Raul Dominguez - Somerset Patriots
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FunTranscript
00:00These guys are playing the championship.
00:01What do you think it's going to show from an organizational standpoint if they can win a championship?
00:04What do you think it's going to show the organization?
00:08I mean, it's very special.
00:09That's why they're here for.
00:11And after the last game of the season, I told them,
00:15it is the same thing that they're doing in the big league.
00:17It is the same thing that you're going to do in AAA.
00:19It is the same thing that you do, no matter what you play, winter league,
00:22whatever you play, and this is what we play for.
00:25And it's going to be a good experience for you guys.
00:28I mean, you have to keep doing what you need to do.
00:31Play the game the right way.
00:34Don't give up.
00:36Put all your effort.
00:37And I mean, that's the message that I give to the players.
00:41And I think it's a really good opportunity for players that play in the playoffs before,
00:46and for some young players that have never been in the playoffs.
00:49And I think it's going to be good.
00:50Do you point to the Allsons, to the Eversons, to the Randy,
00:53and be like, look, what they did last year, and look, now they're in the Bronx?
00:56Do you think that's important to point out?
00:57Yeah, exactly, I mentioned that.
00:59But I told those guys, like, I mean, we start this season here with totally different team,
01:04and I just let them know 67 players playing Somerset this year.
01:09And, you know, this player, this player, they won last year here in Somerset,
01:15and now they start the season here in Somerset this year.
01:18They went to AAA, and now they're in the big league.
01:20And it's the same thing that they're going to do in the big league.
01:22They're going to try to win the game.
01:23They're going to play hard and try to go to the playoffs.
01:27So just don't think that you play all year here in Somerset and this is over.
01:33It's the same thing that you've got to keep reaching that goal.
01:35And how do these high-pressure situations help prepare them for when they get to the show?
01:39How what? Sorry?
01:40The high-pressure situations like this, like the playoffs.
01:43That's something that I want to learn from them, that I want to see how they react.
01:48Like, I've been talking especially a lot with Ramirez, like he never been in the playoffs.
01:53And I told him, like, just play the game.
01:56Just enjoy your moment.
01:59This is, I mean, you play all season, you work really hard.
02:02Just because you want to be in this moment, just try to enjoy.
02:04It's the same baseball.
02:06And that's something that, I mean, no matter what happened today, I mean,
02:10we want to go to the final.
02:12And that's something that is going to be a good experience for them.
02:15You've talked a lot about how long and how, I guess,
02:20how much this opportunity to manage in full season meant to you.
02:22You've been waiting your whole life for this opportunity.
02:24How fulfilling is it to get to this point?
02:27And how rewarding would it be to potentially end this in a championship?
02:30I mean, I feel blessed.
02:33That was the first thing.
02:34Every morning, every game, right after the national anthem, I always pray.
02:40I always think about God just to thank him for all the opportunity that I have this year and here and all the opportunity
02:47that the Yankees gave me this year and to be manager in full season for the first time, in this case, in Somerset.
02:53And I feel it's been, like, it's been really good.
02:57I mean, I got a good expectation by myself, but it was higher than that.
03:03And, I mean, I would like to come back as a manager in full season because I think that I got to keep learning.
03:10That's some little things that I got to keep learning and get better.
03:13When you look back to when the season started equal to where you are now, just as an individual and as a manager,
03:18do you feel like you've grown a lot in this role?
03:21Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure.
03:23You know, I got a lot of, I have to do a lot of adjustment in this season and just practice-wise, communication,
03:31dealing with the interviews, dealing with the translation, dealing with the injury, guys on the road trip,
03:38how we do stuff on the road.
03:40And I remember I have meeting with the players just to go to the Yankees' rule,
03:43how we do stuff on and off the field.
03:46And, I mean, every day I learn something, and I always write it down.
03:50I write it down, like, okay, next time I'm going to do this, next time I'm going to do this.
03:53And I got a big list for the next year that I want to be better on.
03:57I'm assuming Tyler Hartman is not coming back this year.
04:00No, no, Hartman, no, he's done for the season.
