About This Episode
What is this episode about?
The episode "Guard the Yard: Akil Baddoo of the Milwaukee Brewers" covers a wide-ranging conversation with Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Akil Baddoo about confidence, resilience, and staying grounded through the highs and lows of professional baseball.
Akil traces his love of the game to hitting baseballs with his dad in the backyard, breaking a window before he was even old enough for Little League, and hitting his first home run at five years old. He credits the confidence his mother instilled in him for knowing from a young age that he wanted to play professionally, and explains why he never believed in having a backup plan.
He also opens up about the setbacks that tested that confidence, including Tommy John surgery, a grueling rehabilitation, the loss of his brother, and the uncertainty of what would come next. Journaling, meditation, and learning to control his thoughts helped him through those moments and prepared him for a historic start to his Major League career: a home run on the first pitch he saw, followed by a grand slam and a walk-off hit in his first three games.
The conversation also touches on handling failure in a sport where even the best players fail most of the time, staying connected to the joy of the game, and the importance of family, community, and his Ghanaian and Trinidadian roots. Akil shares why he opened The Fade Lounge in Atlanta, his plans to give back to his former high school, and his lesser-known talent for roller skating, before tackling the Last At-Bat rapid-fire round.
Hosts and release
Yeardley Smith hosts the conversation, and listeners looking for flere episoder af showet can find more athlete interviews in the same series.
