The Winning Mindset
The Winning Mindset is for empowering athletes, parents, and coaches to excel in sports and life. We focus on building mental toughness, positive attitudes, and promoting personal growth through shared insights and motivational content.
The Winning Mindset
Every Setback Is a Setup for Something Greater: Nate Anderson's Journey
From the brink of having no college options to leading Kennesaw State in stolen bases, Nate Anderson's baseball journey defies conventional paths and inspires anyone facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
When COVID-19 abruptly ended his high school senior season after just four games, Anderson received devastating news – the University of New Orleans was rescinding his scholarship offer. With nowhere to play, he focused on controlling what he could control: training daily, reaching out to any college connection, and trusting that his path would become clear.
That faith led him to Gardner-Webb University, where he joined their developmental team and turned heads with his relentless hustle. "I'm gonna run the crap out of these bases," Anderson recalls of his mindset. This determination earned him a spot on their Division I team before eventually transferring to Kennesaw State to be closer to home.
His journey took another painful turn when he suffered a torn hip labrum and UCL thumb injury, requiring two surgeries within months. Rather than withdrawing during recovery, Anderson transformed into a student-coach, mentoring younger players and gaining fresh perspective on the game. His comeback season proved remarkable – leading the team with 26 stolen bases and delivering clutch moments, including a memorable grand slam against Liberty.
Throughout our conversation, Anderson reveals wisdom beyond his years, particularly about handling baseball's inevitable slumps: "Your ability and talent has taken you this far... it's not your swing, it's not because you didn't put your right shoe on first before your left shoe." This mental approach – focusing on process rather than results – served him through countless challenges.
Whether you're a baseball player, coach, or someone navigating life's unexpected curveballs, Anderson's story reminds us that sometimes the most difficult detours reveal our true character and prepare us for greater opportunities ahead. Subscribe now to hear more conversations with athletes and leaders who demonstrate what it truly means to have a winning mindset.
what's up everybody. Welcome back to the winning mindset podcast. Very excited to have a special young man on uh the episode with us. Tonight we have Nate Anderson, left fielder for Kennesaw State. Met this guy a couple, I guess. Really at the beginning of the season we got invited to the season opening banquet, met Nate Harlow, drew a really, really big interest in Nate, looked up to Nate through the season we went to a handful of games and got to see Nate play. But just super impressed with him as far as an athlete, as far as a young man, and reached out to him and was like hey, would you be interested in jumping on with us? And so here we are. We have Nate Anderson on with us. But, nate, thanks so much for joining us on this episode. Why don't we start off? Why don't we start off? Why don't you introduce yourself? Kind of let us get to know. You start with your story kind of how you got into baseball.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, I really appreciate you guys. I've been looking forward to this. Yeah, I'm Nate, I'm 23. I grew up I've been in, around Atlanta, kennesaw, most of my life, grew up in Dunwoody, georgia. I'd been here my whole life until when I first went to college over in North Carolina at Gardner Webb. But yeah, I started playing baseball, kind of like everybody says like t-ball since before, you can remember, played rec ball until I was 12 and then got into travel ball and then I was fortunate enough to just get my foot in the door into college baseball and kind of here we are now. Uh, I just just wrapped up and it's like it all flew by yeah, that's awesome man.
Speaker 2:Um what so? So going up and done with, where did you go to?
Speaker 3:uh, high school at uh, it's called mount mount vernon, I graduated with 80 kids. Uh, small school. We had a good baseball team, a lot of guys go to college and stuff. But yeah, small school. I'm glad you'd heard of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah yeah, I loved it there. That's awesome, man. What position did you typically play high school baseball?
Speaker 3:So in high school I'm like your prototypical center fielder, but it always seems like there's someone faster or with a better arm than me, or something like that.
Speaker 2:So we had a draft pick in front of me so I played left field and then he graduated and I played center field. I got you, I got you. That's cool, man. Um, let's, let's talk about that journey a little bit. As far as growing up, playing baseball. Like, obviously everybody takes kind of a different track going into high school baseball. But was it, did you, did you play? How long did you play rec ball? Did you transition into the travel baseball at some point in time before you got into high school baseball? What did that journey look like for you?
Speaker 3:Yes, like I know now, it's like travel ball is from like the second you can like throw a pitch off the mound.
Speaker 2:Oh that's it.
Speaker 3:At the time when I was a kid. Yeah, some slow games. I umpired some of those games in high school. That was my job. Man, some slow games, I umpired some of those games in high school.
Speaker 3:That was my job and, man, it was some long days, but yeah, when I was a kid I wanted to play travel ball so bad that my parents kept me in rec ball until I aged out of it, which at the time I hated, but I'm really thankful for that now. See, I played rec ball until I was 12. And then I was never on one of those giant East Cobb Team, elite big travel teams. I was on just some of those smaller teams. We played in those big tournaments but yeah, I would bounce around between East Cobb and the Georgia Bombers leading up into my senior year and I played a couple tournaments the summer before I went to school. But yeah, I never played on any crazy teams. It was just like play as much as you can, just play somewhere where I know I'm going to play, because I was always the smallest kid on the field, like I was. I was a good player, but it wasn't anything crazy. I could help you win, but I wasn't going to be like that guy on the team I got you.
Speaker 2:So you're, so you're. You have a unique story, I think, which we were just talking about before, recording that you know, coming out of high school, right, that you're kind of a unique athlete when you because you were affected by covid as far as the senses of how your career went, Right, what, what did that senior season look like for you man?
Speaker 3:it was, uh, it was really rough because my junior year of high school was the first year I got to be like a contributor and and like one of the the more like impactful guys on the team and we came up short, uh, but it was kind of like that team had set the the new because, like I said, it's a small school, sports are still relatively young there and we'd like set the precedent for, like, this is what it's going to be and but it was looking like senior year we're going to be even better.
Speaker 3:And then we played four games I want to say four games and uh, like we played our last one and didn't even know it type of deal and we played a game, got rained out the next day and then a week later, maybe two weeks later, the season was just done. So that was that was about it. Um, yeah, I was in that class like no, no, prom, no, nothing got. Uh, we did our graduation, like in august, like it. Once it shut down, we were done and yeah, um, like obviously I've been able to, I was able to see those guys again and stuff before we went our separate ways, but like it happened so fast.