04:03And, I mean, you know, he got a fracture in his hand after the hit-back pitch.
04:07And, yeah, he's at home.
04:09He's done for the season.
04:10All right, do you have any idea if he has surgery or anything?
04:12No, no, he was just a fracture.
04:14And, I mean, I know he's at home.
04:15I talked to him last week when we were playing in the New Huntry
04:19and just to check in on him, how you're doing,
04:23and I just let him know that I'm missing him.
04:25Yeah.
04:26And same thing I did with Wagaman in the same situation.
04:29I'm missing you guys, and I hope you guys are doing your rehab.
04:33I'm getting ready, and I can't wait to see you next year.
04:36Okay, that's going to be, like, you know, pretty frustrating and warm,
04:38but you kind of talk to him, try to remind him,
04:40hey, like, you had a really great year when you were playing,
04:42and hopefully next year you can, you know,
04:44just continue that development you showed this year.
04:47Yeah, yeah, he was impressed.
04:49I think he won the home runs, right, in this league this year.
04:52I mean, he didn't play for, what, the last two months,
04:54the last two and a half months?
04:56And he was really good.
04:58I mean, defensively, he was dealing with some objectives at third base.
05:03He was making a lot of errors, especially in one week.
05:06I think he made seven errors, and he was frustrating,
05:08but he never stopped working.
05:10I mean, remember, we came back home, and he wanted to do early ball.
05:13He wanted to watch video.
05:14And, I mean, Fiorito was here, the coordinator, and we met.
05:18And, I mean, he was better the last month that he played here.
05:23And, I mean, it's very valuable for him.
05:25I mean, I hope he get ready next year for spring training.
05:30Has that been helpful to have?
05:31I know Fiorito's been here a lot this year.
05:33Have you bounced things off of him and asked him a lot of questions this year?
05:37Unbelievable.
05:39Not just now, during the season, since I get that call while I was in Panama at home,
05:45and they call me, hey, Raul, you go to Somerset.
05:46You're going to be manager this year.
05:48And Somerset, I wish you good luck.
05:50I want you to prepare.
05:52And that was the first call that I made.
05:53I called Fio.
05:54Fio, I'm going to be manager.
05:55Yeah, I know.
05:56And he told me everything that you need, Raul.
05:58And, I mean, it's been a really, really good help having Fiorito here,
06:03not just here at home, on the road.
06:05And it's not just on defense with the outfielders in the infield.
06:09It's just, hey, Fio, what about this situation?
06:12How do you do this?
06:12What about this situation?
06:13How do you handle?
06:14And it's been a big help all year having Fiorito here.
06:18I see the pressure's on down 0-1 in the series,
06:20but how much confidence do you have handing the ball to a guy like Fitz,
06:23who's been your rock and your horse?
06:26Yeah, I mean, it's a lot of confidence.
06:29I feel the same thing with the players.
06:30They have really good confidence.
06:32And I remember after that game in Bigganton and the Clujo,
06:34the first thing that I said, hey, we go home.
06:37Now we go home and we're going to play in all field,
06:40and we've got to keep going.
06:42And they just, yes, let's go.
06:43And I told them we're going to have a full day off, whatever you guys need for the day off.
06:47You want to go play cancer pitcher, you want to go to the cage?
06:50Just talk to the pitching course, the hitting course, whatever you guys need.
06:53And just be ready for Tuesday.
06:54And that's why they, hey, finally, we're home.
06:57We're going to play at home and we're going to go out there, we're going to compete.
07:01You are obviously missing some guys.
07:03Hampton, Thorpe, Hardman, like you talked about.
07:05How challenging is it going into a series?
07:07I guess it seems it's that good missing some of your top guys.
07:10Yeah, you're missing those guys, that's a good miss.
07:14That's, as a manager, that's the miss that I want to have.
07:16I want to have those missing when those players get a call up to AAA.
07:20And when they get a call to the big league, that's my job,
07:26just to see those guys going to the next step, to the next level.
07:30And the bad missing is the guys that got hurt, and that's the players that I'm missing.
07:33But I feel really proud, not just with the players that I have here, just with the staff.
