dani: Welcome back to the CODCAS. I'm your host, Danny Wexelman, and this week's episode features two special guests, Scott and Jeff Pickler. Scott Pickler, you know Pick. He's been managing for YD Red Sox for the last 28 seasons. He is the winningest manager in Cape Cod Baseball League history. And he's also won six championships and been manager of the year four times. His son, Jeff Pickler, is currently the bench coach. For the Colorado Rockies. And these two have spent so much time together, whether it was when Jeff came to play on the Cape back in 1997 for the Gateman and won a championship, or it was last year when Jeff was the associate head coach for his dad for YD. There's so many incredible moments these two have shared together at the yard, playing baseball, coaching baseball, and sharing stories about how to get better. So this is an incredible episode where you get a chance to hear all of these precious moments that father and son have shared together at the ball field. Let's get started. Welcome back to a very special episode of the CODCA with Scott and Jeff Pickler. Let's start with Scott Pickler, the winningest manager in Cape Cod Baseball League history, inducted into the 2019 Cape Cod Baseball Hall of Fame. Has won over a thousand games, a former longtime head coach at Cyprus College. And now in his twenty-eighth season as the Red Sox manager, his son joined as well, Jeff Pickler, who is the bench coach for the Colorado Rockies. And gentlemen, it is my honor. I'm so happy to see you. Thanks for being here.
Scott Pickler: Thanks for having us. Should be fun.
Jeff: Thanks, Danny.
dani: Absolutely, absolutely. Pick, we're gonna start with you, my friend. All attention and all eyes on you. So what's really unique and special, not only is your history in managing and coaching and being in the baseball world, is the connection that you have with your son and the connection to Cape Cod baseball and getting an opportunity to have him as a part of your staff.
Scott Pickler: Help.
dani: last year, watching him in 1997 out on the Cape with the Gateman winning the championship and and so many incredible moments in between. So just to begin, like being able to live life and and work alongside your son, what what does that all mean to you?
Scott Pickler: You know, it started out, we were playing basketball in the front yard one day and John Wild from Wareham, who had called me before this and said, hey, Vic, I need somebody from the West Coast. I need a pitcher. I need a shortstop. And I got a call from John Wild and he said, hey, Vic, I need a second baseman. And we're out there playing basketball. And I said, John, I'll see what I can do.
dani: Mm-hmm.
Scott Pickler: And I said, John, my son played at Tennessee and if we can't find something, but I'll find you something. And it wasn't two hours. He called me back. Hey, I don't know if he did his research or whatever. We'll take Jeff. And so I got the call to send Jeff out. He called Jeff. he said, I need you out here, right away. Cape was something I, I'm a college coach. Everybody in college baseball knows about the Cape. Now my son gets to go out there. I get to go see it. I left two days after he did. I went to wear him, didn't have a hotel or anything else. I get there and I'm watching Mulder and Zito pitch to the best. and I was. thought I was in heaven right there. My son's playing in this. I knew nothing about it except all the recognition I'd heard from everybody that had been in the Cape. And that's how it all started.
dani: That's how it all started. And then 1998, you you joined the ranks. I mean, almost three decades there, leading young men, leading some of the best talent in the country, and leaving lasting impressions to be there so long and to have had an opportunity to work with so many people, along with your staff as well as the the guys who are coming to play for you. how do you put that into words, like that opportunity that you've had?
Scott Pickler: You know, when they first called me, I was at Cypress Community College and I told Gary Ellis and Jack Martin that, man, this might not work. I don't know who's gonna recruit every year if I'm gone in the summer. Then they talked me into it and I said I'd do it for one year. Before that though, Jeff had always asked me, dad, why aren't you at the Division I level? And I go, wow, I tried this for a year, I'll be able to- see what it's like to coach some of the best players in the nation that are at the Division I level. So I came out that first year. My wife came with me. Absolutely loved it. And then Dariella said, you coming back? Yeah, I'm coming back. And
dani: Mm-hmm.
Scott Pickler: for the next 15 years, Nobody said, hey, are you coming back? And I didn't say I'm coming back, I just came back. And they expected it. They knew how much I loved it. And they really took me in and the people here were great. And it was an unbelievable experience. And it's, I'm still enjoying it to this day.
dani: Okay, we're gonna we're gonna dive into that. But Jeff, I wanna bring you in because you got to play for your dad. You watched your dad as a kid coaching and and being in and around baseball in every facet. And then you get an opportunity to go play on the Cape, and you get a chance, then you go to Tennessee or SEC player of the year. Like you you had such an incredible journey, but in that span, in that s small span of playing for your dad, going to the Cape, and then seeing your dad. Join the ranks there Like, how do you think that's shaped you moving forward now?
Jeff: Yeah, I mean I I think back on kind of that time period that Pick just referenced of the summer before my senior year. I had had a nice couple of years at Tennessee, but nothing that anybody was really intrigued by, especially in the pro game. And so I decided I was gonna head home for the summer and enjoy my last summer before I had to get a real job. And didn't think that baseball as a career or as a life was something in my future. I just wasn't that caliber of player in my mind. I had started two years in the SEC, but you know, the draft and pro baseball wasn't really on my radar. And right before I left for the Cape, I was in a batting cage in Southern California with Bob Boone. And Bob had talked about letting the ball travel and when he had faced Nolan Ryan and how much time you actually have and not needing to be so much in a hurry. And it really resonated with me. I was fortunate enough that the call came in the next couple of days that I was gonna have an opportunity to go try that out against really good pitching. And those three weeks on the Cape couldn't have gone any better. I was fortunate enough to play well and we win a Cape Championship and I think there was a little bit of me coming out of that of like, wait a second, I might be all right at this. And I felt like it was definitely a springboard into that senior year at Tennessee that went so well.
dani: Wha what do you remember about that experience? Because you know, a lot of what we talk about here is a host family, our jobs that guys are getting. I know that you were there for a shorten amount of time, but just the there's an there's a spirit, I think, on the Cape. What did you experience?
Jeff: Well, it was a shorter window. It was, you know, two to three weeks. And so probably everything was more in the honeymoon period. as you already referenced, I I had my my personal hitting coach and my father there for the whole two and a half weeks. So every morning we'd go to the cage and make sure I got dialed in and got where I needed to be. it was great. I mean, I I'll tell a really cool story. So the area code games that a lot of people are familiar with.
dani: Ha ha ha. Yeah.
Jeff: I had a wood bat that Jim Hughes from Rawlings had given me when I was probably fifteen years old. I go to the area code games and I use this wood bat. I go three for four and I make the area code team, which again, I wasn't supposed to make that team. so I went to the Cape a few years later and I still had the wood bat. So first at bat in the Cape, I pull out my Rawlings bat, I get a hit, and somebody comes up to me and says, Hey, we have a contract with Louisville here. You're not allowed to use that bat anymore. so I had to put that bat in my pocket and not use it anymore. Once I signed, I decided no matter where I went, I would use that bat in my first at bat at any level. So I went to rookie ball, my first at bat in Ogden, used that wood bat, got a hit, put it back in my bag, never used it again. The same thing at Hay A. So this bat now was like what, five or six for nine or something like that. And that and had spanned almost a decade at that point.
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: And then in double A, I got to face Scott Downs from the University of Kentucky. And that back got shattered into a lot of pieces when I got to double A. But yeah, I remember just three weeks of feeling like pick reference. Like you're in baseball heaven, your teammates with Barry Zito and Carlos Peña, and you're competing against Kip Wells and Mark Mulder, and you felt like
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: All right, this is the best of the best. Let's go see how you measure up.
dani: You know, everybody talks about so fondly their memories and their time. Like w I come across people at the major league level all the time or or my amateur spaces, people love to talk about their time on the Cape, but like you also won a championship with the gateman. So like when you when you reflect on that and pick, you were there, when you when you reflect on an achievement like that, how how much does that mean to you? Like where does that sit when it comes to baseball and career?
