Phillies: Q&A with former Phillies pitcher Brett Myers
We interview a 2008 World Series champion and former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Brett Myers.
A few weeks ago, fans got to read a one-on-one interview with former Philadelphia Phillies‘ catcher Chris Coste. With the current pandemic, everyone has extra time on their hands. As a result, I got a chance to interview former Phillies pitcher Brett Myers who was a first-round pick in 1999. He spent eight seasons in Philadelphia and was a part of the 2008 World Series team during his tenure. Enjoy this conversation we had with the former starting pitcher.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Tell us about how you got into baseball at a young age.
Brett Myers: I dreamed of playing in the big leagues as a seven-year-old to play. There were a lot of ups and downs along the way. You find out what type of man you are through the adversity you face. There is always a learning moment when you fail. I did boxing as a kid as well and gained a tough mentality which made me want to be the best.
Who has been a role model or influential coach in your life?
Brett Myers: I grew up admiring Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan and eventually met both of them during my career. Coaching-wise my dad really helped and pushed me along the way. My high school coaching staff helped me out a lot as well. In the pros, Rod Nichols and Brad Arnsberg were influential. They earned my trust and helped me control my emotions as a hard-nosed kid earlier in my career.
How did you overcome injuries during your career?
Brett Myers: That is the hardest thing in the world to do. You are on your own island. You want to help the team, but you can’t. It’s lonely but how you bounce back from it makes you a better man. I just tried to fight and get back as quickly as I could.
Talk about your coaching staff throughout your career and how they impacted your success.
Brett Myers: You have to build a relationship with your coaches and be willing to trust them. You have to be willing to try what they tell you to try. You also have to be willing to speak up if it doesn’t work and let them know that you need to try something new. It’s more about a relationship than just learning how to perform.
Tell us about the importance of mental preparation before each practice and game.
Brett Myers: I tried to figure out who I would face and what the lineup would be like before a game. I overthought a lot and couldn’t sleep some nights. I put a lot of stress on myself. The first inning was always my biggest problem because I always worried about how good my stuff would be that day. When I stopped worrying about my bullpen session before the game is when I became a better pitcher. The bullpen is just for you to get loose, it is not about honing your pitches before the game. You don’t always have your best stuff so you have to be on your game and fight.
Was it difficult to transition between a bullpen role and a starting role at certain points during your career?
Brett Myers: It wasn’t hard in terms of my pitch arsenal since I had four pitches. Tom Gordon really helped me transition into the bullpen role and taught me the ins-and-outs of being a closer. You have to know the hitter your facing and how that will affect the situation. It’s especially important to just bear down one pitch at a time and go after each hitter in a one-run game.
You certainly didn’t seem nervous in your MLB debut against the Chicago Cubs. What was going through your head and what was it like to put on those red pinstripes for the first time?
Brett Myers: It’s actually a funny story. There was a guy named Pete Zamora who was with me in triple-a, and he kept telling me how much better Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior was than me. In my debut, I faced off against Prior and wanted to prove Zamora wrong. It felt good to get the win.
(Myers pitched eight innings allowing just one run off two hits with five strikeouts and a walk)
What was your favorite pitch in your arsenal?
Brett Myers: My favorite pitch was a strike. I liked throwing strikes [laughs]. My go-to pitch when I was struggling was my curveball. I’ve thrown it my whole life and have always been a curveball guy. I didn’t learn a slider/cutter until around 2005 or 2006 under Rich Dubee, and I didn’t develop a decent changeup until 2010. Learning those other pitches changed my whole perspective on how to attack hitters.
Who was the toughest hitter you faced during your career?
Brett Myers: Everybody thinks it’s Barry Bonds or one of the bigger guys, but I could not get the scrappy hitters out for the life of me. David Eckstein was a pain. I could not throw something nasty enough to get him out. He would always run up my pitch count so I started to just throw it down the middle and see how far he could hit it just to get past him in the lineup [laughs].
What made the 2008 Phillies team so special?
Brett Myers: We got a small taste of the playoffs in 2007. Then, we came back in 2008 and Jimmy Rollins said we were the team to beat. For me personally, it was special because of all of the adversity I faced. I had a terrible first half of the season and got sent down to the minors. It was a wake-up call, and I came back as a different pitcher. I just kept the game plan simple.
All of the pitchers in that rotation fed off of each other. We all talked about how to attack each hitter in the opponents’ lineup. I had Joe Blanton to talk to and Cole Hamels had Jamie Moyer to talk to. We were all competitive and wanted to outdo whoever pitched the night before.
