Q&A: Michael Taylor (Part 2)
Here’s part 2 of our interview with 2008 BlueClaws OF Michael Taylor, which focuses on his time in Hawaii during their annual winter league. Click here for part 1.
Question: How was the Hawaiian Winter League?
Michael Taylor: It was good baseball. We had six outfielders on our team, so you’re only playing two or three games per week. One day on, two days off, so it’s hard to get into a rhythm. There is good competition. There are also some foreign big leaguers from Japan or Korea. It’s a different experience. You learn on the fly. They play a lot differently than we do. Spreading out 80 at-bats over two months with a lot of different factors, it’s not necessarily great on the baseball side for most guys because it’s different, but the experience is great and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Q: How are the foreign players?
MT: They throw more pitches and work harder to disrupt timing. Most domestic big leaguers, their emotions are pretty similar. It’s fastball-curve-change or fastball-slider-change. They have more deceiving motions, and change their motions a lot more. Some quick pitching, long holds, varying speeds, and they throw a lot more pitches. We had a guy who threw a four-seamer and a two-seamer, change, screwball, split-finger, all at different speeds. You’re looking at seven or eight types of pitches. Here, the best guys have maybe four. In the minors it’s usually two or three. But these guys never threw the same pitch twice and were adept at mixing up speeds and throwing anything and everything in any count. It was a challenge, especially early on. They were polished.
Q: Were you able to absorb the culture in Hawaii?
MT: The league was a lot different because you have less of a focus on baseball due to the location. You do a lot of sightseeing, an dyou have stuff to do on your off days. You’re going to different islands, you’re going to the beach, you’re going on hikes. It’s a duality between a baseball league and the culture, and it’s pushed upon you that you should enjoy Hawaii. It was a lot of fun. Every guy out there, pretty much, had never been to Hawaii. It’s a long season, so the guys who played all year, we’re tired. To be out there and see things like Pearl Harbor, the North Shore, climb Diamond Head, it’s pretty cool.
MT (ctd): Here, most of the baseball towns you’re in, you have a field, a Wendy’s, and your hotel room. When you have a chance to go outside and there’s the Waikiki shoreline or Hanauma Bay, it’s a lot different. We’re implored to take advantage of everything by the league, coaches, and our teammates.
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