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“Baseball has a lot to teach people if they’re willing to put up with a lot of pain.”
Lindsey Caughel has faced his share of adversity in his baseball career, going from Dodgers prospect to Indy ballplayer after a shoulder injury sidetracked his development. Now, armed with the kinds of lessons adversity teaches, he’s a Mariner, and he couldn’t be happier about it.
0 - 6:00: General introductions and the requisite “how do we say your name exactly?” Lindsey talks about his off-season regimen and learning from Andrew Moore (and I call Nate Yeskie “Ned” for some reason, please don’t come after me Beaver fans) and getting involved in weighted ball training.
6:00 - 13:00: Lindsey talks about the adjustments he made from the first to the second half of the season that dropped his ERA from 5.91 to 2.08. Rather than attributing it to a mechanical change, he discusses the adjustments he made mentally, leaning on the Mariners’ mental skills coach David (not James) Franco, and the mindset he brings to the mound that turned his season around.
13:00 -18:00: Lindsey gives a brief overview of his career and the injury that led him from the Dodgers organization to the Mariners. He talks about why he decided to return to baseball after being released, what he learned from being in Indy ball, playing in Venezuela, and why he feels fortunate to have had his journey lead him to being a Mariner. The word “logjam” gets thrown around a lot.
18:00 - 22:00: Lindsey expounds on the Mariners’ organizational philosophies and what has struck him as the sharpest differences between being with the Dodgers vs. being with the Mariners, and why he’s happy to trade free-range chicken for the opportunity to be given a set of personalized pitching goals.
22:00 - 30:00 Ben asks Lindsey about the lethargic minor-league FA market and why he decided to return to the Mariners, and Lindsey plays along with our refusal to say the name of a certain Japanese two-way player. We play a game of “name the injured pitcher,” which is a sad and bad game and we’re sorry, and talk about the kind of player that the Mariners seem to be targeting in their acquisitions.
30:00- Lindsey tells us about his hobby of playing guitar, his love of West Coast music, and why it’s important to develop yourself outside of baseball. He talks about the need to set achievable goals, the gift of failure, and how small steps can add up to something big. We also ask (nicely) for him to put in a good word with fellow Stetson student Logan Gilbert. Because it’s the season, Lindsey also offers a few spring training food recs, including one that is definitely not Dr. Martin-approved.
Ed note: We are sorry for the poor audio quality at the beginning and in a few places here and there, but it gets better from the wind-tunneling part. To make up for it, Lindsey uses the words “incremental,” “dichotomy,” and “buttressed” in the interview. Be still my nerdy, word-loving heart.
Music, as chosen by Lindsay: Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix; Soul to Squeeze - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Note: If you’re searching for the podcast to subscribe (and we would love it if you did) please be aware that it is listed as simply “Lookout Landing” and not “Lookout Landing 2.0” which is understandably confusing. We’re sorry.
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