Talk to us about game two in the 2008 NLDS where you contributed both on the mound and at the plate with the crowd behind you.
Brett Myers: Yeah, a lot of people forget that I pitched that game [laughs]. It got overshadowed by the hitting. It’s different adrenaline going through your body with 40,000 plus fans on their feet in the playoffs. The energy is different. I was so amped up which caused me to struggle a bit in the first inning on the mound.
When I came up to bat, I realized there was no pressure to get a hit with a future hall of fame pitcher in C.C. Sabathia on the mound. It sounds crazy, but I felt like he was throwing beach balls. The swings might not have represented it, but I felt like that. I honestly don’t know why. I just bore down.
By my third at-bat, Rollins and Shane Victorino were telling me how to watch for the slider. I had no idea what they were talking about but he gave me a first-pitch fastball, and I shot it to the opposite field for a hit. It was fun to contribute to Phillies’ history in that way.
That has to be one of my favorite memories of the 2008 season.
Brett Myers: It wasn’t the three hits and three RBIs in the next game in the NLCS? [laughs] That was another freakish thing. Most managers never let pitchers swing at the first pitch but in the playoffs, Charlie Manuel let us loose. I went 4-5 in the playoffs and every hit I got was on the first pitch. I said to Charlie if he would’ve let me do this sooner, we would’ve won a lot more ball games or at least I would have. Sometimes I had to help myself out.
Even though you guys lost game two of the World Series, you pitched great. What was it like to pitch in a World Series game that you dreamed of pitching in since your childhood?
Brett Myers: Thank you for bringing that up, the only loss we had in the World Series [laughs]. Honestly, it didn’t feel like we were in the World Series since we were in Florida. I’m not bashing Tampa Bay Rays‘ fans, but I would’ve much rather pitched in Philly. It was a much better atmosphere in Philly. Plus, I would’ve gotten to hit. Joe Blanton stole my thunder with his home run.
Who would you say was the funniest teammate of yours during your career?
Brett Myers: Ryan Madson was pretty funny. He had everybody laughing when he would use the microphone on the team bus. My face hurt a lot after hearing him [laughs].
How important was locker room chemistry during your time with the Phillies?
Brett Myers: We were all out there on agenda to win a championship whether we liked each other or not. I’m not saying we didn’t like each other but we knew what our goal was. We were highly focused after getting swept in 2007 and everything clicked in 2008. It was like a band of brothers. We spent so much time with each other.
What made you decide to hang up the cleats after 2013?
Brett Myers: My arm was on fire. I wanted to try to get through it, but I couldn’t. The last fastball I threw was only 82 miles per hour, and I threw it as hard as I could. I couldn’t even grip the weights in the weight room. It took forever to heal. Even two years after my injury, my arm was still hurting.
You froze Wily Mo Pena on a curveball to win the 2007 National League East title. How special was that memory since the Phillies hadn’t won the division since 1993?
Brett Myers: Wily Mo Pena was always an athletic freak. I played against him in the minors, and he was an absolute monster. He was so strong. We knew never to throw him a fastball. I knew what I was going to throw him the whole time because he couldn’t hit a breaking ball.
That was a crazy stretch of games because J.C. Romero threw about eight out of ten days, and I threw about seven out of nine. We just wanted the ball every day, and we were ready. We knew the pain would go away when we got to the playoffs. I had to step off of the mound a couple of times because the stadium was so loud, and I didn’t want to overthink and get too amped up.
I got so excited when we clinched that I threw the ball into the third deck and Chris Coste got upset with me [laughs]. Then, I jumped into the stands to celebrate and got mauled but it was worth it.
After playing in ballparks all over the country, does any other fan base compare to Philadelphia at all?
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Brett Myers: Absolutely not. There is no way. Philly fans will boo you to your face and praise you too your face. I respect that about them. What Philly fans didn’t know about me was that I was beating myself up more than they were beating me up. I was more upset than you were when I didn’t get my job done. It was infuriating. Sometimes it doesn’t always work out though. It’s not always just a lack of preparation or skill. Sometimes the other guys are better than you. That’s why people come to baseball games because you never know what will happen.
We love to hear that, athletes like you are perfect for the city of Philadelphia.
It’s just passion. They know what they want. They expect a lot out of their athletes. I loved that about the city. I played with the same passion. It takes a certain personality to play in the city of Philadelphia. You just have to have that passion that they have. I have never seen that in another city. It was unbelievable.
Thank you so much for your time Brett, we enjoyed talking to you. We miss watching you pitch, and we hope you stay safe.
You got it. Thank you.