Ep. 375: At Bat and Behind the Levee with Austin Riley

there's a way to hand all right, everybody. We're in Atlanta, Georgia, joined by Austin Riley Third Basement for the Atlanta Braves. Thanks for having me. You guys, beat you guys, beat our man Pete last night. Bad. That's all bad. You got You weren't like it seemed like you just like parked your car and came in there and got a nice hit. Yeah. I mean, um, we needed that one. I mean, the racist is tough. They've you know, the

Mets are a really good squad. Um they've had a really good season and and you know we're we're trying to win a division and and you know, this is what September baseball is all about. It's I mean, it's it's about those those fights um with it within the division. And and you know last night was luckily it was on our side, but pe got two more against him. And you know, any anything can happen. Explain to me, like, um, explain me like I'm five years old, which is about

where I'm at with baseball knowledge for sure. Okay, so lastly you guys won handily. Well, I mean in the end, someone could have liked last inning is a little hairy. But and and uh just the amber we just met him, uh Tyler, he was milking it out at the plate. Bases were loaded. I was like, wow, this is like, you know, could it could change in a heartbeat? Oh yeah, like one hit could have been that you guys would have been you guys would have been losing off. Yeah yeah.

What do you do when when that's going on? You do you look? I mean, oh yeah, you definitely you gotta you gotta play the whole situations um in your head. I mean you know that's yeah, you know, bases loaded up by three, you know, one like I said, one swinging back could could put us down by one. Um. But you know, having Kindley up there, you know the career that he's had, I mean he's he's one of

the best closers in the game. You know, you know in baseball, it's been around, I mean he so you definitely have a trust in him, no, no doubt, um and and luckily it was he was able to slam the door. Well, so, now here's the part you gotta explaining to me, like I'm five, okay, you guys are you can both head of the playoffs, But there's a You have a three game series, correct, So whoever whoever would win the the the advantage of winning the series

is just that you get a break. Correct, So right now we've so right now, obviously it's tied now, but say if the Mets were to to win the division, they would get a You basically missed the wild Whoever wins the division, you missed the wild card. So if say, if we were to to lose, we would uh in the season in Miami on Wednesday, have an off day on Thursday, and then we would play the wild card Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

And then if whoever wins the division, that you would get like that five day break, and there's and then you have fewer games separating you from the finality of it. All separating you from the championship. You have you have fewer opportunities to get knocked out. Correct. So it's like you got the wild card n LDS and l yes, and then the World Series. So you know, if you make it all the way to the World Series, you're

playing until November seven. Um. So it's it actually is a there's a lot of downtime, but at the same time, it like flies but going through it last year, Um, the playoffs fly by. Um. But it's just like like right now, so we're tied right now, say if we were so we got three games after after these two games, um, and say if we tie, then it goes to the

best record against each other. So say if say, if we were to tie like straight up to end the season, um, and then then it would go but who who won the most games between us and the Mets, like out of the whole season, and then that's who That's how you decide the division. So UM, it gets a little a little complicated at times. Um. Yeah, I wish I was wishing it to be more clean. Ye oh yeah, and now you wish you could like like the Super

bowls clean. Yeah. Now that it's just like it's just like even like minor like you got the minor leagues, you got through. I went through six systems before I got to the big leagues. It's like you played for six years before you even get the opportunity at the big leagues. It's just baseball is complicated. That's the only way to put it. Yeah, but you came up like through the ranks. So man, I you know, it was fortunate enough to to kind of go through pretty quick. Um,

you know. And and just like I said, I had a lot of the organization gave me every opportunity and in the books to to grow my game and and succeed. Um. So I mean, like I said, I've been been very fortunate. And Austin played for one of the best minor league team names. He played for the Halinas for a little bit. So that's the Fall League. That's another like. And so there's a league that, um that they do that's not affiliated with any organization. So it's they call it the

Arizona Fall League. Um. It happens the month of November. Uh, it's in it's in Arizona at the their the Springs Tining complexes out there and each team it sends like two or three guys from each squad and they go play together. Um, and you know you play like I think it's like thirty games, super laid back. Um, but yeah, that's it's not an affiliate or anything, but um it is. It's a different type of type of league. But it's it's fun. You know what we're talking about last night?

Do you do you get when you hear take me out to the ballpark? What's that song? How's it going? Okay, I'll give five bucks. Any one this room can tell me who wrote that. I don't even know it. Keep you when you hear it? Do you get stirred up? I think it gets played so much and just kind of tune it out a little bit. This thing is everybody got up to sing and Krian I was like, why aren't you singing? As? I just don't having them. Yeah,

it's like seventh any stretch, that's what they play. Um, you're here for a hundred sixty two day or games. It's like, all right, nice, let's get today thinning. Albert von Albert von Tilser wrote many hit songs. Let me tell you something, I'm a big Von Tills in your head. Let me tell you something. Here's some more of his hits. You're ready for this, Put on your slippers and fill your pipe. You're not going bye by tonight. That's the Eric von tilt That was a von Tilser song. Um,

he's got something, He's got. Here's here's another one of his hits, Oh how she could yackie hackey wicki wacky. This is a family show. See here's here's another one of his hits, My cuties due at two to two, so at one. If that's a m or p M, his cutis do at um. Another one of his hits is wait Till You get them up in the air Boys. It's some interesting one. But take Me Out of the Ball Game was listed a number eight on the list

of songs of the Century. Mm hmm, so Christ, next time you see me, nat take me out the ball game. It's just you know, I'll sing some volgarty you're wishing it was the what was it yuck any whacky? I thought that I was like I was. I was hoping that they would play Oh how she could yucky hacky wicky wacky boo. But there's some people in this room for who take me out to the ball game tugs on the heart strings a bit. Definitely did for me. Hey, let me let me ask you, let me ask you

another question. They we're gonna we gotta cover off off some stuff. But you so with the whole thing, do you ever feel like it's a it's a it's a um. It's like a slap in the face of a deer hunter such as yourself, that everything ends on November seven. Yeah, like that you could be like, let's start a week earlier. We'll start everything a week earlier, right, and then I'll hunt the first week in November for white tails and

then you know, yeah, it's it's tough like last year. Um, even like you know because our regular season ends October three, um, and last year before we went to the playoffs, like if we like one, we were not even above five hundred at the break, like it was. It was a rough season last year, and like we just got hot

at the right time, like took off. So I had like three hunts planned in October that I was just like what my buddy Tyler, and like it's just like one after other that I was having, like I am canceling this one where we made another week cancel this and we made another week, canceled that one, made another week. Um, all all worth it. Um, it wouldn't change it for the world. Throw that out there, so no one's mad

at me. Um. But now it's um, you know, as much as I wanna, you know, be there for opening Day, I got the best of both the worlds. It's like as soon as baseball ends, I go right and hunting seasons in it and I'm in it until it's time to go back to baseball. But but for for you like to hunt turkeys, I mean you gotta be totally boned on turkey hunting, right, Yeah, that's hard. I've never never killed an Eastern. I've killed two asiola's all there

in spring training. Oh so well played, right Yeah. So it's like all my buddies back home, give me, give me crap from like you didn't even kill an Eastern, And I'm like, I don't get the chance, Like, give me a break. But uh, when you are when you talk about when you when you're you have a hunt playing and obviously you want to you know you want to win, no doubt, but do you, Um, is there ever any part of your head? Right? It's like, man, I was really looking forward to going on that trip.

I mean, yeah, of course, like you know my passion. I absolutely love to hunt white tells um so anytime, especially like never been much out of the state growing up. So I've I've killed you know, I've killed a deer in in um Texas, Nebraska, and Louisiana. And one of those trips that I had to cancel was at the Griggsbies in Illinois and that was like growing up, that

was like my dream to go to Illinois. So that that one hurt a little bit, um But like I said, there's there's always other opportunities, um for you for growing up in Mississippi. Was that like the holy landed deer hunting was looking at Illinois, Illinois, Kansas, like just going up there like that was like my that's my bucket list is to go up there and some some big white tails. So what, um hold are you right now?

And then so in in fifteen years like an old you're an old ass ball player at fort you right? Oh yeah, like most guys are out thirty five ish. So um A side note, as soon as I'm done with that, I'm chasing Elk. In September when the bugle in. So that's that's another bucket list. So but as but there's lead at the end of the tunnel. I mean not that the tunnel is that dark, but I'm just saying, yeah, yeah, like the way the thing, that's why I don't comply.