Speaker 3:It was like we're going to win a championship and we're going to win the region and do this, this, and it like just got taken away, like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, dude, I remember like that whole time period. It was like you said so fast, like I remember like two weeks before, like the country shut down. It was like two weeks before, like the country shut down, it was like they started talking about covid and I remember being like what the heck is that? And then all of a sudden it's like boom, everything just shut down and stopped. Man, and and hearing stories like that you know from from you, from from some of the people, man, it just it's heartbreaking to hear that you know, that it just you know. Essentially, I mean you're you, you're you know not. I mean you were robbed right in that season and you know it just was boom gone and over with. But what did that do to like your mental approach with, I'm assuming, your senior season? You kind of had an idea as far as what the next step was looking like for you as far as moving to Gardner-Webb to play. Is that correct?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'll add to that I can't remember if I changed it or not, but I'll add to that, Okay.
Speaker 3:So yeah, when I was in high school, usually guys commit anywhere between their. I guess they've changed it now, but when I was playing it was like there was always a couple kids committed in like eighth grade, which I've always thought was crazy and then the majority of guys commit like sophomore and junior year. And I did not commit to. I had one offer and it was a preferred walk-on at the University of New Orleans. So I committed like late in the fall, and then I was committed there, I was going to go there, visited all that, loved it, and then when COVID happened and like our season had been done for maybe a month or two and it was the coach calls me, like in april, and he's uh. He's like, hey, man, like we don't have room for you next year anymore because I was.
Speaker 3:They uh, the ncaa gave all their athletes their eligibility back like they should have um, but since they had 15 players that were supposed to not be there the next year, me and a couple of the other guys had nowhere to go anymore. Oh man, uh, so it was like life just like flipped upside down. Like you put it all together, you got a plan you're gonna go do this, this and this, and then it's like you're about to graduate and you don't know where you're going to college. Uh, so then, fortunately, like and and again, no, no one's looking for players, because all their players are coming back and everybody's already committed. So it's like, where am I going to go?
Speaker 3:And the only school that offered me was Gardner-Webb, and it was on their. They had a developmental team. It was essentially the concept of a JV team, but it was more like club level baseball and it was my offer. So I went there and eventually worked my way up to the varsity team, like the d1 team, and then that's kind of how I ended up there, it like. But that I like. I will never forget that phone call I got and I was like, if you told me five years later, like I'd be sitting here, just graduated from Kennesaw, like I'd tell you you're crazy.
Speaker 2:But here we are yeah, wow, man, that's, I mean that, that's an awesome story. So I, I guess tying all into that, like what, what did your, what did your mental approach look like, dealing with all of that? Like I mean, it had to, at least. I mean obviously finding out like you had committed and had a spot, and then all of a sudden, now you don't, you know, and then and then kind of working your way through gardener web, obviously, like some of that had to feel like adversity, right where it was like one step forward, two steps back, one step forward, two steps back. Like what, how, how did your mental approach, you know, go with that? I mean, I imagine, being what, a young 17, 18 year old, you know it's, it's, you know it's got to be tough to to through all that. So, like what, what was your mental approach going through all that? What was your, what was your thought process like?
Speaker 3:I would say like the biggest thing for me is just I mean because in life you can only control so much but especially like during COVID, like you just control what you can control.
Speaker 3:And I think when you go about and this this is for baseball, but I mean also for life it's pretty cliche, like when you go about your work and your business in the right way and you just take it day by day at a time because, like I said, like I did not see any light at the end of that tunnel when I got that phone call, but, um, I would say the two things was just control what I can control every day, like I still I was hitting into a net in my backyard and just reaching out to everybody that I could reach out to, that I knew could knew a coach, or, if I knew the coach, um, doing what I could do.
Speaker 3:And then the second thing is like or this should have been the first thing, but like that is where my faith grew, like by far the most, because it's like yeah, it's like God, it's same thing, like you hear people say, it's like God has a plan. It's like God. I really hope you have a plan right here because I did not see any, any bit of that. But I went from feeling like the man, like I'm in a small school it's like you're a big fish in a small pond and like I'm gonna I've got a girlfriend, I've got a good baseball team, I'm a good baseball player, I'm gonna graduate. I'm gonna probably like we're gonna do all these things and then like, just like that, it's all gone.
Speaker 3:And so, in a good way, it knocked me down a little bit. It's like, dude, slow down. I think that was God's way of telling me to slow down and keep you where your feet are, and he placed me in the perfect spot at the right time. So, just trusting in God and controlling what you can control, that's awesome, man.
Speaker 4:Hey, nate, talk to us a little bit more about that. I was coaching college baseball at that time and there was a lot of kids that had no idea what they were doing.
Speaker 4:They thought they had a senior season to kind of be seen. What did it look like once you got on the campus at Gardner-Webb and you made that transition? You're playing D1. What was your mentality like trying to earn your spot at Gardner Webb and you made that transition? You're playing D1. What was your mentality like trying to earn your spot at Gardner Webb?
Speaker 3:yeah, so the first, I've, like I said earlier, I've always been the smallest kid in the field. Like I got to college and I was like these kids are strong, like these kids are huge and uh, you gotta, I was like I've got to. I was like I've got to because I mean I was 140 pounds and like I'm playing with guys Like there's a lot of old college baseball players, including myself this year but like we had in our outfield a 24 year old, a 23 year old, like a 22 year old, and one of them was a transfer who'd won a national championship, and it's like how do I stack up with that? Like what am I supposed to do? And I was like like I've got to have something about me that stands out.
Speaker 3:So if you're an outfielder, like you know, at practice a lot of your time is spent just like being a dummy on the bases. But I was like I'm gonna run the crap out of these bases and like we would do rundowns and and we would do uh, double cuts where they'd have to try. Like you'd have a runner start on first against the ball and you try and score and you know, everybody just kind of like 50 jogs it. I tried to get out of every rundown and score on every single play until they like were like and that's what got me to the team. It was like this kid can fly and that was yeah no like to that.
Speaker 2:note like I. I just like I remember at the banquet dinner, like it was, it was what you and Aaron were up there and Shador and we're all talking and who was Bo? Bo was the other guy up there right and y'all were all talking about the interview and asking you questions and all that. And I remember the question being like who's going to lead the team in?
Speaker 3:stolen bases.
Speaker 2:And I feel like you were one of the two. Who was the other one?
Speaker 3:It was you, it was me and chris cole.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and they named you yeah, and then, but they named you and I was like like, wow, that's impressive. Like, and then like, and then probably we didn't go. Ruckers was y'all's first home series, right this season. Okay, so we didn't go to the ruckers series, but we went to the next series.
Speaker 3:Right after that, harlow was playing a tournament at east cob and it happened to be a, a Sunday, and I and I was like let's go.
Speaker 2:Let's go Like we're, we're 15 minutes away, let's go down and watch the boys play, so. But I remember like that game, like watching you run the bases and like I was like Holy crap, like yes, like to attest to that like fast as anything and I was. I was super impressed by that, so just yeah mean that just goes to show it.
