Unveiling the Path to Personal Excellence On and Off the Diamond

Welcome to the Excellence culture. My name is Matt Bros with Lockton, and what's led me to start this series that I'm having conversations with employers just about this idea of enhancing the excellence of their people. And so from the boardroom to the storeroom, we're gonna be hearing stories from people that are excellent. Let's do this. Welcome to Excellence culture. My name is Matt Bros with locked in downing benefits and I am really excited to have somebody here to talk about excellence with. And that is Ian Kinsler. Fourteen seasons in Major League baseball, four time All Star, two time gold glove winner, and now you're gonna sit with an insurance guy. Yeah. So I really appreciate you coming and and thanks for that time. Yeah. So, yeah, the reason why we're having these conversations is I'm really wanting to hear stories of people that just execute, you know, excellence on an everyday basis. It might be somebody like you who is somebody who's done some pretty special stuff, but it can also be somebody who's at a car wash. It just wakes up every morning and wants to do the best that they can. And so being able to have this conversation with you, I think we can learn a lot from. So, yeah, again, I really appreciate you taking this time. Yeah. Could you just kinda take us into a little bit of little Ian Kim's And and maybe kinda first share with us a little bit of your upbringing, etcetera? Yeah. I grew up in Tucson, Arizona. To Howard and Kathy Kinzler. My dad grew up in New York in the Bronx. Moved to Tucson to play on the freshman basketball team at Yuvre. My mom grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and decided to, you know, go to the University of Arizona and that's where they met. So that's where I was that's where I was raised, that's where I was born, that's where I was raised and I don't know how many people have been to Tucson, maybe heard of Tucson. It's a smaller town. There's not a lot going on. Obviously warm you around perfect for sports and get being outside and whatever. So my upbringing was outside, you know, in the dirt and the rocks. There's not a lot of grass. Trying to keep the cactus out of you. Yeah. Jump and Choyas. Yeah. Jump and Choyas. You know? So it it it was really a a perfect environment for, you know, a kid. To be outside and and learn the sport that they love. And baseball at a young age was something that I loved. I was drawn to it. Was there any other sports? Soccer. Okay. So soccer was my second sport and people some people that are really close to me that I grew with would probably say that was my best sport until I was, like, fourteen probably. But baseball to me was was definitely my love and and passion. So -- Yeah. -- at fourteen in high school, you know, it was a little bit of a shift where baseball became my primary focus, you know, soccer with like a club team and then the school team, when I was fourteen, I stopped playing the club team soccer and just focused on baseball. But still played soccer at school through my senior year. So it was still it was still part of my my athletic polish -- Yeah. -- sort of speak. Yeah. Because, you know, similar to basketball, it's it's a lot different, the way you utilize your body, the way you move, you know, understand finding how your feet work and things like that, which can be one hundred percent beneficial to baseball or to in whatever other sport you're playing. So, you know You're obviously pretty fast. You could steal some bases too? Yeah. I mean, I was more instinctual, I think. I I could run, but I wasn't like a Trey Turner you know, like a bubba Thompson who plays for the Rangers -- Yep. -- these these guys that are just burners. Yeah. You know, a lot of a lot of stone bases, a lot of the base running for me was was more instinctual. I did have the speed to go with it, but it wasn't like that was my attribute that that, you know, jumped off the page. So tell me a little bit about just kinda your parents growing up. You know, the the kind of kid that they wanted to raise it was a very it was a very laid back household for the most part. My well, I mean, both my parents worked, my dad was prison Warden. My mom worked for the city financially for the city for the for the public health system. Okay. And you know, they worked from nine to five. It was pretty typical. You know, I had to walk myself to the bus stop every morning, walk my home myself home from the bus stop every morning or every afternoon, and, you know, kind of have that period of time whether, you know, when I was younger, it was the after school program, you'd go for a couple hours, wait for your parents to get off work, they come get you. And then when you get to high school, you come home and you're sitting on the couch or doing you're trying to finish your homework as fast as you can. So when mom and dad get home, you can catch a ride to the ballpark. But You know, it it was religiously, there was really no no force in our household. Mhmm. You know, my dad grew up Jewish in New York and my mom grew up Catholic in in Phoenix. Okay. My mom comes from a pretty strict Catholic household where she has, you know, ten brothers and sisters, Portuguese, Catholic, family. Yeah. My dad grew up on the East Coast, Oshkenazi Jew, and it's a culture on the East Coast, a Jewish And they decided before they had children that they would not push any sort of religion on their children, kinda let us find our own way. So I'd say more spiritually. Yeah. We taught independence, it sounds like. