We're joined right now by a man that still bleeds Dodger blue no matter where he is or what part of the country he is working from home in. And that is one of the great all time guys that you will ever meet, and certainly one of the more successful Dodger catchers in recent history. And that is the one and only special assistant to the special GM, to the San Diego Padres aj Preller, and that is our aj aj ellis great to see you back at Dodger Stadium.
Good to be with you, Dave.
That was probably one of the worst introductions I've ever heard. I don't know what you were going for with that. It is good to be with a special assistant like yourself. I don't know who you assist and I feel bad for that person. But it's great to be back in Dodger Stadium. It's crazy. It's my first time back at the ballparks in twenty.
Nineteen, and it just doesn't take long.
To be reminded of what a special place this is and be the atmosphere of any Dodger game, let alone one that has so much playoff implications. Spent a great, a great few days catching up and watching baseball.
What's it like to come back here obviously working for the Padres Dodgers and Padres battling for the NL West. What's it like as you walk around the stadium with Mike Shilp before the game, Uh, to walk in front of that dugout and just think about all the great times you had.
Yeah, it all comes back, you know, floods back and
actually talking with Mike about some of those memories. And you know, he works along with San Louis Cardinals, and you know, even when he was just in player development at the time, he still has a great recollection, recollection of a lot of those those battles we had, you know, thinking about the you know, two thousand and nine Mark Loretto walk off after you know, the Matt Holliday misqu and left field and and and then talking about then in some of the tougher games in the against the
Cardinals in the postseason as well. But it's special to be back, especially be sitting here with you right now and watching a Clayton Kershaw retrospective here on Sports in LA. And I'm just wonderful to be back and uh spend time with him and spend time with a lot of other my former Dodger teammates and uh, and then some of the staff that I still have a great fondness for.
Yeah, it's fitting that we're seeing Kershaw's top ten highlights of his career. You were part of so many, including his no hitter We saw you be part of that special as well, but reconnecting with him here in Los Angeles. What do you cherish the most about your friendship with Kershaw?
Yeah, I mean, I think it's definitely you know, I think it's wast when this when this trip came out, it was one of the things that I circled to be.
What I was looking forward to the most.
And we've we've we've evolved to a point where very little of our conversations you revolve around baseball. It's more about family and life and being a dad and being a being a husband and you know what's next, and so it's just it's just great and we have that that shared history, those shared moments, and but beyond that, it's definitely transitioned to a relationships as.
Friends beyond more than what it was. His teammates. A.
J Ellis was Kershaw's big brother basically in the minor leagues, they came up together, and obviously you were a shepherd to him for a long time. Can you just describe where he was even in twenty twelve to where he's at right now and just how he's evolved as a person as a pitcher, and how he's so determined to still even pitch at this stage of his career.
Yeah, I mean, without a doubt.
I mean, you know, he's one of the most consistent people I've ever been around. That consistency of that determination was evident going back to our minor league days as teammates together, and just the way that he approached his craft, the seriousness that he took it, the diligence he had on a day and day out basis. He was very meticulous about what he was going to do and what
he continues to do on a daily basis. And he goes out and whether he's pitching in a game or doing his his pregame work on a field on a day's not pitching, he's going to attack that with a focus and a concentration that allows him to maximize every single day and turn maximize a career.
Aj Ellis was part of one of my favorite Dodger teams, the twenty thirteen Dodgers who were so special. It was the first of this run of twelve consecutive postseason berths. Aj when you look back at your Dodger career, was twenty thirteen maybe the most special and the most talented. Which team, when you look back at your career was the one that was truest and dearest to your heart?
I think, Dave, I think you're exactly right.
I think that twenty thirteen team really stands out a lot of circumstances around that.
It's kind of funny.
We were talking about the Padre success that we've had, and you know, the second half turnaround we've had. We're at one point, we're at fifty to fifty and fifty and fifty just coming out of the All Star break, and the run we've been on. Where we've gone I think something like forty two and seventeen since that point to put ourselves in a position to play postseason baseball, which is extremely exciting for the city of San Diego and for the entire Padres organization. But then to think
about man forty two and seventeen is historic. It's best record in baseball that twenty thirteen Dodger.
Team went on a run of fifty games where.
