Latest / The Layback Podcast / Hayden Lewis, University of Washington RHP (Ep. 92)

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Hayden Lewis, University of Washington RHP (Ep. 92) · The Layback Podcast

0:00
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Lay Back podcast.
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Joining us today is possibly super senior.
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I don't even know what the correct distinction is right now
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for Hayden Lewis, but Hayden Lewis is a right-handed pitcher
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now at the University of Washington, previous stops at
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New Mexico State in the University of Arizona.
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So you certainly a well traveled dude at this point, certainly on
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the West Coast. I know he did take a couple of
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recruiting visits out East because he had to see the
0:27
country, but no, no, seriously, Hayden's been the poster child
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for modern college baseball at this point.
0:35
A few different schools. He's experienced it all, and
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thankfully he is finally healthy and competed tremendously this
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past fall with the Huskies. And we're excited for him to
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tell his story a little bit, overcoming his fair share of
0:50
elbow injuries and setbacks in the process.
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So Hayden, with that, thanks for joining us and looking forward
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to the talk today. Yeah, I don't know about the
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whole super senior part. Still technically my fourth year
1:01
of college. So you did graduate though.
1:04
I did graduate, but I'm OK with senior, senior words.
1:09
Yeah, I mean, I've definitely, definitely the epitome of the
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modern day college journey, I guess.
1:15
Started my career off, spent my freshman year at University of
1:18
Arizona, was recruited in high school pretty early by Jay
1:21
Johnson, who wasn't the head coach when I got there.
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So it was kind of just, I guess not 100% what I expected and
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things didn't mesh too well, which led to me entering the
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transport after my freshman year.
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Spent that that summer playing out in Pasadena with the Arroyo
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Seiko Saints head coach Aaron Milam.
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Awesome guy, helped me tremendously throughout the
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summer, and had a pretty good summer out there.
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It's hard not to enjoy it when you're living out in Pasadena,
1:48
right? But got the opportunity to go
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head over to New Mexico State. Spent my next two years there.
1:55
Halfway through my sophomore season.
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Ended up getting a partial tear in my UCL getting the brace
2:01
procedure. So this was my second Tommy John
2:03
surgery at the time, so I got that put in halfway through the
2:06
season and was actually able to come back for opening weekend
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the next year, my junior year. Played my whole junior year, had
2:15
a couple setbacks throughout the season.
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Wouldn't say it was anything crazy, didn't put up the
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greatest numbers of the stats that I was expecting, but
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finished my time there. Ended up graduating and getting
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a degree and I figured why not? I got one more year, let's go
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try and win a championship or go somewhere that would be pretty
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cool to play at, and found myself at University of
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Washington. So that's kind of how I ended up
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here today. There's so many different little
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pit stops we could take in that quick bio, but even you
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mentioned you experienced your second UCL procedure while
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you're at New Mexico State. If I'm not mistaken, the first
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was your senior year of high school.
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Is that? Correct.
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It was the end of my junior year of high school, so I got the
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first Tommy John. I got the full reconstruction
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surgery. This was May 24th of 2021 was
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the surgery date and so that was that was a longer rehab process
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for sure. I think it was 16 months until I
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saw the field again. First time pitching the live
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competition was when I got to U of A in the fall, right?
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So it was a, it was a long rehab, but it was definitely
3:19
something that was good. I was a very small and skinny
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kid at the time and I needed to put some size on and I honestly
3:25
still do. But it was definitely a step in
3:27
the right direction for me. Big bummer.
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I, I wish I could have played my senior year.
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Had some high hopes going into that year.
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So it it was a set back that definitely hurt the mental a
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little bit. We're going to go immediately
3:40
into the comparisons or we're diving right into the weeds.
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I'd love if you could kind of breakdown the differences of
3:46
your new rehab processes. So I, I don't know, maybe if you
3:49
want to set the stage a little bit more.
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Like you said, the first one was coming off of your junior year.
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The second one, as you mentioned, it was midway through
3:57
your sophomore year, you were able to make it back.
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I know you said that was the internal brace procedure.
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So we're already looking at a different timeline between the
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two. But before we really get in the
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weeds of the comparison, are there any other like key pieces
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of background information that you think the audience should
4:15
know? Yeah, I guess for me, the
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biggest start for my baseball crew, I mean, things kind of
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took a change when COVID happened, right?
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That was something where everything got shut down.
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It wasn't shut down for very long in Arizona, but it was to
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where I didn't have to go to school anymore, right?
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And so that was a time for me where I was lucky enough to have
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access to a batting cage that had pitching mound and A1 cage
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with a self feeding machine in it.
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And then it had a gym on the other side.
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I had a key to get in there and it was kind of like every day
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I'd go over at like midnight and just hit and lift and throw into
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a net. I think from then I jumped 5
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miles an hour and V load in like a four month span from March to
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June I guess. Was that like a mid 80s to low
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90s? Yeah, it was like an 85 to the
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first. Some of the hardest bullet I'd
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thrown was 85 my freshman year of high school.
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And it was, it got to a point where the first bullpen I threw
5:14
on a on a rap. So do I think it was I hit an
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89.3. That was something where I was
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like, I didn't even know I had that in me.
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I was in front of a bunch of people I didn't know.
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And so it was a really cool experience.
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And that was one of the things where it's like, I did that and
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sent those numbers out to some coaches and got a couple offers
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off of those numbers just alone. Because I think, I mean, it was
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a time of panic where coaches didn't really know what was
5:39
going to happen with the recruiting process in this.
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So that kind of kick started my recruitment journey.
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And that was back, I guess when you hit that first 89.3 you said
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it was. How old were you then?
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I was 16. So sophomore year?
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The junior year, yeah. It was like end of my sophomore
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year. Yeah, yeah.
5:59
So then you're going in your junior year when recruiting
6:01
starts to open up, so then the offers start pouring in.
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I know the rules have changed a trillion times since 2020-2021,
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when everything, like you said, was kind of a question mark.
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But yeah, so you were kind of grinding in this land of
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ambiguity, just working really hard.
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And then lo and behold, you finally have something that can
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give you measurements and you're like, oh shit, I got better.
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Yeah, yeah, basically it was like, I, I mean, I was one of
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those kids that never lifted before that really I was always
6:31
told that like up until a certain point, lifting is bad
6:34
for you. And so I never did it.
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And then I, I kind of just got to this point.
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I was like, I like they got nothing else to do, might as
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well give it a shot. Like can't hurt to be strong.
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And it proved beneficial. So early on, I guess further
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setting the stage before we do get into the comparison, do you
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feel that initial jump was a true mixture of dedicating
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yourself to the skill of baseball, throwing, hitting, or
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more impacted by your newfound commitment to getting stronger?
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I know it's not like a true black and white one or the
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other, but if you could go back now and look at you as the 16
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year old who made that massive jump, do you credit one more
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than the other? I would.
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Probably credit the lifting more than just diving into the
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baseball and the hitting and throwing.
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I was always the type of kid growing up where I wanted to be
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at the field. I wanted to be doing something
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all the time, right? So I'd always beg my dad to
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drive me to the cage or like to play catch with me.
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So I was always taking swings, right?
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It wasn't that. I think it was more having a
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actual frame to go with that. Like I had the ability and now
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you're adding the muscle and the strength on top of that, and I
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think that was kind of when it started to skyrocket.
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And then going into that initial injury, how hard were you
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sitting at? So not not just peeking, but
8:03
actually sitting. And you said that was at the end
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of your junior year, correct? So yeah.
8:09
So. How did that play out?
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Were you dealing with pain during your junior year?
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No, I honestly I felt pretty good all year.
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I started the year as our closer.
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I was 8890 for most of the year. And then we got to a point where
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one of our starters went down. I went up to, cuz I was like,
8:25
let me start, like, let me throw some more innings.
