I recently interviewed Scott Patterson on my podcast, Thirty Minute Mentors. Here is a transcript of our interview:

Adam: Our guest today starred as a diner owner on the hit TV show Gilmore Girls, and now runs his own Coffee Company. Scott Patterson spent seven years playing minor league baseball, before embarking on an acting career that included an appearance in the greatest TV show of all time, Seinfeld, and founding Scotty P’s Big Mug Coffee. Scott, thank you for joining us.

Scott: Hi, Adam. Thanks for having me. How you doing?

Adam: I’m doing great. You grew up in the northeast, where local diners and love of sports are a way of life. Can you take listeners back to your early days and share some of the most formative experiences that ultimately helped shape the trajectory of your journey?

Scott: You know, the place I come from, you know, I grew up in a very nice suburb right outside of Philadelphia, in southern New Jersey, and it was just filled with doctors and lawyers in a town of less than, I don't know, 8000. At the time, there were 400 law firms in that town. And one main street, and, you know, everybody wanted their kids in that school system, because it was just so highly rated. And my parents, you know, saved and scraped by and all that to make sure that their children were raised in that town to be exposed to that school system. And I think that shaped me more than anything. You know, the school system imprints from, you know, obviously a very young age, five years old, six years old, you begin and the thing about the place where I come from is the nature of its competitiveness. I mean, it was just an incredibly competitive place academically, athletically. So you know, those two things combined makes for, you know, it crafts and it builds a certain type of personality and a certain type of individual to aspire to the highest in academics and get the best grades and be on the winning teams. And it was just, I just remember being super competitive all the time. And I loved it. And I thrived in that environment. And I think that that, more than anything, you know, set me on a course of, you know, wanting to go out into the world and succeed. And, you know, the building blocks were the school system of Haddonfield, New Jersey.

Adam: So what else can you say? You talked about learning the importance of competition at a really young age, you were a competitor playing minor league baseball. I don't know how many listeners know that. You are a legit prospect, you threw 95 miles an hour and pitched at the highest levels of the minors. You were teammates with Don Mattingly and Brian Snitcker among others. Can you talk about some of the best lessons you learned playing minor league baseball, and more broadly, what you took away from your time in the minors that has ultimately enabled you to become successful in what you've been doing since?

Scott: So, you know, that's a really great question, Adam, because, you know, I came into minor league baseball, and I was exposed to a whole different kind of person. There were kids in minor league baseball that came from the inner city who were extremely poor, or from, you know, country boys who grew up on farms, and, you know, kids from Texas, kids from Kentucky. So it was my, really my first experience being exposed to, you know, the world and America and what America really represented and what they really produced. And it was a tremendous education. And, you know, being surrounded by so many different cultures. I mean, there were players from Santo Domingo, The Dominican Republic, from Puerto Rico, from Venezuela. And it was just a fascinating sort of life lesson to learn Another language and learn to communicate with these people and become friends with them and roommates and, you know, become brothers in arms. The two things I want to say about minor league baseball, it taught me how to be a professional- what it really meant to be a professional employee, in whatever discipline you choose in life, and that is to, if you're in some kind of tiered system, where you're looking to be promoted, to not obsess on being promoted, but to really focus on improving your skill set. And that is a daily obsession. It must be your daily obsession, to be able to evaluate what you lack and what you need to improve and on how to go about improving your skill set. And if you do that, then you have a really good chance of success and a better chance of success than somebody who was obsessing over, you know, feeling passed over or why did I get called up? And why didn't I go to AA, you know, this kind of thing? It's really, you know, how to just sort of grow up and take responsibility for your skill set and how broad it is going to be. How effective is it going to be? And it takes a discipline, it does take a certain discipline, for sure. And my first year, I didn't really have that, but I got it over the winter, between my first year and second year. And I applied that work ethic to that profession. I was very, very, very successful. So I learned, okay, I have to change my lifestyle. I have to get to bed early, I have to wake up early, I have to do my running, I have to do this, I have to do my martial arts, I have to do my stretching, I have to do my strength training, I have to work on my slider, I have to do this, and how am I going to improve this stuff? And it just simply translates and it doesn't matter what it is. So I took those lessons into the acting training. And I thought, okay, well, this here's another profession, like they all are where you need to acquire a set of skills, and how do you go about doing that? So ultimately, even though I didn't make it to the Hall of Fame, you know, it prepared me for life better than and faster than maybe another profession that I entered as a 20 year old would have.