I got plenty of opportunities because you were you were on a professional track in your teens, right, so it's like you've had a career and you'll still be unless you do something horrible to your knees, right, I'll be able to just tear it up. Yeah, I'll be able to hunt as much as I want. So that's like I I said, you don't not every day you get to go chase the World Series. So I'm taking taking Yeah, Like I said, as much as I love hunting, I

wouldn't would not trade and change that for the world. Yeah, I got it. Okay, Austin's got all he's got limited time, he's got stuff going on, he's got a big game tonight. We're gonna get into some other stuff and then we're gonna get back in with him in a little bit. All right, here's here's the thing we got to talk about. And sometimes something gets so talked about I don't want

to talk about it because what's there to say? The who like the fact that that that I'm trying to put this here, Kran Why did you determine that that we didn't need to talk about it because everyone's already talked about it so exactly as you said, it's true, but like, what what more is there to say? Like, I just felt like the news would make its rounds and all of the various circles that it's flying around,

and that's it. We didn't need a touch on it. Well, I want I didn't want to talk about it, but now you really did. Then it came to be that I realized I had a dissenting view. I had a dissenting view from the rest of America and thought we and I wanted to talk about it. When you google this story, the first results are npr tmz l A times. So when you say everyone's talked about it, literally everyone. So I don't mean like everyone that I hang out with,

I mean like America. Yeah, could tell tell tell us just to bring people up to speed, Spencer, do you mind telling the story? Sure? This? Uh, this sort of like entered our radar about a week ago, where screenshots started floating around every piece of social media, from Facebook to Reddity, Instagram, Twitter, etcetera. Where it was a woman who posted on Facebook, uh five photos holding a skinned out critter and this is what the Facebook post says. It says, So this morning I set out for a

solo predator hunt for a fall black bear. However, I got the opportunity to take another predator wolf pup. Two was a great feeling to text my man and say I just smoked a wolf pup hashtag first wolf, hashtag one less predator Montana. Okay, can you back up and give it to me a sentence at a time. What here's the problem. There's the punctuation, So okay, break it on.

If that sounded clunky, it's because out of nowhere, break it up, break it up in the same fashion and hit me with a not a sentence, but a thought at a time. Let me try her. So this morning I set out for a solo predator hunt for a fall black bear. Great, however, great, I've done the uh. I've done the same thing. However, I got the opportunity to take another predator, wolf pup. Okay, here's where things start. Okay, great, great, she lives in a state where she there's in a

state that has a long wolf season. And I'll point out has wolf quotas the states divided into seven regions. Each region has its own quota. There's a store, there's a total statewide quota. Uh, she has uh the necessary permit. Okay, nothing of foul now the pop part um hits it on the nose, but so, okay, great, okay, go on. And the last thing says two was a great feeling to text my man and say I just smoked a wolf pup. Okay. So has a great relationship with her boyfriend,

excited to share details of her life with him. Used they use the word choice, the euphemism for killed. But let's say she had said got text my man, I got my first wolf pop okay. And then that's followed by hashtag first wolf, hashtag one last predator Montana. Yeah, okay, I don't know that the motivation is one less predator. I think the moti you know, the motivation is like you want to go hunting, you want to get a wolf.

I don't know that people really if you wanted to wake up any at any given day and do something for wildlife, in your state, okay, and in your in your soul, your your soul goal is to benefit wildlife in your state or benefit ungulates in your state. I don't think that hunting predators is the best I don't think that hunting wolves is the best use of your time. I think it would be that you would volunteer for the day for Rocky Mountain Helt Foundation. You'd volunteer for

the day for mule of your foundation. You would go to work that day and take all the money you made at work that day and give it to a habitat organization. It's similar to I think it's similar like let's say you wanted to go shoot prairie dogs, um, but then you say like, oh, I'm going to help the rancher out. You know. I think it's mostly you want to go shoot prairie dogs. If you went to a ranch, if you went to a rancher's house and said, you know, today I woke up and I just wanted

to help you out. What what is the thing I could do most to help you out. I don't think that's what he's gonna say. I don't think that's what he's gonna say. Stretch a wire he's gonna say like, oh, dude, you know what I'm dreading. You know what I don't want to do? Throw square bales. Yeah, it's just so I think there's a little bit of a there's a little bit of mental masturbation that happens with people where

you are. You get into where you're there's a thing you want to do, and you have perfectly legitimate reasons to do it, but you dress it up as though it's like somewhat altruistic. You know. Altruistic would be that you went that you had the day off, went to your boss and says, I want to work today, I want to do over time today, whatever. And then I'm just gonna and I'm gonna take the entire pay for today and and donate it to a wildlife habitat organization

that would you know. So there it's a little fishy there. I mean, this story gets a lot more fishy, but up to this point, I'm just laying out like what, Okay, the parts. Now, here's the plot so far. Maybe a little bit of men my masturbation, but not offensive. Here's here's the plot. Twist and wide. You know, TMZ and NPR are talking about this the five photos she posted are not with a wolf with a husky. Yeah, that's where husky. That's where we enter into a problem. A

dead husky and a a skinned out husky. She rugged it out. Yes, Now, if it was a lab her, a beagle, her, a hound, I would be more inclined to be like, what the right, more inclined. You're you're already given her too much credit. Listen, it's not as

I understand. As I understand that she was way back in the mountains and someone had dumped a pack, so to speak, someone had dumped a pack of like sled dogs, right, had dumped a pack of sleddogs out in the middle of nowhere just to get just to get rid of them and dump them. So that that Facebook post was on Saturday, and it had done its thing. It was all over by Sunday, and and I feel like we're all getting texts of it like is this real? This

is a joke, right, and things like that. I think on Mondays when the Sheriff's office for Flathead County put out a statement, that's when they gave those extra details that a pack of dogs were dumped in the wilderness. And I think up until that point, eleven of those dogs had been recovered, and it was like, what nineteen or something that got dumbed. Well, a different Facebook post from this woman who shot the husky, she said that there were nineteen dogs that were dropped off and that

she was eleven miles in the back country. So people had already kind of like formed their opinions by this point, by by like the three days two days later. You know when the sheriff's office has a statement, I think

that you could. You know when you go to get if you go to bear hunting the state that has black bears and grizzlies in the lower forty eight, your state agency is probably gonna make you go do a thing where you have to look at pictures of You have to look at pictures of bears in various contexts and pass the test about how well you can distinguish a black bear from a grizzly. It is not an

easy test. I'm not saying, I'm not even kind of saying it's the same thing as the husky, no wolf, but placed in a certain context where the last thing on your mind is one thing, I think that it would be let me put out, Let let me tell you a story years ago. We went down when I was in school, me and some me and my and uh. When I when I was in school in Montana. My brother Danny was in school at Auburn. We went down to hunt the Tuskegee National Forest, Okay, and it was

a great time. We just hunted public land, had really no idea what we're doing. Everybody got a buck. I got a buck. Who's a spike that was so small we lax. I cut it off with a hacks on. I was able to carry its rack around in my shirt pocket. Caught a real thin little slice. You still have that rack? No, I wish I did. Man. I literally went home with that rack in my shirt pocket.

But it was a legal box either way. I remember one point when I was walking down this road through Tuskee National Forests and look down a cut line and hit the deck because there's a deer. But once I looked through my skulle, it was some damn big dog. But if I was walking down a street or a sidewalk through a neighborhood and I saw an object step into a cut line, I wouldn't have thought or step

into an alley. I wouldn't have thought there's a deer. Yeah, you think there's because the context of where you're at influences what you see. And according to this woman, she was eleven miles in the back country, which I don't know. Maybe she might have been ten miles up a logging road. And Hi, I don't really know what that means. I I absolutely understand it. But I think one thing we should talk about is that there is no like So this was a domesticated dog who was dumped into the

woods and she rugged it out. Well, here's the thing, what do you There's no way this this dog probably saw human for the first time, and however and was probably probably ran up super friendly, like oh my god, I don't know. I've been says it ran up in in like growling and snarling. I've been out Kyle hunting before and called in dogs with a collar on. But when they hear that kyo fight sound plan, they come running in ready to you know, funck something up. They're

ready to fight. And I mean I have like personal called in a husky while Kyle hunting, and in that context I can depth oh yeah yeah with a collar on, Yeah yeah, I called it in a neighbors German shepherd. One time. It can happen. Definitely. I didn't shoot it. No, I did not shoot it. I am not in any way. I'm not in anyway. I'm not in any ways saying it could have happened to anyone. I don't think it

could have happened anyone. I just think that the criticism um is a little carried away, and I think that it's not. It doesn't strike me as like this horrible doesn't strike me as this horribly negligent, egregious thing. It was like it was a mistake, but it wasn't if it was a lab, like I said, if it was a lab or a beagle, you'd be what. But there are black wolves, there are white wolves, there are mixed color wolves. We recently saw a pack of hunt in Alaska.

