The Rusty George Podcast

Narrator: Welcome to Leading Simple with Rusty George. Our goal is to make following Jesus and leading others a bit more simple. Here's your host, Rusty George.

Rusty George: Hey, welcome to Leading Simple. My name's Rusty George. It is so great to have you today.

We get to talk to a legend in the scouting industry for baseball. Marty Lamb has worked for the LA Dodgers for the past 24 years, and he is going to be just a voice of wisdom for us on how to spot great talent. How do you look for somebody that beyond just they execute well or they do a good job? How do you know this is gonna be a good fit for your organization? For anybody, who's trying to create a team, whether it's at the PTA, whether it's at the homecoming dance or whether it's the, uh, organization that you lead or a fortune 500 company, or the church that you run, we're all looking to build teams. How do you look for the right people? How do you find people that are beyond just the stats sheet? Well, that's what Marty's gonna talk to us about today. I first heard about Marty from my buddy, Brian Dodd and Mike Lynch, both previous podcast guests. And I was directed to a great book called How to Beat a Broken Game. Uh, Marty has been a baseball scout for the Dodgers for the last 24 years. And today, he's gonna give us some great, great wisdom. So hope you really enjoyed this conversation.

As we have been over the past few weeks, we are sponsored this month by Stadia. Stadia is a church planning organization that helps to release church planters into the world and free them up to create great church planning organizations and church planting churches. So make sure that you check out stadiachurchplanting.org. Maybe you wanna plan a church, maybe you've got a friend that wants to plan a church. I think you're really gonna like what it is that they are doing. And so you can sponsor a church planter. You can sponsor kids, you can sponsor the work that they do, or you can find out more about planning a church at stadiachurchplanning.org.

All right. Here is my conversation with Dodger scout, Marty Lamb.

Well, Marty Lamb. Great to have you on the podcast. For people that don't know who you are, uh, I've already introed them and told them that you are a, a baseball scout for the LA Dodgers. Tell us a little bit about your journey. Have you always been in baseball? Have you played baseball? How'd you get to be a scout? I think a lot of us would love to have that job.

Marty Lamb: A lot of y'all would like to do that job, but when you start having to drive all the miles and all the windshield time and all, you might not wanna as much as, uh, as people think it is, we always kid around and we're like, , you know, crazy things will happen or whatever.

And you're like, okay. Yeah, you wanna be a scout? Do you, you know, so late nights and things like that. So, uh, I appreciate you having me on Rusty. I, uh, yeah, I guess I've been in baseball basically all my life. I ended up, um, playing in junior college, out in Ventura, uh, county. And, uh, okay. And then ended up going back.

I, I grew up in Colorado and, um, went back to school. There started coaching at Northern Colorado. Um, spent about three years there and then, uh, had the great opportunity to, to work for coach Ron Polk at Mississippi State as a graduate assistant. Um, and this was all the way back in 91. And then, uh, had a high school job for a couple years in Mississippi.

So Colorado kid moving to Mississippi was quite a, quite a big, uh, we could do a whole podcast on that one. Um, and then, uh, ended up at Southern miss from that, and, uh, coached there for three years, ended up going to, uh, Texas tech after that and spent three years there. And then. It's like February of 99.

Um, I ended up getting offered the job, uh, with the Dodgers and, um, uh, started in 99, moved my wife and I had just gotten married and, uh, shoot. We had been married like eight months or something and all of a sudden I'm taking a new job and we're going all the way or halfway across the country, I guess.

And, uh, settled in Lexington. And, uh, have worked for the Dodgers for the last 24 years. I tell people I've tricked them for 24 years and they haven't fired me yet. So , uh, we'll see if I can make it a few more. So

the way that works. So I, I guess I never really thought about it when it comes to Scouts, they, they just position you all over the country and you're in charge of a region.

Is that how that works? So then you just keep an eye out for the up and coming stars that, that they might be interested in draft.

right. So, um, the country's divided up in all different ways. You know, we've got two guys that work, you know, uh, Florida, you know, there's a couple guys that work, Texas one works south Texas, north, Texas into Oklahoma, different things like that.

And then the region that I have is O Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee. I've got a little smidge of West Virginia over to towards Marshall. Mm. And then, um, I used to have Indiana, um, but it was just too much. There was too good, too many good players. Um, and you really didn't get a chance to see 'em. Often enough.

And, um, because, and I tell people that, you know, they don't, they don't understand, but like, in those, if you count Indiana, there's like 33 division one schools in those areas. Hmm. And, and, you know, and you could say, well, yeah, but some of them are. You know, smaller or a max school or whatever. Well, there's been first rounders come out of yeah.