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And you kinda figure it out for yourself and and you know, what you're drawn to and and those type types of things but definitely, you know, sports being active was a huge part of our house. And I have a younger sister who grew up playing soccer, softball, and then decided in high school, she wanted to be a cheerleader. So it was always something you know, you always had to do something outside of school. Yeah. And that that was important in our house. That's cool. Well, I I'd love to hear, you know, because it it we might be wording a little bit just in your life, but is there somebody that sticks out as just one of the greatest mentors you ever had? Like just in your quest of who Ian Kinzler ended up becoming, who had a lot of influence on that? Man, that's like that's such a tough question to reflect on because Obviously, my dad and my mom are huge influences in my life. But, you know, you start you start to think your peers, and your friends, and people that you're close to, people that you that you grew up with. Then you start thinking about the coaches and how many different steps along the way of your life, you got to develop relationships with with different people So it's really hard to, like, peg down one person, but, you know, I would one hundred percent say my dad. Mhmm. Outside of that, you know, my high school coach was a guy named Kent Winslow, who, you know, for for me, it was started in high school, there was our coach named Kent Winslow was an excellent coach, an excellent mentor, really understood how to how to grab our attention and and hold our respect. Mhmm. And, you know, that's big at a young age in in high school with you know, kids from fourteen to to eighteen and and understanding the team dynamic and also just a young person you know, frame of mind and view of the world, and he was he was able to keep us all intact and and motivated, and and he kept his respect through the time I was at in high school. And then I ended up going to junior college and there I met three guys who pretty influential on me. First was the head coach. His name's Clint Myers. K. This is in Arizona. Right? This is in Arizona. Essentially, Arizona junior college. And the head coach Clint Myers, and he was just an extension of of Kent Winslow -- Alright. -- really. And all of this was just as far as baseball concerned, it was just a great growing environment at every step along the way for me to understand the game and to push my instinctual game to the next level. And I'm just understanding game more and more each step. Another guy who was there was the pitching coach's name was John Winte, and he's still in my life. He was in my wedding. He we talk on the phone probably twice a month, still he's still coaching. He's at Sacramento State right now. He's a pitching coach and, you know, I lived with him at one point in the summertime when I went first for summer ball, you know, I I lived with he was my host family, basically. Yeah. Or he he stayed with me at the host family, and he was the he was the head coach of the team, and we lived together. So -- That's cool. -- every drive home, we've got to talk about the game and dissect the game, and and, you know, I learned a lot. And there was another guy at that same school, his name was Michael Marino, who played at Arizona State was an excellent ball player, and just a ball of energy. Okay. And he was the guy that really pushed me physically. I knew what hard work was, but I didn't sometimes your intent gets lost in hard work, and he was constantly on me about at ten. He knew that I'd work hard. He knew I would take any opportunity to get extra work, but the intent of it and the and the energy that goes with it There also, like, a blue leaf behind it too? Yeah. Absolutely. It was just really important to He he rode me. And -- Yeah. -- for me through the through the course of my life, I seem to really be attracted to people who are on on the borderline of being critical? Yeah. You know? Like, somebody that criticizes me, construct on the borderline of constructively and not just somebody that kind of rides me with somebody that I was always back into. I wanted to be around that person, and I think that really started at a young age with my dad. You know, he was he was very critical but very constructive. Yeah. And he had, you know, his major was was, you know, in his in up being his job was being a warden in in criminal justice and he was minor in psychology. So he had a pretty good idea of how, you know, discipline works, and motivation and what to say and how to point things out to me? That's such a good point man. I'm not I'm I don't want to interrupt you but like