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Chris Archer: More Than the Player · Uncommon Impact

• 0:02
  Nathan Whitaker: What a great conversation for this week's Uncommon Impact.
• 0:05
  Nathan Whitaker: I was joined by Chris Archer, former big leaguer, played seven years in the minor leagues, played ten years in the major leagues with the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, and most of you who will remember Chris will remember him with the Tampa Bay Rays.
• 0:18
  Nathan Whitaker: Great person, really thoughtful.
• 0:21
  Nathan Whitaker: Got to know him this past March in Arizona when I was visiting the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• 0:26
  Nathan Whitaker: Chris is now a special assistant working with pitchers throughout their minor league and in their major league system.
• 0:31
  Nathan Whitaker: So Chris and I had a chance to spend some time together there and got to know him.
• 0:35
  Nathan Whitaker: Really enjoy what he has to say.
• 0:38
  Nathan Whitaker: He's a two-time All-Star, four-time opening day starter for the Rays.
• 0:42
  Nathan Whitaker: And Chris is just so thoughtful, as you'll hear when he talks about mentoring and a man named Ron Walker who stepped into his life for a number of years and built into him in some unexpected ways.
• 0:51
  Nathan Whitaker: And then in the ways that Chris is trying to pay that forward with others.
• 0:56
  Nathan Whitaker: Hope you enjoyed it.
• 0:57
  Nathan Whitaker: I thought it was a great conversation.
• 0:58
  Nathan Whitaker: Chris, thanks so much for being a part of this.
• 1:00
  Nathan Whitaker: I appreciate you being on Uncommon Impact.
• 1:02
  Chris Archer: Yes, sir.
• 1:03
  Chris Archer: Thank you so much for having me.
• 1:04
  Chris Archer: It's an honor.
• 1:05
  Nathan Whitaker: Absolutely.
• 1:06
  Nathan Whitaker: So we are speaking from different parts of Florida.
• 1:08
  Nathan Whitaker: Um, I don't know about you, I've got a storm rolling in outside my window.
• 1:12
  Nathan Whitaker: And given that you live in the Lightning Capitol, it could be just a matter of moments till you have the same.
• 1:16
  Nathan Whitaker: But uh but I appreciate you being on.
• 1:18
  Nathan Whitaker: So I wanted to ask you just um briefly, we met back in March.
• 1:23
  Nathan Whitaker: You are now a special assistant for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• 1:27
  Nathan Whitaker: Did you see that coming?
• 1:28
  Nathan Whitaker: Tell me a little bit about that and and how that has been a way in which you can make an impact.
• 1:35
  Chris Archer: Yeah, uh, did I see it coming?
• 1:37
  Chris Archer: I I can say yes.
• 1:39
  Chris Archer: Um, I think I just love this game so much, and I love helping young people achieve their dreams, and this is an opportunity for me to like blend those two together.
• 1:50
  Chris Archer: Use my 17 years of professional playing experience um really as a to help shorten the learning curve for younger athletes.
• 2:00
  Chris Archer: I've been through um you know the draft, I've been traded multiple times, I've I've had extreme success, I've had extreme adversity, um, I've dealt with personal things on uh off the field as well.
• 2:14
  Chris Archer: So I think like just the blend of tools that I've developed, mainly through adversity, uh you know, give me a decent foundation to help younger players.
• 2:25
  Chris Archer: And this is year three.
• 2:28
  Chris Archer: Uh fortunate to be with a club that's won two World Series my first two years.
• 2:33
  Chris Archer: Um, and uh this organization is just so special.
• 2:36
  Chris Archer: Uh them striving for excellence in every facet um makes me want to do the same thing.
• 2:43
  Chris Archer: So some special assistant jobs are more cushy, and you play golf with donors and sponsors, and maybe you show up once or twice a year.
• 2:54
  Chris Archer: I look at my I look at the situation very, very differently.
• 2:57
  Chris Archer: Um I spent seven years in the minors, so I like to spend time with those guys in the minor leagues who are really grinding it out.
• 3:05
  Chris Archer: Um, some of them don't see a path forward, some of them are number one prospect in the system, and uh I've kind of been on both ends of that, so I feel like I can help a wide spectrum of young players.
• 3:18
  Nathan Whitaker: Cool.
• 3:18
  Nathan Whitaker: Well, let's jump in there for a moment.
• 3:20
  Nathan Whitaker: And I will note, I appreciate you mentioning the World Series.
• 3:23
  Nathan Whitaker: You know, everybody's making a lot of whether there needs a salary cap and the Dodgers spending on free agency, but then the Dodgers also having this farm system and being so good at developing players, you know, of which you've been plugged into.
• 3:37
  Nathan Whitaker: But we don't really talk enough about the factor of they hire Chris Archer, they win two straight World Series, and whether or not the collective marketing agreement needs to needs to break that up.
• 3:48
  Nathan Whitaker: Um so anyway, leaving that aside for a second, um, what about so you talk about young players and wanting to build into young players?
• 3:55
  Nathan Whitaker: You obviously don't look old enough to have played 17 years professionally.
• 3:58
  Nathan Whitaker: Uh, who were some people who built in, or or how did people build into you along the way when you were younger?
• 4:05
  Chris Archer: Yeah, it's a it's a great question.
• 4:07
  Chris Archer: Um and when we first talked about this, my mind wanted to go to professional coaches, uh managers that had an impact, but it really starts with my parents.
