Can't Be Broken
Can't Be Broken
Michael Guerrero Proves Adversity Doesn’t Get The Last Word
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He’s a lefty college pitcher with First Team All-Conference honors and a Reliever of the Year trophy, but the stat line is only the surface. We’re joined by Michael Guerrero, a student athlete at Glendale Community College, to unpack what it takes to keep showing up when your body has given you every reason to stop.
Michael opens up about living with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), a rare condition tied to kidney failure, and what the warning signs actually looked like for him. We talk treatment, long recovery windows, and how setbacks can erase strength and endurance fast, especially when you’re trying to perform at a high level. He also shares the frightening reality of a mini stroke at 13 and an appendix emergency that taught him how unpredictable health can be.
From there we get into baseball mindset and real development: why he fell in love with pitching, how the underdog identity fuels his competitiveness, and what changed when he made the jump from high school baseball to college baseball. We cover the pressure to chase velocity, why mechanics and movement still win, and the mental reset he uses after a bad outing: slow yourself down, breathe, then get back to being a teammate.
If you got something from this conversation, subscribe, share it with an athlete who needs it, and leave a review. What part of Michael’s story hit you the hardest?
Meet Michael Guerrero’s Story
SPEAKER_01What up, what up, what up, and welcome to another episode of the Can Be Broken Podcast. I am your host, Sea Monster. And today I have a special uh person sitting in front of me that's gonna share an amazing story. Uh has a lot of value to offer in regards to overcoming adversity. Um the story's gonna be amazing. Uh I have in front of me uh sharing his story, Michael Guerrero. Michael Guerrero is a student athlete at Glendale Community College, specifically a pitcher, and specifically it has earned and earned this year that just ended. Um first team all conference. Uh he was reliever of the year. Um but Michael's journey to um into college and high school and throughout high school has come with some difficulty. Um at birth, he was diagnosed with ACUS. Ahus is uh what's called atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, uh, which is a uh boy got this at birth and it's a kidney failure. Um he's also had uh a mini stroke at 13 years old. Uh nobody knows how. Uh he's had his appendix removed and has had been in and out of the hospital several times. Um he is literally a miracle baby deriving from several medical issues and still bounces back and continues to grind, continues to grow, continues to get better, um, and not letting adversity um beat him. Um thank you for coming, sharing your story. Pleasure to have you. He's also one of my clients. Uh he's been for a while. The family's amazing, but welcome to the show, Michael Guerrero. Thank you, Caesar, for having me. Yeah. It's been it's been uh it's been a long time coming. I told you you were gonna be on the show, but I needed you to get through your year, remember?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I said, you know, you're cool, obviously. I like you know your work out here, everything's great, but we needed you to have that college experience, get there, have something else to share besides just hey, uh, you know, miracle baby, medical miracle baby, all these different things. But uh you've shown that all these things and adversities, not only did you play at the Lex level, but you got first team all conference and uh relief pitcher of the year. So um congratulations, first of all. Thank you. You know, uh I saw you pitch. Uh I it was a long inning that you guys were actually at bad. I think you guys scored seven runs, and I'm like, I got to see you pitch one and a half innings, I think it was. Uh, but you did amazing. Like you made one guy look like a like a fool. I don't want to say who that was and what school he came from, but um I've seen you pitch since high school, and uh what an amazing movement you have on your ball, velocity. Um, you've grown, gotten bigger.
Growing Up In Sylmar Baseball
SPEAKER_01Um tell everybody here a little bit of like where you grew up. Um and then at what age you started playing in uh baseball.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I I grew up in Silmar. I've been Silmar my whole life, um, born and raised. I've been playing baseball since I was three. Started playing at North Valley in uh Granada, moved my way up, played there for I want to say almost like seven years. Okay. It was it was a long time, and then I moved to my first travel team to play with the Black Widows, then moved to my last and only travel team with the Aztecs, where I um built a lot of friendships, especially with the coaches. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And then Aztecs was out of uh Chatsworth.
SPEAKER_00No, they were originally out of Alamaney. Oh, okay. And then we were moving everywhere, Alamady to see me to North Valley to Chatsworth.
SPEAKER_01And then you're a lefty pitcher. Were you a lefty hitter too? Are you a natural lefty?
SPEAKER_00I'm a natural lefty. Um my dad always tells me the story where I was a lefty, but then my coach switched me to righty hitter. Okay. But then the asset coach switched me back to a lefty. So I guess.
SPEAKER_01Can you hit both ways? Yeah. I thought you can only throw lefty.
SPEAKER_00But I only throw lefty.
SPEAKER_01And then uh at what age did you realize, like, were you playing different positions, and then uh were you pitching at a young age, or when did you become uh what they call a PO now?
SPEAKER_00I became a PO in high school. My sophomore year, I would say, freshman year, I was still hit and play outfield. Wasn't good, wasn't very good at all, but sophomore year.
SPEAKER_01Tell everybody a little bit of like um did you take pitching lessons and at what age did that start? Or like once you became a PO, you're like, okay, I gotta grind at this position to earn it and keep it and and make something of that position.