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And so I'd gone from like the most I'd thrown all season was 2
8:31
innings. So then my first start I threw
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like 5 innings on 95 pitches, but I threw really well.
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I threw like, I allowed one run. I think like it was a good
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outing. And so then this next weekend,
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my arm had honestly felt great. It, it was, I was in a position
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where I, I was throwing the ball and it felt like it was coming
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out like a rocket. And so during that game, even
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warming up for that game, I felt really good.
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I, I remember the game that I did.
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I mean, I guess it's hard to forget, but I remember the game
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I did it where I was perfect through 2 and 2/3 and I threw
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this last fastball to a guy to end the any.
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I struck the dude out and I felt the pop and I was like, oh,
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that's not that, that something fell off, you know, but it
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wasn't an immediate pain. It wasn't like it was the last.
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I didn't throw another pitch immediately after, so I didn't
9:19
fully know what happened and I went back into the dugout and I
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was just kind of like rubbing my arm.
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I was like, all right, well, we'll see what happens.
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And went back out through my first warm up pitch.
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It did not feel very good. And then through the second one
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and it hurt even worse and I just signaled into the dugout.
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I was like coach I I can't throw anymore.
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I take out of that game and even like the trainer was there
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checking it out. They're like nothing seems like
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immediately like bad, but just be a lot of inflammation.
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Could have tweaked something and then woke up the next day and I
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couldn't like straighten my arm past 50°.
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So I was like, OK, well there we go.
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There it is. And now flashing forward to the
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injury in college, how did that one come on?
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Was that like you, you kind of sensed it?
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Was this one also kind of that immediate slap in the face, much
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like the the one in high school? No, this one was a different
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scenario. This one, I mean, honest, same
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thing though. Start of the years, our closer
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was throwing one, one to two innings, had an outing.
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This was, I remember this outing, I threw 3 innings
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against Liberty and I felt a tweak and I felt like the top of
10:30
my forearm really tightened up, but I'm still able to throw and
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kind of Velo never really dropped.
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So I only threw in that game. That was like a Friday.
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And this next week we went to Middle Tennessee and I threw in
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our Friday game. I threw like 3 1/2 innings on
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the Friday and then came back and threw in extras against
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Charlton State this next the next Tuesday.
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And I felt good like that. I mean, it felt sore, but didn't
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feel like it was about to like go or anything.
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And end up through in the 9th, 10th and the 11th against the
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Tarleton State team to get the win.
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I was pretty pumped about that. And even the next day it wasn't
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like terrible. And then we were on the bus ride
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back and I woke up from a nap and I was like, that's super
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stiff type thing. And I went up to our trainer.
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I was like, hey, I think I should get an MRI.
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All while on the. Bus Yeah, all while on the bus.
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We know we stopped. We stopped at a gas station and
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got like Wendy's or something. I found him in the gas station.
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I was like, hey, Taku, I don't feel good.
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And he's like, OK, we'll get you an MRI.
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And sure enough, they found a little partial tear.
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And I mean, it wasn't as bad for sure.
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The pain wasn't as bad. And it apparently it was, it was
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a partial tear in the graft. And So what they did in my first
11:40
procedure was they didn't take out the initial ligament.
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They put the graft over it and then like tied it on.
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And so that's why I think it was like holding together.
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It wasn't too bad. And then they went in and put
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the brace up for that. So way back in 2021 or 2022 when
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you had the first procedure, you got a hybrid reconstruction,
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effectively before hybrid reconstructions were really
12:07
popularized or a thing. Pretty much.
12:09
Nice so then they they just had to do a revision to that this
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next time around. So they they were just rewrapped
12:18
it college embrace all over again, then slam it back on
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there. So did in and ready to go.
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Yep. Nice.
12:26
OK. So the the revision was
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basically the UCL repair as we know it now, just they needed to
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repair the internal brace like you said or the graft?
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Yes. So that I'm assuming based on
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you making it back in nine months instead of 16 months or
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we don't even have to say, I'm assuming because it's that
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evident the timeline was very different, that very different
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rehab was significantly more aggressive or just you could
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start doing things sooner in the process.
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Yeah. I would say it's more that I
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probably the the first time I probably started throwing that
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like the five and a half, six month mark.
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And this time was more like early five months, maybe the end
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of the four month mark. And then the ramp up might have
13:10
been a little bit quicker. Instead of throwing like my
13:14
initial Tommy John rehab was like, all right, we're going to
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throw at 45 feet for like 10 throws.
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And I did that for like a week. And then it was like, we'll move
13:22
back to like 50 feet, 55 feet. It was more metrically based in
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that sense of like, we're going to do it off the distance and
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intensity versus the rehab for the brace.
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When I did it, we based it off of velocity, right?
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So every throw we had a certain amount of throws at this
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velocity. So it was don't go over that and
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that was how we measured the strain.
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Do you think the decision for the second surgery to use
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velocity was more just advancement in the industry at
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that point? Because we had learned more, we
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understood, or at least it's become more commonplace.
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I wish it was understood across the board, but it's become more
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commonplace to utilize velocity as a true measure of strain and
14:08
fatigue as opposed to distance. Yeah, definitely.
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It's, it's hard to measure intensity without something
14:18
that's telling you how hard you're throwing, right.
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So it's like, I guess there's two ways to look at it too was
14:24
because there are the people that believe like, oh, if your
14:26
body feels good, you should be able to do this, right?
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Like if your body feels OK and you're throwing at this speed,
14:32
that's OK in the rehab. But I think like having times
14:35
like that in the more recent rehab where I was like my body
14:38
felt good and I'd look at the V low and it'd be above the V low.
14:41
I need it to be is like, OK, I need to take a step back.
14:43
Like I might be pushing this a little bit too hard or rushing a
14:47
little bit. And so being able to actually
14:49
see that is like, OK, I can keep myself accountable on what I
14:53
need to do on a day-to-day basis.
14:56
I'm going to hop in and share a personal note here that I am so
15:01
anti distance and feel. Granted, like you said, there is
15:04
something to be said to if you feel good, maybe you can get
15:08
away with a little bit more. You can just shift around what
15:11
might be a high day versus a low day.
15:13
I'm not going to say feel isn't important, but our bodies do
15:18
respond to load so if we can provide data-driven objective
15:22
overload, you can probably ensure a much safer and maybe
15:28
scaled advancement as you work through things.
15:31
But the personal story is when I was coming back from my shoulder
15:35
surgery, granted this was 2016, nobody ever had radar guns,
15:39
especially for a position player.
15:42
I was a position player, so why would you ever radar gun a
15:44
position player? But I got cleared to return to
15:47
play, had never been on a radar gun, so I had no clue how hard I
15:52
was throwing and then couldn't figure out why the ball was just
15:58
dying or I felt like I didn't have the power that I previously
16:00
had on any give and throw. Lo and behold, we somehow sneak
16:05
a radar gun. My dad and I, he stays at the
16:08
field with me after one of my games at University of Dayton.
16:11
He puts me on the radar gun. Like, why?
16:13
Like I'm I'm good. He's like, no, I got to see
16:16
where you're at. And I was throwing 63 mph.
16:20
Yeah, I mean, because you really have no idea.
16:23
I'm, I'm the type of person when I build up or like if I take
16:26
time off, I tend to lose a lot of my Velo until I build back up
16:30
again, right. And so I remember building up
16:34
for this fall, I started my throwing progression and I was
16:37
like, man, it's really hard to throw the baseball 65 miles an
16:40
hour right now. It's like what it like I I was
16:43
throwing 95 like a couple months ago.
16:45
Why is this so difficult? And then like 4 weeks later it's
16:49
like, oh, OK, this is better. Like this is more normal.
16:53
This is how it should feel. But it's without the radar gun.
