Former A&M pitcher Corbin Martin living MLB dream with hometown Astros

Key notes from Corbin Martin interview

• Getting the call to the big leagues was a dream come true. It took me a while to soak it all in. I'm finally getting settled in but it has been awesome.
   
• Being at A&M just two years ago to now, it has been an amazing run. I can remember preparing for that Houston regional that we were blessed to be there. We had a great pitching staff and incredible, timely hitting.
   
• It was frustrating my first season in college. I thought I had the stuff to compete in the SEC. After our time in Houston, I told myself that enough was enough. It was time to get locked in and help your team win. That walk-off against Baylor was the biggest wakeup call of my career. It was time to stop messing around.
   
• We were on a long road trip in AAA. We had just gotten back to Round Rock and had been up since 5:00 a.m. We got on the bus and the manager said someone was going to get to the big leagues. I was sitting there with my headphones in when he told me that it was me going . I was just shaking my head, trying to stay calm. But then it hit me and it was like "wow". My heart was beating so fast. I packed up my apartment in Round Rock and drove to Houston the night before.
   
• I was trying to focus on the task at hand, the baseball game. After the first inning, I settled down and was doing what I'd been doing. After Hinch pulled me, it was so surreal and I was finally able to soak it all in.
   
• It was awesome. Having my family there. If it had been anywhere, they'd be there. You don't usually get to make your debut in your hometown so I thought it was amazing.
   
• I started feeling like one of the guys when I was in Spring Training, just being around a guy like Justin Verlander. I grew up watching him and idolizing him. To be able to be around him and watch him pitch in person, it's been amazing. Our clubhouse has a lot of awesome guys. I'm very lucky to be apart of such an amazing organization.
   
• You just gotta be more in touch with the batters. They've got a better eye and you've gotta make a better pitch. You don't get away with the same stuff you did at the lower levels. I'll learn that. I've just gotta fill up the zone and be focused on me.
   
• The equipment managers told me I could wear either #29 or #53. If I picked #29, I knew Rob would give me the hardest time. I called him that day, A&M was playing at Alabama, but it was cool to be able to tell him I made it.
   
• I always tell people I was lucky to go to college and have a coach like Rob Childress. I got to grow up and he let me grow up. I was just a kid and probably shouldn't have been playing in the SEC. It has helped me as a big leaguer, giving me the mindset that I know I'll continuously get better even now when I'm struggling.
   
• I try to keep up with Aggie baseball as much as possible. The juniors now were freshman when I was there and I try to keep up with them. I think they'll be fine in Morgantown. They just need to do what we did in 2017 and get that timely hit. Take care of the baseball defensively and you know their pitching is going to have the upper hand. Getting to a regional is never easy. They've just gotta go game by game and do whatever it takes to win.
   
• It's awesome to start a tradition at a very tradition based school. Seeing the bubbles fly at Olsen awesome knowing I had a part in starting it. We were just looking for something to keep us loose and help us win games. So we decided bubbles because everybody loves bubbles. It's so cool to see thousands of bubbles floating around. We were obviously doing something right if it has stuck.