Hi everybody. This is Lois Sonstegard. I’m here today with Gary Varsho. He’s a scout for the Pittsburgh pirates and a professional baseball player himself. He’s played with the Pittsburgh pirates and he’s here today to talk with us about how does he scout, because scouting is so much like what we do with talent. In the business world when we’re lucky to hire people. So Gary, I’ll let you say hello and then we’ll get started.

Well, it’s a pleasure to be with you again Lois. You know, it’s, it’s our baseball season right now and I’m in full force and right now I’m in Indianapolis, Indiana. Trying to scout the Yankees triple A team. So, I just got done finishing a couple of reports on players I saw last night. So I’m in full swing, so I’m in scouting mode. So I hope you enjoy this. I hope you enjoy the information that we can share it today.

So Gary’s, what fascinates me so much as I’ve talked with you is the similarities between what you do with scouting and how we look in business for employees. How do we recruit the talent that we need to do the jobs that we really need to done and, our organizations. So can you tell me a little bit about what, what do you do as a scout and how do you go about it? Because it’s fascinating. I think.

Well this is my eighth year of scouting and for a long time I was in uniform, as a coach instructor. And so when you’re teaching in a, I’m an a base of running out field hitting guy. And when you’re teaching, you want your young pupils to understand, situations, the fundamentals, the groundwork, of doing certain certain things and the game starts and then you’re in compete mode. So we are competing, so you’re in the dugout competing. So, and then you analyze the game and you’re competing the game and you’re looking at the scoreboard and you’re trying to get your team to win a, then the next day rolls around and you’re back to teaching mode. Understanding what happened did happen well, what did happen well? Well, the scouting side of it totally change your perspective of the game because you are competing with other scouts and other organizations for players per se.

But realistically, what I have learned through scouting is trying now to evaluate each player that’s on the fields. For example, Scranton, Real Riders, the AAA affiliate, Yankees. My job as I go in here, I have to evaluate all told five players. When I say evaluate, I evaluate first of all their skillsets and what they do and how they could potentially be a major league value. And when I say major league value, we rate everybody on it. On a scale from 20 to 80 20 being not a prospect, a lower level does not have value at the major league level to a 50 who is a bonafide everyday major league players. And those players are valuable. If you’re a 50 in our scale, you can play on the field every day. Obviously the scale escalates from 50 to two really 70 or 80 however you want to go.

But those are guys that are special. The Mike [inaudible] of the world, the price Harper’s of the world, Manny Machado’s on and the list goes on and on up there. So, but we’re really looking for the realistically part. Well, I am not. I know who the Allstars are. That’s not scouting. Those are easy ones. What scouting really comes down to is this, how can I find value and specific players that may be borderline, probably minor league guys at triple a they might top out might have a little big league value. My job is deciphered the middle path of what does this guy do, how does he do what is there value in here? And remember, at a major league level it’s just not 25 players. We need, we need at least 10 more players in the minor leagues that are going to help us in small snippets, which has got probably more value to the Pittsburgh pirates and other organizations as well that can help in small snippets. So basically scouting comes down to, I’m evaluating every player and trying to decipher between what they are, what they really are for a measly guy, you scale.

So talk a little bit more about those small snippets because what’s you’re looking for is maybe from, as I understand it, not necessarily a person who can do everything but who has a specific unique contribution that may be small but it’s something you need in order to round out the team so it can be successful. Is that correct?

Correct! So when evaluating players, and again I’ve been very blessed of doing a lot of things. I’ve coached in the big league level, I’ve coached at the minor league level, I’ve taught at the minor league level. So the scouting kind of makes it full realm of my, my portfolio so to speak because I’ve done a lot of this on the field, off the field. So when I’m evaluating a skillset, I’m looking for things, okay, what does this guy do it in? One of the things I always have to look for first is you have to show me a tool. A tool means as a baseball player that’s not a pitcher, but non pitcher can he run? Can he hit? Can he hit for power. Can he throw, Can he field? Show me a tool because if I don’t see a tool within his tool box, therefore there’s no major league value.

I mean I’m going to see a tool. You’ve got to show me a major league average tool. You have to show me something and something I can grow off of. So when I see this tool, I’m going, okay, how does this tool apply to the game? Let’s say for example, a guidance for power, which are all interested in power, power numbers, home runs. But the problem is that this tool that does young player has, doesn’t necessarily parlay a lot in the game. Once in a while he’ll hit a home run but we’ll have four strike outs to every hit he might get in the strikeouts end up. So does this tool really play well for us in the future? There’s also guys that maybe not hit very well, but are very good gloveman that can play shortstop. When you don’t have a shortstop value, you can really play shortstop at the major league level.

