“I can definitely cope with defeat with the best”

Season 12 of “The Masked Singer” continued Wednesday night on FOX with the Group C finale of “Peanuts Night.” After the audience vote in the studio, Royal Knight was the first singer to be eliminated, followed by Sherlock Hound, who lost a battle royal to Strawberry Shortcake. The Dog Detective became the tenth eliminated singer of the season and was announced as the 2004 World Series champion Bronson Arroyo. Watch our video interview above.

While we wait for the host Nick Cannon When I read the results, the former pitcher admitted, “I was definitely nervous. Whenever you’re in a situation where you’re fighting for something or just competing, whether you’re a kid playing boys or playing table tennis, you get a little bit of competitive pressure. I can definitely handle a loss with the best, but you get nervous and want to go to the next round and do your best.”

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Panelists Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken JeongAnd Rita Ora thought Arroyo was a professional rock star for most of his time on the show. Robin finally found out Sherlock Hound’s true identity just before the mask fell off. The athlete-turned-musician says: “I grew up on the alternative stuff of the 90s. I was in high school at the time Sound Garden, nirvanaAnd Pearl jam everything hit.” He laughed at the comparison Eddie Vedderand remarked, “I’m about a foot and a half taller, but I’ll accept the compliment.”

Arroyo now makes music professionally and says he was heavily influenced by Pearl Jam’s “Ten” album. “I probably played baseball for 22 years. When I was in the weight room or doing heavy squats, I listened to the record ‘Ten’. There was so much fear and energy in these songs. Even today, when I play in a cover band around Cincinnati, I play these songs a lot. It’s just a liberation to be able to sing at the top of your lungs.”

The former athlete has released a new album called Life Lessons and says: “It’s been a slow process for me. I picked up the guitar in the minor leagues. I was 22 years old and had never played an instrument before. Slowly it went from playing by the fire to open mic evenings and producing a covers album in 2005 and slowly to performing on stage. It’s been a slow maturation over the course of 20 years of going on stage and shedding the layers of becoming more comfortable with stage performance, playing an instrument and keeping my voice in shape. Now I feel like it would be a little difficult if I didn’t have that in my life.”

Arroyo remembers: “Winning the World Series in 2004 was so remarkable. If I could change anything about it, I would have preferred to have been a little older to feel more established in the major leagues before this happened. Then I spent nine years in Cincinnati, where I felt like I was where I was supposed to be. I felt like I was leading this team and raising the young guys.”

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