You know, a lot of those schools. So you can't just disregard 'em so trying to do, you know, 33 division ones, and then you got all your smaller, you know, division two, three, and AI, and then to go along with that, all the high school players, um, it was just too much. So. really Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee is sort of what we've, you know, landed on.

And you know, most people don't realize they think of California, Florida, Texas, as the hotbeds of players, but mm-hmm when you start going Vanderbilt, Louisville, Kentucky. University of Tennessee now is back when I first started, they were really good. And then they sort of hit a little lull and now they're back and back with a vengeance really right now.

Hmm. Um, but you got Ohio state, you know, all the, the schools around Cincinnati, there's some pretty good players. I mean, they did a, they did a, uh, Sort of a study a couple years ago and on average, not what we spent, but what the industry spent in all these different areas across the country, it was like 12 million or whatever was spent in guys' areas.

Um, when they put the pencil to it, well, my area was like 29 million or something. You know, and you wouldn't really think that this area is that good, but when, especially those big schools, they've put out some good players and some high draft picks, which run the money up, obviously. So, wow. It's been a very good area and a very, very fruitful area, really.

Right.

Rusty George: So when you sit in the stands and you watch a player, um, give me just a few. Checklist things you are looking for. Uh, I remember hearing a basketball coach say one time. I always wanna watch how they practice or how they, they do the, the warmups, cuz I can tell a lot about just their, their attention to detail.

What are you looking for in a player besides just the obvious that most average fan looks for?

Marty Lamb: Um, as a position player, well, either of them really, I mean, you're just sort of, you do, you try to get there earlier and you're just sort of seeing, you know, how they carry themself on the field, you know, what the temperament's like, um, what kind of competitor they are, um, you know, and then you do a lot of background stuff, so you can get, you know, you can get a lot of your stuff.

Um, You know, watching them and just move around, Mo them moving around and that kind of thing. But then you also have to try to dig deeper into that and try to fi figure out makeup and character and, you know, work ethic and all those kind of things and those things. How do I don't know, probably, you know, tie into how good the player's gonna be and, and make a bigger impact.

then sometimes the tools do, right. You know, I mean, you go through and, you know, a position player, you're gonna try to grade out, you know, hit power, run defense and arm, you know, but we, you heard it a lot, a lot years ago with the older Scouts, you know, but that six tool is the makeup tool, you know, and what kind of makeup they've got because, huh.

You know, I've been proud of some of the guys that I've signed. that maybe weren't necessarily the most tooled up guys, but the makeup allowed 'em to get to the big leagues and stay in the big leagues at times, you know, for a while. And so I don't, that's the biggest thing what's inside. 'em what makes 'em tick, you know, I think, um, because.

I mean, this, you think about this. I mean, those guys are going through spring training and then they're going through 162 games. And then if you're lucky enough, you're in the playoffs, that's a long. Season and you know, away from your family a lot of times, and it it's just a grind. Right. And you have to be tough mentally, um, to be able to get through that.

So,

Rusty George: so, I mean, that seems like. A really difficult thing to try to figure out . And I mean, just speaking from when I hire people and people listening to this podcasts who have to hire people, how do you figure out what they're made up of? What kind of character they have? Uh, what are some things that you've had to do to, to learn that?

Marty Lamb: Um, I think one is just sort of trying to read people, you know, in the, in the initial stages, because in a typical year, You know, you'll see, you'll see guys in the fall play and then come around, uh, anywhere from probably November, December and end of January. We'll go and have personal meetings with those players.

Okay. So, um, you know, you'll go down to, you know, Vanderbilt, let's just say, and you'll sit there. and you'll get mm-hmm you'll get, I don't know, typically it's probably 20, 30 minutes. Mm-hmm , you know, and you just try to pick their brain and sort of figure out, you know, The intelligence level, you know, their commitment, their, you might talk, you know, I'll sometimes talk about deliveries and let's say a picture.

I might talk about the mechanics or the delivery and just to see like how in tune they are with that. Um, are they somebody that. It's more feel versus, you know, have everything having to be exactly right. Um, you know, the intelligence, you know, you might ask 'em things of like, um, You know, how would you pitch this certain hitter?

Or if you see a hitter doing this, or stand in the box this way, how would you pitch 'em just to try to see how they think a little bit, you know? And so, but it's hard to do in that shorter period of time to really get a great feel. So then you go out and you know, now you start talking to, you know, some assistant coaches you might talk to, um, You know, we've, we've got some guys where we've signed some kids, let's just say from Louisville, I might go back to a different, a player that we signed before from Louisville and say, Hey, what do you got on, you know, this kid that, that was there.

