Pitcher List Conversations are transcripts of interviews with professional baseball players – and sometimes the players discuss topics other than baseball. This has been lightly edited for clarity.
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When the New York Mets arrived at Coors Field on August 6, 2024, to play a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies, Sean Manaea had a great performance the day before against the St. Louis Cardinals, throwing seven scoreless innings, including 10 Ks. He also lowered his ERA to 3.30, which ranks ninth in the National League.
In addition to the numbers, Manaea’s success so far was also evidenced by a Mets-themed WWE belt hanging in his locker. The mood in the Mets locker room was extremely positive.
It was in this environment that I spoke to him as he talked about his sweeper, his favorite throw of 2024 and his recent decision tohang up his hair.
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Renee Dechert: You’ve played with sinkers quite a bit throughout your career, but in 2022 and 2023 you relied more on your fastball. This year you’re back to the sinker. What prompted you to make these changes?
Sean Manaea: I have the feeling that it correlates with my bike.
Early in my career, I was throwing hard. And then I lost velocity for a while, had a little problem with my shoulder. But my four-seam was good when I was throwing hard, and then I started losing velocity, so I was like, OK, I’m just going to start sinking the ball.
And then another thing that was just based on feel. My four-seam felt good sometimes, but then I lost the feel for it. Then I had to switch to my two-seam, and that just felt really good for a while.
Now we’re back on all four seams, so there have been ups and downs throughout my career.
RD: One of the things Merrill Kelly once told me that holds and throws somehow leave him and come back. Is that your experience?
SM: Yes, I would definitely say that is definitely the case.
I felt like I hit my slider really well in 2015 when I was in Double-A. And then the next year when I was in the major leagues, I just didn’t have the same feel for it and confidence in it. So I just figured it out as I went along.
The same goes for my changeup. It felt really good at the beginning of my career, but then I started to lose the feel for it.
I think a pitcher’s life is just a matter of constantly experimenting and trying to make everything feel good.
RD: Do you like this version or do you wish it were a bit more uniform?
SM: (laughs) You know, I wish it was a little more consistent. Maybe it will be in the future? Or maybe not. But I just know that as my career has gone on, I’ve had to change things and I’m glad that I’ve been able to adapt to that and change and not just stick to one thing and just not feel comfortable with what I was doing.
RD: it looks like you’re using your libero more often. Can you talk about your relationship with that pitch and its contribution to your arsenal?
SM: I experienced it for the first time last year when I got a Trevor Bauer Video and how he threw it, and I thought, wow, that’s pretty interesting. So I started throwing it, and it was good.
Same thing with the sweeper. It feels good in my hand for a while, but then I kind of lose the feel of it. I’m like, “Where is this thing going?” Sometimes it breaks way too much. Sometimes it barely breaks. And so it’s a very inconsistent pitch for me.
You know, metrically speaking, sometimes it looks good on paper, and sometimes you just wonder, “What was that?”
I’ve used a different grip the last few times I’ve tried it, and this one feels more stable in my hand, kind of like my fastball, so I can just grab it and trust that it’s going to go right.
He may not be as big as my older sweeper, but he’s much more reliable at throwing strikes. I just need to learn how to visually throw him to someone with my back foot or something like that.
RD: Which pitch was your favorite this season?
SM: I’m a big fan of fastballs.
RD: Poor choice of words on my part. Pick a specific pitch you threw.
SM: I would probably say… I mean, yesterday I had a fastball, Wilson Contreras– the strikeout to him when the guys were on first and second base. That was a key moment in the game. I had just thrown a fastball that was really high before, and then this one I had to reel it in and throw it closer to the zone. So he had to take that into account. He swung it through, and it was a very satisfying sequence.
Spontaneously, I would say that.
RD: I always find it very interesting to see which different pitches the pitchers say are their favorites. You are the first to choose something that is very current.
SM: Yeah, I think just based on how I’ve felt the last couple of outings, we’re in a good spot, so this one feels like the best one so far this year.
RD: If you could steal another pitcher’s pitch, which one would you choose and why?
SM: Probably Kodai Senga‘s “Ghost Fork” because this thing is crazy.
I don’t know what it would be like with my left hand or from my slot. It probably wouldn’t do half of what it does on him.
But just watching him pitch in person for the first time was something really special, and seeing him command the whole thing and everything, that was, that was really incredible to see.
RD: So you have a new look? What was the reason for the change?
Sean Manaea just cut his hair for the first time in four years 😳
(above @SNYtv) pic.twitter.com/0nFuQTrCvc
— MLB (@MLB) March 4, 2024
SM: My hair?
RD: Yes.
SM: You know, it started to become its own thing. And I just wanted to be, I don’t know, a little more mature this year, I guess.
So we just did it. And I generally do that anyway, but I’ve never grown my hair for four years, so…
But I mean, I shaved my head. I dyed it. I did pretty much everything I could think of. But yeah, I just wanted to change something and start over.
RD: Last question. If you spend a night out in New York, do you go with Mr. Met, Mrs. Met or Grimace?
SM: (He thinks for a few seconds.) I would probably go with Mr. Met because I feel like he’s been here the longest, I would assume, and he probably knows all the cool places to hang out.