Jeff: Well, he should speak to that more than I should because he's got a few of But so I'll go brief on this. It it was it was neat to see a group of guys who yes, it's just summer ball, but it matters. You've invested time, you've been away from your families, you gave up your summer. And we had an old school coach in Don Reed who, you know, was a bit of a disciplinarian, which was unusual for Summerball, but I think he got the best out of us and
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: I think that the Cape Championship mat I mean, my college roommate was on the Harwich team, so it was bragging rights for me. But yeah, it it it's funny to watch and even last summer being there, we came up a little short in the finals, but you could feel a sense of like, you know, these guys are competitors at heart. And so whether it's summer ball or not, when it's time to go compete, it's time to go compete.
dani: Well. Pick, you've won six. That's the most by any field manager in Cape Cod baseball league history. So w what does that mean to you? What does that number mean to you or those moments mean to you?
Scott Pickler: Those moments mean a lot to me because, you know, Jeff was just talking about it. When you get down and you get to the playoffs, the guys that really want to be here, it's my job as a manager to put those guys on the field. Some guys are waiting to get back to school and things like that. And when you put those guys on the field and if you've watched any of the championships that have, you know, that have been happening, the way they celebrate together on the field and they've accomplished something, you know. And you said you've talked to a lot of guys and they love their time on the Cape. It's even more special when they remember they won a championship together. And, you know, they're tired at the end of the year and things like that. But these guys, the ones that you put on the field that want to play baseball, love to play baseball, are here for the right reasons. They get so much out of it and the satisfaction of winning a championship together. keeps him even tighter. had a kid pick, you'll love this story because he's heard this kid's name, kid named Mike Tampson. I was playing at Falmouth two nights ago. One of the bat boys comes down, hey, guy down here played for him once and I, help me out. And he goes, Mike Tampson. I go, my gosh. Cause Mike played with Posey and Beckham and Fields and Robertson and Frank Green, six first rounders. And he said, that was the most fun I've ever had in my life. And Mike wasn't a starter on that team. him reminiscing, telling me things that I had forgot that day, you know, just thrilled me and to see him. It was what a great day. And that's what happens, you know, he wasn't a starter. He still talks to a lot of those guys. they remember it so well. And I just love coaching in the league. It's fun. It's been a blast.
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: I think one of the stories, Danny, that Pick told last summer that I think is is really telling and interesting. players were there for a couple of weeks and they would come up to us and be like, Hey, you know, this is a blast because this isn't about who's on what scholarship, who's getting what NIL deal, who's getting this is just pure baseball. It's so refreshing and so rewarding. I don't have to deal with all that other stuff that I have to deal with now.
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: This gets back to the core of of what I enjoy and I thought that was really telling.
dani: It is. It is. And I I think that that's why it is so fond and people remember it in a way like that because it is so pure. And again, it's it is to me, I I refer to it a lot, but it feels like the spirit of Cape Cod baseball and what this league represents to those who admire it and have seen it. And and Pink, you mentioned, you know, as a coach, an established coach, you know. What the Cape is, and and you know it exists, but not everyone gets to taste it. Not everybody gets to be a part of it or have that experience in their life. So I want I want to go back though, because Jeff, you said something in '97 when you're out there that you have your personal hitting coach there, which is obviously your dad pick, and then the next year pick, you're out there managing. But what do you remember about that three-week span and watching your son have this monumental moment in in his life that maybe was also a turning point for him.
Scott Pickler: I was so proud, know, that, man, he made it. I didn't know he was going to be as good as he was at Tennessee. I didn't know he could play for me at Cypress College, you know, the community college when he first, and he seemed to answer the call at every level he went. So he got by, he was really good at Cypress for us. He had a chance to go to Tennessee and then he becomes, you know, an All-American there. and a league that we both knew so much about. He got to play in this. And then I was there the night they beat Harwich at Harwich and watched him celebrate on the field. And it's just a thrill, just a thrill to watch him go through that. He handled all that. He didn't need to be there as his hitting coach, you know. We would talk and things, but what a fun experience for my wife and I.
dani: Let's go back to Cyprus because I know that these moments are cherished and also like learning experiences, which Jeff, I guarantee you're probably using at at some way in some form right now as a bench coach for the Colorado Rockies. And you've had a journey, your own journey through major league baseball and and working for different managers and on different staffs. But you watched your dad. Number one, I think Balancing being son and being a a player on your dad's team is tough. But also I would guess you were probably taking some notes about some things he did that you use today. Is that right?
Jeff: Yeah, I it's funny when you're young, what you know is all you know. And so I thought, you know, Cypress baseball and Scott Pickler baseball was all that existed and that was the only way ever to do anything. And that got me in trouble probably for a while. and I realized that there might be another point of view out there. yeah, no, I I I think watching him operate and the things that were important to him and what's allowed him to have so much success definitely stuck.
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: You
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: You know, I think in today's game you see so many coaches that consider themselves motivators or master manipulators, and that's never really been pick strategy. He first and foremost sees himself as a teacher of the game. And if I get players better, the team will get better and we'll win more games. he's always said we don't really focus on wins and losses. We focus on doing things the right way, and if we do that, we'll win the games we're supposed to win. And So from a it I think this is the beauty of him. Those of us that are in the new generation, we've read enough books and done enough things to say, well, you know, you need to be a process person. And so we say these things. He just does these things. He doesn't say these things, you know. And and I think there's a it's there there's leadership and strata game theory and strategy that comes very natural to him.
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: Putting on action right after action. Things happen in the game. The other team's adjusting to the new situation. They're too late. We've already put another play on them, and now we're up by two instead of up by one. the timing of when to take things to players into a team. And when the team's going well and they're confident and maybe they can handle a little tough medicine, that's the right time, as opposed to beating them up after a tough loss. There's just there's a lot of things that he does. that I think brings out the best in players and teams and you look at when he's taken teams into a championship environment, by and large, they've played their best. So I think there's a lot of wisdom in that too.
dani: Yeah, that's a great answer. That's a great answer. Pick, what do you think of all that?
Scott Pickler: He's probably right. I don't know what I do, but I know that I make the little things important, little details and hold everybody accountable. Doesn't matter if it's my best player, my worst player. And guys come back 10 years later and think, man, you were so disciplined. It's helped me in life. It's helped me with my kid. I wish my kid would be able to play for you, things like that I hear from these guys.
dani: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Scott Pickler: I didn't want to be their friend. I had Bill Pinkham to be their friend. I wanted to teach them baseball and keep them disciplined and make sure they knew every little detail mattered and that's how you win games.
dani: I mean, if you look at your career, it it's incredible. Like just the amount of time you've spent on a baseball field and the amount of of players you've had a hundred and twenty-five players who've been drafted that you had a chance to coach. I mean, the the accolades are pretty large, but you know, you're talking about a method and a way that that you manage. Jeff's talking about what he saw from you. Like where where did you get the these ideas and how did you become this person?
Scott Pickler: The details thing came from my high school coach, Jim Reach. The discipline probably came from my dad and the love of the game and reading people, you know? RGM said, hey, why are we taking this guy? I watched this kid play. This guy plays so hard. And when I call college coaches, Sometimes they'll say, hey, pick. I'll call in a guy that's high profile. No, I got a better guy for this guy's your type of guy. He's going to play the game hard every night. And that's the same question I'm getting right now because the drafts in three days. They don't call me and ask me my past players, can they hit? they throw? How fast are they? They want to know who has a love for the game.
dani: Yes. Mm-hmm.