You have just created value for yourself. You can show me defensive tendencies that show me that, yeah, I can trust you as a shortstop if we needed you at the major league level for a 10 day, two week, maybe a month period. So I have to separate the tools and we’re this, do these young men fit from a pitching standpoint and we’re always looking for pitching. What does this young man do? Not Again, like the people I’m looking at necessarily are guys that are going triple AAA players, they’re going to be a AAA more than they are going to be in the major leagues. But there’s certain guys that if we can, if we see the tool, if we see a really good pitch and he can show flashes of it, can we get more out of that down the road? And again, he’s maybe stuck in an organization where he’s been told one thing.

And it’s interesting as a player travels from organization to organization, organization, all of a sudden the light bulb clicks and all of a sudden he’s in the major leagues and sometimes he’s in the major leagues for more than just a two week period. All of a sudden the light bulb goes on. Somebody had said something to him and he’s often rolling and helping a major league club and actually a winning major league club. So finding the tools first is the most important part. Now again, I’m going to go on a three tangents. The next thing is when I see the tool, is this guy willing to adapt? Is this guy willing to change just enough or is he athletically inclined enough to change? Why? And I’ve got to guess it’s an educated guess. Is this guy athletic enough to potentially maybe understand that was a little bit of tinkering, a little bit of whatever it is, hand placement, stance up pitcher slot wherever the arm comes out of, could he do it and I’m, I’m saying yes or no, so I see a tool, I see it flashes. I see. That may be potentially she can adapt to this. That’s another plus. And of course the third one, which is the most toughest ones, the willingness, and I think that’s one thing you’ve got to dig deep for, is this guy willing to work harder as they have a willingness to drive to get to the big leagues. And I think that’s where the behavioral things come into play. And also talking to other people.

I wanna just go back to adaptability for a moment because part of what you’re saying with that is they’re willing to change out a skill. You’re seeing that that skill, if it were adapted, could be useful to another team. But it’s also the players being able to hear things as they’re being told so they know how to adapt a strength that they may be already have. Maybe a strength that nobody has really seen that they’ve not been able to, to demonstrate.

Absolutely. Right. So for example, we’re so caught up in our industry with a power pitching, that means guys, you throw 94 to 97 to 98 we’d get all lost in that big power. but we forget the guys who can pitch that in, which I mean they can throw the ball where they want to and may not have flash to it. but he can get the job done and he can do some things that maybe I feel like is a big plus for us as opposed to somebody else not seeing it because our industry changes a lot. Our industry has gone from pitchability guys who could command, when I say command, they get throw the ball to either side of the plate with a curve ball, change up, whatever. We’ve gotten away from that. We’ve gotten away from guys. The harder you throw, the better chance you have to make it and I’m telling you that it’s gonna come back full swing. It’s gonna come back the guys who can pitch, those are your more successful people. They have an understanding, but again, adaptability. Adaptability is a big one and when I think you get a different, when you get a different voice, what do you get somebody that can get to you and saying, you know what? What you’re doing is plenty good. Let’s harvest what you do well. Let’s do your strengths. I don’t think you’re pitching to your strength. I don’t think you’re hitting to your strength. You’re trying to do more than what’s really in there. So if we could just get back to the person who you are and I get back to us saying, I know thyself, what do you do well? And so I see what you do well, but you’re trying to manipulate everything else trying to do with these other things I was supposed to do this one thing well and master the skill and you have the other intangibles that go with it. So to me it’s like having a really good boss going, you know what I see what you do well. And you know what? You don’t have to put extra mustard on. You don’t have to work so hard. Stay with the course. And you know what? Let’s just see what happens. And I think what ends up happening a lot of times is when we take the adrenaline out of performing and allow the person to relax and stay at a very level head at scale with adaptability, understanding that I can do this. Trust, once you trust yourself and knowing you can do this, everything ends up falling into place a little bit and then you have a way to, when things don’t go well, you have a fallback.

Look, I need to do this and this’ll get me back on track. And again, very hard to do it in an Adrenalin flown competitive society. But realistically, the guys who are really good at our game and the organizations that are really good, they look at an employee, they look at a player and going, I see this. This is the picture that I paid and I see this guy has this player or whatever. It’d be a female player, whatever has plenty of strengths. I’m going to take that straight that he has and I’m going to add to it a little bit and understanding of this is his fallback, but I know he can add a little bit more here and there, but I think a lot of people don’t understand what I do well! I want to do this well and I can add to it a little bit in the adaptability comes back sometimes Lois really to, what is it you do well as opposed to trying to do these all these other things, man, you can do this really well.

