Welcome to the Music City Sports Report.
For today’s newsletter, I interviewed Matt and Jesica Beaty. I met Jesica in college while working on staff together for Lumination, the student-run news service at Lipscomb. Jesica’s husband Matt was a star baseball player for Lipscomb’s archrival, Belmont.
In 2019, following a four-year stint in the minors, Matt was called up to the Los Angeles Dodgers and immediately made an impact. During the past five years, Jesica has chronicled their journey through her blog Dreams and Seams, a truly unique and insightful blend of sportswriting and behind-the-scenes views.
I asked Matt and Jesica about Matt’s breakout year in LA, how Jesica balances being a reporter and being married to an MLB-er, the Dodgers collecting Nashvillians, the Battle of the Boulevard, and more!
Here is a transcript of our Q&A edited for length and clarity:
Q: Matt, you had your breakout season with the Dodgers last year. Has it hit you yet? Is it still surreal?
Matt: Since we’ve had more down time with the offseason and especially with what’s going on now, I’ve had a little bit more time to soak it in and kind of remember what happened last year. It’s been nice looking back on last year, just thinking about all the hard work that was put in when I was a younger kid all the way through college and working my way through the minor leagues. Looking back on it for the past three or four months has been pretty cool.
Q: You’ve had your breakthrough season, you’re getting ready for year two, the season is just about to start, and then everything shuts down. What are you doing right now to stay game ready?
Matt: We took a little bit of equipment from our spring training facility at Camelback. We had a bike and these dumbbell blocks where you can change the weight from 10 pounds to 90 pounds. We just took some of the little essential things so I could continue to work out in the garage. Then about two weeks ago they finally let them open up the spring training facility, so I've been going in there for the past couple of weeks and hitting with some of the guys and one of our assistant coaches that are still out here in Arizona. We've just been working on our swing and throwing and keeping our arms in shape. Every now and then we'll hit some live at-bats off of some of the pitchers that are still here.
Q: Jesica, you've been a sports reporter for a long time now, and that takes a certain mindset when you're watching a game. It's not the same way as if you're watching as a fan. And then there's also the way you watch a game when you watch Matt play. So, what happens to that reporter part of your brain when Matt is playing. Is it still there or is it a completely different experience? Are you still thinking about the story of the game and other stuff that a reporter would?
Jesica: I don't know if I've ever really thought about this. I think we're kind of different, just because I've been with Matt for so long. I'm pretty good at separating the two. But I think I'm also someone that, not that I don't care what other people do in the game, but for the most part I am really just honed in when Matt’s up to bat or if he's playing in the field. I most tune into the sports reporter part of my brain when he does interviews, especially when he was first getting called up. Not coaching him through it, but not using the “player speak” when you can help it. You can't always tell the full story, but there are certain ways that a player can let people know that they’re a person, too. I think that's where, with my blog, I still see the sports reporter side in me. I'm constantly wanting to tell the story. We're unique because we're living it, and we can tell unique stories in that way, but also just explaining that side of it.
There were so many things we didn't know until we were living it. Especially through negotiations and things like that, you have no idea why the players are doing what they're doing until you are one and you are literally living it. That's where I’m at an advantage with my career- being able to have that perspective of it and understanding that it’s a business and there are two sides to it, but you don’t really see the players’ side unless you are one. I think things happen during the game and maybe I only notice it because I'm used to looking for those types of things. You know that as well, it's like we have this ingrained in us, and we grew up always loving sports. I can watch a game and see something I know that would be a good storyline or a good paragraph in the story or whatever it might be. But I don't even realize that that's the sports reporter side of me because I've always had that.
Q: You kind of dove into my next question, which is about your blog Dreams and Seams, which I think brings a super unique perspective because you're someone who on one hand is a sports journalist, but on the other hand you've got this inside view behind the scenes. How do you balance those two things when you're writing?
Jesica: It's hard. I've always been someone that wants to be super transparent. I'm also maybe a little bit naive when it comes to things; I’m pretty trustworthy. I like to talk to people and tell stories in general. After Matt’s first year in the big leagues and now that he is considered a big leaguer, especially in a huge market like Los Angeles and the Dodgers, I kind of learned the hard way. I say all the time that once Matt’s done playing I'm going to write a book because there are so many things that happen while he's playing that we can't really share, one- because it's not worth it and two - because it’s just personal and when you're playing, especially where Matt’s at in his career, you don't want to do or say anything that could jeopardize that. But the other side of it is I am a sports journalist, and that's all I know. I'm having to balance being a baseball player’s wife and wanting people to understand why decisions are made. Like last year when Matt kept getting optioned, it's not because he wasn't good enough, it’s because it’s a business. That part of it is a constant struggle. Matt’s agency is really good about holding me accountable, just always being mindful. If he’s still playing in eight years and he's been a big leaguer for that long and is established as a veteran, I can't say my approach will be the same. I hope it can be different in time.
A lot of stuff that I've even been able to share is barely scratching the surface. For a lot of people, there has never been anything out that they can read that has that side of the story. All that they think is there are these athletes that are making millions of dollars that have everything handed to them, and for the most part that is not true whatsoever. I try to scratch the surface with what I put on my blog, and to see the response of the people that come across it that either are a young couple like us coming into this life not really knowing what to expect and they read something that helps them, or a lifelong baseball fan that had no clue how the majority of this worked. To me, right now, that those are the two biggest things that I think are beneficial about sharing our story. We wished there was something like that out there when Matt was first drafted and we had no clue what we were getting ourselves into. Everyone’s story is different of course, but if there’s some point of advice or just somewhere to look to help someone know what might be the right approach or even just to realize you're in the same boat as someone else or someone else has gone through it. It's a constant balance of trying to figure out what's appropriate because it's not like Matt is just some random player that I'm having to write a story about. He's my husband. That’s what comes first at the end of the day.
