June 5, 2009

BALTIMORE, MD -

Senior Harrison Taylor of the Johns Hopkins baseball team caught up with HopkinsSports.com for the final Inside Pitch of the 2009 season. Taylor threw 12.2 innings as a reliever this season and owned a 3.55 ERA.

The senior graduated with his bachelor's degree in political science in May and would like to move to Australia to continue his baseball career. Here is what Taylor had to say to HopkinsSports.com after the conclusion of the NCAA South Regional and his collegiate career.

HopkinsSports.com: Dream job?

Harrison Taylor: High priced and morally loose defense attorney.

HS: Good luck charm?

HT: More like good luck routines…and being OCD. I have too many to list here.

HS: Teammate that inspires you?

HT: Mike Aspegren; he knows all there is to know about how to dress for baseball.

HS: Teammate that surprised you this season?

HT: In retrospect, the most surprising moment for a player this season was the notoriously powerful Matt Bernardi leading the 2009 Hopkins Baseball team to a new Centennial Conference Single Season home run record.

HS: One word to describe me on the field?

HT: Benched.

HS: One word to describe me off of the field?

HT: Apathy with style.

HS: Favorite class?

HT: Modern Alchemy…you get a free T-Shirt.

HS: Extra curriculars?

HT: Wreaking havoc in the Northway, specifically the Bromansion.

HS: Other schools that recruited you?

HS: Why Hopkins?

HT: So my mom could do my laundry for an additional four years.

HS: Favorite pre game meal?

HT: Six inch subs from the market, paid with Frompy’s endless ‘Dinning Dollars,’ that’s bird eating 101.

HS: If I could eat dinner anywhere, I would choose…

HT: Prime Rib in Baltimore.

HS: Favorite Centennial venue to compete in?

HT: Franklin &Marshall’s field positioned its benches nicely and gave me a nice view of the game.

HS: The toughest challenge you have faced?

HT: Dealing with an inevitable injury every 6 months.

HS: What’s on your iPod on game day?

HT: Frou Frou- “Let Go.”

HS: Favorite baseball story?

HT: In high school, we had a lefty pitcher who threw upper 80’s-low 90’s, but also played the outfield. During a summer game, with a runner on second, the batter hit a weak ground ball that stopped about 5 feet out of the infield into the outfield grass. The batter rounded first, stopped and turned around to watch the runner try and score, however this pitcher, who was playing right field, charged the ball and took a huge crow-hop, trying to throw the runner out and but instead ended up drilling the base runner in the back from about 20 feet away. I’ll never forget how loud the thud was or the bizarre screams the kid let out as he fell over…it sounds bad in writing, but it was hilarious in person.

That, or, in Arizona when our room, ‘The 342,’ was attacked by someone who had let a parakeet loose and spreading around 5 lbs of birdseed in our room while we were all gone. Of course, we did somewhat deserve it after we broke into someone else’s room and destroyed it before lunch one day.

HS: Favorite Bob Babb quote?

HT: “Hey Harrison!...go tell Goldy to get loose.”

HS: Who is your most intense teammate and why?

HT: Frompy (Jesse Sikorski), formerly the hottest player in baseball, gets more jacked up after hitting a homerun than anyone.

HS: After Hopkins, I would like to…

HT: play baseball in Australia with Matt Goldman.

HS: If I could trade places with anyone for a day?

HT: Cristiano Ronaldo.

HS: Favorite professional sports franchise?

HT: Baltimore Ravens.

HS: Best vacation I have ever taken?

HT: Probably a tie between the OBX last summer and Jupiter during my junior year.

HS: One thing that being a member of the baseball team has taught you?

HT: Shaving your arms IS ok to do.

HS: What is the biggest strength of the team this season?

HT: The team chemistry.

HS: Favorite superhero?

HT: Christian Bale as Batman.

HS: When I was a child, I wanted to be a …

HT: 6’4”

HS: Thing you miss most about home?

HT: A pantry with food in it and a refrigerator that wasn’t packed with expired food.

HS: What do you focus on when you pitch?

HT: How many more times I have to lick my fingers before I can touch the ball.

HS: Best thing about being a pitcher?

HT: The free time during warm-ups.

HS: Favorite song to groove to during warm-ups?

HT: Maino (feat. T-Pain) – All the Above.

HS: Athletic Accomplishment you are most proud of?

HT: Throwing a four-hit shutout to win a second State Championship my senior year.

HS: Furthest road trip you’ve ever taken?

HT: I got lost going to Long Island for the first time and it took 7.5 hours to get there from Hopkins.

HS: Your proudest moment?

HT: Still holding.

HS: Favorite color?

HT: Anything off the pastel palette.

HS: Favorite movie?

HT: American Psycho.

HS: Best book you’ve ever read?

HT: Thank You and You’re Welcome by Kanye West.

HS: I couldn’t live without …

HT: My iPod.

HS: Favorite pitch to throw?

HT: Whichever gets called a strike.

HS: Favorite mid-night snack?

HT: Taco Bell at home, and a Subway Pizza with Chicken at Hopkins.

HS: Favorite flavor of sun flower seeds?

HT: Original.

HS: After four years at Hopkins, what is the most important thing you’ve ever learned?

HT: Time is valuable, and it always passes way too fast.

HS: Phrase you use most often?

HT: “Oh really?”

HS: Explain your early season facial hair?

HT: Well, I had very similar facial hair for the fall ball playoffs and the grey team ended up winning it all. So, I figured I’d try it again before Arizona for good luck. It took me about half an hour to get the facial hair just right, and about a week to get rid of the tan lines it caused.

HS: Why did former Hopkins great, coach Jack Newell, refer to you as a "prima donna”?

HT: It was hard to discern the reasoning behind it, between all the yelling …I’m still not sure.

HS: Arms: Shaved or unshaved?

HT: Shaved and moisturized.

HS: Lifts: Shirtless or with shirts?

HT: Unfortunately due to weight room policy, it’s WITH shirts.

HS: Better song: “All the Above” or “I'm on a Boat”?

HT: It’s always been all about “All the Above.”

HS: How did it feel when coach Matt Righter struck you out on three pitches with a certain love interest watching?

HT: Devastating…give me two weeks and a pre-at-bat. That ball will be hitting the scoreboard.

Up next for the final Inside Pitch will be alumnus Nick Venezia! Questions for Nick can be sent to carrie.shaw@vzw.blackberry.net.