We saw a pack of fourteen, all black wolves. I didn't know that could happen. Dang, fourteen solid black wolves. And when you're looking at him from a long ways way through a spot and scope, you would be like, holy sh it, there's a bunch of black dogs running along because they're just black. M So it just it doesn't strike me. It just doesn't strike me as insane. As it's striking everybody else. And I think there's on

people's behalf. There's like a shipload of moral posturing. And I think the most of the people that are most mad would have been just as mad if it had been a wolf. And somehow, weirdly, when a woman does something, it pisces people off more than when a guy does it. That's true. And even though she's not gonna face any legal trouble, this is gonna follow her around for the rest of her life because it if a woman does something, there's something about it that just makes even women hate

him more. You know, women, men, all right, they're not given because it's like because she did this awful thing and tried, thought she killed the wolf, try to kill a wolf, it was a dog, It's like they're gonna pile onto her harder. Yeah. I think it's the sheer, just brazen confidence of that Facebook post to that's that's adding a lot of feel and my but my context there would be then that it is a genuine mistake, right,

that it's just an individual made a mistake. Yeah, And a lot of people have like this disneyfication of like what a wolf would look like, right, don't. I don't think people even always really know exactly what they look at. The people that are piste would have been pissed if it was a wolf. Yeah, totally. The news coverage you see of this, it always this is now like a launching pad to talk about like the delisting wolves and things like that. You see that in all these new

sources that are covering this story. It becomes it becomes not that a woman shot at husky. It talks about like the protection of wolves in the Rocky Mountains. It's a referendum. It becomes a referendum on whether it's the state, uh should be love to manage the resource. Yeah, so it's like we shouldn't have wolves delisted because otherwise huskies are getting shot. Husky get shot. We need to add some more clear need to add some more clarity to

the story. Though. So she had posted that like on the weekend, right, and the sheriff's office releases the statement a few days later. Um, and then she puts a follow up post on Facebook, and you had talked about how she had shot it because it was like barking at her or whatever. Here's what her post says, This is just part of it, It says I would still have shot it because it was aggressive and coming directly for me. So that that was part of her story

that came out later. Uh, that the husky you know, was posturing as though I was going to attack her. Hm, I mean I can't buy that that. I don't have problem with that. It's like dogs. We call it burger barking, like coyotes do it. Dogs do it when they first see a stranger. Hell, my dog does it through the window of the truck, like she see someone walking in the dark. Right, hackles go up. It's like it's yourself. It's a convenient it's a convenient detail. I don't know.

I don't know if it's true. I could see why someone in this situation would feel the need to um try to get themselves out of the death threats and right like I can see why someone under great dear rest might stretch the truth. But in and of itself, that is not an outrageous claim. No, it's not. If someone told me. If if if my wife was on a hike with the kids and she came back and said, we were way up so such and such place, and some damn dog comes out of nowhere, barking and growling

at us. What I'd be like, you lie in right now. It's like, Okay, that's like I can imagine that happened. And there's a lot of places that I've hunted in South Dakota, Wyoming, it's like you have a random straight dog come through your decoy spread while you're out there, and it's like, oh, that's that's not anybody's pet, that's just a dog out roman doing its thing. We were turkey hunting in a in a remote area of Montana, I mean as remote as you can getting hunting. Turkey

hunting remote area Montagna. At one point I looked out across this large patch of open ground and I'm like, what in the world is that. I couldn't tell what was going on. As we got closer to investigated, it was a domestic dog dragging a deer. Domestic dog dragging a dead deer through the fields. Yep, very similar story. Me and you remember Danny Morrison. Oh yeah, Um, me and Danny were were turkey hunting in South Dakota and uh, Danny was trying to get on this one gobbler and

then this thing just disappeared. A scene wasn't out in the field anymore. And uh he pops up over this little ridge to get a glimpse. Put byos up and there's this stray dog that had killed this turkey, just out in an open field. Yeah, eating on a turkey out in the middle of grass pasture. You know. Here's another quote from her follow up Facebook post. It's hiss. My safety was top priority. This animal was growling, howling and coming at me like he was going to eat me. Okay,

I don't know, I've never met the individual. I don't know that that's true, but that is not outrageous. Yeah, and even if it's not true, like you say, someone told an outrageous lie, that might be a lie. It was not an outrageous lie. Well, I mean either way, Like you can see how she's just trying to hit completely completely understanding. It's just the yeah, and you've you've you've kind of pulled me over to the other side to but it's just the Facebook that the complete kind

of her first post is like I smoked. I smoked this wolf. I'm gonna tell my husband. And the next post is like it was growling and snarling and charging at me. I had no other choice. You know, it's just kind of it's it's convenient. She's under tremendous dear rest um. And again just we're not summed up yet because I wanted we we need to hear the her boyfriend to say. And and here I respect the um. You know you know that Tammy want to stand by

your man. This is like stand by your woman, woman, woman. Now you're you're referring to a follow up Facebook post by the husband, and in that face post, one of the details that he says is that she has not been filed for any charges. Well you read the whole she will not be filed for any charges, but the sheriff's office UM says that they are investigating the thing. She's not gonna get in trouble. She shouldn't, man like.

There were other claims which I don't know how people came upon these that she addressed in the Facebook post that she didn't have a wolf tag. She did have a wolf tag. She says she has a wolf tag, but I don't see anything in the sheriff's office statement saying that she did. It just says it's under no I think it was clarified that she had a wolf taga and it kind of doesn't matter. A lot of this stuff is this A lot of it's like hate the game, not the player. Do you know what I'm saying?

People are mad because they would have been mad if she shot the damn wolf. Uh. Phil, you know that you have a little machine that bleeps out obscenities. You're gonna need to get a new one because the one you've gotten out is going to be worn out. It's gonna be worn out. But I want you to very carefully. Spencer's gonna read it, and I want you to very carefully bleep the Incenti's out. And I think this will

make a phenomenal T shirt. This is gonna make me blush and and like our last uh email T shirt, this one lacks punctuation. But don't worry about because Phil is gonna bleep it all out. No one will know what it was that you said. That's right. Yeah, it's just gonna sound like a mad lib when we're done, where it's like insert. If we do a T shirt, I don't know if we can about check copyright maybe the individual, but it would be with all the like dollar signs and asterix and stuff for when you do

a lot like the last. But here's an individual whose girlfriend is getting death threats and here's his response. Yeah, I don't even fault them for this. We're talking about making a template that other people could use this for ready. Yeah, any you mother talk all that you cause not one of you mothers are tough enough to act on any of your bullshit. Said, If so, come to my place and I'll beat your myself. Yeah, my girlfriend was out hunting and shot a dog that was dumped out in

the woods. No charges have been filed or will be filed because no laws were broke. It was a dear chasing feral dog on the wrong place at the wrong time. So if you want to be a bunch of cry baby sheep, keep going, because we really don't give two fings about what's going on or what's being said. Mistakes happened, big deal, you cry baby motherfuls. And for any other hunters who want to talk saying it looks bad, well

it does, you stupid mother. But mistakes happened. So, like I said, any you want to act on any of these threats and bullshit, come up, because I got one for you. Sure, I love I totally understand. I don't understand. Uh. My favorite part is, like you all you understand it looks bad, Well, yeah, it does. Owning their ship and in their intention was not to do what ended up being done. Strip away the strip away the passion, strip away the passion? What what? What is what is left

when you strip away the passion? Well, we was my girlfriend made a mistake. She shot a dog. It was a dog out in the wild. It was a deer eating dog. It was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sure, it looks bad. Mistakes happen, and no laws are broken. That it's like, okay, strip away the passion. And it's like you just aren't dealing with people who are that. It's not like you're dealing with irrational people. It was a mistake. This sounds kind of irrational because

it's infused, you know about infused with passion. Shawn's Duck report minutes on that trying to move on. You are right in that you are one of the only people I've seen take this stance on the internet, whether they're in the hunting community or not. That uh this was kosher. No, no, no, I want you to now, I want you to do this. I want you to tell me what my stance is, because I want to make sure you're paying attention to

what I'm saying. Okay, I'm not being fair your stances at she made a mistake and that it it could happen to folks, and that that I think that much of the anger is coming from people who have a problem with something put in place by the state where she lives, and they're deflecting that honor in in a big way. You know, earlier I was saying is because it's a girl. But if it was a dude to be bad, I take that back. I take that part back. They'd be pissed at a dude. Oh yeah, were you saying?

Oh yeah, I'm saying that like people kind of what a woman does, like a woman goes to Africa and get it's almost a little it's like, in a way, it's a people experience it different. It's that whole Kendall Jones. It's like because they're just like, you know, it's just people feel it different. I agree it takes on like a sexual that the hatred takes on like a sexual violence kind of think in celt creeping in there a

little bit. I think if it were a dude, they probably would have Well, I don't know how do I quantify or qualify like worse, but I think the follow up like a rabid dog and her dog was barking or I felt intimidated, I was, you know, protecting myself. I feel like something about that would not go over as much if it were dude. Oh yeah, you're right, there's something. There's something about that. Dude would have had a harder time. A dude would have had a harder

time going down that path. Something you can't argue with, though, is that it appears as though she did a very good job of skinning out this husky. Great job, what's great? Like it would have made for a very nice rug if I I mean, I would get it, if if if, I don't know if John Hayes would do it, but I would put the bill to have it done and just have to be like, hey, remember that whole deal. Well there's that, and I don't think it's going to happen.

