Richard Fitts
On building a mound and working out at home during the shutdown…
“Yeah, it was really cool. So actually, me and my dad built that mound. Our idea around it was to have something that we can move around and not have to worry about trying to find baseball fields that are open while COVID is going on. We’ve got plenty of baseball parks around us, but the city won’t open them because COVID and stuff so it was really tough. I was really wanting to work on my off-speed pitches, my fastball command, stuff like that. My dad loves having little projects and with him just sitting at home all day, he figured that he could start building it. We actually made it where it could fold up and go in my truck if we needed to, so it’s very mobile but it ended up just staying at the house. Just as far as my brother being in town, it was really cool having him there because he was kind of like a coach for me, which usually he’s just kind of been that mentor, someone that I look up to. Just having him there as kind of a coach aspect, telling me some different things that he sees based off of some data and stuff that I send him. Everything like that was really big. Just as far as him being there in person, he wasn’t there much just because he was having to do stuff in Tennessee and Austin Peay, but he was just awesome. I’d call anytime that I needed him and I think he really helped me kind of develop at least my changeup whenever I drop the splitter and figure out some different grips and stuff like that.”
On how early into quarantine they came up with the idea to build a mound…
“So, the idea probably came two days in. I stayed in Auburn I think through the whole month of March and I was throwing with Bailey Horn, but as soon as I got home we figured out that we needed to build a mound. It probably took us a week of planning and then a half a week of building. It was a really quick process. My dad got it done super fast. We put it all together. I was doing half of it, he was doing the other half, and by the time it was all done it was probably like two days before my first bullpen was supposed to be so it was perfect.”
On how he feels he’s performed this fall…
“I’m pleased with where I’m at right now. There’s always room for improvement, so that’s what I want to work on over the rest of this offseason. Yeah, my velo is up right now, but I never really stopped from the spring and I think that has a lot to do with it. We have a lot of guys that they’re just now ramping up, so they’re getting that velo up. Trace Bright last night hit 95, which that’s something good that we saw out of him. He didn’t play summer ball like I did, so now he’s getting the some (points) where we’re starting to see what he did over COVID and it’s starting to show. I think just for me personally, I never really stopped. Just as far as the velo goes, it’s just paying off a little bit faster than some other guys. I think we’re going to see a lot of our of our pitchers have that same kind of thing. Even with the hitters, Bryson (Ware) is doing very well right now. He’s hitting 108 pretty much every exit velo he has. I think just this COVID and everything has been really beneficial for our whole team.”
On getting back up to speed with in-game situations…
“I’d say, just from the pitching aspect, we had a lot of guys that weren’t in situations since February that are more than just throwing a pitch in the strike zone. It’s having to field your position. Just kind of going over our team defense was really big for our freshman pitchers, our veteran pitchers, everybody, just because we were put in those situations where we were having to think about different things and having our infielders behind really kind of helped us, but also put a little bit of pressure on us where we’re not just going through the motions and actually having to think. Just having that little practice with Coach Hudson, having him there is incredible, but everybody is starting to get back in the groove of things as we are going through intrasquads and just going through team practice.”
On if increasing his velocity was a conscious goal…
“My goal this offseason or my quarantine time was to not only increase my velocity, but I wanted to keep my velocity. My freshman year I touched 95 a couple of times, but I was dropping my velocity every inning. I wanted to make a conscious effort to stay at my constant velocity. I want to be sitting 94-95 for six innings. That’s something that I really worked on this offseason. I talked with our strength coach CJ (Chris Joyner) so much. I was probably calling him every week, probably bothering him and his family time, but he was awesome through it all. He was telling me specific workouts to do certain things and I was working with Coach Hudson to figure out some different things that I can do to work off my fastball as I had my velocity increase. Playing summer ball, I really worked on getting into better counts and, out of the stretch, keeping my velocity. I’ve had that struggle, too, as far as I was 93 out of the wind-up and 90 out of a stretch. Just staying consistent was my main goal, and CJ was a big help with that.”
On the new player development facility…
“I think it’s awesome. I know we’ve been waiting on it for a while, and it looks incredible, just from the way it looks on the field, and we know it’s not even done yet. I’m pumped to see how it looks as the final product. It will help all the pitchers have their own little zone other than the bullpen where the position players are getting moved out into that facility where they’re going to have the best opportunity to get better in those cages. They’ll have the opportunity for us to throw live BP in there, where we’re throwing off a mound to hitters when it’s raining and storming. So we’ll be able to get better in pretty much any kind of condition. We’re moving into the place where our old cages were, so I think just that little area is going to be big for us.”
On Coach Thompson’s “iron sharpens iron” mentality…
“He’s actually talked about that all three years, but this year, it’s been a real emphasis, just because of so many new guys we have, and as little experience as we have in SEC play. I think it’s ginormous for us as a pitching staff as far as sharpening each other, like going back and forth. For me personally, I’ve been with Cody Greenhill, and we’ve created this bond that we didn’t have the first two years that I’ve been here. Now that I’m able to work with him every day, I’m making him better. He’s making me 10 times better just because of his experience and what he’s been through and everything. I think just having those guys right there and sharpening each other every day is making the whole team better, not just individuals better.”