the just that you know we're we're talking about excellence here, right? And it's not this flashy excellence kind of thing but it's just people who are trying to be the best they can, they they just accept correction, it seems like. Right? And that seems that's what you're kinda talking about? Absolutely. It's self reflection, really. Yeah. You know, people, in my experiences, when we talk about excellence, people that have the best self reflection are usually the most excellent. Yeah. People that can understand what makes them tick, what's gonna make them better, and they're able to to digest that and use that are usually the people that -- Yeah. -- the most excellent. Regardless, so that it is sports or anything else, you have a pretty good self reflection of where you're at and how to get to the next level, and like what you need to improve on, and what you're kinda what what makes you really good? Yeah. And you're you you're able to to manage all of those things -- Yeah. -- usually, it leads to productive production. That's awesome, man. That's awesome. Well, it sounds like you've had some pretty good impactful people in your life, and I'm sure through kinda keep going. Absolutely. And you might be able to reference some of those people, you know, coming up. But it it seems like, you know, I kinda did a little bit of search on you, obviously, or an easy person to research. But it seems like kinda in college, there is a struggle when you're at Arizona State a little bit, it maybe weren't noticed the way that you should have been. And then, obviously, fast forward You were drafted in the seventeenth round to go to the Rangers. And then next thing you know I mean, not long after that, you're an all star and a gold glove winner. And so mentally for you, I mean, was that just a challenging to go through because I feel like you probably believe that you were better than everybody thought. But Yeah. I've always believed that. Yeah. Yeah. And to a fault really, sometimes, you know, grow in high school, we had five major league years on the team. Yeah. Ended up being five major new year's on the team. Wow. So and all of those guys were big kids. They were all big and strong and fast, and they're just better than everybody yields. And so I was overlooked a little bit there. Yeah. But I still thought I was the best player out of all of them -- Yeah. -- internally. Mhmm. And that's just how I played and that kind of carried with me through the rest of my life and everything kind of happened for a reason looking back and and really the learning moment was at Arizona State like you mentioned where I got benched. Yeah. I transferred from junior college to Arizona State and there was a guy named Dustin Padroya, who's there, who's there, who won an MVP in major leagues, borderline hall, a fame guy. He's at Arizona State as a freshman. I transfer in as a sophomore. They move him from short to second, and I'm playing short stop and the first seven, eight games of the season were terrible. Yeah. I was missing every I mean, booting ground balls, I was striking. I just wasn't and good baseball at all. Yeah. And then pac ten's the pac ten schedule started and I was on the bench. And I think the rest of the year I got maybe one or two at bats, and and Dustin moved back to Shortstop and ended up winning freshman packed in player of the year. So that was a great learning moment for me because I'd never sat and watched the game. Yeah. And the coaches who were there Pat Murphy, you know, he might there's a lot there's a lot that kinda drags along with his name at the collegiate level and you know, people have different opinions of him. Yeah. But I learned so much -- Yeah. -- from him and the way that he organized that team, a lot of meetings, he made us read, you know, motivational books and and you know, books of psychology, sports psychology, and present chapters to the team, and there's just all kinds of different things that we did. And I wasn't playing at the time, I had I had time to learn all of this and like sit back and actually digest it and think about it. And then I decided I needed a transfer if I wanted to get drafted because going into your junior year, that's your first eligibility from d one to be drafted. Yeah. So I ended up transferring to the University of Missouri And there, I was I was good. Yeah. You know? I thought I was better in seventeenth round just like -- Yeah. -- previously in my life, I always thought that I was better than happening around me or what other people thought, I guess. But I never really let that bother me. I didn't make it it wasn't external. I didn't that out in the world. It was more inside. I I felt like I was the best player on the field. When did you when did you start believing that you're gonna play Major League baseball? You know what? I never really that was never really part of the process. Are really part of the reason why I was playing. Yeah. You know? I was playing because it was my passion. It was really fun, and I loved it. I love to practice it. I love to play it. I love to talk about it. You know, I love to watch it. Baseball was passion. Yeah. So for