Speaker 4:Only, it just goes to show like, trust me, I coached for 10 years like outfielders always dog those drills and like it's a great. That's a great lesson for even like harlow, to hear like you can find an opportunity if you make an opportunity, like exactly you weren't even quote unquote on the roster so to say, um, and you kind of earned your keep and coaches know who practices hard. We're watching that stuff and we know who takes the little things serious. I think that's that's huge for people listening. Um, so you're at gardner webb, you're there for the 2021 season, right? Um, how long were you at gardner webb? And then talk about that transition, um, from gardner webb to kensaw state. Um, talk about were you at Gardner-Webb and then talk about that transition from Gardner-Webb to Kennesaw State. Talk about, were you at Kennesaw State during the coaching change from to Coach Coe.
Speaker 4:I was not Okay so talk to us about that transition. Talk to us about the transition, how that came about and all that.
Speaker 3:It's funny you say that like I wasn't here during the transition but I played summer ball, uh. So I redshirted my freshman year, didn't play, just lifted and I was like I gotta, I gotta catch up with these guys here. And uh, I came and played in the sunbelt league, which is like the college baseball league around atlanta and our home field was kenesaw. So I was coming up to kenesaw a couple days a week and that was the summer when Coach Coe got hired and I had some Kennesaw teammates. I had a great summer. And then Donovan Cash, who was our best hitter this year. He was on that team and when I left, donnie was like, dude, you ever need to go somewhere, just let me know. And I stayed in touch with Donnie and a guy named Zach Corbin who graduated last year.
Speaker 3:And I came back to Gardner-Webb for my redshirt freshman year and like I really thought, like that was going to be my year, like I was going to play, started opening day but I only ended up with 30 at-bats like hit 200. And I was like, all right, need another year, went and played summer ball in Kingsport, tennessee, in the Appalachian League, which was a blast. Like that was my first time really away from home, outside of school. That was where I gained the most confidence in my ability Like I can do this, because our team was we had half our team. It felt like didn't show up till the end of June because they were playing in Omaha, but I was like I'm still playing every day with these guys, like I can do this.
Speaker 3:And then came back my redshirt sophomore year to Gardner-Webb and that was the first time I like let it all go and just like went and played baseball, not worrying about anything else, just went about my business, played baseball. We had a good team, a good year and there was a lot of really good like senior leadership that year that just made it Like there's certain guys you come across in your career. It's like you get better just by being around them and we had a lot of that um. But ultimately after that year I went into the portal, uh, and the portal was pretty same. It was like getting recruited again in high school but it happens 10 times faster and it was really hectic and I went in with like zero idea what to expect and talked to some coaches and great schools and stuff.
Speaker 3:But what stood out about Kennesaw was like all your bats and all your pitches are online on on video and a lot of coaches would just like look at your stats in your video and be like, here we'll offer you this, this and this, like let us know or um, but coach ko like I was playing up in Morehead City, north Carolina, and coach ko like flew was playing up in morehead city, north carolina, and coach ko like flew out came to watch me, went and got breakfast and like from that moment on, I was like like he actually cares, like about me, the person, not so much me, the player, and it was like easiest decision ever, like I'm and I'm back home, like I'm going to kennesaw, like there's no way that's not happening. Uh, so it worked out perfectly for me what?
Speaker 4:hey, talk to us about that decision to leave. Like, what kind of led to this? Um, you know, just dive into that a little bit. I know we live in a transfer portal world and, yeah, everyone's looking for the next, the biggest and best thing. I'm not saying that's what you were looking for, but talk to us a little bit about your decision to leave and take us down that path a little bit.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so, like Gardner-Webb, like I love Kennesaw State, like there's a reason I came here. It was the best decision in my life but at the same time, I wouldn't have had it any other way because the Gardner-Webb, like there are so many relationships and I still talk to my people there every single day and there's a lot of like growth that happened there that I don't think would have happened elsewhere. Uh, but I felt, like I mentioned, like that was the only place I could have gone and, um, like I'm forever grateful to them for giving me that chance. And the one thing you probably haven't been to Gardner web, but it is in boiling Springs, north Carolina, and the whole town is one stoplight and there's like 2000 some people at school and I'm from Atlanta, georgia, where it's trapped. It takes it takes 20 minutes to go two miles.
Speaker 3:So it was like a complete, like culture shift and I was not. It was not where I was most comfortable and I, like the cliff notes version is, I didn't feel like I was going to really unlock my full potential there, like reach my ceiling. And it was the hardest decision of my life Because, like I said, my best friends were there, the coaches were great. But I wanted to come here out of high school and I just wasn't there yet, I wasn't ready yet, and that's kind of where I was like trusting God's plan, like God, please have a plan for me, cause like I thought I was going to get offered here at a high school and it never happened. And, uh, I just thought like I'm going to take this leap of faith and hopefully I can like fulfill, like my actual dreams and potential here and, like I said, thankfully it did.
Speaker 4:Yeah, man, man, that's huge. Your story, right, reminds me a lot of mine. I remember I graduated high school in 2008. I was playing for the orlando scorpions, when there was two teams.
Speaker 4:I mean this was a travel ball this was a travel ball, was like brand new and and stuff like that, and I was batting in the three hole on a team where, uh, like six kids were committed to florida. We had arkansas. I we're littered with division ones and I was there at a little old D2. And you know I'm sitting here like I can play with these guys. But you know, if I didn't go to that D2, my opportunity to go on and play at Florida my last two years would not have been there.
Speaker 4:And you know, I think God puts you. He put you in that position at Gardner-Webb to teach you some work ethic, to teach you how to focus on those little things, to trust his plan. That's the biggest thing I tell people in the recruiting journey is everybody's path to where they want to be or where they're going to end up is always different in how you get there. And to me, just listening to you tell your story, it really sounds like you kind of you figured out who you were through the trials and you know the hard work you had to put in at Gardner-Webb. And you know, maybe we do go to Kennesaw out of high school but maybe you end up transferring out of Kennesaw because you don't really know who you are.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would have been cut right away.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean, I think that's so important for for kids to hear. I think there's a lot of you know growth that happens. That's a huge growth story at at gardner webb. Talk a little bit more about your experience at kinesaw. You had a couple years at division one level. You know, if I'm not mistaken, 23. They won the conference tournament, or was that 24? Was it before you got there?
Speaker 3:it was 23, 23, yeah yeah, yeah, so 23.
Speaker 4:So talk to us a little bit about, like your growth as a player and your leadership within the program at ksu once you got there yeah.