But how many people death threat, how many death I think you're underestimating how passionate dog would I would if I could get it, no matter what I could get it, I would put it in the I would get it rugged. I would get it rugged, and I would sell in the auction house of oodities. No, that's a that's a sure. I think I think conservation it would fetch a generous bid. And let's see if those folks would uh, you know,

I don't know that auction house of Oddity's item. Instead of that money going to the land Access Initiative of our own, I would take the money from that bid and give that money to the meal of your foundation. And I would say in the end, in the end, it was good for dear. I think this won't be the last update we have on this story. And here's why. The Sheriff's has said that they recovered eleven of the dogs and they are currently at the animal shelter, but

they're not up for adoption at this time. What if we find out in like a week that, like, yeah, come get yourself an adult husky. They're super friendly, great family dogs. Uh. We feel very good about their prospects of of going to a home. I am not saying that it could have had into anybody. I am saying that when you strip the parts out, it's not as insane,

it's not as agregious as it's being portrayed fair. And also people just like stop with the death threats, Like just stop, like the threat of violence over a dog in that's just the internet. Well recently we had the guy. There's been three guys that have brought lamas to check stations thinking they had cow elk Okay? Did they all get death threats? They missed they misstook an animal. There was a guy in Colorado shot someone's mule. Thought he shot of cow. Should they be put to death? They

shot something thinking it was something that wasn't ye. People just need to do they need to die. I mean, stop it, no, no, just like some people take that real serious. I don't think the hunter would want I don't think the Hunter would want to do this at all. But if she, if she would come, if she came on the show, I would love to have her on the show. How about her husband boyfriend I only did I only didn't want to do it, but they wanted to come and tell the story. It would be uh.

I would love to have him on the show. I bet they come out of this with a renewed fervor in their relationships. Seems like they have a good relationship passionate. Well, listen, she was excited to share it. She was like, again, let's say it had been wolf. She was excited to share. He's defensive of her. It's not like he didn't cut and run. No, yeah, no, he's standing binder. Before the show and the Dark Report got a a couple announcements

to make now at the meat eater dot com. We have a big giant whitetail week running from October nine to six, daring that for most of it. Huge first Light sale happening from October t to so all kinds of sweet deals at our store. Um deals from Tethered Timber Ninja, first Lights, first white tail sale which puts off all Specter, Camo, all Solid Bass Layer bottoms, all Hunters Orange, starts today October ten. You can find it.

They're something very exciting to a new product launched from Phelps Game Calls tomorrow or depending on when you're listening to this October eleven, Phelps is launched in the Phelps Dear Call later this week. F HF has its twenty four hour only one shot deal, so that's bundles of f h F gear you'll get with your first light purchase like get a free chest rig with purchase of a first light source puffy or get a free E three pole with purchase of the first light transfer pack.

So check out all that stuff, big week at the meat eater dot com. Now moving on Sean, all right, we're tackling kind of a big one in the waterfowl community space right now. When I called John Devney from Delta Waterfowl asking for an interview on this subject, his exact answer was, so, you want to write an article on the most difficult waterfowl issue in the Western hemisphere, So to which you said, yes, I do, and I

I've been off a lot here. It's taken me quite a bit of time to uh right this article right, this duck report on this and the subject is the Klamath Basin in the Oregon California border. Um. For a little context, the Lamath Bason is like Upper Klamath Klamath Lake, then Lower Klamath Refuge and Tuley Lake Refuge that drains down the Klamath River. UM. The Lower Klamath Refuge was Teddy Roosevelt's first waterfowl refuge, and that really surprises me that he got to that before he got to oh, yeah,

because the waterfowl refuge might be different. But you know, like that real urgency around the shore birds they were shooting for the plintary trade. Yeah, I would have thought that would have been one of his first things when we were trying to save all the e grits and stuff, yeah, from commercial slaughter. Well, and there's so much, right, there's so much waterfowl habitat and like the East and the South.

Even think about chess Peak Bay, Like during his time, Chesspeak Bay is getting just raped in pillage for better lack of words, and and he goes and picks the Klamath all the way over on the west coast. But uh, the Lower Klamath and Tuly Lake refugees at their week during the late nineteen fifties, we're holding four to five million water birds. Two hundred thousand would migrate to the refuge to molt in the summer. Um of all Pacific

Flyway water birds would stage here. It had more pintails in just the Klamath Basin then occurred continentally, like this place is one of the most vital as as Dr Chris Nikolai from Delta water Fowl put it. He says, this is the second most important refuge system in in the entire refuge system, Number one, Yukon Delta. Oh yeah, I thought it was gonna be some stuff around the gulf. Yeah, yep um. And so all that is to say the refuge is now bone dry, I mean, not a drop

of water in the whole thing. And they've canceled the hunting season for it, uh, which is no surprise because there's no ducks there anyway. And if you go down here to the next kind of page, you'll see a picture from Brian Huber. He's a waterfowl biologist out there in California, and uh, the pictures are pretty grim and unfortunate because it's just a whole beautiful oasis just cracked, dirt and dry. Yeah, cracked, baked, click rock hard, cracked up,

dried mud man. Yeah, and a lot of schools. You know, it's important to note, like we are all very aware of the drought that's just persisted across California and Oregon and made you know, wetlands having a real hard time in the West. Anyway, California just shut down like three more refugees hunting seasons in the Central valley. But um, there's more to the story with Klamath. And I'll try to not get too deep into the weeds here because it's a huge thing to tackle. But one of the

biggest problems that Klamaths faced specifically is uh. According to Ron Cole, the former manager of the Klamath Basin the complex, the refuge complex, he really just has a problem with what the E. S A Has done with the water. Um, they discovered two suckers there, the the lost River sucker

and the short nose sucker in the complex there. That now with the E. S A, a ton of the water allocation from the Bureau of Reclamation project there has gone to recovering these two suckers as well as of course the threatened Southern Oregon Northern California still co host s and salmon and uh, you know, the E. S A has so much power right that like it kind of trump it's the trump card that the water all

goes to recovering these these species. And in the early two thousands, two thousand six, ron Cole had kind of helped bring all the partners to the table, all the stakeholders so to speak, California or again a bunch of Indian tribes, four counties, individual farmers, companies, irrigation districts, seven n g O s. He kind of got them all on one agreement, that was the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, and they all they all signed on with it, and

Congress never got it past. It just kind of went to the hill to die, so to speak. And so now everyone's kind of fragmented, not all on the same page anymore, and not really getting along like they had before. And uh, you know, the refuge, specifically Lower Klamathan Tuley Lake don't have a real water right. They have one that's for agricultural use for thirty five acre feet, and the Fish and Wildlife Service hasn't like they haven't kind

of demanded that water from the Bureau Reclamation. They have exercised that water right. And so what you have now is one of the most vital waterfowl habitats in the country going bone dry and really no obvious way out in the short term. Um, you know, it's it's it's sad,

it's sickening. Uh. You know, Ron Cole predicted it when they didn't get the restoration agreement past, the refuge would go dry eight out of ten years, and and you just start sterilizing soil right like you're you're baking what's wetland soil. You're you're pretty much cooking organic material. And you know, they only had a hundred and twenty nesting ducks on this whole place this year. Um hmm. It's

a sad deal. And you know, hopefully, hopefully kind of it wakes some people up to the water situation in the West as a whole, and like kind of the importance of some nuance here. I don't think anyone really has um like the end, he'll be all answer, But you know, Ron called Ron Cole put it really interestingly to me. He said, the Pacific Flyway is like a

three legged stool. You have the Klamath Basin, you have the Central Valley in California, and you have the Bear River Watershed right Salt Lake in Utah, and those three um, those three places are kind of what props up and holds up the Pacific Flyways ability to have ducks. And Central Valley in California is that like, you know, wetland loss and hardly any water salt lake is going dry.

One's bone dry dry. And then Salt Lake is like you know, everyone's predicting five years type thing, and so yeah, you you kind of just have this pervasive problem that hopefully I hope it sucks that it has to get this bad for people to wake up to it, but you hope it's actually at this point like a wake

up call. We got to do something with. I was gonna ask an ignorant question about like, well, they're birds, like can they not like fly to some other habitat in the area, But it sounds like all the habitat has gone some and evoly will but you're not gonna right it's it's yeah, for sure in the short term, right,

they can go to other places. The problem is just a when you look landscape wide and when you have a net habitat loss right, eventually a carrying capacity of the flyway just continues to decrease and you have um, you know of all of California nesting mallards. California used to nest a lot of mallards in the Central Valley of those would all fly to the Klamath for their summer molt. And now it's like they're gonna fly there and find what bear dirt. Um some will figure something out,

but you'll have just a massive net loss birds. Man. Yeah, And I think one of the interesting questions that brings up is, you know, there's no such thing as a free lunch, right how how far can you take it when you are pushing water down a stream for the salmon to keep the water cooler before they eventually take out these klamath damns um as they allocate you know, acre feet of water for these um suckers, as they allocate water the little water they do have to these

other things, like how far do you pursue you know, they the e s a right before before it's like at the expense of everything else there. Yeah, you have some conservation dependent species they're hanging on by a thread, and someone might ask, is it worth losing of our ducks to save a conservation dependent species that is almost certainly doomed anyway? Yeah, and you know the extinctions forever man. Yeah, it's it's well, yeah, there's no I'm not saying that

like I have that. It's a tough one because you could also be like we you know, maybe we'll get some great wet years and it won't be an issue anymore. But that's not what climate models are showing. No, climate models are showing that this is the new norm. Yeah, yeah, totally. And you just have you know, you have more development, you have more egg like, you have so many more things demanding water. Is the time of less water. I can see someone saying, like, is there a Sophie's choice

do remain here? That you'd say, um, that you'd say that that it's too bad. It's heartbreaking. But some of these things are gonna some of these things that are are gonna have to step aside to make way for the longevity of things that have a greater a greater capacity to hang on. Right, Yeah, I mean the Klamath Basin used to be four hundred thousand acres of wetland

habitat and then it's now like it's zero. Right, It's things can this isn't gonna be but things can turn with with with impounded water, with watersheds, things can turn around so fast. But this is this is turning into a long, long issue. Yeah, it's not like a freakish year. It's the new norm. Yep. Especially in the West. You know there's oh god, what was that. It's like Malika Luka there's a lake that sits right about Pyramid Lake. Um, that's like Applia, right over the hill from Pyramid Lake.