Adam: Scott, you didn't make it into the Hall of Fame, but one of the things that I love about your journey as a baseball player is that your baseball career was bookended by interactions with two of the greatest players in the history of baseball to Hall of Famers. So for listeners who don't know this, when Scott was a young pitcher with the Braves, he didn't have an agent. And he negotiated directly with Hank Aaron. Yeah. And then when Scott retired from baseball, there was this great story when Scott had a heart to heart with none other than Sandy Koufax. Yeah. And I wanted to know if you could share those stories with listeners, and what you took away from those experiences with people who served as mini mentors to you. And just to draw a distinction, something that I talk a lot about- the name of the show is 30 Minute Mentors- mentorship is a big theme, obviously, of this podcast, but what I believe very strongly in is a concept that I call mini mentors. You can have a conversation with one person ,one time, that can make a huge impact in your career or in your life. And I think these are two great examples. Can you share those stories with listeners?

Scott: These are great stories and seminal moments in my life. My second spring training with Atlanta, I was sort of slotted to go to high A ball in Durham, North Carolina, because I probably should have made that team my first spring training, but I ended up going to the low A ball team in Anderson, South Carolina. So anyway, I just wanted more money than anybody on the pitching staff at Durham, because I knew I was going to Durham and I never knew why I really did it until later in life. But I went into Hank Aaron's office, and I asked him if I could have a couple of minutes to talk about my contract. And he said, sure. He said, well, what would you like to talk about? I said, I want to be paid more money than the other starting pitchers on the Durham staff. And he said, you know, Hank is a very laid back, very gentle, affable guy. And he just sort of smiled at me and said, why would I do that? Why do you want to be paid more money than the other four pictures and I said because if you pay me more money, I'll assess my value higher, and I won't lose a game. I said, so I'll make a deal with you, if you pay me- and I think I was slated to make, I don't know, maybe $700 a month for four and a half months before taxes, or something- we’re talking minuscule amounts of money. But you know, it was a lot at the time and we're talking, this is 1981. And I said, I want to make $900 a month and he goes, my God, that's, you know, that's a big jump in salary. I said, I'll earn it. And I'll tell you what, if I lose the game in Durham, as a starting pitcher, but I take a loss, I'll give you back the money. And I'll go back to my back to what everybody else is making, which is around 700. And he kind of smiled again. And he must have thought, wow, this, this kid's got brass. But I needed it. Now I realized, and you know, many years ago, I realized why I did it. I just needed somebody to believe in me. I didn't feel like the organization believed in me enough. And I wanted them to believe in me. So I had to make a point of forcing that issue. And that's kind of why I did it. I didn't understand at the time, but that's why I did it. And he agreed. Hank agreed. And I went nine and oh in Durham.

Adam: That's awesome.

Scott: I was so confident. And I was in such great physical, mental condition because I was studying martial arts and I was studying the art of meditation and concentration. And you know, how to really phase out the crowd and the noise and just focus in on the catcher's mitt and phase out the hitter and not sort of get involved in any psychology with the hitter. But just sort of connect with my battery mate. I caught it. And it worked. So now it's being written up in the Atlanta Constitution. I was setting minor league records for Atlanta for most consecutive wins because I got promoted double 814. And as those 13, you know, to start the season, and I was kind of well on my way to Atlanta, and the next season. I was early in the next season, I got traded to the Yankees, and I put the brakes on everything. But that's a whole nother story. But I ended up- my last spring training was with the Dodgers. And I worked really hard in the offseason. And again, I didn't feel like I was going to get a shot there. Things went sour pretty quickly in spring training, I didn't get any real innings in a game. You know, he was open to everybody. His door was open to everybody, but you couldn't get in. I mean, it was just, I didn't feel like there was a belief there. You know, there wasn't support there. And I was kind of losing faith. And, and I started questioning in that spring training, whether I wanted to continue being a professional, and I had been questioning it for the last two years with the Yankees, and I thought this is a fresh start with L.A., I was very positive about it, I was very prepared for camp, and just didn't get a chance. And it just kind of made me realize that maybe it's time to step away, and I started having those thoughts. And Sandy Koufax became a friend. He was a roving pitching instructor and somebody I always looked up to when I was a kid. I mean, one of my idols, and we struck up a friendship and it had nothing to do with baseball. And we never talked about baseball, we talked about life. And we talked about many, many things. But we did not talk about baseball, and he had some very insightful things to say about baseball people. And he just kind of knew that I was done, and that I was heartbroken, and that I'd lost my love for the game and I'd lost my passion for it because I was tired of being, you know, not believed. And he made me realize that there was a big, beautiful world out there filled with opportunities. And to go get it.