Speaker 3:So I, I got here, um, I moved in kind of about the same time as everybody else and I guess I knew a couple of guys on the team. But it's funny because, like I was 21 and I felt like a freshman again, because it's like I was like eye opening, because I was like I don't know anybody. And I know when you're transferred, typically you're coming in expected to be like an impact guy and it's and with that comes leadership. And I was like it's really hard for me to like lead somebody when I just got here, like I haven't gone through the work they've gone through. It's like, it's it's a tough way to like I like how do I earn their respect? Like and and do this.
Speaker 3:And it all went back to uh, go about, like, just go about your business the right way and like like you from. In my opinion, like the best leader is not a spoken leader. It's just like it's a known thing that like this guy does it this way, like that's how I should do it, and then like that's the best leaders I've played for my whole life. But I, when I got here, I realized pretty quick, like, like can you hear me now?
Speaker 3:yeah, we lost you sorry so uh, but yeah, I got here and like we started doing fall inter squads and I was like everybody's throwing hard, everybody's hitting the ball and it was like a lot of healthy competition and it's like everybody's driving everybody to be better, uh, and then also like in the fall we'll play two scrimmages. We went and played Georgia Tech and Georgia and like we showed up to Georgia Tech for the first one and I'd played Georgia Tech before in my old school but we always went in kind of like knowing we were there to like get them better and like we didn't really have a chance. And man, we walked into georgia tech and just like started putting it on them and I was like this is awesome, like there's a standard and like an expectation to win here and like it's mid-major, but you're not. Like we were supposed to win.
Speaker 3:That game versus my old school was like I hope we win and I was like there's a new level, like expected for me personally, but also like the standard held for the, for the whole team and the same thing. It was kind of like an unspoken thing, like if coach has to go out there and motivate us, like like guys, it's a really good team like we gotta do this business. It was just like show up, go about your business and like let your work show and I it happened, like I realized pretty quick and it was exciting that's awesome, man.
Speaker 2:Um, let's, let's talk about so, let's talk about a little bit of adversity, right like I know when we met you were talking about the the previous season last year that you you dealt with a little bit of injury, like, let's, let's kind of dive into that expect as far as what that looked like for you during that season.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was tough. It was really hard Outwardly. I did my best not to show that, like I said, trying to maintain that level of leadership, but it's also really hard to maintain that level when you're just not doing what you were supposed to do on the field. Yeah, when I committed that summer, like I was mentioning, and then two weeks or so after I committed I started having like some hip pain. I thought it was like a hip flexor and then I went and got it checked out and I had a torn hip labrum.
Speaker 3:But I was told it was possible to keep playing through it and not make it that much worse and it could be done. And I was like and a hip labrum, it's not like an ACL or something. Some days it doesn't bother you that much and then some days it's like you can't walk, but nine out of 10 days I it was okay, and then so I just I was like I can't come in, get surgery right away and then and then just sit, I was like being hardheaded and in hindsight I'm getting that surgery right away, but being hardheaded and like I have to do this. And I played through it and it got it deteriorated a lot quicker than I expected it to, and I think I hit like 170, kind of stopped playing every day, as I should have. And then the cherry on top was like like it was about halfway through conference play I dove back into first base and tore the uco in my thumb, so that was another surgery I got tommy john in my thumb.
Speaker 3:That's my fun fact. I got the internal brace in there, uh. But it was like wow, like I'm having two surgeries in two months and I think, as as I mentioned earlier, like God slowing me down. I think that was God slowing me down Because when I came to Kennesaw it was like I'm going to come to Kennesaw for a year, play really good, I'm going to get drafted Me, me, me, me, me. And that's again like I'm not like outwardly thinking that, but subconsciously deep down it's like I'm going to do what's best for me and this and that. And it was like slow down a second. And that's one way to really slow you down is take you off the field. But it was really hard because you're supposed to be that guy and pretty quickly you're just not. And when there's standards and like things expected of you and you don't uphold what it is like, it's hard to go through.
Speaker 3:But what helped me was just like our team bond that year was amazing. There were a lot of seniors who were freshmen that COVID year. So we had like a lot of fifth-year guys who had been in the program the whole time and we were winning games and it was like all you can do is just be the best teammate you can be and it's like want that guy that's playing instead of you to go hit a home run every time and and want the team to do really good and because we were so great on and off the field, like relationship wise and success wise, like it made it doable, like it was a fun experience even through the hardship, uh, and then like, like I said, god's got a plan for you. Best I I would not have thought I would have had the year I had after how it went last year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, dude, thank you. You literally just volleyed where I wanted the segment to because like I was just texting Jeff on the side, like I kind of asked you that and I wanted to talk about that because I wanted to segment back to this because, like phenomenal season I mean, mean you led, forgive me, I, I wrote some of them. So 19, 19 game on bay street this season, right 20, leading the team in 26 stolen bases. You were what second second in rbis for the team is that I was probably.
Speaker 3:I was probably second in, like all the other hitting stats, because donnie cash is really good at baseball.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, um, but uh, yeah, I mean phenomenal season. Then what you in the in the regular season, when the grand slam at liberty, like I mean yeah, I mean to say, you had a phenomenal season coming back. I mean, no doubt, do you feel like coming off of that injury, was it like kind of like a new life or like a second chance kind of thing? What kind of? I mean, what kind of result like caused those results for that season to happen?
Speaker 3:I mean, I would say like the, the first thing you gotta do is just like take care of it physically, like take your rehab really seriously and do all your business off the field the right way. And like I was we, we got a new athletic trainer, uh, like he, his first day was like right when I was starting therapy. So I was like well, like welcome to kittesaw man, like let's do it, let's go um. And he, he came from, uh, the Mariners, like he was a baseball guy and he'd seen this before. And, um, taking care of, like physically, what you need to do, because it it was about a six, seven month recovery, and like just being able to grind that out for five, six, seven months is tough, like just 9 am and they're doing the same boring stuff over and over, so being able to take care of that. But then I think if you ask a lot of guys that have missed a significant amount of time, they'll probably tell you the same thing.
Speaker 3:The hardest part is just getting over the mental hump that you can be who you were. And like I didn't have an issue like trusting that my hip wasn't gonna tear again, it was just like trusting that I can do what I'd done before. Cause that year before that was the first time I'd ever been like just straight up a bad baseball player. Like I said a lot of time I was not the greatest player in the team, but that was the first time I was just like man, this is not good. And just trusting, like what, what I'd done to get me to this point. Like I'm here for a reason If they're going to have me back for another year of college baseball, like I'm, I'm here to do this and this is my purpose. And just like trusting, and like it's like a guy, when a when a guy's going through a slump, he's like I got to change this, this and this is my swing. It's like no dude, your swing got you to division one baseball. It's not your swing, like it's it's all up here.
