#512 Patrick Wicklander was Drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays

OmnipodJuicebox PodcastDexcomInterviewType 1 Diabetes

Jul 23

Patrick Wicklander was just drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays.

He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes last year.

You can always listen to the Juicebox Podcast here but the cool kids use: Apple Podcasts/iOS - Spotify - Amazon Music - Google Play/Android - iHeart Radio - Radio Public, Amazon Alexa or wherever they get audio.

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Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends, and welcome to Episode 512 of the Juicebox Podcast.

With the 200 and 51st pick, in the 2021 MLB draft, the Tampa Bay Rays have selected Patrick wick lender. And Patrick's on the show today, just a week and a half after he was drafted. It's pretty excited. He's gonna talk to you today about what it's like to have type one some of the family history has around type one playing in school, we'll go through his diagnosis story, talk about being drafted. And a lot more.

Please remember, while you're listening that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician. The word physician just got caught in my throat, I'll try again, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan are becoming bold with insulin. About Patrick, getting drafted. pretty damn cool. Let's hear about it.

Not gonna put any ads on this episode, but I am going to remind you about the advertisers. Here's why I'm doing that. The show is my job. And I'm able to treat it that way. Because of the advertisers just getting Patrick on the show in a timely fashion. After he was drafted before he goes to sign his contract and all the stuff that has to happen. A lot goes into that a lot of scheduling and trying and doing things at odd times. And because this podcast is ad supported, I can make the time for that I can be available for those things. So I'm squeezing in an extra episode here this week. So I don't really have any ads for it. But it wouldn't exist without the support of Dexcom on the pod Contour Next One blood glucose meter, g evoke hypo pen touched by type one, that relationship I have with the T one D exchange every time you guys sign up for the exchange, I get some compensation. That's not really an ad thing. They don't buy ads. But there's that even all of you who bought me a cup of coffee, you make it possible for me to be available to do this stuff. And so I appreciate you. Advertisers appreciate you. And that's why we've got a conversation today with Patrick. So that's it. There's links in the show notes and links at Juicebox Podcast comm to all of the advertisers, if you need one of those things, or you're interested in one of those things that I mentioned, just using my link is a lot of support for the show.

Patrick Wicklander 3:09
I'm Patrick Wicklander born and raised San Jose, California. Just finished my junior season. University Arkansas, left handed pitcher drafted a throne 20/51 pick overall by the Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Rays.

Scott Benner 3:23
Is that like the best thing you've ever said out loud? Honestly, yeah. I imagine I think our conversation is gonna go differently than it goes with a lot of people. So the first thing I'm interested in knowing is how old were you when you started playing baseball? or five, right? Or Five, four. Right? I remember. My son was born in February. And my wife started bothering me the spring of that he was three years old. She's like, he's got to play baseball, like because we bought him. So we bought this house right. And we were, we had to clean up the outside, there's a lot of work to do. And, and he was, you know, two, three years old, we bought him this little plastic T and a plastic bat and some balls and we stuck it in the backyard like the backyard or like a bomb went off in it. So we're like, here's a safe split space. And my wife and I are picking sticks up and we're cleaning things up and trying to get it looking like a like a yard. And we just notice, like three year old Cole is just taking the same exact swing over and over again, the ball is just going like this little plastic balls going like 45 feet into the same spot over and over again. And my wife's like he might be good at this. So you know, you go to the little league and they laugh. They're like you got to be five to play Little League Baseball. So I think we took him to the YMCA. And I was like, Come on, let him play. So he played his first game when he was four. And yesterday I was out on a football field with him while he was throwing in long toss and everything so I'm starting to get too old for it. I gotta tell you, Patrick, my pointer finger on my gloved hand is bruised and it's purple and it hurts and I don't think he throws nearly as As you do so your dad must have given up a long time ago is what I'm saying? No. So my dad, I think it was like 11 or 12 years. I can't play can't do anymore. Yeah. I was like, I remember, I remember the day I knew I shouldn't do it. And I'm still because we don't live in a baseball Mecca. Like there's, there's no one form to do it with. Like he's trying to do a thing that other people aren't trying to do, and you can't find people to. So I'm out there. So Patrick, I will tell you a secret. I know I've never said on this podcast before. When I have a catch with call. I've learned because my eyes have changed over time. That's the biggest problem, right? Your hand is not bad. It's that your vision goes to the ball sort of disappears on its path a couple of times like you see it that you don't see it, then it's back again. And it's way closer the next time you say it. So I don't let anything extraneous bother me. I stare in his eyes the entire time we're having a catch. And I think in my head every time I see his arm move, I think I swear to God, I think to myself in my head, I go catch the ball, catch the ball catch.

Patrick Wicklander 6:05
Okay, let's meet with one of our freshmen last year. So we have a freshman he's down to 99.6. So I'm not going to give him credit for 100 yet yeah, like a true freshmen. 1819 years old. I'm playing catch with them. And I'm always online, I bomb Walker. And so like, behind me, I have all these fans. I'm like, I can't miss a ball or kiss. A kid is going to the hospital.

Scott Benner 6:31
Exactly how I feel. I think if I eat this ball, first of all, he'll never do this with me again. And I don't know who else he's got to do it with. And and I am never going to live it down. And plus, it looks like it's really going to hurt. So I just think to myself, like do not for anything if the world blows up right now. Catch the ball first is how it feels. So So tell people a little bit like what is your memory of playing baseball as a child? Do you have any? Or how does it feel to you when you look back on it?

Patrick Wicklander 7:01
Gosh, I play bass. I played so much baseball. I look back on I played so much baseball. A best memory I would say is my freshman year going to the World Series in 2019. I mean it was just like the atmosphere all like festivities stuff like that. Just playing in front of that big of a crowd. Yeah. Like Don't get me wrong. You probably like you and your listeners probably seeing what our regional look like when Charlie watch it that walk like that. Go ahead to run jack. He has a basket that place was wild, right? But playing in front of the pack, TD Ameritrade, Omaha, Nebraska, there's

Scott Benner 7:44
no better feeling. Yeah, it's interesting what happens to the crowd once people start collecting. So this is not nearly as similar story. But my son was playing for like, some district title when he was a little kid. And something like 500 people showed up to this little field and they had it surrounded. And I think he was in left that day. And the ball went in the corner. And he said he was heading into the corner and there were grown men yelling at him. Don't worry, he's not going don't throw it don't drop the ball. Like he's like I was like 12 years old. And they were screaming in my face, like, let it go. Let it go. He's like he said, he said he picked the ball up. He made a throw. And he's walking back to his position. He's like, wow, these people are really excited to be here. And he said he thought more excited than I am, I think. But something about when everybody gets together and then something happens and adjust. And then something on that level. It's just crazy. You know,

Patrick Wicklander 8:40
the first time I experienced like a huge crowd like that. It was my senior year we're playing for our sectional, I would say because California is home state for some reason. And so it was our sectional title. And we're playing a low a park in my hometown of San Jose. And we're playing like one of our rival high schools. And like, the minor, the minor league team doesn't get the stadium filled out. We had this place pack like there's people standing on the side. I was like, Well, is it gonna be this is gonna be fun.