We can add to that once we get this done. So you see the ability to me is having a person that’s a good listener can understand what you’re talking to them explaining. Maybe it’s a visual, but explaining them what you do well and then we’re going to adapt all this strength, not trying to, you’re trying to adapt and doing all these other things as opposed to just keeping it simple. Do what you do well and we’ll adapt off what you have from what you do really do while you’re mastering thing. And you can do all of these other components. So, but there are some guys that are just not very adaptable. And I say that they’re not really, I’m in triple a baseball and amazes me today that I see the same players year after year after year and they’re in triple a baseball trying to get to the major league level.

You have to change. You’re not getting to where you’re going. You’re not getting, you’re not staying in the major leagues. You’re, you’re still in AAA. Why aren’t you adapting? And of course that becomes a red flag for me when I see this player and he’s struggling along, he’s got a skillset, can run can feel, can hit a little bit, but it doesn’t play at the big leagues. Why aren’t you adapting? And that’s a big red flag for me because we have these prospects that come through and they’re back in AAA back in AAA, back into triple AAA. You need to change. And if you’re not willing to adapt and change, therefore as time goes on, you really become pigeonholed and all the other skeletons, TMCs, he’s not willing to change, can change his stance, can’t change his delivery, and all of a sudden you’ve fallen to, you’re just going to be a AAA player. So when you say, what do you see people over and over, you get a better feel.

So there’s three things you look at the tool set, adaptability, coachability, but you can’t touch these people, you can’t see them or talk to them, you can see them. So you are making those assessments Off of very nuanced information that you’re getting. How do you do that?

Well, so here’s the, so when I go to the Ballpark, usually I’m there early, um, during when they take batting practice. And so I’m going to come out and I’m gonna watch the workout ethic of the player for pregame before the game. I’m gonna watch if he’s out early, if he’s out late, how did he stretch. Did he go through the motions? Did he show any energy? Is he dressed correctly? Does he just walking around, moping around. And again, sometimes weather it is correlated with them when it’s really hot in the summertime, you’re not going to move as fast. I get that. But did this guy take really good ground ball work? This guy take, did this guy prepare for the game as, as well as he should? Did he go through batting practice motion? Is he at now when I say he I have a watch a player after he gets on taking his batting practice round, is he still working on a stance and his, he’s so mechanically inclined that he needs, you can’t flush it out.

He just can’t. He’s constantly working and thinking and thinking and thinking as opposed to just saying, okay, I can let me move on. Just their behaviors. And then during the game, you know, players that strike out and again, it’s easy when they’re doing well, it’s when they don’t do so well. This is what I want to see about the person that I walk out to my position. I get you’re upset and I get your mad and getting mad and upset doesn’t bother me. I mean that shows me that you care. It doesn’t matter if you just throw your helmet and you get pissed off in the dugout. I can take my lens. It depends on what my lens fields and I’d think no, he’s got compassionate. He wants to compete. I mean, again, it goes back to I think a big thing is how well are, how much do you want to compete?

And, but the behavior will tell me a lot of things. I get the frustration in our game. I get that. It’s tough. You Miss humbling. but the behavioral pregame during the game, especially after guy makes an out or something a bad inning as opposed to putting my head down and, and writing my notes, I really try to keep my head up now and watch the person. And again, I was, now I’m just learning how to be trained for this because we have a wonderful person, Chris Johnson, who was in charge of our Pittsburgh fire department. From the standpoint trying to teach us how to understand behavior, watch the behavior, especially in higher stressful situations. What happens? Another example, when things escalate in the game, can the pitcher slow down? Can he slow himself down and perform? Or is he adrenaline flow and he can’t stop and it’s repetitive and he, he’s, he’s out of control.

That’s a huge red flag. How do you get him to slow down is a very tough thing. When we have bases loaded one out and we watch a hitter swing threw two sliders that are in that dirt. Those are panic gaybies high stressful situations. The guys who usually have the steady heartbeat can control adrenaline. Are you going to be your performers? but again, behavior wise, all things, all things, all things matter. Every time you go onto the field, all things matter. The other part of it is you try to find out, again, I can’t have direct contact with this player. I mean I can if I, if I can get to them, but chances are security and I can’t get down there. So my job is to go up in the booth and asked the radio guy, hey, you’re with them all the time.