07:39They put everything just to help those players to reach their goal,
07:43to go to Scranton and big league.
07:46How cool was it to see Austin Walser this first summer last night?
07:49Oh, yeah, it was fun.
07:51Yeah, I was working on the schedule, today's schedule,
07:55and I was watching the game on the TV.
07:58And, I mean, I was waiting for him, like, yeah, come on, man,
08:00this is the right field with that, this is your field.
08:03And, I mean, that was the last inning, I think that fastball that he always crushing.
08:10I mean, it was, I remember, I just put the computer there,
08:12you know, just let me watch the TV, just trying to enjoy that moment.
08:16And I know he did it, too.
08:18I know they won at Wells.
08:19He got that feeling that he wants to win the games.
08:21But it was really special for me just to watch that life,
08:24to see Austin Walser hit a homer.
08:26So, I know you touched on it before.
08:28Like, how rewarding is it to see all those guys?
08:30Because that was the Pereira, the Dominguez.
08:32You know, they started the season here, and they're sending a lot of them through.
08:35Yeah, he's been really good the last two months.
08:38It's just not just me.
08:40All the coaches and the players here, like, yeah, I play with Dominguez.
08:42I play with Pereira here, and those guys in the big league.
08:45And I think that's a good sign for them.
08:48Like, yeah, I want to be, I can do that.
08:50I'm playing, no matter I'm playing double A, I can still can play in the big league.
08:54And that was a really, really good example for the other guys, too.
09:00Earl, I want to ask you about the top of your order.
09:02Ben, Spencer, and Trey.
09:04How about those guys' bids at the success of the club,
09:07not just on the field, but also off the field in the dugout?
09:10Yeah, I mean, those three, just unbelievable.
09:13I mean, because I know you guys, everything that you see is tools,
09:16how they play, how they do stuff.
09:18But, I mean, on the other side, I mean, I have to deal with them off the field,
09:23on the day of what they do, when we play on the road, on the road,
09:27when we play on the road, it's been very special.
09:31Those three guys, they've been really, really good teammates,
09:36just the way that they talk with the teammates.
09:39I mean, I think it's overall.
09:40I mean, all the Somerset team, all the 67 players that have been playing here,
09:45and I feel blessed having this group.
09:49You talked about playing at home.
09:51Can you talk about the atmosphere in Somerset,
09:52especially for a minor league team,
09:54what it's like playing here in the crowd that they bring out and stuff?
09:57Yeah, that's what the players, that was the first thing.
10:00This is my first time that I'm in the full season playoff that I see the good crowd.
10:08I mean, Bigganton was like a really, really good, feels like a playoff game.
10:12I remember 17, 18, 19, when we went to the playoffs, there was nobody, and we just, okay,
10:20we can make a lot with the bad, and let's just play the game.
10:23But that was a good feeling, and that's what the players that were talking.
10:27Like, okay, we go back home because we know we got a good crowd at home,
10:30and I know they're going to be supportive.
10:33They're going to be there for us.
10:35Like, every single, every play that we made, they're going to be cheering.
10:37And that's why they were thinking about, okay, this is our turn.
10:42We're going to play at home now the last two games.
10:44What kind of challenges does the Bigganton lineup kind of present to a guy like Fitz?
10:48I mean, they're pretty packed with prospects up and down the lineup.
10:51Just how challenging is it to navigate a lineup like that?
10:54Just prepare, that preparation that we have before we start the first game in Bigganton.
11:00And, I mean, Abedda have really, really three solid innings.
11:05And that was, I mean, that inning, everything that they did was in one inning.
11:09And just the same thing that we need to do here.
11:12And we got to meet this morning.
11:14Now we got to meet with the players.
11:16And we know that the team that they have right now,
11:18totally different team that we faced early in the season,
11:22that we faced, what, a month ago when we played here at home.
11:25I mean, they got Acuna, they got those guys.
11:28And, but yeah, they got a really, really good lineup.
11:30And you really have to focus and you got to win all the pitches.
11:34You got to be ready, especially with your command and HQ your pitches.