Sports In The Making

Jimmy Serrano - Former MLB Pitcher, Kansas City Royals

Episode Summary

It's not an easy path to the Major Leagues, but Jimmy Serrano persevered, realizing his dream to be a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. We talk about his journey through the minors, getting called up to the Big Leagues and some of his thoughts on sign stealing.

Episode Notes

• 2:34 - What August 7, 2004 mean to Jimmy.
• 3:07 - How much effort he put into getting to the Major Leagues and how rewarding it was getting the call to go.
• 3:58 - How many times he felt like giving up on his dream of reaching MLB
• 4:41 - Growing up in Grand Junction, CO
• 5:20 - How Jimmy and I know each other.
• 5:51 - How he ended up in Arizona to play baseball.
• 7:07 - Jimmy didn’t have any offers to play college baseball.
• 7:46 - He didn’t play the position he played in high school and how he got selected to play for Mesa Community College, a junior college elite program.
• 9:04 - When he thought he might be able to play baseball professional & how he got into professional baseball.
• 11:24 - What was the call like when he was drafted.
• 12:31 - Where his first professional assignment was and that experience
• 16:09 - How realistic it is for AAA to play in the Major Leagues.
• 17:28 - How he feels about MLB’s proposal to eliminate 42 minor league teams in 2020.
• 19:10 - How Jimmy feels most players feel about the journey to get to the Major Leagues in regards to pay.
• 20:41 - How he felt as a minor league player that it’s understood that he would have to sacrifice.
• 21:54 - What the difference in pay is between levels and do different clubs pay differently.
• 23:05 - How player representation with agents happens.
• 24:12 - Do players have a voice in the business aspect of baseball?
• 25:02 - What kind of instruction the players get at each level of baseball
• 26:30 - What it was like being at AAA, then getting demoted and then promoted to MLB.
• 29:38 - What the situation was like when he got the call up to MLB and the process on getting there.
• 31:42 - What happened when he got to Kansas City for his debut.
• 33:09 - What his mentality was when he made his MLB debut as a pitcher.
• 35:23 - He pitched 10 games in MLB - which game is most memorable.
• 37:55 - What the best part of being in the Major Leagues.
• 39:09 - How difficult it is to stay in MLB.
• 39:41 - How his MLB career ended and what happens to a player after that.
• 41:11 - How playing foreign baseball is different from the U.S.
• 41:48 - What was most surprising about the different cultures around the world.
• 42:46 - What players have to do to guard their signs during the game.
• 43:30 - What “tipping pitches” is.
• 44:48 - What is acceptable sign stealing in baseball and how technology has affected the game.
• 46:03 - How does a pitcher recognize that sign stealing is happening.
• 48:03 - How he feels the environment is for sign stealing in MLB
• 49:02 - How will MLB know that sign stealing is going to happen.
• 49:51 - How he feels technology can benefit baseball in the future.
• 50:42 - What he’s been doing since he left baseball.
• 51:27 - What some of the most valuable lessons he’s learned in his career.