me, every step of the way, really the goal is just to be the best player on the field. The best player on the team. So if I was to ask you, did you struggle with doubt? There was really nothing to doubt because you weren't really focused on that you know, you weren't focused on the major league or did you have doubts, you know? So, you know, being picked in the seventeenth round, my first report was to Spokane, which was short season. That was nerve wracking. Yeah. You know, your first experience at the next level. I felt like I was ready. I'd been drafted twice before and I knew I wasn't ready for those to sign those previous two drafts. This time I knew I was ready. I mean, I stopped going my classes at Missouri because I was like, I'm I'm signing. I'm I'm ready to go and and learn more and see what, you know, show everybody what I'm capable of. Yeah. But that first experience in Spokane was definitely nerve wracking. My first game, I got I think I went four for four, four for five or something, like, oh, man, this is this is awesome. And then my next like twenty three at bats, I didn't get a hit. I wanna go for like my next long stretch. And that's where it's like, I I gotta I gotta be back. I gotta figure something out. And that's when that was probably the first time whereas, you know, it was never it was never doubt. It was never like, man, maybe I can't do this. Mhmm. It was always, what do I have to do to get better. Yeah. What what do I need to improve on? What what adjustments do I need to make? It was never going onto the negative side. It was like, I I can do it. I gotta figure out how. Yeah. It was never I probably can't do this or this is too hard or whatever. And then, you know, honestly, thinking about the major leagues in two thousand four, I was I was invited to play theirs on the fall league, which is a league that the, you know, the top prospects go and play. And when the when the sun summer's over and the season's over, you go to Arizona Fall League and that's where all the best prospects are, and and I played really well there. And that's where it was like, okay, I'm ready I'm ready for for the major leagues and it was probably still a little bit early in everyone else's mind, but in my mind I was I was ready for that. Yeah. And it took me another year triple a, and then I was able to to break opening day roster. But Yeah. Yeah. A little little view, I guess, into my mind at that time, I guess. Yeah. And that mindset is man, baseball, like, I feel like the game of baseball and maybe the game of golf, you hear about slumps in those two games more than any other game. Right? You're gonna hear about slump all the time in baseball, you hear about slumps and golf. And so just that that idea of the mental side of the game and that peak performance world. Was that a big focus years or did it just come come natural for you? I think, you know, growing up with my dad and the constant, you know, criticism, constructive criticism, and and how to play the game, and and your approach to the game, something that was just ingrained in me at a young age. Yes. Did I have slumps? Absolutely. Yeah. Where were there nights when I laid in and just stared at the ceiling and wondering what the heck is going on and like, yeah, absolutely. Whereas you're sleepless nights and you're going, man, I'm never gonna get ahead again. Yeah. You know? That that one hundred percent happened, but I love baseball so much and I love the work the the the effort and the the process of it so much that it never got to the point where I felt like I was overmatched or -- Yeah. -- this was the end or like -- Yeah. -- you know, that never that never really even got close. And I think a lot of that was you know, the mental the mental state that my dad instilled in me at a young age. Yeah. You know. Yeah. That's cool. Well in our in in my world, you know, I've I I do employee benefits for companies and the mental health of America is a huge concern in our industry, and it's something that we're solving for all time whether we've figured out the ultimate solution probably not. Right? But, you know, was that even anything that was on the horizon for you and the MLB, maybe not you personally, but just the MLB in terms of, you know, even helping those players, with their mental health. I think it's really easy for us to be in this seat thinking that a guy like Ian Kinsler or you know, name name whatever name doesn't struggle with mental health because they're so strong, but it does seem like I guess we've found that there's there's nobody that's, you know, fireproof of that. And so was that anything that was on the horizon when you were playing? And do see that increasing kinda even among those peak performing athletes at all? Yeah. It was during my career was when all of that started to to kinda take fold. Yeah. Team started hiring sports psychologists and You know, they were around. They were in the clubhouse. They were available. And, you know, for the longest time, athletes at a young age, we're we're taught to stay even keel. You know? Don't get too high. Don't get too Where Roger Fed? Yes. Roger Federer in that