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BAB Exclusive Interview with Andrew Kown

You think the Giants are loaded with pitching with Lincecum, Cain, Vogelsong, and Bumgarner? Well check this out: there’s yet another pitcher coming up through the farm system, and Bay Area Bias’ David Crowell got a chance to chat with him. Bay Area, meet Andrew Kown, the starting pitcher for the Giants AAA affiliate Fresno Grizzlies who is their lone representative on the 2011 Pacific Coast League All-Star roster. The game takes place in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 13, and will be televised on the MLB Network.

David Crowell (DC): Andrew, congratulations on making it on to the Pacific Coast League All-Star roster. You’re one of two starting pitchers on the team in your first year in the San Francisco Giants farm system. What do you attribute your success this year to?

Andrew Kown (AK): It’s been a great season as far as the Giants taking great care of their guys. They take care of their players all the way from meetings about being a better person to better ways to take care of your body, and it’s really been unbelievable in that regard. The Giants are a first class organization through and through. As far as on the field I’ve just tried to forget about breaking over that hump and getting to the big leagues and just try and be as good as I can be every time they give me the ball to go out there. Sometimes in the past I’ve worried about trying to impress people and this and that and I’ve tried to hone my focus to being as good as I can be and doing that day in and day out and see where that puts me by the end of the year. [There’s] a heightened focus to controlling what I can control and then just let the results take care of themselves.

DC: Like Buster Posey, you’re a Georgia boy and you pitched for Georgia Tech, which heat is more abusive: a summer in Fresno or Hotlanta?

AK: Man that’s a good question because I haven’t been in Atlanta in like 8 years, so I’m kind of comparing it to when I was a kid. I do remember that the humidity is a little different there in the south. You’re getting more humidity consistently. But the heat here [in Fresno] is something to talk about, I mean even the breezes are hot sometimes. I think I’ve got to give Fresno the nod on that one.

DC: You were drafted by the Detroit Tigers and, at 28 years old, have climbed to the AAA level. Does the story of Ryan Vogelsong, who is 33, and after years in the minors has finally made it to the big leagues and is now an MLB All-Star give you any inspiration?

AK: Oh yeah, 100%. You’ve got his story and you’ve got Colby Lewis with the Rangers getting to pitch in the post-season after going the international route. Getting to see Ryan have the success he’s had this year has been unbelievable because he’s the guy that does it the right way, he works hard, no one has ever questioned his work ethic and just to see him go out there day in and day out every time he gets the ball with the consistency is awesome. It’s a great thing for guys like me who have been around and have been fringe guys and I’m still waiting to break through, and to know that at any time it can happen, you just got to be ready for that opportunity. It kind of opens my eyes to make sure I’m ready should that opportunity come, don’t let it slip away, and he’s definitely made the most of his opportunity.

DC: As you know, the San Francisco Giants are very deep at pitching and though trade rumors are swirling about Jonathan Sanchez, for you is it frustrating to be in a franchise that has Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong, Madison Bumgarner, and Barry Zito ahead of you to make it to the majors – or do you not see them as road blocks?

AK: It’s one of those things that can become an issue if you allow it. For me personally, when I watch the Giants games I’m watching for what they’re doing so right to stay so consistently good. I’m watching the pitches that they’re throwing, the counts when they’re throwing off-speed – all those little things I’m trying to learn from those guys. Honestly, and I think this is reiterated by the guys down here in the rotation, we don’t really see them as road blocks, we see them as guys that we can learn from. There’s 29 other teams that are always watching you, so you always got to keep that in mind. I obviously want to be a Giant and I love all the opportunities that I’ve gotten here, but you know at any moment there could be a trade and you could be somewhere else or they could trade somebody up there and you could be right there with the Giants. I just try and be as good as I can be every time I get the ball and that’s all I can really control. But those guys are unbelievable up there.

DC: You kind of answered my next question, but if Jonathan Sanchez or another pitcher were traded, leaving the Giants with five true starters and not six, and one were to then get injured, your name would have to be in the mix to be called up given your All-Star caliber season in AAA. Do you think about that kind of stuff?

AK: You never really want to get called up because of someone getting injured because they’re at the big league level for a reason and they’re good enough to be there, so you never want it to be because of injury. I want to get to the big league level and I feel I have been so close for three years now. I just want to get there, because I know that I still have a lot of things to learn, so I guess I’m more focused on I just want to get to that level so I can learn the things I need to learn to be successful up there. I definitely learned a lot in the past couple of years, Pat Rice is unbelievable down here teaching us things day in and day out and [Steve] Decker does a good job of making sure that good or bad, you’re taking something from the outing. You’ve got to learn from every time you’re out there. You kind of get that tunnel vision and you just want to keep learning as you go and if you keep doing that I think that getting called up or traded will take care of itself and you’ll just be ready for the opportunity when it comes.