SPEAKER_00Um yeah, I I took pitching lessons. Um I started my sophomore year. Uh starting my sophomore year, I took pitching lessons with this guy named Josh Gusen Brown. He was at Valley, went to him for a long time, a long time until he ended up having to go coach minor league baseball for the Diamondbacks. Okay. Then moved to USC to be the student or the player development uh player. And uh I would do the pitching lessons. I realized that like pitching is the only thing I have now. I I have to take the spot, earn the spot, and keep that spot.
SPEAKER_01Very true. And obviously, you did earn it, and you did do it, and you did obviously people notice because you had a great year this year.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, and obviously you guys made play. Did you guys win the conference?
SPEAKER_00We did win conference.
SPEAKER_01Congratulations. Thank you. Yeah, it's a tough league. That conference is tough. A lot of teams. I know there's a north or a south or east or west division of that conference, is that correct?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's the southern and the northern.
SPEAKER_01Southern and the northern. And uh when you win the conference, do you win both or that southern or northern is a separate?
SPEAKER_00It's separate.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Who won the other side of it? Do you know? I think I think Alan Hancock. Oh, yeah. And then you guys just recently obviously went to playoffs uh on a on a heater game that obviously lost in like the 14th, 15th inning uh against Pierce College. Um but hey, you guys battled and had a great season, and you had a great season specifically. Um and that's what it's about, right? It's about competitiveness and whatnot. Um,
Living With Atypical HUS
SPEAKER_01let's begin a little bit of your story of like um from birth. Um we talked briefly earlier that your parents, uh, both parents have uh also ah, uh, but only a little bit or half of it, um, not fully blown, and they really have never experienced any symptoms. I think your sister and your brother a little bit as well, um, or your sister. Just my sister.
SPEAKER_00My brother's clear for it.
SPEAKER_01Clear. So and you have full-blown uh ah, which affects the kidneys and whatnot. And then um your parents have never had symptoms, but you have had these symptoms. Tell everybody a little bit of like what the symptoms are like, what it affects, what's the treatment and stuff. Um so we know a little bit more about the kidney failure that you've been diagnosed with.
SPEAKER_00I mean, it was more like the flu symptoms, you know, vomiting, um, pale skin, fever, weakness, um easy bruising and all that stuff. And then later on, I just realized I went to the bathroom and I started peeing out my own blood. Yeah. Like really dark, darker than like a Coca-Cola or a Pepsi. Uh I ended up telling my grandma, because I was at my grandparents' house at that time.
SPEAKER_01It can lead to death. Because kidney failure, if you have kidney failure, if you don't treat it, if you don't get it checked out, so if you start peeing blood and or something's going on, uh you have kidney failure, you can die from it. Yeah. I mean, I know that from uh from running, there's this thing called rhabdo, and it's just basically where you pee blood and um your kidney failure because your kidney's trying to process stuff. What it does, kidneys process the stuff and and turns it into energy or different things. So if you have kidney failure, if you don't treat it uh correctly for yourself, or if you're getting sick, like you said, and you have the flu, boom, the kidneys go to work, but now you have overload on your kidney because of AHUS. Yeah. Correct? Okay. And so then um you pee blood and and uh at one one instance where you're like, something's not right here, uh, which sends you to the hospital.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I saw the blood and I I freaked out, I panicked, and I drove all the way down from Santa Cruita to Silmar, picked me up, took me to the hospital, or took me to the Kaiser, and ended up saying, like, yeah, you gotta go to the hospital. So we all went to the hospital. It was my mom, dad, and I went to the hospital in Hollywood, and then I remember laying there, you're getting the IV and stuff. They're like, um, diagnosed to my parents that I have AS.
SPEAKER_01And then um, how long sometimes is the recovery for that? Like, you know, if you're building up, you're a student athlete and you're you're gearing up, you're doing strength recognition programs, you're on the field, you're pitching, all that stuff. What's the recovery like? What do the doctors tell you when you actually go to the hospital to come back and be you know ready to play and release?
SPEAKER_00The recovery is tricky. It's more of like you never really know. It's more how your body adapts to it and feels. Um it's like after I finished the procedure and I was in the hospital, I had to go to treatment. So I would go to treatment every other Tuesday with my mom. It's an eight-hour treatment, take uh seven-hour medication to get in my body, and then just an hour of fluids to make sure all the medication gets in my body. And those help me to relieve the the disease or make me feel a little better, at least helping out in a way. But it's like slowly getting into those things. Like you can't rush back into those things, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Right, no, no, you gotta recover, you build up again, and and obviously coming back here and stuff and working out and strength training, you've lost some muscle. You got, you know, um uh you've lost a little bit of like endurance and stuff. Uh and so then it's like restarting over sometimes a little bit for you uh when you are in the hospital trying to recover and stuff. Absolutely. It's a setback. Yeah, but you've had several setbacks.
Mini Stroke And Appendix Scare
SPEAKER_01I mean, uh you don't understand, and I don't understand. I'm sure a lot of people, you also had a mini stroke, which is weird at 13. I did. Uh, I don't I mean, I'm sure it happens, uh, but it's very rare that a that a kid at 13 has a mini stroke, possibly due to the AHUS or other stuff going on. Yeah, me. What do you remember what the doctor said or what was going down?