Adam: You’ve got so much wisdom in the two stories that you shared, starting with the importance of not being afraid to seek the counsel of others, whether it's someone like Hank Aaron, who you didn't have a relationship with, but clearly was a legend in your industry and just a legend in American history, and having the courage to step into his office and say, I'm ready for this challenge, even though you weren't necessarily ready for the challenge, but it was a leap of faith and being willing to go in there and the fact that Hank Aaron, and the Atlanta Braves organization ultimately believed in you, gave you the strength to believe in yourself. I love that. And was Sandy Koufax; developing a friendship, cultivating a relationship that had nothing to do with baseball and then leveraging that mentor mentee relationship, to turn to Sandy Koufax at a true moment of need, and ultimately listening because you were able to really take the wisdom that he shared, and use it as a way to help you pivot from playing baseball to going on and becoming incredibly successful in the next chapter of your life. Can you talk about what drove you directly to pursuing a career in acting? You have been on this journey, you spoke about the journey as a minor league baseball player, but the journey of becoming a successful actor is not all that different in terms of the highs and lows, the ups and downs. How were you able to get there before ultimately landing that breakthrough role?

Scott: You're correct. It's a similar journey. There's so many other people involved in it and in my maturation as a baseball player, and as professional baseball player, Leo Mazzone being one, Hoyt Wilhelm being another, Bob Veal, all formed, not only how I approached my game, but life itself, and I applied all these lessons to acting. I retired, I walked away from the game, and I went to Europe. I'd never been to Europe. When I was in Europe for about a year and a half traveling around and never been anywhere outside the United States. So I started in the north of Germany, and I ended up in the south of France. And, you know, even in the Mediterranean and Italy and just wonderful experiences and wonderful people, wonderful places, I met an American couple, they were both acting students in New York, they live in New York, and I went and stayed with them when I left Europe and went into their acting class. And that's how it started for me. And I just thought, this is fascinating. Because I love to do research, I love to read. And acting requires both. It's a set of skills that you require. And it's up to you how quickly and how much passion and how much work you're willing to put in, you know, to make yourself into a good actor. I didn't know if I could be great. But I knew that I could acquire a technique. I had some natural fuel, I would say I think I was frustrated. And I was a little bit angry at how my life had gone. And was, you know, at that point, blaming other people instead of taking the responsibility on myself and to change myself. And acting did that for me. I can save my life. And it just gave me something that I could work at every day, and become better and better and better at and again, same principle as baseball; you have to surround yourself with the best teachers. You know, it's just a wonderful time, a really wonderful time of growth and discovery and I met some lifelong friends in New York. But I couldn't get that really prestigious Off Broadway roll or Broadway roll. And I was very frustrated. My teacher at the time, took me to lunch with a woman named Rita Gam and who was an old screen legend. But then a quarter of the way through the lunch Paul Newman showed up.

Adam: That's awesome.

