Q: You went to Le Moyne College. Do a lot of players ask you where that is?
A: Yeah, a lot of them think it’s in Iowa somewhere, but it’s in Syracuse, N.Y.
Q: What was it like playing in the cold there?
A: It’s not always fun playing in the cold, but growing up in the North (Brockport, N.Y., near Rochester), you get used to it. There’s a few days where we would scrape snow and ice off the tarp before we played our games.
Q: Do you laugh when it drops to 68 degrees here and people say it’s cold?
A: Yeah, I was walking around the other night with shorts and a T-shirt on, and people had on winter jackets and sweatpants.
Q: You’re only the second position player to make it to the majors out of Le Moyne, and you attribute that to your coach (Steve Owens). What was that relationship like?
A: He taught me a lot about staying the path and not letting outside things factor into your work on the field and what it takes to perform every day at this kind of level.
Q: Your coach can only do so much. I read that you lived in the batting cages. Where’d that work ethic come from?
A: My dad. He taught me a lot. He told me, being a switch-hitter especially, that I’m not hitting for one person, I’m hitting for two. So instead of cutting my work in half, I’m always trying to double my work. After games I would go back in the batting cages when I was younger, just to get more practice.
Q: Drafted in 2007, made it to the majors last August and played 24 games with the Padres. What did you take from last year and did any of the players make an impact on you?
A: (Jason) Bartlett and (Orlando) Hudson really helped me out. I spent a lot of time with them in the middle infield. A bunch of guys would tell me to just take a deep breath sometimes and relax. I think my time up here last year really got my feet wet and got sort of the “awe factor” out of the way. This year coming in, I was really trying to be just more relaxed and comfortable.
Q: What do you love most about playing baseball?
A: That it’s tough. It’s really tough. To compete at this level every day, you can’t ask for anything more.
Q: If you weren’t a major league baseball player, you would be a:
A: Bodybuilder. (Strength coach) Jim Malone is always yelling at me for standing around in front of the mirror too much. I mess with him and do poses.
Q: Last meal on Earth?
A: Chicken Parmesan.
Q: And three people who would be invited to that dinner — not family — living or dead?
A: Mickey Mantle, the Dos Equis guy (“The Most Interesting Man In The World”) and Vince Vaughn.
