Interview Questions for Mike Maroth

[planet planet]

Mike Maroth, new starting pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, has graciously agreed to answer questions from posters on GRB! If you would like to ask him a question, feel free to post them here. The deadline for submitting questions is July-2-07. Once Mike has had an opportunity to answer them, the responses will be posted in the Interview Forum.

This session will be coordinated in accordance with our Q & A Guidelines.

Information from Mike's web site:

Personal & Family Life

Birthdate: August 17, 1977
Birthplace: Orlando, Florida
Boone High School - Orlando, Florida
Class of 1995
University of Central Florida "Golden Knights"
1995-1998
Majored in Business Administration

Career Accomplishments

Major League debut: June 8, 2002-Pitched 7 shut out innings.
First Major League win and first Major League hit (off Curt Schilling) came against the Arizona Diamondbacks during my second career start on June 14, 2002.
Winning 14 games in 2005
Shut out against the NY Yankees, allowing only one hit.
Part of the team turn around for the Detroit Tigers

[Dillagii]

Thanks a lot for taking our questions Mike.

1. Saw you pitch on Monday night. Congrats and you did a phenomenal job. Where you nervous when you took the mound with Cardinals Jersey?

2. How excited are you to pitch under the supervision of Dave Duncan?

3. Who was your Idol when you grew up?

[Hungary Jack]

Thanks for taking my questions.

Maroth probably would not be considered to have "overpowering" or "wicked" stuff. But his first start as a Cardinal showed a masterful mix of changing speed and location. What is Maroth's approach to getting batters out (in his own words)?

[heyzeus]

Welcome to the Cardinals, Mike! We're glad to have you on the team.

1. Do you have any nicknames we can start chanting next time you're throwing a two hitter for us?

2. During your first game for the Cards against the Mets, the ESPN commenters spent a lot of time discussing your pickoff move, and noting that you often look home when throwing to first and pitch home while looking at the runner. How did you develop this move?

[G. Keenan]

Hi Mike,

Many, many thanks for agreeing to take our questions, and congrats on your excellent first outing with the Cardinals!

My question is: How much work is involved with switching leagues? Are you bombarded now with scouting reports for a lot of unfamiliar hitters? Do you think that you're going to have to adjust your pitching for NL hitters, or are they going to have to adjust to you?

[Fat Strat]

Mike, talk a little bit about your involvement in community service when you were with Detroit. What kinds of service projects were you involved in?

Why do you feel that giving back to your community is important?

I know you've barely gotten your feet wet with the Cardinals, but any plans for how you can get involved in the St. Louis area?


Also, what pitches do you throw?

Any pitches that you've been working on but rarely use in a game?

Has Dave Duncan or the coaching staff given you any suggestions on how you can improve your game and become more consistent as a quality starter?


Great first start with the Cardinals! We're all very excited to have you in StL, and we wish you the best this year and next year!

[maddash]

Mike, thanks for taking our questions.

Is there anyone on the current Cardinals team that you've played with before?

You credit Kenny Rogers with giving you advice that helped you to a great early start in '06, can you talk about what kind of advice he gave you as far as pitching goes?

Chris Carpenter is coming back from surgically removed bone spurs, speaking from experience (as you recently had elbow surgery), can you give us an idea of what to expect out of him for the second half of the year? How did your arm feel coming off a surgery like that?

[Redbirdruss]

Hi Mike and welcome to the Cardinals.

I would like to ask you about another aspect of your game... Hitting.

I think I read somewhere that Jim Leyland used you as a pinch hitter in a interleague game.

Can you tell us about your approach to hitting and your best geuss at what you OPS will be at the end of the season?

Thanks!
RedBirdRuss

[mikechamp]

Welcome to the Cardinals, Mike.

Obviously, you confer with the pitching coach and catchers both before and during the game when facing an opponent. But how often do pitchers talk to their own hitters, either in the clubhouse pre-game or in the dugout during the game, to strategize or make adjustments?

[TheoSqua]

What player do you hope your career most resembles when you're done with baseball? Do you look at guys like Glavine and Moyer for inspiration for future success or does someone else inspire you?