DC: You play for the AAA affiliate of the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, and your team the Grizzlies has players from that championship team and players that have been on the Giants major league roster this season (Ishikawa, Belt, Ford, Runzler, Fontenot). What is the vibe of the clubhouse?

AK: We have a great clubhouse, we have a lot of older pitchers mixed with some younger pitchers that are working their way up and we have a lot of position players that have been on the big league team this year. Throughout the clubhouse it’s very consistent. Win or lose, the guys are working hard day in and day out taking care of the things that we can take care of as players and make ourselves as good as we can. There’s a good vibe, we’re joking around, we’re having a good time but everyone knows when it’s time to work. It’s one of the best club house’s I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve been playing for seven full seasons now, as far as guys working hard and looking out for each other.

DC: Name a time you’ve been star struck, coming up through the minors over the years.

AK: I think it was my second spring training when I saw Jim Edmonds in person and that was kind of a big deal for me because I just always liked the way he played. I was a left handed hitter so I liked to watch him hit. I was really amazed at how much shorter he was in person than I thought he was on TV. I was star struck and yet kind of taken aback all at the same time.

DC: What’s the best town that no one knows about that you’ve seen in the minors?

AK: Oh man, that’s a great question. Louisville has an unbelievable stadium to play at because it has the Louisville Slugger factory right there and they put us in a really old historic hotel that’s right there on the water right there in Louisville. It’s a sleeper town, it’s good, there’s lots of things to do all over the gamut. There’s bowling alleys where they make bowling cool, they do a good job of that. It’s a good town. Louisville and Indianapolis are probably my favorite two. But then you’ve got Sacramento which is fun, Old Sac Town which I had never seen anything quite like that. You have Old Sac and then New Sac right there about a mile apart.

DC: What do you do in the off-season, do you take it back to the hometown of Atlanta?

AK: Yeah I take it back to Atlanta, I jump on the river as quick as I can. I like to trout fish a lot. Brandon Boggs who plays in the Brewers system and Wes Hodges who is actually now in the Giants system, we live in the same community so we get to fish quite a bit. I give lessons in the off-season and then I get to be involved in Bible study and go back to my home church which is Buckhead Church, I try and be as active in there as I can.

DC: What’s the best thing to do in Fresno?

AK: The best thing in Fresno that I’ve found is a little go-kart, minigolf type thing. There’s a couple kids on the team here so their wives and us, we got to take the kids over there so that was fun for a younger crowd. But the best thing for me has been playing golf at River Bend. I’ve been three or four times this year and it’s been a really nice course and a lot of fun.

DC: The Giants don’t score a lot of runs as you may know, and the Giants starters have often been on the bad end of a 1-0 loss where they have pitched a gem but they didn’t get any run support and are hung with the loss. So I was wondering, what’s more frustrating as a starter, having that scenario or when you pitch a gem and the closer comes in and blows the lead, and therefore your win?

AK: Oh man (laughs) that’s another good question. Man…I guess maybe the closer one because if it’s 1-0 all game long and you maybe lost some focus to give up [that run] and your team would have a chance to win but the closer’s tough because their job day in and day out is to get the three toughest outs of the game which is the last three outs. I would say it’s tougher when the closer gives it [up] because you know he’s trying as hard as he can to get those outs for you and you obviously want the win. You can’t really worry about the offense too much, if you get caught doing that and watching both sides of the scoreboard you can definitely get yourself in trouble.

DC: Besides you, who stands out for the Grizzlies that Giants fans should have their eye on that may be coming up the pipeline?

AK: A guy I’d like to see up there is Shane Loux, he’s been a starter with me all year. He’s grinded it out, he’s an older guy, but he’s leading the whole PCL in innings pitched which is pretty impressive for being an over 30 guy and I’d like to see him up there too. He’s worked his tail off and he’s given me some good advice, so he’s a guy on the pitching end. But you’ve also got Connor Gillaspie and Thomas Neal and guys like that who have been putting up good numbers, but I’d like to see Shane – he’s worked his tail and off a good guy to be beside all year.

DC: Andrew it’s been great talking with you and we’ll look for you in the All-Star game on the MLB Network on Wednesday. Any closing remarks?

AK: Nothing beyond the fact that it would be an extreme honor to be play for the Giants, playing for the AAA level here has been an unbelievable experience and it would be a great honor to play for the big league team and help a world championship team and hopefully I’ll get a chance to say hi to some of those fans in person this year.

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