Scott Benner 9:14
Everything is feels multiplied. Did you? Have you always pitched or did you play? I mean, we're a little kid you do more than one thing, but when did you

Patrick Wicklander 9:23
just oh, I've always I've always pitched I wasn't I kid that through Harvard never really knew where I was going until I was like 12 or 13. But up until eighth grade I actually caught blue not left handed catcher.

Unknown Speaker 9:34
Yeah. We're younger growing up, like bigger than the other kids. Not not like Jurassic I was just a little taller.

Patrick Wicklander 9:43
But a weight like weight structure wise. I was a little beanpole until freshman year of college. Really? Yeah. first year of college. I weighed in at 169.

Scott Benner 9:53
Wow, how hard were you thrown at that point?

Patrick Wicklander 9:57
I'm not tonight. I was up to 94 Mark freshman year of high school like senior high school at least whether they like obviously went down because I was getting used to the workouts the way college work. I'm just like that every doing it every single day. Yeah. But then as everything had progressed, I kind of might be looking back and

Scott Benner 10:20
yeah, now you own out. So a charity is a big piece of it after that, too, right?

Patrick Wicklander 10:24
maturity is 100%. Legal. I mean, because if I was as good as all these other high school kids coming out of the draft like me myself, I was like, I know I'm not good enough. Like I wouldn't pan out and put a lot of high school, or going to college is probably the best thing I ever did.

Scott Benner 10:37
Yeah. It's, it's interesting, when you look back, at after every, I don't know how other people think about baseball, but it happens in sections. Like once you have enough time in it, and you can look back, you can see that everything that you thought was super important when your kids were 1011 1215. It was meaningless. You know, the best kid you played with when you were 15 is a is an accountant somewhere now, you know, and

Patrick Wicklander 11:00
I see I can say, the best kid when I was 15 that I played with was 15. He was the first overall

Scott Benner 11:07
unless you played with him. And I guess, but you know what I mean? Like, usually a kid who's great when they're 14 is just kind of great, because they're bigger than the other 14 year olds. And you know, and then it moves on from there. But the one piece that's interesting, I would think for you now to look back on is that even when you're being taken at college, it's still just a flyer, it's a like, maybe the Patrick kittel workout will take him, maybe this kiddle workout, and then they throw you back into a bucket again and mix you back up to see who comes out again, right is that basically.

Patrick Wicklander 11:38
So the way you call it, like the way I kind of knew college is that you kind of have the kids that aren't really like the highly scouted, highly recruited, like those kids that make their way to campus. It's like, okay, those kids are gonna have a chip on their shoulder, they're there to work, they're gonna keep their head down. It's a menace, the kids that like that, like, it's our surprise, I made it to campus because it should have made it to, like they should have been drafted, they should have assigned. And those are the kids that are feel like everything's kind of owed to them. Right. So that's what I kind of see him for just from experiences and kind of seeing that all around the country to interesting and here and here and other stories. So it's kind of you just kind of get it, you have to go into college, right? Like mindset and attitude. But I've always my dad taught me to just always like your head down on work. So I'm being taught that growing up it kind of like it kind of helped me out through college. I mean, I was fortunate to start my freshman year in the sec. Yeah. So and that's not something you do, like you hear every day.

Scott Benner 12:35
No, a lot of kids that show up and they sometimes don't play to their juniors. It's Yeah, it's a shock when it happens to you. Okay, so you throw in hard you coming out of high school, you go to a great, I mean, it's a great baseball school to go to, were there other places that you were, were talking to you like how did it almost go?

Patrick Wicklander 12:58
So I was actually committed to the Dallas Baptist, my sophomore year of high school fall like that after recommended. junior year, the pitching coach left the guy who recruited me. So my talk from my parents were like, okay, we'll see how like, wait a year, we'll see how it plays out. If the programs and everything is not gone as you plan like, well, we'll reconsider. So okay. Um, Jr. went by nothing really happened. When senior went by I got a call from the pigeonholes that recruited me. Do you know that Arkansas? He goes, Hey, how would you like to be a hot?

Scott Benner 13:39
Salt? Take it. Thanks. Sorry, sign me up. Let me just call this Dallas Baptist place real quick. Tell him I'm sorry.

Patrick Wicklander 13:48
But it was just it was a straight It was a strange process. Because it's like one of those phone calls. It's like a breakup you don't like you have like, you have to do it over the phone. Because like I was in California, you can't just walk up to the coach and be like, Hey, I'm decommitted. Yeah, I was like, This is gonna be such an awkward phone call.

Scott Benner 14:05
Did you find it that it was or did you find that this happens to him? And he just was like, All right, good luck.

Patrick Wicklander 14:12
It was kind of he the cosa dBu try to keep me while I was like, hey, like, I can't really? Yeah, it's a better fit, like a better. Yeah,

Scott Benner 14:23
it was too big of a leap.

Patrick Wicklander 14:25
And then he came when he came to the conclusion like, Okay, if this is what's best for you, good luck, then after that.

Scott Benner 14:32
Yeah. That's that. But I think it's hard to remember that coaches have like, really one job. They're just trying to win baseball games. And they don't, they don't.

Patrick Wicklander 14:43
That's the thing. I realized, too. It's the coaches care for you. And it's like, it's also a business. Right? Call it a business.

Scott Benner 14:52
Yeah. I would say that, um, I've had, I've had conversations with a number of major league players who have type one diabetes. One of them told me something privately that is stuck with me forever. And, and I don't remember the exact words, but the gist of the message was, I am a tool that they paid for. And if I can't, if I'm a hammer, they can hammer a nail anymore than they're gonna throw me in the trash and get a new hammer. And the person was not like, wasn't a sad statement, it was just like, this is how this works. You know,

Patrick Wicklander 15:26
there's nothing once you get paid based on your investment now. Yeah, that's just it's just how it is, I guess. We'll get on there's relationships. But at the end of the day, it's business.

Scott Benner 15:37
He said some of his best friends were made playing baseball, but he's also played baseball with people who he, you know, has no connection to whatsoever. They were just they were coworkers. Just a strange thing when you watch it on television, or you see it in person, because he can't imagine it. That's how it is. But but it makes sense. So you've made that that leap now, right? So I guess this is where I want to ask you. How old are you right now? 21 going on? 22? How old were you when you were diagnosed with Type 120 so a year it's only been about a year?

