Post columnist Steve Serby caught up with Yankees catcher Austin Wells for some big league Q&A.
Q: Have the doubters motivated you?
A: Yeah, absolutely. Since I’ve been drafted [28th overall in the 2020 first round], it’s always been about my catching. That’s really put a chip on my shoulder and kind of lit a fire under me. It’s not like I’m out there reading about it, but you hear about it all the time whether you want to or not, and that’s the power of the media nowadays. When it’s been such a continual negative about how I am as a catcher, it only just fires me up to want to be the best I possibly can. So where I’ve gotten to the point now and the progress that I’ve made had been not only the success of the hard work that I’ve put in with my coaches, but the fire that’s been lit under me since I’ve been drafted about being adamant about being a catcher.
Q: A catcher has to be a psychologist at times. How do you go about gaining the trust of your pitcher?
A: For me, I learned over the years that being as prepared as possible for the pitchers, is how you gain their trust. Because you know their stuff, and you know the hitters you’re facing, and I think the more that they get to throw to you and they trust that you’re prepared to call the pitch, the more they’re gonna have conviction and intent behind what you call. And I think that’s just really how you gain their trust over time, and obviously relationships in the clubhouse and all that stuff adds to it.
Q: What have you learned about Carlos Rodon’s temperament on the mound?
A: You can see he’s up there giving it his all every single time he goes out there. That’s exactly the guy that I want to be working with behind the plate. There’s a lot of times when he’s out there and he gets fired up, and as a catcher you gotta be able in any way try to get him back into the zone, whatever the situation is, calm him down, tell him to be loose, just take some breaths. Getting to work with a guy like Carlos who’s had a lot of success, for me, going into my rookie really experience year this year, it’s unbelievable getting to work with a guy like that. And a competitor like that, too, who I know is gonna go out there and he’s gonna try and dominate every time.
Q: How about Marcus Stroman’s temperament on the mound?
A: I’d say pretty much the opposite of Carlos. He is relaxed as you can be up there. I haven’t seen his full Stro Show yet, which I’m waiting for some real games, I’m really excited for that. I really love how he goes about his game, and just the way he moves and how athletic he is on the mound. It adds such a great feel to the pitching staff that we have. I’m looking forward to his success this year.
Q: Nasty Nestor Cortes’ temperament?
A: I would say he’s probably more on the Stroman side. He’s definitely relaxed, but it’s more of a fired-up relaxed. He’s going after the hitters with intent, and he’s trying to get fired up for it, but I don’t think he’s got the fire on the side like Carlos does. But I think that helps him stay calm and just pitch.
Q: Gerrit Cole?
A: He’s similar to Carlos, he’s the ultimate competitor, he’s gonna go out there and give you 120 percent every single time, no matter what. I’ve had limited experience with him, but being around him, getting to work with him the few times this spring, you know, he’s the Cy Young winner and arguably the best pitcher in the game. Like I said with Carlos, and all these guys really, getting to work with such a staff who’s had great success in the big leagues and then building trust with them, I think that gives me a lot of confidence to go out there and have success as well.
Q: Clarke Schmidt’s temperament?
A: Clarke is like a swaggy feel on the mound. He’s gonna blow you away with some stuff, but he’s also gonna spin it, and he’s gonna get you out front. … There’s no other word besides swag I got for him, and I love the way he presents himself on the mound because him too, he’s a competitor and he’s gonna go out there and give it his all just like everyone else. But for him, I feel like you can throw him in any situation, and it’s gonna look the same whether we’re up 10, down 10, big inning, low-leverage inning, he’s gonna be the same guy.
Q: The history of Yankees catchers. What do you recall about Jorge Posada?
A: Growing up, I wasn’t really a Yankees fan, but always knowing that Jorge Posada was one of the best catchers arguably in Yankee history and baseball. That was a great guy to get to be able to watch growing up, and I definitely was a fan of his game and how he played. He played with passion and fire, and getting to watch that as a young kid, I think that’s special.
Q: What do you know about Thurman Munson?
A: I never got to see him play, obviously, but I just hear great things about what he was able to accomplish in his young career. I like what people have said about him in that I would like to be someone compared to that. Being able to be among the ranks of a guy like that, I think that’s be a great honor.
Q: How about Yogi Berra?
A: I just actually watched his documentary on Netflix. They gave a lot of great background stories to him being able to serve [our coountry], and then be able to play. You can’t get better than that, I think 10 World Series, right? Ten World Series, a couple of MVPs, Yankee catcher … I mean, I think that sounds pretty good.