Scott Pickler: Who's gonna go out and play 162 nights and give me everything I eat? And I think I'm pretty good at knowing those things, cuz that's how you win championships when you have guys like that.
Jeff: I you know, he can't say some of this stuff because it sounds bad if he says it, but I'll say it for him. Like he you know there's scouting, which is the objective stuff, and then there's the feel for this guy's just a winning player, and you get a summer around these guys and you get a sense for who has feel for the game. I was talking with Warren Schaefer last night after our game against the Dodgers. I say, you know, where we're getting better, yes, we're getting better, we're getting more talented players, but Jake McCarthy's a baseball player. Tyler Freeman's a baseball player. Cole Kerrick's a baseball player. And I bring up Cole Kerry, who played for Pick on the Cape. And Cole was a bit of a controversial draft coming out. Where does he land? Where does he belong? And probably his biggest supporter was Scott Pickler. Hey, I know all that's going on. I'm just telling you, this kid loves to play. He's really talented. And if he gets with the right people, they're going to get the best out of him. And then you go back.
dani: Mm. Mm-hmm.
Jeff: years and the players that he's been so adamant about being better than people think, Joe Pannock, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor, David Fletcher, Donovan Walton, Tommy Edman, these are Mount Rushmore guys for pick. And I don't think any of those guys necessarily were Five tool players. They were winning players and knew how to play the game. They could impact the game in multiple ways. that still works at the major league level.
dani: I love it. It's true. I think the word I hear a lot and the word that I like to hear a lot is number one, he competes. He's a competitor, he's competitive, right? That's kind of an art that sometimes feels lost in some of the ball players coming up. You want a guy who wants to fight to play 162 and be on the field, whatever it may be, go every fifth day, whoever you are, right? And so like. I hear these stories and you know, we're talking about accolades and things. I know neither of you do this for those things, pick, but but three decades overseeing the the future of the sport, you said you just showed up the next year. You just showed up in 1999, you came back, but why why did you keep coming back after that?
Scott Pickler: It's been so enjoyable for me. I get so much pleasure coming up here. Nowadays, watching, every time I turn on a TV and I'm with a buddy or something like that, he played at Harwich. He played for Steve here. Well, that guy played for me for a while. It's just enjoying to see these guys move on. And I hear from quite a few of them, or they'll do something special and I'll send them a text and they'll send me back a happy face or whatever it is. But I get, if you saw me play golf, you'd know I have to be at the yard every day. That's where my enjoyment comes from, you know? And it's my hobby. People ask me, you've been doing this a long time. I've never had to work a day in my life, a coach, you know? It's my passion, it's my hobby, and I get to do it. And now I get to do it against some of the best players in the nation that were D1 players. So it's...
dani: Ha ha ha.
Scott Pickler: It's such a pleasurable thing. We all want to do what we enjoy doing. I love being around the baseball field and seeing if I can make guys better.
dani: What is it? Yeah, Jeff, go. Yeah.
Jeff: Danny, what I think is really interesting is you referenced how many years he's been doing this. And I would say two weeks doesn't go by where he'll pick up the phone and he'll call and he'll say, Hey, I got one for you. What do you got on this? And isn't it interesting? Like after all these years, one, there's like, hey, I hadn't really thought about this before. I haven't seen this before. how do we talk through this one? I think that's the part about this game that's been awesome.
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: Right, for him, for all of us, like there's things that happen on a field every night, and you're like, Wow, I've been in this game a long time. That hasn't really come up. I haven't coached that before. So for somebody in his shoes to still be curious and learning and going to the ABCA convention every year to try to pick up on the new stuff while still staying true to the things that has made him so successful, I think that's part of it. You know, the the whole It's what you learn after you know it all that really matters. I think he kind of embodies that. And again, not because that's something he read in a book, it's just what comes natural to him.
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: We can talk like best friends on things that I come up. He's taking it to another level. He's in the major leagues and he's doing a great job. He spoke at an ABCA convention. I called the coach at Northeastern that day about getting a player for the Cape. He said, Pick, you gotta call me back in an hour. Why's that? We're watching Jeff's speech. It's the best one we've ever heard. True story. And then he said,
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: He must have got his brains from his mom because he's a lot more intelligent than you are.
Jeff: Yeah.
dani: No, it's true though. It's true. I think I I also have used the word preservation a lot, not in like a morbid sense, but in I think as I get older, there is an aspect of the game that is seen from veteran eyes and from eyes who have good feel and understanding and they get people, right? The game is not just statistics and what you put up and exit velocity and all those good things. It is actually about the people and what they're made of. And that's why people are calling you pick and asking, hey, does he love the game? Does he want to play the game every day? What are what are his motives for this that I think is so fascinating? And and Jeff, you nailed it. Like you get to see it right now with the Rockies and and this generation of kids who are not just playing on the cape, but then they get drafted and come up. So it's just Just very interesting meshing here. And then the two of you meshing together earlier this year during spring training, which is something we have to talk about in March, pick when you put on the big league uniform and you're the bench coach for your son. I mean, I'm gonna start with you, Jeff, please. please share the story of how this came about and why, why was this important?
Jeff: Yeah, I think probably the genesis of it was looking around Rockies camp and seeing Picks' influence on our spring training. And you see Jerry Sullivan as our double A pitching coach and Jordan Pacheco as our assistant major league hitting coach and Alone Leischman as our major league pitching coach and Zach Harris is pitching down there for us in the minor leagues and Cole Kerrig's about ready to become a major leaguer, and you're like, geez, Louise. Pick has had an influence on the Rockies, not to mention his friendship with Bill Schmidt and all the advice that Pick had given Schmidtie on the draft about Cape player. So, yeah, with the split squad kind of lining up and I had mentioned something to Schaefer and he goes, Yeah, you know, let me talk to Paul. I'm very grateful to to Paul and Warren for allowing us to do that. But yeah, it was a great day. And Pat Murphy was the opposing manager that day. And Murph and Pick have a long relationship and Murph rarely takes out the lineup card at in spring training and showed up at home plate and the umpire said, Murph, what the heck are you doing out here? And he said, I'm here for pick. So yeah, special day for sure, Danny.
dani: Pick.
Scott Pickler: It was an unbelievable experience for me. And I can tell you, he sent me a picture and he had my number 13 in a jersey top, said, Tickler. And I said, that's cool, you made me a jersey. Hey, Pops, you didn't look at that close enough. And then above the jerseys was the top of the locker and it said manager bench coat. And I go, and he goes, what time you getting in? I'm getting in late. Doesn't matter. I'm picking you up at 645. We're going to the yard. And from the time he told me that, what a neat experience. I was like a six year old waiting for Christmas. I truly was. I said, this is going to be so cool. And then I got there and Paul and Josh and everybody in and Warren couldn't.
dani: Ha ha ha.
Scott Pickler: all came up, hey, we're so glad to have you, made me feel so welcome. And then he, sat in on the meeting, early morning meetings, they're all around the table, talking about what's gonna happen today. And just to be around that, you know, right in my repertoire, I loved it, listening to that, watching, see how they're prepping for all this. And then we got to the yard and I got to go out, know, Murph came out. and shaking hands, we hugged him and said, what an experience. And then somebody said, what happened right after that? And then I told somebody, right after the hoopla at the beginning, we got in the dugout and I was sitting next to Peck and it was like we were in the Cape last year, running a club. know, somebody went to steal and he said, man, he shouldn't have done that. Aren't you the manager? Why didn't you put up the red light?
