 I'm Rusty Komori and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou Boys varsity tennis team for 22 years and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. This show is based on my books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game and it's about leadership, character, and creating a superior culture of excellence. My special guest today was the all-star baseball pitcher for the University of Hawaii baseball team and he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners and he's currently the general manager of ESPN Honolulu. He is Matt Apana and today we are going beyond sports. Hey Matt, welcome to the show. Hey Rusty, how's it going? It's an honor to be part of your show. Thank you for having me. Matt you've been you've had such an incredible career and we're so happy that you're the general manager of ESPN Honolulu but I want to go back to the beginnings of Matt. When did you start baseball and what is it about baseball that you love so much? You know that's a good question. You know I think it probably all started from my great-grandfather watching sports all the time and I just took the baseball playing baseball on the streets in southern California and it just grew on me and you know my dad and my mom obviously my family they supported me. I ended up going to Dodger baseball camps at the age of eight and yeah and then you know when we moved to Hawaii I just felt like there was so much opportunity here locally and going to Roosevelt it just I had some great guidance and great coaches and they just inspired me and one thing just led to the next so very very fortunate and yeah and like I said it just it became a passion. It really did for me. And Matt I remember when you played at UH and I mean you were awesome as our pitcher and what was some of the best things that you enjoyed playing at the University of Hawaii? No Russia I think one of the best things about playing at the University of Hawaii was it was about the people of Hawaii pitching in front of family and friends and all of our great fans that we have here. It was very motivating to get out and be able to pitch in front of huge crowds and at the same time become successful. You know you just really wanted to do so well for for not only my family but also for just the whole state of Hawaii. Then you guys seem to have some really great camaraderie and I know that you played you know for coach Les Murakami and he oh he's the legendary long time UH baseball coach but what are some things that made coach Les so great as a coach? Well you know it's funny because when coach Les first came to watch me pitch when I was at Roosevelt High School we were playing pepper and one of my teammates actually let go of the bat and it flew in the air and coach Les had the duck and we're all like oh my god coach Les you almost hit coach Les but to my point I think coach Les was just a huge icon for baseball for our baseball community in the state of Hawaii. One of the best things that coach Les did that now I realize is he brought this a lot of people together. There was he got he had a lot of support behind him behind the whole program in general and I think at the end of the day when I look back at coach he was a he was a big father figure. I get a little emotional on this because he said if you pitch for Hawaii you will be successful in Hawaii as a business leader or as a as a person that works for a company in Hawaii and that was so super true on on on what he said but to his credit he was a great planner he was a great visionary as a person as well so I really appreciated his guidance throughout the years of my younger lives. Yeah I've only heard some great things from you know past players that that had played on the University of Hawaii baseball team and and Matt I want to ask you how did it feel to be drafted by the Seattle Mariners? It was probably one of the biggest moments in my in my whole baseball career. You know I was hoping to go earlier but it didn't work out and when I got the phone call that night saying they're going to give me a call in the morning I was like great I'm looking forward to it sure enough their promise what they what they said they delivered and it was something that I wanted to do and move on and I was I was very you know very again very fortunate very blessed to have an opportunity to play at another level of baseball. What was the culture like with the Seattle Mariners organization at that time? Yeah the culture was actually really good um that's you know from that 90 say 95 98 years when they had King Griffey Jr. Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buehner they really established a strong winning culture at that time and I think a lot of that had stemmed from their minor league organization they had a bunch of great leaders and coaches and more or less this people person in the organization you felt it was a big ohana in that sense and you know obviously the coaches had tremendous amount of experience I was able to learn so much more about just the game of baseball and and apply more my attitude and work ethic to how far I went in the organization as well. So Matt what do you see as the biggest differences when you know you're transitioning from the college level to the professional level? Right I think it's really about growing up it's really about learning how to work harder um establishing obviously a great attitude you know setting goals some things I think when we're younger we don't really see that until we start getting in the mix of it it's very competitive I mean here here I am at you know barely six feet where you're going up against competition pitchers that you know are six five throw 98 miles an hour you know and I was throwing the ball in the low 90s at that time but what you have to do is you have to outwork people and you have to want you have to want to go somewhere and I think that's what I learned the biggest change was the drive that I established and the confidence that I that grew upon me I started to learn how to trust myself to be better at what I what I needed to