• 4:20
  Chris Archer: I was so blessed to have um a very loving, down-to-earth upbringing.
• 4:27
  Chris Archer: Um, and then I had a great mentor, I had great friends, and they're really like the pillars for me throughout my baseball career and even to this day.
• 4:38
  Chris Archer: Um, so I think it starts with good parenting, good role models from the beginning.
• 4:42
  Chris Archer: My dad, very blue-collar, super family oriented.
• 4:47
  Chris Archer: Um, my mom, she also worked full-time, but made sure I went to all the practices and made sure my grades were right, made sure I wasn't acting a fool in school.
• 4:58
  Chris Archer: Um so it was just like I just feel so blessed from the beginning.
• 5:02
  Chris Archer: Um, and they're not my biological parents, they're actually my grandparents.
• 5:06
  Chris Archer: So um they they are mom and dad 100%, but it kind of just showed me that it doesn't necessarily have to be a biological tie that that allows you to give someone unconditional love.
• 5:24
  Chris Archer: And uh I think the the way I want to show up for these players is to let them know I'm here for them as an individual unconditionally.
• 5:32
  Chris Archer: Um like me being successful is not tied to them doing well.
• 5:40
  Chris Archer: Um it's it's tied to me like leaning into them, and like at least from how I define being successful in this new role.
• 5:48
  Chris Archer: Um, so I just tell them, hey, like I'm here to pour into you whatever you need on or off the field, late night phone calls if you need me to fly in and and have a sit-down face-to-face conversation, um, like whatever, whatever it can be.
• 6:01
  Chris Archer: So it starts from an unconditional love standpoint.
• 6:05
  Chris Archer: Um, and then I had a great mentor who opened my mind to reading and um which eventually led me to your book with Tony Dungy, Uncommon.
• 6:16
  Chris Archer: Um, so it's kind of surreal being on this podcast with you, and I really appreciate um how you, you know, you kind of it felt like you kind of gravitated towards me in spring training a little bit, um, and we had some great conversations.
• 6:30
  Chris Archer: Um so uh that uncommon book is upstairs um in my reading room as well.
• 6:36
  Chris Archer: Um so yeah, my mentor, he he um introduced me to learning, reading, uh developing as a human, which is something that I've we call it PD player development, but I think of it a lot as personal development.
• 6:51
  Chris Archer: So that's kind of where that comes from, my mentor.
• 6:53
  Chris Archer: And then obviously I had some great coaches um along the way, and especially at the major league level, guys who allowed me to be myself, but also held me accountable.
• 7:03
  Chris Archer: Um so it's like approaching it from a standpoint of love, allowing someone to be themselves, but also helping correct course whenever you might see some things going off path.
• 7:15
  Chris Archer: That's kind of how I envision my role.
• 7:18
  Chris Archer: And it's it's been a collective of people from the time I was born until the the last day that I played.
• 7:26
  Nathan Whitaker: And so do the Dodgers have the Dodgers given you that freedom to kind of define your role and how you want to interact with the players, or do they kind of rein you in and go, hey, but we still need this guy to not give up six runs tomorrow night?
• 7:38
  Chris Archer: Yeah, I think um the Dodgers, they're just so incredible.
• 7:43
  Chris Archer: They know who they're hiring, and regardless of the role, they know what that person can bring, and they trust that that person is also going to do their own research and their own learning in the areas that they're maybe not as equipped.
• 7:59
  Chris Archer: So um Stan Kasten has this motto, uh, it's an eight-word motto, hire good people, let them do their job.
• 8:09
  Chris Archer: And it my role isn't is the epitome of that.
• 8:13
  Chris Archer: Um the club kind of knows what they're getting.
• 8:17
  Chris Archer: They're like, Chris, just go do your thing.
• 8:20
  Chris Archer: And coming off being an athlete, when you it's a very scheduled or very regimented schedule.
• 8:27
  Chris Archer: It's like food served at this time, bus times are at this time, practice is at this time your lift, game, etc.
• 8:34
  Chris Archer: etc.
• 8:34
  Chris Archer: Um, there was a little bit of an adjustment period, um, but I think them giving me agency to figure it out and find my lane is how I've been able to be so fulfilled, and and I feel like I've had some impact as well.
• 8:50
  Nathan Whitaker: Yeah.
• 8:50
  Nathan Whitaker: Well, I figured I was leading the question a little bit.
• 8:53
  Nathan Whitaker: I made a note to make sure I asked you, or brought this back around because we met, we chatted, I went back to Dave Roberts, the manager, and I said, Chris is unbelievable and so thoughtful and just the way he goes about things and sees the bigger picture.
• 9:10
  Nathan Whitaker: And and Dave said, you know, really it's it he's really remarkable, and I just love having him around the guys, and I'm willing to let him do whatever.
• 9:18
  Nathan Whitaker: And I said, So you've known Chris for years then, right, Dave?
• 9:20
  Nathan Whitaker: I mean, you clearly have and he said no.
• 9:22
  Nathan Whitaker: He said Andrew Friedman was with him in Tampa, and Andrew said, This is a guy you just want to turn loose with our guys because he gets life and he gets the bigger picture.
• 9:32
  Nathan Whitaker: Um, because it seems like to me, you know, one I remember talking to a coach who went from college to pro in basketball, and he said, part of the beauty of coaching in the pros is that that's all we talk about.
