Mike Mayers – pronounced like the former Saturday Night Live star – is a minor league pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm system.
After attending college at the University of Mississippi, he was a third-round pick in the 2013 draft. While pitching for the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, he made 13 starts, with an Earned Run Average of 2.83 and struck out 52 batters.
On Wednesday, Aug. 27, Mayers pitched a game started by St.Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. Molina, who finished third in the National League Most Valuable Player vote last year, drew a large crowd to the game.
The following day, Mayers sat down with The Scoop and discussed the previous night’s game among other topics.
Q: So, Mike, yesterday you pitched a pretty good game. Was it nervous with that big of a crowd?
A: Honestly once you’re out there, you don’t notice the crowd that much. I’ve thrown in plenty of big crowds in college, so that wasn’t really a factor. Throwing to Yadi (Yadier Molina) — you know, I don’t if I was nervous throwing to him. I was pretty excited about the opportunity. Definitely not an everyday that you get to throw to a future Hall of Famer. That was definitely pretty cool.
Q: Last night, he (Molina) came out to the mound. What all did he say to you?
A: He came out a few different times, sometimes to calm me down, sometimes to talk about it. The coolest one was probably, he came out in the sixth inning with two outs, Jonathan Rodriguez (Springfield’s first baseman) had just made a great play at first base, and I ended up covering the bag, so he came out to give me and Jonathan a break.
I was like “How are we going to attack this next guy?” He turns around and looks at him, and goes, “We’re going to throw a fastball down and in, and he’s going to hit it to third base.” So we throw a fastball down and in, and he hits it right to third base. So that’s a pretty cool story I’ll definitely remember forever.
Q: People often talk about Yadi calling for pitches. Did you basically throw what he told you to, or how did the game plan work out?
A: [Laughing] Oh, there was no way I was shaking him. He told me I was allowed to just because he had never caught me and he didn’t know these hitters like I did, but, you know, there was no way I was shaking him. But we went over the game plan before the game. “What are my strengths? What do I like to do?” We discussed their hitters just like we would if he wasn’t catching. He’s so smart, and that’s what sets him apart from everybody else. You really realize that when you’re throwing to him. It kind of takes your appreciation for him to a new level. I mean, it definitely didn’t take him long to pick up on things, so he put it down and I threw it.
Q: As a minor leaguer, do you keep track of your stats, or think a lot about getting promoted?
A: No. I mean, you can’t. If you do that, it kind of snowballs, and things don’t really work out, because – in all honesty – you never really know when you’re getting promoted. Guys get hurt, you know, whatever, guys get hurt below you, and maybe you have to back down, and you get demoted. You really can’t focus on that. Definitely as a starting pitcher, I’m sure it’s different for other positions, even relief pitchers. You know it’s a new week, last night is over with, I’ve already started preparing for my last start of the year, looking to finish strong.
I’ve found that talking to other people who have played professional baseball and the guys in the club house is that the best way to attack it is to focus week by week, and what I’ve noticed over time is that I’ve come a long way since the beginning of this season, just beginning able to focus on each week and get a little bit better each week and good things will happen.
Q: The minor league season is about to end. What are you planning on doing in the offseason?
A: I guess it really never ends. I’m going to go back to Ole Miss, where I went to school, actually going to take a few classes and hopefully get my degree. I’m just going to continue to work. That’s how you move in such a great system here, is you got to continue to work, because everyone else is, and if you don’t work then someone else is going to pass you.
Q: With your name being Mike Mayers, am I correct in assuming you get a lot of Austin Powers jokes from the guys on the team?
A: Umm, not as much Austin Powers. I don’t know if you know this or not: In college my freshman year, when I first got into college, they sat down – some of the upperclassman – and were like, “This is your walkout song; you don’t really have a choice.” All right. Well, it was the “Halloween” theme song. [Laughs]
As it turned out, the crowd kind of fell in love with it, I guess. Some guy out in the outfield, just an (passionate) Ole Miss baseball fan, decided he was going to start wearing a mask to the game. Next thing I know, my junior year, they had Mike Mayers mask night. The first 8,000 people in the stands got a Mike Myers Halloween mask. I don’t if that was cool or creepy — I still haven’t decided yet. It’s a lot more of the “Halloween” Mike Myers than the “Austin Powers” Mike Myers.