do to be successful and and from that point on I really grew as a baseball player as a pitcher just as a person in general. So I like hearing these insights from you Matt and what what big life-changing event happened to you while you were playing professional baseball in Taiwan? Yeah you know we taught we touched upon it a little bit it was actually I had just finished my career with the Mariners unfortunately ended with an arm injury but I went on and I played baseball in Italy in that 98 season and then I actually went back to Italy to play in 99 and for unfortunate reasons I I left just because it wasn't really working out things have changed a little bit and I actually went to play independent ball in Schomburg Illinois from that point I actually got an opportunity under Hadeo Nomo's agents to go and play in Taiwan so when I got to Taiwan it was early August and the season in Taiwan doesn't end until mid to late October but it was in September and it was to this point at 1.44 in the morning and we were watching the Exorcist 3 now sitting on our couch and the couch was rattling or shaking and we thought you know who's trying to scare who but it ended up being we ended up being in a 7.6 earthquake massive earthquake and that really scared me I didn't know if I was going to live or not because the walls were crackling our our our building was um you know who knows if it was on the verge of falling or not but good thing it held strong but as a team we ended up going to the epic center as as we do you know being professional baseball players in Taiwan to give back to the community and to help these people who were no longer living in their homes or condos because it was there was complete devastation from from that 7.6 earthquake and having to experience that was very eye-opening and I share this story a lot because as we walked in you see buildings devastated flattened on the ground and here we are in our uniform tops carrying boxes of food for these people and when you get there you see people laid out on grasses and lahala mats and and then you see the military reserves I suppose that's who they were you know carrying dead body bags as well putting them in containers it was it was a it was a sight that I'll that I'll never forget um but it also was a very big life changing moment because you just felt how important life and family are to you especially when you're experiencing that at that time and I like hearing how how you and your teammates were stepping up to really help you know with you know giving food giving water to people in need there and I guess that's that's the positive thing is you can see the good in humanity when some bad disaster happens at times right yeah right I mean you don't think about it too but you know the the the source of water you can no longer drink that water because of disease you know people who knows how many you know people were were fatally hurt or just or had passed at that time and then you think about all that disease that gets carried through so you got a limit on on food as well as as as water and so you really almost have to fend for yourself and find whatever you know leftover food or or water you have in storage yeah things that you don't really think about until it actually happens and I didn't really think about it at this time as well because Taiwan is an island and you know we had tsunami watchers as well I mean I could just only imagine if a tsunami came and here I was or here we were just trying to get out into an open area in the street so nothing could come falling down on us geez so Matt I want to talk with you about ESPN Honolulu tell tell me about what you do with ESPN Honolulu yeah um you know I'm the general manager of the station um you know we have two we have two stations here we have ESPN Honolulu we have CBS 1500 so I oversee those two stations and in a staff of about 13 people also I oversee our sales staff as well and so I do tend to wear different hats and um and yeah I just think here at ESPN you know we have a very close knit sort of ohana as well and um and we do a lot of a lot of things a lot of big things for the type of staff that we have I would like to say that we you know we have a pretty good culture that that's surrounded by just people who who back and support one another up and work very hard at it so Matt you know social media has really changed how the regular tv news broadcasting is done as well as the newspapers how how has social media affected radio yeah I think you know that's a good question recipe because I think with ESPN Honolulu we're in a good situation just because we're so unique in the media market just being sports alone you know we have a great partnership with the university of Hawaii where we broadcast all the all the all the games all the major games you know obviously university Hawaii is the biggest show in town but I I think what we've done is we've pivoted and we've adapted to to enhance and to grow our our platforms in digital you know and I think with that we we're starting to really if that's if maybe if I back up that's an area where we've really started to pay attention to and I can only expect us to continue to grow and do really well with our followings the good thing too that I like about what we do with digital is we can take a digital podcast and edit it and also play it on air on radio so people can listen to that as well so we have a lot of flexibility doing what we do and it's a good mix of for our people who advertise with us how we go about creating engagement for our local fans here it just gives us a lot of flexibility just because what we do as a radio station but now also what we're capable of doing in the type of resources that are continuing to evolve as we move forward because obviously we want to get better at what we do it just it just creates that much more enhancement with an impact as a whole station well I I love listening to the sports animals radio show with Gary Dickman and Chris Hart now why do you think those two make such a great combination you know that's everyone everyone wonders