A quick inside look at the Nationals Circle of Trust, which jumpstarts each day

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article_body => "WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Flitting around to work on your own ended last Thursday, the first organized day of workouts for Nationals pitchers and catchers.<\/p>\nSeveral arrived in advance of their mandated report date. Some came to Florida weeks before they needed to. Max Scherzer was happy to abandon the chill-ridden District winter in favor of Florida heat. Anibal Sanchez, displaying his veteran smarts, lives in Florida throughout the offseason. He drove up.<\/p>\nEvery pitcher and catcher in big-league camp assembled at 9:30 a.m. for what has become a Davey Martinez staple: The Circle of Trust, a daily gathering which Martinez uses to set the tone for the day. It\u2019s on daily schedules the same way stretching and fielding drills are, an import that came with Martinez\u2019s hiring.  <\/p>\nMartinez provided the first tones of camp by stressing an importance of improving each day. Basic. Straight forward. Steady. Not long after, he turned center stage over to 46-year-old Robert Clifton Henley, better known as Bob Henley, the Nationals\u2019 spirit animal and third base coach.<\/p>\nHenley was born in Mobile, Alabama, and continues to reside in the state during the offseason. When asked, he\u2019ll say he\u2019s from \u201cLA,\u201d in his southern twang, which stands for \u201cLower Alabama\u201d delivering one of his favorite jokes. Recent home improvements at the Henley homestead include a man-made pond which provided a perfect landing spot for one of his sons following a self-launch off a backyard trampoline. Henley determined the process meant he had a \u201cgood redneck\u201d kid on his hands.<\/p>\nWhat follows is an oral history -- as much as one can be divulged and was audible to those nearby -- of Henley\u2019s rambunctious first-day Circle of Trust speech this spring. Martinez told him to bring the energy. The initial speech subsequently included Henley making fun of himself, claiming to be irritated with a theft of his coffee, as well as a surprise delivery of Valentine\u2019s Day balloons \u201cfrom\u201d newcomer Patrick Corbin.<\/p>\nDavey Martinez:<\/strong> \u201cAs you know, Bobby has an unique personality. He gets the guys fired up in the morning. It\u2019s spring training. It\u2019s early. It\u2019s 9:30 [a.m.]. I told him it\u2019s his job to get the guys up, get them ready for the day and bring that energy. Man, he does it every day. I know when I talk to him I get fired up. The players love it. Last year when I told him what I wanted him to do, he said, \u2018Are you sure you want me to do that?\u2019 I said, \u2018Yeah.\u2019 It\u2019s your job to get these guys fired up.\u201d<\/p>\nReliever Aaron Barrett:<\/strong> \u201cBobby was actually our [minor league] field coordinator when I first got drafted, so Sammy [Solis] would have been there, Matt Grace would have been there. Stras was probably there the year before. He\u2019s kind of always been that way. There were days when he would come in, he\u2019d be real soft spoken and he would mean business. There were other days where he would fire you up. His personality is fantastic. He\u2019s like family.\u201d<\/p>\nErick Fedde:<\/strong> \u201cOh, I mean, he\u2019s the man. Every time he talks, you really don\u2019t know what to expect.\u201d<\/p>\nKoda Glover:<\/strong> \u201cI can\u2019t keep a straight face with him. He cracks me up. He\u2019s hilarious. He gets to going and going and going. I can\u2019t help it. I start laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n[Henley steps into the circle, begins to howl, yelling, gesturing, moving around. He claims he had three coffees and someone stole one. Making this incident all the more egregious in his view is it being Day 1.]<\/em><\/p>\nPatrick Corbin:<\/strong> \u201cAt first... I haven\u2019t met him yet, so I wasn\u2019t really sure who it was there.\u201d<\/p>\nMatt Grace:<\/strong> \u201cYou come to expect it year after year, so it wasn\u2019t anything surprising. I still know he\u2019s going to do stuff like that and I still find myself laughing the entire time. And he called me out, too. Yeah. He called me out.\u201d<\/p>\n[Grace is dinged with faux outrage for selecting tea in the morning as opposed to coffee.]<\/em><\/p>\nGrace: <\/strong>\u201cHe didn\u2019t like that. I try to go the healthier route.\u201d<\/p>\n[Henley pivots to get an authentic point across, telling the pitchers to speak up if they have a \u201cburner\u201d or soreness during workouts.]<\/em><\/p>\nAusten Williams:<\/strong> \u201cHe was trying to keep it light. But at the same time, he was making points and trying to get everything squared away for camp. The message was all serious. The delivery, he added a little humor to it.\u201d<\/p>\n[Henley, always slathered in sunscreen for personal health reasons, screams, \u201cYou might wonder why is he wearing SPF 1000?!\u201d He goes on to announce, \u201cIf I can\u2019t see it, I don\u2019t trust it!\u201d]<\/em><\/p>\nFedde:<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s always good to laugh at yourself. It makes all the guys know that\u2019s the good mentality of joking around. Don\u2019t be afraid to make fun of yourself, but come together as a team.\u201d <\/p>\nTrevor Rosenthal:<\/strong> \u201cHe was getting after it.\u201d<\/p>\nCorbin:<\/strong> \u201cI was trying to figure out what was going on. Davey spoke. Then [Henley] stepped up and gave his little spiel there. When he said my name at the end, I thought I was going to have some lines or something to say. I thought he missed coming up to me before that and didn\u2019t give me a heads up.\u201d<\/p>\n[Lurking in the background throughout Henley\u2019s speech is \u201cBob the security guard\u201d, a short, gray-haired Massachusetts native who winters in West Palm Beach and is stationed outside the Nationals clubhouse door. He is holding five balloons.]<\/em><\/p>\n[Henley goes on to claim someone stole one of his three air horns, which makes him as enraged as he was with the theft of his coffee, and, presumably, Grace\u2019s tea consumption.]<\/em><\/p>\n[Bob approaches, balloons in hand, receives a stare down from Henley.]<\/em><\/p>\nCorbin: <\/strong>\u201c[The balloons] were from Patrick Corbin and the pitching staff and [Henley complained about] how I didn\u2019t spend some money to get him a real card.\u201d <\/p>\n[The gift is enough for Henley to forgive all prior transgressions; he announces it\u2019s 10:03 and apologizes for getting \u201ca little long-winded there.\u201d]<\/em><\/p>\nGrace:<\/strong> \u201cHe\u2019s awesome. They never get old.\u201d<\/p>\nWilliams: <\/strong>\u201cI thought the balloons was a good mix. I didn\u2019t even know what was going on. I thought it was hilarious.\u201d<\/p>\nRosenthal: <\/strong>\u201cI figured it was kind of his alter ego.\u201d<\/p>\nWander Suero:<\/strong> [Just starts laughing]<\/p>\nJeremy Hellickson: <\/strong>[Just starts laughing]<\/p>\nSuero:<\/strong> \u201cA lot of the young guys who don\u2019t know or new guys who don\u2019t know him are probably going to think he\u2019s a clown for what he did. But they\u2019re going to realize the kind of person he really is and they\u2019re going to embrace him because it\u2019s just part of his act to get them to relax and feel welcome.\u201d<\/p>\nCorbin:<\/strong> \u201cThe guys were just saying he\u2019s kind of like that a lot. I\u2019m looking forward to more moments like that.\u201d<\/p>\nJoe Ross:<\/strong> \u201cI wouldn\u2019t even say he recycles jokes. He comes up with something new it seems like every year.\u201d <\/p>\nHellickson:<\/strong> \u201cIt was all my favorite.\u201d<\/p>\nMORE NATIONALS NEWS:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Healthy Howie: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/nationals\/howie-kendrick-he-wants-everyone-know-he-fully-healed\" target=\"_self\">Kendrick feeling healed heading into 2019<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Shifting Focus: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/nationals\/phillies-manager-bryce-harper-reports-i-stopped-taking-it-seriously\">Phillies' Kapler not worried about Harper<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Pressure & Patience:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/nationals\/pressure-and-patience-key-words-upon-juan-sotos-arrival-spring-training\">Key words surrounding Juan Soto <\/a><\/li>\n<li>Opportunity Calls: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/nationals\/opportunity-convinces-davey-martinez-throw-aside-old-baseball-trope\">Davey Martinez throws aside baseball trope<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n"
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Nationals