16:56
I would have never known that. I would not, Oh, the balls come
16:58
out nice. Like I feel good like that type
17:01
of thing. I do want to address that.
17:03
I know this kind of pulls away from this injury comparison
17:07
discussion that we're on, but you mentioned how difficult it
17:11
is for you to just kind of naturally throw hard without a
17:17
true on ramp. We talked to some guys and they
17:21
say I literally can't throw a ball slower than 82 miles an
17:25
hour. The like the Super whippy guys
17:27
that feel like they always have the juice.
17:30
And then there's people like you that like, OK, let me get the
17:33
wheels turn in a little bit. Have you always been that way or
17:37
is that more stemming from the injuries?
17:40
I would say it's probably more stemming from the injuries.
17:43
Just thinking back to before the first injury, there were times
17:49
where like, I'd remember I'd play golf in the fall, right?
17:51
So I'd play for my high school golf team and then once or twice
17:55
in the fall I'd have like my club coach call me up and be
17:57
like, hey, we need an arm or like, we want you to come play
17:59
with us for this tournament. And I'd be like, OK.
18:01
And I'd still be able to rock up and be like 8487, like kind of
18:06
where I thought the Velo should be.
18:08
And everything was about the same without the constant
18:10
throwing every day. So I definitely think that
18:13
that's something that has changed over time, but I also
18:18
think that's just something as like as I get older, my body's
18:20
like you get used to the routine, right?
18:22
And so when you change the routine, then your body's not
18:25
going to be as ready I guess to go and so.
18:29
Probably safer that way honestly.
18:30
Anyways, it is a little bit more dangerous if you knew you could
18:34
just pick up a ball tomorrow. Granted, you've gone through a
18:36
full on ramp at this point, but take time off, pick up a ball
18:40
and be like, yeah, let me do an arm swinger too.
18:42
And here comes 89 that that probably wouldn't be good for
18:46
long term health. No, no, definitely.
18:50
And I even like my, I also thought it was like, well, when
18:53
I get on the mound, I'll throw harder too.
18:55
Like normally when I go down a slope, I remember the same
18:58
thing. It was like one day I was
18:59
supposed to be, I was supposed to be like 8084 and I got on a
19:02
slope and I was like, man, I just, I just don't have it.
19:05
Like it just doesn't feel like it's in there and it's, that's
19:09
always a weird feeling to have. And that's something that you've
19:12
learned that's like, OK, that's not something I need to be
19:15
worried about. Like I'm still able to push
19:17
through that. Like in a couple weeks time
19:19
it'll be completely normal so. So like you said, that is the
19:22
testament to why a Velo guided progression becomes so important
19:27
A. 100%. Putting like putting a radar gun
19:30
on someone doesn't automatically mean that they're going to try
19:32
to PR. You're using it to truly gauge
19:35
your ramp up over time. Yes, the worst thing imaginable
19:39
for you at this stage in the game, especially what you were
19:43
just saying, even going through a healthy, completely healthy on
19:48
ramp this summer to be ready for the fall.
19:51
If you would have thrown without a radar gun all summer, just
19:54
going through a quote UN quote throwing program.
19:57
And let's say you never throw a ball over 82 miles an hour.
20:00
You show up on campus and you're trying to earn a spot in the
20:03
weekend rotation. And you find out in your first
20:06
outing that you're throwing 86 mph, you just like, oh shit,
20:09
that's not going to cut it. So then you have to step on the
20:12
gas and you have to push harder, and then the workload spikes
20:15
because you've never been at that intensity.
20:18
So this to me speaks to the safety of using velocity, not
20:23
just the powers of performance training and trying to be as
20:27
good as you can be, but truly to manage the athlete.
20:31
So I appreciate you sharing that.
20:33
Yeah, IA 100% agree with that. I think like a full on ramp, I
20:36
mean each guy is going to differ, right?
20:39
But for me personally and for a lot of people I've seen a full
20:42
on ramp is does wonders for arm health.
20:45
And let's go back to the comparison once again.
20:48
So you mentioned the difference of using velocity versus
20:51
distance the first time around. Did anything else change for
20:55
you? I mean, obviously you had flex
20:57
Pro Grip the second time around. That's how we got connected.
21:00
And if I'm not mistaken, that might have been kind of late
21:03
fall, maybe maybe November ish around that time when you maybe
21:09
when you were starting to like spike the throwing volume or
21:12
intensity a little bit. Yeah, I'd say it was probably
21:15
about a year ago. Now I went through our exchange
21:18
to actually see exactly when it was.
21:20
The initial introduction I got to flex Grip was one of my
21:23
teammates at New Mexico State who was telling me about his at
21:29
his facility. They used it and I'd never heard
21:32
of it before. And I did some research.
21:34
I was like, this could be something I need.
21:36
I mean, I was the type of person that I've, I felt like I'd tried
21:40
everything, right? So anything that I could take to
21:43
get that little bit of edge that .1% better, right?
21:47
I was going to, I was going to give it a shot and it, it
21:50
supposedly it worked. I mean, it's something more.
21:53
I I felt pretty good since and so.
21:58
Yeah. So beyond Flex Pro, any other
22:01
differences as well? I wasn't trying to cut you off
22:04
there. I mean, I'll let you talk about
22:06
Flexpro grip all day. But no, I, I know for the people
22:10
that are listening, not everyone's gonna have a Flexpro
22:12
grip as much as I think they should have a Flexpro grip.
22:15
But there's other things. I mean, a lot has changed in the
22:18
baseball rehab space from 2021-2022 to Yeah 24.
22:25
Yeah, I would definitely just say the way we went about the
22:30
strength program was a little bit different.
22:32
I mean, obviously I so I was at two different places when I did
22:35
my rehab. Their their idea and their
22:39
philosophy behind it. It, it was different.
22:41
The lifts we did were a little bit different and then it was a
22:44
lot more focused on like the rehab side and movement patterns
22:50
rather than let's just get you as strong as possible.
22:52
So that very big on getting the pelvis moving well to allow like
22:56
more shoulder rotation and being able to be more mobile so that
23:00
you're in your delivery, you're taking stress off the arm or off
23:04
the elbow. And that was the second time
23:06
around, you said. Yes.
23:08
And so that's still a lot of the a lot of the process that I
23:10
implement today and my warmups in my mobility routines are it's
23:15
basically I'm doing stuff so that in my throwing delivery,
23:20
it's as least amount of strain on the UCL as possible.
23:24
Do you feel that greater focus on movement would have been the
23:28
right thing for you retrospectively, like going
23:32
back, or do you think that was at a time where you still really
23:35
need to focus on building overall mass because it could
23:38
have just been an issue of your ability to just straight up
23:43
handle force? Yeah, I would say that still the
23:47
first time around, I I would say that I still needed to build a
23:50
lot of mass. It was something that I don't
23:52
think my body was strong enough to handle how hard I was
23:55
throwing the ball, right. And so I wouldn't have changed
23:59
anything I did the first time around.
24:01
I don't think it was a cause of that per SE.
24:05
I do think that I could have probably strengthened more of
24:08
the minor muscles or the smaller muscles in the forearm that I've
24:13
been introduced to by Flexpro, the trainer, but I agreed with
24:17
the strength training process and that I think at the time
24:19
that is definitely what I needed was to get stronger.
24:22
Another thing that we should probably address is you
24:26
mentioned at the time of the first injury you're kind of
24:29
sitting in that 88 to 90 range and you casually dropped when we
24:34
were talking about VLO guided throwing programs that you were
24:37
throwing 95 just a month or so prior.
24:40
So you have continued to throw harder in the process.
24:44
I know you are currently kind of sitting in that 91 to 93 range
24:49
as a starter and routinely at the fours and fives.
24:53
I know you threw hard this whole fall.