SPEAKER_00I don't remember anything. I don't know anything about that. All I know is I was at PE in seventh grade playing football, and then I did a punk kick, I landed, and both my eyes went black. Like my eyes were wide open, just went straight black, couldn't see anything, got taken to the hospital, took a photo of my brain.
SPEAKER_01I sure get older, we don't remember. Parents remembered a lot more stuff. Uh they don't want to go to school.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, supposedly. Yeah, mom didn't believe that I wanted didn't think I want to go to school. Um told her I had pain on my right side of the body. Lower took me to the doctor's, ran some tests, and they're like, Yeah, it might be the appendix. Had to go get looks at it. And they're like, Yeah, it was really bad. Like, I should be screaming in pain, not being able to walk, and agony and all that. Got the surgery, went home, recovered. Recovered again. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, yeah, man, that's a lot. I I've had one that's one medium meniscus. And um, yeah, let's let's see if you know, never broken a bone lock on wood, and let's see.
SPEAKER_00Same here, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, but never really been in the hospital for a major major thing, which is good. Um, I know a lot of people that that have. Um, and the recovery and sometimes paying medication and all these different things, and sometimes you're never really the same anymore, you know. Um, but you've had several uh medical stuff that we'll keep it simple to kind of the things we're talking about right now. Um, I know you play baseball and you're playing at the college level now and whatnot, and you started young.
Why Pitching Became The Path
SPEAKER_01Um did you play other sports and why baseball? Like why now baseball? Because you don't play any other sports, but if you played other sports, why did you choose baseball? Why did that continue to be your love? And and how did that uh start?
SPEAKER_00I did play other sports when I was younger. Uh I played soccer when I was younger, and just I don't remember anything again. Parents do. They always told me just I'd always run around in circles. Everyone's always chasing the ball, and I'm over here just in the corner running around in circles. So that was just um cross the name, move on to the next one. I played basketball when I was younger too. I I did enjoy basketball, but the in the classroom situation screwed me over not doing homework, and parents took me out of it as a punishment, and that's what they did. I played football too. Uh I played football for five years. I loved football. I was an outside linebacker. I loved hitting kids, and I was really small, really small, like really small, and I'm hitting these big guys, and I I just loved hitting them, and the coaches always get mad and be like, How are you gonna let this little guy punk you? You know? Yeah. But uh stopped playing that as a choice because of the brain. Didn't want to mess anything else up with it. So chose baseball.
SPEAKER_01Um your brother's small. Yeah, like your brother's small, but you're no you're no longer small. No big uh, you know, you're a big big boy in your guards too tall, and then you put on uh muscle and some muscle masks and whatnot. And so I look at your brother and I I don't think I knew you at that age. I think it was high school when you started coming home.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's my son. No. No? No, it was it was when I was in eighth grade. Oh shit. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Then if I remember, well, then maybe you weren't that small like your brother. Your brother's small, but he's growing. He is just needs to fill in a little bit, and yeah, that'll be he'll be fine though.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but he's more learning now and understanding like he has to put in more work and effort and eat healthier to build more of that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he's gonna want it. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? And uh I I know I've been doing this for a while here. Um there comes a change sometimes for whatever reason when they decide, like, oh yeah, this time. And and that comes internally, uh, and uh and I'm sure he'll have it because he's got a great brother like yourself and your sister who's older, who also played uh competitive um basketball in high school and at the college level. Um so uh and she's uh both of you guys, or all you guys have great parents that uh support you, which is the most important thing. Um why do you love baseball? Like what is it that you love about the game um and and uh what what it gives back to you?
SPEAKER_00Uh it's just something different when you're inside those white lines. Like when I don't I don't hit anymore. I don't play first base anymore, I don't play outfield anymore. But when I'm on that mound, it's just there's no game without me. There's no there's no strike call, there's no ball call without me throwing the ball. That's true. And I get to control the game, and that's what I love about it. I playing first base, you're you're standing, you're waiting, you know, um playing outfield, you're probably bored because the guy walked, the whole base is loaded, or nothing's hits you. But when you're pitching, you're in the game. You're you are the game in my eyes. You are the game. There's no game without you. You control the game, you control the runners, and that's I I love that. I love that. I love the atmosphere. I love how each team or the dugouts are all rowdy and all talking crap to each other and everything. I I love it. I just love people talking crap. I love talk crap.
SPEAKER_01Competitive, yes, competitive also. Like obviously, you're there. You like uh maybe finding out how you can get an edge on this hitter, on this person. Oh, this guy is batting for something, you know, hitter of the year, lead so on. So okay. I want to go against them.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Um, where did everything run out and whatnot? Uh
Underdog Mindset And Silent Leadership
SPEAKER_01how it started.
SPEAKER_00I'd say it started my senior year of high school.
SPEAKER_01Um you had a dominant year. I did.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I didn't. I wasn't like it seemed like I took too long to realize I gotta lock in, focus up if I really want to play. Like I love this game, but I gotta be better with it. And it took me till my senior year where I know I'm in control of the game. Like, screw everyone else. Like at the end of the day, I love my teammates and everything, right? But and all my friends, like if I play against my friends, like I love you guys. But if we're playing against each other, like fuck you, I don't like you, I hate you, I don't care who you are. Yeah, like I'm gonna you step up in a box and I'm gonna find a way to get you out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that's we're rivals right now. Yeah, I love you after others, we'll shake hands, but yeah, we gotta get after it.
