April 2006: Interview with Sean Gallagher

[Chris]

I had the great pleasure of getting to interview Sean Gallagher on the night of April 21. A very special thank you to Sean Gallagher for taking the time out of his schedule to answer some questions. Best wishes to Sean in the remainder of the 2006 season! Sean is a great young man, both off and on the field. He is someone that is very easy to cheer for, both for his play on the field and the way he conducts himself off the field.

 

Thank you to craig, JonMDavis, Serena and UK for their help in providing questions and to CaliforniaRaisin, JonMDavis, NCCubbieFan and Serena for their help in typing out the session. As always, thank you to all of you for making NSBB such a wonderful posting community!

 

 

Interview with Sean Gallagher

April 21, 2006

 

Last season, from all indications and all reports, you stopped using your slider. Why was that? Was it a mechanical concern or were you trying to conserve arm strength?

 

When I first started and started throwing a bullpen in front of Lester Strode, who is our minor league pitching coordinator, he told me to throw all of my pitches and he sat there and watched. I threw my curveball and then I started throwing my slider and he told me to scrap my slider and work on my curveball just so I can get a better feel for it and become really consistent with that. Midway or deep into last year, I felt that I had come to the point where I could throw my curveball wherever and whenever I wanted. I started tinkering with my slider again and Tom Pratt, who was my pitching coach last year in Peoria and now this year with me in Daytona again, he told me to start throwing it in the bullpen. I got back to throwing it and in the last two or three starts of the season he said I’ll let you throw it, but you can only throw it in 0-2 or 1-2 counts, just as a strike out pitch. I was more than fine with that. I came to spring training this year and Tom Pratt said to start throwing that in the bullpen. It’s an extra pitch you can have this year. Towards the end of spring training, I kind of lost my touch for it a little bit, and for the first few starts of the season, I kept on throwing it in the bullpen to try and get it back. The other morning before the game, Tom Pratt said to throw it in the bullpen until you feel it. I threw it, felt alright with it, and then I was like, alright, we’ll try to bust it out a few times here or there, we’ll see how it goes. Then as the game went on, I started getting a better and better feel for it and then started throwing it for a lot more strikes. So I think it’s definitely going to be a pitch that can help me.

 

What’s the update on your pitches? Is there anything else you're working on right now?

 

Fastball, curveball, slider, changeup is pretty much it. I'm just really trying to focus right now on developing my changeup a lot more so I can become really consistant with that and let that not be a pitch where I just throw it and hope it gets over the plate. I want to be able to get to the point where I know it's going to be a strike and I can place it almost as good as my fastball.

 

We mentioned Tom Pratt who’s now the Daytona pitching coach, how is it working with the same guy as last year?

 

It’s personally a big help because if I were to have to go with a different guy this year, he would have had to learn me, my personality, my mechanics, and my attitude all over again. Being with Tom is so neat because he was with me all of last season and he understands how I think and how I act. He’s right on top of me with my mechanics and everything. He understands that if something’s going wrong, he knows what’s going on and I know what’s going on so we’re both clicking on the same page, which makes it a whole lot easier than if I were to start up with someone new.

 

 

How is it like pitching in your home state?

 

It's unbelievable just being back here. My mom came out for the second game of the season, and there were probably 25-30 people, friends and family, who drove up to come watch me pitch. It was a big adrenaline rush. Most of my buddies hadn't seen me throw since high school. It was a thrill for them and a thrill for me.

 

Being close to home is great. If it's an off-day and I miss home, I can just hop in my truck, drive a few hours and I'm there.

 

 

For comparison's sake, Matt Weber and Grant Johnson were pitching close to home last season in Peoria. Now that the tables have turned, do you have the obligations to show them around?

 

There are a few guys from the Florida area -- Nate Spears from West Florida, Alan Rick from Palatka, Ryan Harvey, Angelo Burrows is from the Miami area -- so everyone has been showing everyone else around, getting them to know the place.

 

 

There were some hints that you’d start in AA. Were you disappointed in not starting with the Jaxx?

 

No, not at all. Like I said earlier, it was kind of a win-win situation either way. If I got to go to West Tenn, it would have been great to start out at AA. But here I can pitch near home, see my family and friends, and you really can't beat the Florida weather. Last year in Peoria, it never got any hotter than 40 degrees for my first 10-12 starts. This season, for every start it's been so much warmer and with the heat and humidity, it's a lot easier to get loose and warm up and throw. I like that a lot more than the cold.

 

 

What are your goals for this season?

