Mr BioFile Interviews by Scoop Malinowski
by Scoop Malinowski
Status: Pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Ht: 6-4 Wt: 210
DOB: March 31, 1994 In: Highland Park, IL
First Baseball Memory: My dad (Raymond) was a high school coach. Just being able to run around in the outfield and catching fly balls during batting practice. Those high school guys were like big leaguers to me (age 6).
Baseball Inspirations: My dad. He played in the Phillies organization and got up to AAA. Just growing up a Chicago White Sox fan, Mark Buehlre, Scott Podsednik.
Last Book Read: It was Relentless by Tim Glover. He was the fitness coach of Michael Jordan. It was about the mental toughness it takes to be great.
First Famous Person You Met Or Encountered: First time I was star struck… I was in Toronto, first big league camp. Troy Tulowitzki walked in the room. You could feel his presence. I remember in the weight room, my first day, he came walking in. I even had my back turned… and I felt his presence. I looked and he was there.
Two Favorite Baseball Films: Bull Durham. The first Major League was fun.
Greatest Career Moment: That’s a hard one… probably my first win in the big leagues (2018). My rookie year I got to pitch in Seattle with Toronto. Everybody in Western Canada comes in to watch that series, 25,000 fans at that game. Place was electric. Went eight innings and got my first win (gave up one earned run). That was a cool environment to be a part of.
Most Painful Moment: Many injuries. I’ve dealt with a lot of injuries. They never are easy. Just be thankful for being able to pitch and just grind through it.
Fiercest Competitors Encountered: Ooof, man… That’s a hard one. Tulowitzki. He just wanted to win at all costs. Marcus Semien – he’s with Texas now.
Funniest Players: I have played with a good amount of them. Probably one of my good buddies Jordan Romano, with the Phillies now. Man, he’s a funny Canadian. Just the stuff that comes out of his mouth. Brett Honeywell is funny. Every time he says something, I’m just always laughing around him.
Why Do You Love Baseball: I think – not as much as I love baseball – I just like to compete. Anything I do, I like to make a competition of it. Ping pong, video games, golf, anything I do, I’m trying to win. The competitive aspect I love. I don’t think it’s the game itself, it’s the competitive aspect of it.
Funny Baseball Memory: There’s a couple. A couple with myself. I’ve fallen over mid-pitch. Slipping. That was funny. Just pitching, I remember I fell over. High A Dunedin. At least it was only in front of about 50 fans. There’s a lot of funny moments. I just can’t remember ’em.
Strangest Game: Man, you’re stumping me with these questions [smiles]. There was one time. It was in minor leagues. I remember we were down like five runs and a cat ran onto the field and stopped play for like 30 minutes. And, literally, that inning, we scored seven runs and won. The cat stopped their momentum. They were chasing the cat down with a bucket, finally caught him and we rattled off seven runs in that inning. So that was one of the weirder things. In Low A, Dayton, Ohio.
Favorite Artists: Not really an art guy to be honest. Music – they might be controversial but I’ve always liked Chris Brown, Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West. That was during my high school, when music was the best I thought. Controversial, obviously, for different reasons but I’ve always liked those guys.
Favorite Athletes To Watch: Tiger Woods. Me and my dad watched him. My dad worked nights and had weekends off. Just being able to watch him my whole life. Mark Buehrle. Michael Jordan.
People Qualities Most Admired: A big quality is down to earth people. Kind people. This world there’s a lot of hate around. You can tell how a person is truly just by how kind they are, treat other people, servers, people that help them out. I feel in the game, I’ve seen a lot of guys get opportunities, front office jobs, just by how nice and kind they are.