was pounded into you. Yeah. You know, never show weakness. Yeah. Never show the other team that that you're struggling or whatever. Right? Right. That you're that you're beat. You just can't. Emotions were were checked. Yeah. You think that's a baseball season in itself. The amount that y'all are away from your families. And Yeah. But at a young age, we're taught to check our emotions. Yeah. You know? And so growing up, that that also that is kind of ingrained in you and, you know, through the course of my major league career is when, you know, people started understanding, maybe it's a to have somebody to talk to -- Yeah. -- you know, for for these athletes because everybody reacts differently to the pressures of, you know, being and playing a game in front of, you know, forty thousand people every night and then addressing the media after and then being considered a role model for kids and then having their own kids and then having to deal with their wife and their spouse or their girlfriend and then their families and the way they act, you know, friends that want to you know, just there's there's a lot of there's a lot of things that can potentially be on the plate. And through my careers when it kind of all started to happen and the Rangers hired a hired a guy named Donnie Coxstein, who's now the he he now works for the math. And he's been he's been with the maps for quite some time. He's with the Rangers. He went to the red sox when they broke the curse and then he he now works for the Mavs, and he's he's fantastic. Yeah. He's amazing at his job. But one hundred percent that that the crazy thing about about the phrase mental health for me is that it's like so vast. Yeah. And It could be somebody that is performing in the limelight -- Yeah. -- and doing a great job. But when they go home, their anxiety ridden for some reason. They have a tough time sleeping. They there's there's their mind is constantly moving or wandering in places that maybe shouldn't go or they don't know how to how to process that. So the it's just like this huge range -- Yeah. -- things that, you know, we've we've now coin this term mental health. Yeah. And for me, it's it's kinda dangerous because -- Yeah. -- it can be so many -- Yeah. So many different things. And really being able to talk to somebody that you trust and has an education in in that realm -- Yeah. -- and can kinda help you process it. I think is is important. It's so key and you know, you guys deservedly had somebody right at your fingertips to talk to and what we're we're solving for is the fact that there's a lot of people that don't have somebody to talk to and to get to get it scheduled for a counseling appointment could take two months these days. And so it's that's the real thing that that, you know, we're focused on a lot with employers. And so, you know, I appreciate you being able to kinda share a little bit on that. Okay. Go to a little bit of the bright side. I want to hear about the cycle. Okay. Okay? You're one of the very few people in the history of the major leagues who batted the cycle. And and so go ahead and kinda explain that. And then I would love to kinda hear what your mindset would like on that last hit? Yeah. It was a it was a crazy night. So what is the cycle? The cycle is in the same game, you hit a single, a double, a triple, and a home run, and and four different at bats. Yeah. It seems easy. It's yeah. It's it's a triple, really. That's difficult. Because may maybe you're hitting five a year -- Yeah. -- you know, if you can run. Well, it looked like to me because I I watched it for the first time this yesterday. And it seemed like you knew you needed to hit it to right field, and it almost seemed like you intentionally hit it to right field. And to think that, you know, these pitchers are so good and that you have the time to actually I mean, I'd love to hear what was what was your mind set. And did you have that much control of the bat that night? You know? I did have a I did have a lot of control of the bat in the strike zone and my body that night. But, you know, leading up to that triple at bat, I'd I'd already had four hits. And two of them were singles. Okay. And one was double and one was a home run. So I was triple shy. And my my fourth at bat when I got my second base hit, my second single So I rounded I rounded first and I came back and I was like kind of a reflection moment where I was like, man, I'm I'm poor for and then I started thinking about okay I got two singles, a double and a home run. Oh like I'm a triple away from the cycle. So even in my fourth at bat I didn't realized that I was a triple away from the cycle. And it was it was a high scoring game, so offense was necessary and so your focus was still really high because the the Oreals, the Baltimore oils at the time were still scoring runs and it was kind of a boat and to see who could get, you know, constantly stay ahead. And so that's why in that for that bad, I wasn't really thinking the cycle, I was thinking about winning the game -- Yeah. -- and doing what I could to to help the team. But that fifth at bat, one hundred percent I knew I needed