Is He, is he good to you? Does he treat you well? Is He, is he, does he give you good eye contact? And a lot of times when I get a chance to go to the manager of the club, if I can get down the manager, one of the great questions, I thought Chris Johnson brought up to us, he goes, in order to create dialogue because usually the comment is, hey, what about John Smith? is he a good teammate? Well that’s kind of a vague question. Of course, he’s probably a good teammate and all that. But Chris Johnson proposed the question. He goes, hey, what about a Joe Smith here? What am I not going to see today?

And he asked me that question. You know, it’s like there’s a pause. It really makes the other person think, what am I not going to see? Cause I know when I’m seeing what am I not going to see and I’m not going to see. Makes it just like it puts that guy on a pause going, he’s got to think through an answer as opposed to a very generic blahzay answer. So you’re just trying to ask good questions, trying to find out certain things. But again, Lois the more you hang around. If you’re a nine to five, so the game starts usually game starts at seven o’clock and they probably end up 10 o’clock if you’re a seven to 10 scout, you’re not going to be a very good scout. Once you need to do is get to work early and you need to find out as much information as you can who walks through the door, who walks out of the dog out for a business standpoint, who’s coming through the door early?

Who’s got the cup of coffee and who’s ready to go on is bouncing around, has energy, says hello to everybody. It’s the same thing in baseball, who’s coming out of the dugout early? Who’s got energy, whose got no energy, who sits at their desk, who’s just going through the motions? It’s the same behavior, behavioral things, and I’m going, hmm, interesting. Now it’s about our Lens, how we view it. So sometimes there might be things at home, personal marriage, children, somebody’s sick, I’m not feeling good. Those all come into account. But over a course of time you kind of get an idea of, you know what, this guy here, this is a low energy. Doesn’t it bring anything to the game? It’s all about themselves. Or the guys who go, you know what, as poor as he’s gone, he runs off to the position, he’s into it. He’s in for the team, he’s hustling, he’s communicating. Those are all positive. So again, the more you’re around, the more you’re at a nine to five person, the less you’re going to find out about people. The more you’re there early and late sometimes. And not saying every time, well, especially in the morning, you could tell a whole lot about people when they first come out and get ready for their, for their job.

So coachability, you’ve said that that’s one of the most important parts. How do you assess for coachability? How is that different from adaptability?

Is this person willing to listen. You have to be willing to listen. So we have, so part of my job is just try to find a staff member from each affiliate and you know, to me it’s like, I see the same thing from let’s say it’s from a hitter standpoint. I see the same thing. And I would basically ask, I go, you know basically, is he willing to change this hitting? Because I think he’s a really good player. And right away you’ll get, yeah, he’s a good player, but he really likes us the way he’s going. To me, it’s not a coachable he wants to do it his way. Okay. And that’s all I need to know. He’s just willing to do it his way. So I try to find a staff member. It’s hard sometimes, but again, what you tried to do as you network yourself with enough people, in the game and the teams that I’m seeing going, tell me about this kid. Is he a, is he a good listener?

Is he willing? Why doesn’t he want to change the stance? Why does it, why does he stay with the same thing? And basically the cultural say, well he really feels comfortable with what he’s doing. Okay, we’ve tried to tell him, but this is what he does. And it’s not that he doesn’t work, but he’s working in a way that’s not productive. And so obviously add nuts is sure he’s so coachable. And again, in our industry over time, I do think that we have to be very careful of saying, okay, he’s not coachable now, but do you want to play in the big leagues or not? And so when it’s amazing in our game you’ll see a player that gets released or gets traded. All of a sudden he does better. Why is that? Another voice? Someone else hit the light bulb, you know, or the time is running out because, in Major League baseball, we have a small window because basically when we get the 32 years old, if you have any skillset by 35 sometimes you’re done.

So you want to stay in the big league. So again, sometimes a different voice. So as an employee, I tried to talk to an employee and if I just can’t quite get through to it, I would try another employee say trying a different route with a different tone and all of a sudden, oh yeah, I get it. A lot of times in our industry we get so pigeonholed on and stereotype in this player and going, but if he was with someone else, all of a sudden were all astonished in the game going, what happened? What happened? I didn’t see it. What happened? Well, somebody else got a hold of this young man and changes legal a little bit because he was willing to listen. Now again, it’s up to the player willing to listen and solve us and now I’ve got a new lease on life because I wasn’t doing very well.