SPEAKER_00If we're inside those lines, I don't know you, I don't care about you, yeah. And I I just stick to the business. It's it's stuck with me more so because I always felt like I was looked as an underdog. You know, I see the guys that were in my class, and it's like, yeah, these guys are very good, you know, but I feel like I was looked down upon. I was an underdog, and I felt like that my whole life. So it's like, give me an opportunity to prove all these motherfuckers. Being the underdog, I wants to hear the underdog story. No one ever believes it.
SPEAKER_01But that's the fire. That's exactly the fire that you know, I've been the underdog and whatnot, and uh that's the fire burning inside you that goes, okay, I gotta prove myself here. I gotta show you, and I gotta show myself if I'm worthy here, you know. Um the internal fire that you have to compete. You know, this is actually, let's go back real quick. That's that's why I hate right now when I uh some of these kids that come here and train, like go, hey, what do you got going on this weekend? They're like, oh, I have a friendly. I hate that shit. You know, they have friendlies, they play against another team that really doesn't count for like a tournament. Uh maybe in softball, that's what they say. I don't know what they say in baseball. Like we're just playing, but it's not a tournament. Everything from practice, when you're going up against somebody, you're the pitcher, I'm the hitter, or whatever that might be. Uh you ain't my friend right now. Absolutely. We're trying to get after it. Absolutely. So they call it a friendly, I'm like, oh, you have you have a scrimmage, let's just call it a game. It's still a competition, you know? Um, and it's nothing bad.
SPEAKER_00We're not trying to, you know, uh it can be practice and you're still going. I remember my my senior year, we would do um live A B's, you'd go like five batters, right? And I remember I would go throw my bullpen, walk in the dugout, everyone's all the hitters are right there, and I would talk to all of them, and I'd be like, Fuck you guys. And I picked on one guy, and I remember this. I picked on one of my closest friends, and I said, What pitch do you want? Where do you want it? I'm going to throw it there, and you're gonna miss it, right? And he goes, You know what? Screw it, give me a fastball middle. First pitch. I show a fastball, just swings, swings and misses twice, and he told him. I said, I'll give you that pitch. Yeah, this is the one pitch you're gonna get, and then I threw it, didn't hit it, so I'm beginning it again, didn't hit it.
SPEAKER_01It's just why why do you feel um that you for so long have have do you still feel like the underdog? And why do you feel that you were the underdog like before? You know?
SPEAKER_00I was feeling like I was the underdog, just because like people that I've grown up with have gone a lot more spotlight, you know, and they're good. They're great, you know. I'm not taking that away from them, I'm not calling them like I'm not gonna call them out, yeah, because I'm not like that, you know, but I felt like at some point where like my senior year, I was going like real good. Like I thought I couldn't get more and more and more, and I was expecting high expectations for myself, as everyone would, right? Yeah, and I didn't I guess I wouldn't say I ex I succeeded them, but in my eyes I did. But I just feel like the underdog, and I I don't ever want to change it, you know what I mean? Yeah, I love being the underdog in a lot.
SPEAKER_01You know, you're you're uh uh um you're not a uh hoo-rah-ra guy. Yeah, and what I mean by that is um you're pretty simple, dude. You come in here, you get your business done, you're not loud, uh boisterous, you're not out there, come on, dudes. Um you handle your business. And sometimes people like that, um, they get passed up by a coach or something because you know they don't get looked at, you know, because you're not out in their face. Yeah. Uh some of the underdog that could be like that. But I always felt like uh there's two two leaders. There's uh two types of leaders. There's the uh the guy that uh is is giving you um telling the team, let's go, we got this, you know, motivating them by their words, his actions, all that stuff. And then there's the silent guy who just leads by example, is on time every time, is the first one there, is paying attention, doing the right thing, putting the numbers up, um, but doesn't say much. And I think that's who you are. And unfortunately, sometimes, like, because that's kind of the guy I was, and I feel that's why I was an underdog, you get uh you don't get looked at as much. Um, even though you're putting up the numbers, and then when the numbers show it, then you get looked at, and you're and they're like, Oh shit. Know because uh it's like that back person the person in the back room who doesn't raise his hand. Like, what's his name? That guy, you know, he's in this class, you know? Yeah, but he's the one getting the ace. Yeah, you know, he's the one uh that's paying attention. While the front one trying to kiss the teacher's ass is raising the hands. My name is so-and-so, my name is so-and-so. You don't need you that's not the way you carry yourself.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But it it it was well earned, uh, not only in high school, but also and let's just say that you went to Chatterworth High School. I did. And then uh, which is a great baseball school. Um, and then uh obviously this year, earning all the accolades that you did. Um tell everybody a little bit about the jump from high school to to college and what the difference is um that you noticed and experienced uh in your first year of college.