• 9:45
  Nathan Whitaker: I don't have to worry about them going to classes, I don't have to worry about whatever else is happening in their dorm or their, you know, it's just we can focus on on the sport.
• 9:54
  Nathan Whitaker: The challenge, though, I would think, is that you can only focus on the sport.
• 9:59
  Nathan Whitaker: If you allow yourself to get wrapped up in that as a person, then you could totally get wrapped around the axle as far as that's all you're thinking about.
• 10:08
  Nathan Whitaker: You're just headed down this this hole that could be a really tough, dark place.
• 10:13
  Nathan Whitaker: Um, and it seems like whether it's the reading, the development as a person, whatever it may be, part of your thought with the players, and it's probably hard, it's probably hard-earned for you as well as a player, there's more out there, and and you're gonna be better as a player if you're better in all these other ways.
• 10:29
  Nathan Whitaker: Is that fair?
• 10:31
  Chris Archer: Yeah, absolutely.
• 10:32
  Chris Archer: Um I think you know, just thinking of a recent example, I had a coach call me and talk about how much a guy was struggling and how married to his routine he is.
• 10:45
  Chris Archer: And I said, look, like being married to the routine is is fantastic.
• 10:49
  Chris Archer: It's awesome.
• 10:50
  Chris Archer: Uh, it's a big part of why everyone's successful, but there's times where you do need to break that up.
• 10:56
  Chris Archer: Um, and just just to your point, um, you know, going and doing some charity work and grounding yourself, remembering that uh the life we live is um it's almost not real, you know, pitching in front of 40,000, 50,000 fans and um having millions of other fans watching you play, um, you know, just the the things that we're exposed to.
• 11:19
  Chris Archer: So I was just like, hey, like what is this person really interested in tell him, whether he's at home or on the road, to go find that, to help, to help ground himself, even if that means that he shows up to the ballpark 30 minutes late, or even if that means this week he's like maybe sacrificing an extra hour of sleep to do this other thing that can help his mind um and help ground him a little bit to just you know clear some of the stressors that are naturally felt, especially I I feel like with high school drafted players, um, you don't go to college, you don't get that that that experience of being like a a student, um, you don't do any internships, your whole life is baseball from the time you're 18 years old until however long you play.
• 12:12
  Chris Archer: So it's very important to figure out what you like outside of the game so that you can't you can ground yourself.
• 12:21
  Chris Archer: And for me, like I would try to do at least one um nonprofit related work um every month.
• 12:31
  Chris Archer: So, and then it evolved to like every time we were at home.
• 12:35
  Chris Archer: Um, and it all kind of ties into me doing this now.
• 12:39
  Chris Archer: It's it's not I'm not working for a nonprofit, but I still feel like I'm I'm giving myself and finding fulfillment in something other than being a former athlete.
• 12:51
  Chris Archer: Um, so so again, it's like I try to connect with these younger guys and say, hey, like I've not only seen myself do it, but I've seen other guys.
• 13:00
  Chris Archer: And and look, some people they like to play video games.
• 13:03
  Chris Archer: So maybe that's like a little uh that's a way for guys to get their mind off the sport.
• 13:08
  Chris Archer: Some guys are going to the local YMCA and like, you know, playing playing slow pitched softball with the kids or kickball or whatever it may be.
• 13:15
  Chris Archer: Um for some people it's reading fiction.
• 13:19
  Chris Archer: Um so I I don't mean to get too long-winded, but I try to find different ways other than like fully like almost drowning yourself with baseball and analytics and movement patterns.
• 13:32
  Chris Archer: I try to help these guys expand their minds a little so that when they do dive back in, they're more refreshed.
• 13:39
  Nathan Whitaker: Mm-hmm.
• 13:40
  Nathan Whitaker: And there's probably just something too, and and you know, I I played enough to where I can talk about it, but I really am no expert in human performance because I never was able to play at that level.
• 13:53
  Nathan Whitaker: But it it does seem like from the research and whatever, just the more that yes, we need reps, we need whatever, but our brain also has to not necessarily get paralyzed with always being in the moment.
• 14:02
  Nathan Whitaker: And then I think you bring up a great point that we can get so immersed in whatever we're in.
• 14:08
  Nathan Whitaker: You know, I've got good friends who teach school in Vienna, or they are practice law in New York, or they, you know, just a lot of things where a lot of other folks in the world would look around and go, that's pretty cool.
• 14:20
  Nathan Whitaker: But we get so used to it, right?
• 14:23
  Nathan Whitaker: And we get so used to the everyday, oh my gosh, I'm going to, you know, one day I'm walking to work with the Buccaneers and and we weren't playing well, and I'm I'm going, I'm like, oh, this is the worst job.
• 14:33
  Nathan Whitaker: I can't believe I'm doing this.
• 14:34
  Nathan Whitaker: And I look down and I'm wearing shorts, right, and a pair of tennis shoes into work, and I'm like, I'm a lawyer, and I'm about to go stand out and watch a professional football practice.
• 14:42
  Nathan Whitaker: And my law school buddies are like, I can't believe you do this.
• 14:45
  Nathan Whitaker: And I'm thinking it's uh, you know, it's miserable, right?
• 14:48
  Nathan Whitaker: And you have to stop sometimes and and check back into the world and realize that not everybody is doing this, and if you don't want to do it, you don't have to, but if you're gonna stay in it, then you may as well appreciate it.
