New Mets southpaw Sean Manaea tosses around some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby:
Q: Your mound temperament?
A: Try to be even-keeled unless the moment is like extreme. I feel like I don’t really show too much emotion out there.
Q: Wasn’t there a time that you had anxiety on the mound?
A: I wouldn’t say it’s ever gone. But I learned how to like deal with that and kinda use it to my benefit, and not really run away from it, you know?
Q: What was the worst episode you had anxiety-wise on the mound?
A: I remember being on the mound and thinking, “OK, I gotta lift my leg like this, and then when I do that then I gotta break my hands like that,” when I’m facing [Mike] Trout or something like that. Very mechanical thoughts, to where it was like kinda debilitating at times. It comes and goes, but like I said, I’ve learned how to deal with all that stuff.
Q: How were you able to overcome that?
A: I would say, one, putting like a face to it. When I talk about this stuff it’s kinda like when you watch a scary movie and the big scary monster is like … you don’t know what it looks like, or anything like that, is way more terrifying, then once it’s finally revealed it’s like, “Oh,” it’s still kinda there but definitely not as scary as what your mind kinda can create, you know? I would say I would like run away from it and try to not deal with it, and that would just make it worse. So once I confronted it, and be like, “OK, I’m just anxious right now, or I’m scared or I’m super-excited,” once I was able to put names to these kind of different emotions that I was dealing with, then it started being less scary and more, “OK, I’m a little scared right now, that’s fine. You should be, it’s a big game, different environment,” stuff like that. Able to put a face and a name to it, then I can figure out how to deal with that.
Q: When you say you put a face and a name to it, can you give me an example?
A: Before a game sometimes I’ll get a lump in my throat, and that’s kind of associated with anxiousness and all that stuff, it would be kinda right before I go out and pitch, it would just be like, “Oh my gosh, this is a very uncomfortable feeling,” but I would try and stuff it deep down and not deal with it and just go with it, you know? But then I started to [think] like, “OK what is my body trying to tell me? What is happening with myself?” I learned that’s kinda like a by-product of being anxious and anxiety and all that stuff. So I was able to put a face to that, put a name to it, and now instead of running away from it, I like kinda befriend it in a way and just go along with it. Let it help me instead of trying to fight it. That’s just something I’ve done over the last few years.
Q: So you win the battle now whereas maybe you had lost that battle in the past.
A: Yeah I wouldn’t win the battle or anything like that, it’s more just like walking alongside it and just being present and not thinking “This is the worst outcome” or “This is the best outcome.” It’s just like it is what it is and trying to be even-keeled with everything and not just make things be worse than they are or better than they are.
Q: So there are times even now when you’ll have to give yourself a pep talk on the mound?
Q: A lot of times it stems from just being super-excited. But for me that takes the form of anxiousness I would say, whereas before I would just kind of shy away from that excitement and try and just throttle down and have no emotion. It’s like, “OK, I’m super-excited right now,” it’s like play into that and be super-excited, but not overshoot it or anything like that.
Q: It’s a constant battle.
A: I would say it never goes away.
Q: You thought about quitting in 2014?
A: That was the first taste of pro ball. I got drafted in ’13, but I rehabbed all that year. I struggled pretty bad the first half of the season. I was like one of the top prospects for the Royals and all this stuff and just learning how to deal with that. Finally figured some stuff out.
Q: How close did you come to quitting?
A: I wouldn’t say I was gonna hang ’em up, but that thought always crossed my mind, I would say.
Q: How did you dispel those thoughts?
A: I sat down, I was like, “OK, I know I’m sucking right now, how can I get out of this hole?” And I did. I had to work on my slider, I had to work on time to the plate, I had to figure out my routines in between throwing. It wasn’t so much the competition, it was more of like the battle of myself, trying to figure all those things out.
Q: Biggest adversity or obstacle?
A: Just the everyday kinda battle of being a big-leaguer. Getting traded to a different team, that’s kind of a struggle, getting traded to a bigger market, that’s a struggle, signing with a team, having all these expectations … having terrible games and have to confront those things and like, “OK, what happened?” Yeah, just a lot of failing over and over and over again and just being willing to eat that up and get back out there.
Q: How much has working with a sports psychologist helped you?
A: I would say it’s probably the biggest thing that’s helped me. As much as I want to think I have everything in control by myself, that’s definitely not the case. To have somebody that knows what they’re doing with like the mental side of the game I think is an invaluable part of professional sports and just everyday life.
Q: Fear of failure?
A: I would say that’s definitely a motivating factor in my life. The fear part of it is not just the fear of failing or anything like that, for me it’s like did I do everything I could to be ready for the start, be ready for the season.
Q: Whatever comes to mind: Francisco Lindor?
A: Leader, flashy, smiling … good dude.
Q: Pete Alonso?
A: Big, scary power hitter, intimidating in the box.
Q: J.D. Martinez?
A: Beautiful swing, very smart in the box, picks and chooses, just looks like a scientist in the box.
Q: Francisco Alvarez?
A: Small, boxy, cannon, young, wants to learn and overall great human being.