The Jump To College Baseball
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so obviously all new coaches don't know the coaches. I mean, I knew my coach for four years at Chatsford. Going to Glendale, don't know any of the coaches personally on a personal level. Um I didn't go with a lot of people that I knew. I only knew like two guys in Glendale. And it's not even like I'm bestie besti with them. I just knew of them a little bit. Um, and it's just like you see all everyone, and you're like everyone's here for a reason. They all got choos chosen to be here. You know, it's like everyone's here is good, you know? And it's like you gotta remind yourself, like you're good and hard. Coach is that but you don't want to that's trying to stand out, you know, and you wanna just be there, get your work done. I think that's what I had to tell myself. And it ended up like I had to have a call in the c talks with uh my coach, and he was like, you gotta stop being overthinker, you gotta just be that, you gotta be that same guy you were at Chatsworth, be that same mental guy you were at Chatsworth, stop overthinking all that shit, just come here, get your work done, and move on. And that's what it had to be. I I ended up staying in my mind. I didn't pitch in the first two scrimmages before season, didn't pitch in the first um series, and I was like, man, like I feel like I might have to red shirt. I was about to red shirt, but it took till that third game when we played Mount Sack, and I got an opportunity to go in, went in, took care of business, left the field, and consistently sorry, keep saying my name, you know, kept able to pitch, and I just same thing, showed up, took care of business next day. Took uh all the cycle, it was just a cycle.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um wow, I mean, that's a great uh way of like keep going. Now you're you're you're thinking in your mind, I'm in a red shirt, possibly here. I'm not getting the opportunity, I'm in my head, all these different things. Uh, and then you kind of snapped out of it, kept pushing the year, first team walk off and clear. So that um from high school is a faster-paced game. Like, what are some of the differences? Not only like from school, right? Nobody, the alarm bells not ringing or anything, but like what are some of the differences that somebody's listening to this podcast can go, oh shit, I didn't know that. Or wow, okay, cool. I can learn from that.
SPEAKER_00I'd say that different thing from high school to college is everyone there cares about the game. Everyone's still playing because they love the game. You know, it's like everyone in high school is like, man, when's the season gonna be over? Like, I don't care about baseball, I'm not gonna play in college, you know. But these guys in college, like they're here for a reason, they want to play, so they're all their heads in the game.
SPEAKER_01So most of them I would say are trying to get to the next level. Absolutely. You then even extend that.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01And um, do you feel like the the I mean I I I believe that obviously in college, um everybody who's there, just like you said, is also part of the small percentage of people that were really good as well. Because now they're at the next level. So everybody's good, right? Um, how did that change your pitching at all, or did it just enhance it that you had to get better? Um, because obviously you can get these other guys out that, like you said, didn't have the mindset of plane after high school. Yeah. But everybody there now wants to be there. Some of them are 22, 23 years old, too. They're older, yeah, right? Because some of them are uh they they some of them are uh had gone probably to a four-year school and they came back or didn't have the grades over there, and now they're older.
SPEAKER_00Or injured and then coming. That injury.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. So many reasons, right? So how was that uh confronting them pitching?
Mechanics Over Velocity In College
SPEAKER_00It was like you uh you're always getting better, you're always gonna have to get better and keep going. And I think my problem in the beginning of the year was me overthinking my VLO. Like I was trying to force myself to throw harder and harder when I couldn't even probably move my body right again. And I've always been the type of guy to worry about mechanics. Mechanics is more important. I'd rather have proper mechanics, better movement, than throwing harder, because throwing harder is gonna get you so far. Like you throw 90, but those guys in the D1 level, that's batting practice to them. You know? But if you can hit your spots, if you have some good movement, if you have the confidence, which is a huge thing in college, you will be successful in in a lot of eyes. And that's where don't change what you are already succeeding on, like mechanics. I worked on mechanics the whole time. Like I overthought below how to get that out of the mind, throw it in the gutter, and the straight mechanics, mechanics, mechanics, talking title helps you succeed in mechanics and also moving your body right, training to move the body right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think uh you know, in in today's society nowadays, um everything everybody thinks Velo. I gotta hit in the 90s or above, you know, Song Till City. But uh the finesse of the game, the pitching, like the old Maddox pitchers, uh, the people that hit their spots, that keep people off the batters off uh uh off balance, you know, plays with their mind, throws them in, throws them away, you know, all that stuff is is um uh to a to a hitter, coming from a hitter's point of view, uh it's that shit is hard. When you see 90s straight down the pipe, meh, it's tiny. Yeah, you know, I'll catch up to it. Don't get me wrong, it's hard. But uh man, to get a to get a slider away from you and he's he throws you uh uh fastball inside and he throws you that cutter that goes away from you and you're swinging that you're like, what the hell is that?
SPEAKER_00All tunneling, all tunneling. Yeah, all tunneling.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Um you know looking back at some of the medical stuff that you've gone through and continue to obviously have, and this doesn't go away, AHUS doesn't go away, and you have a chance to pass it on uh to your kids, correct? Yeah, okay. Um, and and and continuing to battle with that.