Speaker 3:Um, so just gaining confidence through reps and and repetitions, all that, uh, that, I would say, is what helped me the most. And and there was, like there was a moment um, I missed the whole fall, but I did get to do some live at bats just off, some rehabbing pitchers and stuff, and that was the first like that first pitch back. Man, I looked like a thousand miles an hour but by like a couple days into it bats like I finally hit homer and I was like all right, we're good, we're back. Like I saw one. I saw one go and like I can forget about the hip, and then by like, I mean by opening day, I didn't even think about it, like I wouldn't have remembered I had surgery if you hadn't told me Mentally, getting over that hump is the number one priority if you're coming back from an injury in my opinion, Nate, going through those injuries and I've had a little injury, Injuries are so common but going through injuries you can kind of feel a little bit separated from the team.
Speaker 4:What did you do in your mind to kind of stay involved, stay motivated? What did you do on a daily basis, during practice? What are some of those things that you did to kind of stay sharp and keep your mental state in the right?
Speaker 3:place. I'm really fortunate because the coaches here trust me and trust my knowledge of the game. I've always tried to be a student of the game and the best way I could do it was I wasn't a coach but acting like a coach, and I felt like a coach. But during inter-squads I was standing at first base, talking with the base runners and stuff. Being involved in the games, like filming dudes at bats, like feeding the machine for them if they need, trying to do like everything I can to play without playing I would say that and then being like just kind of showing like the freshmen especially the freshmen hitters and outfielders like the ropes, like just like there was a couple, like a month, it's like I could not move like more than one step at a time, but just standing next to him, like being in their ear, talking to him and and not and like, and always just like in an uplifting way.
Speaker 3:Uh, but being as involved as possible, like it's so important and it helped me a ton, like it gives you when you miss time, like you know, like definitely gives you a different perspective of the game. When you're playing, you're just seeing red. You're focused on what you need to do, to work on or to help the team. And then, when you step back, I'm not jogging the outfield every day or walking in the box, you're just watching it from a different view, trying to make myself smarter. So when I come back, it's like oh, I hadn't thought of this. Right, I wouldn't have seen this if I had been playing, so just trying to take it all in and be as involved as possible.
Speaker 4:Man, that's tough dude. A lot of kids when they get hurt they kind of just check out and you know they don't stay involved in practice. Like I'll schedule my rehab at two o'clock when the team's rolling out for stretch.
Speaker 1:Like props to you, man.
Speaker 4:It's it's. It's no wonder why you were. You were successful and I can see. You know how. Everything you know through injury. I think when kids go through injury or any player goes through injury, you're either going to be it's either going to be a feast or famine. You're going to go one way or the other.
Speaker 1:You're not, you're either going to be. It's either going to be a feast or famine.
Speaker 4:You're going to go one way or the other, you're not. You're not going to go either way and I think you know kind of circling back. You know you go back to, like man, I had to earn my spot at Gardner Webb. Like, if I didn't go through that at Gardner Webb, I may not have known how to go through this when I got to Kennesaw and battled this injury and miss significant time and and stuff like that. So, um, props to you, man, that that's a great story. I think it's. I think at some point or the other I mean, I hope not, but a lot of people are going to deal and battle with injuries throughout their career and it's, it's really how you, how you kind of respond to those injuries, that kind of make or break, and not only who you are as a player, but as a teammate and a leader as well. So, um, I think those are great things for everybody here on here.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, I mean, and just to kind of reiterate all that, I mean, like you've had so many circumstances like that we just talked through, like with you know, with COVID, your senior season and having, you know, having a commitment to a team, and then losing that and then working your way and like and grinding and reaching out a team and then losing that and then working your way and grinding and reaching out and networking and getting off that Gardner web and then grinding through from going on what was their equivalent to a JV team to being on the D1 team. You've had so many circumstances and situations in life where it could have been so easy just to play the victim. You could have easily been like like I got dealt a bad hand and play the victim and like, and you never then, you never did that in those, in those moments, right, like you, you you kind of stop, re, you know, recalibrate, refocus, all right, you know let's, you know let's, let's readjust the sales and and let's start working this way, man, and and I think that that's that's just, that's just confirmation and proof to to your success, you know, as an athlete and where you are at this point today and and having having such an incredible season is like you didn't play the victim. You, you know you you played the all. Right, let's go. I'm going to, you know I'm going to keep working and keep moving towards, you know, towards the goal, and you kept the goal. You know you kept the goal. You know the main thing, the main thing, and kept that focus and it worked out and played, you know out to be a great, phenomenal story for you and, like I encourage you, you know, for us.
Speaker 2:It's funny that Jeff said graduated, or started graduating, high school in 2008. And I was thinking when you said that, like so how old were you in 2008?
Speaker 2:I was six I don't even feel old, but that makes me feel like dang I know you say that I'm like 35, I don't feel old until somebody says that. But, um, but no man, it's just. You know it's so cool to to hear that, um, you know that you, that you, you've continued to work and hustle and like what like for you in that moment, like the video was so cool to see, like you know, like I saw Kennesaw State posted on I still call it Twitter because I graduated in 2008.
Speaker 2:But, like when Kennesaw State posted the video of your Grand Slam, dude, it was such a cool video to watch. The bullpen is going absolutely nuts For you as a player. First off was that the first Grand Slam hit for you in your career or have you had another it? Was my second.
Speaker 3:Second Third.
Speaker 2:Third, third, okay, so for you, how did that one feel to you as a player? Was it like an exclamation point? On your college career or what?
Speaker 3:that that one was like my. That was one of my most special home runs, for me personally, because that we were playing up at liberty and like kenesaw and really everybody, just like you got to beat liberty, want to beat liberty but also like we had that circled. We'd split the series up to that point and we had that game circled, like every game's our most important game. But that was our most important game of the year, yeah, and we went out and they scored like three in the first, two in the second and it was like like it would have been a very easy, just like roll over and like get on the bus and go home and uh, it was like five, nothing in the third, I think, and I hit a solo homer and it got a little life going. And then it's like I don't I remember who came out of the bullpen, but like they were holding it down for us, like they're just giving us a chance, like claw, and we had bases loaded because it was five, two, his bases loaded. And then the third pitcher was good and he went like backdoor slider, took it yanked. The next pitch was a slider into the end of the camera. Well, and it's like this is one of those dudes that throws like five pitches. They go every, every single way.
Speaker 3:It was 0-2 and he threw a fastball like down the middle and I was like thank you, and like my eyes lit up, like in my head when I replayed that it's like it was coming in slow motion, uh, but I hit it and like the camera didn't show up, like I didn't even get to first base and I was just like I stopped and like turned at our dugout and it was like just screaming, like didn't even know what to do, and that's one of those like you're running around bases, it just felt like you're not even touching the ground, like you're floating. That's awesome. Like it felt so good, that like because as a season like we just had, like we got knocked down every turn, it seemed like nothing was going right and we still just got back up every time, yeah, and I felt like that kind of embodied what our season had been and was ultimately, but of embodied what our season had been and was ultimately, uh, but man, like that.