• 15:01
  Nathan Whitaker: Um I think there's a lot of a lot of truth to that, and probably a lot of it probably helps in a lot of ways.
• 15:07
  Nathan Whitaker: Um you know, the other piece that that you kind of alluded to a minute ago is talked about the adversity.
• 15:14
  Nathan Whitaker: You had some dramatic highs in um in your playing days, you know, all-star games and opening day starter stuff, and and a lot of success along the way.
• 15:25
  Nathan Whitaker: Are you still the Rays all-time leader in uh season strikeouts?
• 15:31
  Chris Archer: Um single season, single season strikeout leader, yeah.
• 15:36
  Chris Archer: Um I'm like a hundred or so off from uh being the all-time the franchise leader in strikeouts.
• 15:43
  Chris Archer: Okay.
• 15:44
  Chris Archer: Um but yeah, single season, yes, sir.
• 15:47
  Chris Archer: Yes.
• 15:47
  Nathan Whitaker: Single season.
• 15:48
  Nathan Whitaker: I've we probably can't get you back out there for another hundred, but you can at least get the single season, um, which is is uh impressive, especially since you were there for a while, got traded, um kind of at your peak.
• 16:03
  Nathan Whitaker: Um, but you also had some massive adversity, right?
• 16:06
  Nathan Whitaker: Where um talk about some things you learned along the way about life or about yourself or that you try to help these these younger kids understand.
• 16:15
  Chris Archer: I think um the biggest thing that I learned throughout the minors, even into the big leagues, until my last day, and I'm I'm still practicing and exercising it every day is is being process-oriented.
• 16:30
  Chris Archer: I know I know that that gets it gets a little overblown, that term, um, but it's something that I truly believe in.
• 16:40
  Chris Archer: Um and just one example from I'll give you two examples.
• 16:45
  Chris Archer: Um back-to-back years in the minors, I led the league that I was pitching in in walks.
• 16:52
  Chris Archer: So on the surface, it's like, oh, this guy's never gonna figure it out.
• 16:57
  Chris Archer: Or one could tell themselves, it's my third year in, and two of the three years, I've been the wildest pitcher in the league that I'm pitching in.
• 17:09
  Chris Archer: Um, but for me, I I saw it a little bit different.
• 17:12
  Chris Archer: I was like, okay, I'm 19 years old in a league with 21-year-olds.
• 17:16
  Chris Archer: Um I didn't full-time start pitching until I got drafted.
• 17:21
  Chris Archer: I I played um outfield, um, pitched once a week, but also played football in high school all the all four years.
• 17:29
  Chris Archer: So I was like, I I knew that like me getting out there and and getting exposed to playing baseball every day and taking the ball once every five days, that I was gonna, I was making incremental gains, even though it wasn't showing up on the stat sheet.
• 17:43
  Chris Archer: Um, so then I followed that year.
• 17:46
  Chris Archer: So that was 2008, 2009, I led the League in Walks.
• 17:49
  Chris Archer: In 2010, I was the number one pitching prospect in the Chicago Cubs organization.
• 17:55
  Chris Archer: That's who it that's who I was in the minors with at the time.
• 17:58
  Chris Archer: So it's like I took these small victories and trusted that I was gonna be able to flush this out, um, this the strike throwing thing, and then you know, that that third year, um, I was the best pitcher in the organization.
• 18:14
  Chris Archer: Um, got pitcher of the year, got all the accolades and stuff.
• 18:17
  Chris Archer: Um, so that that kind of was like the first kind of okay, let's focus on the process because it may take some time, but the end result is good if I can focus on the process and find find the wins every day and and get better incrementally rather than focusing on what's on the back of the baseball card.
• 18:37
  Chris Archer: Um, and then fast forward um 2016, I led the major leagues in losses.
• 18:45
  Chris Archer: I had 19 losses.
• 18:47
  Chris Archer: Um but my underlying numbers were good.
• 18:51
  Chris Archer: So I said, okay, I'm not gonna define myself based off strictly my win-loss record.
• 18:56
  Chris Archer: Yes, I don't want to be tagged as the losingest pitcher.
• 19:01
  Chris Archer: Some might say the worst pitcher in the league.
• 19:04
  Chris Archer: Um, based off that stat, um, I'm just I was like, look, I've done this before, I've based my whole life off being process-oriented, and then I turn around in 2017 and I make my second all-star game.
• 19:16
  Chris Archer: So it's just like it's been a common theme in my life, whether it be in my personal life or my professional life.
• 19:22
  Chris Archer: So I really try to emphasize this with these kids.
• 19:26
  Chris Archer: Look, hey, are we taking care of the process?
• 19:29
  Chris Archer: How, how are our routines?
• 19:31
  Chris Archer: How are we executing individual pitches?
• 19:34
  Chris Archer: Let's not look at it as a hundred-pitch outing.
• 19:36
  Chris Archer: Let's scale it down to one hitter.
• 19:39
  Chris Archer: How do we face one hitter?
• 19:40
  Chris Archer: When we met the biggest advert, the the most adverse moment in the game, how do we handle that?
• 19:46
  Chris Archer: Where was our mind at?
• 19:47
  Chris Archer: Did we execute?
• 19:49
  Chris Archer: Were we breathing, etc.?
• 19:50
  Chris Archer: You know?