Patrick Wicklander 16:13
Just a little over may 23 was a year ago.

Scott Benner 16:16
Was there any indication through family lineage that type one existed in your life?

Patrick Wicklander 16:21
So a bunch of people my family have it The thing was is that I you know the symptoms like blurry vision, constant urination, calm consequently, you get all that, like he just kind of catches up to you over months. But no, mine hit me like a training two and a half, three weeks.

Scott Benner 16:40
Didn't come on slowly. So you didn't have much of a honeymoon, then your insulin needs went right to what they were.

Patrick Wicklander 16:45
No, so that was like right before diagnosis. Oh, okay. But I'm actually very low Basal, right. Like I use point eight. How much do I like point a of a unit? I am going to five to 200 pounds.

Scott Benner 17:01
Okay, how tall are you? 6262. Okay, so that's I'm gonna guess is your activity, like you work out every day? You're 100 100%.

Patrick Wicklander 17:12
Yeah. And basil rates really low. I mean, there's times where I'd like, I'll eat I have a lot of times I don't have to use more than two years of insulin

Scott Benner 17:25
for a meal.

Patrick Wicklander 17:27
Yeah, yeah. Because like my diet, it's not really carb heavy to begin with. Right. And the thing is, I just don't snack on sugar, either.

Scott Benner 17:37
Yeah, that makes it a lot easier. So a lot of people in your family like aunts, uncles, grandparents, like that kind of deal.

Patrick Wicklander 17:45
My uncle both biological grandfather's one of my biological grandmother's.

Scott Benner 17:49
Oh, wow. You were so so I'm just gonna diagnosed with Type two. So like, you were definitely getting diabetes. So it's almost like a family gift. They were passing down. But. But did you ever think about it? Like when you were growing up? Did you ever think or just hit you out of nowhere?

Patrick Wicklander 18:08
It literally hit me out of nowhere. I just thought like, I'm like, I knew diabetes is hereditary. I mean, I've lived with my uncle for a little bit too, like he lived with he overheard that he was with us because I just the way the economy was. Sounds Uh, yeah. I got to see the highs and lows of it. And I noticed hereditary, but I was like, I don't think I'll get it. I mean, I'm, I'm doing everything a doctor tells you to do to not get

Scott Benner 18:34
it. Right. You're about to listen, my son. I think his best day ever hit about 91 and a half. Okay. And he's 20. He's your age. So he's smaller than you probably by about 10 or 15 pounds and a couple of inches. So he's about six feet. And he bounces around 190 he's trying to get more. But it doesn't matter. In the end how hard you throw if you're training to do a thing. I've watched him. It's fascinating. You probably could spend three hours a day working right? At least. That's the least I spend. Yeah, yeah, that's like the bare minimum. I've seen his days go six hours in a gym like Hill recoveries. And I don't know if you use Pio balls like plyo balls and like all this stuff, and it's it just it's an immense amount of work. And I would imagine that it it helps you with your insulin as a matter of fact, we just got done doing. We just got done doing a we're doing a little series right now about variables of diabetes and one of the things we talked about was quality of food. We talked about exercise heat, you know, all that stuff. And and how it impacts your insulin usage. So, alright, so you're diagnosed at the time you're diagnosed a year ago. Was it your expectation that you might get drafted at that point.

Patrick Wicklander 19:59
So why It was more during the COVID shut down. And like I was like, Okay, I'm another year. I mean, a year is plenty of time for me to get back getting the shake. Get the COVID got me to be quite honest with you. That's how bad it was. I was like, I like taking a shower was fatigue like fatigue? Oh, you cut

out for a second. Did you cut off when you were telling me you got COVID? Oh, no, no, I was like, Wait, what? When I was diagnosed, I was like, right in the midst of the COVID shut down. Okay. was two months into it. And like, like I was 25 anywhere between 25 and 40 pounds in two and a half, three weeks. Wow. And I didn't realize what it was. So my. So I go to Urgent Care on and I'm like, please don't COVID like that's going through my head. Like I just hope I've covered at this point, right. And so the nurses running all these tests, I lay down, she draws blood and my my brother has been labored for those two and a half, three weeks. Yeah, he was very nervous. Not Not at all. Then it's like, okay, we'll speed up on these test. tests come back. She's shy. She's he walks into the office, and I'm just like, so what? Do I have? COVID? Like, please don't, please. Yeah. Because what are the other options feel like at that moment? Like, that's a big wake loss. Cancer. Yeah, like something?

Like, I was like, I need something here. Like, tell me what's going on? Yeah. And she goes, Well, do you have any family in town? I'm like, closest family houses in Texas. I'm in Arkansas at this time to write. as you as well, you need somebody out here. We're going to ambulance you to the ER, like what I have. And she says we're 90% sure you're type one diabetic. And we don't know how you're walking with these numbers. So what are the numbers? Choose your a one? A one C is 13.7. And your blood sugar's 535. And going up? Wow.

Scott Benner 21:56
scared. You feel like a little boy. Are we okay?

Patrick Wicklander 22:00
No, no, no. So growing up, I always tell my mom first want to get diabetes wins. I know it's a little a little dat jam. So I call my mom. Is it a mom? You know, he's always say like growing up. She was raised a winter. I did it. And then she goes Patrick, Daniel, wait, no, but seriously, like, and then the ER like, we're going to the ER, What do y'all need to get out here? I don't care who just get out

Scott Benner 22:26
with the insurance card, please. That, okay, that's a lot. I want to know. And if it didn't happen, it's fine. But in any point during these next couple of days, do you have the conscious thought, but I can throw a baseball really fast? What the hell? Like I was on my way to something like that, or did you just know like, I'll go, it's okay. I'll pull this together and get back to it.

Patrick Wicklander 22:53
My first question the ER was when can I get out of here? Okay, first question to the nurse. Cuz I was like, I need to get back. I mean, going. And when I was out of the hospital, or no later than a week later, I was back to working out. Good. Yeah, I saw that like the constant struggle of trying to find like, hey, what works best for me what my blood blood sugar's gonna work best. Um, but as soon as I got a hospital, I mean, it was constant trial and error with the insulin and just trying to make it work with my workouts and stuff.

Scott Benner 23:28
Yeah. How quickly Did you find technology like a pumper? A CGM. Less than

Patrick Wicklander 23:35
two months after. Okay. land up my endo is my endo. really helped me out on that one. really helped out on that one. Got it sped up for you a little bit? Yeah, so she, she was one of the other college geologists that is like associated with the school because she's not the first diabetic athlete in Arkansas, that she I'm not the first that she's had. But she goes, I understand where you're at, and especially in your career, so we're going to get this set up for you. All right, cool. Yeah, no kidding.

