Guard the Yard: Akil Baddoo of the Milwaukee Brewers

Small Town Dicks

In this episode of Guard the Yard, Yeardley Smith sits down with Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Akil Badd::to discuss his journey through prof

Key takeaways

• Akil Baddoo was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2016 at the age of 17.
• His mother served as a foundational support system, acting as his 'project manager' and instilling confidence.

Main topics

• Professional baseball career
• Family influence and upbringing

Notable quotes

If I have a backup plan, I'm going to focus on what my actual plan is in front of me.

Conclusion

The episode provides an inspiring look at how a disciplined mindset an

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:02) Hey, Small Town fam. Hey, it's Yardley. How are you guys? I hope I don't have to tell you that you all are my first and most beloved podcast family. And because of that, I wanted to invite you to check out this new thing that I've been working on. It's a new show called Guard the Yard, where I sit down with professional athletes of all stripes and get to know the person behind the game and their stats. Of course, don't worry. Small Town Dicks is still here on this feed, going strong. Nothing changes with that. This is just an opportunity for me to bring you along on another journey that I'm really passionate about and that I honestly think you're going to love. So the Guard the Yard episode you're about to hear is with MLB player Akil Badu. You're going to want to be friends with Akil after you hear our conversation. He is the loveliest human and we had the best time getting to know each other. And I chose this conversation because it so beautifully captures the tone and the feel of what we're getting up to over at Guard the Yard. Of course, if you enjoy the episode, I'd love it if you'd subscribe over on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Honestly, it would mean the world to me. And that's it. Thank you, Small Town Fam, for giving this new adventure a chance. And let's do this. If you checked out this episode with Akil, then pop on over to the Guard the Yard Instagram page and leave a little baseball emoji in the comments of our most recent post. That way, I'll know you came from Speaker 1 (1:49) the Small Town Fam. Speaker 2 (1:50) All righty, let's do this. Here's my conversation with the wonderful Akil Badu. Hey, everybody. It's Yardley. I'm so happy you're here with me on Guard the Yard. Today, I am super excited that I get to sit down with Akil Badu, outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. I loved this interview because it's so much like a conversation. Akil is incredibly funny, incredibly open. You'd think that we'd known each other forever, but in fact, I had just met him when I sat down with him. But that's how warm and welcoming and easy to chat with Akil is. There's so much to this interview, from him talking about his love for his Trinidadian culture to the fact that he's an expert rollerblader. What? I had heard he was a really great bowler on top of being a great baseball player, but he's an even better roller skater. Okay, you need to teach me that. You're going to love this interview. It is so full of joy. So let's get to it. Speaker 2 (3:04) Akil, you hit left. You bat left. Do you throw left, too? Speaker 1 (3:10) Yeah, I throw left. I'm a natural lefty. Speaker 2 (3:12) You're a lefty. So you're like, you're kind of the secret sauce. Speaker 1 (3:17) That's what they say, right? They say they give out scholarships for left-handers, you know, for lefties. So, yeah, I like to consider that pretty cool. Speaker 2 (3:25) Yeah, yeah. Speaker 2 (3:27) When I get to have the privilege of sitting down with you guys, I like to start with your early life. Speaker 1 (3:33) So we're going to Speaker 2 (3:34) go sort of back to the beginning-ish. Speaker 1 (3:36) Take me back. Beginning-ish. So Speaker 2 (3:37) you were born in Silver Spring, Maryland. Speaker 1 (3:40) Silver Spring, Maryland. I was actually, Speaker 2 (3:42) I was raised in Washington, D.C. Oh, Speaker 1 (3:44) wow. Speaker 2 (3:44) Yeah. Speaker 1 (3:44) So we're neighbors. Speaker 2 (3:45) Yeah, we're neighbors. But then you moved to Conyers, Georgia when you were about four years old. Speaker 1 (3:49) Yeah. Right? And Speaker 2 (3:51) when I was doing my research on you, you've said that you're an open book. Speaker 2 (3:58) And that kind of vulnerability takes a lot of confidence and a comfort level with who you are inside and out. And so there's this lovely video that we were just chatting about where you bought your house in Atlanta, right? Your first house. Speaker 1 (4:15) First home. Speaker 2 (4:16) And you're showing it off to a video crew and your mom is sitting in the kitchen and she's at the computer and your mom says, I'm like his project manager. I'm his PR. I'm like his everything in some kind of way. But I'm also still the