Um, you know, that big prospect we've got, uh, Bobby Miller is ina right now. And, and, um, through that process, it was like, I went and talked to one of the other kids that we had signed out Louisville, you know? And I'm like, you know, what do you got? And, and he was like, I'm telling you, this guy is super athletic.

One of the hardest working guys, you know, we've got, or I've been around, you know, things like that. So when the coaches tell you, and then you get it confirmed with somebody else, , you know, you might go another step of, you know, who do you play for in the summer? You know, they go off and maybe they play in the Cape Cod league or they play in a different league and you might call somebody and find out.

you know, how were they in the summer away from school away from more of a structured, um, situation, you know, how were they, you know? And then you just start trying to piece all those things together, you know, to try to make, I mean, really, like you were saying with hiring you, it's an educated guess. Right?

Right. I mean, you're trying to make, you're trying to make as many calls as you can. to, and then, and if it just, if the puzzle keeps fitting and fitting and fitting, it seems like, um, you. What you're coming up with is probably correct. So

Rusty George: is there a, um, uh, maybe a list of things that make up a Dodger, meaning we, this is the kind of team we are.

This is the kind of player we're looking for. So where you might find somebody that's really good, but they're just not the Dodger makeup. How would you describe what a Dodger is that you're looking.

Marty Lamb: I, I think when you go through all those checklists and all those things, if they come out with, you know, I think work ethic obviously is one of the biggest ones, you know? Um, okay. Work ethic. How do they, you know, how do they deal with teammates? Um, what kind of, um, how do they deal with teammates? Um, you know, how do they do in the classroom?

You know, are they ahead of schedule in the classroom or, you know, well, this guy's got a 2.1 and, you know, Whatever, or this guy's got a three seven in finance. I mean, I get it. We're not all students, but some of that stuff matters, you know? And you know, it's, it's the hardest when you start doing high school players, you know, because now you don't have some of those other things that you can look back on.

I mean, I'll be honest with you. I sat there one time and the kid ended up pitching in the big league. Um, and this may sound mean to some people, but I, I was sitting there and it's like the fourth or fifth inning and I look over and he's got his head peeked out of the dugout motion to his mom to bring him a Gatorade.

And I'm thinking that's not mature enough to handle what we potentially, you know, the situations that he can go through. So I'm like, and you know what? I. Most kids, um, need to go to college. You know, there's a few that are ready, but most kids, you know, and you're like, if that kid's having to go to his mom for a Gatorade in

the

Marty Lamb: middle while he's pitching, I don't know that he's ready for pro baseball, you know?

And I mean, for pitching in Dodger stadium, you know, I mean, and they mature, you know, I mean, I had one. Actually he plays for us now that, um, you know, it's, you're just trying to like what matters and what doesn't matter. And I can remember we've got, uh, this one kid, they said, well, you know, If, uh, somebody hits a ball to the second basement and the second basement boots, the ball, you know, he'll throw his hands up in the air and show the second basement up and whatever.

And I'm like, is that I, I, I get it. That sounds bad. But if you look at it on a different flip side, you might say that guy's really competitive. And it, you know, and, and when he gets into pro ball and if he tries to do that, either the second baseman and him will have an argument in the dugout, or the manager will say, don't do that anymore.

You know? And mm-hmm , I mean, you and I, you know, especially with high school guys, We're 18, 19 before, you know, we act stupid and do stupid things and we're not very mature and that's what either college or pro ball can help 'em do is look, that's not acceptable and don't do that anymore. So you've gotta sort of Wade through some of that stuff, because I know some people are like, well, I don't, I got no interest in that guy.

And I'm like, well, what if he's super competitive? You know? I mean, So mm-hmm anyhow, I, I don't know. There's just, um, you know, I don't know, I guess you'd, you might have been in LA by that, but we signed Chad Billingsley years ago, you know, and was a gooder for the Dodgers. Mm. And, uh, I mean, it was, he was focused and, you know, the we did after we signed.

this sort of gives you a little idea on makeup. So after we signed him, he had moved to Vero that's when we had spring training in the facility, still in Vero beach. And, uh, we sign him and it's like January and I call him and I'm like, Hey, what are, you know, what's you doing? Just sort of checking in on him.

And he said, well, I've been working out. I said, where are you working out at Vero? And he goes, no, they won't let me in right now. I haven't passed a, I have to do a physical or I don't know something which you're going, really, this kid is from defiance, Ohio. He's moved to Vero and we can't get him in the facility.

