00:00I'm doing well. How are you?
00:02Well, we're doing great, man. Congrats. You did it.
00:06People are saying a lot of good things about you.
00:08They're calling you a future high-leverage reliever.
00:11How are you feeling about this whole last couple weeks?
00:16Man, it's been insane. I mean, it's a dream come true.
00:18You know, all that hard work, you know, growing up,
00:21and all the ups and downs, you know, finally got me here.
00:25So I can't really, you know, I'm just really grateful for the Rangers giving me a shot
00:30and, you know, let me show the world what I can do, you know?
00:33How adrenalizing is it to walk through that door for the first time
00:36and look up into that stadium?
00:39Oh, it was sick, dude.
00:40It was used to those minor league stadiums, man, and you're just like, you know,
00:45when you get to see it with a naked eye and just, like, walk the field,
00:48and, you know, it's just such a surreal feeling inside,
00:52and it's probably the coolest thing ever.
00:54I mean, just growing up, that's everything I dreamed of.
00:58So, yeah, it was pretty sweet, man.
01:00So Sandler told us you're like an adrenaline junkie.
01:04Is there anything else that you've done that that feeling compares to?
01:08Ah, no, dude. No, not even close.
01:11I don't think anybody can really explain that feeling,
01:15but, no, it was insane.
01:17Coolest thing ever.
01:19What are the adrenaline junkie pursuits that you have?
01:22Like, are you bungee jumping?
01:25Are you a motorboat?
01:26What are you doing?
01:28Skydiving?
01:28Honestly, I'm an adrenaline junkie just for baseball.
01:31Okay.
01:32I don't really do much.
01:34I mean, obviously, like, I'll go to amusement parks, do roller coasters,
01:37stuff like that, but, yeah, I think the adrenaline part I love is just being on the field
01:42and, you know, trying to help my team win.
01:44That's probably the best adrenaline feeling ever.
01:46So, Gavin, for those that maybe aren't familiar with your story,
01:49you're drafted by the Rangers in 2019,
01:51and then here you are, you know, doing big things with the big league club.
01:55I mean, how's this path as you reflect back on it, you know,
01:58going from a starter to the bullpen and all the changes and journey that you've gone through now?
02:02No, yeah, absolutely.
02:04You know, got drafted out of high school, came in, you know, starter.
02:09Had a really good first year in low A, and then went back to low A, struggled.
02:16Then got off to Hickory the end of that year.
02:19Third year, started in Hickory as a starter, and then I think it was like five starts.
02:23I couldn't even get out of, like, the second inning.
02:25It was bad.
02:26And Teagues, actually, the pitching coach with me now, calls me and goes,
02:31hey, we're going to move you to the bullpen.
02:34And I'm like, oh, all right, well, let's see how this goes.
02:37And then, you know, struggled a little bit at first.
02:42And then kind of at the end of my third year, started figuring it out a little bit.
02:45I mean, Velo was still, like, 93, 94, and it wasn't really kicking up quite yet.
02:50Fourth year, starting Hickory again, mid-reliever kind of guy.
02:56But that offseason, I really worked hard into, like, learning how to throw hard again.
03:02And, yeah, I started throwing, like, 96, 97, touching eight here and there.
03:07And then, yeah, I just started taking up from that.
03:09And then I started really enjoying, you know, getting that call in the eighth or the ninth inning.
03:13And it was like, dude, this is exactly where I belong.
03:15Like, this is – there's nothing else I want to do, you know.
03:19And then, yeah, started doing Pigeon Will and Hickory.
03:24Got called up to Double-A the last week of the season just to kind of go, you know, feel
03:28it out.
03:29Got to throw an inning in Double-A, started in Double-A the next year after that,
03:33and then got to Triple-A at the end of that year.
03:36And then, yeah, started in Triple-A this year and got here.
03:39So it's been one crazy journey.
03:42I have a lot of ups and downs, a lot of doubtful thoughts.
03:44And, you know, that happens.
03:46But, you know, you just got to stay true with yourself and trust God's, you know, plan.
03:50And it ended up working out, man.
03:52So it's pretty crazy.
03:54Gavin, what's the best advice you got on your journey?
03:57Because you sound like you were just riding the roller coaster with your hands in the air,
04:01screaming the whole time.
04:02But what's the best advice you got as you were going along this journey?
04:08Best advice I got was just probably just, you know, trust yourself, trust the stuff you have.
04:14And, you know, just don't let – don't let, like, other stuff around you bother you.
04:21So, like, I fell away from the love of the game probably my third year.
04:27It kind of just got, like, sad.
04:29Like, I didn't want to go to the field.
04:30It was just like, oh, like, I'm not pitching well.
04:32I need help, whatever.
04:34And, you know, I talked to my family a lot, talked to the Rangers, mental performance people.
04:40Matt, he helped me a lot.
04:42But it just kind of changed my mentally and just mentality into, like, I'm a dog.
04:47You know, I deserve to be here.
04:50You know, God put me here for a reason.
04:51Like, trust your stuff and just, you know, go day by day and just know where your feet are.
04:57Don't worry about people getting moved up.
04:59Don't worry about, you know, what's going on around you.
05:01Just focus on you.
05:02And then the love of the game came back and, you know, everything just started getting positive
05:07and positive thoughts.
05:09It's just the biggest thing would probably just get the negatives out, you know, flush them away.
05:14So that's probably the biggest thing.
05:15Talking with Rangers pitcher and certified dog Gavin Collier here in the G-Bag Nation,
05:22when you talk about getting the velo up, what are the tangible things you do to be like,
05:27okay, I'm at 93 right now.
05:28I need to be touching 98, 99, whatever.
