Dodgers Anthony Banda never pitched until a trainer discovered his arm motion l Baseball Adjustments

Intro Jose trino was my roommate oh nice and I think we were in nacadas playing a tournament up there somewhere he answers the phone I get a phone we get a phone call like at at night it's probably like 6 7:00 at night he answers the the phone and he's like hey it's for you and like what and I'm thinking oh it's my dad or my mom you know just checking in seeing how we are [Music] Journey playing baseball Anthony B picture with the Los Angeles Dodgers Anthony tell me I mean how did you start your journey playing baseball did you have anybody that influenced you you know growing up uh no like I mean obviously watch you know on TV and stuff like you know Randy Johnson was my all-time favorite um you know Cliff Le uh you know uh Nolan Ryan you know people like that that I watched growing up um those were the kind of guys that were like you know I saw and I I recognized like there was something like very special and uh you know with baseball it was just like at first it started like hey like I want to play baseball because my friends are playing baseball uh little league and the pony league and all that other good stuff um I really started taking it seriously when um um like late high school I want to say junior senior year um just in the sense of like what our you know Jean casri our high school coach demanded of us as far as like being consistent and uh being able to you know be the best version of ourselves and uh at that age we were so intimidated by it because we didn't I well at least I speak for myself I didn't really know exactly how to go about it as far as uh what he demanded of us I just just try to not make any errors or anything else in practice uh so it was very intimidating but uh that's when we started like getting the the actual like discipline to like take things seriously uh and to like really really understand like hey like you know we are a winning Town baseball team a high school team so it was it was something where it was like that that's what he I wouldn't say demanded but he he expected us because he saw the talent so that was when it really took off for me as far as like being disciplined and taking it seriously and uh really Emilio Alaniz, trainer, wanted to develop him as a pitcher working on my craft um at the time I was a right fielder and I was trying to hit the ball or trying to hit couldn't hit uh but uh yeah and then one day uh a gentleman of uh name of we call I call him Mr Alise but his name is Emilio Al Alise I don't know if I'm saying that right but I apologize uh he uh he approached he had saw me throwing in the Outfield doing like doing some cut off and relays realized that I was left-handed and had a really good uh arm motion and I believe at the time we didn't have any left-handed pitching and he uh he approached my father uh one early spring uh and AD ask if he could work with me to you know basically give give me the idea of understanding of how to pitch and how to use my body and stuff like that it was very old school which I loved um and that was really when it really took off for me with pitching um I fell in love with it because I realized like I can control the game um by being a pitcher and I could add more value to our team and so uh it was something where I was like I can't remember the day like how many days a week but it felt like almost every every other day I was with Mr Alan training and and and it wasn't like anything special it was more about the basics of everything like you know Direction good direction keeping your front side in stuff like that and you know which I had no idea what I was doing I was just you know at the time I was just throwing to baseball and that's all I thought it was um but yeah that was like that was about the time that I really really took it seriously and when I realized um I could potentially make something out of it was uh when um I'd gotten drafted out of high school um which I had no idea you could do that I the knowledge that I had with baseball as far as like the outside world of how it all worked and the business within it when it within itself had no idea no idea so did you have any like D1 College baseball offers offers though like you just they just drafted you straight out of ice cream uh yeah they uh I didn't have any D1 um offers uh I don't think I I don't think I could have I I think I could have done a better job is uh academically I mean it wasn't a bad uh I didn't have bad grades or anything uh my parents always made sure that we were on top of our schoolwork um but it was more about like you know preparing better for the SAT the ACT understanding like you know from the from the jump right as a freshman to understand like hey I got to get on the ball here if I want to get into uh a good school but um you know I had one school reach out to me and Jose trino was my roommate oh nice and I think we were in nacadas playing a tournament up there somewhere and uh he uh he answers a phone I get a phone we get a phone call like at at night it's was probably like 6 7:00 at night and uh he answers the the phone and he's like hey it's for you and like what and I'm thinking oh it's my dad or my mom you know just checking in seeing how we are and uh I answer it it's it's a scout from the University of Houston and I knowing my background where I come from I knew that it was going to be a burden on my family as far as like you know financially you know and so like I didn't want to do that because I have other brothers and uh a sister that you know that they obviously needed the support from my family not just me so uh I just basically told him I wasn't interested and he had a hell of a time with that uh but I it was it wasn't anything against the University or anything else like that you know um but it was just like the fact that you know