You know, that was one thing. Right. We'll figure that it went out, but I was. Well, what are you doing then? He goes, well, I just, I went over and I've got a golds gym, um, membership and I'm working out over there and I built a mound and a net in my backyard. And I'm throwing into that. Now if that's not a motivated discipline work ethic type kid.

You know what I mean? Like that's what sets some of those guys apart. Yeah. Here he is on his own built a mound to throw into a net in Vero beach, cuz he can't get into the facility, you know, and he was ready, you know,

Rusty George: so yeah. That's the kind of kid you want. Tell me about finding Walker. Hm, this was a kid that you all discovered and now he's the ACE for the Dodgers.

Um, you know, what'd you see in him initially that made you think, okay, this kid's gonna be something special.

Marty Lamb: Well, you know, uh, we had Walker Bueller here in, in Lexington and high school. Mm-hmm you know, so we saw him at the scouting industry, saw him. I don't know. I probably saw him the first time, maybe as a sophomore in high school.

Or junior year, something like that. And the thing with Walker was everything worked so easy. You know, I mean, he was a skinny little, you know, guy, but his arm worked super easy. He had pitches, he could spin the ball. He had a change up, he had field a pitch, the fastball back then I'd have to go back and look at old reports.

I would say probably. 89 91 ish, maybe, you know, um, some 88 91 somewhere through there, probably, but it all worked really easy. So that was in high school. Well then, um, he had committed to Vanderbilt. Well, um, trying to sign guys, you can sign 'em outta high school to sign guys out of Vanderbilt or away from Vanderbilt.

I should say. You know, it, it takes, it's gonna take quite a bit of money. And so, you know, he ended up going to Vanderbilt, um, and then pitching there and, um, you know, had a, really a good. , uh, this would've been his summer leading into his junior year. Um, really good in the Cape Cod, you know Hmm. High profile gonna be a high pick or whatever.

And I, I, you know what, I've never really asked him about this, but, um, throughout that spring, the stuff really wasn't as good as it had been in the summer, you know? And, um, so. That luckily for us, that's why he ended up getting down. I forget what pick that was 27 or something like that. That's why, because if he's healthy, we don't get it, you know, and yeah.

Um, but the guys, you know, that I work for, you know, Andrew Friedman and Billy Gaso and whatever, like this is the talent. If he's hurt, you know, And if we can get him healthy, we've got a guy at 27 that should have gone way up here, you know? So mm-hmm um, and really he, um, he had had some rest, I think, and again, I haven't asked him this, we had already drafted them when he pitched in the world series.

His stuff. I think probably that world series game was in the college world series, excuse me. Um, was probably better than it was all spring. Now you'd had some time to rest and that kind of thing, you know? Yeah. Um, I'll tell you a quick one on viewer. I mean, so you've got that, you know, tools, whatever, but then you got a super sharp kid.

I mean, he's very, very smart. Mm-hmm and he's very, very, very competitive. And, um, you know, just like, like I was talking, so you go down there and you interview 'em in the wintertime and it's like, tell me about your delivery. Tell me about, you know, if you get off track on your delivery, you know, what are your cues to try to get you back on track?

And I mean, it was boom, boom, you just, and when you've got a young guy like that, especially like in high school that already has the field to pitch. , you know, it's just not chucking it up there. And hopefully, I mean, he had field a pitch. So now if the projection does come like it has, then you've got field a pitch and here's all the stuff to go with it.

And you know, so his competitiveness is one of, you know, it's off the charts really. Um, he did this and the confidence. So. He's gonna go pitch in the college world series. In that junior year, he was getting a little too quick in his delivery. So his arm wasn't catching up and he was getting, he was landing and his arm just wasn't catching up as well.

The Stu and here's a guy in the largest game of his career. At this point, he had made a adjustment in his delivery. He starts going over his head. You know, like a full wind up in the college world series. And I'm thinking that takes some kind of confidence to change your delivery. Some during your start for the college world series.

So that's, that's part of what wa makes Walker Bueller tick. Yeah.

Hey,

Rusty George: let me interrupt this episode for just a second. Would you help plant a church today? You can do that in a very simple way. Go to stadia church, planting.org today to find out more. All right. Back to the show.

Yeah, that is pretty significant to start making yeah. Tweaks and changes to what you feel so comfortable with on the fly mm-hmm who are a few players. well, you weren't sure, but boy, they have really impressed you now. And they might be a Dodger or they might not be

Marty Lamb: some guys that throughout. Throughout my scouting career in the area. Yeah. you do we really have to open up that, uh, skeleton CLO closet full of skeletons.