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: Why'd you still give them the green light? And it was just like every other day we've ever had at the art, which is a great experience.
dani: When I hear you say at the yard, I kinda get goosebumps because, you know, obviously for me, like I I didn't play major league baseball. I'm not on a coaching staff, but I my dad coached my travel softball teams and my little league teams. And, you know, the watching him be the first base coach and getting the chance to go down to first and talk strategy and talk about what we were gonna do and talk about the game and and after games, a lot of after game conversations and constructive criticism of, hey, in this scenario, I think we could have done this. Or next time, let's think about doing this. Or hey, in this pitch count, like this is what we could have done. And I know how meaningful that was to me. You guys got to do that, you know, this spring, you also did it, you mentioned it, Pick, last year, when Jeff was your associate head coach. So you you have these like really precious moments together. Like I just am kind of curious you know, how you feel as you both continue down your paths. Jeff, I'll start with you. Like just having these like very precious because baseball lifers are baseball lifers, right? There's something unique about it. and you both are kind of in those moments right now.
Jeff: Yeah, I mean, y you allude to that, you know, people always say, Well, mom tried, you know, she tried to make me more well-rounded, but unfortunately I think I only know one thing. yeah, I the the back and forth of and I touched on this earlier about continuing to learn the game. I think last summer there was awesome moments of that. And I think the conflict of how what's best to win a baseball game tonight was fun for
dani: Ha ha ha.
Jeff: Pick and I, was probably uncomfortable for my mom to listen to us get after each other like that. but you know, there's things that i and I think this is like the really good baseball to b debates in today's game. We need to back out the lens and understand that both parties that are coming into that debate want to put their team in the best chance to be successful. They just have different ideas on how to do that, but the motivation is very pure. I think this is the best chance to win. I think this is what's the best chance to win. I think this is what's best for the player. The motivation for the Lion Sheriff coaches is very pure in that way. So we we need to keep that in mind as we're having these debates. There were things that would happen on the cape, and Pick would say, Hey, we're doing this. And I would say, wait a second, we're not doing that. Just because Rod Dado did that in 1970 doesn't mean we're doing that now. You know, and he goes, Well, I don't give a shit what the But the wind probability says we're not doing it just because of the wind probability. so I think those are like really healthy, fun debates. and and you learn inside of those things. And no question from last summer, things that we talked about, things that I changed, things that I learned from watching him go about it are impacting the Rockies now. And you know, he
dani: Mm. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeff: is probably very grateful that I got out of his way. I think they're like sixteen and two right now at Y D. So like they got the guy that was holding them back out of there and now they're flying.
Scott Pickler: No, that wasn't it. But you talked about this, you played for your dad. And when he came to play for me, what a neat experience. He was going to go to a scholarship somewhere and he said, dad, why would I do that? I'm going to back up three infielders as a freshman. I see all these guys come to Cyprus, move on. And you've had so many guys make it at a high level in college and so many move on to pro ball and make the major leagues.
dani: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Scott Pickler: When you played for your dad, I had a talk with Mike Main, who Brent Main, you probably know, played in the big leagues a long time. And he said, hey, we had some rules. Whatever happened on the field, you don't bring it home. And we took to that. And then I had an assistant coach for 34 years. And you've talked about getting to first base and talking to your dad. You know, we should do this and this. So I had this Bill Pinkham coaching first in the fall game and Jeff.
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: That's the first base and you've grounded out in a big situation. And this was early, early in the fall, and he took his helmet and threw it down to Bill on the ground. He picked it up and chucked it his chest and hey, around here we don't throw things at coaches feet. You hand me that helmet. And so he did that the whole season when he went three for four and got a game winning hit. I didn't have to pick him up. Billy did.
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: And wasn't very often you had to get beat up or you did something. He did it. And it made it easier with all the other players that I didn't have to do that. And I thought that was a big thing that happened when he played for me. you know, he and I have, we'll talk about a million things about baseball. He's got different ideas. I've learned so much from him. He wants a
dani: Yeah. Totally.
Scott Pickler: put a little more analytical stuff on there and I want to put what's in here on the guy more. And when you blend those two together, you get something good.
dani: That is that's the game, isn't it? Yeah, that's the the simplest way you could probably describe the game right now. I wanna I wanna put a little exclamation on Cape Cod baseball. And those who don't play it, haven't been there, or haven't had the experiences pick that you've had. What do you think? How would you describe it to someone who hasn't had the experience of playing there or watching it there?
Scott Pickler: Told my high school coach who's now been out here twice. This is the purest baseball. It takes it back to the double day area. Little kids right on the field. Great players working on the field after the game, which they don't have to do at those big schools. It's baseball is purest, I think, with really, really good players. gets into professional baseball.
dani: Those those little things, cleaning the field and, you know, not necessarily for Jeff having a host family or having a job, w what kind of impact do you think those little things? You talked about, you know, there's not a detail that's too small. All details are important. What do you what do you think is the importance of things like that?
Scott Pickler: These kids sometimes are treated like primadonnas and they get into that and it's the guys that... Their parents brought them upright that play the hardest and learn this. And some of them, that doesn't happen. So we try to get them to realize you're going to have to play 162. You're going to have to do the little things right for you to get from a ball to double a. It's the little things you got to make these adjustments. You're never going to get out of a ball if you don't make these adjustments. If you don't know how to bring it every night, it's not okay to have. two good days and take a day off. And only the managers and the people that are doing that know the guys that, hey, they're gonna give me an effort every night. And it's not easy, especially when they play 162. Some of these guys can't play 44 or 40 games. And they have to learn that. And it's part of the discipline that comes with the game, I think.
dani: Yeah, I'm curious. You've said it, you've kind of mentioned it, but the just the impact and how not only Cape Cod baseball permeates major league baseball, but your dad in particular and and how he's taught and how he manages and coaches these young guys. Like how have you seen that tangibly at the major league level?
Jeff: Yeah, I mean, i it's funny. Th there's a definitely a sense of which of the ten teams on the Cape you played for amongst Pro Bowl players and and and big leaguers. And our our hitting coach Brett Pill played for Kelly Nicholson at Orleans and I was showing him the standings the other day of how old YD is in having a bit of a dominant start to the twenty twenty-six Cape season, and he looked at it and he looked
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: Saw Orleans, he's like, come on, Kelly, what are we doing? So I think like and Warren Schaefer played for Stevie Englert at Harwich. And so, you know, it it people, it's it's a little bit of where you came from and what was your Cape experience. you know, I think the one thing that's interesting that Pick has really tapped into on the CAP is There's a lot that's gonna happen for most of these players after their last college season that doesn't necessarily have as much to do with wins and losses until they get to the big leagues. So their opportunity to play to win and try to win a championship and coalesce with a group of guys is is diminishing. And they're gonna have their college season that they're going back to, but that may be it. And so At their core, again, their competitors. What picks tapped into is Summerball, people see Summerball as potential development. I'm coming there to work on my slider, I'm coming there to do a better job against left-handed pitching. there's a development aspect to summerball for sure. What picks tapped into over the years is that you develop best when you're playing to win. And so by creating an attention to detail, accountability, compete environment, the development happens naturally inside of that. If you come up there and you're just, well, I'm going to work on things, that's a recipe for having a really bad summer. And so by focusing on, hey, we're going to play the game right the right way. We're going to play to win. we're not going through the motions. yeah, I'm not going to apologize for trying to win the division. I'm not going to apologize for trying to win the league. Not because that's about him. Because I know that that's the environment that's gonna bring the best out of you. And I think some summer ball coaches miss out on that.
dani: Well, I I feel like baseball's in pretty good hands with both of you and the people that are around you. So I I look forward to to watching you guys continue to coach and manage and see the young men that are able to thrive because of all the things you've done. Pick, you're the best, man. Jeff, you're awesome. I'm so grateful to have some time with you guys. Thank you for for doing this and being a part of our podcast.
