Episode 106: Gabe Speier

[00:00:00] Welcome to episode number 106 of the Marine Layer podcast.

[00:00:04] We welcome on Mariners reliever,

[00:00:05] Gabe Spire for a conversation about some Mariners.

[00:00:08] Bullpen stories, his evolution

[00:00:10] within the Mariners pitching system,

[00:00:13] and the time he hit a home run in the minor leagues.

[00:00:15] We'll also discuss some of the miracle work

[00:00:17] Scott Service did this off season,

[00:00:19] keeping the team morale together

[00:00:21] and getting them ready for this 2024 season.

[00:00:25] Here's your reminder before we start the show,

[00:00:26] make sure to download our episodes if you're listening, What did I say? What did I say? Doesn't that guy have a chance to get up to the majors by the end of this year? Yeah, he does. He does. And that swing, I will say that thing is sweet and high definition. It is a crispy swing and not an easy swing to put as a left hander, but he managed to do that.

[00:01:40] How storybook is it for Mitch?

[00:01:42] First at bat back?

[00:01:43] I mean, boom.

[00:01:46] That was going to be my other one, but I figured you were going to take that one.

[00:01:48] Yeah, that's not good. And we're sitting here trying to trying to trying to fantasize that the Mariners third base option could actually be better than Matt Chapman as it's currently stated.

[00:03:02] And well, Luis Arias can't throw ball across the diamond then.

[00:03:06] It's not gonna be the case.

[00:03:08] I'm say. Yeah, it's nice to see the final guy

[00:04:22] in Munoz look about as good as he's looked're not all basketball players. Well, I was going to say, who was the starting five that got named when we asked this question at the field earlier in the year? Well, I think Julio put himself in there and he said, I think he said Kirby, couple guys said Cal. Yeah, Saucedo is going to be in there.

[00:05:41] Yeah.

[00:05:42] Well, I think Sauce put himself in there.

[00:05:44] But I don't think Sauce is getting left out of the starting lineup.

[00:05:47] He's not going to let anyone let that happen. to see amazing to see the young guys show out here early in spring training. Again, for a system that doesn't have very many major league ready guys, it's cool to see the guys a step below that continuing to progress and especially again getting to watch them on network television quality cameras is just a treat because once you go down to Everett and Arkansas it is

[00:07:01] certainly not that so we appreciate the opportunity to get to look at them in the processes behind all this because we don't want questions behind closed doors with players saying, what are we doing? Why is this happening? Why is Gino getting traded away? Why is Kelmet getting traded away? Like they sat down and said, this is what's going to happen. Bear with us. And now everybody not only seems like they're on the same page. People are fired up. Like we talked about on Friday, people are coming into this spring training,

[00:08:22] being like, let's go.

[00:08:23] Everybody's fired up to work.

[00:08:24] Everybody's happy with, and in the end with the moves that got made.

[00:09:22] and they're like, what are we doing? But it's Scott's job to get on a plane again

[00:09:25] and go all the way to the DR to talk with Luis Castillo,

[00:09:29] say, listen, here's what we're doing.

[00:09:32] Here's what we're up against.

[00:09:33] Here's how we're going to try and fix it.

[00:09:35] Here's the moves we're going to knock out.

[00:09:37] And this is a group effort as well because Scott can talk all he wants,

[00:09:41] but Jerry and Justin need to come back behind him and deliver,

[00:09:44] and they certainly did. Like I can't have enough praise like how many managers in baseball want to put in that much effort with their roster in the offseason? Not many, not many. And in this job that Scott did this offseason could be the difference in like guys wanting to stay here and sign extensions. It's like Scott staying when you want that guy's your manager.

[00:11:00] Like if you're Cal Raleigh and you want to sign an extension.

[00:11:03] Like, I love that dude.

[00:11:05] I mean, look at the effort he did with all that he went and saw Julio? I think it was after. Yeah. So I think it was pretty cool how Scott talked about he went to Tampa to go watch Julio work out and not only did Scott say, wow, like these are, these are workouts like, like it's not just, these aren't just some players running around and doing some agility drills. No Julio is like pushing himself to the absolute limit paired with Julio

[00:12:22] saying he felt like it was cool to have Scott see him work out.

