Zac Byer: An Interview with L.A. Dodgers Minor League Pitcher Andrew Pevsner

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the dog days of summer! I’m starting to think August is the worst month of all twelve: ridiculous heat and humidity, no major holidays, back-to-school shopping, Congress on vacation (OK, maybe that’s the one redeeming aspect), and so on. Yes, I know pre-season football is gearing up, but don’t forget that we are closing in on MLB pennant races. A bright spot indeed! As Pujols, Jeter, Lincecum, and Halladay jockey for the post-season, let’s talk to someone who very well may be there in a few years.

I grew up with Andrew Pevsner in Southern California, and remain close friends with him today. But while I’m sitting in classrooms suffering through law school’s Socratic Method, Pevsner is warming up in the bullpen for the Great Lakes Loons. The Loons are the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Single-A minor league club in Midland, Michigan, and Pevsner is one of their southpaw relievers. Drafted in 2010 out of Johns Hopkins, Pevsner spent his first professional season playing Advanced Rookie ball for the Raptors in Ogden, Utah. Let’s take an inside look at what it’s like to play professional baseball and live nearly every boy’s childhood dream.

Zac Byer: You have mentioned that you were not following the draft when you were selected, but rather you started receiving congratulatory text messages from friends after the pick. Did you have any expectations of being drafted, let alone in the 16th round?
Andrew Pevsner: Not really . . . I hadn’t heard from any clubs for a few weeks leading up to the draft. It had been about 10 days or so since our college season ended, I was hoping to try to get myself back into great shape and maybe go to some workouts and try to sign as a free agent after the draft.

ZB: Who called you from the Dodgers to let you know that you had been drafted? What did he say to you?
AP: My scout from the Dodgers, Clair Rierson called me. I was so excited when we were talking that I don’t fully remember what we said. I do remember him asking me how I was feeling, and telling me that someone would call me with more details later that night.

ZB: You got the call from Rierson and found out you were going to play professional baseball for your favorite team – were you able to take a breath and enjoy the accomplishment, or were you into a new routine right away?
AP: There were only about ten days between the time I got drafted and the time we went to Ogden. I took the first night to celebrate and try to soak up the moment. After that, I spent about four days working out and throwing in Baltimore before I flew to Camelback Ranch [in Arizona] for a couple days of physicals and workouts. From there we flew to Ogden.

ZB: What’s a typical day like for you now?
AP: It really depends on where we are. If we’re at home, and it’s not a lift day, I’ll get to the ball park between 1 and 2 in the afternoon. Pitchers stretch, throw and condition before shagging batting practice. After BP we have some time to get some food in the clubhouse and get ready for that night’s game.

ZB: What has been the most surprising aspect of being a minor league baseball player?
AP: You hear guys talk about the grind and staying even-keeled through all the ups and downs, but it’s something that you can’t really appreciate until you go through it.

ZB: What has been the most challenging aspect of the last few seasons in the minors?
AP: Baseball is a humbling game. Everyone fails at some point or another. Most players fail repeatedly. Learning how to deal with failure so that you can fail less often and for shorter periods of time has probably been the hardest part.

ZB: In college, you pitched for Johns Hopkins. While certainly not a rival of LSU or UCLA, Johns Hopkins has had quite a bit of success lately in Division III. How did your collegiate baseball experience prepare you for the minor leagues? How different is the level of play?
AP: Being part of a winning culture and having a chance to fill a leadership role at Hopkins definitely helped prepare me for this stage. Also, working with Matt Righter, who retired from playing before my junior year to become our pitching coach, helped a lot. He ran us like a pro staff. And, my role in Ogden with the Raptors was similar to my role as a senior on the Hopkins team, so the transition felt pretty seamless baseball-wise.
The biggest difference I’ve seen is that the higher you get professionally, the more mistakes hitters punish. It is also much harder to pitch from behind in the count. I could get away with it sometimes at Hopkins but it’s not a recipe for very much success in pro ball.

ZB: Who has been your favorite coach to work with over the last few years and why?
AP: Righter, who I already mentioned helped me get here. Fortunately, with the Dodgers, I’ve already worked with a ton of great pitching coaches. I’ve spent the most time with Kremlin Martinez, as he was our coach in Odgen. I’ve been able to work with him all year again. He’s awesome – he does a great job helping while keeps things simple. The Dodgers’ pitching coaches are unbelievable guys all the way up the ladder. I have been able to work a little bit with guys like Bill Simas, Matt Herges, Aaron Sele, Charlie Hough, and Jim Slaton. It’s hard to have a conversation with any of those guys without picking up at least one thing that can help you.

ZB: What challenge are you currently trying to overcome?
AP: Just trying to be consistent on the mound and not getting too high with the highs or too low with the lows off of it.

ZB: It’s safe, and sad, to say that the Dodgers are in a little bit of a mess right now. Has the McCourt divorce/bankruptcy/mismanagement affected your teams? Do you guys talk about it?
AP: It comes up casually in conversation or a joke here or there, but we don’t spend time worrying about it. It really hasn’t affected daily life in Midland at all.

ZB: Some of your bus rides between cities can be up to ten hours long. How do you and your teammates pass the time?
AP: We’ll usually watch a movie or two, but if we’re traveling at night most guys will just listen to music and try to grab as much sleep as possible.

ZB: What’s your favorite city to play in?
AP: Midland, Michigan. Facilities and fans are first class.

ZB: What book are you currently reading?
AP: Executive Orders by Tom Clancy.

ZB: If you made a highlight reel of yourself, but could only include one baseball moment from your entire baseball career (high school through today), what would you choose?
AP: This is a tough one. I don’t think there is one moment that stands out from the rest. Until I pitch in a game that helps my team win a ring, I don’t know that I’ll have one.

ZB: Where do you see yourself in five years?
AP: I’m not even sure where I’ll be in five days, and even that is on a schedule somewhere. But I think everyone in my position thinks they’ll be in the big leagues. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be doing it.

ZB: Over the last five or six years, we’ve seen a lot of articles written about baseball losing ground to other sports like football and basketball. Do you buy it?
AP: From what I saw during my last offseason coaching in some youth programs, kids still love playing baseball. As long as that’s true the sport will be fine.

ZB: Imagine you are Commissioner of Major League Baseball for one day . . . what would you do?
AP: Actually, not much. I think overall the state of the game is phenomenal. I’m not a huge fan of having World Series home field advantage decided by the All-Star game, so I’d probably repeal that. And oh, I don’t know, maybe look at something having to do with raising the minimum salaries of minor leaguers.

ZB: Do you think the baseball records from the so-called “Steroids Era” should be treated differently?
AP: As a lifelong Dodgers fan, I’m inclined to have an opinion that will somehow diminish any of Barry Bonds’ records. But, in all seriousness, I think it is almost impossible to compare baseball players from one era to another. I don’t think erasing or changing history does anyone any good as much as presenting what actually happened in as factually accurate a way as possible. Then, fans and players can answer questions like these for themselves.

ZB: Would you rather have a career like Roger Clemens, with over 300 wins but tainted forever by connections to performance enhancing drugs, or a career as an average major league pitcher?
AP: Let’s put it this way: I’d rather put everything I have into baseball and fail before I get to the big leagues than take steroids and make it to the show. By the way, “an average major league pitcher” is something that more than 90 percent of minor leaguers will never have a chance to say about themselves.

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ZB: You were born on October 15, 1988 — a cool fall night on which Kirk Gibson hit one of the most memorable home runs not only in Los Angeles Dodgers history, but in baseball history. Do you believe in destiny?
AP: I’m starting to . . . it’s definitely hard to deny in my case.