what was the conversation like and you know understanding that it's going to be an expensive School uh for us and that you know I think that it would have put more burden than anything else on my family so I just decided not to go that way uh and I think at that time I already had committed to San Jack um so it was for me from the financial standpoint it was a no-brainer uh to go to jco um experience that and then you know obviously get my credits the where I needed to be in case I needed to transfer out or something so that was my game plan so and I stuck with it and that's that's kind of how it all unfolded really and I mean a lot of What can the JUCO route do for high school baseball players development? players from the high school level they automatically their brains think I want to play division one baseball and I mean that's like the highest saying that they want to do some could go the Joo route like you did you went to San uh San J Junior College what can the Junior College route do for these young players in their development and in their baseball team some people look at it Joo as like the lowest of the low which is not um just cuz we don't the the facilities aren't fancy or anything else like that uh the education's still there um the competition's still there there's a lot of good ball players in in junior college that uh either struggle financially to get into a big school or you know messed around the first three years of high school and then they got their stuff together and really are trying to get into a bigger school there's different ways to get to where you want to be and I've always believed that so it's not always oh like just cuz you don't get it the first try you give up it's not like that like you got to you got to put in the work for it uh and you'll eventually get there so um so that's kind of what I did Family sacrifices and family you were talking about like you didn't want to put that burden on your parents what sacrifices did your parents have to do for you to get to where you are right now a lot there's a lot uh they're my heroes man um I can never thank them enough for what they've done for what they they do for you know the kids and everybody else around them people that know them uh understand how good of people they are so uh you know I just try to be the best version of what I could be to represent them the best way I can um you know and you know they're my parents I love them to death like they brought me into this world and they taught me everything I know uh my father's taught me how to be a man as best as he could and they given me and our you know my brothers and sisters everything they can and um they might they might not be told this but like we're extremely grateful for everything they've given us regardless of what it is or how much or how little like I appreciate everything that they've done for me and you know that's that's the way it should be that's the way it was raised that's the way it should be I I I don't ever expect um anything less than the like the gratification and respect that they've given me MH and and what I've given them in return as far as like a loving son uh successful son um just you know I've always told him like I want to do it for them uh and they they were always come back at me saying no do it for yourself it's like no like I don't see it that way I you given me so much and you given me this opportunity to let me live out this dream and how how can I ever repay you for that you know and you know so it's just like I try to be the best version of myself so that way they can see me and be proud of me and that's the biggest thing for me in my life that I've always wanted I've always wanted my parents to be proud of me and tell me if Anthony Banda MLB debut you could go back to that 2017 day the day you made your major league debut what was that for you being able I'm pretty sure your family was there to share that moment with you what was going through your head when you stepped on to that M I can't believe I'm here uh that was the biggest thing it's like I can't believe I'm here uh nothing really you know it's kind of a blackout moment um in the sense of that day but afterwards it was like man everything we worked so hard for and everything they've done for me it's like they allowed me to do this like I can't thank them enough I I really can't you know and they're they're the best people in my mind in my opinion they're the best people in the world I have two more questions one Facing challenges such as being DFA'd, trade, and injuries being you've gone through trades you've gone through injuries do you have fa how do you balance that challenge how do you go through that mental aspect of your baseball journey and try to make it into a POS it's another opportunity to face something head on uh the thing I've learned in baseball is that the more the more you're uncomfortable in life the the more you're going to achieve you're going to find out a lot about yourself and I think putting putting ourselves in the most uncomfortable positions to see how how like we can prove ourselves wrong with all the doubts that go through our heads and everything else like that um I I always just tell myself it's another opportunity it really is cuz you know I still got a jersey I still got a job um you know regardless of how I got to where I am it's just another opportunity that I can take and run with there is baseball and Biggest adjustment adjustments you've had a good season so far with the Dodgers you were traded here from um Cleveland tell me what's been the biggest adjustment in your baseball career or just in life in general biggest adjustment is not being so hard on myself and just let whatever happens happens got to remember this is a game that I I just got to get through and and and play and um you I got everything to I got everything to gain but nothing to lose