Ryan Thompson's NL Central comments

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mikechamp
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Ryan Thompson's NL Central comments

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These comments came from a chat with current MLB pitcher Ryan Thompson that occurred on March 13. He pitches for the Rays, and once posted a lengthy Twitter thread on the arbitration process from his 1st person perspective. (You can find him at @R_Thompson15).

Not too many NL Central questions, so I went with more bonus Q&As. You can read the whole chat at the link below.

The link to the entire chat can be found here: https://live.jotcast.com/chat/live-chat ... 15286.html

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Looking forward to seeing you guys in Cincinnati again this year! I'll be behind the Rays dugout for the whole series. What is the feeling around the clubhouse about the schedule change? Do the more trips make it exhausting or is the change refreshing?

Ryan Thompson
Looking forward to it! The trips out west are exhausting but I think we are all looking forward to seeing more stadiums and playing more teams each year.
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Who is the hardest team or stadium to play in?

Ryan Thompson
Wrigley is great. Last year it was so loud I couldn't hear the pitch com on full volume.
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Between your arbitration story and Corbin Burnes', do you think there will be an attitude shift for how other players approach their hearings knowing that teams might play every card they can?

Ryan Thompson
I hope so. I think players leave cards in their hands because we make presumptions and some arguments seem petty and silly. I hope every player learns from my case and gets creative. Player side is too robotic.
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Why do you think Cody Bellinger went from MVP to below average? As a pitcher do you lick your lips when a struggling player steps in the box?

Ryan Thompson
We all hit slumps. I've had some and hitters lick their chops at me.
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Do you like the changes the MLB made to the game, such as the pitch time, or do you think it should still be the same?

Ryan Thompson
Great question. I do like the idea behind some of the changes and one of the biggest challenges in the MLB for me finding a consistent sleep schedule so the pitch clock will be nice to be home at 10pm every night, but I do feel it's too fast.

15 seconds and 8 seconds for hitters is too fast. In what other sport are the players rushed to perform?
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Are you an autograph guy? Do fans ask for your autograph?

Ryan Thompson
I grew up as an "autograph hunter" so I have a real soft spot for kids wanting autographs. But because I am familiar with the process, there is a real right way and wrong way to go about it.

Hint- call players by their first name. Never hey you, or yell out hey 81.
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Hey Ryan, thanks for taking the time! The Rays are incredible at developing pitchers and I wanted to know what the transition was like from the Astros to the Rays in terms of your pitching progress.

Ryan Thompson
Astros are great at development as well, but the biggest change was that the Astros were trying to make me be who they envisioned me to be and their analytics department projected what I would have to do to be successful. The Rays wanted me to be the best version of myself and that gave me a lot of freedom to show the world what I was capable of.
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What 2 AAA cities deserve the next MLB expansion teams?

Ryan Thompson
I want the A's to move to Vegas and the expansion teams to be Nashville and Charlotte but it'll probably be Nashville and San Antonio.
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How many days out of 7 can you pitch an inning in a game without feeling over worked?

Ryan Thompson
3 I think is the right answer but it depends on pitch count, bullpen work, etc.
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How many pitches does it typically take you warning up in the pen to be ready?

Ryan Thompson
I am a perfectionist and that hurts me. Sometimes I throw too much. I should be ready in 10 though.
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Hey Ryan, thanks for doing this! I’m wondering how it feels in the bullpen, when you get up and loose and warmed up to pitch, then don’t get called to pitch. Do managers consider this for your availability the next day?

Ryan Thompson
It's considered but not very much. We've discussed this off and on. It's really on the player to manage his workload so it's not deemed an outing on the workload of your arm.
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Any advice to give to a kid playing little league?

Ryan Thompson
Never stop having fun.
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