to hit at the right to get the triple. Was I trying to hit it right to right field? No. I'm never really trying to hit it the right field unless I'm forced to, like, move a runner or do something for the the team. Yeah. I'm trying to hit the ball to left. I mean, that's just where I naturally naturally hit the ball, but it just so and it was it was just the perfect placement. Probably never hit a ball like that in my you know, other other than that one time in my career where it was kind of a driven like fly ball, not really a line drive, not too high where the center a run under it. It was like the perfect trajectory in the right center field, and it bounced off the warning track and you know, it was very close to just bouncing over the fence and being another double, ground with double, but it kind of hit the top of the wall. I'm shy straight up in the air. So that gave me a lot more time to be able to get the third. So it was like perfect placement and you know, the crazy part was like, it was on Jackie Robinson Day, which was amazing and, you know, I wore my uniform like him. And at that time, not not very many players where their pants up. Okay. Now, you know, it's pretty prevalent. You know -- Yeah. -- everybody's kinda has their -- Yeah. -- pants up or some sort of style. But at that time, you know, that's maybe a little bit what known for and to be on Jackie Robinson, to be a second baseman, to, you know, have my uniform that way, that was in my my mind. Yeah. Like, this is Jackie Robinson Day. If I do this, like, this is the coolest thing ever. That's so cool. You know, accomplished it on Jackie Robinson Day. So that was part of the -- Yeah. -- the scene for me. Yeah. That's cool. Well, I you know, a lot of us here in Texas, we remember the two thousand ten, two thousand eleven team. It just seemed like there was just so much synergy, you know, in that team. You know, how big of a part of that team was the culture, you know, the culture of that team? It just seemed like you'll having a blast. You know? Yes. It was a huge part. Yeah. We were high character, high energy. Yeah. And we had the manager and the coaching staff that that took us places allowed us to be who we were and Ron Washington was high energy, loved baseball, huge passion for the game. And every day came to win. There was no BS with Wash. I mean, it was pretty straightforward. We knew what he expected from us, and we knew what we expected from each other. Like I said, it was it was, you know, a bunch of characters. We had a a fant I mean, we just had so much fun -- Yeah. -- being around each other and and playing the game together. In the dugout on the field, off the field, we are constantly having fun, but winning was our number one priority. Yeah. Having fun never took over the fact of we need to be we need to beat the other team. Mhmm. So and that that was the character of our team, and everyone really really was a was a place in that. Okay. And so it just it it was like you said, it was just a great time in in the metroplex. The excitement around the team was incredible. You know, you drive through neighborhoods and you see ranger signs in front yard, you drive on the freeway, and you see Rangers's, you know, flags hanging out windows and you see tailgating going on stadium, people are excited for baseball, and it was -- Yeah. -- it was just a great time to be to be a part of that. Where where would you rank, like, the culture piece of that time in terms of what kinda led to y'all success. Obviously, you've got people that are Physically awesome. Great ball players, that kind of stuff. Pitching, whatever. But to me, it seemed like culture was that thing that just kinda that really led to that success a lot. A hundred percent. Yeah. I'm a big believer in that. Yeah. Just the right mindset right attitude and the ability to not really take yourself too seriously -- Mhmm. -- to be able to accept a message from one of your teammates that you might not like at the instant that they give it to you, but you're able to maybe joke about it a day from that or a couple hours from -- Yeah. -- that message, and you're able to to do something about it. And that's the kind of culture we had. You know, no, it was a safe environment. It was a safe space and everyone felt like they could speak their mind and everyone felt like they were a part of what we were doing. Yeah. Nobody was the cast out, you know. Yeah. And it What's it called? The it that was the that was the culture. Yeah. And it worked great. I mean, we work with a lot of employers trying to help them get to that place. You know? It's so it's it's not unique and just professional sports that people are trying to trying to get there just like the synergy you guys had. So that's really cool. So what does just kind of the future look like right now right now for you? You know you're you've got this awesome role with the Texas Rangers. Tell me a little bit about because I think people think assistant GM, but specifically kinda what's your day to day like is that in that role? Yeah. I'm a so my title is special assistant. So I work with the organization, and it could be