SPEAKER_00Um learn going, but if given my you know if it were Tuck's grade to all the way to high school or whenever, like I would have told myself, just do what you need to get done, do the schoolwork, work hard, like you need to give 110% in everything, 110% in school, 110% on the field, in the gym, wherever you are. Because you get you can get really lazy real quick, you can get lazy really quick, and it's just like once you get lazy, it's like starting a motor, it's like a cycle. You're lazy, you start it up, you're consistent, you you see progress, and then you get back to lazy. You know, doesn't go away, doesn't go away, and it's like you have to take care of the business. And something that I personally regret like not taking care of business in the school, in the classroom, uh not listening to my parents when I was younger, um, and just not putting in hard work because now I look and like, man, I I think I could have been a good hitter, at least a decent hitter, if I really listened, tried hitting better, if I cared so much of the game like I do now when I was younger. Yeah. Instead of just taking it for granted. Because I love going to practice, but I love going to practice because I was with my friends. I didn't love going to practice because I was practicing, you know?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think you've you've uh I've told you, or I know I I've told a lot of people here, and it's something that my dad taught me a long time ago, which was whatever you do from taking out the trash to uh you know to cleaning the house to playing baseball to go to school, whatever you do, give it 100%. You know? When you go out there, you put the trash out, don't just half-ass it and leave it so that it may fall down if some wind comes or whatnot. Make sure it's secure, make sure it's out there that uh and and properly secured, you know, do the right job. Or else you might have to do it again.
Game Day Habits And Accountability
SPEAKER_01Right? Don't be lazy. You know? Um do you practice any daily habits or routines or things that you do either game day or just in general to uh help you be on top of your game?
SPEAKER_00Uh when it comes to game days, and I know I'm gonna pitch, I don't say like the only thing is I don't eat a lot. I don't eat like I'll eat because you gotta get some food in your system, but I don't like to eat a lot because I guess like a mindset thing, I I don't like to feel too heavy on the mound. You know, like I don't want to eat a fat breakfast and then be gassy. Yeah. Like leg lift, and I'm like, I have no balance or control of my own body. Right. So I like to eat just a little bit. I'll eat a little bit, and they have some snacks at the field, so I'll eat some of those. I'll eat like some milkers or a protein bar, but I'm not gonna go eat a whole steak and eggs like I do after a workout sometimes. I'll just go eat like waffles or an incrustable or something like that. Um yeah, I don't like to that's the only thing I'd say.
SPEAKER_01Um you guys obviously work out lift and stuff. You guys did that in high school as well, lifting days and whatnot.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the team would have their own. Uh we would have workout days, so we'd have either early morning or we'd have six period lifts, and then we go to practice. In college, we he's like, you know what, we're not gonna lift as a team. You guys lift as your own. If you really care about it, you lift on your own and you'll take care of that business.
SPEAKER_01It's not like you have to be here. This is if you want to be here, but you should want to be here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like I'm not gonna hold your hand and make sure you're doing it and be like, yeah, good job, great posture, and all that stuff. Like, I'm I'm trusting you guys, you guys aren't adults, go take care of fucking business at the gym, you know?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, and then they're longer days.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean, you're practicing at 12, I think, 12, 1 o'clock. Uh are you practicing sometimes?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we would like earlier year we practiced from 12. So you like if it was a normal Monday day, you show up to the field, you stretch, you know, and we stretch for like our own circle, our own personal stretches, or you want to do lacrosse ball and stuff, and then you got a band, people do plyos, or you do title tank, and then you go throw, and then either you have like you have to do some button defense, or you gotta do inside game and PSPs. Go shack balls or hold on. Go shack balls, or or we'll do our own workout. Sometimes we'll go on a scenic run, so we'll go a run around the city and stuff. Um, and then sometimes we'll have meetings too. So when practice is over, it'd be like, all right, go to the clubhouse, we're gonna have a quick meeting. We'll have a meeting for like an hour recap of the game we played.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's a lot scouting, scouting, all these different things. Is that mean all that is different from high school? Because high school, you go to school, get out at three, and then you have to practice afterwards for a couple hours, yeah, working on some stuff. Here's a process, yeah. I mean, you feel different too. You're traveling on this big old charter bus um at times, and then even then when you get to another level where you're traveling to Texas or Hawaii, you're going on a thing, you get stipend money, you know. So there's uh there's uh there's levels to everything.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's levels because everything in high school, everything's local, you know? And like when you're in college, like you're traveling to Lancaster, Bakersfield, San Diego, sometime San Diego, yeah, exactly. Uh County, Riverside County, Anaheim, all these spots, like you're traveling far. Like it's only gonna get farther and farther each level.
SPEAKER_01Each level, yeah. I mean, uh, yeah. Like I said, Hawaii, Texas, Oklahoma, um, UCLA, USC, San Diego State, all these different, depending on what you're what level you're playing at. Absolutely. Um, but you're traveling now and you're getting stipend money, all these different things. And then uh, you know, you're you're above 18. Um, and so you're making your parents can no longer go. You you gotta go see your counselors, make sure that all that's squared away. Yeah. Um nobody's holding your hand, nobody's telling you you gotta go to class and take care of business there. Yeah. Uh so a lot of accountability, a lot of responsibility. And uh, and if you're not doing that stuff, see you later. Yeah. You know.
Purpose, Gratitude, And Support System
SPEAKER_01Um what what uh what drives you? Like, what is your purpose, not only for the game of baseball, um, but in your life? Like, what do you see yourself 10 to 15 years from now? Um kind of like who Michael is?
