Five questions with John Jaso

Five questions with John Jaso

Five questions with John Jaso

Q: You've played for the Rays, Athletics and Pirates, three of the more innovative teams in baseball. Do you feel a similar thread between all them?

A: "The game is constantly changing at a certain level. When you get on the field and the bases are still 90 feet apart and everything like that, it's all the same there, but when it gets into upper management and everything like that, and then you throw agents into the mix, the game is changing there. There's a lot more paperwork that's going on, there's a lot more stat sheets, there's a lot more numbers being thrown around and as that evolves there's that feeling that goes along with it that you have to evolve with it, and take into account all those things or you're going to be one step behind the competition. As athletes, you're programmed that way to where you're almost feeling like if you're not taking that one last swing in the cage someone else is taking that one last swing in the cage. You see that across different teams and some teams might not do it -- I don't know -- but the teams that I've been on they're definitely looking at statistics, and stat sheets and everything. It's cool. I think sometimes people can get carried away with it, but if they know how use it right and not overdo it it's a good."

Q: Do you buy into any of the analytical stuff?

A: "As a player, I'm just concentrated on doing my thing and helping out these guys in the clubhouse any way I can."

Q: You caught Felix Hernandez's perfect game when you were with the Mariners. What do you remember from that game?

A: "It was just amazing. It was a cool, cool experience, probably one of the single-day best experiences of my life on a baseball field. I just remember the stadium was practically empty because it was a Wednesday day game, so it was practically empty and then as it was going it was like, seventh inning--perfect game. Eighth inning--perfect game. The stadium was packed by the ninth inning. Everyone was calling off work and going out to the stadium, and then it happened and it was such a great moment. It was against my former team, too -- the Rays."

"It was unbelievable and for Felix to get that -- he was a great teammate. He's a great guy. It was just great for that organization, too, because we were bad. We didn't win very many games, so to have something like that happen during the season, it was just an awesome, awesome thing for the city and the team."

Q: Did you play sports other than baseball growing up?

A: "No, it was strictly baseball. They tried to get me to go football, but it was fall baseball time."

Q: What are some of your other hobbies?

A: "After school got out and in the summer time it was backpacking, and camping and fishing. All outdoors stuff. My dad--he took us out to the mountains a lot growing up, and kind of built our appreciation for the outdoors and everything like that. Out there is all nature.

"It's a pretty granola place of the country."

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 11:17 PM with the headline "Five questions with John Jaso ."