We went forty two and eight, and just like to see what this team has done and see how that's that's kind of seeped over is really special and really a great you know memory from that team. So many great friendships still remain to this day. You know, Jerry Harrison Junior and Mark Ellis and Skip Schumacher, Nick Punto, Michael Young, Andre Ethier, you know, the list goes on and on of people who made that easily the most the most enjoyable season of my professional career. A.
J Ellis is back at Dodgers Stadium. He is part of the Padres front office. All right, AJ, everybody in LA is wondering, why can't we get rid of these San Diego Padres? What has made them so special? Why are you so good? And why do players like Ryan McMahon say you should be the most feared team in the postseason.
Well, I think it starts at the top of AJ Prowler and his ability to evaluate and then go acquire talents. I've been thoroughly impressed with his ability to identify exactly, you know, a player strengths, their weaknesses and how they will fit on a team. And then once he hands those that extreme talent over and he's decisive enough to go and acquire in some cases that talent and and and maybe strike a little bit sooner than maybe a traditional GM would and get those players in the fold.
Whether it be a Luis riaz A, Dylan sees A, Donovan Solano, David Peralto, David Paralta, you get these guys who come in and help change the culture and you know, reinforce what Mike Schilt has brought into.
Our organization as well as ours our first year manager.
And being around Mike and watching the way that he uh he preaches a discipline, a focus, but in a in a way that it's all about being detail oriented, buttoned up.
In a slow build up to a seven o'clock.
Game, we're gonna go out and and and and just try to outcompete the other side. We have an amazing talent, but we want to play like grinders and guys who get out there and maximize each game.
You know, one of our pillars has been our ability to fight with two strikes.
Victor Rodriguez is don a tremendous job coming over as a new hitting coach, and he's been stubborn since day one, instilling that philosophy of called Petco Park hitting, fighting low line drives. For Petco Park notoriously being a very hard place to hit for power, We're not gonna complain about it. We're gonna maximize that and turn that into our our
team identity. And that's shown through us as us becoming the hardest team in baseball to strike out, a team that's always gonna fight with two strikes, fights to the last out of the game, and that identity is taken hold and and made us a tough team to play against.
Dang, sounds like you're describing a j Ellis a grinder, a guy that would see pitches, not try.
To hit homers.
How many years did you lead the league and see more pitches per at bad I feel like it was at least two.
I don't know for sure.
I don't I don't know for sure, but I'll tell you what I I don't think any team that had a full team of a j Ellis as will be playing postseason baseball or in the in the hunt of it. So it takes it definitely takes elite.
Talent that we have.
You know, Mayday Machado, Fando Tatis, Xander Bogart's Jackson Merrill who has come over and helped change our culture without even saying a word, with the infectious joy that he plays baseball with a guy who genuinely cares about the success of his teammates equal or surpassing that of his own.
And that's such a special, unique trade to have.
And that joy for each other, that love for each other, that ability to compete for one another, it's it translates, it's being translated on the field. A couple that with an amazing pitching staff with with Dylan Ceas and and and Joe Muscrove, you Darvish, Michael King. You know, no one's really talking about that Wan Soto trade anymore.
Being a mistake. When you know.
You get a Michael King, you turn that part of that trade into Dylan Ceese. Uh, you know, Kyle Goascioka behind the plate. It's it's been a special, special uh.
Group of guys.
And I'm really excited to play. And yeah, I tend to agree. I think we're one of those teams you look at that's gonna be a tough matchup for anyone, but the Nashley Playoffs is gonna be a lot of fun to watch, and that this Dodger team is gonna have a big say in what happens as well.
Hey, Padres and Dodgers may not be done after tonight. They are on a collision course for another matchup in the NLDS. Great to have a j elis join us. Great to have a jlis back at Dodgers Stadium. There is life outside of working from home, Aj, you just got a taste of it.
It is it is, This is crazy. This has been a full day already. Usually, you know, I try to work only about you know, you know, an hour or two hours a day, like these long hours. I don't know how you do it, Dave, but uh, you know, keep up the good work and you know someday, you know, soon maybe somebody will be your special assistant one day.
Man, he looks the same, he walks the same, he talks the same, he thinks the same. The great a j LS mister consistent