mom. Speaker 1 (4:34) And Speaker 2 (4:34) so my question is, would you say that that strong family foundation is what makes you feel safe enough to be this open book? Because that's a lot of responsibility. Speaker 1 (4:47) It is. I would definitely say it started from my mom and also my dad as well. A special shout out to her because, I mean, she was with me every step of the way. Right. So taking me to the games, taking me to every when I'm going to school, she's taking me to school. She's like and like intrigued on everything I do. Like she loves baseball. She just loves being a mom. Yeah. It loves being a part of my life. So. Growing up, she always telling me she would instill that confidence in me when I was in the young age, like saying like, hey, you got it. No one's better than you. Like, realize that. Constantly reminding me that. And then as I got older, like now that I'm older now, I always laugh and I tell her, I'm like, I thank you how hard you were on me and like how you just shaped me the man I am now. And I appreciate you for everything you do because. It's showing, like, dividends for, like, now that I'm older and I'm able to maneuver through this crazy world that we live in. So I do give a lot of props to her because she definitely paved the way for me. I Speaker 2 (5:48) love that because I did read also that she was pretty strict. Speaker 1 (5:51) Yeah, she was a little strict, but she also played back. She was, I mean, I was a little hard-headed back when I was young, so. Speaker 2 (5:58) Really? What a surprise. Speaker 1 (6:01) I was a little hard-headed back in the day. You can Speaker 2 (6:02) tell by the way your mom says these things about being a project manager and your PR. Your mom exudes a sureness and a confidence that is clearly a bedrock, really a foundation part of who you are. Speaker 1 (6:21) She is. Just the Speaker 2 (6:22) way you interact in those few seconds in that video is pretty great. You can actually glean a lot of information from that. Yeah, yeah. She's Speaker 1 (6:29) involved. Speaker 2 (6:29) I'm curious, what's your favorite childhood memory? Speaker 1 (6:32) Favorite childhood memory? I think it was the first time, part of my first home run. Speaker 2 (6:43) Tell me about that. Speaker 1 (6:44) My first home run. How old are you? I was five years old. Shut Speaker 2 (6:48) up. I was young. Oh, my God. I was Speaker 1 (6:50) hanging out at the park at a young age. Not to blow my horn. But, yeah, I think I was five years old. It was my, I was, at that time, I was playing this organization called RIBA. And it's not a travel ball team. It's just, like, recreational or whatever. And I remember my mom was like, yo, like, it's your first day. Like, good luck or whatever. And I'm like, I remember being so nervous. And it's like regular coach pitch, nothing crazy. But like I was also like when I was raised growing up, like I was more like a natural. Like I just kind of came out the womb knowing what to do. Like just knew how to throw a baseball, knew how to hit a baseball. So it was kind of like a natural, right? My dad didn't really play at a young age, but he just knew the game of baseball so well. How did he know? And Speaker 2 (7:33) he loved Speaker 1 (7:33) it. Speaker 2 (7:34) From watching it? Was he a huge fan? He was Speaker 1 (7:37) a huge fan of Yankees. Speaker 1 (7:40) He'll tell me about all the greats back in the day, Derek Jeter and Pete Rose and all these guys and Tony Gwynn. All you do is put your nose down and hit it and run like hell. And I'm like, I got that, Dad, but it's 2026 now. You got to hit the ball in the air. It's harder than that. It's harder than that. It's not just that simple. Yeah. Right? So, yeah, and he always, like, collected baseball cards, right? Like, so he just loved the game of baseball. And so I just, my mom, she's Trinidadian. Speaker 1 (8:09) She actually, I'm sorry, I'm going off the limb a little bit. But she wanted me to play soccer when I was younger, right? Because that's kind of like part of the culture and that's what we kind of do. But I remember I was at Ryban. I played my first game. I was nervous as heck. And first pitch I seen, kind of like the big leagues, kind of how that's crowded full circle. But first bitch I seen, I hit it over the fence. I mean, I was screaming. And my mom was like, yay, I told you you could do it. I'm like, oh, wow, this is kind of easy. That's Speaker 2 (8:37) incredible. When I Speaker 1 (8:39) was young, I was like, yeah, this is easy until you get older. You're like, it's not that easy. Speaker 2 (8:42) And you replicate that, right? Speaker 1 (8:44) Yeah, I did. That's the hard part. Yeah, exactly. Speaker 2 (8:47) So you had four brothers growing up. And that's a lot. That's just a lot of cats to wrangle, five of you. Speaker 1 (8:54) Yeah. Speaker 2 (8:55) How? Does your mom wrangle five? Where are you in the lineup? Speaker 1 (8:59) I'm in the middle. I'm in the middle. So yeah, two