Scott Benner 24:05
So, you know, when you and I messaged and Originally, I asked you this question, but I'm gonna ask it to you again. I guess I know the answer. But did when teams found out you had type one, did it dissuade some of them from being interested?

Patrick Wicklander 24:21
100 that's what my agent was telling me. He goes, you're going to get some of your money cut. And it's just because you're diabetic,

Scott Benner 24:34
right? It's good because they're scared and they don't know what the what to make. Cuz you're a liability. Yeah, you become more of a risk, I guess.

Patrick Wicklander 24:42
I mean, prime examples. Garrett Mitchell in last year's five rounds, rounds like he went 20th. Overall, he was the type one diabetic. He was a I believe he was a top five player in the nation.

Scott Benner 24:52
Yeah. No, I I watched him too. And I was surprised. I mean, I guess I wasn't surprised, but it was still shocking to see him fall even as far as he did. And I mean, obviously, being picked where he was picked is amazing. But, you know, when you're thinking you're up in those top few, there's top choices. And I mean, for clarity, right, like you get picked in the top few. It's a fair amount of money. It's, it's, it's enough money that if things go completely wrong and you go, Oh, well, that didn't work out. Like, you know, like, You got it, you got a bigger safety because you know the most Right, right, it ends up being nice and that money dwindles down and plus I see the teams. I mean, they were talking a lot this year about how the teams were taking players higher that they didn't think should be that high. So then they could nickel and dime them later. Like almost like, hey, you're lucky we took you here. We're not going to pay as much money now and then took the guys from the higher ones a little lower. I don't know a lot about that. But that was interesting. Even.

Patrick Wicklander 25:51
I mean, I didn't really like dive too deep on that. It's just all a bunch of like, Guys, I was like,

well, like it kind of shocked me like how high they got, like how high they were because I like I didn't recognize some of the names. Right? I was like, Huh, I don't even my first I was like, I wonder. I wonder what he's gonna get?

Scott Benner 26:09
Yeah. So are you for just being left handed? I guess for people who don't understand, maybe I'll be wrong, but you tell me throwing as hard as you do. Left Handed is fairly uncommon, right?

Patrick Wicklander 26:26
Well, nowadays in baseball, it's not like everyone knows. Everyone's from the left side. I mean, it does. It does have its benefits. Because 70% of pitchers are right handed. Yeah. So being that 30 being part of that other 30 that you could start and still throw that hard. I mean, it does help you out. Like, longevity wise,

Scott Benner 26:49
right? Have you ever been hurt? Seriously? Knock on wood? No, I'm not gonna look for it. I just I was I mean, it's a it's a reasonable question. If you've been throwing, so does it ever. I don't know if you think of it this way. But the matriculation up to a professional athlete. So many things have to go right for you. But one of them is that your body can't give up on you. Like, there are plenty of guys that can do it and their elbows explode or, you know, like something happens? And how do you think of that? I mean, I just think of it as is randomness and luck, right? But is there a way you you think about like being here? Is there like when you put your head on the pillow at night? You're like, I can't believe this happen? Like,

Patrick Wicklander 27:34
could you actually mean like me and my buddy, were actually talking about it last night. So he got picked up in the cemetery by the angels. And like, he went our salvation in Northern California. And he got like, as soon as we both got drafted, he snapchatted me and goes, Hey, Pro, pro baseball player. And a bunch of the guys he talks to like, cuz he works out with a bunch of pro guys. And they're like, the moment you realize that the moment you're not an odd anymore as a moment, it's over. Right? So I like he said, I was like, Well, what do you mean, he goes, you gotta be a kid in the candy store the entire time. Like, that's the passion you got to have for it. And I was telling my girlfriend last night too. And I was like, I'm a professional baseball player.

Scott Benner 28:21
I'm gonna want something better for my birthday this year. That's all I'm saying. Well, I got to watch. So Cole went out to drive line for five weeks. And for him, it was just one of those things where, you know, he's, I mean, he's obviously he's a little smaller than most people being. I know, that sounds crazy to most people listening like my kids six feet tall, he weighs 190 pounds. He's a little small. And you know, like, it's a weird feeling. But he's super athletic. And he's never really been a pitcher. I think he's thrown a handful of innings in college. And you know, and in high school, but he was mainly where we kind of started to figure it out. And it got put in the back of your head a little bit was in the process that you probably didn't have to go through as much, which is trying to find a school to go play at. And you start showing up at all these their cattle calls for baseball players, and you get there and if there's 110 kids there, you can be damn sure 85 of them can't play baseball, right? And you're and you're just like what is happening, but they get to the end and there would always be more hitters and pitchers. And they would come into the dugout and be like, Look, can someone just throw five or 10 more kids, we got to get out of here. And my son was just like, Look, I'll do anything to get out of here. We've been here for three days now I'm done. I'll do it. And then we would inevitably leave those things and someone would pull them aside and say you know you had the best vilo today, but you're not listed as a pitcher. And my son would tell them just because I throw harder than those kids doesn't make me a pitcher. It makes them not a pitcher and then he would kind of just leave. But at some point you start realizing like like if you want to keep playing, you'll follow Any path, that's even like a dim possibility and as a hitter, if you don't stand up there and just mindlessly hit like a truck, you know, it's kind of it's hard to get found. So my son has, he has he has the worst, best skill. He is a pro level outfielder. Like you drop him in centerfield. And any game you've ever been in or any game, you will play it and you would think that person belongs their arm range, like he's legit, right? Just drop him in center and leave them there. I've seen him throw, I saw called throw a kid out at third base without bouncing the ball from right center from the warning track, a kid trying to tag going second to third. And he caught the ball going over his shoulder turned, planted his foot in the ground and put the ball in the third baseman's glove. And like that's, that's his arm, right? So he heads out to do this thing. And I The reason I brought it up is because I saw I went out with him for the first couple days because it was across the country. And we didn't know where we were sending them. And I was like, I'll go help you get set up, and then I'll come home, you know. So I went in one day, and there were guys that walked in there with their heads down. And they looked like old men go into work. And then they would kind of mindlessly go through this, these exercises. And then they'd put their head down and walk out again. And it made me think what your what your buddy was telling you about kind of keeping the childlike joy about it, because those guys clearly did not have that anymore. And I hope that's something you can hold on to because me there's nothing better if you can do this, you know?

Patrick Wicklander 31:40
I mean, this is something like I want to do ever since like a pic of baseball.