On his mentality as a possible weekend starter…
“It’s definitely a position I’m going for. I’m open to be whatever. I’ve said that since day one as far as being a bullpen guy or being a starter. I accepted that role freshman year as a relief guy, and I was happy in that, but this year, I want to make a difference from the starting aspect. I think I definitely have an opportunity to do that. I’ve just got to keep working at it. I think we have a lot of talent and it should be an ongoing competition to gets those spots. We’re going to have a lot of depth at any starting location, any relief location.”
On newcomers who have impressed him…
“Definitely Bryson. He’s making hard contact on every ball. Especially in the fall, not a lot of people have seen live pitching. It’s big to have hard contact, it’s not about getting a hit every time. Bryson is getting plenty of hits, but he’s just making hard contact, which makes a pitcher sit back a little bit, not in the driver’s seat like he wants to be. As far as the hitters go, Bryson’s as good as any of them. Brody’s really trying his hardest to claim a spot and he’s doing a great job of being a leader and he’s energetic. He’s doing everything he can with what he’s got. As far as pitchers go, Cody’s stepped up with his off-speed pitches and he’s getting to where he wants to be with those pitches. I think out of our freshmen, we’re going to see a lot of good guys. Joseph Gonzales, he’s got some good stuff. He’s getting better every day. He’s been talking to me, and he really wants to get better, which is really good to see from those guys.”
Bryson Ware
On how he has transitioned and how he think he’s done this fall…
“Yeah, it’s awesome. It’s definitely a lot different than junior college, just kind of getting acclimated to a bigger college lifestyle. The guys have been awesome, just kind of taking me in as one of their brothers and just getting to know everybody. It’s been really fun this fall. I’ve been just trying to have as much fun as possible, not trying to be too nervous or have too much weight on my shoulders or anything. I’m just kind of trying to let everything happen as it comes and trying to enjoy the process as much as possible.”
On if he had any second thoughts about coming to Auburn after COVID shut the season down…
“There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. My junior college coach kind of threw it at me, ‘If you want to come back then there’s always a spot for you’, but when everything happened, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I wanted to come to Auburn. I knew it was going to be more beneficial for me than anything. Just to kind of pick the minds of (Ryan) Bliss and Rankin (Woley), some guys that have been here for a while and just learning from them and seeing how I can perfect my craft as much as possible.”
On what he has seen out of Brody Moore…
“Brody’s definitely one of our most solid infielders. He’s one of those guys that can do it all. He can pick it at any position. Whenever you need him to hit he’s always there in clutch situations in intrasquads. He’s one of those guys that is a great leader on the team and in the infield, especially, and kind of knows where everybody needs to be in every situation. With some of the freshmen pitchers, some of the newer guys, if they’re out there struggling, he’s always there to talk to them, calm them down. He’s definitely a leader on the field and he’s one of our most solid players, for sure.”
On getting back up to speed with in-game situations…
“It’s definitely taken some time. Once we got here, I think everybody was a little rough, especially guys that hadn’t been playing summer ball, but it’s definitely gotten a whole lot better. I know Coach (Nonemaker) and Dan (Gamache) have been working in the infield especially, and probably the same with Coach Gross and the outfield. They’ve been working a lot with us on situational stuff like team defense, whether that’d be bunt defense, first and third, all that kind of stuff. It’s definitely coming along and it’s gotten a whole lot better.”
On what the competition in the infield has been like…
“It’s definitely awesome. Everybody in the infield can play multiple positions at a very high level, and it’s good to be around that kind of competition. It makes me a better player and it gets me more ready for the season, whereas if I was just playing with a bunch of guys that didn’t really know what they were doing. It’s definitely been great to see some of the more experienced guys, even freshman Cole Foster – he’s one of the best infielders I’ve ever played with, so it’s great to be around these kind of guys just to get better.”
On being able to play multiple positions…
“My high school coach always talked about if someone got hurt, it was always the next best available player, not the next best available position player at that spot in particular, so it’s been huge being versatile for me just to be able to get in the lineup any way that I can. I’m not really picky as to where I play, I’m just trying to be open-minded to wherever Coach wants to put me in, and try to learn that spot to my best of my ability.”
On the new player development facility…
“It’s going to up a lot of opportunities for not only us as position players, but also the pitchers moving into the old hitting facility, hopefully sometime soon. It’s going to be awesome. Coming from a junior college, there was not really much in facilities, so it’s opened my eyes when I got here, especially even with the old hitting facilities. It’s been awesome.”
On Coach Thompson’s “iron sharpens iron” mentality…
“A bunch of the guys in the infield are amazing players and I’m learning a ton from them, and hopefully, they’re learning a little bit from me. I’m just trying to pick their brains as much as possible and try to help them make me a better player.”
On newcomers who have impressed him…
“I think I can speak for any position player when you step up to the plate, and Fitts is on the bump, he catches us off guard just about anything he throws. He can locate just about anything for a strike, and it’s pretty hard to catch up to 97. As far as position players go, probably Brody is one of the guys that has really stood out. Judd, Steven, all those guys that have been here for a little bit and are just continuing to get better and better every day. I’m going to learn from them as much as possible, especially Ryan Bliss and Rankin Woley. It’s been awesome.”
