For my inaugural post on this blog I decided to interview a good friend of mine, former Tampa Bay Devil Rays left handed reliever Steve Kent. Steve was born in Frankfurt, Germany on October 3rd 1978 and currently resides in Texas where he is a pitching instructor at the University of Baseball. Steve pitched for the Rays in 2002 and compiled a 5.65 Earned Run Average over 34 games while gathering a lone save on May 19th.
I wanted to ask him a few questions on his career and some thoughts he had on the upcoming 2012 season. The first question I had for him was which organization he most enjoyed playing for, "I most enjoyed playing with the Mariners. They were the team that drafted me and taught me how to be a professional. I am still friends with guys that were on my first team in 1999 the Everett Aqua Sox." After this I asked him which player he looked up to the most, "Being from Texas I have to say Nolan Ryan. I always wore 34 growing up. I can still remember hearing my mom yell from the stands, that's my little Nolan Ryan." Steve has pitched in several countries such as the United States, Venezuela, The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama, Nicaragua, China and Japan. I was curious which country he felt had the most passionate fans, "All the Latin American countries are passionate about their baseball but if I have to name one I'm going with Venezuela. I say that because I've played there 4 times. They make it so much fun." I remember watching Venezuela play in the World Baseball Classic in 2009 in Miami and I completely agree, their fans definitely do love their baseball!
I was curious to hear if Steve had any surprise picks for a breakout player in this 2012 season, "I like that lefty in Tampa. Matt Moore. He might do something this year to surprise everyone." The final question I had for Steve was about his favorite big league memory, "There are so many but one stands out, pitching in Yankee Stadium with my mom in the stands, 3 2/3 scoreless out of the pen."
I want to thank Steve for being so cool and for signing this sick card for me (at the top) I hope everyone enjoyed my inaugural Player Profile!
Hal