Rusty George: I mean, I don't mean, I don't mean the one that got away, but just a few people you thought. Yeah. Wow. They're turned out better than I thought

Marty Lamb: no, I, I, the reason I say that I'm saying it kiddingly, I mean, this is such a hard job and it's. You know, to try to figure out what they potentially can be. Um, so it's just.

you know, you go and you might see him, you might go see a guy two or three times, let's say a hitter and he might have off days, you know? And it's like, all right, how do you try to, um, Hmm. To navigate that? You know, I'm not seeing him very good, but I think he's better than I, you know, he is. Um, I mean, I, I don't mind telling you, I mean, Corey Hart was a big tall, right handed hitter down in Bowling Green.

You know, that was a cross country track guy and hadn't played a ton of baseball and, you know, he ended up, you know, being probably a lot better than I thought he was gonna be. I had, uh, we, you know, in the guy pitch for the giants to even make it worse. Mm. You know, that Jonathan Sanchez was up at Ohio Dominican.

You know, and, and I'll be honest with you. I go and see Jonathan Sanchez and he's pitching against. You know, a small school and he's throwing like 87, 88, no breaking ball and they're whacking him. Mm. And then all of a sudden, you know, here you look up and he's throwing a no hitter in the big leagues. And you're like, how did that happen?

You know, when I saw him, you know, this small division two or N I or whatever it was, he couldn't get them out. Yeah. You know, so it's a weird deal, you know, how. The, it just happens. So, you know, somebody makes it a tweak in, in his delivery or adjustment or they get stronger or whatever. And then all of a sudden they've become a lot better player than you thought they were gonna be.

So the

Rusty George: other night, uh, I'm watching Moneyball with my daughter. Um, I, I mean, it's a great movie and we were just talking about how much that kind of changed the game. Um, put that in perspective for us, how much has cyber metrics kind of changed the way, uh, the game is played, but also the way you have to scout now?

Or has it.

Marty Lamb: All right. First of, and this isn't gonna, this is gonna be a little contrary to something. Okay. I like it. I never saw Moneyball. Okay. I had no interest in watching Moneyball, to be honest with you. Um, it, it, because you gotta, I mean, I don't know how many years that would've been now. I don't know, 15, 17 years ago.

Something like that, maybe. Yeah, I think so. Um, and so here, you've got. Typical scouting. Right. And here's now this different group, that's trying to do things differently. So it's like, we, we, weren't very accepting of that initially. Right. You know, because you know, what were I see and so on and so forth now with that being said, I think you evolve and you learn.

And I mean, we've got some super sharp guys in our office. Mm-hmm right. And. I mean, they can figure out a lot of different things. Um, now I will say on the Dodger side, especially on the amateur side, it's a good mix of analytics and what our Scouts say. You know, it's, I think when you, I think when you get in trouble is when you want to go.

One side or the other. Sure. You know, oh, we're just gonna listen to Scotts heck with the analytics or it's all analytic driven and we could care less what the Scotts said. Mm-hmm , that's where I think you get in trouble. I think we have a good philosophy in place of it's a good mix. Let's mix 'em together.

And let's, let's say if the analytics side. Is lining up with what our guys in the field are saying and seeing with their eyes, then that makes sense. Yeah. You know, um, but you know, our guys are pretty, you know, Billy gas, Bruno and Josh burns. And I mean, it's, it's, it's way more old school scouting, I think, you know, than.

I mean, we've still got tons of data. Don't get me wrong. Mm-hmm , you know, and some of the data, I have no idea even what it means or what it represents or anything. I would look at those screens we've got and, and all the initials and yeah. And I don't have any idea, you know what they mean? That makes me feel so much better.

Yeah. But, you know, because. You know, and I was almost to a point a few years ago of almost throwing my hands up of like going, where do I go with this? You know, what do I do? Mm-hmm , you know, and I, I don't want to take 20, 24, you know, 25, 30 years in the game, coaching and, and scouting and just flush it and throw it out the window.

But I don't also want to have my head in the sand of things that could possibly help us make a better decision on the player. Mm-hmm , you know, so I think, I mean, shoot, I've been doing this a long time and whatever I would say, I don't know for me personally, 70, 80%, you know what I see and, and, you know, and what I can.

I can look at a player and say, this guy reminds me of this guy and it worked, or this guy reminds me of this and that didn't work and using that and then going along with, but the thing is like the stats wise, and they're obviously much more detailed now, but we've always used Scouts, right? I mean, if you go into a ballpark and you, you, you thought you were gonna like a pit or you did, let's say you did like a pitcher and you got a really good start.

