2011 Baseball Preview: Sit Down With Ben Wetzler
Feb. 4, 2011
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The start of the 2011 season for the Oregon State baseball team is a mere two weeks away, and the Beavers are preparing by working out on a daily basis at Goss Stadium.
The official online home of Oregon State Athletics, osubeavers.com, would like to help you get prepared for the 2011 campaign with the start of the 2011 Oregon State baseball preview. In the two weeks leading up to the start of the season, we will have positional previews, Q&A sessions with a few newcomers and much much more.
Our first Q&A is with freshman left-handed pitcher Ben Wetzler, who hails from Clackamas High School. He stands 6-foot-1 and will wear No. 28 this season.
See below for a Q&A with the 15th-round selection in the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft by Cleveland.
Note, single-game tickets for the 2011 Oregon State baseball season went on sale Monday morning. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the ticket office at legendary Gill Coliseum, calling 1-800-GOBEAVS or visiting osubeavers.com.
Single-game tickets are $20 for reserved seats and $10 for general admission seats located in the outfield beyond the right-field fence.
Season tickets for the 2011 season are also still available. They can be purchased for $400 per seat. To purchase them, call 1-800-GOBEAVS, visit the ticket office at legendary Gill Coliseum or get them online at osubeavers.com.
Ben Wetzler Q&A
Why did you choose to play baseball at Oregon State?
“It’s always kind of been a dream of mine. I grew up in Oregon and watched them win two national championships, back-to-back. It made me want to stay close to home, yet be far enough away to live my own life.”
What has your experience been like so far at OSU?
“It’s been everything I have expected. It’s awesome. It’s a small-town community so it’s all about the college here.”
What team drafted you? And can you describe the feeling you had when you found out that you were selected in the 2010 First-Year-Player-Draft?
“I got drafted by the Cleveland Indians. Honestly I decided before the draft even happened that I was going to school. I promised my grandma that I was going to go to college first. No matter where I got drafted at, that was the route I was going to go. I don’t think you can put an amount of money on the college experience. You only get one time to be a college kid.”
What was it like to win two state titles while in high school?
“It was an amazing feeling. Senior year, it wasn’t as expected, a few of us thought we had a shot. My sophomore year, the entire team knew that this was the team that could do it and bring Clackamas High School its first men’s state championship in any sport. Then the second one just put the icing on the cake. Being a senior and going out a couple weeks before graduation and winning a state title just capped a great high school career.”
Describe to Oregon State fans what kind of player you are.
“I’m super, super competitive. I hate losing in anything that I do. I’ll do whatever it takes to find a way to win.”
What are you going to bring to the team?
“Just that competitive edge. I’m loud and energetic. I always try to have fun. But I always bring that competitive edge, that’s kind of a balance between both.”
How do you prepare for a game (mentally and physically)? Do you have any superstitions or routines?
“In high school I had a ton of routines, but I think I am going to start them all over. I used to eat Big Mac’s before every game I pitched in. I used to get two Big Mac’s, McChicken, medium fries, and a large Powerade. I don’t think my body can handle that anymore, so I think I am going to have to change some of my superstitions. I listen to “I Need A Girl” by Trey Songz before I go out and play. It calms me down and relaxes me.”
Who has had the biggest impact on your baseball career?
“Probably my high school coaches. They taught me everything. I relied on my pure athleticism before high school, and in high school they helped bring out that competitive edge. They kind of helped me control it and retrain it and funnel it on the field. I used to get very, very angry off the field in sports that I wasn’t competing in competitively. So they helped me channel that energy into the sports that I was competing in.”
What kind of music do you listen to? Who are some of your favorite artists?
“I listen to strictly slow jams: Trey Songz, Usher, Chris Brown, guys like that.”
What is your favorite move?
“It would probably have to be the Rambo movies, Rocky or Never Back Down.”
What is your favorite television show?
“Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Which professional athlete do you look up to the most and why?
“I’ve looked up to a bunch in different sports. In basketball you look up to Lebron James. He is a superstar of our era that works super hard. Baseball, I kind of look up to Derek Jeter and Josh Hamilton. I’ve read both of their books; just what they have gone through in their lives and two completely different backgrounds. They both had to deal with completely different things and what they have overcome in baseball to do great in their professional careers is amazing.”
What are some of your favorite professional sports teams?
“My favorite football team is the Dallas Cowboys. Basketball, you have to root for the hometown Blazers. Baseball, I don’t really have a favorite team, but deep down I am always going to root for the Seattle Mariners.”
Do you have any family members that play or played sports at the professional or collegiate levels? If so, who and what teams?
“My grandpa played football and a little bit of baseball at Washington State.”
What is your major and why did you choose it?
“At the beginning of the year I was undecided, but after the first term I switched it to physical education. I plan to just become a high school P.E. teacher and coach high school baseball and football. I Just to stay in the sports world.”
What other sports did you play while you were in high school?
“I played football all four years. “
What is your most memorable baseball moment?
“That would probably winning both of those state titles. Being in the dogpile feels amazing; there is nothing like it.”
What other hobbies and interests do you have?
“I just enjoy playing other pick-up sports for fun, hanging out with friends. But everything I do involves sports in some way.”
How do you spend your day when you have the day off from baseball?
“Just relaxing; I’ve got to get some video game hours in. Other then that, just kind of relaxing, letting my mind clear itself from baseball for a day, and just getting everything else that I need to get done.”
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