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Flitting around to work on your own ended last Thursday, the first organized day of workouts for Nationals pitchers and catchers.

Several arrived in advance of their mandated report date. Some came to Florida weeks before they needed to. Max Scherzer was happy to abandon the chill-ridden District winter in favor of Florida heat. Anibal Sanchez, displaying his veteran smarts, lives in Florida throughout the offseason. He drove up.

Every pitcher and catcher in big-league camp assembled at 9:30 a.m. for what has become a Davey Martinez staple: The Circle of Trust, a daily gathering which Martinez uses to set the tone for the day. It’s on daily schedules the same way stretching and fielding drills are, an import that came with Martinez’s hiring.

Martinez provided the first tones of camp by stressing an importance of improving each day. Basic. Straight forward. Steady. Not long after, he turned center stage over to 46-year-old Robert Clifton Henley, better known as Bob Henley, the Nationals’ spirit animal and third base coach.

Henley was born in Mobile, Alabama, and continues to reside in the state during the offseason. When asked, he’ll say he’s from “LA,” in his southern twang, which stands for “Lower Alabama” delivering one of his favorite jokes. Recent home improvements at the Henley homestead include a man-made pond which provided a perfect landing spot for one of his sons following a self-launch off a backyard trampoline. Henley determined the process meant he had a “good redneck” kid on his hands.

