We are joined by two-time USA Baseball alum and 2009 World Champion Trevor Plouffe. Trevor won a silver medal a member of the former 16U National Team back in 2002, and won a gold medal at the IBAF World Cup in 2009 in Italy as a member of the Professional National Team.
After being taken in the first round of the 2004 MLB Draft, he spent eight years in the Big Leagues with the Minnesota Twins, Oakland As, Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies. He hit 106 career homers while in the Bigs, and his USA Baseball and pro careers includes two very memorable walk-off home runs that we will get into.
USA Baseball (USAB): What got a young Trevor Plouffe started in baseball?
Trevor Plouffe (TP): Well, I had an older brother. So, that was the start of it. My dad played baseball in high school and was always a fan of the sport. Then, he got my brother playing it and that was kind of the dynamic, right? I wanted to do everything my older brother did. So I played along with him-he's four years older than me-so I was playing catch up the entire time. He would dominate me for years and I was just trying to be like him. I think it helped be develop earlier, maybe, because I was always playing against older kids with him. But that is one hundred-percent why I fell in love with baseball, because I got to spend time with my older brother.
USAB: Was there any particular point where it clicked in your mind that you could keep up with the older guys?
TP: Out of necessity we played on the same Little League team. I was eight years old and he was 12. I was good for an eight-year-old, but should I have been playing with 12 year olds? I don't know. But we had to-we lived 45 minutes from where we played, so for my parents to have two practices to go to, it just wasn't going to happen. So we were on the same team and, again, you play with those guys and they are older… you get frustrated because you're losing all the time and it drives you. And that is where I started developing a passion to be better. I just wanted to fit in.
USAB: Other than your brother, was there anyone else that served as a hero or had a strong influence in your love of baseball or sports?
TP: At that time in my life, not really. I just wanted to play and have fun with him. And then as you get older you start to watch baseball on TV… I grew up in LA-outside of LA-so I was a big Dodgers fan. I liked weird players. One of my favorite players was Brett Butler growing up and I bet that he's not been a lot for people. He was my guy. He bunted a lot. I was so small that I bunted and that was part of my game. I was a little fast so I would bunt because maybe I couldn't hit as well as the other guys. So I resonated with that. The Dodgers at the time had the five rookies of the year in a row: Mike Piazza, Todd Hollandsworth, Hideo Nomo, Eric Karros, and Raúl Mondesi, possibly. The Dodgers early on in my childhood helped my love for baseball grow.
USAB: You were named to the USA Baseball 16U National Team roster and go play in the Pan-American Youth Championships in Venezuela. What was that experience like for you, especially at such a young age?
TP: It was awesome! We went to a tournament in Arizona and I was selected to try out for the team. That was the first time I felt like I was surrounded by guys who I was like, 'Whoa, this guy is really good.' [It was the] first time I really questioned myself, if I am as good as some of these guys. I went to the tryout and I was. And, it was cool I made the team, so that was a big confidence booster for me. Then we went to Venezuela and that was the first I had ever been out of the country. It was an eye-opening experience for me. I had a great time. I think we flew into Caracas, and then went to Barquisimeto and went to a bunch of a different fields. It was a completely new experience for me and it's something I will never forget. I have very vivid memories of that time: getting the silver medal-we lost to Cuba, which was tough. Being able to play against different countries [while] wearing USA across your chest… I think anybody that you ask that plays for Team USA will tell you, it is different. It's just different. It is a selfless brand of baseball. You don't care necessarily how you do, you just want to win. You don't get that a lot. Even in Pro ball, you're playing because it's your job. But [with] Team USA, it's all about red, white and blue, and it was the first time I experience that and it was great.
USAB: What were your first impressions-culturally-of how the game is treated and played across the globe, as opposed to the one style that you grew up with here in the States?
TP: I think they are just a little bit more fanatical about about it, a little bit more passionate about it. I don't want to say that people in the U.S. aren't passionate about baseball. Clearly, we are. But, it's different. It's a more vocal type of passion for it. You're going to be playing against them and they're going to be cheering, and they're going to be doing different things all game. And their fans are doing the same thing! It's a different type of vibe, similar to what guys will you tell you playing winter ball. In that particular tournament, I think it was just teams from Latin America, so that vibe is wild. They party in the stands. I love that type of baseball and I love the Latin teammates I played with, bringing that energy. I just love that type of energy. That's the first thing you notice and then they are really good at baseball.. It's our national pastime but these countries are really good at baseball.