about those two guys you know I think what they do is the biggest strength is you know they're they're they're like they're I like to call them like a married couple you know and you got Chris who's a lot looser on the on the sports side and I think he honestly does that purposely is to create that engagement and and that excitement and then you got Gary who's all about sports and stats and and tends to combat everything Chris says or does and so I think what that does is there's a yin and a yang yin and a yang that that's there that you know opposites definitely attract in this situation um yeah and they've learned to obviously learn to work with each other very well have grown together and and sometimes I guess my job is learning how to you know be able to make sure that they're they're getting along all the time all the time as well but I think what they've done though is they've done a good job of being consistent they've they've maintained their style their type of show during that that pm drive time and I think it's really paid off for them over the long haul yeah like you said consistency I'm they're so good at what they do and and also Bobby Curran I I really enjoy listening to Bobby Curran and why did why is he so successful yeah well Bobby I think he he really took off when he first got into radio and he's really established himself and been recognized as one of the the top sports casters in the in the state of Hawaii you know and and I think with Bobby you know he's always again it becomes what he delivers and and he's all about the local people and about delivering content and I think for his sake that has what's made him and built him to be as strong as he has been he's very influential he knows a lot of people and what his strength to me really is is his relationship building I think which has really helped him establish himself in the market as who he is um with his show and as a play-by-play analyst um broadcaster for both football and basketball oh without a doubt and he's so professional and um really really love Bobby Curran and Matt you and I met a few weeks ago for lunch and we you know we could talk forever and you have both of my books and what are some some principles that that really stood out to you in my books you know I gotta admit I think all principles and I'm honest being honest with you and I know I talked to you a little bit about this before the show those all keys are so critical to developing a champion um or just a great overall person as a leader whether it's in sports or business you know um and as I was reading each of those keys I reflect back as I was reading your book through my playing days and what I had encountered you know the environment you know having a pitch in high altitude cold weather extremely hot weather and or or extremely humid humid weather you and if you don't have the right mindset at play at a professional level you can get eaten up very quickly and so as a young professional baseball player sometimes those first goal rounds are not the most successful but you have to go back and and reflect back and look at you know your performance and figure out how to make adjustments you know and so next time when you're in adverse situations you know how to handle yourself a lot better and really it comes down to is just having the right mindset you know it's not having really that 93 mile an hour fastball you can still beat someone with an 88 mile an hour fastball you just have to be a lot smarter you have to be prepared but I loved all the all the all the components that you talked about obviously passion was another one you know and I fully believe that if you're going to be successful in whether it's in sports or in the type of business career that you have you have to have passion for what you do you know and I've seen it even here where it's it hasn't worked well for certain people because money is more important than success and I think once you can establish how to become successful I'm a true believer just I can baseball if you work hard you plan hard the the numbers are going to come the championships the stats are going to come well in this case revenue for the station will come good things are going to happen to those who work hard and have a good attitude about it instead of just thinking about this one thing and sometimes that's you know maybe that just that that that paycheck at the end of every two weeks I like that you like the book and and how you can see that those eight keys are so necessary for not just achieving success but to sustain success and Matt you and I have been on you know teams before whether it be in sports or business and we know what the leader or coach does that was good or not so good what do you feel some of the best leaders or some of the best coaches do you know I think one is is is they build a culture of having the right mindset you know they're able to explain it to people or to a team to get everyone on the same page have everyone have the same mission vision also preparation having a plan is critical as well you know and and I'm and I'm a believer on discipline as well but doing it in the right ways because it teaches you a lot about just in life in general you know but it also teaches you how to have the right mindset and I like to use the word mental toughness you know trying to establish mental toughness is critical especially when you're in adverse situations or even in the job environment when you know you're having to put out fires and you know you got to learn how to step back and not be so reactive as a leader and be able to understand and show more empathy towards you know your your players or your coworkers and and I think if you can show that caring attitude and leadership in that sense I think you can go a long ways and I think it's really about the foundation then about you know how much skill set you really have obviously skill set is important but if you don't have the right attitude the right work ethic mindset all that that we talk about it's hard it's hard to be successful I completely agree with you 100 