• 19:51
  Chris Archer: Um, so I uh I can lean on like being bad with these kids um and really help them understand what being process oriented means and what it can look like over the course of a five, ten, fifteen year career if you stay true to your process and you're holding yourself accountable and evaluating correctly that you will get the most out of yourself.
• 20:16
  Nathan Whitaker: So when you're throwing, when you're struggling to throw strikes in um in the minors, was somebody helping you process that as being a part of the process, or were you just it strikes me that you also could be just naturally wise enough to be thinking about it?
• 20:35
  Nathan Whitaker: Because you could have thrown, you know, at some point you're like, okay, you know what?
• 20:38
  Nathan Whitaker: I don't need to develop whatever secondary pitches I'm throwing, or whatever, right?
• 20:41
  Nathan Whitaker: If I'm not, if I don't walk people, I can go, you know, 3-0, I can go down the middle, 3-1, I can go down the middle, 3-2, I can go, you know, the ball may be it may be doubled off the wall, but I'm not gonna walk people.
• 20:53
  Nathan Whitaker: Um, you know, I remember Jim Palmer one time saying, people said to him, you know, the bases are loaded and you know there's nowhere to put the battery.
• 21:00
  Nathan Whitaker: And he's like, sure there is.
• 21:01
  Nathan Whitaker: I can put him on first, it's better than a grand slam.
• 21:03
  Nathan Whitaker: Um so so anyway, but did you naturally think I'm just gonna stick with developing, learning, whatever, or did somebody take you aside and say, take a deep breath, this is part of the growth process?
• 21:18
  Chris Archer: Yeah, I think uh this is really another area that my mentor helped me in.
• 21:23
  Chris Archer: Um so him exposing me to reading and reading about other people's journeys and other facets of life, um, whether it be um like Barack Obama, his ascension, um, or you know, what Tony, what Tony Dungey's gone through through his career in order to be successful.
• 21:44
  Chris Archer: Um, I I would read autobiographies and I would read about people who learned how to fail forward.
• 21:52
  Chris Archer: Um, John John Maxwell was actually a guy I was big on whenever I was in my late teens and early twenties, and he had a book called Failing Forward.
• 21:59
  Chris Archer: And it just talked about all these people, like you think they're overnight successes, but they're they're very far from it.
• 22:06
  Chris Archer: Um, one of one of my favorite quotes, I can't remember where it comes from, um, but it was basically like it takes 10 years to become an overnight success.
• 22:18
  Chris Archer: Um, so I would say my mentor, his guidance, um, and him exposing me to reading different anecdotes from different people, um, but also as you mature, you start to ask your question yourself questions like, okay, I'm talented enough, I'm gifted, I have secondary weapons.
• 22:40
  Chris Archer: What's holding me back?
• 22:41
  Chris Archer: And I think like for most guys, there's some element of fear.
• 22:45
  Chris Archer: So when you look yourself in the mirror and you can you can say out loud, what am I afraid of?
• 22:51
  Chris Archer: Am I afraid of getting released?
• 22:53
  Chris Archer: Am I afraid of getting hit?
• 22:54
  Chris Archer: Am I afraid of giving up a homer?
• 22:56
  Chris Archer: Am I afraid of letting down my parents?
• 22:58
  Chris Archer: Once you say that out loud, um, sometimes it kind of hits you like, man, that's a silly fear.
• 23:05
  Chris Archer: You know, like I I don't wanna, I'd rather die on the sword of being aggressive than being scared, right?
• 23:12
  Chris Archer: Or or let me go ask my parents, hey, if I don't make it to the big leagues, are you are you gonna be disappointed?
• 23:19
  Chris Archer: And they're like, absolutely not.
• 23:21
  Chris Archer: What you've already accomplished is amazing.
• 23:23
  Chris Archer: Like, I'm not gonna be disappointed.
• 23:25
  Chris Archer: You so like once you say it out loud, you maybe you share it in confidence with somebody you trust, um, it can it can kind of allow you to let go of some of that fear.
• 23:36
  Chris Archer: So again, it's like taking these anecdotes from other people, um getting to the root of like why I'm not attacking the way I should be attacking, and uh easing those pressures and allowing yourself to be free out there.
• 23:50
  Nathan Whitaker: That's great stuff and great thoughts on fear, right?
• 23:53
  Nathan Whitaker: There's so many things that that we don't even know we're afraid of until we have to stop and like you say, not only stop and think, am I, and then articulate it, why am I, or what am I afraid of?
• 24:02
  Nathan Whitaker: Um the mentor you talk about, how did how did they come into your life?
• 24:05
  Nathan Whitaker: Was it a coach?
• 24:06
  Nathan Whitaker: Was it just somebody who took an interest in you, or or how do how was it that they found you or you them?
• 24:14
  Chris Archer: Yeah, um, I'll try to keep it concise.
• 24:17
  Chris Archer: Uh I know I can get a little little long-winded, but uh it was one of those divine intervention things.
• 24:24
  Chris Archer: Um he decided to be a volunteer coach for the JV baseball team my freshman year.
• 24:33
  Chris Archer: And he he knows nothing about the kids in the town at the school.
• 24:37
  Chris Archer: He's just like kind of just observing.
• 24:40
  Chris Archer: Um, our our head coach was the varsity basketball coach, and they were in the playoffs.