Scott Pickler: Thank you. Thanks for talking to us. to share
Jeff: Thanks, Jamie.
dani: I don't know about you, but it got a little dusty in here listening to Scott and Jeff Pickler talk about their time spent together at the park, whether it was on Cape Cod or for Cyprus College or after that with the Colorado Rockies. It's pretty special. As always, a huge thank you to Scott and Jeff Pickler We got a lot coming up, by the way, when it comes to Cape Cod baseball. the playoffs starting August fourth. We're rocking and rolling through the summer right now. And we hope you've enjoyed all of our episodes here on the Codcast. For my producer, Sarah Lang, I'm Danny Wexelman. Thanks for tuning in.
Scott Pickler: Thanks for having us. Should be fun.
Jeff: Thanks, Danny.
dani: Absolutely, absolutely. Pick, we're gonna start with you, my friend. All attention and all eyes on you. So what's really unique and special, not only is your history in managing and coaching and being in the baseball world, is the connection that you have with your son and the connection to Cape Cod baseball and getting an opportunity to have him as a part of your staff.
Scott Pickler: Help.
dani: last year, watching him in 1997 out on the Cape with the Gateman winning the championship and and so many incredible moments in between. So just to begin, like being able to live life and and work alongside your son, what what does that all mean to you?
Scott Pickler: You know, it started out, we were playing basketball in the front yard one day and John Wild from Wareham, who had called me before this and said, hey, Vic, I need somebody from the West Coast. I need a pitcher. I need a shortstop. And I got a call from John Wild and he said, hey, Vic, I need a second baseman. And we're out there playing basketball. And I said, John, I'll see what I can do.
dani: Mm-hmm.
Scott Pickler: And I said, John, my son played at Tennessee and if we can't find something, but I'll find you something. And it wasn't two hours. He called me back. Hey, I don't know if he did his research or whatever. We'll take Jeff. And so I got the call to send Jeff out. He called Jeff. he said, I need you out here, right away. Cape was something I, I'm a college coach. Everybody in college baseball knows about the Cape. Now my son gets to go out there. I get to go see it. I left two days after he did. I went to wear him, didn't have a hotel or anything else. I get there and I'm watching Mulder and Zito pitch to the best. and I was. thought I was in heaven right there. My son's playing in this. I knew nothing about it except all the recognition I'd heard from everybody that had been in the Cape. And that's how it all started.
dani: That's how it all started. And then 1998, you you joined the ranks. I mean, almost three decades there, leading young men, leading some of the best talent in the country, and leaving lasting impressions to be there so long and to have had an opportunity to work with so many people, along with your staff as well as the the guys who are coming to play for you. how do you put that into words, like that opportunity that you've had?
Scott Pickler: You know, when they first called me, I was at Cypress Community College and I told Gary Ellis and Jack Martin that, man, this might not work. I don't know who's gonna recruit every year if I'm gone in the summer. Then they talked me into it and I said I'd do it for one year. Before that though, Jeff had always asked me, dad, why aren't you at the Division I level? And I go, wow, I tried this for a year, I'll be able to- see what it's like to coach some of the best players in the nation that are at the Division I level. So I came out that first year. My wife came with me. Absolutely loved it. And then Dariella said, you coming back? Yeah, I'm coming back. And
dani: Mm-hmm.
Scott Pickler: for the next 15 years, Nobody said, hey, are you coming back? And I didn't say I'm coming back, I just came back. And they expected it. They knew how much I loved it. And they really took me in and the people here were great. And it was an unbelievable experience. And it's, I'm still enjoying it to this day.
dani: Okay, we're gonna we're gonna dive into that. But Jeff, I wanna bring you in because you got to play for your dad. You watched your dad as a kid coaching and and being in and around baseball in every facet. And then you get an opportunity to go play on the Cape, and you get a chance, then you go to Tennessee or SEC player of the year. Like you you had such an incredible journey, but in that span, in that s small span of playing for your dad, going to the Cape, and then seeing your dad. Join the ranks there Like, how do you think that's shaped you moving forward now?
Jeff: Yeah, I mean I I think back on kind of that time period that Pick just referenced of the summer before my senior year. I had had a nice couple of years at Tennessee, but nothing that anybody was really intrigued by, especially in the pro game. And so I decided I was gonna head home for the summer and enjoy my last summer before I had to get a real job. And didn't think that baseball as a career or as a life was something in my future. I just wasn't that caliber of player in my mind. I had started two years in the SEC, but you know, the draft and pro baseball wasn't really on my radar. And right before I left for the Cape, I was in a batting cage in Southern California with Bob Boone. And Bob had talked about letting the ball travel and when he had faced Nolan Ryan and how much time you actually have and not needing to be so much in a hurry. And it really resonated with me. I was fortunate enough that the call came in the next couple of days that I was gonna have an opportunity to go try that out against really good pitching. And those three weeks on the Cape couldn't have gone any better. I was fortunate enough to play well and we win a Cape Championship and I think there was a little bit of me coming out of that of like, wait a second, I might be all right at this. And I felt like it was definitely a springboard into that senior year at Tennessee that went so well.
dani: Wha what do you remember about that experience? Because you know, a lot of what we talk about here is a host family, our jobs that guys are getting. I know that you were there for a shorten amount of time, but just the there's an there's a spirit, I think, on the Cape. What did you experience?
Jeff: Well, it was a shorter window. It was, you know, two to three weeks. And so probably everything was more in the honeymoon period. as you already referenced, I I had my my personal hitting coach and my father there for the whole two and a half weeks. So every morning we'd go to the cage and make sure I got dialed in and got where I needed to be. it was great. I mean, I I'll tell a really cool story. So the area code games that a lot of people are familiar with.
dani: Ha ha ha. Yeah.
Jeff: I had a wood bat that Jim Hughes from Rawlings had given me when I was probably fifteen years old. I go to the area code games and I use this wood bat. I go three for four and I make the area code team, which again, I wasn't supposed to make that team. so I went to the Cape a few years later and I still had the wood bat. So first at bat in the Cape, I pull out my Rawlings bat, I get a hit, and somebody comes up to me and says, Hey, we have a contract with Louisville here. You're not allowed to use that bat anymore. so I had to put that bat in my pocket and not use it anymore. Once I signed, I decided no matter where I went, I would use that bat in my first at bat at any level. So I went to rookie ball, my first at bat in Ogden, used that wood bat, got a hit, put it back in my bag, never used it again. The same thing at Hay A. So this bat now was like what, five or six for nine or something like that. And that and had spanned almost a decade at that point.
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: And then in double A, I got to face Scott Downs from the University of Kentucky. And that back got shattered into a lot of pieces when I got to double A. But yeah, I remember just three weeks of feeling like pick reference. Like you're in baseball heaven, your teammates with Barry Zito and Carlos Peña, and you're competing against Kip Wells and Mark Mulder, and you felt like
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: All right, this is the best of the best. Let's go see how you measure up.
dani: You know, everybody talks about so fondly their memories and their time. Like w I come across people at the major league level all the time or or my amateur spaces, people love to talk about their time on the Cape, but like you also won a championship with the gateman. So like when you when you reflect on that and pick, you were there, when you when you reflect on an achievement like that, how how much does that mean to you? Like where does that sit when it comes to baseball and career?
Jeff: Well, he should speak to that more than I should because he's got a few of But so I'll go brief on this. It it was it was neat to see a group of guys who yes, it's just summer ball, but it matters. You've invested time, you've been away from your families, you gave up your summer. And we had an old school coach in Don Reed who, you know, was a bit of a disciplinarian, which was unusual for Summerball, but I think he got the best out of us and
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: I think that the Cape Championship mat I mean, my college roommate was on the Harwich team, so it was bragging rights for me. But yeah, it it it's funny to watch and even last summer being there, we came up a little short in the finals, but you could feel a sense of like, you know, these guys are competitors at heart. And so whether it's summer ball or not, when it's time to go compete, it's time to go compete.
dani: Well. Pick, you've won six. That's the most by any field manager in Cape Cod baseball league history. So w what does that mean to you? What does that number mean to you or those moments mean to you?