24:56
How have you been able to continue to develop while also
25:00
having two rehabs in that short window between 2021 to now where
25:07
you have gained 5 or 6 mph? Yeah, I'm not 100% sure.
25:13
It's definitely something where I'm still focused on the
25:17
strength gains and getting stronger and trying to get as
25:19
big as possible. I'm a, I'm a whippy person,
25:22
right? I'm naturally just like allow my
25:24
arm to flow. I try to be super loose on the
25:26
mound. So my thought is that if I can
25:30
get as big as I can and as strong as I can, then it should
25:33
theoretically just tick up and below.
25:35
And so that's kind of been the thing that has changed
25:37
throughout each process is just how much I've weighed.
25:40
Honestly, it's I think like the first time I got hurt, I was
25:43
like 140 lbs, right? And then even the second time I
25:48
was probably one 65170 maybe. And now this past season I was
25:53
trying to play at like a 180 weight, one 75180.
25:56
And this year, ideally, if I can get up to 190, right, I think
26:00
I'd be in a really good spot where I can put myself in a
26:02
position, be as healthy as I can be and continue to keep throwing
26:07
harder, right? Because that's, I mean, that's
26:09
what everybody wants. I'm 6 feet.
26:11
I'm not not the tallest cat, right?
26:14
Yeah, yeah. Sorry to interrupt you there,
26:16
but I felt like that was very important to address with the
26:18
way. Yes, yeah, yeah.
26:20
No, I get that. Also another opinion based
26:22
question here. So everyone listening, you don't
26:25
need to take this as gospel, although I think it's gospel.
26:28
So we'll, we'll let him explain his thought process, but you
26:32
don't ever feel like you have come close to that kind of break
26:39
point of, Oh my gosh, I'm too big.
26:42
No, no, definitely not there. I I've never gotten to a point
26:45
me personally, I've never gotten to a point where I thought damn,
26:48
too big. I would love to get there.
26:50
I think that would if I got to that point I'd be happy, but not
26:54
not yet. Yeah.
26:55
So now, now maybe the, I don't want to say more scientific, but
27:00
maybe the more pointed piece of that question is you don't feel
27:04
like you've met a moment in your career where the size you put on
27:12
or the strength that you focused on has taken away from your
27:16
ability to move and do or I guess perform in a way that is
27:20
natural. As you said, you're whippy.
27:23
You like to utilize that as your greatest, I'm about to say
27:28
strength, so I'll shift that. Your greatest superpower in a
27:31
sense, I hate saying that buzzword, but kind of your
27:34
greatest superpower is you can be whippy, you can let
27:36
everything flow and move naturally and strength to you
27:39
has never gotten in the way of that, correct?
27:42
Yeah, no, definitely. I think I mean, at least for me
27:45
personally, it's the times when I muscle up and try to use the
27:48
strength is typically when I throw slower.
27:52
And it's like when you're trying to PR, when you're trying to
27:54
throw hard like and I put a little bit extra effort into it.
27:57
If I get super tense, it's not going to work it, it doesn't
28:01
allow me to throw harder. So my whole thing is I'm trying
28:04
to get super big and super quick and I want to be as quick as I
28:07
can on the mound with while being pretty loose.
28:10
I don't want to have to force anything.
28:13
So what exactly does being quick mean to you?
28:16
Kind of breaking down your mechanics or breaking down the
28:19
way you move in your mindset. Yeah.
28:22
I would say that I don't have like like a fast moving delivery
28:28
if that makes sense. Where it's something where I'm
28:30
trying to be very under controlled and then it's at the
28:33
last second quick is like arm action.
28:36
I want this to just kind of whip through at the end.
28:39
I don't want to think about like it's not moving my whole body
28:42
fast. I guess it's not like trying to
28:44
be like super spazzy with everything and going super
28:46
quick, but it's quick. Is the word like super like
28:49
aggressive? But it's like, let me get to
28:52
this position where I feel like everything's In Sync, and then I
28:55
can just go like smooth and like just at the end, like I'm trying
29:01
to go bam. Time digression in a sense.
29:04
I mean, everybody has their own words to it, so I'm not trying
29:07
to put words in your mouth. It's more just how I digest it
29:10
is of course, when some people say quick, they're literally
29:13
trying to move everything as fast as possible, the fastest
29:16
step in leg lift and action down the mound and trying to almost
29:21
jump off the rubber. For you, it's more just at that
29:24
last moment, just let the whip go.
29:27
Yes. It's everything super smooth and
29:29
slow and under control until I feel that foot strike.
29:33
And then at foot strike, it's like, all right, now I can pull
29:36
back and let it RIP. Now I can go.
29:38
I'm going to make a slight pivot again.
29:41
It's really just back to the comparisons.
29:43
So first I I'm going to ask you to teleport back to the first
29:46
rehab process. What do you think was the
29:51
biggest thing you learn? Patience, for sure.
29:55
Patience. I was the type of player that I
29:58
wanted to be on the field at all times, in every moment.
30:01
And when that gets taken away from you, you have to look at
30:03
things a different way. You have to change your
30:05
perspective. And so that was something where
30:09
I was, I was able to allow myself to like and they, the
30:12
guys I worked with did a really good job at holding me
30:15
accountable and not letting me push too far.
30:17
But I, I probably asked every other week like, Hey, can I
30:20
throw off the mound? Like can I throw harder?
30:21
Like, let me, let me, let me push this a little more.
30:23
I feel good, like I'm feeling good.
30:25
And they're like, Nope, you don't need to.
30:27
Like you're not, you're not going for anything right now.
30:30
Like this is important right now.
30:32
What's important is in six months from now, I'm like, OK,
30:35
I, I understand that. And it's something that I've
30:38
even transitioned now to this fall where it's like everything
30:43
I do great, whatever I do now is great, but I'm doing everything
30:47
so I can be as ready as I can in the spring, right?
30:50
That's because that's when it matters.
30:51
That's when it's important. Bolts today are awesome, but it
30:56
doesn't mean anything if the lights aren't on.
30:58
Yeah, exactly. It was great how I pitched this
31:00
fall. I mean, I did exactly what I
31:02
wanted to. I I did what I set out to
31:05
achieve. But at the end of the day, all
31:08
that kind of mattered was I was trying to earn a spot, right?
31:12
It wasn't that I was trying to be the best pitcher in the
31:14
country this fall, but it was that I want to be in a position
31:17
where I can pitch for this team in the spring and help the team
31:20
win. And we'll, we'll jump ahead or I
31:23
guess we'll revisit this discussion shortly of the common
31:27
day. But I do want to stick with the
31:29
comparisons just because there's so much.
31:31
So then second rehab, what was the biggest thing you learned
31:35
then? I guess for me, the biggest
31:37
thing during the second rehab was learning how my body moved
31:41
and what my body type was, if that made sense.
31:43
It's like I, I've finally kind of learned what I need to do
31:48
specifically to succeed and to make myself better instead of
31:52
just following like a generic plan.
31:54
And the generic process is something where the guys I
31:56
worked with, that push and next era put me in a really good
31:59
position that I mean, they do full body assessments.
32:02
It's like, all right, here's what we're seeing, here's what
32:04
you lack, and then here's where we can improve.
32:07
And I think for the second time through, that was the big, the
32:10
big breakthrough was like, all right, I need to like put work
32:12
into these areas. I can't just keep doing the same
32:14
thing I've been doing. It's not going to work.
32:17
And now let's talk about kind of the post rehab process.
32:21
It's really murky waters and I understand that of when you
32:25
actually move from like a rehab setting to full go.
32:31
I guess like the divide for most people is like, hey, I threw in
32:34
a game, but that's not always indicative of when you feel like
32:39
yourself again or when you feel like you are truly 100%.
32:43
Because you might not be the same you that you were post
32:46
surgery as you were prior to surgery.
