definitely something you get used to over time. How fast can you throw a baseball? And what's your specialty pitch? UM, you know at through baseball in the low nineties, which UM, today's game is changed, so it's it used to be really hard, now it's kind of average. But I think the beauty of pitching is that it's not about speed, it's about everything else, command and and like you're saying that, my my specialty pitches for sure, my curveball, and I think that ability to throw that and then mix in a fastball and be unpredictable and creative out there, that's what's made me good. And that's kind of how I go about playing and pitching. It's just trying to go out there and throw what they're not ready for. What did you first start playing baseball and how hard was it to become a professional baseball player. So I started playing when I was a kid, but I was into a lot of other sports. And you know, when I was about twelve or thirteen, I was the left handed pitcher that started to get some interests and travel teams and stuff, but I was always more into basketball. And you know, by by the time I got to be in high school and then going into my junior senior year, I started to really physically develop and that was when my interest took off and I thought that this was something I could actually do as a profession. Um, so, I would say right about that junior year of high school, my aspirations to play beyond just high school. Really, you know, Blossom didn't. I didn't know I'd be still here at thirty two years old playing. But that's kind of the beauty of it. It's just unpredictable and you never know what's gonna happen. You threw the final pitch and got the game winning out in the two thousand and sixteen World Series with the Cubs when they had not won in a very long time. How did it feel and what were you thinking when you entered the game in that last inning? It's really what you dream about when you're a kid, you know, on the playground, you're like, okay, you know, game seven, bottom of the ninth and game on the line, and it just and it finally happened. It was kind of like a surreal feeling, and you know, it was kind of one of those well, looking back, I wouldn't want to think about what happened if you know, I gave up a home run or something, but it was pretty It was pretty intense and a lot of fun, something that I'll be able to tell all my kids about. And you know, just it lives with me forever, so it's really cool. Do you still have fun when you play a baseball? Yeah? That I think is the key is as you get older, you have to still think about it as you were when you were a kid, playing fun of a kid's game, and you're having fun with it. And I think that's a lot of times what we remind ourselves when things aren't going right or you might be struggling a little bit, it's fun. And if it's not fun, that I think it's time for me to not play. But I'm definitely having fun with it. What would you say to kids who want to be professional athletes that are exploring sports at their age right now? For me, the key is to not get too focused in on one sport. Definitely branch out and try new things in different sports because I think it just gives you a better perspective and to develop different attributes that you might not if you just play one sports. I would recommend playing all the sports. You know, play everything. Sign me up for soccer, football, and hockey and everything that you can, and just know that you don't have time to to really hone in on one sport. Later on down the line cool. I heard a rumor that your wife, Stephanie Montgomery wrote a children's book. Can you tell us about that? She sure did, and uh, I'm super proud of her. She's been around the baseball world for a long time and she has a different perspective than say I would and and I think now that my son is three years old, it kind of just came together nicely. And she had these ideas about, you know, little kids getting knowledge of the game of baseball, but in a super fun way that sometimes baseball can be hard to explain. You know. There's a lot of rules, a lot going on. That's called Maximize Guide to Baseball, and uh, it's really fun little book for for young kids. Awesome, We'll have to put that in the show notes so our listeners can check it out as well. And you make a living by playing a game. But how do you feel about video games? Uh? You know, I love them. Uh. Sometimes my wife would say too much. But I'm super competitive and I feel like ever since I was a young kid, I played games and going over to each other's houses and you know, competing. So I feel like for me, it's definitely been a form of a way to compete and you know use that, Uh I haven't just you know, just my super competitive nature when I'm not playing baseball, and it's definitely been a big part of my life and I think it's it's there a lot of fun if you can find that competitive game that you like. If you're a casual fan too, Like there's a lot of games for those kind of people. I love video games. If you were gonna play me in one video game right now that you are convinced you can beat me in, what game? Would it be? Two games? Rocket League, which I've spent a lot of time into um or Class Royale, you know for the phone. Definitely a game that I've just played a long time, and I would say consider myself pretty good at the game. Okay, well I'm not very good at Rocket Lea, but I'm okay at Clash Royale. So I would like to play you after this interview, just so you know, or at some point in the near future. Who are some of your biggest inspirations and why I got to watch guys like King Griff Jr. I got to watch like that generation of player um and I just thought it was so cool, you know, like what what could be more cool than being a player like King GRIFFI Jr. And that was and speaking of video games, playing his video game when I was a kid, Like going over to your your teammates house and you know, fighting over for the controller to see who's next on the on the game like that was kind of what drew my interest. And then you know, and also just my parents as well. They always pushed me to just give everything I had. And it wasn't about winning or losing, but it was you know what, if you go out there, you give everything you got and developed that work ethic and the ability to do that, and that's I think what definitely propelled me to where I am today. Thank you so much for joining us on the ten News. Is there anything else you want to say to our tenors? Go out there and live your lives to the fullest man enjoy it. Thank you so much, Mike, and back to you, Bethany. Thanks Mike and Ryan. I root for the Yankees, but I'm a big fan of baseball, so I hope I can catch a Mets game to this year. Hey Tessa, do you have any tidbits or cool facts for us today? I do, indeed, Bethany Did you know that the youngest to Major League baseball player ever was just fifteen years old? No way, that's right. Joseph Henry next Hall played his first pro game in June of n and pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in four eight four games. He still holds the record for most games pitched by a left handed player. Now it's time for a special shout out. I love special shoutouts. April to n is National Siblings Day. Big thanks to nine and a half year old Eddie for letting us know. Eddie asked for a shout out to his two little sisters named Rosie and Eleanor. Eddie said they deserve a shout out because they're fun to be around and they make me laugh. They are my best friends. Ah. If you want to send a shout out, visit the ten news dot com slash contact and leave us your shout out up. Next, it's time for what What? What's the big trivia on the ten? I bet you already know about Jackie Robinson, the first black Major League baseball player, But did you know he wasn't actually the first sixty years before Jackie Robinson broke down barriers when he laced up for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This man played major League ball for the Toledo Bluestockings. Is it a Moses fleetwood Walker, b Roberto Clemente or see Willie Mays? Did you guess it? The answer is a Moses Fleetwood Walker was the first black baseball player at Oberlin College and the University of Michigan. Then Moses made his major league debut on May one, four as a catcher for Toledo. He famously caught bare handed and had a better than average batting record. His brother, Weldy, joined the team. Too pretty cool to play baseball with your sibling. Right after retiring from baseball, Moses bought a movie theater, a hotel and started a newspaper. This dude knows how to live. That's our show. But before we go, here's a quick note for the grown ups. Thanks for listening to The ten News. Look out for our new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and extras on Saturdays. The ten News is a co production of Small but Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts. It is distributed by a Heart Radio. The ten News creative team is forming a softball team and includes Tracy Crooks Pete Musto, Ryan Willard, Logan de Young, and Tessa Flannery. Our production director is Jeremiah Tiddle, and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy leeds Kaplan. I am Bethany van Delft and thanks for listening to the ten News. All right, Ryan, take me out to the ball game. Hey, bar so wing Bada,