05:30I saw you hitting a hundo the other day during the game.
05:32It was badass.
05:33What are you doing?
05:34Like, how do you go about getting the velo up?
05:38Yeah, so that offseason I worked pretty hard on, you know, long toss, pull downs, water bag stuff,
05:46just working down the mound really fast, teaching my body to have fast twitch muscle reacting
05:53and just like, I'm skinny.
05:56You know, I'm not that guy that's up there 250 pounds, just a freaking huge guy.
06:00I need to know how to move good, be in control, and also just feel free.
06:06You know, I don't want to be – can't be tense up there.
06:08Just got to breathe, feel free, and just let it eat, you know,
06:11and that's kind of what I've been doing lately is just, you know,
06:15just kind of being loose and breathing and just letting my body do what it needs to do.
06:20So that's kind of the biggest thing.
06:22So are you still at like 165?
06:26Heck no, dude.
06:28I'm at like 190 right now.
06:30There you go.
06:31I thought so.
06:33165.
06:33I'm like, dude, that's not true.
06:35That was in 2020.
06:36That's right.
06:39You've been packing on the brisket sandoz?
06:41Is that what's doing it for you?
06:43No, yeah.
06:44Freaking all that Texas barbecue has been getting me locked in.
06:47That's good stuff.
06:49Gavin Call, you're here on – was there a pitch that kind of came together for you
06:53this offseason or this spring that has set you up for this level of success,
06:57or has it just been kind of like incremental across the board?
06:59How would you describe that?
07:01Yeah, no, I think the cutter and sinker has opened up my arsenal a lot.
07:06Just having two other pitches that I can strike and for the hitter to think about,
07:10you know, if I'm out there throwing just my fastball slider, you know,
07:15it's not going to – these hitters are going to pick up on that.
07:18So I think adding the cutter last year and then bringing back the sinker this
07:21offseason was probably the biggest jump for me.
07:25How do you decide, like, which pitch to throw as far as sequencing?
07:28And are you going off a feel, or do you just trust the catcher,
07:32or is it analytics?
07:33What's that look like?
07:35Yeah, no, I mean, the Rangers do a great job pitching coaches and everybody,
07:39you know, giving us the good report before the week
07:42and just kind of going over that.
07:45And also, yeah, trusting you guys.
07:46I mean, I trust Higgy and Danny, like, for sure.
07:49So, like, they've been doing this for a long enough time.
07:51They know these guys, and I'm, you know, the rook.
07:54But I know my stuff is good, and I know that they know that.
07:58So it's, you know, I trust them with what they call.
08:00But, yeah.
08:02How about – how do you handle a rough inning?
08:05You know, I think that's one of the toughest things about being that high-leverage guy.
08:09And you said you feel at home in the eighth or ninth inning.
08:11What's different about you being able to experience that
08:15and not have it get the best of you?
08:17Yeah, I mean, I think I was lucky enough to have seven years in the minor leagues.
08:21You know, I've been through every bad outing, whatever, negative outings, whatever.
08:27I've been through it all.
08:28So I think now it's to a point where it's like, you know, it's baseball.
08:32You know, not every day we're human.
08:34You know, it's not going to be perfect every time.
08:36And just kind of accepting that, you know, it's – we can't be perfect every time.
08:41And, you know, when that does – when that bad inning does come, it's just, you know, flush it.
08:45You know, I'm a big leader, so it's like I've got to show up the next day and be ready
08:49to throw.
08:50Has there been a player that you've gotten to play with, whether it was even in the minors,
08:54that you're like, holy crap, I'm playing with this guy right now?
08:58Probably Craig Kimbrell, honestly.
09:00That was crazy last year.
09:02Just growing up in Atlanta and, you know, watching him at Turner Field and, you know,
09:06it's just him being him is probably the coolest thing ever,
09:11just meeting him and talk to him and stuff like that
09:13and just realizing that it's not different.
09:15You know, it's – he's the same as everybody, just good, really good dude
09:20and, you know, down to earth and keeps the game simple.
09:24And that's the biggest lesson I learned from him is just how simple he keeps the game.
09:27It's pretty insane.
09:28It's awesome.
09:30Have your parents been able to make it to a big league game in person yet?
09:34Well, they came to Sacramento, so not really the big league stadium yet,
09:39but they did make it out for the debut, which was absolutely awesome.
09:44Now, as a fellow Gavin myself, I have to ask you, did your mom also call you Gavi growing up?
09:51Oh, yeah.
09:52Oh, yeah.
09:53That was a big one.
09:54That was a big one for sure.
09:57How surreal is it getting to play alongside DeGrom and Evaldi and, like, how have those guys kind of assisted
10:03you?
10:04Yeah, you know, I looked up to DeGrom growing up, you know, just watching him pitch.
10:09Everyone wanted to be like him, you know, throwing 100 or, you know, and stuff like that.
10:14Yeah, and Evo, man, absolutely great human being has, you know, talked to me a lot about the game of
10:20baseball in general.
10:21You know, he's so smart, and I love just, like, being next to him and hearing him talk about the
10:25game and, like, how he thinks, and it's really cool.
10:28And then, yeah, it's, I mean, still kind of not sitting yet.
10:32Like, I walk in, I see DeGrom, or I walk in, I see Evo, I walk in, I see Corey
10:36Seager, and, you know, it's just like, what is going on?
10:39But, no, it's the coolest thing ever, you know, just having these guys as your teammates, and, you know, it's
10:46cool.
10:46It's awesome.
10:48Well, thank you, sir.
10:49Congrats, and give them hell.
10:51We'll be pulling for you.
10:53Yes, sir.
10:53Will do.
10:54Thank you all so much.
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