Scott: Like what is going on here? So they talked me into moving to Los Angeles, they said, Listen, we think you have a chance to do something in the business. We know you're frustrated with New York. New York's very cliquey, you know, you didn't go to Juilliard, you didn't go to Yale, you didn't go to Tisch, this is a very clicky town. We know you're trying to get in these groups. We know you're trying to get off Broadway and Broadway, they said, but if you go to Los Angeles, you know, and they'd seen me do comedy. They said, listen, with your ability to do comedy, they're gonna, you're going to be able to make a living at this. And they were right. And, you know, I got Seinfeld, that changed everything. I got a Will and Grace, that changed everything. And it kind of led to, you know, The Gilmore Girls opportunity. So, but the thing that was different about acting is it was a lifelong thing. And I'd made the commitment to do it for life. And I didn't care if I was successful right now. I was being patient, and I was just continuing to improve and getting better at auditioning. I mean, I was so good at auditioning that I don't know about the three or four years stretch. I mean, I had so much confidence going into rooms. And that's what you need. And that's what you needed on a baseball field. You just needed that confidence that you knew you were going to go out there and do the job; that nobody was going to hit you. And if they did, it was an accident. It was a fluke.

Adam: And Scott that's applicable in just about any craft you're in. Preparation is everything. You win before you walk in the room. You win before you walk on the field, if you've prepared properly, so that's really the takeaway here. It's all about preparation. And Scott, that's relevant whether you're playing baseball, whether you're acting, whether you're running a startup company, which we'll get into, whether you're in the military, running a big business. I wanted to ask you about Gilmore Girls. What do you believe made Gilmore Girls the success that it ultimately became and at what point did you realize that you would be a part of this classic?

Scott: I auditioned for a guest spot in the pilot. Luke was originally just a guest star. But it bookended the pilot scenically. So we knew- my team and I knew- that it was a sort of a chemistry check with Lorelai. And from day one, I knew that it worked when the chemistry was there. But then it turned into something, you know, it turned into a six year deal. Why it worked... I think it worked because of many reasons. It created happiness. I mean, it was non threatening. It was a place where people could go and feel safe. And even before the pandemic, right? Obviously, in 19 years, people have been feeling safe. I was stopped in an airport in Austin, Texas by a guy who was in a sniper battalion in Iraq and served three tours and he wept and hugged me and said Luke and he got his SO on the phone. He said you're not gonna believe what I'm standing here with. And he said, what's going on, guy? He said, you don't understand, we go out and hunt for bad guys and come back to the barracks and watch Gilmore Girls, because we felt safe. They reminded us of America, the best America has to offer. And it made us feel so good. All the guys. And I mean, we sat down and wept. I mean, I'm choking up a little bit thinking about it now. It's a very, you know, happiness is a very powerful thing. And, you know, it worked for so many different macro reasons and micro reasons, you know? All these lovable wacky characters. I think the supporting characters, you know, the  Ted Rooney's, the Sally Struthers, the, you know, the Sean Guns, the Kirk's and the Babettes and the Mores and, and the Taylor Doziers- I think those characters might have been more important, definitely equally as important to the success of that show than any of the lead characters. I mean, they just provided such, well, this wonderful tapestry of emotions and comedy. Oh, my God, they were funny. I mean, being around Sally Struthers for the day, if you're working, it's just one of the great joys of life. I mean, she's a joy machine. I mean, just a wonderful cast of people. So it's really the quality of the people that involved that, that brought out the best in those characters. And it was just such a plethora of rich, vibrant, quirky, fun, harmless, friendly characters. And it was almost like a cartoon in that sense where you knew you were not going to get hurt in that space. And I think that's, you know, those are probably the main reasons.

Scott: Speaking of great characters. You did it. And you were, I mean, I actually teach a class at UCLA on leadership. And one of the topics we teach is negotiation. So if anyone isn't taking that class or hasn't listened to any of the podcast episodes that we've had that focus on negotiations, we've had Gary Messner, the chief hostage negotiator of the FBI, we've had Andi Sherman who negotiated the Iran nuclear deal. You don't want to engage in any of that content. You can just watch the scene with Scott, when he is negotiating with Elaine, and you will learn how to negotiate effectively. What are your favorite memories from your time on Seinfeld?