If you’re somebody showed me something and again a new voice, all of a sudden the light bulb goes on, somebody shows confidence in me and going, it’s just happen to me with the Pirates. When I was in Chicago, I mean I was kind of pigeon holed as a pitch hitter and all of a sudden I got to the Pirates and Jim Leland, we talked about Jim and our previous, you saw something more and I had the best years of my career. So again, that extra voice confidence where you’re going can open up and again, same skillset but just was willing to work through it and give them confidence and another area going, I am good, I can do some things. Because I think sometimes in baseball we can get really beat down hard, especially with the same people over and over and over. Coaching me.

You know something that you said in terms of when you scout you talk with lots of different people to get information. It was really sorting out the person’s coachability and how willing there they are to adapt. So part of what that says to me as it becomes important for the player to let everybody around him, know his openness to that because if he’s not communicating that to his current people, that message doesn’t get out there.

Well his message, you know what’s interesting, I think that, I don’t think the players understand what our players today are, are, are kind of self centered, very self centered society. I very good teammates, not very good team players, all about me and I don’t think they really understand the full just of every people that they interact with comes back to them a good interview. Eye contact, personable. you don’t know how far that will go down the road because we’re all looking for those intangibles of, you know, what I heard this guy was a real bad person, but I’d also heard it this over here. And actually he’s not as bad person as we think. I think the whole, they don’t understand that everybody they are in contact, whether it’s the front office with their affiliate, the team president, the radio person who does all the games.

I mean you go up to a radio guy and he’d go, what do you got on? So and so? And they go, he’s an absolute turd. Awful, terrible. Puts his headphones on. Every time he sees me, can’t say hello. I mean, so it’s like self. So basically comes down here. Here we are self centered all about me. Selfless. I mean selfish. I mean it’s just terrible. And the other way is very selfless, understands, very cordial, is great. So we go back to trying to evaluate the person and the willingness and the and the adaptability. Okay. we were trying to put this pie together. This player, there’s some negative here. Maybe he’s not willing to adapt. But a heck of a person. I’m very good with people, very good with the community. He’s out there, he’s hustling. So the pie ends up being more positive than maybe this little negative.

So therefore if we were in a acquire this player, if we can get this little piece that the add up, maybe we got ourselves a pretty good player because again, there are more intangibles of a better person. Anytime we have somebody, an employee there, it’s the player and the person, hopefully the head and heart. We have head and heart here and we got the player here. Can the head and heart match up to a player skillset and boy, if we can get that to get him going, we have, we’ll have something. And I think our pirates do a great job of creating a good head and heart drive, determination, willingness, adaptability, being a good listener. There are some guys that fall by the wayside, but again, going outside of your arena to try to hire somebody and try to bring them in, the last thing you want to do is bring in an absolute turd to disrupt what you have.

And so that’s where the person part comes in. So big is personable, understands he might have had the greatest skill set we’re looking for, but he’s organized, he’s structured. Can we help him along the way? Because if we’re not all your expertise in your field, all the expertise I have in my field, I feel that we could help people along the way to see a bigger picture as opposed to pitching, holding people right away saying, you can’t pet, you can’t do this. He can’t do that. Well, I go back to, but there is flashes of things that he can do, but if he’s a good person and it has a willingness and a drive and he’s adaptable, we might be able to get more out of the sky. Then other people thought, and again, young people today, it’s hard to find that person today.

Hard to find that person that’s willing to adapt and adjust and willingness because they’ve all been taught a different way of going about being self centered. It’s about me, it’s not about the team and boy, when you get, if you can get them to understand a bigger picture, it’s really helps a company. It really helps somebody else. But again, somebody from the, somebody got to sit back and go, okay, I see what I’m seeing. Interesting. And it’s not like you’re trying to dive into somebody’s personal life. You’re just trying to get understanding, a better idea about the person who the man, yeah. Who they are, what they come from. And you know, it’s, that’s a big thing in order for someone to open up, if I knew something about your past, where you went to high school, where I went to college, is there something in your home town?

Whatever it is, I’m going to tell you what those things go a long way. And our good friend, Rich Donald, he talked a lot about this, getting to know a young player, where’s the connection? How can I connect the dots? And once I get connect the dots to something, now it opens up a whole new idea of I’m gonna reach out to these dots and I’m going to go and try to connect another dot towards his work performance and how I can get him better. What he thinks about this. And is he a good listener? So, I mean, it all works on the small, small start. But again, I just think that I think today’s employees are, today’s executives are challenged. Trying to find that person and trying to get more out of people and seeing a great skill set that we can help adapt to our company.