Speaker 2:Oh, like, I'll never forget that swing, like I felt so good. That's awesome, dude. That's, that's such a cool story, man. Um, so I was. I was thinking about this as you're talking, like in the season. So what was the last home series right before you guys went to liberty? Who was that? Middle Tennessee State, yeah. So we went to the. I think it was a Friday night game. It was a Friday night game or a Saturday night game, one of the games that we went to and like there was like nowhere to sit on, like the home side, so we kind of like meandered over to like the away side. Dude, it was like I don't know if it felt that way on the field, but like in the stands, like tensions were high and hot and I don't know if it was like the or like what, but like what, I mean. What was it like for you guys? Was it the same? Was it? Were you feeling it down there too?
Speaker 3:I think it's just like all of college base college baseball. Like why I like watching him playing college baseball sometimes more in professional baseball is because it's so like emotionally driven and like you got a bunch of just like out of control kids and like sometimes people like I've made a fool of myself before, like guys will just like very unfiltered, like do everything. And it's just like it's like in professional baseball. To my understanding and like from what I've heard from guys, it's like all about like how can I move up to this next level and do this? You know, when you're in college baseball, like all you care about is just winning and it's like, yeah, like you grow, like you lift, run, practice, like everything.
Speaker 3:Like you're a student, but like they always talk about student athletes, like if you're a college baseball player, like I say like athlete, student, like, whether you admit it or not, like that's not what my parents want to hear, but like if you're at Kennesaw State, like you're here to play baseball and like you're getting a, you're here to get a degree, but like you came to Kennesaw because you want to play baseball, um, but it gets very like intense every game and then sometimes, like when the umpire is bad and the coaches are barking at him, or a guy like that flips at your dugout or something, it just picks up like that much more so you gotta go, whether it's like game of the year, friday night, like biggest conference game, or like a tuesday midweek against some random school, you have to keep up that same intensity.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sometimes, sometimes, like when you go to like I don't want to be like mean to west georgia, but we went, we went to West Georgia and it's like not the best field, not the best team, it's like hard. Sometimes those are like they're called like trap games because it's hard to get yourself going for those games. But when you get those games that like feel intense and like you can feel it in every pitch, that's like those are the most fun by far.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. So let's talk, let's talk transition. Right, like you know, you're closing out your collegiate career, so, um, you know, but we're moving on into the next chapter of life. I know, when you and I met, you talked about you know that you had a passion for coaching. But, um, what's, where's your headspace at right? You know, you finished up season's over with you, kind of, you know, it looks like.
Speaker 2:Based on the camera, it looks like you're in facilities right now yeah, I'm doing something right now, uh, but yeah, what's what's, what's, what's the next chapter looking like for you, you know? I mean, do you have something inside?
Speaker 3:uh, I'm gonna I'm gonna hope to keep playing baseball as long as I can. Um, I'm gonna go play summer ball up until like the kind of like draft and signing periods over, uh, and then hopefully I can sign a professional contract and it's and this is another thing where it's like my headspace changed, where it was like I got to play pro baseball, like there's nothing else I can do, but like I'm at the point where, like I mean I'd love to sign, like it's your childhood dream. Like you, I think I'm a big believer and I'm fortunate my parents like 100% support me on it's like, if you have even like the slightest chance to like fulfill your dream, like keep chasing it until you can't anymore so.
Speaker 3:I'm gonna play as long as I can and then at the end of summer, if it's looking like nothing's gonna happen, I'm gonna step into the coaching world, which I am like so thrilled about. And if you told me, like two years ago or a couple of years ago, like you're gonna be done playing baseball after college, I'd be like mad. But I am like so happy just like at the thought of being able to do that. Yeah, so yeah, either either playing or coaching.
Speaker 2:Heck, yeah, man. Well, I wish you the best of luck either way. You know, I think, I think, based on what you've said and and and your story, and you know your determination and drive, I think, regardless of which road that you end up on, I think you know, I think you'll find an immense amount of success. You know which road you end up on, but wish you the best of luck for that to play out. Thank you, jeff. You got anything. We got to pull our bullpen pitcher out. I think he's starting to get a little dancey over there.
Speaker 4:Yeah, he's getting dancey. What's my favorite part? I'm ready for Harlow. Let's hear it Harlow.
Speaker 2:I'm excited, harlow, hold on a second before you jump out and throw the first pitch. So I want to tell the story because you know it's really impactful for me as as a parent, as a coach, and and when we so we got invited to the ksu dinner. Mike lynch, our pastor, north star church, hosted it. Mike texted me on like a wednesday and was like hey, do you and harlow want to go to the ksu banquet dinner for for the baseball team? And I was like yeah, why not?
Speaker 2:We love baseball, you know, you know, I, I and honestly this season is like the first season that like I've really I've really gotten into into college baseball more than more than ever.
Speaker 2:You know, obviously Braves fan, but like you know, watch, watch college baseball here and then you know once it gets into regionals and you know championships and all that, but like never been like a huge college baseball fan until that night, like it was. It was kind of cool, cool, like to get to meet you guys and meet the whole team, but um, but like you, you specifically nate really left like a lasting impression on me just as a young man for multitude of reasons. Number one like we're just standing in line looking at like the auction stuff and like you just walk up to us and just start talking. No, no, I'm sorry you walked up and started talking to the boys first, just like introduce yourself. And it was harlow and a couple of his baseball teammates and um, and they they thought it was cool, like they're like this baseball player, college baseball players talking to me like and you know it's and that's what's.
Speaker 2:That's what's so cool to me is like, is the young guys seeing the guys at the next level? I think it. I think it means a lot to them and them to see somebody, you know, I think it humanizes you a little bit to them, which is important for them to see. Um, but uh, but you know, then you and I, like we I think we both were walking in line getting food and you know, you and I are just talking and chit chat and get to know each other a little bit, um, you know, then I, you know we go our separate ways and uh, and then you're up there doing the interview.
Speaker 2:But but the coolest part was, like, you know, they were doing like the, the, the jerseys, like I guess they were retired jerseys that you can buy at the table, and you know harlow was like that, I want one. And I'm like, yeah, why not? And I mean you can see, like in his behind his wall he's got a ton of sports memorabilia. It's like it's really my collection. He just thinks it's his, like one day, when he moves out, it's all my stuff but um, but anyway.