That was the Dr. Chris nick I explained this to me. It was our first. It has the distinction of being our first National Wildlife refuge to be sold because it just went dry and was never gonna have water again. Hasn't had a duck on it in eighty years. You know. Yeah, it's just like it's a dry playa and put something else. Yeah, they sold it off man turned it into BLM ground and you know that's it sucks to say, but that's

where you see some of these other things going. Unless I guess hopefully, Um, if anything, there's kind of a there's kind of new spirit of the the actual current refuge manager John Brandenburg. He he said to me, he said, I have hope that this is what brings everyone back to the table and gets everyone do like agree, Hey, we need clean water going down the river for the salmon. How do you get clean water? You put it through

a wetland. Right. Um, you know, we need a little bit more equity because what we're doing is not working. And you know he he also said, how beautiful would it be right too to have like Teddy Roosevelt's first waterfowl refuge be kind of the pivotal moment of wetlands in the West, Like we find a way to get through this and and create a solution together, and our generation be like the ones that like save the Klamath for the long haul. Yeah, should be cool, but it's

interesting or deal. You know, Pacific flyways got like the most liberal limits. They can shoot seven ducks of person out there. They have the longest days. Um, but that's not gonna last long. You keep losing all your wetlands and all your water. You waterfowl hunter in the aerials step up, Yeah, totally. The part of the problem that happened with the different sucker species is you didn't have a huge advocacy advocacy group arguing on their behalf the

whole time. Yeah, you know, no one was knowing, people weren't watching, people weren't yelling, right, And it winds up in a situation where it becomes a federal e s a issue and hunters, you know, hunters and angers get criticized for being overly focused on the stuff there, being overly focused on trying to conserve the resources that they like to go after. It's like, least someone's doing it. Yeah, You're like, oh, yeah, you just because you want to

shoot him. It's like, well, first, it's more complicated than that. And second, wouldn't it be great if every species had an advocacy group like this? Yeah, most people don't advocate on behalf of any species. So to to knock on hunters for advocating on behalf of the ones they like, it's like, great, buddy, go advocate on behalf of the ones you like. Yeah, or have you never done that? Right? Yeah?

And now you have? Right, you have even birders like piste Off in the Pacific Flyway because all of a sudden, what they, you know, kind of had they were able to kind of take for granted, right, was all these beautiful refuges that they could go bird at. Now all of a sudden they can't. Uh. An interesting thing about the the advocacy thing, you know, obviously I have a bias of wetlands, right, Like, there's a reason I love

wetlands involving duck hunting. But I think one of the things here is you can't ever deny the importance of a wetland on a landscape. I mean, they are just there, just essential for everything. And you know, at the same time that the salmon down river are facing like slow warm water, dirty water, and they've got these like parasite issues in this salmon population, and they're pushed more water down river to try to speed up the water and

make the water cooler. At the same time, they're like neglecting the most easy obvious filter for that water, which is the wetlands. But hopefully, hopefully something changes. You know, there's at least a lot of attention on it now. Ye, So if you want to find out more and look at some pictures and stuff, well the Clamath basin and the whole situation with Pacific Flyway waterfoule, will check out Shawn's big article at the meater dot com. What are

you gonna call it? Ah, yeah, I'm not I don't know the exact title yet, but involved the clam It's there right now. Go to the meater dot com and you'll find Shawn's article. And we got Austin Riley back with us here, so we're gonna get into We're gonna we're gonna get into talking about him now. Oh so, hey, this this. This is an interesting thing. I mean, this has just happened. This will help get us into this

will help get us into sports talk. So we've covered if you listen to the show, you've become somewhat of a subject matter at brewn walleye tournaments because of our very own Seth and Chester engaging in the Montana Walleye Tour. So we've learned all about walleye tours and bags and all that. Well, yesterday I get a text Seth yesterday. Sets not with us right now, but Seth yesterday text me a YouTube video titled Walleye Cheaters Busted. We got

weights and fish. So this is a walleye tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, and two anglers, Jake Running and Chase Comiskey, weighed in a five fish limit that went just over thirty three pounds. This is yesterday, so it says like this is posted thirteen hours ago. After being announced winners and also Team of the Year. The tournament master, like the tournament director, cut open their fish found eight pounds of lead sinkers and five fish. Also, I just talked to set this morning.

They also the fish were stuffed full of walleye flas whoa, which is smart because some of these things they had like four hounds lead sinkers in them. So how how no one ever just pell painated? Oh that you I mean like like if you ran your hand over the if you just ran your hand over a fish, you know, it's not normal to find a rock hard? Can you explain how agreed just this is? Like just well yeah,

because there's there's like all the stuff they've won. I mean, you know, these guys might win sixteen grand, twenty grand in a tournament and these are just small you know, these are hobby anglers. Well you're inna here how piste off people are when we're gonna play this little bit of this YouTube it but uh yeah, I had a pair of fish impliers. Walleye plays all kinds of lead weights.

And what's weird about this tournament is the fish are dead, you know, like normalet terments are always working to keep the fish alive. On the big tournaments. They put him in these holding tanks, and the holding tanks have earth magnets in them to search for stuff, and they're scanning fish. But Sets says, apparently these guys last year after winning failed to polygraph. But uh failed to polygraph. But the evidence has already been destroyed, so this has been long suspected.

And then this this video on YouTube's fifteen minutes long, but in it you see all the guys coming away in and Sean, we're gonna play the clip where the discovery happens. But you can hear there's a lot of grumbling where guys are like, but my fish are bigger than that. You can hear people be like, understand, there's no way, He's like, let me this, guys, let me see those fish. We had fish that were bigger that. There's no way those fish way that. And things quiet down.

And then and then here here's what happens in the YouTube clip. We got weights and there we go. I love that. Everybody was like cheering after the bat. Oh, it was like brewing man like, people knew, people knew, and people here you were getting on the fact that so they they had weights, and they also were stuffing them with walife filets. So apparently at first, like the first thing they cut one, he cuts one fish open.

You see a guy that's down there fiddling with the fish, and he cuts one open and screams that out, and the and the announcer. The announcer cox back basically is because the guy is standing right there like people are braiding the guy. He's sustaining with staring at the ground like he's there's nothing he can do, right, he's so busted. But the first thing on the announce, the first impulse the announcer has, he cocks back like he's gonna give that dude the biggest haymaker, but just does an air

punch instead. Next I think he was throwing him out like a baseball umpire throws out a manager, just just arguing. That's what he did. He threw him. See. I thought he was like, I'm gonna hit him in the face, but then changed his mind to the air punch. That's how you read it. Yeah, Austin, have you been thrown out of a game before? Show him the video and then and then he can decide. At one time, rookie ball, Um,

that's the only time I ever been thrown out. Other than that, Um, I drew a line a ball was like it wasn't even close, Like and I was you know, I was eighteen. I was stupid, and and that's like the last thing you can do. And like I tried to like discreetly, like as I might walking across the plate, I kind of like behind my back, I draw a line and I ended up getting tossed, So like like obviously you got the plate and you know ball's gotta cross it anyway. It was like in the other pretty

much in the other's batter's box. And I was just showing the umpire where where it came across. So you were saying, in case, this is actually where it crossed. If you really want to know where it was, where it was. Yeah, now you decide if this snare punch or if he's getting thrown out like an umpire would. So the announcers on the it's that guy, the guy that's cutting here, and he said get the f out of here. So yeah, I think he was like, well, I was trying to. I was trying to we can

make it that way for the a TV mini series. Yeah, when when you make a Netflix movie out of it'll be that. He just he just gives him how many pounds of fish like coming at the way and where you like look at a small fish and like what it or a small a pile of small fish and you you like, eyeball, what approximately that should weigh and then it's like seven times more with these fish that are known, so it's not like a three pounds shark. Yeah,

But also I was gonna I was gonna ask. Also it's like, was there a big difference in like first instance, like okay, yeah, okay, So it's not like it was just like well maybe not in that one right because of eight pounds of lead, probably a little bit of a game. Well no, because people have to watch the whole thing. It was like there's another team that had overt right, So it was it was definitely they put it. Now apparently forty eight states have just like flat out

rule against cheating in any tournament. So he's got it's probably criminal. Oh yeah, very criminal. Most places, there's ane that talks about how the two angler team had won three thousand dollars and victories. Wow, that's all going to be under scrutiny now, Like I'm sure, Well, those guys have won an article from you know, almost a year ago, so they were like prolific anglers in this area. Many like mischievous. It's like felony still in money, Say, what's

the worst cheating you've ever done? Uh? I grew up loving baseball in the late nineties, and you know, it was like it's hard to talk about cheating without with

a baseball player, without talking about steroids. Man, it's just like the height of all the people watch like I was, you could not miss the Cardinals play when Mark McGuire was was chasing it was chasing that that that record, and no one, i mean maybe people were thinking that I was pretty young at the time, but no one was like looking at this guy thinking like why does he look like he just got stung by a hundred bees?