Scott Benner 31:45
Yeah, I remember my son telling me when he was eight years old. Before I think he knew what college was. He said, I'm gonna play baseball in college. And I was like, okay, and at that time, I wouldn't tell you he was even the 10th best baseball player on his baseball team, you know, is one of the smaller kids and I think for people who love playing, it's magical. And, and I'm, I get sad when I when you see it. I mean, it's cool to watch people ascend so high, but it's weird to watch them. When it turns into a job like I

Patrick Wicklander 32:20
that part. It's just mindless work. And it's just one of those things is like, do you want to keep doing this? Or what's the what's the whole deal here?

Scott Benner 32:29
Yeah, what's the plan? So do you? What's next? Like do you go then they put you on a team and you go play? Did they give you workouts? Like how does it work after you're drafted?

So just like I promised at the beginning, there's no ads. I'm just reminding you again, that the show is sponsored by Dexcom, makers of the G six continuous glucose monitor. By the Contour Next One blood glucose meter, the Omni pod tubeless insulin pump, g Volk, glucagon touched by type one and the T one D exchange. If you have any interest in any of those things, using my links is a big help and a big deal. There are links in the show notes of your podcast player. Links at Juicebox Podcast comm where you can type in the web addresses dexcom.com forward slash juice box on the pod.com forward slash juice box g Volk glucagon.com forward slash juice box Contour Next One that comm forward slash juice box touched by type one.org T one d exchange.org. forward slash juice box. That's all I got for you. Like how does it work after you're drafted?

Patrick Wicklander 34:03
So I'm still working out? Um, I haven't been home since Christmas. So actually, later today after I'm done with this, I'll be driving to Albuquerque to stay the night. Then tomorrow, Jeff from Albuquerque back home.

Unknown Speaker 34:15
Okay,

Patrick Wicklander 34:16
I'm there for the week, then I fly out to Tampa on Saturday. And then I'll be again all acclimated to pro ball and all that.

Scott Benner 34:26
Okay. And then did they put you because I was talking to a I was talking to a scout last summer during COVID who I only got to talk to because my kid made some crazy catch and throw in this man with a clipboard comes running across the field whose son is that? And I was like finally. And of course it never goes anywhere but you're talking and I said what are you doing with guys you're taking right now and they said we're giving them workout plans to do at home. But that's that's all they had at that point. They're like here do this. So so that kind of brings up something that I want I wanted to ask you about. So I don't imagine you listen to the podcast too much. But there's this CD that comes on. Her name is Jenny. And she's had type one for over 30 years. And we talk about kind of nuts and bolts ideas about management that we talked about in the podcast. And she was telling me, I hope she doesn't mind she was telling me a private story the other day, where at one point in the past, she was brought on to a major league team to help a guy with type one. And the first thing that she realized when she got there, she told me was that she was astounded by how poorly they ate. Like the players like the food that was like, and so I wonder, like, have you given thought to the fact that maybe you're gonna have to be in charge of that for yourself?

Patrick Wicklander 35:44
I've always been pretty good about how I eat by um, my, if it's the only thing there, I'll eat it. But I don't mind spending a few extra dollars on something a little better. We got the airport, I won't go to like some of the fast food fast food places in there unless I have to. Yeah, well, if not, I'll go to like the little sandwich kiosks. I'll spend $12 on a sandwich. That's probably the size of my hand. It sounds a little crazy. But but it's, I rather I rather eat this because one, it tastes a lot better right now. And two, it's going to be better for me,

Scott Benner 36:17
right? So you're gonna have to keep doing that, because the team's not going to put out like quality stuff. And, and you're not going to be one of those guys just got like a, like a nutritionist and the chef walking around behind? Not yet soon, Patrick. So do you have a timeline on me that will say that you froze? I'm sorry. You, you froze? You said you said you're not going to be or you want to?

Patrick Wicklander 36:47
I'm not going to be that guy with the shelf walking around. It's like, I'll bring my own food if I have to. I have no issue doing that for you.

Scott Benner 36:54
Yeah, I just think you have to. Well, listen, maybe you'll find a different situation in Tampa, but you're gonna have to look out for yourself. Like is, is the is the is the message I got from her that if you were waiting for the team to put out a absolute which is such a strange thing, right? Because you guys are like their bodies to the whole thing. But I guess it's expensive to put food out. And so it doesn't get done as well, some places as others. But yeah, no, that's, that's amazing. So you're gonna have to take so you're gonna go, you really don't do really even know what's about to happen to you. I mean, I just go to the field, do my physical best.

Patrick Wicklander 37:36
I saw I sign at Tropicana. Go back and get Okay. Tell

Scott Benner 37:41
me get guys start throwing a baseball. Did you get a phone call from the team? How does it work when you're taking in a later round like that, but now

Patrick Wicklander 37:49
I still get a phone call. It wasn't from the GM it was from the Midwest scout. So he's kind of in charge, like putting like my contract and get everything situated. So he sent me I got an email that's like, Hey, this is what we're going to be required, like, the complex dress code, what you need to bring what we're providing? How is this going to work? So very cool. And like the first question, I asked him before, like he sent that I was like, hey, how's the living gonna work? He goes a lot, the complex will put you up like a hotel. And then like, on the road, I'm not sure like, for like mentally, like, where I would start out like, I'm not he goes, I'm not 100% sure if it's a condo, or a hotel. But let me get back to you on that one. Art, because like, that's the big thing. I just want to know, like, how to get everything set up. So I'm not walking anything blind,

Scott Benner 38:47
you know, for a number of years in Trenton, New Jersey. The Yankees? Like Aaron judge played there for a while. And those guys lived with host families.

Patrick Wicklander 38:59
Like Yeah, and, um, because in San Jose, like we have the sounds of giants, and they used to host families. Yeah, I would not mind staying with a host family at all. Right?

Scott Benner 39:07
He's at least they're kind and it's homey, and you know, they might cook. But it's interesting, because so do you think a guy that goes one? Who's Ariana in the top? 10 who's probably just cashed a $6 million check sometime in the last week? Like, like, do you think he's staying with everybody else?

Patrick Wicklander 39:29
Well, 100% cuz usually those guys that go that high are not one just talented, but to like good people. Okay. Um, so just kind of see like, because a lot of them are like, like the, like, this year, it was a lot more pitchers in the top 10 I believe. But I think like two of them were teammates in college. Right? They know, it's, it's like you're used to being around other people. And like, you know how to like live on the road. So it's more All right, I don't think they get I wouldn't get put anywhere else. It's just your your another dude right now. Yeah, you gotta get after like, you know how to call wasn't

Scott Benner 40:09
Seattle at least and he was out there for those few weeks I think he might have stayed in the house with 13 to 15 guys like they each had a room but they you know everything happened in one place and everything. And I was like how'd you like it so it was fine. Like he just it was just the place to be before you went to work out a place to come take a shower and eat afterwards and stuff like that. It's really interesting.

