Jesse Agler | San Diego Padres Radio PxP Voice

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No minimum purchase required minimum monthly payment down payment tax and delivery may be required. See store for details. Jesse Agler is the play by play voice of the Padres on their radio network and on our affiliate 97.3 in San Diego, Jesse, producer Jay tells me you're on the field right now. I have since ducked into the tunnel behind the field to try and make it a little more quiet. But yes, and it is quite a spectacle Amy as you might expect. And you know that that old thing about like, you know, you walk into a party, you look around and you see who's there.

And it gives you a pretty good sense of what kind of party it is. I was just out on the field, I got a chance. It's gonna sound like name dropping. It is. I'm just trying to set the scene.

Okay. Rob Manfred is out there. Ken Griffey Jr. is out there. Jimmy Rollins is out there. CC Sabathia is out there.

Dave McCary is married to Oscar Award winner Emma Stone. I mean, it's just, it's a really, really, really neat scene. And then oh, yeah, by the way, you know, you Darvish is starting tonight.

Shohei Ohtani is playing for the Dodgers tonight. It's it's really pretty special right now. Uh, what is the buzz like even for the exhibition games that you've had so far? Yeah, no, I mean, it's not just at the stadium, and obviously a pretty good buzz here, but really all around town. You know, it kind of feels like a baseball takeover of Seoul. You know, it's already a place where baseball is a very big deal.

And that's just been ratcheted up. Chan Ho Park is throwing out the ceremonial first pitch today, 30 years ago, first Korean born player to pitch in the big leagues. He's still the all time winningest Asian born player and major league history. He's a very big deal in Korea. He's a big deal in Dodger history.

He currently works for the Padres. So, you know, it's just like all these cool little tie in as we really celebrate the sport here, and it's a unique way to kick off the season. Jesse, when you found out that you would be or the Padres would be so you would be taking this trip to Seoul. What was your reaction? I was thrilled. It was actually like I first kind of heard about it last year at spring training over a year ago, and it was kind of like, hey, you can't say anything, but it sounds like next year we're going to start the season in Seoul. And it was like, oh, man, I don't even remember when they officially announced it. But, you know, I remember calling my wife like pretty much right away and she's like, I'm going, you know, I don't care what it is. I'm going. And, you know, sure enough, she's been here with me all week.

You know, a bunch of family members have come out, you know, kind of turned it into sort of like park vacation ish, at least for those guys. And then, you know, for the rest of us getting ready to call these games that matter. And that's the cool thing. I mean, I know it's gonna be three o'clock in the morning on the West Coast where these two teams are from. But I'm sure there are many pottery and Dodger fans are going to be up for it. Jesse Agler of the Padres Radio Network is joining us from Seoul, South Korea, no longer on the field, but was just out there and the stadium is buzzing. It's called the Skydome.

I want to make sure I don't mispronounce. What's the proper name before Skydome? Go Chuck Skydome.

And he's joining us here after hours on CBS Sports Radio. On a serious note, there were apparently bomb threats that were emailed to a consulate in Canada and set off this wild search there at the stadium. About 150 police officers and dogs and x-ray detectors. Did you see any of that?

No, that was all earlier today before anybody got here. And apparently they found out it was a hoax. I guess the person who sent it in is kind of a history of doing stuff like this needs a new hobby. But, you know, I mean, look, the reality is, I think for those of us, you know, who go to the number of stadiums that we do, this kind of thing probably happens more often than any of us realize. Thankfully, most of the time there's nothing to it. Thankfully, all of the time there are authorities who handle it, usually very quietly.

You know, but yes, some news got out about that, but it turned out to be nothing. And obviously that's great. We can just go on and enjoy the celebration of baseball. What was the travel like to get there with the official Padres party?

Long, but really, you know, really good. I mean, I think it was about 13 and a half hours in the air. We left from Phoenix where we were having spring training. And, you know, I think we missed what was it like March 14th didn't exist for us because you crossed over the dateline.