Like no man should be should look like this. And then and then the effect that that had on the week for a few years was was massive. I don't know from someone who's like now a professional baseball player and he's that you still kind of feel that kind of that that with the weight of the steroid. No, it's it's pretty it's pretty gone. Yeah, I mean we're testing now. It's like you can't. Yeah, I mean we're

getting we've had c DT. They're like, which the guys that drugged us is I mean starting It's been like they've been there like every day for the last like two weeks, and like randoms whether it's blood tests or you know here, and so it's like they've cracked down on it so hard. It's like guys aren't Yeah, guys aren't getting away with it. They're just over yeah and sophisticated beyond, Like it's not just anabolic steroids they're looking

for anymore. Yeah, they're looking forever. And like I said, it's like the they're taking blood. It's like you just can't, you can't get away with it. When did you guys when you were born? You were born in Tennessee, moved in Mississippi, right, Yeah, so I lived I lived in her Yeah, and I've never lived in Tennessee, like physically lived in Tennessee. Um. Um, I've lived in Hernando, Mississippi, which is twenty minutes from Memphis. So it's like Memphis

was the closest hospital. So that's that's that's why. Yeah, it's like that's the only place to go. Um My buddy is always you know, especially on the team, you're not from Mississippi or from Tennessee. I'm like, oh, that's why. That's why I was always always like Mississippiromssissippi, Mississippi, and that's born in Memphis. Tenn because your parents drove over there the way. But birth certificate says Memphis, Tennessee, so

you can't argue with it. He could still help out with the Squirrel cook Off though, Oh yeah, we should talk about this. How connected to Tennessee? Do you feel like a strong, super strong connection? Not really to Memphis area though, right, I go up like I went up there one time this all season for Luke Kong's concert. That's the only time. So I don't don't, I said, I get enough of somewhat of a big city, so

I stay stay secluded as possible. We ever got to meet Luke Oh yeah, yeah, he came into the locker room about a love over a month ago. Yeah. Yeah, he's getting a great No, he doesn't know. He doesn't know about this either, but so we're going to ramp it up. Well, here's the thing we're trying to work on, so you might you might have to come up because if you can make it, we're trying to work on

this sing where uh there's we're trying to get. There were some people that wanted to move the National Squirrel cook Off. World Squirrel cook Off has always been in Arkansas, and they wanted to bring it to Tennessee, but the animal rights people got onto it and like they're they lost their venue. So we're trying to bring it back with a band. Yeah, you might need to bring up a squirrel dish. I can do that and you can

revisit your birthplace the kill Messa squirrels one morning. So when when you were growing up there, what was the what was the How did you get introduced to hunting and fishing? Um? So I got introduced really by my my uncle, like bow hunting. Um my dad hunted. My dad grew up in Demas, Arkansas, small town. Um, die hard duck hunter. Yeah, that's good duck hunting country right there. Um, die hard duck hunter. Like he tells me stories all the time. This is when to me, he said, when

ducks were around. He doesn't think ducks ducks around anymore. That's a common malady that happens when you get older. Yeah, they're not around as perhaps where you hunted them, you know, or they turned it into a Walmart or something, you know, and it just seems like the whole world ended. Yeah. So he you know, he said he they used to wake up in the morning kill limon and Mallard go to class like every the morning. So it's like and then kind of, as you know, my sister came around,

I came around, my brother came around. He just kind of stopped. Uh. He's more of a camp guy who loves to cook, um, have a having cocktail along with it. Um. But really, my uncle Heath introduced me to to to deer hunting. Um why on Mississippi every weekend. I got the chance too. I was going down there um and and just spending the weekend with him hunting. Killed my first actually killed my first deal with a rifle there, killed my first boat or a dealer with the bow

there um and ever since then? What was that? Why? The Mississippi not not far from Startville, Mississippi State, about an hour west of there. So did uh where'd you wind up going to? So? What high school? Did you go to? Sota Central? Uh? In South Haven, Mississippi? And by that point you were hardcore baseball? Yeah? At that point, I mean I this is as as soon as I could pick up a bat, I was swinging a baseball bat, um and and just fell in love with it. My

my dad, um, you know, was a sports guy. He punted at Mississippi State. UM played baseball there for his freshman year and then just just went to football only. So we were always doing sports UM and just gravitated towards towards baseball versus football or basketball. There had to have been though, man, Like, there had to have been either or or this or that moment. There's this there's this quote by Jim Harrison. I aishually I had it with me. The writer Jim Harrison has this quote. We're

talking about where he grew up. He said that at at some age it was either there was kids that had a baseball bat when they're riding their bike down the road, or the kids that had a fishing pole. And he said, and they might intermix a little bit, but their destinies were set, you know. But that didn't happen to you, Like, how was this sort of you know what I mean when you how was it figuring

that out? Like from hunting, just like when you were young? Yeah, you know, I mean, to be involved in something that would be if you're good at it, you have promised at it. It requires unbelievable dedication. You can't be distracted, right, and then you have to be looking at the stuff

you're not gonna do, right, Yeah, I know. I mean I remember growing up and and in the summers it was like, you know, all my buddies were going to the lake, all my buddies were going to the pool, they were going on vacation, and I was going to play baseball. Um And it was just you know, one of those things that I love so much. Um And it just like I said, it kind of what I was saying back earlier, is like I get the best

of both worlds. Like it's that's how it was even you know, growing up, It's like summers were baseball winners were hunting, and it's just like that's what that's what I did. Um and and and it was for me, it was an easy choice between baseball and football. Like I I liked football, um, but I knew just the I think the tension to the small details that the game of baseball, you know, you have to understand and

and focus on the mental side of the game. Like I think that was what you know, attracted me so much. There was so much uh little side, you know, the little things that the side of the you know, baseball, that that I think attracted me more. Um. And like I said, just being able to do baseball and then one or for my hunting season. Yeah, I was thinking about that earlier when we were talking about your last five games after a hundred and sixty two games, that

it can come down to like a few pitches. You know that that level of detail and statistical and nominally in baseball, like this is not football. And that's that's what I think. Some fans get so bored with it and they you know, baseball is boring, it's like, but when you really dive into it, it's like, you know, there's so like the tens in the detail is so

huge in the game. Like you know, it's like, you know, if I say there's a guy on first and you know, somewhat of a slow runner, and I have an opportunity to turn double play, I don't, um, you know, that guy ends up staying on first or second or whatever it may happen. It's like that guy ends up base hit,

scoring and run. It's like, you know, looking back at the end of the game, it's like, if I would have turned that double play, the game's you know, you know, we may be when it when about one versus losing by one and so it's like that small stuff is to me is what you know? I think I love so much of it. And you have that level of knowledge about all the players, like you know that someone's a slow run. Yeah, yeah, we and part of it like analytically, you know, it's taken over to the game

so much. It's like if I don't know if you've noticed last night, it's like every between every batter, I was like pulling out this card in my pocket and it shows like where you know, it kind of gives us an idea where to play. You know, it has you know, how fast the guy I like plus minus like whether guy runs fast? Like that. You know what's funny because I kept saying I was saying to someone's like that dude just pull a phone out of his pocket and he's like, there's no way from the Diamondbacks.

Did you'all see that happen? Yeah, the guys, that's what you say, There's no way he had a phone. No. No, It's like we have like a little card they do all like their their you know, analytical work. We get it um and it kind of helps us, you know, you know, we still play like the the eye test of you know, we can make adjustments if we want to, but we you know, it's very helpful. Is that kind of what what you're you're referencing when you start mixing

up how you guys are shifting up. Okay, so yeah, that's that's where we get get our information. Are you happy or disappointed at the shift? He's going away happy in a way because I don't have to run the right field. Um, you potentially we're shifting all the way to write, Yeah, I don't know if I want. I went I went out to shallow right field. Yes, a couple of times. Um, you know, I'm I'm excited at

that I don't have to do that next year. But at the same time, like the rule is is you have to have to position players on each bag or each side of the bag next year of second base. My thought process was, as long as you have a foot in in the dirt. I was just like, take away the extremes, like the guys that go all the

way out to right field. But it is what it is, um, and I think it'll you know, it'll help some guys from a hitting standpoint, and it takes you know, and then shows the value of you know, a true defender of like the range. H you gotta have that that side of it next year, so it'll be cool. How I know, you probably can't get into too much detail,

but how um, how specific is the card? I mean, you don't have a card on every player, right or not a card on every player, but like we have every player um and then I mean it's pretty basic. It's just you know, it's you know, whether we're shifting or not. Um and that, Like I said, that just tells me if I'm if I'm going to right field or not. And then um, if if he's you know, if he's a speed guy or if he's a slower guy.