• 24:46
  Chris Archer: So this volunteer coach had to take over as like the pseudo head coach until varsity basketball was completed.
• 24:55
  Chris Archer: So he's walking around at tryouts and he sees me playing catch, and he walks up to me and he's like, Um, have you ever pitched before?
• 25:04
  Chris Archer: I'm like, Yes, sir, but I'm not a pitcher, I'm more of an outfielder, you know, I'll I'll play anywhere, but like pitching isn't my thing, but I can do it.
• 25:13
  Chris Archer: He's like, Okay, we're gonna throw you on the mound and see how you do.
• 25:16
  Chris Archer: And then the story goes how it goes, but it was just like kind of a random person that saw something in me that I didn't really see in myself, um, that that gave me that opportunity.
• 25:30
  Chris Archer: And then like it the relationship evolved.
• 25:33
  Chris Archer: Um, he he didn't coach anymore, um, but he was a very active person in the community um in the town that I grew up in.
• 25:40
  Chris Archer: So um my parents kind of entrusted him.
• 25:43
  Chris Archer: They said, Hey, you know more about baseball and the process than we do, so like we're just gonna give them to you, and you guys can work out and throw.
• 25:52
  Chris Archer: And uh he ended up driving me all around the the east coast of of the US to get me to camps and showcases to get me seen.
• 26:00
  Chris Archer: And and then he became like a brother, not necessarily a father figure, but like that older, the older person that's a little more wise than you, that's not your dad.
• 26:11
  Chris Archer: Because you know how kids are with their parents.
• 26:14
  Chris Archer: Um your parents can tell you one thing, and then you know, the uh the high school baseball coach can tell you the same exact thing, and it just lands differently.
• 26:24
  Chris Archer: So I think my parents were aware of that, and they're like, hey, you you take him, you do what you do, and um yeah, he uh he he actually passed away six years ago, um, which is was was pretty heartbreaking, but um all for about 15 years, he was a he was a strong force in my life, and I still remember all the all the things that he taught me.
• 26:49
  Chris Archer: And and honestly, I'm trying to pay that forward.
• 26:51
  Chris Archer: Um, I'm trying to pay forward what my parents did for me, uh, what my mentor's done for me, what my I have another close friend in North Carolina, what he's done for me.
• 26:59
  Chris Archer: Um, and I'm kind of just like a reincarnation of those people now with with these kids in the Dodgers organization.
• 27:06
  Nathan Whitaker: That's so great.
• 27:07
  Nathan Whitaker: And I love that kind of thing where you've where you're like, I you know, how did all this happen?
• 27:11
  Nathan Whitaker: You're like, I don't know, I can't make sense of it.
• 27:13
  Nathan Whitaker: Here's the story.
• 27:14
  Nathan Whitaker: Um that's just great.
• 27:16
  Nathan Whitaker: And it's and it's so cool that um that he were taking that interest and then and then done all that.
• 27:21
  Nathan Whitaker: Um really, really remarkable.
• 27:24
  Nathan Whitaker: And you're right, it totally lands different um when um you know when your parents tell you something or I try to tell and then they you know the exact same message from somebody else, and uh as a parent, you're like, I know what I've been saying.
• 27:38
  Nathan Whitaker: Um that's fantastic.
• 27:41
  Nathan Whitaker: You know, one thing that that you uh touched on a minute ago, talking about routines and the like.
• 27:46
  Nathan Whitaker: Um I remember Tony telling me about he first took over the Buccaneers and and guys were just so used to or or they weren't used to how do you recover from things not going like you planned.
• 27:58
  Nathan Whitaker: And so his first training camp, he like woke him up at five in the morning and they bust down to Orlando to scrimmage the dolphins or for a preseason game or something.
• 28:08
  Nathan Whitaker: And they're like, hey, hey, we fly everywhere and we fly and it's a normal time.
• 28:11
  Nathan Whitaker: And he said, you know what?
• 28:12
  Nathan Whitaker: Somewhere in the second quarter, something's gonna happen that we don't expect.
• 28:15
  Nathan Whitaker: And so we're gonna do the 5 a.m.
• 28:17
  Nathan Whitaker: wake-up call that you aren't expecting, and I want you to figure out how to perform uh in this practice at 7 a.m.
• 28:23
  Nathan Whitaker: in Orlando with with the uh dolphins, just just that idea of throwing you out of your routine.
• 28:27
  Nathan Whitaker: How do you adjust?
• 28:28
  Nathan Whitaker: How you how do you handle it?
• 28:30
  Nathan Whitaker: Because not only is it gonna matter on the mound, but there are gonna be times in life when when we have to adjust to things and and things get thrown at us.
• 28:38
  Nathan Whitaker: Um I think that's a that's a great point.
• 28:41
  Nathan Whitaker: That the process matters, but then it also matters are we able to um on days when things don't go right, handle, adjust, shift, whatever it may be.
• 28:51
  Chris Archer: Um absolutely yeah.
• 28:54
  Nathan Whitaker: All those things are really cool.
• 28:55
  Nathan Whitaker: Let me ask you this, just quickly, uh just a couple things left and I'll let you go.
• 28:58
  Nathan Whitaker: But um I could go, I could drill down all day on on the uh mentor.
• 29:02
  Nathan Whitaker: Um so you're you're from outside of Raleigh.
• 29:06
  Nathan Whitaker: Um, and I I lived in Durham for a number number of years.
