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You collected your 4th win of the season this past weekend
against #1-ranked Georgia Tech striking-out 7 in 6 innings. To
date you have posted an impressive 1.36 ERA overall. You also
boosted your batting average 80 points while collecting 8 hits,
2 2B's and 8 RBI's. Now that's some week! What happened to spark
your fire this past week?
This past
week I tried not to press so much. I think
because we have a relatively young team I was putting a lot
of pressure on myself to do a lot of things at the plate
and I wasn't staying within myself. I spent some extra
time working with Coach MacMullan, our hitting coach, and I
got some extra confidence and altered my approach. Pretty
much everyone else on the team was hitting and we were
winning games and putting up some serious run totals even
when I wasn't producing so keeping that in mind I just
tried to relax and have fun. On the mound I tried to
conserve my pitches and hit my spots. I focused on
throwing strikes because I knew my defense would take care
of me if the hitter should put the ball in play. Our
defense has done a great job so far this year so it was
easy for me to let them work out there.
You are obviously a very gifted
player having the
ability to dominate on the mound and at the plate. How do
you prepare for both roles and how do you find time to do
it?
I've been
very fortunate to be able to play both ways
at this level. I'm grateful for the ability to do both and
I'm also very grateful to Coach O'Connor for giving me the
opportunity to do both at UVA. It is a lot of work but
I've been a dual player since I first played baseball.
Pitching is my first love and it comes a little more
naturally, but I couldn't see myself playing once a week.
I do most of my pitching work one-on-one with our pitching
coach, Coach Kuhn, and I spend most of practice with the
position players. I lift with the pitchers and condition
with the position players. I feel like my pitching
experience makes me a better hitter, and vice versa.
Do you have any special pre-game
"ritual" that you
perform before each game or inning?
I have
many rituals, or superstitions, that I perform
before every game, every inning, every at bat. Before
every game I'll listen to the same music, different music
depending on whether I'm playing first-base or pitching.
There's a lot of stupid stuff I'll do. Like, I wear solid
blue socks when I'm playing first and stirrups when I'm
starting pitching. I have a routine I always go through at
the start of every inning that I'll do behind the mound if
I'm pitching. And our Friday starter, Mike Ballard, always
puts a fresh coat of pine tar on my helmet at the start of
every week for good luck.
What was it like playing for Team
USA last year?
Playing
for Team USA was an unbelievable experience.
It was an honor to represent my country and play with that
group of talented players. I never would have gotten the
chance to see the world like I did with Team USA and I'm
very thankful the Coach Smith and Eric Campbell gave me the
opportunity to play with college baseball's best players.
It was extra special to me because my father is a Lt. Col.
in the United States Air National Guard and for me to
represent our country in my own way was very special.
What was your reaction when you saw
your USA Baseball
cards for the first time?
As a kid
you collect baseball cards like it's your job.
So for me to finally see one with my mug on it is really
cool. Growing up that was something you dream of, having
your own card. And for me to have that opportunity while
I'm still in college is unbelievable. I still don't think
it's sunk in all the way that I have an Upper Deck card,
but I hope it's the first of many.
What's the funniest prank you have
ever witnessed
involving yourself, another player or another team?
I'm not a
big prankster, but in baseball, pranks are
part of being on the team. Last year I was doing an
interview for the local news station here in
Charlottesville and I was sitting in a chair in front of
two TV cameras down the left field line at our stadium.
Practice was over and some guys were taking extra batting
practice so there wasn't much going on. Our volunteer
assistant coach at the time, Coach Joe Hastings, who is now
at VMI, snuck up behind me and got me really bad with a
shaving cream pie in the face. He got me real bad. It got
in my eyes and some went up my nose. I had a little bit of
an allergic reaction to it. An hour later I finally went
back out to finish the interview.
If you had to choose between
pitching and hitting,
which would you choose and why?
I would
choose pitching. Only because up until this
point in my life it has come a little more naturally to me
and there's nothing like standing on that mound being in
complete control of the game. On the other hand it would
be a tough adjustment not to pick first-base or outfield
because I love the game and I love to play everyday. But
there is nothing like standing on the hill and being in the
spotlight.
What are you unsatisfied with so
far this year
regarding your performance? What are you most happy
about?
I am not
unsatisfied with my performance at all this
year. I'm proud of how I'm playing. I'm a little upset
that I got off to a slow start, but I am very happy that
I've gotten back on track rather quickly. I'm also pleased
that my slow start at the plate didn't affect my
performance on the mound. I knew the struggles at the
plate wouldn't last long the way the team was playing.
Hitting is contagious. Our young guys were doing a great
job at the plate and that took a lot of the pressure off me
and let me relax in the box. But all in all I'm very
pleased with how I am performing.
What advice do you have for kids
that want to be
successful playing baseball?
Have fun.
Baseball is a hard game. The best players
in history fail 7 out of 10 times. Keep working hard, but
remember to have fun. It's the best game in the world
because you get to play everyday. If you don't get a hit
one day, you get another chance the next day, and the day
after that, and the day after that, etc.We would like to thank
Sean for
taking the time to answer our questions. We wish him and the Cavaliers the
best of luck this year... |