[00:12:25] So then Julio could say, yeah, now's like, well, good team chemistry. We have a good lineup. We have

[00:13:41] the best pitching staff in the American League. You know, the leaders who he went and met with, he met with JP and Ty France in Seattle. He met with Logan Gilbert and Julio in Florida. He met with Luis and the Dominican Republic. And with Cal, I think that one might have just been a phone call. It might have been so Cal was in the process of moving to Arizona at

[00:15:00] that point when I called him. So I think a hard time trusting So when stuff like this happens like well, this can't be happening around me right now And he said it felt very refreshing to have Scott come in there and say no, we're good. We're good, dude I think we've also learned if anything if anything we've learned about this offseason

[00:16:22] We have learned JP entire even closer friends than I realized I knew those guys were friends

[00:17:22] It's from Monday through Friday, 2 to 6 pm. It includes $3 domestic beers, $4 Mannys Blue Moons, $4 Mack and Jacks, $4 Wells, and $4

[00:17:28] Housewine.

[00:17:29] Get all that and have an awesome time with your friends over at Pagachas Pub 85 in Kirkland.

[00:17:36] I was a big fan of this conversation with Gabe Speyer.

[00:17:39] I want to say no, I can't rank any of these interviews, but another really really really

[00:17:45] good conversation with another Mariners reliever. with Gabe pretty high is, look, you're going to tee me up to talk about peanut butter and jelly. You're, you're winning the key to my heart here. So shout out to you, Gabe. You didn't know it when you brought it up, but you just went way up the totem pole. No, but in all seriousness, really, really fun conversation. Like this, this bullpen, I think, I think everybody knows from afar

[00:19:00] that it's a very easy group of guys to root for. Factor is less expensive than takeout and every meal is dietician approved

[00:20:21] to be nutritious and delicious.

[00:20:23] Get as much or as little as you need

[00:20:26] by choosing six to 18 meals per week. real person. Okay, what I'm picking up on this is most of this bullpen is open-minded to listening to this argument, but I'm getting the feeling that Sauce is very, very much on one side of this and everybody else is like, well, we can listen to the argument, but it's not as definitive as he is. Yeah, I mean, Sauce likes to joke around a lot and I don't know how serious he is on the matter, but he loves to

[00:22:46] that like, who's the player that's like the red seed out at Fenway, like the seven foot home run Ted Williams?

[00:22:51] Yeah, there's absolutely no shot that that happened. We went out

[00:22:54] there and I think sauce mentioned it like they put a

[00:22:57] metal bat and big papi's hands and he couldn't even get it

[00:23:00] close. I just I don't see how that could be possible.

[00:24:08] Then when he told you guys he got lost after the Kraken game you guys all went to, did you believe him or did you think he was full crap? Oh no, that was 100%. So that's a true story. 100% believe him. Yeah, that was crazy. So we went to the Kraken playoff game. It was awesome. They won, it was a super high score game.our either from what he explained to us. It was for like five hours. He couldn't figure out what he was trying to do. Yeah. Yeah, that's crazy. I mean, we had a good time at the game. I mean, I'm not going to say he was like, he was, you know, he probably had a couple drinks. We all did. It was, you know, we had a good team outing and yeah, it was super unfortunate

[00:25:43] that that happened to him, but described you as part of this trade. The Shelby Miller trade, Dan Z Swanson Shelby Miller trade very especially of us who's interacted with a lot of Diamondbacks fans, not a very impactful trade for them not in trades, you know, I was a minor league guy being involved in like some significant major league trade. So for me, it was really cool. I mean, I, you know, getting traded for the first overall pick, I mean, not just me for him, but being involved in that was, it was super cool.

[00:28:20] I mean, I was like a 19, 20 year old kid being involved in these trades and it was, it was

[00:28:25] for me, it's not easy to get traded. Thankfully, you know, the majority, I think three of the four were during the offseason. So it wasn't like I had to pack up and didn't leave, but it definitely was tough at times, like feeling like, excuse me, just getting comfortable in an organization, like making

[00:29:40] friends and getting comfortable with, you know, when you get traded, that means the organization wants you and it's a good feeling. So let's piggyback off that a little bit. You said the most excited you've been of any of these acquisitions is when the Mariners claimed you last year. We talked to Topa and saw us, a couple other guys,

[00:31:01] who said when they got here

[00:31:03] and they had their first meeting or two

[00:31:05] with the team, with the pitching group,

[00:31:07] and they sat them down and said, the big leagues again. So when I was DFA and the Mariners claimed me, I was like, let's go. Not only am I getting another chance, but I'm getting another chance with a team that's, well, it was just in the playoffs last year. This is awesome. And to answer your question about that first initial meeting with the Mariners, with Woody, he was just like, listen, we picked you up.