Q: Joe Torre was in uniform Monday.
A: He’s a legend in the game, and having him come out there to take Carlos out and even to be on the mound with him, very special. There’s not many words that can describe that.
Q: Has he given you any catching tips?
A: I got to talk to him a little bit before the game [a week ago] Saturday, but not too much about catching. He was just saying how he loved catchers and loved catching. It’s a whole different game, he said, being a catcher on the baseball field.
Q: What part of your game do you think you’ve made the biggest strides in?
A: Receiving. I think being able to receive has become such an important part of the game over the last few years, and here at the Yankees, we have the best coaches that are in the game, really. We have Tanner Swanson, who really started this whole thing, and we got Aaron Gershenfeld and Aaron Bossi, who are two key parts of making me who I am now as a catcher, and the focus really was receiving for me. And I think the steps that I’ve made every year have continued to allow me to get better.
Q: Where do you think you need to improve?
A: I’d like to continue to show improvement with throwing runners out. We made a lot of progress this offseason, and I’m looking forward to showing off a little bit here when the season gets going and trying to see some progress with that.
Q: How are you on your framing?
A: I feel like I’m in a really, really good spot. The numbers are coming back really well. Everything’s trending up. I can attribute that to the work that was put in over the last few years, and this offseason especially.
Q: Describe your on-field mentality.
A: Definitely an aggressive player, and I’m looking to motivate my teammates around me. … I’m just like looking to bring the best out of my teammates with like a fiery competitiveness.
Q: What drives you?
A: Winning. I like to win. And I think when you play to win, you don’t play for just yourself, you’re playing for all the success of your teammates, and being able to hold them and yourself accountable to winning, I think that just creates a culture that’s built around success. Everyone likes winning. I hate losing.
Q: If you could catch any pitcher in MLB history, who would you want to catch and why?
A: I think I would go with Mariano Rivera, and I think I would go with him because he won a lot of baseball games and I like to win, so I would love to be behind the plate with him coming in to the game to close it out and get the win. That’s my reasoning.
Q: If you could throw out any base runner in MLB history, who would it be?
A: That’s a great question … Let me think about that one.
Q: OK. If you could face any pitcher in MLB history to test your skills?
A: I think it’d be pretty cool to face Nolan Ryan. He’s arguably the best pitcher ever, so I think that’d be cool to step into the box and face him. I was gonna say Randy Johnson, but I don’t really want to face a lefty like that.
Q: What catcher in MLB history would you like to steal against?
A: Probably Yadier Molina. For me growing up, he was another one of those guys that I got to watch a lot — him, Salvador Perez, those two guys. I think just for me personally, it’d be cool to get a bag off him.
Q: OK, back to one base-stealer you can throw out in history?
A: (Laugh) Rickey Henderson.
Q: Was your 473-foot home run last August for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre your favorite home run?
A: I feel like I’ve hit other ones that may have gone further — I don’t really trust the data on that one. Probably my favorite home run I’ve hit was in Toronto this last year at the end of the year in the ninth inning off [Jordan] Romano, that was I think one of the highlights of my career so far.
Q: How tantalizing for you is that right-field fence at the Stadium?
A: Oh, I mean, I have to try to get myself to not look at it every day. ’Cause it creates (chuckle) bad habits, I think a little bit, so I just gotta stick to my swing. It feels like the fans and the stadium’s right on top of you out there. I love it, and I’m looking to spend more time getting to know it.
Q: Can you be a 20-home run guy?
A: Absolutely.
Q: Biggest adversity you had to overcome?
A: My senior year of high school I tore my UCL a little bit. It was tough not being able to go out there your senior year and get to play with that possibility of being drafted and all that stuff. It was the toughest adversity at the time, but looking back it was the best thing that could have happened to me because I got to go to Arizona, I got to develop, I got to play under Jay Johnson, I got to just grow as a human being and be able to have that experience of overcoming that adversity.
Q: You also had a scary freak injury.
A: The one with my groin was definitely the scariest. I had to have emergency surgery, all that stuff. That was not fun in any way or a comfortable situation. The quickness of how it went from playing in the game to having surgery was a little fast, I’d say.
Q: Boyhood idol?
A: I would say probably my dad. In my baseball — this might not be great — but I loved Big Papi [David Ortiz] growing up.
Q: You were a Red Sox fan, right?