What follows is an oral history -- as much as one can be divulged and was audible to those nearby -- of Henley’s rambunctious first-day Circle of Trust speech this spring. Martinez told him to bring the energy. The initial speech subsequently included Henley making fun of himself, claiming to be irritated with a theft of his coffee, as well as a surprise delivery of Valentine’s Day balloons “from” newcomer Patrick Corbin.

Davey Martinez: “As you know, Bobby has an unique personality. He gets the guys fired up in the morning. It’s spring training. It’s early. It’s 9:30 [a.m.]. I told him it’s his job to get the guys up, get them ready for the day and bring that energy. Man, he does it every day. I know when I talk to him I get fired up. The players love it. Last year when I told him what I wanted him to do, he said, ‘Are you sure you want me to do that?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ It’s your job to get these guys fired up.”

Reliever Aaron Barrett: “Bobby was actually our [minor league] field coordinator when I first got drafted, so Sammy [Solis] would have been there, Matt Grace would have been there. Stras was probably there the year before. He’s kind of always been that way. There were days when he would come in, he’d be real soft spoken and he would mean business. There were other days where he would fire you up. His personality is fantastic. He’s like family.”

Erick Fedde: “Oh, I mean, he’s the man. Every time he talks, you really don’t know what to expect.”

Koda Glover: “I can’t keep a straight face with him. He cracks me up. He’s hilarious. He gets to going and going and going. I can’t help it. I start laughing.”

[Henley steps into the circle, begins to howl, yelling, gesturing, moving around. He claims he had three coffees and someone stole one. Making this incident all the more egregious in his view is it being Day 1.]

Patrick Corbin: “At first... I haven’t met him yet, so I wasn’t really sure who it was there.”

Matt Grace: “You come to expect it year after year, so it wasn’t anything surprising. I still know he’s going to do stuff like that and I still find myself laughing the entire time. And he called me out, too. Yeah. He called me out.”

[Grace is dinged with faux outrage for selecting tea in the morning as opposed to coffee.]

Grace: “He didn’t like that. I try to go the healthier route.”

[Henley pivots to get an authentic point across, telling the pitchers to speak up if they have a “burner” or soreness during workouts.]

Austen Williams: “He was trying to keep it light. But at the same time, he was making points and trying to get everything squared away for camp. The message was all serious. The delivery, he added a little humor to it.”

[Henley, always slathered in sunscreen for personal health reasons, screams, “You might wonder why is he wearing SPF 1000?!” He goes on to announce, “If I can’t see it, I don’t trust it!”]

Fedde: “It’s always good to laugh at yourself. It makes all the guys know that’s the good mentality of joking around. Don’t be afraid to make fun of yourself, but come together as a team.”

Trevor Rosenthal: “He was getting after it.”

Corbin: “I was trying to figure out what was going on. Davey spoke. Then [Henley] stepped up and gave his little spiel there. When he said my name at the end, I thought I was going to have some lines or something to say. I thought he missed coming up to me before that and didn’t give me a heads up.”

[Lurking in the background throughout Henley’s speech is “Bob the security guard”, a short, gray-haired Massachusetts native who winters in West Palm Beach and is stationed outside the Nationals clubhouse door. He is holding five balloons.]

[Henley goes on to claim someone stole one of his three air horns, which makes him as enraged as he was with the theft of his coffee, and, presumably, Grace’s tea consumption.]

[Bob approaches, balloons in hand, receives a stare down from Henley.]

Corbin: “[The balloons] were from Patrick Corbin and the pitching staff and [Henley complained about] how I didn’t spend some money to get him a real card.”

[The gift is enough for Henley to forgive all prior transgressions; he announces it’s 10:03 and apologizes for getting “a little long-winded there.”]

Grace: “He’s awesome. They never get old.”

Williams: “I thought the balloons was a good mix. I didn’t even know what was going on. I thought it was hilarious.”

Rosenthal: “I figured it was kind of his alter ego.”

Wander Suero: [Just starts laughing]

Jeremy Hellickson: [Just starts laughing]

Suero: “A lot of the young guys who don’t know or new guys who don’t know him are probably going to think he’s a clown for what he did. But they’re going to realize the kind of person he really is and they’re going to embrace him because it’s just part of his act to get them to relax and feel welcome.”

Corbin: “The guys were just saying he’s kind of like that a lot. I’m looking forward to more moments like that.”

Joe Ross: “I wouldn’t even say he recycles jokes. He comes up with something new it seems like every year.”

Hellickson: “It was all my favorite.”

MORE NATIONALS NEWS:

Healthy Howie: Kendrick feeling healed heading into 2019
Shifting Focus: Phillies' Kapler not worried about Harper
Pressure & Patience: Key words surrounding Juan Soto
Opportunity Calls: Davey Martinez throws aside baseball trope