SPEAKER_0010 to 15 years, I I don't know where I can see myself. Um my drive is like I just like to live every day with the purpose. Yeah. Um I like to live every day with a purpose because you don't know if you're gonna have a future, you know? Like whenever you when you experience like the amount of things I've experienced, you know, like near death experience multiple times on a you know, like you don't, you know, like I own a business, but you I guess as I don't like to think about the past because it's in the past for a reason. I just like to live in the present because like it's a blessing that I even get to be here right now, you know? Like it's a blessing I get to wake up every morning healthy, um, and just living.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, no, that's a great way to live. I mean, uh we all should obviously have a vision of something where you could be a purpose, uh, but live it in the present in the moment. Right now, we're doing a podcast, you're here, your full attention is here, um and vice versa. And so that's where we should be, you know. Um do you have like uh a favorite quote or a credo or something that you live by that uh motivates you that you look at every day, or say yourself, or something that just kind of drives you?
SPEAKER_00Um probably just the same thing. Don't worry about the past, don't worry about the future, just live in the present. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Um see how we got going down. Um obviously, uh like where you're at right now, whatnot, you've had a lot of help. You've had a lot of people uh in your circle um assist you um to get where you're at. Uh who are some of the people in your life um that you can give shout out to uh the better student, just my parents.
SPEAKER_00My parents could have that I always wanted whenever I wanted grades, bad attitude, damaging the house and stuff. And my parents could have taken me out of baseball, out of all sports, they could have treated me like shit, but at the end of the day, they push me through everything, you know, they helped me with everything and they still push me through everything. Like if I'm down, I'll talk to them and they tell me like forget about it, move on, or before game, like hey, you control the game, slow down and do this. So obviously, I had to give a shout out to my parents for just being so for putting up with your ass. Yeah, being so so wonderful and uh a legit blessing. Because my parents could have just stopped with me.
SPEAKER_01Let me tell you something. They're very proud of you. I know that. I sit there, I have them watch you. Uh uh, they glow every time they go see a game and and every time they talk about you. Not only you, but obviously uh uh Madison and little Dookie, uh which is Matthew, by the way. Um, but uh uh everybody, they're very proud. Uh and obviously shows they support you guys 110%, and your your siblings support you as well as you supporting them.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, especially at the field. Like my mom is the loud one, my dad's more of the admiring one. My dad will admire. My mom's like the cheerful, loud one. My mom, I don't really tell this to my mom, but my mom, like when I think about her and I see her celebrating when she's in the stands, I could be on the bench, I could be on the mound, and I hear her celebrating. It just gives me like flashbacks of Monsters Inc. of like that mom. That mom and it's our monsters university of that mom. It's just it's funny to me. But I I I'm so thankful for my parents, obviously, my siblings. You know, my brother is obviously a lot younger, doesn't understand a lot, but he still drives me. Like he makes me want to live every day to a purpose. My sister, I talk to her all the time. Um, she tells me she's so proud of me, you know, and I'm extremely grateful for just to have like all of them in my life and still even to be in their life. Like, I there's probably not enough words that I can express on how much I'm so grateful for them. Um I'm so grateful for high school and travel ball families that uh we've built, especially travel ball. Like I'm so grateful for my two best friends, their parents, their family, like they took me in when I was like I was their own kid. Like I was another kid to them. Yeah, you know, and it's it's extremely grateful to have them, my grandparents, my aunts, my ninas, my uncles, like all of them are all helping me. They all push me. Um my girlfriend also pushes me, you know, like yeah, she wants me to hang out with her and stuff, but she says no, you gotta get your things done. You know, because at the end of the day, she throwing a girlfriend.
SPEAKER_01You know, this thing is for life here, you know. She said girlfriend, she's she's on this podcast for good. It's fine, it's kidding messing with you, bro.
SPEAKER_00No, but but yeah, I I I I can't speak more than I can for my family. Like they though that's the inner circle, like that's the yeah, I I can't find words.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, no. I could I could tell it's it's a it's important, it has been. Um and I'm glad that you uh you you're here expressing love and support and and uh for them because I know they love you unconditionally. Um and I love them. They're the great people. I know them, obviously. Thank you. Thank you very much for coming here and training and having your family trust me, from your sister to your little brother and yourself. You guys um continue to come here, you know what I'm saying? So um I'm blessed I have been part of that journey. Of course, you grow as a young man still and continue to grow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm very blessed to have you. I'm very blessed to have every coach that's coached me and especially put up with my ass too. Yeah. Um, you know, like I can come here on an early morning and be like, man, I do not want to be here, but still put in my work, you know. And it might not be the best work, but I'm still putting it in, or there's days that I do, you know, and that's where I'm extremely grateful to have you keep pushing, you know, like especially sometimes when we're done, like you'll pull out a book, read something for us, inspire us, you know, early morning. Like we're not fully awake.