older brothers, twins, and two younger brothers. So I was kind of like that one. I was like being raised like by myself. Like they kind of had, the twin had their other twin and my other brother's only a year apart. So they were kind of close, but so I was kind of like. on my own, people say like, you're the favorite child because you were privileged because you were by yourself coming up. And I'm like, nah, not like that. It doesn't work like that. The younger ones were, but not me. Speaker 2 (9:25) Interesting. You're the outlier already. Yeah, already. Speaker 1 (9:28) Exactly. Speaker 2 (9:29) Yeah. So I read that your father introduced you to baseball. Is that so? Was it love at first pitch? I mean, you're already hitting a home run at age five. Not Speaker 1 (9:39) at... you brought up my dad in baseball. I'm just starting to remember when I was young, I was outside in the backyard and my dad was throwing me like regular BP. Like he was like prepping me. I was like three or four at this time. Four. Speaker 2 (9:52) So no T-ball for you. This Speaker 1 (9:53) wasn't T-ball. I did play T-ball, but this was like in the beginning before he was about to set me up for baseball. So he's like, all right, we're going to see if he can actually play. So he's like throwing it. And then I remember I was in the backyard and I smacked the ball and I. bust the window in our house. And my mom's looking at us like, oh yeah, we signed him up. I remember that. I remember that was actually crazy. That's probably one of my favorite childhood memories right there. That's when I first realized I was like, okay, I'm Speaker 2 (10:20) gonna Speaker 1 (10:20) sign up for baseball. I Speaker 2 (10:22) was gonna like get him out of the fucking backyard so we don't break any more windows. Speaker 1 (10:26) Yeah, exactly. Get Speaker 2 (10:27) him Speaker 1 (10:27) to a field. Yeah, so we got, they signed me up right away and the rest is history, but. Yeah, I remember that. That was crazy. Speaker 2 (10:34) My next question was, when did you know you were different athletically from the other kids? Because everybody says from the moment they saw you throw and hit, they knew Akil is different. Speaker 1 (10:46) Yeah, I would probably say right then and there when I first put that baseball bat in my hand and my dad threw it Speaker 2 (10:52) at Speaker 1 (10:52) me. I was like, we're going to sign him up. And also when I was like around six or seven, I was just playing just at the RIBA. place, I realized that I was a little bit better than these kids, right? Just more, I was faster. I would throw the ball harder and, um, and I would hit the ball really far as well. Yeah. And I was like, hold on. I think I got something good going on. Yeah. Speaker 2 (11:12) And Speaker 1 (11:13) I just stuck with it and just stayed disciplined throughout the whole process. That's Speaker 2 (11:16) amazing. Speaker 1 (11:16) I Speaker 2 (11:17) remember when I was growing up, I, I knew I wanted to be an actor from a really young age, like five or six. And I started to do school plays when I was about 11. Speaker 1 (11:28) And Speaker 2 (11:28) I remember the first time stepping on stage in a play and getting a huge laugh, my very first line. And I knew that I was different when after that performance, I go out into the audience to say hi to my parents and everybody else's parents come up to me and say, oh my God, you were so great. Oh my God, you're so amazing. And it was so... There was just a way that they were, you know, giving me these compliments. I was like, this is different. Speaker 1 (11:59) This is so Speaker 2 (12:00) different. And then, you know, I was saying in an interview the other day with a lovely guy from the Cincinnati Reds, Will. Well, Benson, Speaker 1 (12:11) that's one of my good friends. That's one of my best friends. Speaker 2 (12:14) Oh, my God. He might be the nicest man I've ever met. Speaker 1 (12:18) And that's genuine. You can so tell. It's genuine. I Speaker 2 (12:22) just adore him. I've known him since I was Speaker 1 (12:24) like five. Oh, my God. Speaker 2 (12:25) Oh, my God. Well, he's from Georgia, too. He's from Georgia, too. Yeah. I Speaker 1 (12:28) got a lot of crazy memories with him, too. Facing him when I was young, he was like the hardest guy, the biggest guy. Yeah. I remember going up there scared because he's left-handed. I'm like, just don't hit me. Don't hit me. But yeah, that's one of my best friends there. Speaker 2 (12:42) We had the best conversation. And we were talking about, he said he knew he had been given a gift. Speaker 1 (12:51) And Speaker 2 (12:52) he said, it's a gift from God. And I said, I too know I've been given a gift. I really am just the portal. This ability to connect with an audience as an actor really has nothing to do with me. It's really how I feel. So I almost never spoke about it because I felt like... It was fragile and sort of every day I had to earn it. Speaker 1 (13:14) And Speaker 