GaryMrMets
10-29-2006, 04:29 PM
http://blogs.nydailynews.com/mets/archives/2006/10/interview_with_prospect_kevin.php
October 29, 2006
Spotlight On: Mets Prospect Kevin Mulvey
Kevin Mulvey, the Mets’ first pick in the ’06 draft, a righthanded pitcher from Villanova and a second-round selection, spoke with me yesterday at the Arizona Fall League. Mulvey is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in three starts for the Mesa Solar Sox.
Mets minor-league pitching coordinator Rick Waits, who makes his home in Tucson, Ariz., drove up to work with Mulvey during a bullpen session yesterday. Waits said he’s impressed with how Mulvey is able to rise to the challenge of the competition, consistently improving his game to match the steadily increasing talent he’s facing.
Here are some excerpts from the interview with Mulvey:
How has the transition been from the Big East to Double-A Binghamton to the Arizona Fall League?
In college I got to play in the Cape Cod League, and that was pretty much some of the better players in college, swinging wood. At the beginning of the summer it was like they were at a disadvantage because they’re used to swinging metal, and you put the wood bat in their hands and they struggle a little bit. But toward the end of both of those summers, those hitters figured out how to hit. You can compare them quite a bit to Double-A hitters. I’d say the only difference between those hitters and hitters in Double-A – professional hitters – and hitters here is the strike zone. They’re not going to swing at balls in the dirt with two strikes, where in Cape Cod you might be able to get away with throwing a ball in the dirt and having a hitter get himself out.
Being from New Jersey, this is extra special?
I grew up just as a local fan. I rooted for all the teams – Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets – in every sport. But it’s definitely special to play for a hometown team, without a doubt.
I just found this out this year, when my mom (Carole) was giving me birth, she was in the hospital room with my dad (Tom), and the Mets game was on when Dwight Gooden pitched. That’s what they were watching as I was being born. Unbelievable. (Mulvey’s birthday is actually May 26, 1985; the game was played the night before, while his mom was in labor.)
Since you turned pro, how has your pitching developed?
Just trying to develop more consistency in the strike zone with every pitch (fastball, slider, curveball, changeup), getting ahead more often with breaking stuff and offspeed stuff, and trying to get in on hitters with my fastball is what I’m working on now – trying to get really far in. I’m actually working on a cutter in this bullpen. We’ll see how that works out.
http://blogs.nydailynews.com/mets/archives/mulvey2.gif
http://blogs.nydailynews.com/mets/archives/mulvey1.gif
October 29, 2006
Spotlight On: Mets Prospect Kevin Mulvey
Kevin Mulvey, the Mets’ first pick in the ’06 draft, a righthanded pitcher from Villanova and a second-round selection, spoke with me yesterday at the Arizona Fall League. Mulvey is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in three starts for the Mesa Solar Sox.
Mets minor-league pitching coordinator Rick Waits, who makes his home in Tucson, Ariz., drove up to work with Mulvey during a bullpen session yesterday. Waits said he’s impressed with how Mulvey is able to rise to the challenge of the competition, consistently improving his game to match the steadily increasing talent he’s facing.
Here are some excerpts from the interview with Mulvey:
How has the transition been from the Big East to Double-A Binghamton to the Arizona Fall League?
In college I got to play in the Cape Cod League, and that was pretty much some of the better players in college, swinging wood. At the beginning of the summer it was like they were at a disadvantage because they’re used to swinging metal, and you put the wood bat in their hands and they struggle a little bit. But toward the end of both of those summers, those hitters figured out how to hit. You can compare them quite a bit to Double-A hitters. I’d say the only difference between those hitters and hitters in Double-A – professional hitters – and hitters here is the strike zone. They’re not going to swing at balls in the dirt with two strikes, where in Cape Cod you might be able to get away with throwing a ball in the dirt and having a hitter get himself out.
Being from New Jersey, this is extra special?
I grew up just as a local fan. I rooted for all the teams – Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets – in every sport. But it’s definitely special to play for a hometown team, without a doubt.
I just found this out this year, when my mom (Carole) was giving me birth, she was in the hospital room with my dad (Tom), and the Mets game was on when Dwight Gooden pitched. That’s what they were watching as I was being born. Unbelievable. (Mulvey’s birthday is actually May 26, 1985; the game was played the night before, while his mom was in labor.)
Since you turned pro, how has your pitching developed?
Just trying to develop more consistency in the strike zone with every pitch (fastball, slider, curveball, changeup), getting ahead more often with breaking stuff and offspeed stuff, and trying to get in on hitters with my fastball is what I’m working on now – trying to get really far in. I’m actually working on a cutter in this bullpen. We’ll see how that works out.
http://blogs.nydailynews.com/mets/archives/mulvey2.gif
http://blogs.nydailynews.com/mets/archives/mulvey1.gif