Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft from Bellflower, California, Anthony Gose burst onto the scene in 2009, stealing 76 bases and playing exceptional defense in centerfield, helping to lead the BlueClaws to the 2009 South Atlantic League championship.

We had a chance to talk with Gose last week, and below is part one of our exclusive Q&A:

• How have you been spending your offseason? I went to Alabama for a few weeks (to see family). Right after instructs, I took a month off. I was pretty tired of baseball at that point. Didn’t want to see a baseball, pick one up, see a bat, anything. I Just relaxed and enjoyed myself.
• Thoughts on the Halladay deal? I thought it was crazy. Just because I know [Travis] d’Arnaud, but it was a great deal for the Phillies, getting the best pitcher in baseball. It really worked out. I’ve known d’Arnaud since we were 12 or 13. We played against each other. My high school played against his. He lives about a mile away from me.
• What do you look back on, besides the championship, as the highlight of your season? Either the [76] stolen bases or the home run in the playoffs [bottom 1 of game 1 of the finals]. That was the furthest I’ve ever hit a ball [into the WRAT Trap in CF].
• Dusty Wathan said that if he saw you after a game he wouldn’t know if you went 0-4 or 4-4. How important is the even-keeled approach? I think it had a lot to do with my year. I try not to let anything get to me. I had 500 at bats, so four or five on one night, that’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. And we were winning. Everyone loves to win. Plus, some of those 0-4 days had 4 Ks and others had four hard hit balls. It’s different.
• When you went into the draft, you went in as a hitter only, even though you could have gone high as a pitcher. Looking back, did you know it was going to work out like it has? I always had confidence in hitting and myself. Everyone tells me I’m full of confidence, so I didn’t think of it as working out this way or that. I just wanted to hit and I knew I was going to make myself successful.

Part two tomorrow.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 11:24 am and is filed under 2009 BlueClaws, Past BlueClaws, Q&As. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.