Patrick Wicklander 40:30
How that works like, for me, like whenever I was on the road, it was always I will tell you guys scouting report, or cool be able to this time go to do that breakfast share, report, come back sleep. Or let's wake up. Let's let's get rolling.

Scott Benner 40:45
I gotta tell you guys I'm gonna generalize baseball players now are so interesting, because they're either moving 100 miles an hour, or they're sitting completely

Patrick Wicklander 40:54
100 I don't disagree with you on that one.

Scott Benner 40:59
I could watch my kid do something for six hours that I think like, I don't even know how anyone's doing that. And then it's back. There's that that rush you have to let that rush go through you like you know what I mean? Like where you're kind of jacked up, and then that goes away. And then that turns into Should I shower or eat shower or eat and then one of them happens then the other one happens and and then it's like, absolutely sedentary after that. And trying to

Patrick Wicklander 41:24
sit on the couch doing nothing, like few hours and just sleep.

Scott Benner 41:28
Yeah, exactly. It's very, it's taxing man. It's a lot and you're not having any trouble doing it with your what pump are you using?

Patrick Wicklander 41:37
within the tandem execution?

Scott Benner 41:39
Okay, so you're using control iQ? Yes, sir. Cool. That's excellent. So then that means you have the G six. Yep, yeah.

Patrick Wicklander 41:47
So wait on the g7 come up.

Scott Benner 41:49
I am interviewing someone from Dexcom on Monday, and we're gonna go over all the new stuff that's happening with G seven. I just need a release date. That's all I need. Yeah. them every time. And every time. They say that they're a publicly traded company. And they can't say stuff like that out loud. Because if they don't meet their dates, it's a problem for their stock and blah, blah, blah. And so, but I think, here's what I can tell you, if I'm talking to this person, it's getting closer because I interviewed the CEO a couple of weeks ago, and he kind of did a high level overview. But if they're letting me talk to this person to get more details, then that means things are starting to speed up. So sick. Yeah, I'm hoping for some time in this calendar year, because I mean, it's gonna be way better for, especially for active people, right? Like, it's just going to be lower profile, and they'll have leaving less of a chance to get a compression low or to to bump it on something. Um, let me ask you a little bit like, I don't know you obviously I see you through Instagram. But you appear to have a steady girlfriend. Is that right? Yes, sir. Yeah. How does she handle the diabetes thing?

Patrick Wicklander 42:53
So she wasn't with me during it. I actually met her after. I mean, so like, she'll joke all the time. She goes, if you're to like, if you're, like, going into a dumpster, I'm not gonna know what to do. I said, if I'm going into an episode is cuz I'm going to be too low. Right? So just give me some sort of sugar. As she goes, I don't know if I want to like if you're too high, I don't know if I'll be able to stab you. I said, you're going to have to

Scott Benner 43:21
listen, this is part of it. This is part of the contract. If we're going to be you could Um, there's their sponsor of the show. But g Volk, hypo pen is a glucagon pen that works very similarly to I feel like I have a sample here. But now I can't see it to just like an epi pen. So you just like click it and boom, and that's it. So if she was that worried you could get one of those. And that because I think anybody could do that.

Patrick Wicklander 43:51
No, when I was first diagnosed, my endo gave me like the nose like the sugar mill spray.

Scott Benner 43:56
Oh. I can't remember the name. Bass. Something. It's hard to be right.

Patrick Wicklander 44:02
Yeah, but I literally just I did it one time because I will get about 35 after coming back from Ole Miss. And I didn't want to restart a sensor at that time. So it is overnight and I woke up shaking. I say I need this. Let's try this. Let's figure this out.

Scott Benner 44:16
Did that make you think next time I'll put on a new sensor if it runs out?

Patrick Wicklander 44:21
No, it's not just a new sensor running. I was I got in at midnight. I'm like, I'm not staying up till 2am this start this. You sleep?

Scott Benner 44:32
Yeah. No, I hear you. It's It's It's gonna be interesting for you because you're living in a like a completely different world with diabetes than even a number of the guys that I've interviewed recently actually found the trainer pal. I can show it to you real quick. So this is obviously just a dummy. Would you pop the cap off and just and that's it. That's glucagon. So like crazy. So my daughter never used to carry blue. Got it. And then I became aware of this. And we got it for and now she carries it like before, you know, when the one with the red box and all that, like she's like, what am I gonna do with this? And she's like what? Like, my 16 year old friends are gonna figure this out. She's like, they can't figure anything out. I got to put them in charge of this. And but now now that she has that she carries her weather. But yeah, so timing, I mean, this is all going to be a thing for you, right? Like you're going to be, you've got to think that it's going to be alright, I'm going to be Yes, my question. I'm going to change in mid sent. So you have a training regimen, right? That works for you. You go there? Do you have an expectation that they're going to have ideas? Or do you have an expectation that you're just gonna keep doing what you're doing? Like, are you trying to add speed? Or what is your focus now,

Patrick Wicklander 45:49
we're not trying to add weight because if I add a weight, my velocity will go up, and I'll be able to maintain longer. And the thing is, obviously, I need to eat less in order to gain weight, gain weight, you need to eat an account calorie surplus. Yeah. So I just feel like if I'm doing that everything will be a little easier. I'm not I'm sure they had their ideas with me. But I always say kind of got adhere to what they're going to what they have. Right? So there's gonna be a bunch of bouncing ideas off one another and I'm, I'm really excited for it. Because I'm back home in Fresno one of the West Coast guys for the race is actually wanting to workout with like, he's a scout for him. So he kind of like

Scott Benner 46:34
shoot Patrick, you froze and said if I need anything, let him know. He'll be able to help you. Yeah, he'll be able help me so I mean, right now it's just kind of gaining weight. What do you give a go to to gain weight? Because I know my son talks about like how hard it is to eat that much food sometimes.

Unknown Speaker 46:51
It is.

Patrick Wicklander 46:53
Um, just a lot of chicken rice. I haven't really teriyaki chicken rice and beef fried rice.

Scott Benner 47:01
That sounds like my house make more rice make more rice make

Patrick Wicklander 47:05
it just keep putting, like what I what I needed to gain weight really fast. It was a lot of mass gainer and creatine. I still do I still take creatine but not as much as I used to. Okay,

Scott Benner 47:17
is that like a shake or something you can put into a drink.

Patrick Wicklander 47:19
So creatine, something you can base with anything I use myself my data raid, it just makes it a little more salty. That's what I got for me. But mass gainers like a protein shake. It's just over 5000 calories and a shake.