That just kind of helps us tell you know, how much that game clock of you on our mind, of how much time I have to to get the guy out and hurt to find someone's card and find your name on it. It's a slow guy, that's me. I'm that guy on someone's car that's like, hey, all the time in the world. Just can you tell us what he might say about Pete Alnto, Like what a few things details about it? He's straight up, which I mean,

that's kudos to him. He gets the ball, you know, you've seen it, like he has the ball power all sides of the field. Um, I want to say he's an equal, like what we call an equal guy, Like he gets down the line pretty pretty fine. So, um, nothing nothing bad to say about Pete. Hey, you know, speaking of running fast, who wasn't found talk what's the dude that has the race? Like the seventh inning race? I was hoping that the freeze. I know, I'm very shocked.

He normally there every day I checked there. Explain this to me. Yeah, So they what they do is um and this is exclusive to Braves games. Right, So they start on one side of the foul pole in the warning track and they pick a random person in the fans. It's like, hey, do you want to beat the freeze? Where do they try to find like a fast looking dude? They because the dude that they had last day who

gets to do the run to get the base. So that guy he looked like you went and found like a pretty I mean, that wasn't just a random dude. There's been guys that have beat the freeze. And yeah, and there's been guys that pulled Hammy's Uh, they've beat the free There's been guys that have a dirt that have tripped, um, so I think they just go pretty random.

But it's well, you got a nice little kick out of it, especially, like I said, a guy that's you know, not stretched and he's about halfway there and he checks up because his hamstring is pulled, and it's like it's like John Colt. It's like Coulter's run right, Like the guy gets the head start. Yeah, yeah, guy gets like a fifteen you know yard yard head start, and you know he normally he's can roll you. Yesterday should shows you for that. Yet to night will make it happen

to me. Man. Yeah, it goes viral a few times a year because somebody trips and falls and, like you said, gets a serious injury. It's entertaining itself. What do you have like a home hunting set up? Or is that just out of the question because you can't do all you can't keep track of this. So I'm in a hunting club on the Mississippi River in tunica Um. It's it's four thousand acres um just just west of Tunaka, Mississippi.

I think it's like twelve of us in it um and that that's what that's why I you know, when I'm home, that's where where I hunt. So you got a spot where, even though you can't pay any attention to that stuff because you gotta focus, You've got a spot that your friends and stuff just roll right into. Yeah yeah, so, um, the way it works is, um,

like I said, there's twelve of us. One of my my best friends is in it um will Craft and his dad and so they you know with this new Spartan you know they sell ear cameras are awesome this time of year. Like I'm sitting in my locker ro I'm glued to it um because I'm you know, I'm checking them. Um. Oh yeah. So they, like said, they fortunate enough. They kind of set everything up, you know,

feed um whatever it may be. You know, hang some stands move from cameras around so that, like I said, when I whenever I do get home, you know I can I can roll right into it. How do you, uh, when you're talking about all the analytics and all the stuff to keep track of and all the studying, what's your when when? And how do you just zone out? I mean during season like as far as just that you I don't know, watch some dudes getting in a fight at a Walleye Tearraman on YouTube or whatever. I

mean talking about during before games. No, I mean just like in your schedule. I'm pretty low key. I'm not gonna lie like I don't like to. I'm not one of those guys that's sitting, you know, in my hotel room and like I'm studying film or um. You know I'm gonna check them like the next next day. Starter. Um. But you know, to me, it's like over a hundred and sixty two games. If if you like, you gotta step away from it. Um or you know, I like

to play golf on the on the road. If if I get an off day, you know, I'll try to hit the links just to do something different. It's like like I said, you're we may have like two to three days off in a month, and it's just like I said, it's so repetitive every day. It's like hotel field home field, hotel field home field. So it's like doing something different. Um. I think is is huge from from the middle side of it. So you know, I lock in once I get to the yard. Um, like

I said, I'll figure out who's pitching that night. Once I get to the yard, I'll go in to do some homework. We you know, we have an app on our phone that we're able to log in and um. And you know, kind of like I said, do your homework short to speak of of what that picture is gonna try to do to you that night. Um. But you know, like I said, at at the same time, there's some you know, definitely got to step away at points. You've also always been a part of like competitive teams

in the majors. And imagine you know, people who play for a club that is eliminated from playoff contention by July, they like do feel that law more than you do. It's it's probably a lot easier stay engaged when you're like always in the hunge. Oh yeah, no doubt. I mean, like I said, it's like you're always looking, you know, even like this year, it's like you're always watching the box scores of the Mets. Um. We're we're seeing how they're doing. Um. And I think that's that's the beauty

of its. Like you said, you're you're playing for something. Uh, You're not just out there you know, trying to you know, whatever it may be for For teams that you know, aren't aren't in a playoff contingent. But like I said, being able to being fortunate enough to be on a team that you know, competes every year, it it definitely makes it, you know, a lot easier to to go out there every day. And like I said, you're you're playing for something, you know at the end of the year.

You know how the president has an intelligence briefing where people come in they right take it all down for it, you have to do your own like do you have does someone present to you about what's going on? Or you have to do your own research. You have you have to go over the materials yourself. Uh no, like I said, that's like analytical side of the game is

like grown so much in the last three or four years. Um. So like we get we have we have hitters meetings, like we go over like scouting report um I Like I said, I just said that we we get a scouting report on the picture. Someone for someone presents the information someone verbally presents the information to that verbally and

we get like paperwork on it. Um at the field and we can, um you know, go over and take all take as much or as little information as we want and like I said, form form a game plan. Yeah who who? Uh So it's probably the most demanding for the picture, I would say, so, um, just because is they're seeing so many different guys like me and all his personality right right. So it's like for me, it's like I may see you know, I may say one guy one night for guys really good um that night,

or I may see four four guys. Um. So, but you know they're seeing you know, for sure nine you know, pinch hitting, you may see ten or eleven. Uh So, I think it's definitely more more important for for them. What's it like to have all your all your finances just become like national news story, We'll you know what I mean, Like yeah, yeah, to be like he will get this much money in this ten years and all

of a sudden. I mean, it's just there's no sort of like politeness about like actually, you know, don't know what Bob makes. You know, it's gotta be like you gotta feel pretty early on, you know, early on in my career, I was, you know, a little a about it. But then it's like, you know, oh, I'm not gonna step away from it because of that reason. So you just kind of not to sign the contract. I just don't want everybody to know. So, yeah, it's one of

those things you embrace, you just kind of get over it. Uh, it is what it is. Sean and I were talking about. There was a player last night. I was having a couple of had a couple of rough plays, and the guy in front of us just yelled out his contract amount, you know, and it's like it was the thing his insult at the player was to yell out his contract amount. Was it was it Rosario? Yeah, okay, yep, yeah, which was a weird, weird thing to this, I can imagine.

So you had you you have, um, you signed a contract with the Braves. It was uh hadn't been done before like a link time. Yeah yeah, um, thank you Braves. Uh No, very very fortunate. Um. You know I I it made sense to me, um to to just be here, you know, hopefully for the rest of my career. I mean, I my family's five hours from here, you know, in Mississippi. Um, my wife and I had some family that lives here. Um, you know, the organization is great, you know, the family

relations are great. You know, having a little one that just you know, it it made too much sense for for me not to you know, to to sign something that was that was long term here. So when you when you did that, was it just kind of like, um, in terms of aspiration and career, when you got to that point, it's just like a side relief. Where is it, like, holy cow, man, now I really got to like performed for a long time, or else I'm gonna feel like dirt,

you know. Um. And definitely was the side relief, just because you know, up until that point, you know, I could have been traded, you know, the next day, or or you know, I you know, a career injury that could happen. I could you know, not know what was my next move. Um. So you know, like I said, it was just you know that that right there alone, I think took a lot of weight off my shoulders, just knowing that, you know, my family set up for the for the you know, the rest of your life.

You know, don't have to worry about college for for a little man, like any any of those things. All the financial side of it was taken care of. But at the same time, it's like, Okay, now, you know,

I expect more out of myself. Fans to expect more out of me, so that that definitely, you know, plays and I could picture that just being a huge you know, because then there's sort of this uh it's like the fans everyone they've bought something and now it better turn off um And And to me, that's like it's like another thing that like I love. It's it's just like, hey, I got I gotta just another reason to work harder

and and try to try to perform better. Is just you know, try to be that guy that fans can rely on, my teammates can rely on um And and that's that's that's the beauty of it. To me, I spend a silly amount of time fantasizing about like the deer hunting property i'd buy if I were to win the lottery or something. Now that you sign this contract, is that on your radar that you're gonna get a farm Mississippi? I want? I would love to own some uh some land behind the levee um by the Mississippi River.