We'll pick up a day coming back. But, yeah, I mean, they did it right. Both teams flew over on like a special chartered 747. You know, they had their plane, we had our plane. And, you know, I mean, it's as comfortable as you can be flying across the entire Pacific Ocean. And I think everybody feels great. We've had enough days here to sort of adjust and, you know, get the body clock right. And now it's work time. Well, and that's something that we've heard about with NFL teams, right?

When they make that trip over to London or even to Germany, there is an adjustment and there seems to be some fatigue and teams are trying to figure out how to navigate it. Did you feel any of that in the first couple days? For sure.

For sure. You know, the first night we were here because we, you know, landed at one thirty in the morning local time, we ended up, I think, back at the hotel, you know, four thirty local time after customs and everything and getting through the city. And then, you know, that night coming up like, you know, my wife and I, we did a cooking class, you know, we're going through this market somewhere in Seoul. And I felt so tired and like to the point where I almost felt like I was sick, I was so tired, but kind of pushed through that the adrenaline kicked back in, got to bed at a good hour that night, woke up the next day feeling totally normal.

So luckily for me, it was a really short thing. You know, the other thing is baseball players, man, I know we don't do this many time zones regularly, but we do do time zones all the time. You know, this plane that we're usually on is zipping all over the country all summer long. We're like, you know, we're getting into a place at four in the morning and having a game that night with some regularity.

So, you know, I also say, look, I'm forty two now or almost forty two. These guys are all in their 20s for the most part of the early 30s. They can handle it.

They're fine. Just as a matter of information, are the guys being introduced in Korean or in English? That's a very good question. I don't have an exact answer for you.

For the exhibition games, they brought the teams out on the foul lines, but they didn't do a full, you know, opening day type introduction. So we'll see. Probably about an hour and a half from now. Tune in to find out. Yes, absolutely.

I can't wait. What is the reaction like, though, for some of the guys you mentioned, like Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish and even Hassan Kim? It's it's been incredible. Kim, obviously, is a huge deal. This is his old home stadium when he was with the Kewoo Heroes in the KBO.

He had two home runs in the exhibition game the other day, which was obviously pretty remarkable. So, yeah, it's a very, very big deal. We also have not yet seen the full scope. You know, I don't think we have yet seen the place erupt the way it's going to for regular season Major League Baseball. So, you know, a lot of anticipation right now, certainly.

All right. The million dollar question, Jesse, actual baseball talk. How do the Padres rebound from last season? I think by just taking a breath, you know, I think last year, it's fair to say that the expectation got to this team. And it was one of those things where they didn't get off to a great start and then everybody tightened up. And by the time they loosened up, it was too late, late in the year. And I think that they recognize that.

I know they've talked about that. There's still an awful lot of talent on this team. I know Juan Soto is gone. I know Blake Snell is gone. But you bring in Dylan Cease, who's one of the top starting pitchers in baseball. You still have guys like Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogart. You know, at the top of that batting order, Hassan Kim turning into what looks like he could be a perennial All-Star on the infield.

He's a tremendous defender. So this is a really, really good team. And I think they've just taken a step back and a big deep breath in. And I don't know that they have to make any major adjustments on the field.

Go out, let their talent do the thing, and they should be better than last year. How long until Cease is ready to go? It sounds like he's going to start one of the games against the Giants on our normal opening day back at home.

I don't know which day. But after these two games against the Dodgers, we go home to San Diego, play a couple of exhibitions against the Mariners. He's going to start one of those.

And then he'll start, it sounds like, one of the games against the Giants in that season-opening series at Petco Park. So how does the rotation stack up now? Snell is obviously in the division, but with the Giants, Cease may not be ready right away, but soon.