Scott: Yeah, I got it. That was really exciting being on that show, getting cast. And that show was a thrill, god, that was such a thrill. I think I'd already done a Will and Grace, which was really thrilling in its own right. But that Seinfeld audition. That was a Saturday. And I went into CBS Radford I think it was and met Jerry and I met Larry, I think Larry David was there. I'm not really sure- I think he was there. But I think Howard Shapiro, George Shapiro was there as well, one of the producers and read the scene with somebody. And Jerry kind of smiled. And he was sitting at a desk in the back of the room, and he had his feet up on the table. He says, he goes, you're very funny, man. I said, listen, coming from you, yeah, that's a compliment. And I got the job. And then I was on the set Monday and I was with, you know, and I was a huge fan of the show, too. I watched him. Seinfeld was my favorite show. I mean, I was hanging with George. It was just crazy. It was so much fun. I was so starstruck. I was trying to act like I belonged there but I had to. I couldn't believe I was there. And I remember, you know, Michael Richards gave me a box of cigars just because he's a great guy. And I had lunch with Jason Alexander, who's another Jersey guy, great, great guy, great guy. They made me feel so welcome. And they know, the thing is, is they know how nervous guest stars get. So their job is to make us feel comfortable, so that we can do our best work. So we don't feel intimidated by these, I mean, these are the best people in comedy. I mean, the skills that these people bring to bear are just spectacular. And so you know, you tend to over act just to try to impress them. It's like, you know, not a good idea. And Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a very, very skilled actress. Dramatic actress and a comedic actress. Very, very skilled. And those rehearsals were, I mean, I was so nervous. But you know, she put her hand on my phone, she goes, it's okay. I was thinking the whole time, they’re gonna fire me. Jerry is gonna go, hmm. You know, maybe he's not so funny. And I just remember, you know, we worked it out rehearsal, the little, little moves and the whole thing and I don't know, it just, it was surreal. It all happened so quickly. Then it was over. And you know, it was a couple days of shooting, and then it was done. And it was like goodbye, nice to work with you. And I didn't want to leave. So can I be serious? Somehow, and I don't know, it was just that it changed everything. When that came out people recognized me in the grocery store and on the street. Oh, I mean, it changed everything. It changed everything in my career. I was now a Seinfeld alumnus. And Seinfeld alumnus got special treatment in the casting world and Hollywood. Apparently, it was the hardest gig to get as a guest star and I got one. And you know, I was among this special, anointed group of people who managed to get a job on Seinfeld. And, you know, I got better meetings and more meetings and yeah, it changed. Absolutely. Very, very, very thrilling experience. For sure. Really fun.

Adam: Can you tell listeners about your new podcast?

Scott: Yeah, so the most exciting thing that's happened and in a long time is I was a guest on a podcast over at I-heart. And I really got on with the producer of that podcast. And recently, you know, within the last couple of months, I reached out to her, the producer, and I pitched an idea for my own podcast and we're about to close the deal on it. It is gonna probably launch Q1 2021 and I think Gilmore Girls fans are gonna be very excited about it. We're gonna have a ton of fun with it. And I'm very proud I'm really, really thrilled about it because it's my baby. And the producer and I are coming up with some, some fantastic ideas, she's got a lot of great ideas, and it's just gonna be a fun hour every week for fans to tune in and feel good and have some laughs. And I mean, we've got all kinds of things planned, I don't know if they're all gonna fly or make it on the podcast, but we've got a lot of ideas bouncing around, but it's gonna be a fun, fun, fun podcast. So look out for it on I-heart.

Adam: Awesome. Looking forward to checking it out. Scott, before we go, I want to ask you about Scotty P’s. And that's a big focus of yours right now and you're on the entrepreneurial journey. A lot of our listeners are entrepreneurs or are thinking about becoming entrepreneurs or are at least interested in the topic of entrepreneurship. What are your best tips on building and running an entrepreneurial venture?