Scott Pickler: Those moments mean a lot to me because, you know, Jeff was just talking about it. When you get down and you get to the playoffs, the guys that really want to be here, it's my job as a manager to put those guys on the field. Some guys are waiting to get back to school and things like that. And when you put those guys on the field and if you've watched any of the championships that have, you know, that have been happening, the way they celebrate together on the field and they've accomplished something, you know. And you said you've talked to a lot of guys and they love their time on the Cape. It's even more special when they remember they won a championship together. And, you know, they're tired at the end of the year and things like that. But these guys, the ones that you put on the field that want to play baseball, love to play baseball, are here for the right reasons. They get so much out of it and the satisfaction of winning a championship together. keeps him even tighter. had a kid pick, you'll love this story because he's heard this kid's name, kid named Mike Tampson. I was playing at Falmouth two nights ago. One of the bat boys comes down, hey, guy down here played for him once and I, help me out. And he goes, Mike Tampson. I go, my gosh. Cause Mike played with Posey and Beckham and Fields and Robertson and Frank Green, six first rounders. And he said, that was the most fun I've ever had in my life. And Mike wasn't a starter on that team. him reminiscing, telling me things that I had forgot that day, you know, just thrilled me and to see him. It was what a great day. And that's what happens, you know, he wasn't a starter. He still talks to a lot of those guys. they remember it so well. And I just love coaching in the league. It's fun. It's been a blast.
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: I think one of the stories, Danny, that Pick told last summer that I think is is really telling and interesting. players were there for a couple of weeks and they would come up to us and be like, Hey, you know, this is a blast because this isn't about who's on what scholarship, who's getting what NIL deal, who's getting this is just pure baseball. It's so refreshing and so rewarding. I don't have to deal with all that other stuff that I have to deal with now.
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: This gets back to the core of of what I enjoy and I thought that was really telling.
dani: It is. It is. And I I think that that's why it is so fond and people remember it in a way like that because it is so pure. And again, it's it is to me, I I refer to it a lot, but it feels like the spirit of Cape Cod baseball and what this league represents to those who admire it and have seen it. And and Pink, you mentioned, you know, as a coach, an established coach, you know. What the Cape is, and and you know it exists, but not everyone gets to taste it. Not everybody gets to be a part of it or have that experience in their life. So I want I want to go back though, because Jeff, you said something in '97 when you're out there that you have your personal hitting coach there, which is obviously your dad pick, and then the next year pick, you're out there managing. But what do you remember about that three-week span and watching your son have this monumental moment in in his life that maybe was also a turning point for him.
Scott Pickler: I was so proud, know, that, man, he made it. I didn't know he was going to be as good as he was at Tennessee. I didn't know he could play for me at Cypress College, you know, the community college when he first, and he seemed to answer the call at every level he went. So he got by, he was really good at Cypress for us. He had a chance to go to Tennessee and then he becomes, you know, an All-American there. and a league that we both knew so much about. He got to play in this. And then I was there the night they beat Harwich at Harwich and watched him celebrate on the field. And it's just a thrill, just a thrill to watch him go through that. He handled all that. He didn't need to be there as his hitting coach, you know. We would talk and things, but what a fun experience for my wife and I.
dani: Let's go back to Cyprus because I know that these moments are cherished and also like learning experiences, which Jeff, I guarantee you're probably using at at some way in some form right now as a bench coach for the Colorado Rockies. And you've had a journey, your own journey through major league baseball and and working for different managers and on different staffs. But you watched your dad. Number one, I think Balancing being son and being a a player on your dad's team is tough. But also I would guess you were probably taking some notes about some things he did that you use today. Is that right?
Jeff: Yeah, I it's funny when you're young, what you know is all you know. And so I thought, you know, Cypress baseball and Scott Pickler baseball was all that existed and that was the only way ever to do anything. And that got me in trouble probably for a while. and I realized that there might be another point of view out there. yeah, no, I I I think watching him operate and the things that were important to him and what's allowed him to have so much success definitely stuck.
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: You
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: You know, I think in today's game you see so many coaches that consider themselves motivators or master manipulators, and that's never really been pick strategy. He first and foremost sees himself as a teacher of the game. And if I get players better, the team will get better and we'll win more games. he's always said we don't really focus on wins and losses. We focus on doing things the right way, and if we do that, we'll win the games we're supposed to win. And So from a it I think this is the beauty of him. Those of us that are in the new generation, we've read enough books and done enough things to say, well, you know, you need to be a process person. And so we say these things. He just does these things. He doesn't say these things, you know. And and I think there's a it's there there's leadership and strata game theory and strategy that comes very natural to him.
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: Putting on action right after action. Things happen in the game. The other team's adjusting to the new situation. They're too late. We've already put another play on them, and now we're up by two instead of up by one. the timing of when to take things to players into a team. And when the team's going well and they're confident and maybe they can handle a little tough medicine, that's the right time, as opposed to beating them up after a tough loss. There's just there's a lot of things that he does. that I think brings out the best in players and teams and you look at when he's taken teams into a championship environment, by and large, they've played their best. So I think there's a lot of wisdom in that too.
dani: Yeah, that's a great answer. That's a great answer. Pick, what do you think of all that?
Scott Pickler: He's probably right. I don't know what I do, but I know that I make the little things important, little details and hold everybody accountable. Doesn't matter if it's my best player, my worst player. And guys come back 10 years later and think, man, you were so disciplined. It's helped me in life. It's helped me with my kid. I wish my kid would be able to play for you, things like that I hear from these guys.
dani: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Scott Pickler: I didn't want to be their friend. I had Bill Pinkham to be their friend. I wanted to teach them baseball and keep them disciplined and make sure they knew every little detail mattered and that's how you win games.
dani: I mean, if you look at your career, it it's incredible. Like just the amount of time you've spent on a baseball field and the amount of of players you've had a hundred and twenty-five players who've been drafted that you had a chance to coach. I mean, the the accolades are pretty large, but you know, you're talking about a method and a way that that you manage. Jeff's talking about what he saw from you. Like where where did you get the these ideas and how did you become this person?
Scott Pickler: The details thing came from my high school coach, Jim Reach. The discipline probably came from my dad and the love of the game and reading people, you know? RGM said, hey, why are we taking this guy? I watched this kid play. This guy plays so hard. And when I call college coaches, Sometimes they'll say, hey, pick. I'll call in a guy that's high profile. No, I got a better guy for this guy's your type of guy. He's going to play the game hard every night. And that's the same question I'm getting right now because the drafts in three days. They don't call me and ask me my past players, can they hit? they throw? How fast are they? They want to know who has a love for the game.
dani: Yes. Mm-hmm.
Scott Pickler: Who's gonna go out and play 162 nights and give me everything I eat? And I think I'm pretty good at knowing those things, cuz that's how you win championships when you have guys like that.
Jeff: I you know, he can't say some of this stuff because it sounds bad if he says it, but I'll say it for him. Like he you know there's scouting, which is the objective stuff, and then there's the feel for this guy's just a winning player, and you get a summer around these guys and you get a sense for who has feel for the game. I was talking with Warren Schaefer last night after our game against the Dodgers. I say, you know, where we're getting better, yes, we're getting better, we're getting more talented players, but Jake McCarthy's a baseball player. Tyler Freeman's a baseball player. Cole Kerrick's a baseball player. And I bring up Cole Kerry, who played for Pick on the Cape. And Cole was a bit of a controversial draft coming out. Where does he land? Where does he belong? And probably his biggest supporter was Scott Pickler. Hey, I know all that's going on. I'm just telling you, this kid loves to play. He's really talented. And if he gets with the right people, they're going to get the best out of him. And then you go back.
dani: Mm. Mm-hmm.