32:50
So I don't know if you ever dealt with that, but you, you
32:54
were thrust into AI. Guess you were thrust into a
32:59
whole new world coming off of the first surgery, going from
33:02
high school ball to having to compete at a top 25 nationally
33:07
ranked program and just be like, hey, Hayden, go prove yourself.
33:11
So I, I don't even know if there was like a feeling like yourself
33:15
again or you needed to completely find a new you in the
33:19
process. But I'll just hand that off to
33:22
you for a moment to kind of talk about that weird navigation
33:25
through the murky waters post rehab.
33:28
Yeah, that that 1 was definitely different.
33:31
Was thrown into a position where I wasn't the best player on the
33:34
team anymore, I guess, where I wasn't like knowing that I was
33:37
always going to play. And so it was back to having to
33:39
earn a spot. And I don't think that clicks
33:41
for me. Initially.
33:43
It was something that kind of took a while to settle in, but
33:46
it was something where I felt good throwing there.
33:48
It wasn't like I wouldn't say that I didn't feel like myself.
33:52
It was something where the coaches there were definitely
33:54
trying to tinker with my stuff in ways that I hadn't messed
33:57
around with before. So it's hard to kind of get the
33:59
hang of everything. But I think like when I was on
34:02
the mountain competing, it felt everything felt normal.
34:05
I felt good. I would say honestly, that more
34:08
applies to the second time around getting thrusted in.
34:11
I had probably two or three lives before our first in game
34:16
weekend and kind of just hit the ground running.
34:19
And I would say during the season it was tough to really
34:22
feel like myself out there again.
34:24
At times. There was one or two outings
34:27
where I was out there and everything seemed to click and I
34:30
was like, all right, this is what it should be like.
34:31
This is how I throw. I I remember this feeling like
34:34
this is what I've been chasing, but it wasn't something that
34:37
that was super consistent, right?
34:40
And that took even until this fall to kind of get back into
34:44
like, OK, this is how it's supposed to feel like.
34:46
This is this is what was fun, right?
34:48
This is why I do it so. 2020 hindsight would you delay your
34:54
return at all from this past season?
34:57
Like do you feel like you rushed back just because it was
35:01
attainable in the sense you were throwing hard enough, the shapes
35:04
were there but you maybe didn't give yourself enough time seeing
35:10
hitters or maybe understanding how you might bounce back from
35:13
throwing multi inning outings? Yeah, I probably would have.
35:18
You know, I was kind of blinded by the position of where, oh, if
35:22
I throw good this year, I'm going to get drafted, right?
35:24
If I do what I know I can, that the big thing for me was I
35:26
wanted to get drafted. The thing that's going to allow
35:29
me to do that is playing in all the games, which I don't think
35:32
that was the case. I think if I would have slowed
35:35
down a little bit, kind of listened more to the people
35:39
around me, it would have been a better scenario where I would
35:43
have made it through when I started throwing.
35:45
I could have been healthier and felt better throughout the whole
35:47
time I was throwing instead of having minor setbacks here or
35:51
there throughout the season. It's a very understandable
35:54
thought process though, because I I'm going to try to put myself
35:58
in your shoes and obviously you can correct me at any time in
36:01
this process, but I assume you were thinking, I know what I can
36:06
be. I've been hurt previously.
36:08
I need to show people that I can throw and I can dominate because
36:12
let's face it, I didn't do it my freshman year.
36:15
I need to build on what I've done previously.
36:18
The only thing that people have seen for me to date is
36:21
inconsistency. I need to show some level of
36:24
consistency and that I really am that dude when I am healthy.
36:29
The problem is you went back at maybe 90%, Hayden, which then
36:35
means you're just trying to keep your head above water throughout
36:38
the entire year. And like you and I talked about
36:41
a few times in the process, if you really want to go crazy on
36:45
statistical analysis, there's weekends that we could show that
36:48
you were a top 50 pitcher in the entire country.
36:51
Then there was weekends that we could show that you were a
36:54
batting practice pitcher, which probably wasn't the most fun
36:57
thing to see or be a part of. Granted, I just saw it you.
37:02
It wasn't fun for me, so I couldn't imagine what it
37:04
actually felt like for you. But it's so hard to step away
37:09
from the pie in the sky when you actually feel like you can reach
37:12
it. No, 100%.
37:14
I think you nailed it with the inconsistency in the consistency
37:17
point where it's like, I wanted to go out there and prove that
37:20
to not only to myself, but I guess I was in, I was in the
37:22
wrong mindset. I was trying to prove to other
37:24
people that I can still do it right instead of proving to
37:27
myself that I can still do it and doing it for me.
37:30
And it, that is where I kind of went wrong.
37:32
I think it's hard to prove consistency when I don't know
37:36
what consistency is at that point, right?
37:38
Like I haven't like thrown enough to where like, OK, this
37:41
is what it's going to look like every time I'm out there.
37:43
Every outing was like a learning.
37:45
It was like, this is what's going to happen when I do this
37:47
new scenarios that I hadn't been a part of yet.
37:50
And so it was very inconsistent year.
37:53
And it was something where once I kind of settled in, it got a
37:57
little bit better, but I never really found a stride and hit
38:02
that that ramp to go. Yeah.
38:05
Well, thankfully, I know we've talked about them as setbacks.
38:10
In the grand scheme of things, nothing that terrible.
38:14
It's not like you found yourself trying to get MRI's and see
38:17
what's going on. It was just like, yo, I'm banged
38:20
up right now, I need a little bit of time.
38:23
Or maybe maybe a set back was not performing to the level that
38:27
you expected to. Thus, like, let's take maybe a
38:31
weekend down, figure things out and get back to what I can be.
38:36
Because like you said, finishing out the year, you're topping 95
38:40
during outings or you had some outings that you were truly
38:44
dominant when you would go somewhere and have whatever,
38:49
like a 16 ERA in Rd. games in Conference or something like
38:54
that. So it's not like it wasn't
38:56
there. It was just doing it on a
38:58
consistent basis. So once you were able to figure
39:02
it out later stage in season, do you think it was just you
39:07
unfortunately had to use the first two months kind of as
39:10
you're on ramp to be like I'm good, like it was kind of like
39:13
spring training for you? I would honestly say that like,
39:17
so the first, the first couple weeks were when I felt the best,
39:20
right? That's when the arm felt really
39:22
good to go. And then had an outing against
39:25
Liberty, which was my best out of the season.
39:27
And then after that kind of back of the elbow started flaring up,
39:31
took some time off and then it was like on and off when I was
39:34
throwing or when I felt my best. And so it was more of like a
39:39
grind to get through the end of the season.
39:41
It was kind of one of those things where it wasn't like I
39:44
was looking forward to each outing, but I was like, I'm
39:46
trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
39:48
Like I'm trying to get there. And then I knew if I could get
39:51
there and just take a little bit off, I'm going to be able to
39:53
ramp back up and be back to my normal self.
39:56
And so they it got to the point where I wasn't like chasing each
40:00
outing, like going out there to dominate each time.
40:02
It was like, I just need to finish this.
40:03
I need to get to the end of this and that.
40:05
That was not the right way to look at it.
40:07
But at the time, that's all I could.
40:08
That's all it was. That's all it felt like.
40:10
So thankfully you were able to make it to the end and go
40:13
through a little bit of a development schedule this
40:15
summer, commit to UW and be extremely dominant throughout
40:19
the fall. So this summer, how good did it
40:24
feel to actually know you got through a season?
40:28
Maybe it was some minor bumps and bruises, but you got through
40:30
a season and you had a true future in front of you.
40:35
Hey, I know I have a clean bill of health.
40:38
I can go into a season knowing that I can throw, not just
40:43
trying to chase health. Yeah, no, it was a good feeling.