Scott Benner 47:33
Wow. I know he was he was telling me the other day. He's like, I gotta get something else. He's like, I can't keep eating all this. Because I think the thing people don't know is when you eat a lot of food. A lot of food comes out the other side too. Yeah. Not as much fun as it sounds like. Okay, is there anything? I'm not asking you that that you think I'm missing? Before we like I'm not wrapping up right? The second I don't want to make sure I'm not missing something? Is there like you have some amazing experience or something that's happened or something you'd like to share with people?

Patrick Wicklander 48:06
I'm not it's just like, the amount like I'm sure you probably seen all social media like I don't know if you follow us on Twitter. Like I had two kids. Like, only kid wrote me a letter. Like our like natural like our new station, like a big deal about it. Like after the game. Like I had a camera in my face with a bright light. I was like this is this is right. Like just just to meet the kid. I mean, really great family really like a kid was down to earth. Like you could tell he was nervous. But he was very well spoken for being how old he is. I don't think he's any older than 10. Wow. Another one like I'm sure you saw, like, I have type one too. We're close by here. I'm sure you saw that sign somewhere. Yeah. And so I asked one of our news reporters see if she could like reach out because I was like, I don't even know where to start to reach out to find this.

Scott Benner 48:55
right to say hello. Well, I would say that the thing you're doing right now talking to me that you probably don't even realize, and I only know because I've spoken to so many people is there's a calm matter of factness about you. It's a it's a blue collar vibe. Like, just keep going, that kind of thing that I think people will find comforting because this happens. You know, somebody is diagnosed, it's a child or it's an adult. And if you don't have that vibe, you could get sucked down a real crazy path, you know, out of nowhere, you start panicking and worrying and stop doing things. I mean, you're as active as a human being can be. And and you have type one, and you're doing, you're doing really well. So do you have any idea where your agency is right now? Last time I checked, it was 5.1. Yeah. Are you doing really well. So all we're really talking about here is an active reasonably healthy lifestyle, right?

Patrick Wicklander 49:52
I mean, I'm like I'm, I feel like I'm doing everything a doctor tells you to do to try to avoid trying to avoid getting down

Scott Benner 50:01
Yeah, yeah, the idea of like, this is a healthy way to live. And yeah, but anybody with anybody,

Patrick Wicklander 50:06
right? And it's just like another thing like, I just like the first few weeks, it was hard for me because I was like, this sucks. I really like it's something like I'm not like didn't really want to take care of half the time like when I woke up with alone like I really don't want to get up. Yeah, I get my guys column go off. I'm like, this is gonna piss me off. But then I mean, actually being diagnosed is probably like I've told scouts, this has been a blessing in disguise. Knock on wood haven't had any setbacks. Just everything way right? weight, room wise, baseball wise has done nothing but my numbers are up on the field has been so much better just because it's just like, it's like I got something to pay attention to. That's literally life or death. Yeah.

Scott Benner 50:58
It helps you focus, I think, is just Tom Cole last night, some of the healthiest people I've ever met in my life have diabetes, because they're so aware of themselves. You know, they're aware of what they're eating. They're aware of what they're doing these things that most people who don't have health issues, get to pretend I'm going to live forever. And you can just do whatever you want. Right? And when you suddenly realize like, if I don't do the right thing today, it's going to adversely impact me today and maybe down the road. It can give you like a real clarity and, and make you feel like paying attention to your own health is important. And I imagine you're finding that the closer attention you pay to some of the things the easier the day goes.

Patrick Wicklander 51:43
On probably that's just it's because I'm very routine driven. I'm sure you you've seen out there sound like baseball players are very routine driven. Yeah. Being able to like stick to a routine and keep it that's it's not only made my life easier, it's made everything else I do easier.

Scott Benner 52:01
How are you making out with the heat like in the set? Is it harder? Playing in a hot, like humid climate?

Patrick Wicklander 52:08
When I play, I don't shoot down. The adrenaline actually shoots me up. Okay. So during the game I love like the controller IQ guys like after eaching I checked it. I checked my ball and it was like, Oh, you're at 98 with a downward down. Downside. They're like alright, cool. Let's chug some Gatorade. It's usually the Gator that's mixed in so it's really sugary. This is gonna be great.

Scott Benner 52:34
Sam fold is the GM of the Phillies now, but he's been on a couple of times. And he and you know, had diabetes long time ago. So he would say if you see old tape of me, and I'm in centerfield chewing gum, I thought I was getting low. And if I'm chewing seeds, I thought I was okay. Like it was just sort of like that easy. You know? I think that's, it's funny because you're gonna find as you get, as you, you know, blossoming, this, people with diabetes are gonna come to you, they're gonna want to know your secret because they're gonna think there's a secret. And I'm here to tell them that I've interviewed a lot of athletes, and they don't have a secret that you don't have. Like, they're just living their life, too. I just, I just keep going. Just don't stop, right. Oh, my gosh, that's amazing. So all right. Well, I mean, I can't thank you enough for doing this is really cool. I want to wish you a ton of luck. Tampa. Sounds like a nice place to live. So hopefully,

Patrick Wicklander 53:31
I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, it's gonna be it's gonna be fun to get going.

Scott Benner 53:35
If everything goes right for you. And I just mean, like, there's no setbacks and your progress happens where it happens. When do you think you'd be ready to pitch in a pro game? How many years do you think it takes?

Patrick Wicklander 53:48
No more than a major leagues? Yeah, more than no more than three. Okay.

Scott Benner 53:53
I just think that's surprising for people like to know that beginning because football, you get drafted. And they're like, Listen, go home, pack your stuff up, get back out here and go try to sack somebody because that is a different it's a different pathway. You know,

Patrick Wicklander 54:08
similar basketball. That's one thing a lot of people like, they're like, Oh, are you in the miners? I like Yeah. Oh, the other miners I gotta, like, if you watch Major League pitchers, everything they do is very methodical. It's perfect. Sometimes. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm just like, I barely know what I'm going to eat for breakfast or dinner that night.

Scott Benner 54:29
You got things to figure out. So I'll tell you that I'm a proponent. Because I've seen baseball from the side of somebody playing it, that you when you're watching a baseball game, and you're watching a pitcher, and they're and they're just sucking. That's still one of the best baseball pitchers in the whole world right there. You know, like that's that that's something to keep in mind that if you stood up there as a regular person, and the worst Major League Baseball pitcher threw a pitch to you, you'd cry. And you know, it would be frightening. And you would cry and go Way, and you would probably swing the bat a full second and a half after the catcher caught the ball. Like it just it's crazy. What Yeah,

Patrick Wicklander 55:08
like you see people like absolutely dogging on someone who's given up like four or five runs out like, he's in the big leagues. Yeah, that's right.