Jeff: years and the players that he's been so adamant about being better than people think, Joe Pannock, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor, David Fletcher, Donovan Walton, Tommy Edman, these are Mount Rushmore guys for pick. And I don't think any of those guys necessarily were Five tool players. They were winning players and knew how to play the game. They could impact the game in multiple ways. that still works at the major league level.
dani: I love it. It's true. I think the word I hear a lot and the word that I like to hear a lot is number one, he competes. He's a competitor, he's competitive, right? That's kind of an art that sometimes feels lost in some of the ball players coming up. You want a guy who wants to fight to play 162 and be on the field, whatever it may be, go every fifth day, whoever you are, right? And so like. I hear these stories and you know, we're talking about accolades and things. I know neither of you do this for those things, pick, but but three decades overseeing the the future of the sport, you said you just showed up the next year. You just showed up in 1999, you came back, but why why did you keep coming back after that?
Scott Pickler: It's been so enjoyable for me. I get so much pleasure coming up here. Nowadays, watching, every time I turn on a TV and I'm with a buddy or something like that, he played at Harwich. He played for Steve here. Well, that guy played for me for a while. It's just enjoying to see these guys move on. And I hear from quite a few of them, or they'll do something special and I'll send them a text and they'll send me back a happy face or whatever it is. But I get, if you saw me play golf, you'd know I have to be at the yard every day. That's where my enjoyment comes from, you know? And it's my hobby. People ask me, you've been doing this a long time. I've never had to work a day in my life, a coach, you know? It's my passion, it's my hobby, and I get to do it. And now I get to do it against some of the best players in the nation that were D1 players. So it's...
dani: Ha ha ha.
Scott Pickler: It's such a pleasurable thing. We all want to do what we enjoy doing. I love being around the baseball field and seeing if I can make guys better.
dani: What is it? Yeah, Jeff, go. Yeah.
Jeff: Danny, what I think is really interesting is you referenced how many years he's been doing this. And I would say two weeks doesn't go by where he'll pick up the phone and he'll call and he'll say, Hey, I got one for you. What do you got on this? And isn't it interesting? Like after all these years, one, there's like, hey, I hadn't really thought about this before. I haven't seen this before. how do we talk through this one? I think that's the part about this game that's been awesome.
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: Right, for him, for all of us, like there's things that happen on a field every night, and you're like, Wow, I've been in this game a long time. That hasn't really come up. I haven't coached that before. So for somebody in his shoes to still be curious and learning and going to the ABCA convention every year to try to pick up on the new stuff while still staying true to the things that has made him so successful, I think that's part of it. You know, the the whole It's what you learn after you know it all that really matters. I think he kind of embodies that. And again, not because that's something he read in a book, it's just what comes natural to him.
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: We can talk like best friends on things that I come up. He's taking it to another level. He's in the major leagues and he's doing a great job. He spoke at an ABCA convention. I called the coach at Northeastern that day about getting a player for the Cape. He said, Pick, you gotta call me back in an hour. Why's that? We're watching Jeff's speech. It's the best one we've ever heard. True story. And then he said,
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: He must have got his brains from his mom because he's a lot more intelligent than you are.
Jeff: Yeah.
dani: No, it's true though. It's true. I think I I also have used the word preservation a lot, not in like a morbid sense, but in I think as I get older, there is an aspect of the game that is seen from veteran eyes and from eyes who have good feel and understanding and they get people, right? The game is not just statistics and what you put up and exit velocity and all those good things. It is actually about the people and what they're made of. And that's why people are calling you pick and asking, hey, does he love the game? Does he want to play the game every day? What are what are his motives for this that I think is so fascinating? And and Jeff, you nailed it. Like you get to see it right now with the Rockies and and this generation of kids who are not just playing on the cape, but then they get drafted and come up. So it's just Just very interesting meshing here. And then the two of you meshing together earlier this year during spring training, which is something we have to talk about in March, pick when you put on the big league uniform and you're the bench coach for your son. I mean, I'm gonna start with you, Jeff, please. please share the story of how this came about and why, why was this important?
Jeff: Yeah, I think probably the genesis of it was looking around Rockies camp and seeing Picks' influence on our spring training. And you see Jerry Sullivan as our double A pitching coach and Jordan Pacheco as our assistant major league hitting coach and Alone Leischman as our major league pitching coach and Zach Harris is pitching down there for us in the minor leagues and Cole Kerrig's about ready to become a major leaguer, and you're like, geez, Louise. Pick has had an influence on the Rockies, not to mention his friendship with Bill Schmidt and all the advice that Pick had given Schmidtie on the draft about Cape player. So, yeah, with the split squad kind of lining up and I had mentioned something to Schaefer and he goes, Yeah, you know, let me talk to Paul. I'm very grateful to to Paul and Warren for allowing us to do that. But yeah, it was a great day. And Pat Murphy was the opposing manager that day. And Murph and Pick have a long relationship and Murph rarely takes out the lineup card at in spring training and showed up at home plate and the umpire said, Murph, what the heck are you doing out here? And he said, I'm here for pick. So yeah, special day for sure, Danny.
dani: Pick.
Scott Pickler: It was an unbelievable experience for me. And I can tell you, he sent me a picture and he had my number 13 in a jersey top, said, Tickler. And I said, that's cool, you made me a jersey. Hey, Pops, you didn't look at that close enough. And then above the jerseys was the top of the locker and it said manager bench coat. And I go, and he goes, what time you getting in? I'm getting in late. Doesn't matter. I'm picking you up at 645. We're going to the yard. And from the time he told me that, what a neat experience. I was like a six year old waiting for Christmas. I truly was. I said, this is going to be so cool. And then I got there and Paul and Josh and everybody in and Warren couldn't.
dani: Ha ha ha.
Scott Pickler: all came up, hey, we're so glad to have you, made me feel so welcome. And then he, sat in on the meeting, early morning meetings, they're all around the table, talking about what's gonna happen today. And just to be around that, you know, right in my repertoire, I loved it, listening to that, watching, see how they're prepping for all this. And then we got to the yard and I got to go out, know, Murph came out. and shaking hands, we hugged him and said, what an experience. And then somebody said, what happened right after that? And then I told somebody, right after the hoopla at the beginning, we got in the dugout and I was sitting next to Peck and it was like we were in the Cape last year, running a club. know, somebody went to steal and he said, man, he shouldn't have done that. Aren't you the manager? Why didn't you put up the red light?
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: Why'd you still give them the green light? And it was just like every other day we've ever had at the art, which is a great experience.
dani: When I hear you say at the yard, I kinda get goosebumps because, you know, obviously for me, like I I didn't play major league baseball. I'm not on a coaching staff, but I my dad coached my travel softball teams and my little league teams. And, you know, the watching him be the first base coach and getting the chance to go down to first and talk strategy and talk about what we were gonna do and talk about the game and and after games, a lot of after game conversations and constructive criticism of, hey, in this scenario, I think we could have done this. Or next time, let's think about doing this. Or hey, in this pitch count, like this is what we could have done. And I know how meaningful that was to me. You guys got to do that, you know, this spring, you also did it, you mentioned it, Pick, last year, when Jeff was your associate head coach. So you you have these like really precious moments together. Like I just am kind of curious you know, how you feel as you both continue down your paths. Jeff, I'll start with you. Like just having these like very precious because baseball lifers are baseball lifers, right? There's something unique about it. and you both are kind of in those moments right now.