Just um. Growing up hunting in the hills of Mississippi. Deer on is big. Being in this camp that I am in now behind the levee Um. There's some giants that walk around there sneaky sneaky giants, swamp donkeys. Yeah, there you go. Um No, so that's definitely in the in the works and hopefully in the next couple of years. What about like when farm two comes around, is that gonna be Mississippi as well? Are you thinking somewhere else?

If you know, if I whatever purchase another piece, um out of state Illinois, I would love to be able to, you know, because you know I could be there in five, five or six hours. Um, not not far um, Like I said, would love a love a piece up there somewhere. Are you actively looking for stuff? Um? Always? Even even before I signed the contract, Like I said, it was a dream, Like I've always drained owing in my own land and um, you know, building it for the better,

for for wildlife. My grandfather farmed, Um, so I was, you know, own a tractor riding around. Yeah. So it's uh, you know, whether it's owning a piece, you know that's you know, half of it's we call it like the wet side, which is on the Mississippi side of the levee, or the dry side. Um, you know, whether it's half and half farming a little bit, you know, definitely want to want to do something just for people who aren't familiar. Can you explain when you when you talk about blow

the levee or so there's a huge levey. Yeah, there's a huge level that runs down the Mississippi River. Um, and it's just you know a flood flood you know, flood levee. Um. So just on the other side, like on the wet we called the wet side, which is the side closest to to uh to the river. Um. Just it's something about the just huge old um oak tree. I mean just trees are huge. I mean it's just different to me. It's like old forest. Yeah yeah, yeah, it's like you you go on the other side, it's

just like completely different. It's crazy. It's like when you go over there, it's like you're into me. You're in a whole another another world. Well it hasn't been so manipulated by man ye right. And then like you said, you're right there at the delta. So it's like on the other the dry side, it's like straight flat pretty much all farmland. Um. So it's I love spending time behind behind the levee. H. That's a good term. Yeah, that's good. So what are your what are your plans

this year? When you get down? Your season gonna lay low? Uh? You know we had little man, uh my my son eastan April, So, um, gonna gonna lay low this this offseason because I hadn't got to spend a whole lot of time with him. Um, I know, I'm going to Nebraska to hunt, uh hunt up there. It's kind of like my my year, my yearly thing that I do. But other than that, almost stay stay around the house. Uh and just you know, spend as much time with him as possible. So like you got any trips you'll

have to cancel if things go good. Uh no, that's I said, that's that's the only one I got I got planned this year. So did you mean your kid after the Baseball bat Company? No? So a lot of people's tea. Yeah even better. Um is it true that you got that so your your son was born during season? Yeah? You guys get what's your what you guys get like a three day fraternity leave or how does that work? Yeah? So three days? Is I mean obviously if you need more,

they do? You know? Alex is as good about it? Um? Were you playing on birth? And? Oh? Yeah? So I listen to that. So we were in l a um and Anda was, you know, call She called me a couple of times like hey, I'm having these weird you know pains, and it's just you know, it's like every fifteen minutes. Like I was like, maybe you know, call um, what's what's the terms. She's not. It's not there like the doctor, uh, midwife, midwife. Um, there it is. So I was like call her and just like see if

you need to come in or whatever. And she was like they're called her And doctor was like, oh, they're probably just Braxton Hicks like you know, drink a bunch of water and put your feet up, blah blah blah. So um, this was like twenty minutes for game time. So I was like I told our trainer George. UM, I was like, hey, we call Anna just to make sure she knows, like if anything goes on to call you like that way I can you know, get get on plane and go. Um middle of the game, you know,

you know, the middle of the game. Um. You know, George gets a call and it's going to the hospital. Um. And at this point I think we're in like the seventh or eighth inning. They start looking at flights. There's no you know, no private flights that are gonna get me in there any earlier, you know, commercial flights. There was like the Red Eye was like the only thing I could take at this point because you know the

time change and stuff. Um so you're in you said you're in Los Angeles, Yeah, in l A. She's here. So her her aunt ends up coming, get to her, take her to the hospital. You know this is you know she's going, she's getting ready. Um as soon as the games over with George is like, hey, you gotta flight, you gotta leave. So like I'm like straight panic mode, go get in the shower. They get me a car, send me to the airport. Did you did you have the bat while this is going on? Well they didn't.

They luckily they didn't tell me, um because they well there was no there was like there was no reason too because the only flight I could take was a mental like so they were they weren't pulling me out like there's no sense and pulling me out of the game. Um So, but they're working at it. Yeah, they're they're all like behind talking to my agent, getting every trying

to get everything ready. Um So, as soon as the game is over, I shower, rush to the you know, the airport, UM to take the Red Eye, and like seven thirty I get a text from you know, Anna's sister, your dad, and I'm on the day flight. I end up missing it, which crushed me. That was that was tough. You got like no sleep on the flight because I'm sitting here, like, you know, thinking what you know what, you know, what all was going on? Um Landed said

he had, you know, born at seventh. It's like seven thirty five. I landed like eight and end up getting up there like nine thirty. Traffic and everything and just it was a long a couple of days. But anyway, so we had an off day the next day. UM, and you know at that point, you know, I can only do so much. So I up, you know, having the off day and and just missing the missing the one one game. But no, normally you can, I said, you get three days of maternity ly even. But it

was a good little ride. Um but I tell and I was like it, maybe I have a blessing in disguise. Because they waited so long to give her the epidural that my aunt ended up having to like step in and being a little mean, which I'm like, I don't know if I would have could have done that. So you may have been a blessing in the sky. You might not have been as good as an abbey. Yeah, so uh, you know, all things work out for a reason. So it's good. Do you guys desire to have more kids? Um?

I would? I think she would to you know, we've talked. I don't think anytime soon. Um, I think yeah, to think about it. Yeah, but I think there's definitely hopefully another one in the in the future. We need to do is get yourself a little calculator or a calendar and figure out Oh yeah, we've I've already talked about it planning in the off season. Yeah. Man, we're gonna do this January, right man, I'm gonna be there. I'll drive you down to the house. I be there for

the whole san day. Be like, well, I thought it was gonna be that way, but we're kind of onto this really nice box, so it's gonna be you have to go again. Well. The farther thing is is like, and I could have been anywhere else, and I make it on time, Like we happened to just be in the West Coast, happened to be playing in l A. Just couldn't have been playing Washington or Phillies or New York where I'm an hour or two. You know, I'd

been five and a half hour flight. But talk to us about your quote that win viral earlier this year that I think it was popular among a lot about doors been I'll go ahead and say I didn't say that. You didn't say that. So where did this come from? So there someone made I guess it was an account. Let's say the quality real quick. It says I crushed the ball and hunt deer and it ain't deer season?

Is that like the actual like insta liked graphic. Someone made that about you, the very small print like sack sports or something. Well, no, so it says Austin Riley didn't say this something like that. So this account that created this, I know, like it funny, funny quote. Great, But yeah, so it says, um, they like to say account made all this stuff. So it says like a bunch of random stuff like from players and that, like they you know, I didn't say this, but it's kind

of funny. Oh yeah, it says Austin Riley did not say this about his recent hot streak, literally put it in. I've had to tell a couple of people that, yeah, it's a very small down to saying that now, like you should make that yours. I know, Um, I hadn't, but it's it's a it's a it's a hilary I've gotten. So when it came out, like all my buddies, like everybody was sending to me, it was good. So did that like introduce a lot of opposing players that would come up and talk to me like, oh, you like

deer hunting to I think everyone. I mean really, if you look at my Instagram account, it's it's got It's not. Yeah, it's not. Everyone knows. Yes, everyone pretty much knew that I was, you know, being from Mississippi. Though, Oh, you're a big redneck hunter, aren't you. I was like, yeah, I guess all right, man, I know, I know you gotta get out of here. But good luck with the family first and foremost appreciate that coratulations on your kid. Think, good luck with the rest of the year, and then

one's done. Good luck with the hunt. Appreciate it. I'll keep I'll keep an eye on it. Instagram make sure, for sure, So for sure I appreciate you guys have me. Oh know it's great man, best walk up song in baseball to you. You know I'm saying you have it? Oh yeah, Stone called Yes, he was talking about how he doesn't have any connection to take me out to

the ball game. But when I heard the glass shatter for on Steve Austin, I was like, oh man, if I was an imposing patriot, be so intimidated at that moment, so real quick on how that came out, so like Nelly hot in here has been like my walk up film for like ever since I got into pro ball. But everybody on Twitter was like hammering me. I was like, you gotta tang, you gotta uh And I think I went through like a little skid where I struggle. I was like, I'm changing it and end up going off

after it. So's it's stuck. I love it. And I got to the after one in the World Series w W. E sent me like an actual belt. It's my most like price. It says like w W World Series Champs on It's got the Atlanta enbow on its nest. Yeah I be Nelly never sent you like a face band, No, I got a huge belt. You who your real friends are, right man? Thanks good thanks good m