40:47
It was definitely. I felt like I was in a good
40:50
spot. The thing was, you know, I was
40:52
in a position where I had no idea where I was going to be in
40:54
the fall. I didn't know what that was
40:56
going to look like necessarily, but I knew that wherever it was,
41:00
it was going to be something where I could go achieve what
41:04
I'm setting up to achieve. It wasn't going to be something
41:06
where I have to baby it step by step along the way or something
41:09
where I can go compete the entire fall and actually go
41:12
enjoy what I was doing again. Right.
41:15
You didn't have to commit telling a coach like, hey, I'm
41:18
in, but I'm also 60% of the way through my throwing program.
41:23
I should be able to go by October 6th and then I'll I
41:28
promise coach like I'll be full go like I I've had no setbacks.
41:32
I'm not going to have any like no, this was truly like yeah,
41:34
I'm ready with the second You need me to show up.
41:37
I'm your guy. Yeah, and that's, I mean, that's
41:39
how it was. We got, we got to campus and we
41:42
were thrusted right into scrimmages the first week we
41:45
were here. We started playing games and I,
41:48
I was good to go, right. I was actually able to compete
41:51
that first week and it was that was a great feeling and I made
41:55
competed through the whole fall. I mean another big
41:57
accomplishment was making it through the whole fall without
41:59
any setbacks or adding injuries and didn't miss an outing or a
42:03
start. And so just a great feeling.
42:05
And how freeing was that, beyond just it being a really good
42:10
feeling? Oh, unbelievable.
42:12
That was my, I mean, my 2 main goals of the fall were make it
42:16
through the fall completely healthy and prove that you could
42:19
pitch again. And I've accomplished those two
42:22
goals. I mean, the best I could.
42:24
It was finally a time where I didn't feel like I needed to go
42:26
out there and PR on the mound. Every time I pitched, I didn't
42:29
need to go out and throw 9596, right.
42:31
I I was like, I can just pitch. And I had a pitching coach up
42:35
here. Connor Lambert is our pitching
42:37
coach and he did a great job working with me in my arsenal
42:41
and finding ways to where we can attack these hitters in the most
42:45
effective way. Been a great experience so far.
42:47
I'll brag for you. You don't have to be the one
42:49
that bragged when when you sent me your report from the fall and
42:53
it took a little bit of reading. So credit to you for not
42:57
immediately bragging from the jump.
42:58
But to see on your report that you only gave up two hits the
43:01
whole fall, I'd say you did pretty well.
43:04
Yeah. Yeah.
43:05
That it was all right got got the job done.
43:09
Well, let's let's even talk about your development as a
43:12
pitcher, which I'm sure has been a little bit difficult looking
43:16
across the board, missing time through the later stages of high
43:20
school, trying to prove yourself when you're at Arizona, fighting
43:24
the injury bug throughout your time at New Mexico State.
43:28
Yeah. When do you feel like you've
43:30
actually had time to develop as Hayden Lewis the pitcher, not
43:34
just trying to get on the field? Yeah, I mean, it really hasn't
43:40
been until probably this fall, like pitch.
43:42
Pitch development hasn't been a real thing for me.
43:45
It's kind of been like, I'll mess around with grips.
43:47
I've thrown the same curveball since I was 14.
43:50
I throw my fastball. The only thing I've really
43:52
changed is I've been trying to throw a cutter, slider, whatever
43:55
I've been doing. It has been inconsistent.
43:59
But it'll be nice to have the winter now to work on that,
44:01
right? The big thing, I always mess
44:03
around with my change up and I'll change my change up for
44:06
every other day. It's something where it's like
44:08
eventually I'm going to find something that works or whatever
44:10
works that day is going to work that day.
44:12
And then that was something that clicked this fall and it's like
44:15
now I have 3 pitches that I know what they're going to do almost
44:18
every time I throw them and it's like I felt like a real pitcher
44:22
again. It was just like I'm going out
44:23
there to throw, right? I'm just like, I want to be out
44:26
there so I could be out there. Now it's like I'm going to be
44:28
out there so I can dominate, so I can go compete and just prove
44:32
that I'm that I'm better than these guys.
44:33
I guess like that's that's how I view it.
44:35
I'm just trying to be the best player I can be.
44:37
And trying to be the best player you can be for you, correct.
44:40
Yes, yes, yeah. Going back to what you said
44:43
earlier, I guess that Major assessment, personal assessment
44:48
or look inward coming off of this past year at New Mexico
44:51
State where you felt like you were trying to prove it to
44:53
others rather than just do it for yourself.
44:56
Yeah, yeah. And it it's kind of, I'm a big
44:59
believer and as a pitcher, it's easy to kind of do this.
45:02
But it's like if I do my job and I pitch really well, it's good
45:05
for the team. Like that's how I'm helping the
45:08
team win is if I can go out there and if I'm my best self,
45:12
right? So it's not like I'm trying to
45:13
like help other people. Like I'll help my team mates, of
45:16
course I'll help them whatever they need, but it's not like I'm
45:18
trying to show to them that I'm better than them.
45:20
It's like I just need to go out there and do what I can do.
45:23
Spot on man. I am the single largest
45:25
proponent that the most selfless thing that you can do is
45:30
actually be as selfish as possible in sport, especially in
45:34
sport baseball. Let's face it, we're all playing
45:37
our own individual game within a team sport.
45:40
But if you are truly as good as you can be and you dedicate
45:43
yourself and your time to you being at 100% and being able to
45:49
create the greatest outputs for yourself, the team is going to
45:53
reap the benefits of that. Yeah, it sounds like you align
45:59
with that mantra. Yes IA 100% agree with that.
46:05
So now looking forward to this winter, what's what's the goal,
46:09
what are we trying to accomplish going into not your super senior
46:13
season as much as all of that. Yeah, I mean, the goals put on a
46:18
couple pounds, right? I'm trying to gain, I think from
46:21
where I'm at, I'm trying to gain 10 lbs before the season starts,
46:25
maybe 15, and then become super consistent with my pitches and
46:31
my delivery. I'm trying to get to a point
46:33
where it's like, I know that every time I throw this pitch,
46:36
it's going to be in this movement plot.
46:38
It's not going to be like sometimes a gross and disgusting
46:41
and then sometimes just kind of like, you know, so that that's
46:44
kind of my big focus heading into this winter season.
46:46
Obviously, I'd love to add a tick or two on the MPH, throw a
46:51
little bit harder. Who wouldn't?
46:54
The main thing is just trying to get as consistent as possible.
46:57
You say that about the MPH, but at this point I assume it's more
47:02
about maintaining whatever you're sitting below is rather
47:05
than throwing harder. Like yeah it'd be sick if you
47:08
could top 98 instead of 9596, but it also would mean a ton
47:14
more if you can consistently be sitting 93 to 96 instead of
47:19
sitting 2-3 and topping 6. No, definitely.
47:23
And that's something that I've learned too as a like as I've
47:27
become more of in this starter role is that you can't throw as
47:32
hard as you can all the time. Like every pitch can't be as
47:34
hard as you want it to be. And so I've learned that's like
47:37
if I'm smoother out there and I'm throwing at like a 9095%
47:41
intensity, but if that's still like if that's still 91 to 94,
47:45
like that's perfect. And that's going to keep me
47:47
healthier, right? And if I get to a point a game,
47:50
we're like, oh, this is a big spot and like this is a big hit
47:53
her up and I want to crank back for a couple more I can.
47:56
And that that's, that's the big thing for me and that's where I
47:59
want to get to. I apologize upfront if this
48:03
sounds like I'm poking at what you just said, but this is more
48:07
I want to understand what you think is like your internal
48:11
grasp of what you just said maybe versus like gospel for the
48:15
entire baseball community once again.