[00:32:23] I was expecting, hey, we want you to change the grip on your was almost strictly forcing slider to left-hand hitters. And I've always been decent at getting left-hand hitters out, but he said, yeah, why don't you throw your sinker to lefties? And I was just like, well, because nobody's ever told me to do that. And he's like, well, you need to do that.

[00:33:41] Because there was like a small saying, I had thrown some sinkers to lefties.

[00:33:44] And he's like, everyone you've thrown, nobody's hit it hard.

[00:33:47] Like you've maybe given up one hole. I had had some success in the big leagues with the Royals. But yeah, last year, that first month, I didn't give up a run the first month of the season. I was like, I didn't do this. I belong here. And yeah, so I kind of realized it quick in the first month, I'd say. And it wasn't just your stuff, Gabe, that ticked up.

[00:35:00] It was the stat that lived in infamy last year

[00:35:03] for this pitching staff.

[00:35:04] It's throwing first pitch strikes.

[00:35:06] You were the guy, 78%. it's like 380 and if you go to One two, it's like 180 and it they just showed me the numbers and I was just like this is crazy like I need to do I need to be in these counts as often as possible and You know, I'm not Andres Munoz or Matt brash. I don't throw a hundred I I Do believe in my stuff my dogs are here. I do believe in my stuff. I

[00:36:25] Think I have really good stuff, but were more aggressive you know I'd say and I was able to maybe get a little more chase out of the zone because of that and the rest of your arsenal it sounds like it's evolving a little bit you mentioned on the hot stove earlier this week that you're looking to add a cutter have been

[00:37:42] working on a cutter and a split change it moves more like a change up the grip is just a split so it's not a true splitter so I just call it a split change and is that a splitter judged in vertical movement like I would say so and yeah I just you know I don't know

[00:39:01] what the like thresholds are for like calling if it's a split change or a I mean, as soon as we traded for him, I watched a video of him throwing and he's obviously electric. And, you know, Topa was too, but I think, you know, changing those two, I think we're going to be in a really good spot. With the big three, you know, Munoz, Brash and Santos, I think, and then, you know, me

[00:40:22] and Saus and some other guys, Thornton, behind him, it's going to be, I wouldn't want to

[00:40:28] hit against us. and then how he's able to throw it as hard as he does, like 90, sometimes 91, maybe even 92. It's pretty amazing. And, you know, Brash, he's not like a massive dude. He's just super wiry. He's a really good athlete. And he gets down the mountain faster than anybody. I think he's just super snappy athlete

[00:41:42] and he's fun to watch.

[00:41:45] If you were to step into the box against Matt Brash's slider, I'm two for nine in my professional career with a single and home run. The first swing I ever took in throwball, I hit a home run. It's like one of my claim to fame moments. So I think I'd be in it. Yeah. Was it like a good hitters environment?

[00:43:02] Was the wind blowing?

[00:43:03] Did you just like, did you crank this thing?

[00:43:06] I did not crank it. and it was like red. And I was like, Oh, this one looks cool. And it was like a 34. And probably too much, too, too much wood for me to be swinging. But yeah, so brand new bat one swing home run. So there's one mark on the bat. And I'll have that back home. It's like up on the mantle. What it sounds like is you probably didn't even get to bat flip that.

[00:44:21] No, no, I hit it. The right fielder startedining some nicknames over the last year, haven't you? Yeah, I've been nicknamed the nickname guy. So if we're gonna go through some here, Gabe, I want a little reasoning behind why

[00:45:40] you decided on some of these nicknames.

[00:45:43] So first of all, I think you named yourself, right?

[00:45:46] Lil' Unit?

[00:45:48] No, that was some say came up with that one. I'm very intrigued by Matt Brash's little slab that has something to do with Canadian bacon, I believe. Yeah. That one kind of took a little weird turn. I was like, he's Canadian. What's like, what do I think of when I think of Canada? Canadian bacon.

[00:47:00] I was like, little bacon, little, and I was like, I guess a slab of bacon.

[00:47:06] Yeah, little slab.

[00:47:07] So that's how I said it. But Big Loaf has nothing to do with Justin Topa. It was just kind of a funny name that everyone laughed at. Do we got any other ideas for some nicknames this year? Yeah, I don't you know right now. I'm gonna have to sit down and think on it. I gotta get Munoz still doesn't have one.