Scott Benner 55:17
Those guys can hit too, by the way. It turns into a real it's a game of perfection. Like I think of baseball, like progresses, I used to tell my son, you know, I'm like, Look, the, when he was really thinking about like, I want to play in college. And he was still small, like he recruited like, this will mean something to you, I think my son recruited at like five, nine 150 pounds, right? And he's six feet 190. Now he just grew late. And so it wasn't okay. You know, for what he was trying to accomplish his skills were there, we'd go to these things. And I remember in Georgia scout from North Carolina came up to me and was like, Hey, your kid's got a ton of skill. I wish he was bigger. I was like, that doesn't make anybody happy to say Don't say that, please. You know, but like, that was the vibe. And so what I'm trying to make it feel better about it. I said, Look, man, the year you started playing Little League, when you were five, 4 million American boys started playing Little League Baseball. And this year, 9000 of them are going to go play in college. I was like, you just got to keep going. Like you just go wherever they'll take you and maybe you'll grow and maybe you won't. And you'll find out, you know. But you're up at the top. Now there's very little left to hold on to and this is just you. And I mean, how many how many minor league baseball players? Are there?

Patrick Wicklander 56:40
There's 1000. I will be playing like 1000 guys on a major league roster. Yeah. And every year, right?

Scott Benner 56:47
That's that follow kids down to 1000. Yeah. And then and they're all different ages, they're not even out of the same 4 million like the odds. They're get like, I'm not good at math. But, you know, once you're in this situation, the situation you're in right now is statistically improbable.

Patrick Wicklander 57:06
Yeah, I'm not just like not only competing against other guys in this country. I'm competing internationally.

Scott Benner 57:12
Yeah. Oh, no. You kidding me? Like, sometimes you watch baseball and like there seems like there's an endless, like supply of people who, who weren't born in America didn't go to college in America didn't play baseball in America. And you're like their that you're competing with them? You're competing with other guy. I mean, that's why I think being in the minors from college, I think it's a big deal. It really is. Because there are other countries where they would have like, saw you at 15 taking you out of school and said throw this baseball on, if your arm doesn't blow up, we're gonna see if we can't get you a job one day. Like, you still had to live a life and go to school and hang out at the mall and stuff like that.

Patrick Wicklander 57:54
You know what I mean? No, no, I totally get why the international people signed so early. Like I get it. But um, I've seen it firsthand. It's just, it's, it's the way they live. Yeah. No, I understand it. And they love playing baseball, too. Yeah. Oh, they that's why they play every second night. They're the number one guy on the team. I love it. I love the flair.

Scott Benner 58:18
It's hilarious. And I it's good for baseball too, by the way, a couple years ago when they tried to like PR campaign about having fun. I thought that's a good idea. Because, you know, it's not 1950 and I don't expect these out guys. They'll walk around like, you know, they're super serious. They hit the ball, and then they just wander around that. It's it's fun watching those guys have a good time while they're playing. It's good for the sport. But I will say this. I think I think that changing baseball for a market that wants the game to go faster is not a great idea. Like I think baseball is great for people who love baseball. You shouldn't make it something else. Because then I don't know that I would like it. That makes sense.

Patrick Wicklander 59:03
Yeah, um, I see your view. It's just one of those things is like, trying to get grow the game. Yeah, but you see, like, before everything happened with Trevor, like you like if you watch his vlogs that's what got me through COVID just that excitement. Yeah, it's just like, this is the inside life of a baseball player for the reds. Right. And it was like one of the things this is really cool to watch like his whole channel that he started. It was just like, when I couldn't do it. I could watch it.

Scott Benner 59:33
No, I just think I think sometimes baseball games take four hours and too bad if you don't like it. And twice a year. The backup left fielder is going to be pitching in the 15th inning and too bad if you don't like that's the game, you know.

Patrick Wicklander 59:47
So I wouldn't position players purchase the best thing in the world, especially in Major League Baseball.

Scott Benner 59:51
So funny. A couple of years ago, Velasquez had to come in and play left field for the Phillies and he made some crazy catches. Through a guy, how did Whoa. It's amazing. Like Like, that was that was the probably the only thing I remember from that year. And that's the thing they want to get rid of. And I'm like, No, like, there's something about it. Listen, if you ever tried to hit a fastball, or you ever tried to throw one pass somebody, you would know that when it's 95 degrees outside, and there's sweat rolling down your back, and you can't kind of find the spot where your foot fits that you need a second before you're going to throw this ball. Because if you throw it wrong, that it's something bad's gonna happen in a second. And it's, and guys got to be able to step out of the box and tighten their gloves again. And that might seem silly to you. But there's a way that bat feels in their hand, you know, and they needed to be like that before they swing. And I don't know, there's something about that I find kind of poetic, and I like it. So anyway, I hope it's that way, I hope you play forever. And I hope it's that way. I hope, moreover, that, um, you might come back and do this again sometime. Because it would be interesting to see how it grows. And I would love to when you first mentioned, messaged me, you go, Yeah, like, I hosted like one of the things diabetic. So I go look at I was like, holy crap. Like, just the amount of episodes I'm gonna listen, like, I'm scrolling through Spotify. I'm like, wow, there's a lot there. I know, I said, I said something like, because you have to try to imagine if you're me, you're reaching out to a person you don't know. In most expectations, I had that in a couple of weeks from then you're gonna get drafted. And I'm like, you know, can you come on my diabetes podcast, which is a it's a, it's a weird thing to say out loud. So I think I gave you some stats about the podcast. And I said, I know that's a weird flex. You don't hear a lot of people don't know, you'll hear a lot of people going, may I tell you about the downloads on my diabetes podcast. But I just wanted you to know you won't be wasting your time that people would hear you, you know? No, I appreciate it. That's awesome. That's a weird place. Hey, I'd be typing every every. See, I need to hang out with more guys. Like you really get to tell people. I would if I was you, I would write how fast I threw on my forehead and a sharpie. So as I approached people, they were aware that

hey, huge thanks to Patrick for coming on the show and sharing all of that, and I want to wish him a ton of success in Major League Baseball. If you'd like to follow Patrick, he's on Instagram. His handle is at Patrick wick lander. It's spelled just like it sounds. Give him a follow. Chairman. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Juicebox Podcast. Don't forget the sponsors if you need them, use my links. That'd be terrific. If you're listening right now, for the first time, subscribe in your podcast app or following your podcast app. Some of them use different words. If you're having trouble finding a podcast app, there's a bunch of links that Juicebox Podcast com