Bryan Pritz’s official RSI Blog

You see professional baseball players on TV and you instantly get an impression of that player by the way they act or the way that the commentators talk about them. Many times, you think that because a player is really good he is probably a good guy. Announcers tend to talk highly about a kid who is an incredible athlete. But how well do you really know that player? You don’t. Many players are completely different on the field vs. off the field. Sometimes their God given ability dictates how people view that player.

 I can think of several players where the public absolutely loved the guy, when in turn he would be in the dugout talking about how much he hates fans and wish they would leave him alone.

As I watched Clay Buchholz pitch last night the commentators were puting him on a pedestal above all others, both in ability and as a person. But what is Clay really like off the field? As a teammate of his for a few years I will tell you.

Clay is one of the nicest kids you could meet. He also happens to have ridiculous pitching ability. He is someone that will talk to anyone, rarely “Big Leagues” anyone and will actually go out of his way to help people. This is something you don’t see everyday, especially from a Big League pitcher. As a fan you may see him fly by you and not sign an autograph, but I would too if I were him. He gets pestered every day for a million autographs and is expected to concentrate on his career.

 I found myself nervous watching him pitch last night, as if it meant something to me if he did well. This type of reaction out of me only comes out rarely. I think he deserves a chance to pitch at the Major League level and I hope he does well. He has slowly matured over the past few years, both as a player and as a person. A few years ago Clay would be wild sometimes, eat McDonalds for every meal and play Rock Band during his free time. Now he is always low key, from what I have heard he eats a little better and is more focussed on his career. I believe he has his fiance, Deal or No Deal’s case #26, to thank for some of these changes as she seems to have settled him down a little bit.

Hopefully we will all see Clay as an everyday starter for the Red Sox, or even another team. Either way he deserves it.

By the way, I am 1-1 off Clay in my career. No big deal.