Post columnist Steve Serby caught up with young Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud for some Q&A.
Q: What was your reaction to Mike Piazza not being voted into the HOF again?
A: I was disappointed. He did so many great things for the city of Los Angeles and the city of New York. He was one helluva baseball player, too. He could knock the cover off the ball, and also pitchers loved throwing to him. He never really got hurt.
Q: The only reason he didn’t get in was because of steroids suspicion.
A: There’s no proof that he did it, is there?
Q: Nope.
A: Like I said, I would put him just because for me, he’s a Hall Of Fame catcher. I grew up watching him, and fortunately for me, I got to meet him a couple of times, and I thought he was a really nice guy and really helpful, too. He gave me his insight on what he felt was the most important thing is for a young catcher coming up, pretty much it was just stay healthy and take care of your body.
Q: What did you like about Russell Martin other than the fact he was the Dodgers catcher?
A: That low pitch, I mean, he can still do it today. He can make it look so presentable. … That’s pretty much it, he makes every pitch look presentable, and he knows how to work with the umpires. Pitchers love throwing to him ’cause he has a game plan out there. He knows how to call a game well.
Q: You’ve been praised for your ability to frame a pitch. What is the key to doing that?
A: I can’t give all my secrets away.
Q: You need strong wrists to do that, right?
A: Yeah. I do some pretty extensive grip workouts and forearm workouts, but there’s a lot of different factors you can do to help the staff.
Q: Tell me how a catcher has to be like a psychologist.
A: He has to know every personality of every individual on the team, especially the pitching staff. Some pitchers react certain ways to things you say compared to other pitchers, so you kinda have to have a feel and be very understanding of every pitcher and know that they all think differently. They each grew up in a different environment. There’s so many factors that you can count in.
Q: Take me into the mind of Matt Harvey.
A: He caught him a couple of times, and he’s a bulldog. He has such an advanced game plan for what he wants to do out there, and he’s so good. He executes his pitches. Very smart pitcher.
Q: What’s your definition of a bulldog as a pitcher?
A: Just ready to go out there and keep pitching. He doesn’t want to get taken out of the game. He wants to be the guy with the ball in his hand, and he wants to be out there to get the win for us.
Q: Zack Wheeler.
A: Same thing. I got him as a bulldog. He still wants to keep fighting and he’a so competitive out there on the mound. What more could you ask for?
Q: Noah Syndergaard.
A: He is an amazing pitching prospect that we have coming up. He throws hard. He’s a bulldog just like Harvey and Wheeler, too, along with a lot of our other pitchers on our staff. He has a very heavy fastball. He’s a big body, big build, I think that’s the formula for durability. He’s got a really great curveball, and he’s got this change up that’s been improving. When I was there rehabbing [foot] last year, I saw his change up, and I really liked it a lot. It’s improved so much that it’s a plus pitch, I think, for him now. And also, he’s got a great two-seam, too, that runs a lot, and it’s hard, too. It’ll get in on you really quick.
Q: Rafael Montero.
A: He knows exactly what he wants to do. He has a game plan for every game, and he throws hard as well. He has a very good calm about him when he’s on the mound. He never gets overexcited and he never gets down on himself, he’s like very even-keeled.
Q: Jon Niese.
A: I love catching Niese. He has every pitch. He’s not scared of anything. … He’s a bulldog, too. I caught him one time, he had a nine-inning shutout, and I felt like his ninth inning was his strongest inning.
Q: Dillon Gee.
A: I love catching Dillon Gee, too. He has a great game plan out there. He knows what he’s doing. He has a great mindset, especially for a pitcher, and he loves the game. He’s got every pitch, and he just knows what he’s doing out there. I’ve had times where we’ve shaken off and I’ve gone out there, asked him what’s going on, and he has the perfect answer for me. What can I do? I just say, “OK, you’re right, let’s do it,” and he goes out there and executes.
Q: What parts of your game do you want to improve?
A: I want to improve obviously offensively. Last year I didn’t do so well in the beginning of my debut, and I just want to go out there and take my singles and just try to make good contact, not do anything crazy. And defensively, just work with the staff and befriend the staff even more, so our relationship becomes stronger and our friendship becomes stronger so our trust goes up, and when we’re out there we trust each other.