• 29:10
  Nathan Whitaker: I know you played for the Bulls there.
• 29:12
  Nathan Whitaker: And I didn't know what Carolina Barbecue was until I was headed home down old US 70 and and going down past Clayton and Smithfield and finding that they actually put the coleslaw on the barbecue, which me being a Florida guy, I didn't I didn't get.
• 29:27
  Nathan Whitaker: How big a transition was it for you to go from small town playing every sport, doing everything?
• 29:33
  Nathan Whitaker: You know, people aren't gonna realize, you know, we look roughly the same size here.
• 29:37
  Nathan Whitaker: When we went to take a uh I wanted to take a selfie at train uh spring training, and and that's when I realized, oh, Chris is Chris looks like a linebacker.
• 29:47
  Nathan Whitaker: Um taller, he's wider, he's um, you know, you're you're not a small guy to to be looking at on the mound out there.
• 29:54
  Nathan Whitaker: What was it like to go from kind of that environment to then being in some of the places you played and lived?
• 29:59
  Nathan Whitaker: Was that an adjustment to go from small town guy to kind of big lights?
• 30:03
  Nathan Whitaker: Was that a part of your growth?
• 30:05
  Chris Archer: Yeah, um talk about fear.
• 30:08
  Chris Archer: Uh I was I was a kid whenever I was younger, I had a hard time spending the night at friends' houses um just because I was so comfortable in my own home.
• 30:19
  Chris Archer: So uh there were several times where I would call my parents at one or two in the morning, hey, I can't sleep.
• 30:24
  Chris Archer: Can you come pick me up?
• 30:26
  Chris Archer: So uh yeah, going out.
• 30:28
  Chris Archer: I I graduated high school at 17 years old.
• 30:30
  Chris Archer: Um, and that was like the first extended period of time that I was away from Clayton, North Carolina.
• 30:37
  Chris Archer: Um, and yeah, it was it was it's so hard.
• 30:39
  Chris Archer: Um again, the high school route to the major leagues is is a super challenge.
• 30:46
  Chris Archer: But the one thing I do like is in the minors, the cities progressively get bigger.
• 30:53
  Chris Archer: So you start at small town USA, so there is some comfort in that.
• 30:57
  Chris Archer: Uh it's not it's not overwhelming.
• 30:59
  Chris Archer: Um my first the first affiliate that I played for was Lake County, it was in Lake County, Ohio, it was like a suburb of Cleveland.
• 31:07
  Chris Archer: Um, and then the second team was Peoria, Illinois.
• 31:11
  Chris Archer: So these are like smaller, smaller cities, there's a little bit more of a homey feel.
• 31:17
  Chris Archer: And then um, you know, graduate to Daytona Beach and and then you go to Montgomery, Alabama, Knoxville, Tennessee.
• 31:25
  Chris Archer: Like it's it's slowly getting bigger and bigger.
• 31:28
  Chris Archer: Um, so I kind of had that working in my favor.
• 31:31
  Chris Archer: And then I get caught up with the Tampa Bay Rays, which are based in St.
• 31:37
  Chris Archer: Pete, which is St.
• 31:39
  Chris Archer: Pete and Tampa are very different.
• 31:40
  Chris Archer: Uh St.
• 31:41
  Chris Archer: Pete is very easy to navigate, traffic's not bad.
• 31:45
  Chris Archer: I always tried to stay within 10 to 15 minutes from the field.
• 31:48
  Chris Archer: And I actually still live in um the first house that I bought in 2014.
• 31:53
  Chris Archer: Once I got established in the big leagues, I'm actually still this is that that's the house that I'm in right now.
• 31:58
  Chris Archer: So there is like a major comfort.
• 32:01
  Chris Archer: Um, but I think it would be very different if you got drafted by the Yankees or the Dodgers, the Mets, the Cubs, one of these larger market teams.
• 32:11
  Chris Archer: It would be would be much more challenging.
• 32:14
  Chris Archer: And that is something that we do also try to help guys with is like, hey, like, are are you capable of being responsible for paying certain bills and um finding your own transportation to the field?
• 32:26
  Chris Archer: And promptness is very important.
• 32:28
  Chris Archer: Do we need to err on the side of being 30 minutes early, then 30 minutes late?
• 32:32
  Chris Archer: Um, it's not something that was terribly drastic for me, just given the nature of St.
• 32:40
  Chris Archer: Pete, but it's very different in LA.
• 32:43
  Chris Archer: Very, very different LA, and we try to give guys as many tools as we can to prepare for that.
• 32:49
  Nathan Whitaker: Yeah, well, that's great.
• 32:51
  Nathan Whitaker: And you know, I I didn't even think of it going in the fear direction when I asked you that question.
• 32:55
  Nathan Whitaker: But, you know, when people would ask me when I was working either Jags or Bucs, and people would say, Wow, it's so interesting, or I'm surprised to see how a player did X, Y, and Z.
• 33:06
  Nathan Whitaker: And I would say, at the age of 23 or 17, good heavens, I was so unprepared.
• 33:12
  Nathan Whitaker: I couldn't have figured out where to deposit a check of a certain amount, let alone how to start paying things or whatever.
• 33:17
  Nathan Whitaker: You know, it's it you kind of get sheltered and you get you go to the next stage in life, but it wasn't like this huge now I'm 18 and I have either a signing bonus or I'm living alone and whatever, and I'm you know, and now I gotta take care of you know, it was it was it felt like it was easier.