a number of things. It could be you know, I go to the ball park, when they're when they're home, go to the batting cage, work with the hitting coaches, work with the players. I sit with with a general manager during the games and I'm more of just a sounding board for him and, you know, Chris Chris Young played baseball for a long time in the major leagues. And so to have somebody around that understands what he's saying, I think is important for him. So I'm able to do that and then double A Frisco is right up the street about thirty minutes, so I'm able to, you know, see the minor league guys in the development of players. And then also with the amateur side and like the draft and and maybe talking to some high school kids, some college kids, depending on our our draft situation and and helping the organization really any way I can. That's kinda my role now. And it's it's been a lot of fun. Yeah. It seems like something that even just with your history because it seems your your upbringing in the college years, etcetera, was just such an important part -- Yes. -- who you are, so you're probably pretty passionate about it. Yes. Absolutely. And I've I've experienced so many different things in the game and steps along the way. Right? Like, in high school, I said I had all these guys that ended up major leagues I was playing in high school. We were nationally ranked. Yeah. You know, we were fourth in the country, seventh in the country, tenth in the country. And then from there, I went to a junior call which is you know a little bit of a grind for most people. They don't understand that you can get better there and that it's not a knock on you as a player. It's just a stepping stone. Yeah. But I was able to experience that. I was able to play division one baseball in in two major conferences in the Pack ten and Big twelve at Missouri. And so I was able to experience that and I was also able to experience being a late traffic and like what that means and how to how to get the organization to understand that once you're drafted, whether you're first or your twentieth rounder, when you get to the organization, it's a clean slate. Yeah. It doesn't matter how much money that we invested in you. If you don't perform, you're not gonna you're not gonna play at the highest level. Yeah. So I have all those experiences and seeing the guys that were picked in the first second round in the years around me, how the organization operated with them and how they operated and and their whole process Yeah. And then I played for five organizations in the major leagues. So different views -- Yeah. -- met different people you know, networking and having relationships across the game is important. So I just try to use that experience to help players. Really. Yeah. That's my goal. I mean, I'll I love helping the the the Texas Rangers organization. It's like a second family to me. Yeah. So it's It feels like Yeah. It's like really really fun for me. But at the end of the day, if you can pass along a piece of information to a player, someone that's doing it now and see the light bulb go off and see the success from that conversation happen, it's there there's nothing that's more rewarding than that. Yeah. So if we're thinking about character trait, this is what we're gonna kinda close-up with if we're thinking about character traits, okay, and you want to encourage one of these younger players to be the best that they can be, What do you would you say or the character traits that you have a tendency to really focus on if if you're in like a mentor role with somebody? For me, number one is attitude. That's above all. Yeah. Like your attitude and the way you carry yourself, the way you approach other people, your day to day consistency with that attitude is is number one for me. Yeah. Behind that, we've already talked about it, would probably be like self reflection -- Yeah. -- is to be able to understand how to make yourself better, what you're good at, you're what you need to improve and and those sorts of things. That's good stuff. And that's kind of the I mean, now those would be the first two things that -- Yeah. -- that I would wanna know. Yeah. And then outside of that, it gets more you know, baseball centric where you're worried of not worried but you're thinking about adjustments. Yeah. So you taught you brought up golf. If I go to the driving range with you who play golf at a high level and you're trying to teach me some thing, and I can't feel that -- Yeah. -- or I can't make that adjustment, it's gonna be very difficult for me to make that adjustment. It's gonna take me a lot longer. Yeah. So that's that's another thing that that you look at -- Yeah. -- is how quickly can a player make an adjustment? Is it a day? Is it like five swings? Is it, you know, a month? Yeah. So those are those are really important -- Yeah. -- for me. And and like I said, attitude attitude trumps all. Well spoken, man. I appreciate it. Thanks, man. Appreciate it. Welcome to Excellence culture, man. And I really appreciate the time. I think we can learn a lot from the things what you said. So Great. Thanks thanks for having me. Yep.