Kevin Kiirmar will be making his Dodger debut tonight, starting in center field. Kevin, Welcome to the Dodgers, and thank you for the time.
Thank you, thanks for having me. I'm ready to go.
I'm sure it's been a while, last forty eight hours. How have you handled all this?
Yeah, this is the first time I've ever been traded the middle of the season, with a ton of stuff all over the map right now, But it's a great opportunity, So I don't really care about the other stuff. I care about winning here and doing whatever I can to help these guys win. And I can't wait to show them when I'm about and you know, hopefully get off to a good start, but then see what kind of player I can be when I'm going good.
And I'm gonna do everything in my power to try to do just that.
Kevin, When do you look around this clubhouse? A few of them just walk by. What's it like to be part of this team now?
Yeah, I mean, it's it's amazing.
I never they were interested me last couple of years in free agency. But me, you know, wearing the Dodger stuff across my chest on the hats.
It's amazing. It's really cool. I feel honored.
I'm privileged to be here in this great situation, and you know, it's a it's a star studded roster and a lot of guys can play, and the resumes speak for themselves, and I'm just happy to be a part of it.
Kevin, I read last week that you're planning on retiring at the end of this season. Can anything change your mind?
I don't know. We'll see. I uh, you.
Know, playing on turf all these years is really taking a toll on my body, and I know the product I put on the field is a little different than seasons past. But you know, this opportunity right here. I've
even moving around in the outfield already. I feel like I already have like an extra gear and adrenaline, and you know, good situations like this will will pump life into you, and I feel like that's what I have so far, and I can't wait to take the field these guys and just try to win as many games as we can.
You know, Carl Crawford came to the Dodgers after playing a lot of years like you did at Tropicana Field. You just gave me flashbacks to how he said this could maybe give you a little bit more life to your career.
Yeah, and I've never uh, I've never been on grass more than two weeks at a time. I mean, spring training is the most ever get but throughout the season being with the Blue Jays and the Rays my career, I always look forward to road trips just to be on grass. So now for me to have my home field on grass and be on a lot more, I think it's gonna pay huge dividends for my body. And when I'm fresh and I'm moving good, I can be a very efficient player, and you know I can do some damage.
So I'm gonna do everything in my power to do just that.
Hey, before I let you go, Oakland's a big outfield. You're one of those guys that could cover a lot of ground. What do you know about this outfield and how different is it from others?
Yeah, this is my favorite surface in the big leagues. I love the grass here. Everything it's it's amazing. I've always loved it, but especially years as of late. But usually you know, the only time I ever have trouble is it's a high sky here with the sun, So I'm sure Sunday will probably be a little test, but you know, nothing I can't handle.
Hey, go feel that grass. You're gonna have a lot of it with the Dodgers and at Dodgers Stadium. Thanks a lot for the time, and we're all very excited to have Kevin Kiermeyer finally patrolling center field for the Dodgers.
Thank you, thanks for having me. Let's go