• 33:31
  Nathan Whitaker: The things I did felt scary at times, but easier um than some of those things.
• 33:37
  Nathan Whitaker: And uh, and so that's that's good.
• 33:39
  Nathan Whitaker: And interesting that you tried to stay within a certain distance of the facility.
• 33:43
  Nathan Whitaker: We had more guys run into traffic issues, you know, whether it was at the Bucs on the other side of the of the bridge or or whatever, and they were like trying to be in the right place at the right time and got caught in factors, and our coaches would go, Hey, at the end, who else is gonna be responsible for this?
• 33:58
  Nathan Whitaker: If not you, I get it was traffic, but you gotta be here.
• 34:03
  Nathan Whitaker: Um, so what a what an interesting and again wise approach um at that age.
• 34:09
  Nathan Whitaker: So if I go and look for a house that's right next to Tropicana Field, is that gonna be yours?
• 34:13
  Nathan Whitaker: You just want to maybe.
• 34:15
  Nathan Whitaker: Maybe, maybe that's where you are, the crowd's right outside your window.
• 34:19
  Nathan Whitaker: Um, well, thanks.
• 34:21
  Nathan Whitaker: I appreciate you taking all the time.
• 34:22
  Nathan Whitaker: Let me just close with this.
• 34:23
  Nathan Whitaker: What does it mean?
• 34:24
  Nathan Whitaker: And I think we have a sense from the work you're doing now, but when you think about uncommon impact, and I appreciate you talking about uh uh Tony's impact on on you with reading books and the like, but what does it mean uncommon impact now with what you're doing and paying it forward and and where do you think you'll go kind of from here?
• 34:44
  Chris Archer: Where I go from here, I'm not sure.
• 34:46
  Chris Archer: Um, I'm having so much fun doing what I'm doing.
• 34:50
  Chris Archer: Um, you know, if the Dodgers have something more in store for me that they want to challenge me with, I would happily uh take them up on that offer.
• 35:00
  Chris Archer: But um yeah, I think the best thing we can do to have an uncommon impact is um allow allow young people their their own agency, um, allow them to make mistakes and learn, um, as long as it's not detrimental to their life or their career.
• 35:18
  Chris Archer: Um but uh also holding ourselves to high standards.
• 35:24
  Chris Archer: Um, you know, if we want them to become uncommon people, then then we have to have uncommon characteristics as well.
• 35:31
  Chris Archer: So I mean there's there's a a long list of what that means.
• 35:36
  Chris Archer: Um if anybody wants to know what that is, they can go go grab that book that you wrote several, several years ago.
• 35:42
  Chris Archer: Um, but I think holding our holding ourselves to a high standard, um, and and showing up with the same um same vigor, same passion every day, regardless of what's going on in our personal life.
• 35:56
  Chris Archer: Um and I think like just to kind of tie all this back in, I think that's what Dave Roberts is amazing at is you can you can never really tell if he's having a good or bad day.
• 36:07
  Chris Archer: Uh he's the same guy every day, he brings the same energy, the same level of care, um, whether the team's on a skid or whether the team's you know on a 10-game win streak.
• 36:17
  Chris Archer: So I think uh showing up every day and allowing people to know, hey, like this person is gonna be consistent and I know what I can go to them for, I think is like is pretty much the start of being uncommon because people are seemingly more emotionally volatile now than ever.
• 36:36
  Chris Archer: So if you can if you can be in check of your emotions and have high EQ, I think that you're gonna start to separate yourself immediately.
• 36:43
  Nathan Whitaker: That's a great point.
• 36:44
  Nathan Whitaker: And uh this idea of of navigating or monitoring or at least understanding our emotions and where we're coming from.
• 36:52
  Nathan Whitaker: And one last point on the um and the Dodgers.
• 36:54
  Nathan Whitaker: I just I I did love hearing your answer, and I found it interesting in spring training when when um you were talking about going to the minor league affiliates, because to me it seemed like totally the sexy thing to go from, you know, and meet up with the Dodgers when they were in Cleveland or San Diego or whatever, and you said, you know, I'll do some of that, but I also want to go talk to the kids who are coming up, and and Dave said to me when you had gone out, Dave said, but he's got to keep coming to talk to our major leaguers because the minor leaguers need to hear it.
• 37:23
  Nathan Whitaker: But we act like guys graduate out of these life lessons.
• 37:27
  Nathan Whitaker: But the reality is we all need to hear these things, and Chris is just so wise with bringing these back.
• 37:31
  Nathan Whitaker: So anyway, I'll brag on you a little bit about what Dave was saying there.
• 37:35
  Nathan Whitaker: But uh, Chris, thanks so much.
• 37:37
  Nathan Whitaker: I really appreciate you coming on.
• 37:39
  Nathan Whitaker: I really appreciate you being a part of this conversation.
• 37:42
  Chris Archer: Yes, sir.
• 37:42
  Chris Archer: Nathan, again, it's an honor.
• 37:44
  Chris Archer: I appreciate you asking me to come on, and uh, let's do it again in the future.
• 37:48
  Nathan Whitaker: Good.
• 37:49
  Nathan Whitaker: It sounds great.
• 37:50
  Nathan Whitaker: Thanks so much, Chris.
• 37:51
  Chris Archer: Yes, sir, thank you.