Wednesday was Grant & Danny’s last day in West Palm Beach for Nationals Spring Training, and while most of the Nats were in Jupiter crushing the Marlins, G&D got to check in with a ‘real, live, Major League Baseball player!’
That is, if you remember, Joey Gallo, who was described that way by Danny when he signed with Washington, and they wanted to check in on Joey to see how things are going in Florida so far.
“Camp’s been great, it's been a great clubhouse and a great environment and the coaches are awesome,” Gallo said. “It’s been a great experience for me, and I couldn't be happier where I'm at. This is a young group of guys, but it's a fun, energetic group that really strives to be better every day.”
As a veteran, Gallo’s more focused on getting his work in and coming out healthy as opposed to any particular results…and in learning his new surroundings.
“At the end of the day stats don't really count here, so it's about just getting your body back in the baseball shape – and the biggest thing is when you're on a new team is meeting your new teammates, building a relationship with those guys, and figuring out everybody's freaking name with 100 people walking around!” Gallo laughed. “But spring training is fun and a lot more loose and fan friendly, which is always fun.”
Gallo has been bonding with his new teammates over college basketball and exploring the Palm Beaches, among other things, and getting to know their quirks – like Ildemaro Vargas’ penchant for ‘the most basic quotes.’
He’s also ‘learning’ first base, which has been his primary position this spring by design of the staff, to get him maximally prepared to be there as needed.
“I can play outfield whenever I need to really, so being able to just work at first and build relationships with the infielders and kind of get that feel is more important than running around the outfield, catching fly balls,” Gallo said. “That’s kind of something I can feel like I can do whenever I really need to. I do work out there as well, shagging and whatnot, but working at first is the most important right now, just to learn the infield and learn to learn all the guys around you.”
What’s making it easier is that clubhouse camaraderie, being around a younger team as opposed to some of the more ‘marquee’ clubhouses he’s been in.
“It is different, like, when you have a young group of guys, it's a lot more energetic, a lot more fun sometimes,” Gallo said. “I think when there's a lot of veterans around, you know what’s ahead and guys are a little more aware of what the season is gonna be like and how stressful it can be. When you got a young group of guys, it's just like 22-23 year olds running around just trying to play baseball, and that’s enjoyable. It's really fun to come to the clubhouse every day and it's not always like that; with this group, I’m excited to come in because it's gonna be fun and we're gonna be having a good time; we're still gonna be doing what we need to do, but it's gonna be an enjoyable day and not just a stressful filled day of trying to perform.”
And, most importantly, it gives him a chance to be a leader.
“Every generation is different. The way I came up as a rookie, we got treated a little bit different than the rookies do now, per se, and I wanna treat the young guys with respect and with love, because those guys are coming out here and trying to live out their dreams too,” Gallo said. “Everybody's on the same team together and we're all pushing for the same goal, so for me, I think the most important thing is really to enjoy and have fun. Obviously, winning and developing is huge, but if you're not enjoying it, you're not gonna win or develop. I want to bring fun to the clubhouse, but also bring a seriousness – I want guys to understand like this is a game, we should have fun doing it, and that's something I had to learn a lot and I forget a lot as well. It seems like they already had a good grasp on it, but I feel like that's a big role for me.”