My three favorite moments in baseball are... “…first, being drafted by the Rangers. It was the best day of my life. I will never forget it. Second is that I have been able to play baseball my entire life. There were a lot of highs and lows through playing baseball, but they have made me who I am today. I have met all of my best friends through the game of baseball. Third was in 2011, watching the Cardinals and Rangers in game six of the World Series. I grew up a Cardinals and Rangers fan. My Grandpa played for the Cardinals and scouted for them for 30 years so that is why I was a Cardinals fan and the Rangers were my home team. In my opinion, that was the best World Series of all time.” I had two players that I emulated when I was growing up… “…Albert Pujols is one of them. He is my favorite Cardinal and is one of the best people in baseball. He has a foundation for developmentally disabled individuals. He is such a great person. Adam Wainwright is my second favorite. He is still pitching today. He is tall and lanky and when I was growing up, he reminded me of myself.” On a typical off-day... “…during the season, I definitely like to sleep in and catch up on my sleep. I will do a little grocery shopping and probably make myself a steak at night. I like to play some Fortnite and just chill. Some guys like to go out and party, but I like to just stay in and let my body heal.” On game-days, my pre-game routine... “…has changed now that I am a reliever rather than when I was starting in college. It is different because I do not know when I am going to pitch. It can be tough because it is hard to have a routine compared to when I was a Friday night starter in college.” When I was drafted... “…I was sitting next to my buddy from college, his girlfriend and my girlfriend. I became good buddies with the son of the scouting director from the Rangers and he texted me about a minute before the Rangers picked and said his dad was going to pick me with the next pick. I told him not to mess with me and lie, but the next thing you know they called my name. I was flooded with emotions. It was a dream come true. I’ll never forget that day.” Aside from baseball, I am passionate about... If I was not a baseball player, I would... “…probably work at a resort in Jamaica. I’d be working at a tiki bar making drinks for people while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and flip flops. It’s like your work is your vacation.”
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My three favorite moments in baseball are... "...first, being drafted. Second, an outing against [Liberty University] in the ASUN tournament. I pitched longer and more innings than I had all season. It was a perfect 3 or 4 and ⅔. Third, when I struck out the side against [the University of Florida]. I came in with the bases loaded and runners on the corners. My dad and grandpa were always huge Gator fans. With Florida being one of the highly ranked baseball teams, having come in with a tight situation and then striking out the side when we had the lead was huge. I’ll never forget that. Especially since I was able to do it in front of my dad. It made it really special." Growing up I did not really have a player I emulated, but...
On a typical off-day... "...during the season, I like to get out and see wherever I’m at. When I was in Oregon, they had the All-Star break and we went over to Florence on the coast and spent some time taking in nature over there. We did some sand surfing and surfed down some sand dunes. In the off-season, I like to relax and hang out with my family and friends. I like to do a lot of casual things I don't get to do during the season like going out to eat with friends. Overall, I don't do anything too crazy because it’s a day off and it’s mainly to recover. I try to rest as much as possible." On game-days, my pre-game routine consists of... "...mainly making sure I'm relaxed. I’ll sit in the locker room, relax, and listen to some music. I’ll then try to go out thirty minutes before the team stretch. I have a pretty good general mobility circuit I do for my hips. I’ll make sure I do that to maintain whatever mobility and flexibility I need in my hips. If there are any other tight areas, I’ll make sure to stretch it out. I get whatever I need done first and then do team warmups. Then we throw, go through [batting practice]. If I know that I'm going to pitch that day, then I’ll take it a little lighter on the mobility, stretching, and pregame throwing just because I’m going to have to get hot and going again. If I know a general idea of when I’ll be going in, I’ll start an inning or two before with some general mobility and some light sprints to make sure the muscles are firing. If I can, I try to toss a little earlier and work into it rather than just going in when they need me hot." When I was drafted... "...it kind of didn’t feel real. It still doesn’t feel real honestly. I was actually in my house alone. I got drafted on day-three which was on my birthday, June 5th. I remember standing up and yelling, “let’s go!” I got pretty hyped, not like you see on television with the early rounders. It was exciting and didn’t feel real. My phone started blowing up with social media and with people calling me. It is surreal that all of the work you put in your whole life is paying off with the start of a new journey." Aside from baseball, I am passionate about...
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