We're here with Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas. Miguel, thanks a lot for the time and always appreciate you delivering on the field and for us.
Yeah, of course, anytime that you guys need me, it's a pleasure talking to you.
Guys. It's great to see the smile back on your face. How tough was it to watch and just be patient with the healing process.
Yeah, I guess that's all I can do. When you feeling something throughout the year that you can really like play through. It's really hard and it's a challenge for you to stay focused on what you need to do to get back on the field as soon as possible. And that's exactly what I tried to do. I try to work myself as hard as I can every single day to come back in the minimum time. And I'm
happy that I'm back with the guys. And I mean it was really tough to watch on TV, for sure, but at the end of the day, we got a lot of time left and were ready.
You were one of the first key players to come back from the injured list, Mookie coming back Monday. Do you feel like with yourself, Mookie and the rest coming back that can restore order to the season.
Yeah. I mean, I feel like we've been opened down this year, and part of that is injuries on the pitching side and the offensive side. But at the end of the day, we got a pretty good team that
can actually fill in for the players who went down. Unfortunately, a bunch of us went down at the same time, especially with the Freddie situation and his family situation that he has to stay away from the team for so long, and a guy I know Freddy take care of his family, and uh, he cares about his family a lot, but he's pretty hard on himself when he comes to like not playing every single day. So the same way I feel,
and the same way Mookie feels. The same way Max Montsterfield, and I feel like everybody creating momentum coming back I think inspire others to trying to come back as soon as possible.
To Miguel, You've been around a lot of great players in your career. Have you ever seen a player of Mookie's caliber be so flexible to move positions and do what's best for the team.
Yeah, I feel like that's what a superstars is like. You know, Uh, it doesn't matter what happened on the field, but he's always willing to do whatever it is best for the team at the moment, you know, uh, And that kind of flexibility you don't find any anybody else. I feel like this is the first time that I play with a guy who won multiple Sitable Slogers, Gold Gloves in right field and he's willing to move to
the infielder. And it's not just to to the to the dirt, but to shortstop, which is one of the hardest positions to play in the sport. And I mean all the all the credits to him for for being what the what is the best for the team, And that's what a superstar and a leader should be looking looking like.
Hey, speaking of shortstop, it is the most amending position on the field outside of catcher. How do you make it look so easy? How do you have those instincts? Is it just something that you had at a young age or is it something you learned over time.
I feel like I've been playing the position for like for a long time, almost my whole life, if ever, since I remember going to a field, I wanted to be a short stop. That comes from like watching really good short stop early in my age, like Marvi Scale the Becomeseion, Louis Aparisio and all those guys coming from Venezuela. We we uh produce a lot of good short stops
in my in my jown age. So I was watching them and I was trying to emulate the way that they play short and I meant the at this point, it takes a little bit more of preparation for me because I'm thirty five years old and I'm trying to like stay on the on the top of the game defensively, and I just stay proud of them, and I just stay pride of playing good defense behind my guys, and that's what keeps me in the in the in the big leagues for so many years.
Hey, so fair to say Venezuela is the country of shortstops.
It used to be. It used to be that way. I feel like we still have some representative on like the shortstop from Colorado. I seek Toobar, and we have Brian Rocky in clevelandand and we have a couple other guys. But right now it's trending more towards the catchers because we have a lot of catchers in the big leagues right now, but definitely when when I was growing up he was. I mean, we produce a lot of good short stufs.
Hey, before I let you go, Tomorrow is Matt kemp day. You were teammates with Matt Camp when he first got called up. Is it surreal to realize that you're still playing and tomorrow he's officially retiring.
Yeah, it's crazy to see how many players that I play with now they're coaching or they like don't with their careers and and moving on to the next charter of their life. But especially with my that I got an opportunity to debuty here when he was like at the top of the game, you know, thirty thirty guy, MVP caliber season every single year, and for being uh like socialize guy and being open to uh to help
a lot of John players at that time. I always going to appreciate what he did for for me and for all the John players in this organization, Like Jock Peterson can talk to you about it. He was like really really good person outside of being a superstar. And I mean, I'm happy for make he's uh that he's retarding as a dollyer, you know, uh as as his last day and yeah, it's so real to to be here tomorrow, playing in a light up, trying to win awards. Here is when when Matt is coming back to actually.
Your retard, who is a better smelling teammate one, your rebate or Matt Camp?
I gotta go, I gotta, I gotta go with Matt because I like the way that he always dress a smile and smell and and and all that. Nothing nothing, nothing against one, but uh, it's different every single day, So I go with Matt.
Awesome, Thanks a lot for your time. Great to see you back out there, Shortstop. You make it look so easy and it's a pleasure to watch you really be a magician there every night. So thanks a lot, no thank you,