July 22, 2002
Notre Dame rising sophomore pitcher Grant Johnson is spending the summer of 2002 with the USA National Team, an elite 22-player squad comprised of players under the age of 21. Team USA currently is competing in an international tournament in the Netherlands (the Americans opened with a 2-0 win over Taiwan and an 8-0 win over South Africa) before heading down the coast to Italy for the World Championships.
Prior to heading overseas, Johnson returned to the Midwest last week as the starting pitcher in the July 15 game vs. the Great Lakes League All-Stars (see attached photo gallery). After the game, he had a few minutes to sit down with ND baseball SID Pete LaFleur for this Q&A (look for more diary entries from Johnson and his Irish teammates later in the summer).
Q: The last time most people from Notre Dame saw you was after the second loss to Stanford at the College World Series. What was your timetable?
A: “I actually had to leave the next morning at 6:00 a.m., before anyone else got up. I had to be out of there and had a flight at 8:30. I found out at 11:00 the night before, so at the last minute I was going to Arizona for the Team USA tryouts. Later that day, we went to Hi-Corbett Field, which is the spring training facility for the Colorado Rockies and where Team USA holds its tryouts. It was a real nice clubhouse and the first time I had been there. Last year with the junior national team, we went to Joplin (Missouri).
“I pitched a few times in practice games and made the final cut. They had done scouting reports on us during the year and followed us. We would practice at 7:00 in the morning, then go back to the hotel and play a game at night. I had one bullpen and one five-inning outing.
“It was a little hard to focus, going right from Omaha to Tucson without having a chance to say goodbye to everyone on the team. And I haven’t been home for quite a while and still have another month before going home.”
Q: Many of your USA teammates played in the College World Series. Have you had a chance to share experiences with them?
A: “I had not known anyone from this team before, except Huston Street (from the 2001 junior national team). I talked to Kyle Bakker and Eric Patterson about their experience, because they were both from Georgia Tech. A lot of the players were rushed out from Omaha. I came in on a flight with three guys from Georgia Tech.”
Q: What are your memories from the USA’s series with Japan?
A: “It was real weird playing a team from another country, because they don’t know what we are saying and we don’t know what we’re saying. So sometimes on the mound, the catcher would call for an inside fastball and I would just say ‘outside’ from the mound, with the hitter already in the box. They also play a different game, they don’t hit home runs and are mostly slap hitters. They don’t strike out much. They play real solid defense and are disciplined hitters. They are like a semi-pro team. They also do some things that we consider ‘bush league’, like the batter looking back at the catcher’s sign or the batter in the box will stare at the coach giving the pitch.
“I had my first outing versus Japan, out of the bullpen, and I’d been a little sick before that so things were a little shaky at first.”
“The fact that the USA had never lost a home series to Japan put a little pressure on the team but it was more of a pride thing, where we didn’t want to lose in our own county (the USA won the decisive fifth game),
“One of the Japan games was in Maryland at Ripken Park, which is one of the best parks I’ve ever been to and Cal Ripken was there. It had a good atmosphere and there were a lot of people doing chants for the USA team. There was a big “jumbotron” that had past moments of USA history.”
Q: You are part of a pretty dominating staff this summer. Have you picked up anything from the other pitchers, especially the top starters Mark Sullivan (Houston) and Kyle Sleeth (Wake Forest)?
A: “Some things I’ve learned from Sullivan are bringing your arm through at the same time you’re bringing your glove down, and bending over for the follow-thru. The biggest thing I’ve taken from the other pitchers is Sleeth. He has shown me how he throws his changeup and it has worked for me really well. I’ve gotten five or six strikeouts on it and I’ve thrown it for strikes so hopefully I’ll have it for next year.”
Q: What has been your typical pitching approach with Team USA?
A: The pitching coach is mostly calling all the pitches. He calls more off speed pitches than any coach I’ve played for before, but that’s fine because the summer is a time to work on stuff for the real season. I’ve been working on my off speed pitches and that’s what I really need work on. So I think it has helped my development.”
Q: You had a nice win during series versus the New England college league teams, beating the team from Maine.
A: “My arm felt real good that night and my slider was breaking real sharp. In my outing versus Japan, I didn’t have the chance to throw any changeups so that series was the first time I got to throw some. I struck a few guys out on changeups and was spotting my pitches pretty well. I made a few mistakes and they got hits off them. They were a pretty good team.”
Q: What things are you missing most about the Notre Dame baseball program?
A: “The biggest thing I miss is the friendships on the team. Here they know me a little bit but they don’t even know me enough to call me ‘Dubber.’ Back at Notre Dame, every single guy on the team is like your best friend.
“The team as a whole is very loose, maybe more laid back than we should be because you just go out there and expect to win without much of a fight. You go out there with 22 of the best players in the nation and you don’t really expect to lose.”
Q: Looking back at the college season, what were your expectations?
A: “Individually, coming in I just wanted to get some playing time but I was glad to make the type of impact that I did. As a team, I always thought we had the players to go to the College World Series – it was just a matter of getting it done. Once we started pretty poorly, I was a little worried but then we got rolling and it went our way.”
Q: Did anyone in particular help you during your freshman season?
A: “Everyone on the team picked me up when I was doing bad or kept me going when I was doing well. Coach (Brian) O’Connor was teaching me how to pitch, in high school all I did was throw fastballs. Paul O’Toole always was coming out to the mound and giving me some advice on what to do, keep calm and do the things we need to win. Andy Bushey was the guy who always was there to cheer you up and be supportive. He’s a great leader. And J.P. Gagne, I like sitting next to him during the games that I didn’t pitch because every pitch he would say things like, ‘That was a good pitch’ or ‘This is what you should do on this pitch’ or ‘In this count, you don’t want to do that.’ And then when I’d go out and pitch I’d be able to remember those type of things.”
Q: What are your main thoughts about Omaha and the College World Series?
A: “I was amazed by how much media and fans were there. There definitely were some diehard Notre Dame fans there. One of the funniest moments was when the starters did their headshots for ESPN and Javi Sanchez said that everyone calls him ‘Hollywood’ and then Joe Thaman said, ‘Nobody calls Javi Hollywood.’ There were a lot of funny moments like that and it was just such a great all-around experience.”
Q: How about your feelings as you get ready to head overseas?
A: I pitched in Cuba last summer and have taken some vacations to Mexico but this is the biggest trip I’ve made. I’m excited and a little homesick at the same time. I’m excited to go over there and see what Europe is all about.
Q: What has been you biggest improvement as a pitcher since the start of the year?
A: “One of the biggest adjustments I have made is knowing what to do in certain counts and just knowing how to pitch. Throwing the off speed pitches when I need to, throwing several pitchers for strikes and knowing how to get batters out by keeping them off balance the whole game, get easy outs and let them hit the ball.
“Who would have thought, I was recruited a little bit but there I was pitching in the College World Series. It’s been a great year so far.””