Ross Stripling talks life in the big leagues, start of 2017 MLB season

Key notes from Ross Stripling interview

• I feel good about the start of the year. I had a few rough outings at first but then started trending in the right direction last season. I just found out that I made the team and will be coming out of the bullpen in long relief. That’s a little different for me but I’m excited. Spring training has gone well. We just finished a series here in Anaheim against the Angels and the season starts Monday.
  
  
• I threw some relief last year with the Dodgers. I did it definitely in the playoffs and a little it down the stretch. I have a little bit of experience under my belt, but I'm certainly learning as I go. It's an adrenaline rush. When you start, you know exactly when you're throwing, but in the bullpen when they say your name, there's no feeling like that.
  
  
• As a rookie playing in the major leagues you're going to give hitters a lot of credit. Hitting is hard so you have to be on the attack early. That's how [Clayton] Kershaw's mentality is, he is in your face from pitch one with unbelievable aggression. That's hard to have as a rookie because you don't have experience and know that you can get big league hitters out. This year it's about confidence and not giving hitters anything. I was getting into hitters counts last year.
  
  
• He [Kershaw] claims he's an Aggie because his now wife was going there. I like to keep him up with A&M football and baseball. I'm trying to get him to come to a game with me. Having him around is unbelievable. To see how he goes about his business and his mentality, he is going to go down as one of the best ever. We have similar pitches and I am able to feed off of him. He's not super vocal but you can shadow him for a day and you'll learn a lot.
  
  
• You want to go out and have a little bit of success in your first outing. I don't think you expect to throw a no-hitter, but if you go out and absolutely struggle on your first outing it's going to be difficult to get some confidence. This league can be tough, you look at me and I had a few good outings but after that they knew what I was throwing. To be able to go through a line-up like the Giants in San Fransisco in my debut was really good for my confidence that I can have success at this level.
  
  
• The baseball is incredible at this level and the locker room stuff is fun. The way some of the veterans take care of the young guys, Kershaw bought me a really fancy suit. The meals you eat are awesome, especially on the road and the veterans usually will take some rookies out to some nice dinners. Last year, I don't think you could beat the playoffs, playing in Wrigley was incredible and something that I'll always remember.
  
  
• On the day that I'm throwing I'm pretty locked in but when I'm just in the dugout I'm looking around. There are A-listers everywhere and there's one throwing out the first pitch each day. It's fun and a photoshoot in the dugout. I caught Keith Urban's first pitch last year. It's constant celebrities walking around. I can lock in when I'm pitching but when I'm not I turn into a fan boy.
  
  
• It seems like we have a couple of freshman that are studs. I see nothing but good things about Shewmake and am excited to have him for two more years. To my knowledge Rob [Childress] has never had a rebuilding year. I'm sure he's learning on the go here. He wants to have success, but with these young guys it's about developing them and hoping these next few years are better. This year isn't over yet, they're going to have to grind through it and get better.