How getting mad helped Rays’ Tyler Glasnow get better

PORT CHARLOTTE — Tyler Glasnow doesn’t really get fired up for all of his starts by looking a picture on his phone of Martin Shkreli, the derisively nicknamed Pharma Bro who became a public enemy to many after his company massively hiked prices of an HIV drug.

But he used to.

His motivational muses have evolved in the couple years since he told a reporter about the Shrekli photo, but the concept remains the same.

“I have to find something to get angry at. It changes certain days. Usually when I have that angry mentality, I just compete a lot better,” Glasnow said.

“It’s not having hate, but trying to get angry, trying to find an edge.”

Glasnow, 27, has learned a lot about his best pitching practices, and himself, since coming to the Rays in the July 2018 trade from Pittsburgh. The matriculation has been impressive, and rewarding, as Glasnow on Thursday will make the his first opening day start.

The physical improvement he has made on the mound is obvious, evidenced by the improved quality of his stuff — an explosive fastball, physics-defying curve and improved slider and change-up he has better command of and confidence in.

“Just absolute nastiness,” said Austin Meadows, a Rays and former Pirates teammate.

Over the past two regular seasons, 2019 abbreviated by a forearm injury and 2020 shortened due to the pandemic, Glasnow is 11-2, 2.90 in 23 starts with 167 strikeouts in 118 innings.

But the growth Glasnow has made in his head has been even more significant.

“He definitely understands who he is a pitcher now better than he did when he got here,” pitching coach Kyle Snyder said. “He’s gotten bigger, he’s gotten stronger and he’s throwing more strikes now. He’s definitely more mature. Extremely open to coaching, but I think a lot of that stuff is his own ideas that in a conversation with (bullpen coach Stan Boroski), myself or one of his teammates may materialize. It’s just how his brain works. Lots of curiosity. Different things, different days.”

Beyond the game

One way Glasnow improved was developing an all-business routine at the ballpark, where he has specific plans for the days between starts, then a precise and detailed timetable for the hours leading up to the game, starting with morning meditation. One list he shared last year, for example, had 28 specific exercises as part of a 30-minute warmup period.

“It seems like everything has intent right now,” infielder Joey Wendle said. “He’s really focused. … It seems like every single day, he comes in with a plan. You see him walking from his locker to the weight room, from the weight room to the training room. It’s just like everything he has is calculated.”

Another way Glasnow got better was to not care so much about baseball when away from the field.

“I think I used to be all baseball, and that drove me (freaking) crazy so I had to, like, transition out,” Glasnow said. “I think when you’re young and you’re having to deal with the stress of baseball you really need to find different things outside of the field to occupy your time.”

There is still a fun and adventurous side to Glasnow — backflipping (at 6-foot-8!) on a beach in Mexico and in the team weight room, cliff-jumping in Hawaii, getting “No Juice” tattooed to the inside of lower lip in a nod to rap song — but also a level of intellect and broad interests, the product of a quick-processing mind and innate curiosity.

He is big into podcasts and audiobooks, and while he is co-hosting a baseball pod with Chris Rose, his own playlist includes author Malcolm Gladwell, comedian Joe Rogan and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss.

Glasnow just finished the audio version of actor Matthew McConaughey’s book, Greenlights, and is currently listening to two deep thinkers: Brian C. Muraresku’s The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name, and Douglas Brackmann’s Driven: Understanding and Harnessing the Genetic Gifts Shared by Entrepreneurs, Navy SEALs, Pro Athletes, and Maybe YOU. (That’s the same book teammate Ryan Thompson recently raved about.)

Glasnow has been serving as the Rays’ players rep, communicating and coordinating with teammates and union leadership as they navigated myriad issues related to the pandemic. “Spending time with Glas, talking about the industry, talking about the state of the game, talking about collective bargaining, it has been a pleasure for me,” union leader Tony Clark said, praising “his voice, willingness to engage and understanding.”

Rose, a former MLB Network host, said Glasnow was an obvious candidate to be one of the six rotating co-hosts as he launched The Chris Rose Rotation podcast, citing his candor, confidence, curiosity and comfort talking about any subject, including his own failures, including the World Series.

“He’s (also) still the lovable, goofy 6-foot, 8-inch, “Dude, what’s up man?...’” Rose said. “I’ll ask, ‘Did you get the email about all the topics I want to cover?’ He goes, ‘Coo.’ He never writes c-o-o-l, it’s c-o-o. Either the L on his iPhone isn’t working, or it’s the Tyler Glasnow lingo.”

The right fit

Glasnow wasn’t always the cool dude. A fifth-round pick of the Pirates in 2011 (out of the same high school, Hart in Santa Clarita, Calif., as ex-Ray James Shields, as well as Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer), he failed twice in limited opportunities as a starter. He found himself at age 24 relegated to middle relief work on a fourth-place team with a regimented old-school structure he found stifling. “I didn’t want to make people mad or have a personality,” he said.

The trade to the Rays, with Meadows and prospect Shane Baz for Chris Archer (who re-signed with Tampa Bay), and their culture of letting players be themselves, was liberating. Glasnow relished the relaxed atmosphere, the confidence and support Snyder and the team showed in him, and the opportunity to return to starting with no limitations.

“(The Rays) knew my talent,” he said. “They weren’t willing to just give up on me in a sense. Not like Pittsburgh was giving up on me, but I didn’t really seize the moment and I think I was just kind of like tapering down and fizzled out in that bullpen role.

“Then I went in and had a good first start (with the Rays) and I just built the confidence from there. I was really like, ‘Dude, I can still do this, just like the minor leagues.’ You just have to have confidence.”

Rays reliever Stetson Allie, who played with Glasnow in the Pirates’ minor-league system, marvels at the difference. “Night and day,” he said. “He’s the most talented human I’ve ever seen, the most genuine guy I’ve ever been around. It’s awesome to see where he’s at now in his career.”

Meadows notes how much he has blossomed and grown. Snyder believes he is poised for greatness.

“I think there’s still so much more,” Glasnow said. “Last year is kind of when I feel like I really started to figure myself out. It’s just a consistency thing. … The more I pitch, and the more consistent I get, I’m going to get better and better.”

That’s nothing to get mad about.

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