And then you look at. Stats. And it's like, you know, way more hits than innings and you know, he's walked, you know, if he's pitched 50 innings, he's walked 30 guys and he doesn't strike anybody out. Well, then you're going, all right. Did I just get a good sta start that day? Or mm-hmm , you know, what's the deal.

Yeah. Um, and, and the same with hitters, you know, so yeah. You always looked at that to a degree, you know, and we had. you probably, as a scout had your own little, very minor formula that you sort of took the stats and ran through, you know, and now these guys have got stuff that you know is much more detailed and complex.

Rusty George: Okay. So

Marty Lamb: speaking, I like trouble with the curve. Did you ever see that movie?

Rusty George: Uh, no, I did not. I'm familiar

Marty Lamb: with it, but I haven't watched. that's the one that's Clint. Yeah. Okay. And he's like the old scout, you know, so that's the one that I'm gonna go to more than I am money. All right.

Rusty George: I'll watch that. If you'll watch Moneyball, I think you'll enjoy it.

cause you got a lot of guys in that movie talking like what you're just saying right here. So it's uh, it's pretty interesting. Mm-hmm okay. So speaking of you gotta go with your gut. I think a lot of us that aren't in your business, we watch when teams try to create the dream team. You know, and they sign great talent.

And you typically think of the Yankees trying to do this. The Dodgers have done this, um, spend a lot of money on payroll and then they don't win. What does that tell us that chemistry is more important sometimes than just skill or just because a player has great stats. It doesn't always translate well.

Um, you know, what, what can we learn from this? That sometimes it's not always the best payroll that wins.

Marty Lamb: Yeah, I, I think you, you hit it on the nose, just the, the chemistry, you know, who is willing to give themself up for the win versus pad, their stats, you know, that kind of thing. Um, and you know, I mean, if you look at some of the best guys out there, they're winners and they know how to win, you know, and if you can, I had heard years ago, like if you're best guy.

Is not a great guy or, or a pain in the neck. You're probably gonna have a hard time. Yeah. But if your best guy is a grinder and a dirt bag and plays super hard, you probably have a good chance. You know, I'll tell you this one. This was a people I think who enjoy this one. Um, so the first year Moki comes over, my buddy is.

Uh, our double, a manager and their working base running at second base. And it was like res at second base, you know? Um, so he he's got like, now he's the double mate manager. He ain't the big league manager. He's not even on the big leagues TA, but. So he's got these guys and he's got the big guys. I mean, he's got Turner and Mok and Seger and, you know, whatever at this group that they're doing their base running stuff.

And so Moki does his last rep and doesn't get a great read. Right? So , so this buddy of mine, Scott Hennessy Oura manager, he says, Hey, Mo. Uh, probably won the best. Let's try another one. Well, some guys in the big leagues, I'm not saying our guys, I'm just saying some guys would look at the AA manager and go the heck with you.

I ain't running another, you know, I'm not doing another, you know, who are you to tell me? Yeah, I need to do another. So Moey gets there and does another rep gets a good read, whatever. And then he comes to Scott later and he says, Hey, I appreciate you holding me accountable for doing that and making me do another one.

So there's your makeup, right? Wow. You know, here's the best guy or, you know, not the best guy, one of the best guys in the game. And one of the best guys on our ball club and he is appreciative of Scott asking him to let's do another rep and get it right. Mm. And then, you know, He's talk, we're talking about tools.

I mean, you put Mo's base running. I mean, it's an 80 base runner. Yeah. You know, he's a great base runner. Right. You know, but the attention to detail and things like that. So when you've got guys like that, you know, Turner and Moie, and, and KSH, and those guys leading the charge, it's easy to follow. Yeah.

Follow along with those guys. You know, that one year we had. you know, Uley and KSH and Kinley. And I mean, guys are gonna follow those guys. Yeah. You know, they've been through the wars, they've been very successful, you know, and guys are gonna follow those just like now, you know, with Turner and bets and you know, whoever.

Rusty George: Yeah. So yeah, those guys are fun to watch. Mm-hmm, fun to watch little different than, uh, ya pu. So I'll you don't have to comment on that. That's my comment. okay. So I want to ask you about, uh, ownership. All right. And this is where we really see the value of leadership because. The Dodgers were really a mess.