A: Yes, I was.
Q: And Big Papi was the reason?
A: I think Big Papi was one of the reasons I loved the Red Sox so much. His lefty swing, watching him hit homers and watching him jog around the bases … I feel like it would be hard not to root for him. Obviously the Yankees probably feel a little differently about that, but I was a young kid. It as a lot of fun.
Q: The 2004 Red Sox comeback from 0-3 to win the ALCS in seven games.
A: You know, you never know, but I think if the Yankees would have won, I might have been a Yankees fan. That’s like my first memory of watching baseball, and the Red Sox won and everything, so that’s how I kind of got onto the Red Sox as my favorite team.
Q: Four dinner guests?
A: Jesus; my grandfather [Luis Fernandez], who passed away; my parents.
Q: Why your grandfather?
A: Both sides of my family are amazing. I get my mustache from my grandpa on my dad’s side, he’s got a pretty good mustache, so I get to have that with him. My mom’s dad, he’s from the Dominican, very loving, very supportive. His demeanor and how he went about everything and how much he cared about family and made sure it was very important to us as well as to him. He was just one of the bigger role models for sure growing up and someone I looked up to a lot.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Southpaw.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Jon Bernthal.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Emma Stone.
Q: Favorite singers/entertainers?
A: Zach Bryan, Dua Lipa.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: It’s hard to miss out on a nice steak dinner with some mashed potatoes.
Q: Have you fantasized about Opening Day?
A: It’ll be hopefully my first Opening Day, and I’m looking really forward to just being out there and starting a journey. … I’ve definitely been thinking about it for a while.
Q: The best thing about being a New York Yankee?
A: Getting to play with guys like Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole and [Anthony] Rizzo and [DJ] LeMahieu and [Anthony] Volpe, and all the way down the list. Getting to play with guys like that, it’s just super-specific. And don’t forget the newcomer Juan Soto. Getting to be around guys like that in a clubhouse with such a great culture. And like I was talking about earlier, the winning aspect of things. We’re expected to win every year, and I love that. And I think that motivates not only me but our whole team.
Q: What can you tell me about young Anthony Volpe and his parents?
A: They’re unbelievable. A second family to me. They truly are that when I say that. It’s not just words. They’ve welcomed me and many others into their life, and I couldn’t be more thankful for them and their support and allowing me to stay at their house when I was in Double-A. You don’t run into people like them very often, and when you do, you try to hold on ’em for as long as you can. It’s just a testament to who Anthony is.
Q: You gave him some swing advice last year?
A: (Laugh) I don’t know about swing advice, but we were definitely watching some video of both of us playing back in Low-A together and just having fun. I think it kind of just turned into something like that, but he’s such a great hitter and so easily able to adjust.
Q: You believe he’s headed to stardom?
A: Absolutely. I think there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s already on his way, he’s already there. When they call his name out for the lineup, it’s arguably the loudest name. He’s the homegrown guy from New York, from New Jersey. I think the fans and everybody love him. He’s always smiling, he’s a great teammate, he’s a great person. There’s gotta be a lot of things to happen for that not to happen. I think he’s got it.
Q: What have you learned about Soto and how dangerous will he and Judge be?
A: Soto’s been amazing. He’s super-nice, super-inviting and welcoming, pretty funny guy. I know we’ve all really enjoyed having on the team and in the clubhouse this spring ,and we’re really looking forward to like you’re talking about, that 1-2 punch with Soto and Judge. Then we got the guys that’ll be able to drive ’em in after that. The lineup structure, it’s gonna be a tough one for opposing teams. We’re very excited and looking forward to seeing Judge and Soto going back-to-back a few times this year.
Q: Personal goals?
A: I would love to be on a World Series-winning team, and be able to catch as many games as possible and help the team win in any way that I can. I don’t really have any like number goals or anything like that. I think if we’re ending with a World Series at the end of the year and I was there the whole year, I think it’s be a very successful year.
Q: How hungry is this team for another championship?
A: I think it’s probably the most hungry ever, to be honest with you. It’s been since ’09 that the last time they have been [or] won. And I think as the years continue to go on, it just keeps growing. Coming into this spring and even before spring when we had a bunch of guys at the complex before spring training even started, that fired me up to see those guys and how they were working, and just the drive that they had, I think that that’s continued to carry on and will continue to carry on towards the end of the year.
Q: You’re comfortable in your own skin, I can tell that.
A: I got good parents, I got good parents.