2 (13:14) so I recognized this from a very young age, realizing, oh, you have an effect on people with this thing that you do. When you do anything that sets you apart, whether it's academic, you're really good in math or science or sports, it sets you apart from your peer group. And the blessing is you get a lot of attention for that, but not everybody in your peer group is happy about that. A hundred percent. And so. That too can be really complicated. Did you, was there any of that sort of like, oh, Akil's just showing off, like people who weren't necessarily happy that you had this natural ability? Speaker 1 (13:50) Yeah, you definitely, that's something you have to separate because I feel like at a young age, people talk about you have to show so much humility and be so humble. And I was always raised that, yes, you have to be humble, but. also be confident and sometimes people can confuse that, you know, and I'm kind of a person that's out there and Extrovert like I'm always talking giggling. Yeah Speaker 2 (14:16) getting Speaker 1 (14:17) everyone together and everything and People always think I'm like showing off and I'm like I gotta stay true to myself Right because everyone knows that my heart is genuine is pure and I'm a for everyone and I'm a team guy So just knowing who you are I think helped me. And like I said, I had a great support system, right? My parents. And just trusting in the man upstairs, just knowing that, hey, I gave you this gift. Take advantage of it. Speaker 2 (14:44) You know, I grew up myself. I knew when I had done, given a really exceptional performance, but that feeling of satisfaction was fleeting. Speaker 1 (14:58) It Speaker 2 (14:58) was literally, it would last like 30 minutes. to an hour and then then then there you know sort of the noise in my head would would sort of start to take over and so it's taken me a long time to recognize it's all right to Take credit for the things that you do well because you've worked hard for those things. That's Speaker 1 (15:19) true. Speaker 2 (15:19) And it Speaker 1 (15:19) sounds like that's— Do you get nervous when you do those stuff? Speaker 2 (15:22) Oh, God. You know what? I was nervous to sit down with you. I really was. I really— I was like— Because here's my thing. I want this to be as special for you as it is for me because I love this. I love getting to know people who do anything at the highest level. Speaker 1 (15:41) And Speaker 2 (15:41) because I've done this research on you, you're so much fun and there's so much to talk about. And I want to be sure that you're glad you came. Speaker 1 (15:51) Oh, 100%. I definitely am. I'm a huge fan as well. I Speaker 2 (15:54) get nervous. Speaker 1 (15:55) So I'm nervous too. I'm a huge fan. Speaker 2 (15:58) Oh, you're so lovely. Okay, good. We can be nervous together. When do you realize you have so many successes at such a young age? When do you realize you can go pro? Speaker 1 (16:13) I think... Speaker 1 (16:16) I think it starts up here. And I knew mentally when I was six years old that this is what I want to do. And no one's going to tell me I can't do it. And the people who do and tell me that, I'm like, all right, I'm going to show you I can. Right? Yeah, Speaker 2 (16:32) I do know that. Speaker 1 (16:33) Yeah, I consider it like a challenge kind of thing. Like, okay, you don't think I can do it? All right, I'm going to show you. Speaker 2 (16:36) Watch me. Speaker 1 (16:37) Yeah, kind of thing. So I feel like I just, that mindset I always had, like at such a young age. So when I was first playing at 7'8", and I was a late bloomer as well. Right. So I didn't have that much attention like coming up in high school until my senior year. So then that's where it just kicked off and it just took off from there. So it's the mindset. I Speaker 2 (16:56) wonder, I have an older brother and he's not in show business. None of my family are in show business and he's very successful in his own career. But I have a hunch, even though he's never really spoken about it, that there is. I know people ask him about me. Speaker 1 (17:15) And Speaker 2 (17:15) was there ever a feeling with your siblings where, Akil, I think it's very unusual to know what you want to do when you're five or six and then you end up doing that, right? Like how many boys grow up going, oh, I want to play pro ball, but less than, I don't know, 0.1 % actually do it. Speaker 1 (17:35) So Speaker 2 (17:35) was there any sort of, I wouldn't say competition, that's the wrong word, but was there a like, a feeling of akil kind of lucked out he knew what he wanted to do and now he's doing that thing with your siblings because i'm sure they get asked about you and then i think sometimes as a sibling you can feel like well what about me like i got my own identity what the hell Speaker 1 (17:58) i know that's that's definitely something i always wondered right because like you said like I was so for sure, like, baseball is, like, the