AngelsWin Today: AngelsWin.com Exclusive Interview with Angels Infielder David Fletcher

[AngelsWin.com]

Interview conducted by David Saltzer and Tres Hefter 

Who doesn’t like a blue-collar player? A scrapper. A grinder. The kind of player who leaves it all out there on the field and doesn’t get cheated in an at bat.

Players like that quickly become fan favorites. They make the team better than their individual stats suggest. Fans connect with them because in many cases, that’s the kind of player they wish that they could be.

In David Fletcher, the Angels have one of the best blue-collar players in the game right now. He is one of the toughest outs at the plate. He plays great defense at multiple positions. He leads off the game and sets the table for the heart of the order. He doesn’t strikeout often and gives his all on every play. He makes the Angels a better team whenever he is in the lineup.

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with David Fletcher to talk to him about the 2021 season, his thoughts on baseball in general, and life off of the field. We asked questions from fans that we received on our website, www.angelswin.com, Facebook, Twitter, and from our panel of writers. Along the way we talked about his 26-game hit streak (2nd longest in Angels history and the longest in MLB this season), what it’s like to play for his hometown team, watching Ohtani’s spectacular season, who the best Angels poker players are, and what he’s seeing in the younger players that are making the team.

Please click below to watch our interview with David Fletcher.

AngelsWin.com Exclusive Interview with David Fletcher from AngelsWin.com on Vimeo.

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[Chuck]

Great job on this @Dave Saltzer & @totdprods!!

@Hells Rainbow will like the answer to one of the questions we asked Fletch.

[totdprods]

It was a real treat - thanks to @Chuckster70 for setting it up, @Dave Saltzer for leading, the Angels for making it happen, and all of you for thinking up the questions.

Hoping there's many more to come.

[WicketMaiden]

Great content guys, really enjoyed it. Fletcher is such top bloke one can't help but root for the guy. His at-bats are must-see TV for me, simply ridiculous plate coverage.

[Chuck]

6 minutes ago, WicketMaiden said:

Great content guys, really enjoyed it. Fletcher is such top bloke one can't help but root for the guy. His at-bats are must-see TV for me, simply ridiculous plate coverage.

Thank you, @WicketMaiden 

Hey @Angels Over the Pond & @HaloSpurs you have a fellow bloke here on AW.

[tdawg87]

Thank you @Dave Saltzer for doing this. And thank you to @totdprodsand @Chuckster70 and everyone else who contributed to this. Great interview.

[John Taylor]

Thank you @Dave Saltzer, @totdprods and @Chuckster70 for this. Awesome to see!

[Chuck]

Also wanted to add that Saltzer is still battling a rare blood cancer and right after the interview he headed out for another round of chemo treatments. 

Please keep him in your thoughts & prayers guys & gals. 

[Slegnaac]

Thank you @Dave Saltzer and @totdprods for a great interview. 

Thanks @Chuckster70 for getting access.

[Chuck]

6 minutes ago, Slegnaac said:

Thank you @Dave Saltzer and @totdprods for a great interview. 

Thanks @Chuckster70 for getting access.

We have some more in the pipeline. Looking forward to being on these interviews myself after this one. Couldn't make it due to a gnarly work schedule before my vacation this week.

[HaloSpurs]

On 8/20/2021 at 1:45 AM, Chuckster70 said:

Thank you, @WicketMaiden 

Hey @Angels Over the Pond & @HaloSpurs you have a fellow bloke here on AW.

angels baseball taking over the UK 

[Torridd]

Nice job guys. Is it okay to say I have a mancrush on Fletch? I liked all that he said. You get the feeling he was genuine.

[Dave Saltzer]

1 hour ago, Torridd said:

Nice job guys. Is it okay to say I have a mancrush on Fletch? I liked all that he said. You get the feeling he was genuine.

Thank you. I've talked with Fletcher several times and that is exactly my take on him. He is genuine, real, and not that different now that he has success. He is truly the epitome of a blue collar player, which is why I think he is such a fan favorite. 

[Chuck]

If someone has some time on their hands I would love to get this transcribe from audio/video to text so I can translate it to Japanese for our large following on Twitter of Japanese Ohtani fans who want to read the interview. 

 

[Blarg]

There are voice to text apps out there. 

[Chuck]

15 hours ago, Blarg said:

There are voice to text apps out there. 

Yup. I'm on vacation however through this weekend. 

So yeah, if anyone has the bandwidth to transcribe the interview to text that would be amazing. 

[Blarg]

I finished working last night at 11pm. Back at it already and my first day off will roll around October 1st. 

[Chuck]

 

[FromJapan]

In June 2018 when the Angels promoted Fletcher to Major Leagues, there was an introductory article appeared in the Japanese sports media.
The outline is:
 Utility infielder with high batting average
 He's from Orange County, the home of the Angels
 Younger brother Dominic is also a baseball player

Reference:
"Baseball Channel" posted on June 15, 2018 (in Japanese)
https://www.baseballchannel.jp/mlb/49490/

Fletcher has become more popular in Japan this year, because Fletcher and Ohtani have formed a leadoff and bat 2nd combination of starting lineup.
Also, pictures of his wedding are well known.

-------------------------

Although the expression itself, blue-collar, is exist in Japanese just the same, "blue-collar" player, the color expression that represents the characteristics of players in this article, are not used for baseball players in Japan.

In Japan, we sometimes use the word "ibushi-gin", a color like antique sterling silver, for another type of the player. "Ibushi-gin player" means a veteran who is not flashy but has the ability to play an active role in important situations.

[Dave Saltzer]

22 hours ago, FromJapan said:

In June 2018 when the Angels promoted Fletcher to Major Leagues, there was an introductory article appeared in the Japanese sports media.
The outline is:
 Utility infielder with high batting average
 He's from Orange County, the home of the Angels
 Younger brother Dominic is also a baseball player

Reference:
"Baseball Channel" posted on June 15, 2018 (in Japanese)
https://www.baseballchannel.jp/mlb/49490/

Fletcher has become more popular in Japan this year, because Fletcher and Ohtani have formed a leadoff and bat 2nd combination of starting lineup.
Also, pictures of his wedding are well known.

-------------------------

Although the expression itself, blue-collar, is exist in Japanese just the same, "blue-collar" player, the color expressions that represent the characteristics of players in this article, are not used for baseball players in Japan.

In Japan, we sometimes use the word "ibushi-gin", a color like antique sterling silver, for another type of the player. "Ibushi-gin player" means a veteran who is not flashy but has the ability to play an active role in important situations.

Thank you for sharing this.