[00:48:24] And obviously Santos is gonna need one.

[00:49:40] But yeah, so I'm gonna have to think on that Uncrustables are good, but I feel like I have a little bit more, or sorry, a little bit less guilt if I don't go to the store and buy the Uncrustables. If I actually make them at home, there's a sense like, all right, it's a tad little bit healthier, even though it's probably like very marginal. So it just makes myself feel a little better I make them at home. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you can't be a PB&J.

[00:49:42] I lived off those in the mining and late and just in,

[00:49:45] you know, I definitely got sick of them at some point,

[00:49:47] but I still, I've never been told that, but I think it makes sense. I kind of have that scowl about me maybe. Yeah, I like to think of myself as a mellow, you know, nice guy. But yeah, definitely when I'm out there, I turn into a different person. I mean, you know, I'm going to do everything I can to get you out and I have an intensity

[00:51:05] behind it.

[00:51:06] But off the field, I'm a pretty mellow guy. I really try to pride myself on being a nice human being. And I think it takes more effort to be mean than it does to be nice. It's just so easy to be nice to people. So it doesn't make sense to me when people are like that. So even I've been through some situations where in AAA you see guys get sent down super

[00:52:23] salty and they don't talk to anybody.

[00:52:25] They're always in a bad mood. Your go-to pregame and postgame meal is what? Ooh. I love carbs. I love bread and pasta and all that fun stuff. Pre and postgame. So anything that involves carbs. Like I said, pasta, pizza, stuff like that.

[00:53:42] Is there a key though to like, because you short. So you could do it right before you punt and then right inside the five. Yeah. I could like hide one in my gloves or something. There you go.

[00:55:00] No, I'm, I'm pretty good with my routine.

[00:55:02] I'm happy with it.

[00:55:03] So, but like I said, if, if somebody has it, like, can't hurt to try.

[00:56:01] He's always a Tim Riggins guy. Oh yeah, Tim Riggins.

[00:56:03] Yeah, he easily takes the cake.

[00:56:06] Did you guys not think that show was corny?

[00:56:08] No.

[00:56:09] I mean, yeah, I mean, maybe a little,

[00:56:10] but sometimes corny's good, you know?

[00:56:12] Yeah.

[00:56:12] Like Cobra Kai, that show.

[00:56:14] Oh yeah, that's as corny as it gets,

[00:56:16] but yeah, it's still excellent.

[00:56:18] It's watchable, and it's like one of those shows

[00:56:21] you can kind of have on the background,

[00:56:22] but it definitely has its place, so.

[00:56:25] Okay, I will say, the corny part of Friday Night Lights,

[00:56:27] my brother talks about this nonstop, better than first class. You can't beat it. It's really nice. I know Seattle is kind of up in the top corner and the flights are longer for us, but you're new, and it's really nice. The food that they serve there is awesome. I had a really good experience there. So I'd say that, you know, New York. Okay, Gabe, next question, your favorite all-time baseball player?

[00:59:01] This one's easy for me.

[00:59:03] I grew up a huge giant since San Francisco,

[00:59:06] and I grew up when my boss was doing his thing. got three like he's just he's unbelievable like the homerun but the plate discipline like yeah it was better than his power yeah i mean if you really think about it he really he probably got one good pitch to hit a game yeah maybe not even maybe not even and he just never missed

[01:00:21] it's just crazy how he was able to put up me in my career and you know it would be a

[01:01:43] lot of fun to be on that side of the on that side of things. Well never say never up the show a word from BetterHelp. Is something interfering with your happiness or preventing you from achieving your goals? Regardless if you have a clinical mental health issue like depression or anxiety, or you're just a human who lives in this world who's going through a hard time, therapy can give you the tools to approach your life in a very different way. That's why I'm excited to tell you about today's sponsor, BetterHelp.

[01:03:00] BetterHelp's mission is to make therapy more affordable and more accessible. And this is

[01:03:04] an important mission because finding a therapist can be really feedback is appreciated and you're doing us a big favor. Like, comment, subscribe on YouTube. That big red subscribe button. Just take one second, two seconds, just hit it. Another big, big, big solid you guys do for us if you just hit subscribe. And then check us out on social media. We're on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube shorts at Marine Layer Pod. That's TJ. I'm Lyle. As always, we thank you guys for tuning in.

[01:04:23] We'll talk to you soon.