I'll say it. So you don't have to, when the Mac courts own the Dodgers and now a new ownership comes in and it, it just changes seemingly overnight. What, what did new ownership do to change the culture so quickly? And I'm sure some things took time, but I think we could all benefit from. Two or three things that really helped, right.

The wrongs or change the direction of the organization that really mattered in the long run.

Marty Lamb: Um, I mean, obviously we needed to go in a different direction when they did that. And, um, But then you had, you know, they brought along stand cast and, you know, they bring Andrew in, you know, they've got a whole different group of guys and not to knock anybody else other than, you know, before that.

But, you know, when it was so tight before, and when these were like, look, we're interested in winning, you know, and do what it takes to win. And there's never been anything. like of all the Scouts that I can talk to, if there's never been any like, um, hindrance or, nah, we can't do that. We can't afford that.

You know, like if I say, Hey, look, I'd like to make this trip and it may seem like an oddball trip or whatever, but I, I think, you know, I think it'd be good to see this guy another time or whatever. The answer's always yes. Hmm. You know, and, and they just, we just do, um, you know, go about things the right way that way and making sure that, I mean, you'll hear some clubs, you know, they'll be off the road in the wintertime or the, or the fall, or they may be off the road in the, in the, in the summertime.

Um, you know, when all the COVID stuff and all that kind of. Stuff hit a lot of 'em were, there was some teams that their guys were off their con contract. They, I think they got benefits and whatever, but you know, that never happened with us. You know? So when, when that's your ownership, you know, you wanna work hard for those people, you know, when they take care of you and do things right by us, you want to continue to, to work hard.

On your end and, you know, it's that, you know, they make you wanna make, take that five, o'clock wake up, call , you know, and, and, and work hard for 'em, you know, and I thought one of the cool things years ago was, um, stand cast and had mentioned to the players about, do you remember. When you were a kid and getting autographs and stuff and, and they made it a big deal of, you know, our guys sitting there and, and being available for autographs and things like that, you know, and I thought that because the Dodger baseball has always been.

Family oriented. Right? I mean, even when you went back to the Macor, so the reason, I mean, obviously it's a huge place, right? LA's a huge place and a huge market, but even when you go back to, um, the O'Malley's owning it, it was all about family, you know? And, and if you look it's those. You know, that family that took their kids.

Now, the kids is, are grown and now they're taking their families and so on and so forth. And it, and it's a family. Uh, passed down through generations of Dodger baseball, you know, and I think that's why so many people are proud of Dodger baseball and such Dodger fans. And, you know, it was, it was always cool for me even out here.

And I think you had it because they had Vero beach, um, , you know, you had Brooklyn and then you had Vero beach, you know, I'd run into older people and they, oh yeah. I, you know, I've always been a Dodger fan back in Brooklyn, you know? I mean, it was just always been, you know, uh, a family tradition almost type deal,

Rusty George: so makes sense.

Yeah. And that, that kind. Plays perfectly in LA because of the Lakers and their family tradition. Mm-hmm uh, with the bus family a little bit more of a mess right now, but, uh, mm-hmm we need your help over there. okay. So I wanna tee you up to talk about an organization that, that you're very passionate about and some mutual friends of, uh, of ours, uh, run this great organization called refuge.

So, uh, tell us a little bit about them and what they do to try to assist and help out, um, women, uh, specifically.

Marty Lamb: So I'm on the board of directors for, uh, a national organization called refuge for women. And it's basically the, the simple fact of we're just trying to. ladies out of human trafficking, sexual exploitation mm-hmm and we've got locations across the country.

We've got seven locations. Um, we have long term housing that they can stay, um, from 90. Or excuse me, nine months to a year in this long term housing. And everything's taken care of for 'em, um, from housing, food therapy, counseling, medical, dental, whatever they need is all taken care of for, for them. Hmm.

And, um, we've got long term housing in north Texas, south, Texas. It originated here in Kentucky with, um, Ken, Michelle, Frank, who you were referencing, both friends of ours. Mm-hmm and, um, they started at about 13 years ago and we've got long term housing here. We've got it in Chicago. We've got it in Las Vegas and we've also got a, uh, house in Southern Cal.

Mm. So, um, along with that, We've got transitional living. So once the girls go through the year long program, they can now transition into, uh, housing that, you know, it's not, it's structured, but it's not as structured as a long term and they can get out. Um, we've got emergency housing. That's in Kentucky.

Um, we're opening up one in Louisville and we've got one in Pittsburgh as well. So if. We were to get a lady off the street tonight, we could, um, immediately bring them to, um, the emergency house. And get them sort of stable, um, and they can stay at the emergency house from 30 to 60 days. Again, everything's taken care of for 'em and the hope is that, you know, they would want to transition into the long term, uh, program from that.