So how does it look 1-5? Yeah, on paper basically it's Darvish and Musgrove, 1-2, 1A and 1B. And it sounds like those guys are not only going to start these two games, but also the first two games back at Petco against the Giants. So they'll be able to each make two starts before anybody else makes one. And then on paper, again, you sort of slot Cease into number 3. Michael King, one of the pieces they got from the Yankees in the Soto trade, is the 4. And then, you know, you've got something of a competition for the 5 spot. It might also be in flux a little bit as they manage workloads for a couple of the other guys who were acquired in the Soto trade. Mainly Randy Vasquez and Johnny Brito, both of whom had really, really good sprints.

So they feel comfortable, confident with it. And knowing the Padres as I do, there are always moves to be made if moves need to be made. From Seoul, South Korea. I need to keep saying that. Jesse Agler of the Padres is with us here after hours on CBS Sports Radio. Alright, so from your perspective, of course we agree, money doesn't buy a World Series. If it did, the Dodgers would be perennial champions. Still though, they spend a billion, a billion with a B, dollars on Yamamoto and Otani.

And also they bring in Tyler Glass now who will be starting this first game. I mean, how daunting is that to look across to the other dugout and see it's a roster full of MVP candidates? I mean, you know, you could have said the same about the Padres last year and you can say the same about the Padres this year. You know, I mean, and it just shows you that that's not how baseball works. You know, it's not the NBA where there's only five guys on the floor at one time and one ultra superstar.

Not to say anything if two or three can make all the difference in the world. I mean, the Dodgers, not only did they not win a playoff game last year, they didn't have a lead in a playoff game last year. And that is the sickle, sickle nature of baseball.

One of the things I'm fond of saying on the air is just when you think you know something about this game, it smacks you in the face and reminds you you don't know nothing at all. And I think both teams, to a certain extent, experienced that last year. The Padres in the regular season, the Dodgers in the postseason. Both teams looked like they were going to be among the very best in baseball. And while the Dodgers were throughout the regular year, the other team you could say that about, the Atlanta Braves, also got knocked out in the first round. 300 win teams last year in Major League Baseball. None of them got out of their first playoff series.

Baltimore, Atlanta, and the Dodgers. So you don't have to worry too much about that. You know, there's enough other things to worry about. And Paul, when you get into that box, you're trying to do the hardest thing in sports.

And weird stuff always tends to happen. All right. So how's the food, Jesse? Oh my gosh. I got to eat nothing but salad when I get home for like three weeks.

That's amazing. That's all you need to know. How is it for the teams, though? Do they have a personal chef? Someone who's cooking for them? How are they doing their meals? For the players, yeah. They've got a whole set up.

I think that's part of the CBA. So they've got what looks like very nice catering, but I don't have access to it personally. I have seen sushi.

I have seen many other things. So yeah, no. They're eating just fine. We got, let's see. I'm holding it right now because it's dinner time. Media voucher worth 18,500 Korean Won at the concession stands. So that's a little bit different for us, but that's okay. Before I let you go then, how does the stadium compare to a stadium in the major leagues here in the United States? Well, it's small.

I mean, the capacity is just under 17,000. But it's a dome. They have brand new LED lights. It's a brand new turf surface.

So they've updated that stuff. They've updated the clubhouses and the weight rooms to sort of get it to a major league standard. And it's a really cool place, and I know it's going to be loud tonight. Is it going to sound a little bit like the stadium in Tampa then? Or the Trump? Sound like the Trump? It's going to sound much louder than that. It's going to sound, but it does look a little bit like the Trump.

You know, just from like the roof standpoint. But no, I mean, there's cheering sections and instruments and all that kind of stuff that pretty much goes on the entire game. So it'll sound like international baseball, that's for sure. Oh, very cool. All right, we're going to listen to you on the way home because we'll be in the car. And so we'll get your call. Jesse Agler on Twitter.

Jesse A-G-L-E-R. San Diego Padres broadcaster from Seoul, South Korea. Trip of a lifetime, Jesse. Have a blast. Thank you so much for a couple minutes. Amy, my pleasure. And hello to everybody back home. You may be required.

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