Scott: Oh, God, don't spend money on consultants. Do not spend money on unnecessary PR marketing. And just have a game plan. And grow it slowly and execute and be great at customer service. And just provide the best product and the best experience at every touch point with your website and with your company and keep it simple. Just keep everything simple. Delivery is everything. I know everybody knows that. But you know, you really need to know that. And, and just, you know, make sure you have people in your office that are dedicated, that are passionate about it, that are really happy to be there. And don't, you know, don't be afraid to try things, you know, but think about the complications it's going to cause and the extra work that it's going to cause a very small staff. And just know that if you go into a crowded field, you know, how are you going to differentiate yourself? What are you going to do? Social media is a wonder. It just saves you so much money and time. So learning how to use that as a marketing and promotional tool is key as well. But just for anybody, if you have a great product or a great idea. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get it out there. Just get it out there and start selling. If you believe in it and it's a great product, it'll sell itself too. Don't get in the way, just let it let it sell. And if it ain't broke, don't fix it, you know? Don't change, you know, packaging is important. So, you know, just have your ducks in a row before you launch and be simple. And don't try to be too ambitious right away, not too many skews, and so on and so forth. And that's basically the entrepreneurial thing. Just give it time, be gradual with it, work hard and just give it time and there's going to be ups and downs. But, you know, you'll learn as you go. Could I say something about skiing?

Adam: Absolutely. And before you do, you absolutely can, before you do, I was just gonna say listeners can just go back and listen to those last couple of minutes and skip going to business school because that was awesome. Those were such pocketable tips for any entrepreneur. I was sitting there nodding and thinking that with each of my businesses, everything you said, Scott, is so applicable. So with that said, yes, I don't know how to ski. I am allergic to weather below 75 degrees. So that's the sad Valley native in me. But with that said, I'm all ears.

Scott: So listen, I grew up on skis. I got my first pair of skis when I was five years old. And I've loved it ever since. And it's my biggest recreational passion of my life. And my son is six years old. He's going to be in his third year on skis. And he's just becoming a little mountain Ripper. And, you know, I want to talk about somebody who a lot of people in this country don't even know about who's maybe the greatest athlete in the history of any sport, or will be when she retires and she's only 25 years old. Her name is Michaela Shiffrin and she is setting records on the US women's hockey team. And she's been doing it since she was 16 years old on the World Cup circuit. She's entering or 10th year and she's you know, 20 wins away from breaking the all time winner record on the World Cup circuit that Ingemar Stenmark set- the indomitable Ingemar Stenmark- and you know she lost her father last year. And there was a point at which a lot of her fans, of which I'm a huge fan of course, I was hoping that she wouldn't retire. Because I understood how deeply emotional it was, and, and what skiing really represents to her. It's more than just being on a hill and skiing- its family, it’s support, it's the love of family, mother and father, that kind of thing. He was at every race, all over the world, taking photos with a telescopic lens. And I mean, just the level of support that she received from her parents made her what she is today, the kind of person that she is. And to come back from that, that indecision that she had in her heart, whether she could continue racing without her father, in her life. It was a tough year for a lot of people for many other reasons. But it was especially tough for me, hoping and trying to lend my support to her and directly to some friends I know, to get the message to her to keep going. And it's what he would have wanted. And I knew she was always going to come back. And the other day, I watched her win her first race back after 300 and, I don't know, 20 days off the circuit. And if she ever hears this, I want her to know that she's been an inspiration to me personally, and to my family. And I want people to know about her and support her to have her back on the hill and winning again, it's just, well, that's a testament to the human spirit. And so again, at 25, she's learned some serious life lessons about how to overcome and I think that's really what it's all about is learning who we are, and overcoming our own obstacles, and stop criticizing other people, and just work on ourselves. And, you know, to coin an oft voiced phrase and be the best version of you, you can be. Right. And I really liked that. I liked that phrase. And instead of, you know, sort of focusing on other people and trying to find fault with other people, let's, you know, let's just look within ourselves.

Adam: Scott, that's awesome. And we started off the conversation by talking about competition and how important competition was to your upbringing. And something that I hope all listeners can understand and appreciate is that competition in anything, whether it's a sport, or whether it's in business, isn't between you and your quote, unquote, competitor, but it's between you and yourself. It is about becoming the best version of yourself. And it is about becoming the best that you can be. And Scott, thank you for sharing all the great advice. Thank you for sharing the wisdom and the perspective that is so valuable to our listeners. And thank you for joining us.

Scott: Adam, it was a pleasure. You're great, man. I appreciate the opportunity. So take care yourself.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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