USAB: You were drafted in the first round to the Minnesota Twins as a teenager. What was your transition like with this sort of fast forwarding in your baseball career? You were playing high school baseball and then all of a sudden it's professional?
TP: The biggest thing-and it's similar to what I said earlier-when you start to play in tryouts, [I'm] not sure if I was good enough. I was a first rounder, 20th overall, [and I earned] all the accolades you could get in high school, so I was confident in my ability. Then you get to Spring Training and Pro ball and it's like 'Man, every single person is good.' Every single person was like I was in high school. They were the best players in their area and you just have to go and prove yourself all over again. It doesn't matter what round you go in or how much money they give you to sign. That is going to give you more opportunities to fail, but you still have to go prove yourself against the best of the best.
That was very eye opening to me when I first got to Spring Training. Everyone is just really, really good. How are you going to separate yourself? I remember being sent to Elizabethon (Editor's Note: Rookie-Level club in the Minnesota Twins system) and we had Angelo Fermin. He was a 21-year-old shortstop and he was really good, and I was like, 'I am going to have to battle this guy to play shortstop.' My teammates would say, 'Bro, you're a first rounder, you're going to play.' But, in my mind, I was like, 'This guy is better than me. I have to go be better than him or I'm not going to play.' So… that competitiveness comes back out and you have to keep going. Just because you drafted into Pro ball doesn't mean anything. You just have to go and continue to improve your game and find ways to get better.
USAB: Prior to the Draft, what was the first point in your baseball career that you felt being drafted into MLB was going to be a possibility?
TP: I don't know the exact point. I did some showcase stuff-I didn't do a lot of that. I do remember one in particular. Delmon Young-a buddy of mine- was going to do some showcase and he couldn't do it, so he told the people to let me fill in for him. Again, I was young for that showcase, but I went and did well, and I think after that I started to get some notoriety. Colleges started coming to my games and [I was] thinking, 'OK, I can go to college, this is pretty cool.' That was my goal. I wanted to go to college, play baseball. I didn't want to have to pay for college, we all know about that. Nobody wants to take out of college loans or take out that debt. That was my thing in high school: I want to play in college, get an education and see where life takes me. Senior year in high school I start to realize I have a chance to get drafted but, still, my focus was to go to college. Once I had that in the bag-I signed with USC-then it was like, 'We'll see what happens.' Even on Draft day, I wasn't sure. I knew I had to get drafted pretty high to forgo going to USC. I wasn't sure it was going to happen but it ended up happening. Again, it wasn't really until late my senior year that I was really like Pro ball was a real possibility.
USAB: How do you feel about walk-off home runs? You have to be good at those. You had one big one with Team USA and one that I think is your final major league home run. Can you walk us through both of those, starting with the one with Team USA?
TP: That was a great game! That was the second time I was on the U.S. team (Editor's Note: 2009 Professional National Team) and I was a professional at that time. We were in… I want to say it was Italy, but it could have been in Germany… it could have been either of those places, which was awesome. We were playing against Team Australia and I had buddies that were on the Australian team. People thing it is USA versus Australia, the U.S. should dominate. That's not the case, There is some really good Australia players. They had a bunch of those guys on that team. It was just kind of like a game we had to win… and we were back and forth with them all day. I came up in the bottom of the-I don't know if we played nine innings or seven in that tournament… I assume nine-I came up and had a good at bat. I remember the swing still. I hit and knew it was gone right away and that is one of the coolest feelings you can have as a baseball player. You ended the game. You get to slow trot around the bases. You get to see your teammates waiting for you. It's just different. USA is just different. It's a different type of baseball. It put us into a really good position to be in the Final Round, but that was the craziest emotional game I had played in, in a long time. Going through the Minor Leagues, you're not going to get too many emotional games at that point… [I was] still trying to work my way up and to have that happen was really cool. I still… when I see guys, they still remember that game.
USAB: For the second walk-off home run, you, for whatever reason, had some success against position players hitting. You were 2-for-2 in your career, including this walk-off home run in the 16th inning against the Dodgers. What was that like?
TP: I had another one against Cleveland earlier in my career that was a lot of fun. But on the tail end of my career, I was starting in the Minor Leagues that year, and worked my way back up to the Bigs, which is a cool accomplishment. And then against my hometown Dodgers… I was not starting that game but I came in… I think I came on in the 10th inning-or something like that-and Rich Hill was warming up. I was going to hit and I'm stoked, I like lefties and Rich Hill is a pretty good pitcher, but I'll take my chances. And Gabe Kapler, who I grew up with and who was my manager-we just had a cool connection-and he really… we really wanted this series. It was a big series for us in the year. And, all of a sudden, we see Kike Hernández run out to the mound and I have never seen a bigger sigh of relief from someone than Kap did. He was like [audible deep sigh]. And, yes, I went up, hit a home run. I felt really confident in the at bat. I knew how to calm my emotions down so I went and hit a home run. It was great and now I do have the distinction as the best hitter ever in the history of baseball against position players pitching: 2-for-2, two home runs. I don't think anybody is ever going to beat that. If they do, 'Kudos, bro." But, right now, I've got that title. So I'm happy with that. It's kind of funny but it's true.
USAB: As far as the walk-offs are concerned: Did you have a knack for coming up with that kind of big, clutch hit?
TP: No, but you know, you just want to be up in those moments. Or you better want to be up in those moments. You don't want to be the guy that shies away from that. That's not going to be good for you career. That's what you play for. You want to be the guy who wins the game. You want to be the guy who is up to bat against the good pitcher and have the chance to do something for your team. I've always… sometimes you feel nervous and that's fine, but make sure you want to be up there. That's how I've always felt. If I'm hitting fifth in the ninth and we have a chance to win the game, I'm like, 'I want two of you get out because I want to be the guy.' It sounds funny to say that but you better have that mindset or else you're just not going to succeed in those situations. There are times I wasn't as confident but I tricked myself into being confident because you have to be that way if you want to have success.
USAB: You are a two-time USA Baseball alum, once at 16U level and another at Professional level… those are drastically different points in your career. What did those experiences do for your baseball career?
TP: It's a different type of baseball when you're playing with 'USA' across your chest. It's a selfless type of baseball, so I think you kind of have to have a little bit of that in you as well and I think that helps you. I'll reiterate how it made me confident. Knowing I'm playing with the best players in the country for that age group… it's something that is going to help you out a ton in your confidence. Everybody goes through that: you wanna know if you're good enough. And, a lot of times, you don't know. To go and put yourself in those situations and for the first one [16U National Team], I went through a tryout and got picked. That really helped me out. I really took that into my high school career and did well with that. When I was a Pro, I… played with the best guys in the Minor Leagues, had success, and the next year I was in the Big Leagues. I think there is a direct correlation to that. Just that confidence that it brings… I mean, when you put that jersey on it just gives you… it's automatic confidence.
USAB: Tell us about what you have going on currently with your new show called 'Sequence.' What is it and how did it come about?
TP: It's really cool. I partnered up with Jomboy Media. I was a fan of their's before I started working with them. I got to meet Jimmy and Jake, who run the show there, and we had a great rapport right away. I knew right then I wanted to work with them … I met them last year in November and we've been going strong ever since. A week ago we launched my show called 'Sequence.' Basically, what it is, I take some guys that I like-the guys that are buddies of mine that are still playing in the Big Leagues-and we take them through an at-bat that they use to get their proprioception back. Every hitter has couple videos -maybe a handful of videos-that they go back and they look at to feel comfortable and to get that feeling back. I like to ask guys, 'What is your highlight?' They give me the highlight and we run through it pitch-by-pitch and it's really cool to have that flowing conversation. You're able to get crazy insights like… we had Mitch Garver on, who is the Silver Slugger award winner for catcher's last year (Editor's Note: Garver won Silver Slugger for the American League), and just to hear him talk… there is a lot of hitting on Twitter you know, guys speaking absolutes. It's fun to hear the best of the best talking about it because they are going to tell you there is more than one way to do it, this is how I approach it, and this is what I was thinking during this at bat. It's just cool to open up their minds a little bit because I don't think the public gets to see that too often. Guys are really guarded, but I try to break the walls down a little bit, let you in on what guys are thinking at the big-league-level. We have three episodes out right now, we're going to do many more. Check it out on Jomboy Media on YouTube and search for the Sequence.