48:17
So when you say kind of cruising at 90 to 95%, do you think that
48:22
works for you because of what you were saying earlier about
48:26
what your true strength is of being flowy and whippy and just
48:31
kind of like let things unravel versus if you're trying to be
48:34
100% all the time, that's where the muscle up happens or that's
48:38
where the like the grind would happen instead of you just being
48:42
able to like let things flow? Yeah, I would say a little bit
48:46
of yes and no to that. I guess that's a good point.
48:48
Like knowing my body and knowing that I can be loose and still
48:52
have the Velo that I need, It's a good feeling to have.
48:56
But I would also say that it's like, if I'm knowing that I have
48:59
to go out there and throw 100 pitches, I can't throw 100
49:02
pitches as hard as I can. Right?
49:04
I just, I don't, I don't think that's feasible to me.
49:07
Right. I mean, maybe some people can.
49:09
I'm sure there are some starters out there that they're like
49:11
every pitch they're trying to throw as hard as they possibly
49:13
can. Yeah.
49:14
Matt Scherzer, your boy. Exactly.
49:16
But there's there's also guys that you see, like I watched
49:19
Kevin Gosman start a lot this season where it's like most of
49:22
his starts City 929495 and then later in the game, here's 97,
49:28
right, here's a 98. So that's something I try to
49:32
emulate more. It's like in a big spot.
49:33
If I need a little bit more and there's a little bit more
49:35
adrenaline, it's going to be there.
49:37
Oh no, I appreciate you sharing that.
49:38
Like I said, I wasn't necessarily trying to push back.
49:42
That's just very much a personal thing.
49:44
Like you see different pitchers do different things, so I'm more
49:47
just wanted to understand that from your perspective and how
49:50
you feel it fits with what you're actually trying to
49:52
accomplish. No, definitely.
49:54
And as we kind of, I guess, meander our way towards the end
49:59
or nearing the end of the podcast here, I would love, even
50:04
if it's just more for me, if you could talk about a little bit
50:08
how you feel Flexpro has directly helped you.
50:11
I know we've kind of joked about it earlier and you're like,
50:14
well, it seems like it worked. I got through the air and you
50:17
got back healthy. But just I would love if you
50:21
could share from your own voice what you feel it's actually
50:25
assisted you with. Because, yeah, I, I can say all
50:28
day, we're providing hard data for athletes to understand what
50:32
the muscles of the forearm can actually do.
50:35
But everyone is going to have their own interpretation or
50:39
their own feel for what it's provided for them.
50:42
So I kindly ask that you share that for me.
50:46
Yeah. I mean, for me, it's honestly
50:49
been a place to where the numbers are good because I can
50:53
see how I'm bouncing back after an outing or before an Audi.
50:56
I can see where my strength levels are AT.
50:58
And then I'm also in a position where I think it allows me to
51:03
not have to worry about the strength of my elbow.
51:06
I can go out there and throw and I don't have to like, I guess
51:10
I'm not going out there worrying that if I'm throwing too hard,
51:13
it's just going to get hurt again, right?
51:15
It's like I have something where it's like I have a routine that
51:17
I've been doing that that keeps me strengthening This It keeps
51:21
it allows me to get stronger in this this in this category.
51:24
I don't know. It's not just like doing like
51:27
dumbbell forearm curls and like, oh, I get a nice forearm pump.
51:30
It's like I can feel the tendons actually working and getting
51:34
stronger. And then when I go out there and
51:35
throw, it's like I don't feel anything, right?
51:38
It's not like I don't feel it's like tight or like stiff.
51:41
Feels like I can throw nice and loose.
51:44
So just the question marks have been eliminated for you?
51:47
Yes. Definitely.
51:48
I mean, I'm I'm able to be for sure about what I'm doing.
51:51
I guess it's you have clarity. Yes, yes, thank you.
51:54
Yes, there's clarity into what's going on.
51:57
Yeah, not sure if that was the exact word you were looking for,
52:00
but it that's what I felt I could feel or mental connection
52:04
that. No, yeah, no, I think, I think
52:07
that was the word I was looking for.
52:08
It's clarity. Yeah, if it's not clarity, I'll
52:11
expect a text from you like 3 months from now.
52:13
At 4 AMI get 4:00 AM my time, 1:00 AM your time.
52:16
It's like this was what it was. This was the word and no.
52:21
So I do really appreciate you going through that because you
52:24
obviously implemented Flex Pro at a time where you were
52:29
basically all gung ho about trying to be drafted after
52:32
coming off of a an internal brace.
52:35
So a very questionable position that you were in, not really
52:39
sure how things would pan out. And with, as we said, some minor
52:44
bumps and bruises. You got through it, but you were
52:46
at least able to crawl your way through a season relatively
52:50
healthy for the most part with. I know we did joke about it and
52:53
probably poked and prodded a little more than necessary, but
52:57
truthfully, some good results in your first year coming off of an
53:01
injury and now we've parlayed it into a really good fall.
53:04
So last baseball question is, do you know to date where your role
53:10
is expected to be or just kind of one of the possible starters
53:14
for UW? Yeah, I don't.
53:17
We have our exit meetings coming up this week, so I'm hoping to
53:20
get a little bit more clarity on it.
53:21
Then this fall, I threw 6 outings and I started four of
53:25
them. So using context clues, I'm
53:29
going to imagine that I'm going to be one of our starters, or at
53:32
least I'm competing for a starting role.
53:34
I can't say that for certain, but that's just where I think,
53:39
and that's kind of when I was being recruited to their thing
53:41
was like, Hey, we want you to come in and eat innings and
53:43
throw a lot and compete for us. So that's what I'm hoping I do.
53:47
I would love to do that. I mean it, it's tough.
53:50
I mean, I grew up a hitter, so I want to be on the field as much
53:52
as I can, right? And I think that gives me the
53:55
best chance, at least the best chance to help the team win.
53:57
If I I know if I can go 7 shutty, it's it's hard for the
54:01
other team to win so. For sure, and like I said, that
54:06
was probably going to be the last baseball question.
54:08
We'll see if anything pops up in my mind, but I would be remiss
54:12
not to ask you about maybe you're not so hidden talent of
54:17
being a scratch golfer. So let's talk about the real
54:21
passion here. Forget it.
54:22
Forget about the leather ball with laces.
54:25
I know the real passion you have is the ball with dimples.
54:30
Yes, No, for sure. I've been golfing since I was 3.
54:33
Both my parents worked in golf. I grew up in Arizona, so it's
54:36
hard not to play golf. And I mean, honestly, it was
54:39
something that I wouldn't say I hated, but I despised how
54:43
challenging it was until I got to high school and I started
54:48
actually competing and I was like, Oh, OK, this is, this is
54:51
cool. And even in high school it took
54:53
me a bit. It took me, it brought honestly
54:55
probably took me until college to really realize like, oh, you
54:59
need to like have a good mental game for this.
55:01
And like, there's different like so much strategy in this golf
55:03
thing. And I don't know, it's, it's
55:06
something I've dove really deep into and I, I love it and it's
55:10
hard not to. I did say last baseball
55:13
question, but your answer led me directly back to baseball so
55:17
hand up. I apologize.
55:18
How much do you think golf has benefited you on the mental side
55:24
of baseball? I think a lot, I think they go
55:27
hand in hand with each other. But it's something where I, I
55:30
probably realized this first on the golf course and it's you
55:33
can't get mad at yourself or frustrated in golf because it's
55:37
just going to compile. It's just going to be a slippery
55:39
slope that's going to go downhill.
55:41
And so I realized that on the golf course.
55:44
And then it took me a bit to be like, oh, it's the same thing in
55:47
baseball. Like if I give up a bloop
55:49
single, I can't get pissed off about it.
55:51
And then all the sudden try and throw harder, like play mad.
55:54
It's not going to work. At least for me.
55:56
I'm not the type of person that can play mad.
55:59
It doesn't improve my game, right?
56:01
I need to, I need to think with a clear head when I'm out there.
