We're joined right now by one of the newest members of the Dodger bullpen, Michael Kopek. Michael, thanks a lot for the time. Appreciate it.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
It was great to introduce myself to you on the bus yesterday. It feels like I got some streak cred with you after you recognized the slide gate.
Yeah. I didn't realize it was you until I asked the question, and then you made it seem like I had kind of attacked you there, So I'm sorry about that. But yeah, I want to see around two at it.
I would need Michael Kopek and some other Dodgers to support me at the bottom of the slide if I went down.
Yeah, like I said, I'd support you. I'd help brace your fall in somewhere or another.
Hey, last night, another great outing with the Dodgers. How have you been able to make the transition so seamless or appear to make it so seamless?
You know what, I think, it's just for me a matter of a couple of things. A change of scenery has been important for me because the start of my career didn't exactly go the way I for it to have gone, but also coming to a team that is disinvested in winning, that has so many moving pieces that you don't have to have, you know, one guy go out there and be a hero anything like that necessarily.
You just you have to come in and step into your job.
And even if you don't that day, you know that there's gonna be guys to pick you up. And so it's it's almost, you know, just playing stress free because there's MVP after MVP on this team, there's All Star after All Star on this team.
There's some of the.
Best pitchers in all of baseball in this team, if not the best pitcher or in all the baseball. So you don't necessarily worry about dropping the ball and you know, messing up a game or what have you, because you know that everything is kind of being picked up after you if if something slips that day.
And the Dodgers do define roles, but they don't define it by innings. They do it by groupings of hitters. Last night, the highest leverage situation was in the eighth inning when you came in. Does that happen with other teams? Where is that unique?
I'm in my experience, it's unique.
I like how it plays out, though, because I think amongst the guys in the bullpen, each and every one of us realized that we could close out a game on any given night, but we could also be in in, you know, in the fifth if the situation called for it or what have you. And I don't think any of us doubts one situation versus another for any guy down there.
So it's been pretty it's been pretty unique. It's been pretty cool, though.
I like pitching when the game calls for me to pitch, whether that be the you know, the first through the ninth that I don't care.
Have you embraced being a super reliever, I mean that's what we call a lot of these guys. Have you fully embraced it? And is that part of the reason why you're excelling?
Yeah, I don't. I don't know if I like any kind of label on what I do rather than pitcher. You know, I've been in almost every position you can imagine as a pitcher in the big leagues.
Have been a starter, middle.
Relief, a bolt guy, long guy, a leverage guy, closer at times. But I think for me, it's just going out there and pitching and matching the.
Necessity of the game.
So right now, every game seems like leverage because we're a winning team fighting for you know, you know, a really good position in the playoffs, so it's really easy to go out there and compete.
Speaking of labels, you would expect from a relief pitcher or pitcher that throws as hard as you do, we would be blown away with your hair on fire, very outgoing personality. But that's not who Michael Kopak is.
No, you know, I think that just came with growing up. But at one point I probably was more after the the energy and the personality or what have you. But you know, I I've kind of adapted to the game and I found my my calm and my piece in this game. And you know, especially since having kids, I feel like that I I operate on a on that level much easier than you know, getting too ramped up and riding the wave or the roller coaster. How emotions go.
So I try my best to say even keel, not to say that I'm perfect at it, but I yeah, I don't like getting too high.
Yeah the parenting change, you did it give you better perspective on baseball?
Yeah? Absolutely?
This game was you know my my whole world for a really long time, and then after having kids, you realize how small a part of my life this really is, even though there's a magnitude of it that touches everything in my life, Like not taking the importance away from it at all. You know, it's my livelihood and it's how I provide. And you know, I've got to see a lot of the world because of this game. And
I'm very appreciative of this game. But at the same time, if it was stripped away from me at any given moment, you know, my pieces in my family and my kids and I have a lot more to live for than just this game.
But I am appreciated to be where I am. I know.
All right, So I saw you out here earlier doing your pre work preparation. What music are you listening to? A c DC back in black? Are you more yacht rock? Where does Michael Kopek fit?
To be honest, I wasn't listening to music. I was kind of just, you know, fighting with some demons in my head. We all are, yeah, right for the most part, though, I kind of mix it up. I like country music, I like Christian rap or you know, Christian music. In general, it branches pretty pretty far and wide, and I like a lot of classic rock as well, but I'm not penned on one genre necessarily.
All right, Michael, thanks a lot for sharing more of who you are, introducing yourself more to Los Angeles. We all appreciate what you do on the mound, and maybe I'll see you at the bottom of the slide tomorrow.
Kopek sounds good. I see there.