Speaker 2:So so he like, I think he locked up to like you and asked for you know, ask for your, you know for your autograph on the jersey, and you know. And the cool part to me was that like, instead of you just like walking away, all of a sudden you start walking around the auditorium and getting the rest of the team to go sign the jersey and like to me, like as a dad, like that was such a cool thing, that's the jersey, but like to like that was such a cool thing about this the jersey but like to me that was just such a cool thing to see that, like you as a collegiate player could have been like see you, buddy, thanks for letting me sign your jersey, or whatever.
Speaker 2:But like I don't know man, like as a parent, I thought that was such a cool, you know, testament to who you are as a young man and as a man, and so I thank you for that.
Speaker 3:I appreciate that. I think it left a lasting impression on him.
Speaker 2:I think, like, like I said, every time we went to the KSU games, it was like for him, he was, like you know, stood behind the dugout. It was like I want to see Nate. I want to see Nate, and like I've got a couple of pictures, like you guys, and I think every time we've been there he's looked up to you this season, like watching you play and seeing you know the effort and the focus that you had during games, and so I thought it was super cool. But, but without further ado, harlow I know you're itching and ready to roll here, so Harlow's got a couple of questions he wanted to ask you. So, all right, bub, it's on you. Now You're mic caught. Take it away. What's up? I have a couple questions for you.
Speaker 1:What? Was your favorite memory from playing college baseball?
Speaker 3:From playing college baseball? That's a good question. It actually makes me feel old, because I was playing college baseball a long time, I would say. I hit a walk-off homer, uh, against New Mexico State.
Speaker 3:We were playing on Friday and we were down nine to five, uh, going into the ninth, and then on Friday night it started dumping rain and then so we had to resume the game Sunday, but just in the ninth inning. So we're sitting around for like 48 hours just just like almost waiting to lose and cause we know like the odds of us scoring five runs and before getting three outs is low and we ended up getting a bunch of walks and a couple of hits. And then I had hit a home run to like complete the comeback, to like walk it off, and then like it was the coolest feeling, like being the one to like finish that it was the coolest feeling being the one to finish that A comeback takes everybody, it takes the whole team. For me to hit that homer, the guy before me had to draw the walk and the guy after had to move the runner. Hitting that home run, a walk-off homer, was really cool for me.
Speaker 2:That's awesome, man. That's awesome, you got it. Go ahead Next question.
Speaker 1:Who was someone that believed in you early and made a big difference in your life.
Speaker 3:Some of the believe me or early me Dang. These are good questions, man. I would say that there's a lot of people like my parents are the obvious one, Like I could not do anything I've done without my parents, but I would say my granddad, actually he lives down in Macon and he just loves baseball and, like since I was playing t-ball, he comes to every single game. Like he will find a way, like if it's a long drive or if it's a plane, like he will find a way to come to the games.
Speaker 3:And I think, just like seeing him there every single game was so cool for me because it was like it made it feel like what I was doing is important and like it matters and it like kind of motivated me to like want to master it and be really good at it. You're're never going to master baseball. Aaron Judge won't master baseball, it's too hard but no one's ever going to hit a thousand. But like man, just like seeing him like there at every single game was like it gave me belief in myself that like I could do this.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's good, that's good. I didn't know, hold on, don't you jump too quick, but that's cool. I didn't know, hold on, hold on, you're jumping too quick, that's cool. I didn't know you had a family from Macon.
Speaker 3:I actually grew up in Perry, so just a little bit further south from there, so very familiar with the area. Yeah that's where my mom grew up. She went to Tattnall.
Speaker 2:Oh okay, I got you. I went to Austin County High School. Oh nice, yeah, high school. So oh yeah, yeah, that's cool man, that's a nice making connection there. So yeah, all right, all right bub.
Speaker 1:Question three it's you. What would you tell your 11 year old self if you could go back in time?
Speaker 3:I go back. These are crazy. This is. These are awesome questions, chris came up with the questions.
Speaker 3:I would say let things take care of themselves in due time. So, like I guess, when I was 11, like everybody was like done with puberty, and I was still talking with a high voice and like four feet tall, and I was talking about it earlier on the show Just keep doing, doing like what you know is right to do, and like do not let anybody other than yourself tell you what you can and can't do. Like how, how good you become as a player and as a person is up to you. Um, like you, there's, like there's other factors that you can't control. But I would say, let you control the input and let God control the output, and things will work out exactly how they're supposed to. Oh, that's good.
Speaker 1:Who was your favorite player growing up?
Speaker 3:Growing up. Hmm, I mean every kid that's my age love chipper jones, because chipper jones was just like the man in atlanta and like he's an atlanta lifer. Uh, my mom did not like chipper jones, which was kind of weird uh, probably because, probably because of the, the hooters thing, yeah that's why my mom didn't like me because, didn't love the hooters, like um, my favorite player, you know I, I loved, uh, brian mccann.
Speaker 3:I love brian mccann. He was like, he just seemed like every time he was on the field and I remember him as like a younger player before he left the braves, uh, and he was a catcher like I had nothing to do with me, like I would I couldn't catch in a million years, but brian mccann just looked like he had fun playing baseball and I was like he. You never knew what was gonna happen. We walked up to the plate so I'd say, brian mccann, do you know?
Speaker 2:harold you know brian mccann is yep, yes, sir, yes, maybe no, maybe it's okay opposite of you, he was opposite of you, he was not a fast baseman that was that.
Speaker 3:Let me add one. Let me add one more player, uh, jason hayward. He uh, he debuted with the braves. I remember I was like seven years old maybe and his braves day. He grew up around atlanta and he had a home run in his first at bat and like I thought it was, I mean, it was the coolest thing ever. But man, I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I would say jason hayward was really high up there, he was never the same.
Speaker 2:He took that ball to the face, though like I feel like, like I don't know like something mentally with him but like after he, after he took that ball to the jaw, it just like, yeah, it just kind of downhill for him, but I mean he's still around man like who's he with the padres? I think yeah, I think, yeah, atlanta just played, just played him when, whoever he was, so yeah, that's, that's a good one played him with whoever he was.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, that's, that's a good one. You ready for the next one? Yeah, um, how did you stay confident during a slump or tough stretch in your career?
Speaker 3:uh, sorry, that's good, that's good. You said that uh kind of like I mentioned now, um, your ability and talent has taken you like this far. When you're going through it because it happens to everybody you could have the best season ever. You're going to have some stretch where something's off, it's just not going right. Balls aren't falling, it's not your swing, it's not because you didn't put your right shoe on first before your left shoe.
Speaker 3:Everybody's a little stereotypical. I try not to get stereotypical, but it's just trusting that you're there for a purpose and a reason and it all like. It kind of goes back to my first answer too. It's like you can do, like you're on the, like coach puts you in that game to play right and like do your job and you just keep doing your job to the best of your ability.