Q: Do you think your being friendly helps you build trust with your pitching staff?
A: I believe so. I’m a positive person, and a realist at the same time. I’m gonna tell you what I see. And hopefully my pitchers appreciate my trust. I would rather tell ’em the truth than lie to ’em and tell ’em just something that they want to hear instead of something they should hear.
Q: Funniest moment you’ve had on the mound?
A: I put my glove over my face and I don’t think I said one word, and I was just standing there for about 50 seconds, then I walked off. The next pitch he threw a ground-ball double play, so it worked.
Q: Who was the pitcher?
A: I can’t remember.
Q: Didn’t he wonder what you were doing?
A: Yeah. … Well it took his mind off of whatever was going on in his head, didn’t it? … Like I said, you gotta know each individual, and know how they would react to certain things, you know?
Q: Is 20 home runs realistic for you?
A: I mean, I’m not thinking homers, I’m just thinking get on base, drive in runs, and do whatever I can to help the team win.
Q: Are you bringing “oppo taco” to the Mets?
A: We’ll see. I’m gonna try to just work hard and focus in on making good contact, but we’ll see what happens.
Q: How did that begin?
A: It began in 2011 in New Hampshire. They have a short porch [in] right field, and a lot of my home runs were to right field, so my agent’s team sent me a T-shirt that said “oppo taco” with my face on it, and I just rode that wave, and then just went along with and enjoyed it and then my teammates loved it too, and then I felt like it was a great team chemistry-building thing, and ultimately we won the Eastern League that year, and I was very fortunate to be a part of that team.
Q: Catchers in the game today who you admire?
A: Yadier Molina, Jose Molina, Buster Posey, Russell Martin. … I really really like Brian McCann a lot. He stands up for his teammates.
Q: Do you do that?
A: Yes, I strive to as much as I can.
Q: Yogi Berra used to talk to hitters. Do you?
A: I do. Fortunately for me, a lot of the hitters are very friendly, too, so I’ve had some pretty funny conversations.
Q: What drives you?
A: A World Series ring.
Q: Have you visualized what winning a World Series in New York would be like?
A: I have visualized it for a little bit, and I already started shivering and getting goosebumps. That’s how crazy it would be. I know the city loves its sports teams, and when they win, it’s an indescribable feeling, and the city just goes crazy.
Q: What is it like playing in New York?
A: I love it. I mean, it’s a baseball town. It’s just like where I grew up [Lakewood, Ca.] where you got an AL team and an NL team with the Yankees and Mets, compared to the Angels and Dodgers. Everybody loves baseball there. It’s crazy, like I didn’t know it was like that growing up. I just thought everybody liked the Yankees. Actually, it’s a Mets town.
Q: You think it’s a Mets town?
A: That’s what I think. I mean, normally whenever I drive around, I see more Mets stuff than Yankees stuff.
Q: You’re in Queens though.
A: Yeah true. I haven’t really been out in the city more than just Queens.
Q: Superstitions?
A: If I have a bowl of chicken teriyaki and I get two hits, or three hard-hit balls, you better believe the next day I’m going to that same chicken teriyaki place at the same exact time.
Q: Ever catch a no-hitter?
A: No, I’ve gone 8 ¹/₃. And to be honest with you, I think I messed it up, because in the seventh inning I went out and had a pitcher’s meeting when I shouldn’t have. I should have just let him just keep doing his thing. I felt like I was throwing the no-hitter, you know?
Q: Who was the pitcher?
A: Zach Stewart.
Q: This was where?
A: New Hampshire, Double-A.
Q: Personal goals?
A: My personal goal is to stay healthy all year, that’s my first one. My second one is to make the playoffs, and my third one is to become a better teammate and a better friend to all my teammates on my team.
Q: Do you think the playoffs are realistic for this team?
A: I do. I’m sure everybody else does on the team as well.
Q: How do you deal with the high expectations for you?
A: I just try not to think about it. It’s the game of baseball. There’s a pitcher, there’s a catcher, there’s the hitter, there’s nine people on the field. … It’s a game. I try to look at it that way, and just try to have fun with it. It’s not gonna last forever, for anybody, so I’m just gonna enjoy this wave and have fun and always have a smile on my face.