But it's a, it's a non-profit faith based, you know, there's a, um, you know, a, a faith based curriculum that they have to go through and mm-hmm , um, You know, there's Bible studies and they, you know, different things. We'll have volunteers come in and do Bible studies with them and, and that kind of thing. And then we've also, um, started, I guess it's probably two years ago we started a thing called survivor made so that we could employ the ladies and they can work different.

Like when they first start out, they might work once a week and, and, and. They might, you know, transition to a couple times a week or three days a week. And then the transitional, once they get into transitional living, they can come and, uh, they can work full time with survivor made and we're doing. You know, it's candles, it's leather goods, totes and purses, and, and that kind of thing.

Um, earrings and the one, there's a bunch of cool things about that, but one of the things. You know, one, some of these ladies have never had a job before. Mm-hmm , you know, just a regular job. So now they're learning job skills and how to interact with people and what it takes to work a job, but then the confidence level and the self-esteem and everything that they're learning through the program.

Now they get, and they're working with cyber survivor made and now they're turning out candles or they're turning. A beautiful leather purse that they've sewed themself and the confidence level really goes through the roof when they're able to do things like that. Um, so it's a really a neat program. I mean, obviously these girls have been in, you know, some very rough situations.

Um, but they're when they go through the program and what we've seen. They're not all this way, you know, but a lot of the stories on the, when they come through the program at the end, I mean are very successful and what, what they had started at to now where they're at and, and you know, their, their love for God and love for Jesus and, and, you know, understanding that.

They're worth what their worth is in God's eyes. Mm-hmm , you know, I mean, I think that's a huge thing for them that, you know, a lot of 'em or some of 'em didn't feel like they're worthy at all, you know, and to, to teach them look you're worth in God's eyes is. Tremendous is huge, you know, and them understanding that.

And so we've just had a lot of the, actually the first girl that, um, graduated from the program years ago is now coming back and she's gonna be working with survivor made and doing sales and different things like that. So the whole thing has, um, You know, it's come for full circle, I guess, you know, and the other cool thing about it is I, I think, you know, running a nonprofit and trying to make ends meet and trying to do things like that is tough.

You know, mm-hmm, , um, they have a book out of sort of the history of refuge for women and, and all that. And it, to me, it's just amazing how. Every step of the way God's been there, you know? And when things look bleak, when things like, you know, we need money when we, we need, you know, somebody left a position and we've gotta find somebody how God has always been there for us and for them.

And. Made it happen, you know, and that is really cool to me of, yeah, he's, he's there every step of the way with us and yeah. Um, and to see. Yeah. And I, and, and I think it's amazing, you know, he has to be proud of the work that's going on and, and all the volunteers and workers that are serving all these ladies and, and, uh, it's pretty.

Yeah,

Rusty George: well, I've known some people that have been through it, and I know some people that help run it as you do as well. And it is incredible work. So thank you for being a, uh, on the board for them, but, uh, a champion for that as well. And we will get more information, uh, in the show notes as well about what they do.

So Marty, thank you. You bet. Rest as. As I told you before I'm from Kansas. So that makes me a Royals fan, but I've always, , I've always felt like the Dodgers were the Royals of the national league, cuz they have similar uniforms. So, uh, I got nothing, uh, but, but good will towards the Dodgers. Uh, so hopefully they win again because we're not winning for another.

30 years. So, uh, when

Marty Lamb: are the Dodge, when are the Royals coming to Dodger stadium? Eh, well,

Rusty George: it'll be a few years. They were there a few years ago and it did not go well. So, uh, yeah, hopefully they'll be good again, by the time they come back. Thank you for your time, Marty. All the best of you and the Dodgers and your

Marty Lamb: family.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Rusty George: Well, thanks so much for listening as always leave a review and we will read it on the air and we're gonna draw for a winner at the end of summer, give away a great gift to you. So make sure you check that out. I would love to have you be a part of what we're doing here by leaving us a review next week.

We're back with brand new content, and I'm gonna give you another way that I've messed up in our third episode of How I Broke This. This should be a lot of fun as we talk about my failures always love that. So, can't wait to have you back next week. Make sure you share this with a friend and thanks so much for Stadia, sponsoring this. Stadiachurchplanting.org. As always: keep it simple.

Narrator: Take a moment and subscribe to the podcast so you'll get it delivered every week. And subscribe to the Rusty George YouTube channel for more devotionals, messages, and fun videos. Thank you for listening to Leading Simple.