You know, we have our time always goes so fast. Gary, we’ve been talking for half an hour. It’s been just wonderful. I just want to summarize, there’s three things that you’ve really talked about. One is skillset. What are the tools of the person has to bring that that’s fundamental. That’s where you began. But then comes adaptability and coachability and in those two components really being primary because without that the skills become less valuable.

Absolutely. I mean, again, what does he bring to the table? What’s the tool? Show me the tools and again, I’m looking at players for five games, so I need to see a tool to hang onto. and off course. We have history with some of these players, but realistically I want to see somebody who wants to change a little bit, especially when things aren’t going well. You know, if you’re skilled Lois, you get it rolling. Those guys are the easy ones. I’m looking for the guys who are willing to change a little bit. Not this, small little change. Show me that you’re willing to adapt. Show me you’re willing to do other things. That’s an eye opener for me. And show me your drive pregame during the game. Show me the drive. Show me the passion. Show me the energy.

I can work with people like that. It’s the guys who don’t want to have the energy and all my God, look at me. I just lined out and woe is me. My lip is dripping. I’m dragging out over this. I have a hard time with that one. I just really do. So, again, watching, I mean I’ve had to learn how to watch. I’ve had to learn to observe. I’ve had to learn to take information in through my lens going, hmm, okay. What do I think about that behavior? How do I think what this guy comes into the bowl, but how is he dressed? Is he look organized, structured, is he introverted, extroverted, you know, what do I think? Because how he handled certain situations. But again, my Lens, my lens is different from somebody else’s Lens. How interpret behavior,

Why does introverted or extroverted matter?

Because I want to know if, if you’re introverted and you’re very self, there’s nothing wrong with that. There was nothing wrong. I want to know if you’re so introverted that you don’t really do well with teammates. You’re just kind of in your own world a little bit. So let’s just say it’s a picture. Very introverted. He pitches you, walked off the mound, head down, doesn’t really acknowledge anybody in the dugout. And again, that could be focused. Well, here’s the, here’s the interesting part. The next day when they’re on the field, is he talking to anybody or is he by himself or just with a few small people in standing there? Just so we, here’s the deal, just so we know the information. It’s not bad. It’s not good. It’s not better. How do we know? Now you have the other guy who is extroverted full of energy, talking to everybody, high fiving, he’s into it.

He’s got radiant personality, good or bad. You can use it. But just so it just part of the pie. It just tells you. Just so you know, this guy’s introverted, this guy’s extrovert, whatever. Just so we know this is my feeling, what we have in. So it’s not that he’s a bad teammate, he’s just quiet, reserved to himself, might be more focused. But those are all parts of it. And again, Chris Johnson, who I rely on a lot going, it’s okay. Just so we have an idea of what, who the whole person is we’re talking about. But, so again, we’re talking about the whole person. We’re trying to figure out the person and a player is a part of that pie. So again, I just, it’s helped me keeping my head up and not, when I say keep my head up, if you watch me during the game, I’m watching the pitcher and and running a small note and I put my head down, I’m watching and I’m watching and then I’ll write something I’ve learned.

I’ve learned to stop looking down and writing quick. I’ve learned to keep my head up and watch the game more because you could see more as opposed to always writing notes and that’s what the pirates have wanted us to do. Keep your head up. So I’ve learned that after a, an inning is over and you run a write notes real quick, I’ll watch the pitcher come off the mound and I watched a watch in the dug out, what’s going on in there? What can I see, what could I possibly, what kind of interaction could there be in there? Good, bad, whatever my lens says. And so I’ve learned to keep my head up and try to really write less and watch more because the more I watch and more observe over time, the more information I can go back and saying, this is what I’m seeing really. And this is what I’m seeing. I mean we have to use our eyes to really judge the whole performance, not just, boy, this guy’s got a great fastball and he can command it. There’s just so much more to it. So, and anything I think we do, if we keep our eyes open and really watch, really panned the room and really see what we’re trying to see, you’ll see a lot more than what we just want to see.

Gary, thank you so much. And I know you’re going to have a busy day today, so enjoy it. Is the weather good for you?

Yes, the weather is good for me so I don’t have to put my long Johns on and winter coat. So it’s been kind of a challenging of spring, but things are good. So I’m rocking and rolling here with the pirates, so hopefully we can win some more games up in Pittsburgh. But I always enjoyed my time with you and look forward to our next meeting.

Thank you so much, Gary.

You’re welcome. Have a great day.

Yeah, you too. Bye. Bye.