 

Pretty much to go out there and do my best. I like to try to set some goals, but it's been a little unpredictable in the minors. You might want to set goals for wins or ERA, and sometimes you can go out there and just throw shutouts. But if your pitching coach and you have to work on one pitch, say if you have to work on your changeup a lot, then you need to keep throwing it to get the feel for the pitch. It's not like you toss the rest of the stats aside, but you've got to work on developing that pitch right now so that later on in your career, when you get to the big leagues, it's a reliable pitch.

 

Still, this year I'd definitely like to keep my ERA low, like I did last year. I'll probably keep it under 3.00, maybe chase that ERA record, you never know. Mainly I'd like to go out there and do my best every time.

 

 

In terms of ERA, the numbers came across earlier that you are currently the FSL ERA leader. Not sure if you knew that.

 

No, I didn't.

 

 

There's been a lot of buzz in regards to you and top 10 lists because some of the folks that come up with the lists haven't been too kind to you.

 

You had a great year last year and you pitched yourself into recognition. However, you were left off most top 10 lists because your reputation is that are very mature as a pitcher, you do know how to pitch, and that you do have very good control.

 

However, some of the sources claim that you don't light up the gun, and that might cause you problems as you advance up the ladder. You supposedly have the mental ability, but they are skeptical as to whether or not you have the 'stuff.' What do you think when you hear junk like that?

 

I use it as motivation. It's nothing bad. I go out there and prove those people wrong. I've heard some of that stuff from friends and family who search online and say, "hey, so-and-so says this." I just say they should come see me throw and I'll prove them wrong.

 

People say I don't light up the radar guns. I don't throw 96, 97 miles per hour, but the low 90s is still pretty good. If you look at 90% of major league pitchers, they're throwing between 88 and 92 mph.

 

You can have your top guys throwing 95, but even then there are a lot of guys still working who throw 88 mph fastballs and that's the hardest some of them throw I don't see anything wrong with spotting an 88mph fastball with a little movement on it. All these people are looking for 95, 96, but what's wrong with a kid who can pitch? I don't see anything wrong with that.

 

They can feel however they want about how I pitch but it's not going to help them, because I'm going to go out there and I'm going to dominate either way.

 

 

This year, Greg Maddux is a prime example that you don't have to light up the radar gun to dominate.

 

His fastest fastball is 86. He works around 82, 83 mph, with movement and just carves up hitters. He's a 300-game winner, his career ERA is just barely over 3 -- I think last year it pushed up to 3.01, if that.

 

People have different ideas about what they want to see, but you can't beat the numbers. When you can go out there and you can put up numbers like some people have with the stuff they have, you just can't beat it.

 

There are plenty of kids here who can go out and throw 95mph, but they have no clue where it's going. And they can get hit really hard. Then the next day you have a kid who throws 89mph, but he's carving people up. He throws 8 shutout innings, strikes out 12. It's different.

 

 

There’s been a lot of buzz in regards to the speed on your fastball right now. And I talked to Derek; he said that you’ve been clocked by a pair of guns, one in Daytona and one I think St. Lucie was the location, and he said you have been hitting 94 consistently. Do you keep up with numbers like that, do you ask that, or do you just go out and just throw and not worry about anything like that.

 

I really don’t worry about how hard I’m throwing; I just try to locate my pitches. If I have an 0-2 pitch I may try to throw harder to hit a certain spot (such as high and away) on 0-2 pitch, but during the game, speed isn’t something I worry about; I just worry about trying to get my team ahead.

 

I spent more time working out and lifting weights this off-season, which seems to have added a few MPH. Last year I was hitting 85—88 in Spring Training and 88—92 at the start of the season. This year I was hitting 90—93 in Spring Training and 90—94 or 95 in my first couple of starts.

 

 

Hearing you say 95, I know as soon as I get online and type this session up there are going to be people, when they read 95, they’re going to ask one question immediately: Do you know how consistent that’s been? Has that been topping out at 95, or has that been hitting it consistently, or are you aware of anything in that regard?

 

It's not consistently; I won't hit 95 20 times a game. I'll pop off 4, 5, 6, maybe 10 times a game. I pretty much sit anywhere from 91 to 93; I'll hit 94 maybe around 20 times.

 

 

Last year you were selected as the Chicago Cubs’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Two part question: What did it feel like when you got word that you got the honor, and did anything change since more Cub fans have becomes aware of Sean Gallagher?

