Down On The Farm With Nick Quintana
I was able to meet up and interview Nick Quintana recently, the Detroit Tigers second round pick in 2019. He was the 5th third baseman taken in the draft and the 7th player taken out of the Pac-12.
Quintana has an impressive resume heading into pro ball as he was a 2-Time All Pac-12 Conference Player who hit .328 with 29 home runs in 112 games over his last 2 seasons at Arizona, and is considered a plus defender at third base. His older brother Zach was a 3rd Round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2012.
James Weisser: Who is one of your favorite players to watch?
Nick Quintana: My favorite player growing up… I would have to say that Derek Jeter is up there, but I loved watching Alex Rodriguez just because when I was younger I played third base, I loved watching A-Rod, loved watching Derek Jeter. I was a Red Sox fan growing up but for some reason I loved watching A-Rod and Jeter.
JW: Who do you try to model your game after?
NQ: Growing up it was A-Rod and Jeter. I liked how great of a guy Derek Jeter was and still is both on and off the field. I’ve heard stories of how hard he worked and him willing to put in the extra time to continue to improve and get better. He wasn’t always the biggest guy but he gave it 110% every game. He busted his butt, and for a little kid to see that it was both inspiring and admirable. I didn’t model my swing after him or anything like that but I definitely like what he was able to do both on and off the field.
JW: What’s your favorite thing about the game of baseball?
NQ: That there’s always a tomorrow, whether you’re on a hot streak and doing really well, or you’re in a funk and struggling a little bit, there’s always tomorrow. I mean it’s not like football or basketball where you have to wait a few days to play again. I think that the biggest challenge for myself as well as other players is moving on and getting over what just happened, and looking forward to the next day and taking full advantage of it.
JW: What got you interested in the game of baseball?
NQ: I have an older brother who played professionally, but when we were really young, my dad was working graveyard shifts and about the time my brother was about 6 or 7 or even earlier, I might’ve been 3 or 4 at the time, my dad would toss around with us a soccer ball, baseball, or football. It was just something to keep us busy and keep us from annoying some of the other parents, and it was just something I kinda picked up from that. It was never something that was forced on us to do, it was something I fell in love with from an early age and something I always wanted to do.
JW: How are you using your position as an athlete to put good into the world?
NQ: I enjoy being a role model for kids. Sometimes I feel like players might take that for granted. Sometimes players won’t sign autographs or they’re tired of signing autographs so they say maybe tomorrow or something like that. As players we’re put in this really big situation as a young adult and some players might not know or realize that you’re a role model to these kids that you might not have ever met before and that the little things you do sometimes makes a big impact on them. So I always try to be a good role model. I think if you can make someone else’s day even if you’re having a not so good day it makes a huge difference.
JW: What’s your favorite movie?
NQ: I honestly don’t really have a favorite movie. I love movies in general, but if I were to go with a movie I’ve seen the most that I like a lot it would probably be Stand By Me. I could probably say Sandlot but that’s too cliche.
JW: What’s your favorite food?
NQ: Pizza. I really like pineapple pepperoni and jalapeno Pizza. It’s amazing, it’s like my go to for food. I also like a good cheese pizza.
JW: What’s your favorite type of music?
NQ: That’s a tough one because for me a lot of time it depends on my mood and what I’m feeling. I would probably say 90’s alternative rock if I had to choose one. Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Chris Cornell. I grew up around that type of music. On my phone and back home I got Heavy Metal, Death Metal, Rap, R&B, Blues, it really just depends on my mood. I always go back to 90s alternative, there’s just something about that sound that I enjoy.
JW: If you could have any superhero power what would it be?
NQ: I’m not sure if it’s a super power or not but I would love to travel back in time throughout history.