Speaker 3:And it's why baseball is like the best sport and the worst sport, because you can do everything right, like you can know this pitch is coming, hit the pitch perfectly and you look up and the center fielder is catching it and you hit it as hard as you could. But you just trust that process and maybe you're next to bat, like I think baseball always works itself out. Maybe you tap a ball at the shortstop and beat it out. Like baseball will always work itself out at the end of the season and it's hard to see that because baseball's man, it's a long season but like things work themselves out and it is in this sport it is 100 a part of it. So just reminding yourself, more than anything, that is baseball and as much as I love baseball and everybody loves baseball, like man, like it can be frustrating.
Speaker 2:It's funny that you say that about the line drive, because that literally happened to him this weekend. Yeah, hard line drive out of the center field. I still don't really know how the kid caught it. It was like his hand was backwards and turned. It was like he looked like a wet noodle and somehow like that like put the glove right on the like that like put his, put his, like put the glove right on the ball and like you know, he come into the dugout and he was all upset about it and he was like mad and I like I clapped my hands and like I was like it was a great hit, it was a great catch, move on. Like yes, it's in baseball, dude, like you know, get like get over and move on. But um, but yeah, it's funny that you said that because it's literally like identical story that happened to him this weekend, harlow you'll get an infield hit.
Speaker 3:Don't worry, it'll work itself out.
Speaker 2:Well, Harlow, why don't you tell them what also happened to you on the ball that you thought you saw it off on Saturday?
Speaker 1:Oh, no, no, no, so I hit a baseball.
Speaker 3:Wait, what did you say?
Speaker 1:I hit a baseball and it sounded like it had so much backspin and I felt like it had so much backspin I thought it was going to go foul. But it went right to the second baseman and I thought it was a foul ball, so it threw a different.
Speaker 2:He hit and like the way he like when he hit, like he just kind of like, and like the way he like when he hit, like he just he just kind of like threw his head like he knew it was a foul ball and he just a little like like little like blooper shot just right behind, right behind the pitcher and everybody's screaming right right like, and he just he is like it was at first base before he left home plate, like it was just it was funny and I was like dude, contact go, contact go like wait till you hear foul like the
Speaker 3:worst thing that has to happen. The worst thing that could happen is you just see that you get another pitch and you restart right right, yeah, that's it, that's it so, but yeah, it was, it was.
Speaker 2:It was a good little, uh, good little life lesson this weekend, so that's, that's a good plate appearances too, so, um, but cool man. Well, jeff, you got anything else you want?
Speaker 4:to add.
Speaker 1:I have another question.
Speaker 2:But not that one, because the six-point week we kind of talked about that a little bit more. You got another question. Throw one out of the pocket if you got one. Let's see it.
Speaker 1:I know you said all the pitchers that you said you had. You had position players. Who was your favorite pitcher growing up?
Speaker 3:Favorite pitcher Hmm pitchers that you said you had, you had position players. Who was your favorite pitcher growing up? Favorite pitcher, hmm, favorite pitcher, uh, in my head I'm like moving generations to kind of figure out who's gonna get him. I've got no. I'm like dude. I've got another. I've got one. I you're not gonna know who this is. There's this dude, uh, chris medlin, who was awesome. He could never stay healthy. But I would say craig, craig kimbrough, you know craig kimbrough.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I know, bring him up in triple a maybe yeah fingers crossed yeah, man craig, at turner field he threw like 100 before it was like normal that everybody threw 100. I remember he'd come into the games and like all the video boards would go dark and you just see like flames start popping up and they play Welcome to the Jungle. And I was like and like Craig Kimbrell came in the game dude, you knew the game was over, Like the Braves are going to win and it was like really cool to watch If they bring him to.
Speaker 2:Atlanta and that is not his walkout song and that whole intro. They don't do it. At least one time, change it afterward, the first time that he comes and plays at the Truist. If they don't do that, I'll find a new team, I'll bring all my new stuff.
Speaker 1:I'm not ready to find a new team. I know what you're talking about.
Speaker 2:Did you guys see that Freddy Gonzalez is back?
Speaker 4:yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so random old freddie's back.
Speaker 2:I texted, so my mother-in-law is like a huge brace yeah, my mother-in-law is a huge brace fan and I saw it and like there's a thread of it's me, harlow, my mother-in-law, my brother-in-law, like we always text about the brave stuff because my wife couldn't care less about it. But, um, that we were texting, I said what, like, of all of all people, that's, that's who we bring back. But, yeah, old, uh, I guess, uh, I guess old too, he's gonna gonna be the scapegoat for right now so for now, yeah.
Speaker 2:I remember being in this feeling again of, oh we suck. Many years ago at the TED, this is what it felt like.
Speaker 4:I feel like we're good, but we suck at the same time. I don't lose many games. I think Haley and I we watch every game at the house.
Speaker 2:Yeah, me too.
Speaker 4:I'm like dude, we're giving up three runs a game and we can't even score four. Come on.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we'll be in here another half hour.
Speaker 2:It's brutal right now, man. That's what the game yesterday. They were like June's always the Braves' month to get hot and I'm like let's hope August maybe, yeah, to get hot, and I'm like, let's hope august maybe, yeah, maybe at some point. At some point maybe they'll warm up again. So hopefully it won't take another 25 years for a world series again. So it'll, uh, it's brutal. So, um, well, nate, I greatly appreciate you being on here. Man, I, I, uh, I know it was short notice. It was what like wednesday th last week.
Speaker 4:I messaged you and was like hey, can you hop on Absolutely anytime.
Speaker 2:Such great insight and wisdom for you and from you for being such a young man. Being an old man like Jeff and I, it feels like there's many miles in between us as far as age. Dude, you've got a great heart, man, and I encourage you to just continue to seek the Lord. And you know, as an old, 35-year-old, I'll tell you, it's crazy that sometimes, like you know, looking in the windshield, you don't realize it, but you know, all of a sudden you look in the rearview mirror and you see God's hand in every single moment situation. That's happening, dude, and and you know we're, we're, we're definitely cheering you on for, for what the future holds. And and, yeah, man, good luck, best of luck to you at summer ball and, uh, and good luck with uh, with what, the, with what the next chapter is. So, but thanks so much for being on, man.
Speaker 3:No, thank you guys so much for being on man. Thank you guys so much. This was a lot of fun. Harlow, you're the man Good to talk to you. It was awesome Anytime. Yeah, man, it's really cool, like it's a cool moment for me just being able to sit down and it was like, honestly, one of my first opportunities to like reflect on the season and it's like kind of like what my life has been up to here. So I really appreciate it, guys. Thank you so much. Yeah, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
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