only thing. And I used to hate when people, when I hate, my mom always said, don't say hate, say you dislike something. Sorry, Mom. Speaker 2 (18:20) Sorry, Mom. Speaker 1 (18:21) Yes. Speaker 2 (18:22) I Speaker 1 (18:22) strongly dislike. Speaker 2 (18:27) I won't tell. Speaker 1 (18:28) Yeah, yeah, please don't. Please don't. I strongly dislike this, as far as when we're talking about siblings and everything. When people say like, you need a backup plan, like you need a backup plan, fall back to this. What are you going to fall back to? I'm like, well, if I have a backup plan, I'm going to focus on what my actual plan is in front of me. So I always said like, yeah, oh, what's your backup plan? Oh yeah, I got a backup plan. But nah, this is my plan. If it doesn't work out, then I'll figure out after that kind of thing. And I just stuck with that mindset and was like, all right, that's going to work out in his favor. If it doesn't, I'll figure it out. Speaker 2 (19:05) We are Speaker 1 (19:06) kindred Speaker 2 (19:07) spirits, people. Because, of course, you know, being an actor has about as much a success rate as being a professional baseball player. Like, the failure rate is so high. I think you got so Speaker 1 (19:19) much props. Like, you guys are legit. Speaker 2 (19:21) We are legit. But, you know. And how you make us Speaker 1 (19:24) feel, it's amazing. Speaker 2 (19:25) Oh, I'm so glad. Speaker 1 (19:26) It's amazing. Like, I just, I think you guys are, like, the best. Speaker 2 (19:30) Thank you. It is my favorite thing. Speaker 1 (19:33) And I Speaker 2 (19:33) do feel like it's the thing I'm best at, you know, but similarly, you know, it's one thing to get there. How do you stay there, right? Yeah, Speaker 1 (19:44) for sure. And so, Speaker 2 (19:45) and I've had a lot of, you know, if not for The Simpsons, for many years, I didn't know if I could still be an actor because I did a lot of on-camera work, a lot of film and television the first sort of 15 years of my career. I've been doing it for 40, right? Speaker 1 (19:59) And Speaker 2 (19:59) then that really started to... sort of wane. And I was like, but at that point, I already had The Simpsons, so thank God. But if I hadn't had, I wouldn't, I'm like, okay, how do I support myself? How do you? And so many of the decisions in getting a job rely on other people. So much of that is out of your control, Speaker 1 (20:22) that Speaker 2 (20:22) no matter how good you are, whatever the flavor of the week is, maybe you're not it. And so. you know, many, many challenges. So I always feel enormously grateful that I have this job that I truly love playing a character that I absolutely adore. She is, she is, I mean, I would say Lisa Simpson's like the best part of all of us, you know? And when I, when I do Lisa Simpson for you and I say, Akil, this is Lisa Simpson, I get that. Speaker 1 (20:50) I like how you just put it out of nowhere. I love that. Speaker 2 (20:54) It's the best. You got to do that every once in a while. Pull that Speaker 1 (20:56) out. That's so good. Speaker 2 (21:03) Back to people saying you need to have a backup plan. People used to say that to me, too, because, again, the failure rate in show business is so high. And I exactly like you. Like, why would I have a backup plan? When I applied to college, I applied to Vassar, Northwestern, and Yale, and I didn't get into any of them. And people are like, where's your backup school? I'm like, why the fuck would I have a backup school? I don't want to go to a backup school. No, what? That doesn't even sound right. It doesn't even sound right. That Speaker 1 (21:30) doesn't come Speaker 2 (21:30) out of the tongue. No, I don't Speaker 1 (21:31) like that. So I Speaker 2 (21:33) didn't get into college. Luckily, I went right to work, like literally right out of high school. I got a job and I got these amazing reviews and then I went on to do other things. But to your point, the short answer is I don't care about a backup plan. There is no backup plan. And if it doesn't work out, I am scrappy enough to be able to figure it out. Speaker 1 (21:53) That's it. No backup plan. Speaker 2 (21:55) Yeah. So now we're going to move on to your going pro. Speaker 1 (21:59) You Speaker 2 (22:00) are drafted by the Minnesota Twins right out of high school in 2016, which is insane. I mean, it's insane, right? Speaker 1 (22:08) 17 years old. Speaker 2 (22:08) Yeah. I Speaker 1 (22:09) was a puppy. I Speaker 2 (22:10) mean, you still had to dry you off. Speaker 1 (22:13) It's Speaker 2 (22:14) crazy. Speaker 1 (22:16) That's wild. Yeah, no, I was young. I was very young. Speaker 2 (22:20) Really young. Speaker 1 (22:21) Yeah, I was. Speaker 2 (22:22) You play. rookie ball for two years, right? Which is one of the interesting things about baseball is that, you know, in the NFL, even if you get drafted out of college, because I guess you can't get drafted out of high school, you go right to the team. Speaker