It was Jeremy Hefner‘s turn to have a Sunday round with Steve Serby of the New York Post. As is usually the case, Serby did a nice job of revealing a side of Hefner we hadn’t known on a variety of topics ranging from the two times he was drafted by the Mets and didn’t sign, to how he would pitch Babe Ruth. The following four questions I found to be most compelling.
Q: What drives you?
A: I really love the game. I want people back home, people in Queens, kids in Queens, to look at me as an example of someone who does it right. … I just try to use my platform for the goodness of the game … that there are good people that play the game, too.
Q: So you’re resilient.
A: I have to be, ’cause I’m not Matt Harvey, or Adam Wainwright, you know. Those guys that just have the stuff to get people out even on the bad days. So I have to prepare, I have to tweak, I have to do all those things to keep an edge, because the league’s always gonna catch up to you, and so you’ve gotta keep making adjustments back at ’em.
Q: Describe your mound temperament.
A: Much like we’re talking right now, just very relaxed. I’m probably more competitive off the field than I am on the field, playing board games or video games or whatever the case may be. I try to keep an even keel. … Every once in a while I will get a little riled up. Sometimes that helps me focus on what I need to be doing and not getting distracted by other things.
Q: Would you compare yourself to anyone?
A: I’d say Adam Wainwright, because that’s someone that I looked up to whenever I was in college. He’s a guy that I’ve tried to repeat mechanically. … He’s had very good success. And I told Adam whenever we were in St. Louis that I appreciated how he goes about his business So that’s someone that I try to kinda model myself around.
You can read the full interview here.