 

It was an unbelievable phone call; I got a call on my cell phone from Chicago congratulating me on the year I had, then notified me that I won the award. When you kook at the seasons other pitchers in the organization had, such as Ricky Nolasco and Rich Hill, they had unbelievable seasons also. The fact that I was picked instead of them, it was an unbelievable experience; it shows that I was noticed

 

You get a lot more recognition from the fans, because the fans themselves are some of the greatest fans out there; they follow everything. They don’t just follow the big league team; they follow the minor league teams also. They want to see what the future is like.

 

 

How was this spring training different from the last one considering the success you had outside of rookie ball? In particular, do you look at your career any differently now that you’re a name and have started to progress along your career path?

 

No, not really. It’s just a game like you’ve wanted to play since you’re little. The number one goal for all of the players is to work hard and gain improvement in all aspects of the game and get to the big leagues and help the big league club to win as fast as they can. The biggest change this year for me in Spring Training was that I had more of a sense of where I was going to start out my season as opposed to last year. Last year I came in to Spring Training and had no idea about where I was going to go or anything along the lines of that. This year I came in knowing that I was either going to be Daytona or West Tennessee and I was more than happy with that. That put my mind at ease a little bit and let me go out and instead of trying to put up amazing numbers in a couple of starts it let me go out and work on things.

 

 

You’re in a system with many talented pitchers. Have you sought advice on pitching from any of them? If so, who did you seek and what was the conversation?

 

It’s not really trying to single out one person. You try to pick everyone’s brain and pick up little pieces here and there. I ask questions like how would they approach a hitter or how would they set things up. Some kids have an easy time locating the ball on the inside part of the plate while some have trouble on the outside. You might ask one guy how they hold their slider or curveball or changeup. We’re all trying to improve on every aspect of the game and we’re all trying to pick up a piece here or there and try to get the best that we can.

 

 

Best part about being in the Chicago Cubs organization?

 

You can’t beat it, it’s an unbelievable organization. The way you’re treated from the top to the bottom, everyone’s on the same plane. Look at some of the instructors that we have, some of the best out there. We have plenty of guys with big league experience. Just look at our coaching staff in Daytona. We have Richie Zisk and Don Buford who both played 12-13-14 years in the big leagues. Richie has over 250 career homeruns. Then you have a guy like Ton Pratt who has been around the game forever.

 

 

I was told about an interview, maybe with Steve at Inside the Ivy, where you said you used to collect baseball cards and it was really cool to be on one now. Is that a true statement?

 

It is. It’s something that every little kid goes through. They collect baseball cards or they collect something. A lot of people probably collected baseball cards when they were little. It was always like “I got this guy or this guy” and you try to learn everything. I remember, I think it was the second day after I signed with my old agent, that he called and said “Hey, I got you a card deal”. I was kind of like, “What?”, and he said “I got you on a baseball card”. I thought that was cool but it really didn’t hit me until three months later when the card company sent me a bunch of cards. I thought whoa, that is me on a baseball card, and people are actually going to buy and sell these. It was an awesome experience. To see your own face on a baseball cards, it’s unbelievable.

 

 

Which of your cards is your favorite?

 

I really don’t have a favorite card. Seeing your own card and having people like fans and little kids ask, “Will you sign this card for me?” and you think wow, this kid is following you, he’s a fan and everything. It’s fun.

 

 

I presume your family has all of your cards?

 

Oh yes, oh yes they do.

 

 

Do you collect memorabilia? If you do, what is your favorite card or collectible in your collection?

 

I really haven’t collected anything since I was little. Now my big thing is pictures and pictures with some of the people you meet.

 

 

I don’t know how familiar you are with NSBB and I don’t know if you’ve been on the site or not...

 

I go on the site religiously, it’s unbelievable. I go on there and I can read about what’s happened throughout the system that day in every game. I’m friends with a lot of guys in the system and you like to check up and see how they’re doing and follow everything like that. Northsidebaseball has done an amazing job of following.

 

 

What message do you have to the fans at NSBB who keep up with you guys every night?

 

Keep everything up. You guys really make it worth it to go on there. Just to think how into the game and how much they understand about everything, it’s unbelievable. I can’t express it anymore, it’s just amazing the job you guys do.

[CubsWin]

DJAXX, thank you so much. Great job!

[SouthSideRyan]

Fanboy in me but,

 

I go on the site religiously, it’s unbelievable. I go on there and I can read about what’s happened throughout the system that day in every game. I’m friends with a lot of guys in the system and you like to check up and see how they’re doing and follow everything like that. Northsidebaseball has done an amazing job of following.

 

That's awesome.

[sethuel1]

This is a fantastic interview. Well done, all involved.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Sean's my new favorite thing in Daytona. Then again, having been to Daytona, it didn't take much to secure that top spot. :wink: