Yankees starter Luis Severino took a timeout for some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: On a scale of 1-10, where is your confidence right now?
A: It’s 10 right now.
Q: Is this the first time in the major leagues it’s been 10?
A: I think my first year it was 10. I was feeling good, all my pitches was there.
Q: Did you like the bullpen?
A: I didn’t like it.
Q: Why?
A: I want to know the day I’m pitching. I want to prepare myself for an outing. That’s why I work hard to be a starter again.
Q: But you did well in the bullpen.
A: I learned a lot from the bullpen. You have to be ready every day. All the pitchers have to be ready every day. So that helped me.
Q: Did you tell manager Joe Girardi or pitching coach Larry Rothschild you wanted to be a starter?
A: No, Rothschild told me, “You’re gonna be a starter, so work hard for that.”
Q: Why is he a good pitching coach?
A: He communicates with you.
Q: Why was Pedro Martinez your idol growing up?
A: I love the style, how to pitch, his tempo. He’s attacking, attacking. I love that.
Q: You met him last season in Boston?
A: He was shagging. This year I called him and we got together and work out together in the Dominican.
Q: What was it like meeting him for the first time?
A: It was amazing. He’s a really nice guy.
Q: Did you introduce yourself to him?
A: Yeah, of course.
Q: What did he tell you?
A: He told me that he knew me, he watched me pitch and he told me we’re gonna go and eat something, but we didn’t. He didn’t know we had a day game.
Q: What was the best piece of advice he gave you?
A: We worked a lot on mechanics, and he told me everything was there. If you get too excited when you’re on the mound, you’re gonna throw balls. If you lose your rhythm, you’re gonna lose your focus.
Q: Why do you love pitching in New York?
A: When you’re doing stuff bad, everybody knows it. But when you’re doing good, everybody knows it too, so I love that.
Q: So if you’re doing bad, they’re going to boo you, though.
A: I don’t care about that. If I’m doing bad, I can boo myself. If I do, when that happens, negative stuff, that gives me hope to keep trying, to be better.
Q: What is your mound mentality?
A: When I get there, I think I’m the boss of the game. Everybody’s looking at me. If I don’t pitch, they can’t hit. So when I’m over there, I think I’m the king.
Q: Why are you fearless on the mound?
A: I think I grew up like that. And I have a great team behind my back.
Q: Do you think you can get any hitter out?
A: I think every hitter in baseball … of course, yeah.
Q: Can you be an ace?
A: Right now I’m just focused in doing my job. Every pitcher likes to be an ace one time, but right now, I just want to be there when they need me.
Q: Is it important to you to be an ace?
A: I don’t pay attention a lot [to] that. Like I say, I want to be here in the big leagues. I want to help my team win.
Q: What was the worst part when you were sent down last season?
A: The Yankees gave me opportunity to be in the rotation and I lost it. I know I have the skill and the stuff to be here in the big leagues, and I lost it.
Q: Why did you lose it?
A: My command. I wasn’t throwing changeups. I was afraid to throw my changeup. … I didn’t have the confidence.
Q: Where is your confidence in the changeup now?
A: Everything is good right now. I’m throwing my changeup on 3-2, 0-2, yeah.
Q: Is your slider better?
A: Yeah, of course.
Q: You threw 101 mph the other night.
A: My arm is feeling good.
Q: Did you ever think one day you would throw 100 miles an hour?
A: I didn’t. When I was 17, I was throwing like 87 to 86.
Q: So you’re in the same club now with Aroldis Chapman.
A: (Laugh) That’s another level.
Q: What are your personal goals?
A: My goal is trying to be healthy all year, and try to throw 200 innings. I want to know how it feels.
Q: What are your career goals?
A: I think everybody in baseball wants to go to the Hall of Fame … wants to pitch good, wants to be 15 years in the big leagues. This is my life.
Q: What do you remember about standing on the mound at Yankee Stadium for the first time?
A: I only was watching the catcher, so I couldn’t see nothing else. I wasn’t nervous.
Q: Describe Yankees fans.
A: They are electric.
Q: What impresses you the most about Gary Sanchez?
A: He’s mature as a catcher. And maybe he’s 0-for-4, [but] he’s catching like he hit two homers, so I like that.
Q: How many home runs can he hit in a season?
A: I don’t know, but I hope this year he hits 25.
Q: How many home runs can Aaron Judge hit, do you think?
A: Right now, I hope he hits 35 (chuckle).
Q: What drives you?
A: I think my family. I grow up and we don’t have a lot of money, so I want my mom, when she see me, [to] be proud of me.
Q: How much of a struggle was it?
A: It was bad. I used to go fishing with my dad to get food to my house. We [caught] a lot of stuff.
Q: What did your father do for a living?
A: He was a farmer.
Q: Did your father have a car?
A: No.
Q: So how did you get to the sea?
A: A little boat. We lived close to the sea. Like two minutes walking.
Q: Describe your mother.
A: She’s a very quiet woman, she’s very kind, she knows how to cook. She’s not here, but she’s coming next month. When I made my debut, I didn’t win the first game, so when she came, that day, I think the third outing, I won that game. The first time that she been in a major league stadium, I won my first game.
Q: Your father?
A: He’s not quiet (smile).
Q: Your daughter, Abigail, is almost 2.
A: She’s amazing. She’s running, talking a lot, I love it. 2015 I was in Triple-A, it was tough. Me and my wife were in the gym working out a lot, and we didn’t know she was pregnant. And when we found out [she had been pregnant two months]. She wasn’t growing up, so we had to go to the hospital like every day for almost one month.
Q: That was a scary time?
A: Yeah it was scary. We [didn’t] have the money in Triple-A, so it was tough. When we came here, it was much better.
Q: Do you change diapers?
A: Yeah.
Q: Are you good?
A: I’m not good.
Q: Does your daughter know that you’re a baseball player?
A: When she’s watching TV, and she see a baseball player, she says, “Daddy.”
Q: You’re a fan of Joel Osteen.
A: He’s like a pastor. He writes a lot of good things, very positive things, so I like that.
Q: You dressed up as Iron Man for HOPE Week on Thursday.
A: That was fun. They told me CC [Sabathia] [was] Superman, Monty [Jordan Montgomery was] Captain America, so I told him that I wanted to be Iron Man. It was a cool costume.
Q: Why is HOPE Week important?
A: God gives you all this. I’m blessed to be here, so you have to go over there and give it to the community.
Q: Describe CC.
A: I think CC’s a warrior. He’s a fighter.
Q: Are you a warrior?
A: I think everybody here’s a warrior. You have a lot of good players in the minor leagues fighting for a spot here, so everybody who’s here has to fight over here.
Q: Who are athletes in other sports you like?
A: Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant.
Q: What helped you learn English?
A: I have a very good app on my phone, Duolingo. Sometimes when I’m doing nothing, I like to practice and stuff.
Q: What are your favorite things in New York City?
A: The food’s very good. I like Times Square. A lot of people, a lot of lights and stuff like that. I love that.
Q: What is the best thing about being a Yankee?
A: I think everybody treats you well. Everywhere you go, everybody knows the Yankees.
Q: Can this team win a World Series?
A: Of course.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “42,” Jackie Robinson.
Q: Why that one?
A: Sometimes we [go] through a tough time, and you see that movie, and you see all the stuff that happened to him: “Hey, I been through nothing.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Will Smith.
Q: Favorite entertainer?
A: Jimmy Fallon.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Chicken and rice.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth and Roberto Clemente.
Q: How would you pitch to Babe Ruth?
A: I think I [would] throw him a fastball right in the middle, see what happens (laugh). I don’t know how fast they throw in that day.
Q: So maybe he never saw a 100 mile an hour fastball.
A: Maybe, maybe. … If he hits a homer, Babe Ruth hit a homer. Big deal, right? (laugh).