Q: Describe David Wright.
A: He’s an amazing guy. He’s a great person. He’s a great teammate. He’s one helluva ballplayer. He’s very family-oriented. He’s very understanding. … He’s the captain. He’s a leader.
Q: Biggest baseball influence on you growing up?
A: Definitely gotta be my older brother [Chase]. I pretty much followed his footsteps growing up. He played baseball, I was like, “All right, I’m gonna play baseball.” When he was 10 and I was 8, I would go out there with his team and practice with him.
Q: Best piece of advice your mother or father gave you?
A: Do what you love. That you didn’t want to wake up every day dreading doing what you did every single day for your life. Fortunately for me, I fell in love with baseball at a young age and I’ve been doing it ever since.
Q: Your father described you as “this quiet Goliath.”
A: I like to call myself a silent assassin — but that was my gamer tag on “Call of Duty,” so that’s why I call myself that. I try to not be too loud. I try to lead by example and stay focused and lock in on the game.
Q: You also like “NBA 2K13” right?
A: I love it. I play it online all the time. Unfortunately for me, I’m losing a little bit. I’m sticking with my hometown team, the Lakers, but what can you do? It’s gonna turn around for my 2K game and I’m gonna start winning.
Q: Describe the first time you saw Manhattan.
A: 2009, I was playing for the Philadelphia Phillies [Class]-A short-season team, and we were playing in Staten Island, and I took the ferry across to the city. And we got there, it must have been about 10 o’clock at night, and we were just out all night, having fun, walking around. About 2 o’clock we left, and we tried to take the subways home, and we got lost. And we didn’t get back home until the sun was coming up.
Q: Describe your girlfriend Britney.
A: I’m myself around her. She brings the best in me out. She’s a really fun girl. She knows how to have a good time, and most importantly, she’s always there for me. Anything I have to say, she’ll listen. Most importantly, though, she laughs at my jokes.
Q: You’re not naturally funny. She forces a laugh, you mean?
A: Who knows? She makes me feel naturally funny, so keep it at that.
Q: Lakewood High coach Spud O’Neil?
A: Spud O’Neil’s a legend in the city of Lakewood. He’s made a Lakewood program into a very prestigious type of a program.
Q: Former Long Beach Poly coach Toby Hess?
A: He coached my brother. He coached me. I can’t thank him enough for everything he did for me and my family. Without him, I would not be where I am today.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Yogi Berra, Kobe Bryant, Andrew Luck.
Q: Why Andrew Luck?
A: To be honest with you, my friends have always made me fun of me for not having a football team growing up, and I never really watched. So, the past couple of years, I finally chose a team and I chose the Colts, ’cause I like Andrew Luck. He went to Stanford, which is a very prestigious school and a very good school.
Q: Why Yogi?
A: Try to pick the brain if the best catcher of all time. It’s between him and Yadier Molina, I think. Honestly, Yogi Berra has had more playing time as of now, so why not have Yogi Berra?
Q: What would you ask him?
A: Basic catching stuff. How to handle a staff, like what he did, like how he prepared for games … what type of pitcher was his favorite pitcher to catch. … It’s so hard to put words in my mouth for how great of a catcher Yogi Berra actually was.
Q: Why Kobe Bryant?
A: I love the Lakers, grew up a Laker fan. He’s my favorite basketball player as of now. Michael Jordan was, but I gotta rep the hometown team.
Q: You describe yourself as a goofball.
A: I just like to have fun out in the field with my teammates, and I just try to not take life too seriously, you know? Enjoy every minute of it, and I’m riding this wave. I’m gonna enjoy every minute of it.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Braveheart.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Will Smith.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Rachel McAdams.
Q: Favorite singer or entertainer?
A: Lil Jon and Drake.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Chicken teriyaki.
Q: What would you tell Mets fans about what kind of catcher they’ll have in Travis d’Arnaud?
A: Just a very team-oriented catcher who loves the game of baseball, and is gonna work his tail off to try to get a win every single day, and wants to make the playoffs.