Q: Brandon Nimmo?
A: Smart, leadoff hitter, very hard to get out as a left-handed pitcher to a left-handed hitter — quick, and that doggedness that a lot of guys talk about.
Q: Jeff McNeil?
A: The most annoying hitter just from a trying to get him out aspect. Just puts the ball in play. Great ABs. Very smart hitter.
Q: Edwin Diaz?
A: Electric.
Q: Carlos Mendoza?
A: Smart … human aspect of the game is very big for him. I would say he’s a very good leader so far.
Q: What drives you?
A: What drives me is just a feeling of working on my craft and feeling good about the work that I put in, and just trying to be a better version of myself than what I had been. That driving force of just being good at what I do and not like a results-based thing, but I have goals and I want to accomplish those things.
Q: What specific goals?
A: Make all my starts, 200 innings, mechanical stuff that when I’m going down the mound, it feels good, the sights, the sounds, the smells, like all that stuff I can feel, and it just feels good.
Q: How many times have you watched your 2018 no-hitter against the Red Sox?
A: A hundred times (smile). I wouldn’t say the whole game, but highlights and some of that for sure. As much as I want to nitpick things from that game, it’s like I did something not a lot of people have been able to do.
Q: Why was Johan Santana your favorite pitcher?
A: Left-handed. Amazing changeup. I remember one of my first years playing Fall Ball, which is like a 12- to 18-year-old league, he was one of the guys I would try to emulate all the time. I remember his 17-strikeout game, watching that on TV.
Q: Pitching in New York?
A: Very exciting. Obviously a different change of pace for me, been in California for eight years. To come here and pitch for a storied franchise is definitely very exciting for me, my fiancée [Talet].
Q: When are you getting married?
A: November.
Q: Where did you meet her?
A: Oakland. She’s a paramedic.
Q: Why is she the right one for you?
A: She is the opposite of me. I try to be even-keeled, but she’s the go-getter, gets things done, motivates me to reach for higher things and not just be complacent with everything.
Q: Losing your brother David in December.
A: Cancer that just kinda spread throughout the rest of his body, He was my half-brother, my dad’s first kid. He was old enough to be my dad. He was always there, he lived like 30, 45 minutes away from us, and always supported me. Has a big family, and it just sucks that he’s gone and isn’t with us anymore.
Q: What was the age difference?
A: He’s 59. That’s why I’m No. 59 this year.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Ernest Shackleton; Ferdinand Magellan; Einstein.
Q: Why Magellan?
A: Just a great explorer. I’d like to see what that adventure was like. Shackleton same thing. His story of endurance is one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard. Einstein just to pick his brain a little bit.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Kung Pow! Enter the Fist.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Denzel [Washington].
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Jessica Chastain.
Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?
A: J. Cole.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Pizza or steak and mashed potatoes.
Q: The hair? What’s the latest?
A: I don’t really have like a set style or anything, it’s just whatever I’m feeling. Yeah, grew it out, now I cut it, and now I got this, so I don’t know (laugh).
Q: How would you describe that?
A: I would say clean cut … I style it, which is weird for me to say.
Q: Do you miss the long hair?
A: No, I had a great time with it, I’ll eventually be able to grow it back out again, but for the time I had it, it was a beautiful thing, and time to move on.
Q: Will the beard come back?
A: Probably. I wouldn’t put it past me.
Q: Give me a scouting report of you as a pitcher.
A: He lulls you to sleep, then before you know it, the ball’s there. He’s got a weird arm angle.
Q: How do you go about lulling a batter to sleep?
A: That’s what I’ve been told by other guys, just like very slow with everything, and then when it comes out of my hand then it’s just there. That’s what a couple of guys have told me, so I’m just gonna take that and run with it.
Q: Your velo now?
A: It was like 92-96 the other day.
Q: How is your sweeper?
A: I would say it’s great.
Q: Where is your confidence level on a scale of 1-10?
A: I would say a 9, 10.
Q: Has it ever been higher?
A: I would say no, just ’cause all the stuff I worked on this offseason was things that I knew I needed to do. Like last year was all about philosophy, this year was more about my pitches and trying to get ’em to certain shapes, separation, and all that stuff. And I think I accomplished that … there’s no reason I shouldn’t have all the confidence.
Q: So the best is yet to come for you?
A: Yeah.
Q: Tell me why you’re proud of yourself for what you’ve had to overcome.
A: Just proud of myself for not giving up, as hard as things may be, it’s still a fun adventure to keep pushing myself and want to keep going out there no matter how hard things are.
Q: Do you think you have the potential to win 20 games?
A:. Yeah. I think it just comes down to being consistent with everything that I do, and I think the way things have been going the last year-plus, we’re definitely headed in that direction. I think for me, I think it’s definitely possible,
Q: What would you tell Mets fans about this team?
A: I would say we are a very fun and engaging team. I would say that the bond that I’ve seen in spring training has already been great … I definitely think some great things could happen this year.
Q: Do you think this is a playoff team?
A: Oh yeah.