Jeff: Yeah, I mean, y you allude to that, you know, people always say, Well, mom tried, you know, she tried to make me more well-rounded, but unfortunately I think I only know one thing. yeah, I the the back and forth of and I touched on this earlier about continuing to learn the game. I think last summer there was awesome moments of that. And I think the conflict of how what's best to win a baseball game tonight was fun for
dani: Ha ha ha.
Jeff: Pick and I, was probably uncomfortable for my mom to listen to us get after each other like that. but you know, there's things that i and I think this is like the really good baseball to b debates in today's game. We need to back out the lens and understand that both parties that are coming into that debate want to put their team in the best chance to be successful. They just have different ideas on how to do that, but the motivation is very pure. I think this is the best chance to win. I think this is what's the best chance to win. I think this is what's best for the player. The motivation for the Lion Sheriff coaches is very pure in that way. So we we need to keep that in mind as we're having these debates. There were things that would happen on the cape, and Pick would say, Hey, we're doing this. And I would say, wait a second, we're not doing that. Just because Rod Dado did that in 1970 doesn't mean we're doing that now. You know, and he goes, Well, I don't give a shit what the But the wind probability says we're not doing it just because of the wind probability. so I think those are like really healthy, fun debates. and and you learn inside of those things. And no question from last summer, things that we talked about, things that I changed, things that I learned from watching him go about it are impacting the Rockies now. And you know, he
dani: Mm. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeff: is probably very grateful that I got out of his way. I think they're like sixteen and two right now at Y D. So like they got the guy that was holding them back out of there and now they're flying.
Scott Pickler: No, that wasn't it. But you talked about this, you played for your dad. And when he came to play for me, what a neat experience. He was going to go to a scholarship somewhere and he said, dad, why would I do that? I'm going to back up three infielders as a freshman. I see all these guys come to Cyprus, move on. And you've had so many guys make it at a high level in college and so many move on to pro ball and make the major leagues.
dani: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Scott Pickler: When you played for your dad, I had a talk with Mike Main, who Brent Main, you probably know, played in the big leagues a long time. And he said, hey, we had some rules. Whatever happened on the field, you don't bring it home. And we took to that. And then I had an assistant coach for 34 years. And you've talked about getting to first base and talking to your dad. You know, we should do this and this. So I had this Bill Pinkham coaching first in the fall game and Jeff.
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: That's the first base and you've grounded out in a big situation. And this was early, early in the fall, and he took his helmet and threw it down to Bill on the ground. He picked it up and chucked it his chest and hey, around here we don't throw things at coaches feet. You hand me that helmet. And so he did that the whole season when he went three for four and got a game winning hit. I didn't have to pick him up. Billy did.
dani: Yeah.
Scott Pickler: And wasn't very often you had to get beat up or you did something. He did it. And it made it easier with all the other players that I didn't have to do that. And I thought that was a big thing that happened when he played for me. you know, he and I have, we'll talk about a million things about baseball. He's got different ideas. I've learned so much from him. He wants a
dani: Yeah. Totally.
Scott Pickler: put a little more analytical stuff on there and I want to put what's in here on the guy more. And when you blend those two together, you get something good.
dani: That is that's the game, isn't it? Yeah, that's the the simplest way you could probably describe the game right now. I wanna I wanna put a little exclamation on Cape Cod baseball. And those who don't play it, haven't been there, or haven't had the experiences pick that you've had. What do you think? How would you describe it to someone who hasn't had the experience of playing there or watching it there?
Scott Pickler: Told my high school coach who's now been out here twice. This is the purest baseball. It takes it back to the double day area. Little kids right on the field. Great players working on the field after the game, which they don't have to do at those big schools. It's baseball is purest, I think, with really, really good players. gets into professional baseball.
dani: Those those little things, cleaning the field and, you know, not necessarily for Jeff having a host family or having a job, w what kind of impact do you think those little things? You talked about, you know, there's not a detail that's too small. All details are important. What do you what do you think is the importance of things like that?
Scott Pickler: These kids sometimes are treated like primadonnas and they get into that and it's the guys that... Their parents brought them upright that play the hardest and learn this. And some of them, that doesn't happen. So we try to get them to realize you're going to have to play 162. You're going to have to do the little things right for you to get from a ball to double a. It's the little things you got to make these adjustments. You're never going to get out of a ball if you don't make these adjustments. If you don't know how to bring it every night, it's not okay to have. two good days and take a day off. And only the managers and the people that are doing that know the guys that, hey, they're gonna give me an effort every night. And it's not easy, especially when they play 162. Some of these guys can't play 44 or 40 games. And they have to learn that. And it's part of the discipline that comes with the game, I think.
dani: Yeah, I'm curious. You've said it, you've kind of mentioned it, but the just the impact and how not only Cape Cod baseball permeates major league baseball, but your dad in particular and and how he's taught and how he manages and coaches these young guys. Like how have you seen that tangibly at the major league level?
Jeff: Yeah, I mean, i it's funny. Th there's a definitely a sense of which of the ten teams on the Cape you played for amongst Pro Bowl players and and and big leaguers. And our our hitting coach Brett Pill played for Kelly Nicholson at Orleans and I was showing him the standings the other day of how old YD is in having a bit of a dominant start to the twenty twenty-six Cape season, and he looked at it and he looked
dani: Yeah.
Jeff: Saw Orleans, he's like, come on, Kelly, what are we doing? So I think like and Warren Schaefer played for Stevie Englert at Harwich. And so, you know, it it people, it's it's a little bit of where you came from and what was your Cape experience. you know, I think the one thing that's interesting that Pick has really tapped into on the CAP is There's a lot that's gonna happen for most of these players after their last college season that doesn't necessarily have as much to do with wins and losses until they get to the big leagues. So their opportunity to play to win and try to win a championship and coalesce with a group of guys is is diminishing. And they're gonna have their college season that they're going back to, but that may be it. And so At their core, again, their competitors. What picks tapped into is Summerball, people see Summerball as potential development. I'm coming there to work on my slider, I'm coming there to do a better job against left-handed pitching. there's a development aspect to summerball for sure. What picks tapped into over the years is that you develop best when you're playing to win. And so by creating an attention to detail, accountability, compete environment, the development happens naturally inside of that. If you come up there and you're just, well, I'm going to work on things, that's a recipe for having a really bad summer. And so by focusing on, hey, we're going to play the game right the right way. We're going to play to win. we're not going through the motions. yeah, I'm not going to apologize for trying to win the division. I'm not going to apologize for trying to win the league. Not because that's about him. Because I know that that's the environment that's gonna bring the best out of you. And I think some summer ball coaches miss out on that.
dani: Well, I I feel like baseball's in pretty good hands with both of you and the people that are around you. So I I look forward to to watching you guys continue to coach and manage and see the young men that are able to thrive because of all the things you've done. Pick, you're the best, man. Jeff, you're awesome. I'm so grateful to have some time with you guys. Thank you for for doing this and being a part of our podcast.
Scott Pickler: Thank you. Thanks for talking to us. to share
Jeff: Thanks, Jamie.
dani: I don't know about you, but it got a little dusty in here listening to Scott and Jeff Pickler talk about their time spent together at the park, whether it was on Cape Cod or for Cyprus College or after that with the Colorado Rockies. It's pretty special. As always, a huge thank you to Scott and Jeff Pickler We got a lot coming up, by the way, when it comes to Cape Cod baseball. the playoffs starting August fourth. We're rocking and rolling through the summer right now. And we hope you've enjoyed all of our episodes here on the Codcast. For my producer, Sarah Lang, I'm Danny Wexelman. Thanks for tuning in.