56:04
I think golf has helped a lot on the baseball side of things.
56:08
And then when you're on the mound and in a tough spot, do
56:11
you step off and envision yourself staring over like the
56:14
wide open fairway? No, maybe I should try that.
56:17
That might might be might be the scratch.
56:19
That might be a really good idea Stand up there just like I just
56:22
like hitting a tee shot. It's like I got a 120 I 120
56:26
wedge shot in right here. This is it's all I need.
56:28
Nice and smooth. I thought you were going to pull
56:32
a little humble brag there and say like 0160 out, nice little
56:37
wedge shot. Just like make everyone feel bad
56:40
about their distances because I know you're hitting that ball
56:42
far. Well, and then honestly, it's
56:45
the same thing that I've talked about.
56:47
We're on the mound. I'm trying to throw 90 to 95%
56:49
because on the golf course I'm trying to swing 90 to 95%.
56:52
I can't swing 100% or else I don't know where the ball's
56:54
going. Like sometimes you're over a
56:56
ball and you're like, I feel like I'm in a really good
56:58
position. Let me go after it a bit harder
57:00
and it's the same thing on the mound where I'm like, all right,
57:02
I feel like I'm in a good position.
57:03
Let me let me let this one RIP. But for the most part, it's like
57:06
trying to be as smooth as I can in both facets of the game.
57:10
So I think there is a lot of similarities and that's probably
57:13
why you see a lot of pitchers golfing all the time, because
57:15
it's the same thing more or less.
57:17
All I'm hearing from you is golf is the ultimate unlock A. 100%,
57:21
I think when you fully understand golf and you can, you
57:25
can attribute it to pitch and it's it's great.
57:29
So if you ever coach one day, is there going to be a mandatory
57:33
golf day during the week for your pitch?
57:35
Might be there, might be. Sounds like a good idea.
57:40
Every Tuesday. Every Tuesday.
57:42
Tuesday, like, hey, recovery day, go out there, got to walk,
57:46
got to walk the course. That's right.
57:49
Can't be taking the cart defeats the purpose.
57:52
But you are OK with The Walking cart?
57:55
You can push cart soft, but you could push cart I'm I'm big on
57:59
the bag on the back type of guy. I'm walking down the fairway.
58:02
If you want to use the pushcart, you can use the pushcart.
58:04
It's the same premise. Well, if we really want to get
58:08
into the advanced performance side of things here, technically
58:13
you wouldn't want that. All that spinal compression,
58:16
especially since the load we're we're going to shifted a little
58:20
bit, we might be leading to some sort of spinal imbalance.
58:24
Ideally we don't want that. So it might be smarter to go
58:27
pushcart. It might be.
58:29
It's a good point. But then you're not getting the
58:32
mental fortitude of having to carry your clubs for however
58:35
long. So I really I can see the
58:37
argument on both sides. And this is probably a great
58:40
time to send a shout out to my parents for my my birthday
58:45
present this past year. Yes, I I turned 32 and my
58:48
parents got me an awesome birthday present.
58:50
Sorry, I'm bragging about it, but they got me a stroller caddy
58:56
so I can hang. I can hang all my golf clubs off
58:59
of the stroller. So the second I trust that my
59:05
daughter is old enough to come to the golf course, I can have
59:08
all my golf clubs. Strapped to the back of the
59:11
stroller. That's awesome.
59:12
That's that's a good. It's a good have, Yeah.
59:15
Big tear. Now, now I have every excuse in
59:18
the world to get off on the golf course because.
59:21
I'm just taking our. Hey, I'm just watching our
59:24
daughter. I'm doing everything you want me
59:25
to do. You have a house to yourself.
59:27
We're just going to go golf in the next. 4 hours?
59:29
No, I agree. I think that's a great plan.
59:31
Thank you. Yeah, I'm glad to know I have
59:33
the support and it's going to be recorded for the masses.
59:36
So, Hayden, before I let you go, do you feel there's anything we
59:40
missed, a big moment in rehab, any piece of advice that you
59:44
could give to someone? Anything really.
59:46
I mean, I, I would just say my biggest thing is everything
59:49
happens for a reason. I'm a big, big believer in faith
59:52
and I think he's got a plan for everybody.
59:54
Don't take your hardships as like, why is this happening to
59:58
me? I think everything's a learning
59:59
experience and there's something to take away from every
1:00:02
scenario. And that would be my biggest
1:00:04
piece of advice. There's greener days, there's
1:00:07
better days ahead. It will get better.
1:00:10
Yes it will. It will always get better.
1:00:12
Yeah, and there's always something to learn.
1:00:14
If I can also take something from what you just shared, it
1:00:18
doesn't matter how shitty it is. There's always something that
1:00:21
you can learn and grow from. But thank you, Hayden, so much.
1:00:24
This was awesome. I really appreciate you getting
1:00:27
vulnerable with us, sharing a bit about your story, and we're
1:00:30
all looking forward to seeing you in purple and gold this
1:00:33
coming spring. Looking forward to some awesome
1:00:36
moments. And shoot, with the travel
1:00:38
you're going to make as a Big 10 representative.
1:00:41
I'm doing an outro. I am doing an outro.
1:00:44
Everyone pause. I am sorry.
1:00:46
We'll get to an outro in a moment.
1:00:48
I said we were done with baseball.
1:00:50
I asked Hayden for final comments.
1:00:52
Dude, you might have the most miles traveled of any college
1:00:56
baseball player imaginable, aside from somebody who plays
1:00:59
for the University of Hawaii. Are you kidding me?
1:01:02
You were in the freaking Conference USA from New Mexico,
1:01:05
going to play at Liberty, going to play at FIU, You're going
1:01:09
down to Miami now you're up at Washington playing in the Big
1:01:12
10. Are you going to Rutgers this
1:01:14
year? Legitimately, I want to know how
1:01:16
many miles you have traveled. I don't think we go to Rutgers.
1:01:19
We do open up in Puerto Rico, so that'll be cool.
1:01:26
Let's see. Let's see, let's see.
1:01:28
We go to some cool spots. I do know that we go to like
1:01:30
Penn State, right? That'll be over there.
1:01:35
Where is this? Do you go down to UCLA or USC?
1:01:38
We do go to USC, go to Minnesota, Michigan, Eastern
1:01:44
Michigan, not crazy this year, honestly.
1:01:47
So we go to Indiana, Rutgers. No, I think they went to Rutgers
1:01:51
last year. OK.
1:01:53
So but it it'll be a good schedule.
1:01:56
Poor. I'm excited for Puerto Rico for
1:01:58
sure. As you should be if somebody is
1:02:01
really a loyal fan. If you want to go through all of
1:02:04
Hayden's possible travel or possible trips that he's made
1:02:08
since his freshman year at Arizona, I would love to know
1:02:10
how many total plane miles he has accumulated.
1:02:14
It's good. Good for the miles.
1:02:16
Maybe that should be the real nil opportunity for guys.
1:02:19
Forget trying to actually make money, you should just be
1:02:22
awarded the miles that you deserve for taking all these
1:02:26
trips. We get them checked in.
1:02:28
Do you for the flights? Oh yeah.
1:02:30
Oh, that's big time, dude. Oh yeah, you're going to be able
1:02:33
to make a serious golf trip over to Saint Andrews here shortly.
1:02:39
One day we're stacking them up. That's right.
1:02:42
Well, OK, that that will bring us to the outro.
1:02:46
I apologize. But as soon as as soon as I was
1:02:49
thinking about Washington, I realized how many miles you're
1:02:52
about to accumulate this year. So all the niceties again,
1:02:55
everyone. Yeah, we're excited for Hayden.
1:02:56
All that stuff. You heard me say it already, but
1:02:59
this was awesome. And to everyone out there,
1:03:01
thanks for laying back with us.