Toronto Blue Jays pitcher David Price sat down recently for The Interview with Sportsnet magazine.
In this second instalment of the Q-and-A we’re featuring on Sportsnet.ca this week, the left-hander talks about his enthusiastic tweets, his unique windup, and who he believes is the best pitcher in baseball.
Click here to read Part 1. Part 3, in which Price talks about what chance he gives himself of being a Blue Jay next season, runs Fri., Aug. 28.
You use a lot of exclamation marks when you tweet.
[Laughs] I do it when I’m texting, too. Sometimes I send a text or a tweet and I’m like, “I don’t know why I put five exclamation points on that.” I’m a high-energy guy and that’s my way of letting people know I’m excited about what I said, I guess.
You seem quite enthusiastic.
I get to live my dream here every single day. If I don’t have fun, that’s not doing this game justice. I definitely want to come out here and put a smile on my face, try and make other people more relaxed, make my teammates have fun. I’ve been around guys like that, and you see how much more fun they can make it. I try to be an energy-giver, not an energy-taker. There’s two types of people in this world, faucets or drains, and I wanna be a faucet.
That’s good.
That’s Wally Joyner [Detroit Tigers hitting coach] right there.
Have you adopted any Canadian tendencies? Are you talking a lot of hockey?
We play NHL all the time in the clubhouse.
I hear you’re not very good.
That’s not true. That is not true at all.
Have you said “eh” yet?
Just joking around. It doesn’t come naturally, no.
It would if you stay here for a few years.
It could, it could.
Do you know the words to the Canadian national anthem?
If it was being sung, I would know the words, yes. I’ve heard it enough times.
Can you describe your windup? You do a mini-move before you wind up.
I started doing that in college, stepping forward, and I kind of modified it in the first couple years I was in the big leagues. It’s something for me to keep simple. If I can make it so I can repeat my delivery every single time, which I can now, it puts me in a position to be able to execute my pitches. And that’s what pitching is: being able to execute whatever pitch you’re throwing.
Sometimes you look out at the outfield and take a deep breath. Is that part of the routine?
If I’m out there and I’m executing every pitch, I don’t do that. That’s a thing that I do to slow the game down a little bit, because I know I need to make a good pitch. I do it more in big spots or if I’m not throwing the ball or executing the way that I’m capable of executing.
Who’s the best pitcher in baseball?
Zack Greinke; he’s throwing the baseball extremely well this year. Clayton Kershaw is always one of those top guys. Sonny Gray. I don’t get to see all the NL guys throw a whole lot — I might get to catch some highlights here and there, but that really doesn’t tell the whole story. Chris Sale is another guy, he’s extremely talented. Right now I’d probably go with Greinke.
You weren’t on that list. What makes you one of the best?
I definitely hold myself in high regard—just being consistent every fifth day. I think that’s such a big thing for a pitcher. As a manager, you want your relievers to come in and throw strikes and you want your starters to be able to pitch as deep as possible into games. That’s definitely something I take pride in doing—eating up as many innings and getting as many outs as I can. That’s something I’ve done over the past couple years very well.
It’s electric in Toronto because of this team. What’s it like to be an excitement-causer?
I’m a part of it. We’ve got 25 guys in this locker room. Everybody has to do their part. You can’t make yourself fit where you don’t belong. Everybody on this team knows their role, and that’s big when you have 25 guys that just wanna win.
Have you forgotten what it’s like to lose?
Absolutely not. No. I know that feeling. It’s the worst. I’d rather go out there and suck and the Blue Jays win than me go out there and pitch well and we lose. This game is all about winning. That’s what I wanna be a part of.
This interview appears in the current issue of Sportsnet magazine.