SPEAKER_01I know, I know. You guys uh are a uh a few. Wow, you know, because uh not a lot of kiddos that I know want to wake up early to get here. And for you to drag your brother out here, I know Dukey sometimes uh is like, oh man, why am I here? It's cold. Absolutely. But you know what? Uh it's a purpose that he'll learn uh as you have. Um you get in here early, you get out of the way, and then you have the whole day to you know continue to grow.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Do what you want now.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Take care of the business.
SPEAKER_01Or you want to take care of business, whatever. You're just done. Six in the morning.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh so kudos to you because I know a lot of kiddos don't want to get up better. I I'm an early morning person, but um just as you get older, I guess you have to wake up early. Um
Resetting After Failure And Adversity
SPEAKER_01what is what is what would you like to tell people that are struggling, um that have adversity in their lives right now? We all have adversity, obviously, but what would you say is the the advice that you can give people that are going through either medical stuff, adversity in any way, lost the parent, have had a bad have had a bad game, or anything that uh how to overcome that adversity, or what do you do?
SPEAKER_00Well, when I have bad games, I I'll mope about it, I'll be upset about it, but there's times and a place to do that. You know, like if the game's still going on, like if I'm pitching and the game's still going on, I just got taken out and I had a new great, like I can't mope around about it, I can't sit around about it, I still gotta be a teammate, you know? Like my job was being a teammate. I want to go pitch, I gotta be a teammate again. I can't just stop doing all that. So what I'll do sometimes is I walk to the bullpen, drop my glove, breathe in, breathe out, and I walk straight to the dugout and I'd be a teammate. Because at the end of the day, I gotta be that team player still. But what I like to do before I leave the field, if I do bad, I leave all of it on the field or in the dug or in the club is affect everyone else's day. My mom could have been at work. You know, I don't know what they've been through. I don't know if what they've been through. I can't put more negativity and more things on them. And I I know I still struggle. With that sometimes, and that's my problem. That's what always getting better. And I'm still trying to fix that. But I'd say like don't uh don't rush into everything so quickly, just slow everything down. Like close your eyes, breathe in. Just reset. Give the amount of time that you need to give yourself to feel calm. You don't need to do all this all this other stuff that you feel like makes you calm. Just you just gotta slow the you can't slow the world down, but you can slow yourself down. You know?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, slow your thoughts, slow everything down.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01You know, um that's yeah, that's no, that's that's so true. Take a deep breath and and slow things down. Absolutely. And think about what's going on. Um man, what uh what a great advice you've given. We've had a really, really good conversation. You've given kudos to so many people that have uh pushed you along the way and made you a better human being. Um Is there anything we haven't talked about that you'd like to bring up? Um,
What’s Next And Where To Find Him
SPEAKER_01you know, there hasn't been. I mean, we've talked about a lot. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um you have obviously, are you playing summer ball? I'm still not sure. That's something that I'm gonna talk to my coaches about. Okay. I mean, at the end of the day, I'm gonna trust my coaches with whatever they say because I know they're gonna help me get to the next level no matter what. Yeah. Um uh they I'm not sure, but we're gonna talk about it. It might be, if anything, like a temporary contract. Yeah. But season's over. I just want to take the week off, you know, recover the body for a little bit, but next week get back into it, you know. Get back into the lifting, throwing. Can't can't be too remember, can't get lazy, can't get into that cycle all summer long.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, you were here yesterday, right?
SPEAKER_00So um, that's good.
SPEAKER_01Um, and obviously we do a lot different things than lifting. We we have movement here, we have a lot of different things that we do here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think this has helped a lot to like help me move my body a lot better. Because I remember like coming in when I was in eighth grade, and that's the COVID time. Like, I'm sitting at home, I'm not doing anything.
SPEAKER_01That's right. That was the COVID time.
SPEAKER_00I'm sitting at home, I'm not doing anything. Um all I'm doing is eating, eating, eating, probably putting a fuel on. I know I did. I know I did. I see those photos. Um, but learning how to move my body better, and it's obviously helped. I think it's made me a lot stronger, not just like in the my muscles, but in my joints and everything. Um, I'm again extremely grateful for you, Caesar. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_01I appreciate that. I'll give you your money later for that. Um yeah, no, I appreciate you coming on the show. Uh I appreciate that uh a lot, obviously sharing the story uh to everybody, and especially those kiddos that are playing high school listening to this, not knowing what to expect, uh, you know, going to the next level. Um how can uh if you want to share your uh Instagram or social media handles to either uh people, uh, how can they find you on social media platforms to reach out?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, on Instagram, I uh my name is Michael.37.guerrero. It should be a picture of me pitching in some Glendo jersey lefty. Um feel free to look. Don't have to not feel pressure. It's more of like just posted things of me pitching or stuff like that. I'm more of a or working out. Yeah. Um just always grinding.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, always grinding, baby. Yes, you are. Um well, thank you for coming on the show. Thank you very much for having me. Yeah, no, uh, it was uh like I said, a long time coming. We had this discussion. I said, uh, once you finish your season, you know, and uh righteously so you earned relief picture of the year of the conference and and whatnot. So you earned all that stuff, and here you are sharing that story uh of overcoming adversity. Yeah. Um, so thank you for coming on the show. And I want to tell everybody listening to um just remember everybody we all go through things. Uh we all uh have catastrophes and overcoming adversities every day, and it's you can't.