Matt and how would you describe your leadership style as a general manager and that's a tough question to ask because I you know I mean I'm probably and it's probably my weakest point here is I don't really like to talk a lot about myself but no but I tend to look at things I don't like to micromanage for one you know and obviously I'm going to tell you that I'm always looking to get better you know and I think it's my work ethic and my attitude and my caringness towards people is what really gives me the strength to gain that respect from everyone else because I do my best to try to respect and to give people that autonomy especially our department leaders that opportunity to be successful and and to do what they need to do where I can just be there to provide that support and that guidance for them and it and it really comes down to communication I mean but again right we can all get better at communicating even myself you know there'll be moments during that day that you know maybe I go back and I reflect and man I wasn't a very good leader or communicated very well today or gosh you know I didn't really handle myself because I let someone you know kind of get to my nerves a little bit but I think as you can learn to make adjustments as a leader especially in adverse situations and and you continue to want to grow I think that's what strength makes you a stronger leader in whatever you do well you know the greatest leaders are always learning and that's what makes them even greater and Matt that's why you're a great leader I you have that awareness about you know always you have a constant striving for excellence and I love that about you and you as busy as you are you're also coaching some little kids in baseball what is it about what what do you like best about coaching these kids in baseball yeah I have a nine-year-old and a five-year-old and and as they're getting deeper in the baseball gosh I just only can imagine how much busier my schedule gets but what I really like about it is that I'm able to give back not only to my sons but to their teammates a mind a mindset that will help them become more successful I'm I'm always big on learning from failure and I think what happens is you see a lot of parents that yell at their kids for making mistakes instead of helping them understand why they made that mistake and at the at the end of the day if my son makes a mistake we're going to talk about it and we're going to be better from it because obviously no one wants to make mistakes and I think out of that whole thing it's not about really the fundamentals of baseball yes fundamentals are important but it's really about getting the right mindset for these youth so when they go on and become whether they play baseball or any other sport or just you know go on to college and and be successful in their careers they're able to understand and you know having that right mindset it's okay it's not it's it's okay to not be perfect you know as long as you keep pushing yourself forward right and so I think that's the biggest thing that I want to get across at the moment my nine-year-old is actually doing pretty good to be honest with you but it's my five-year-old that's going to give me challenges because one thing I do like is he hates to lose which I love but at the same time he's he loses his composure a little bit but again right he's only five years old but it's really that those little teaching moments that I love the most because it's going to help him just be a better person overall when it comes to you know you win with grace you lose with grace right totally agree and and Matt you know as besides that devastating earthquake that you experienced and besides coven what's a what's a big adversity or challenge that you've dealt with that you overcame in your life yeah the biggest thing was probably my arm injury well and um you know as I reflected back on some of the information that I was that I was putting together for you um you know I was nearly ready to get called up into big leagues in 96 and it was actually in um in 97 was when I hurt my shoulder and I tried to pitch through it but it just I just I just couldn't sustain it and and when I went down that was devastating mentally for me and it in effects it affected me for a while even after my playing days but um being able to come back through that whole process was hard because you just weren't the same physically and mentally you did what it just never felt right and so going through that whole situation but then being able to come back and still having that opportunity to play for a little bit longer and then having that experience to go to Taiwan and Italy to play professionally um that was that was a that was a huge comeback for me but at the same time when it all ended it stayed with me for a while because of my passion and love and all the hard work that I put into it um and so I look back to even after that and I reflect as much as maybe my early 30s it affected me for a good maybe four or five six years you know um but it made me a better person at the end of the day and I when I look back at it it was all meant to be for some reason and maybe that's why I'm in this in this place now you know so um there's always yet you look at those adverse situations and there's always something that's going to come out of it in the long run in a positive way I can totally see that how the physical and the mental part really affected you but Matt you know you you are a great leader and an even greater person and I want to thank you for taking time to be on the show today thank you Rusty I really enjoyed the time with you and I'm sure we can probably continue to the talk for another 30 30 minutes to another hour here but I really do appreciate your time and very fortunate to be a part of your show thanks Matt and thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii for more information please visit RustyKamori.com and my books are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble I hope that Matt and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs aloha