Q: Matt - After the big trade this year the LA Dodgers have started to become the Nashville Dodgers. They’ve got you, Mookie Betts, David Price, and Walker Buehler. Is this something you guys have talked about or even thought about?
Matt: There is communication in the clubhouse. We obviously all have the Nashville ties, but Me and Mookie are out-numbered by Vandy. There's always some smack talk going on between me and Walk because while I was at Belmont we got them a couple of times. But, it’s really cool just to know that those guys are there too when we do eventually end up moving back to Nashville. Having these connections with those guys is going to be great. I know Mookie is currently building a house in Nashville, and I think that's something that we want to eventually do too. It's just fun to have those ties and familiar faces in the offseason if we do move back to Nashville.
Q: You’re the only Bruin in the MLB. How does it feel to fly that flag for Belmont?
Matt: It’s cool. It was between me, Austin Coley, Drew Ferguson, and Jamie Ritchie. And there are some more guys that we had in the minors, but those guys in our class were kind of competing to see who could be the first one in the MLB in a long time. We were able to go back to Belmont this offseason, and I got to speak at one of the banquets and talk to the team.
Q: So, speaking of trash talk between colleges, I have to ask - how did you two get through Battle of the Boulevard while in school?
Matt: Jesica won’t tell you this, but she was always cheering for the Bruins.
Jesica: That is not true! At the baseball games, yes maybe, but when it came to basketball I was full-blown supporting Lipscomb. They just never won when we were there, and it was not fun. We still kind of joke about that to this day.
Matt: Well, it is Belmont Boulevard.
Jesica: That's literally his only go-to.
Matt: My only go-to? I don't think we ever lost at baseball.
Jesica: As you can see, this is still something we agree to disagree on. When I was at Lipscomb I was either at the baseball games for Matt or I was covering the games, so I feel like I never really got to be a full-blown Lipscomb fan. It also doesn’t help that Belmont ties always keep coming up. Like when the Kershaws had their ping pong tournament and we met Brad Paisley - you can't help but be excited about meeting Brad Paisley, but then there's another Belmont tie.
Q: I have to ask about the most popular member of your family - Grainger - who has more than double the amount of Instagram followers that I have. How’s she holding up right now?
Matt: She's got a backyard that's her own for the first time ever, so she's enjoying the pool. She'll take little half-doggy laps around the pool just to cool off in the sun. Then she'll go sit in the shade and sunbathe. She's just running all over the backyard, so I think she's enjoying life
Jesica: We used to take her to the dog park all the time because we were always living in apartments, so that was her only exercise of the day. So, she's used to being around other dogs. We've had some friends come over a couple of times through all this that have a little dog, but other than that she's had no other doggy friend interaction. I think she's missing that, but for the most part she's living her best life. We've pretty much been with her all day long every single day for two months, which she is definitely not used to, so I would say she's pretty happy right now.
Links
The NWSL announced it will be the first pro sports league to return in the United States with a 25-game tournament in Utah. Due to the lack of a local team, we here at the Music City Sports Report will be Portland Thorns fans. They have the league’s only local product, Vanderbilt’s Simone Charley.
The NHL also announced it’s official return proposal. They are ending the regular season and going straight to a 24-team postseason. The 6-seed Predators will be facing off with the 11-seed Arizona Coyotes in the first round in a yet-to-be-announced Western Conference hub city.
How star UT swimmer Erika Brown is keeping her Olympic hopes alive by training in neighborhood pools.
Former Belmont MBB player Kerron Johnson is stuck overseas due to COVID travel restrictions. His wife Gina is in Alabama…and eight months pregnant. Pete Thamel interviewed Johnson.
As usual, some great stuff from The Athletic: a touching story on Jon Robinson’s daughter, a fun Preds alumni roundtable, a story on Christian Reid - who ran a one-man marathon for charity after the Country Music Marathon was canceled, a fascinating collection of quotes throughout the history of Vanderbilt athletics, and an incredibly informative Q&A with former Grizzlies exec John Hollinger.
The SEC Sidelines to Frontlines with Marty Smith did a feature on how former Vanderbilt MBB player Dr. Jeff Fosnes is helping the elderly during the pandemic.
Four players from local schools were named Collegiate Baseball All-Americans:
First Team: RHP Landon Knack - East Tennessee State, OF Austin Martin - Vanderbilt
Second Team: RHP Mason Hickman - Vanderbilt, C Hunter Goodman - Memphis
Several local athletes were named Indoor Track and Field All-Americans by the USTFCCCA: Tennessee’s Alexis Duncan, Latavia Maines, Alonie Sutton, Dominique Turner, Joseph Maxwell, Carey McLeod, and Darryl Sullivan, MTSU’s Kigen Chemadi, Jacob Choge, Brian Rono, and Jaquez Torian, and Memphis’ DeeNia McMiller.
Austin Peay MBB star Terry Taylor is returning for one more year with the Govs.
Lipscomb soccer player Olivia Doak and cross country/track and field runner Brent Leber swept the ASUN Conference’s Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year honors.
Northwestern transfer Jared Jones signed with the MTSU MBB team.