Brian Bannister: Royals pitcher, Michael Buble listener, baseball card collector

Blogosphere favorite Brian Bannister is more than what some call "athlete smart." As Poz has pointed out, we're talking perfect-score-on-the-math-SAT smart, the kind of analytical mind that could be doing much more important things than pitching.

Lucky for us, Bannister is pitching, and for the Royals, where he's always willing to share his insight.

The honest truth is that you can have an interesting conversation with Bannister about anything, so hopefully this isn't his last Q&A with Ball Star.

In the meantime, here's the interview, continuing a semi-regular feature that's included interviews with Dayton Moore, Michael Schur/Ken Tremendous/Mose Shrute Rany Jazayerli, John Buck, and Will Leitch.

Bannister talks about his baseball card collection, the best pitch in baseball (one he can't throw), and the importance of on-base percentage.

Name: Brian Bannister
Age: 27
Lives in: San Francisco

Favorite baseball memory: Winning my first major league game, at the Washington Nationals in 2006. I got my first major league hit. Two hits that game, actually. Everything just clicked. It was their home opener, I got to meet the vice president Dick Cheney. It was just a magical day. We got to go out to dinner as a team that night. That was really fun.

Probably my favorite memory though was playing in all those little kids games every year (with the big league teams his father pitched for). There was one day a year where they made you a little mini uniform and you got to go out on the field with a Wiffle bat, and your dad got to pitch to you, and you’d run around bases that were 60 feet away. You felt like a big leaguer, and you were six years old. I have a whole collection of those mini uniforms from each of those games.

Favorite restaurant: My wife and I go whenever we can, it’s called Lawry's in Beverly hills. They’re known for their prime rib. The two football teams that get to play in the Rose Bowl every year, they go to Lowry’s and they call it the Beef Bowl. They have a prime rib cut that’s gigantic. I don’t get that cut. That’s our favorite restaurant, we started a tradition, we went there once a year in college and we try to do it now whenever we have a chance.

You arrived at USC as a walk-on infielder. Obviously now, as a pitcher in the American League, you don't get to hit very often (though a respectable five-for-15 in the majors). How much pride do you take in your hitting?

I think every pitcher thinks he can hit. While I’ve learned my lesson running the bases, I do take a lot of pride in it. That was my original dream, to make it as a hitter. I’m really just not fast enough to play middle infield in the big leagues. I know that, that’s why I’m a pitcher. But I still spent so many hundreds of hours in my batting cage in the back yard, hitting balls, having my dad pitch to me. That hand-eye coordination, you really never lose it. You see guys that’ve been out of the game for years come back and they can still rake. So when I get in there, I try to make it a tough out. I take pride in my batting average.

You're an accomplished photographer and budding golfer, and say both hobbies have ties to pitching. Could you elaborate on that?

I only pursue things I feel like I can do the rest of my life. Photography, I can use a camera when I’m 80 years old. I can play golf when I’m 70, try to shoot my age. I really like activities that are solo activities where it takes a lot of concentration and focus, and you have to be thinking about a lot of different variables while you’re doing it. That all translates into pitching. It’s like dealing with runners on base, different counts, all those statistics. They’re just very similar in how you approach them, and that’s why I enjoy them.

If you could steal one pitch from one pitcher in the game, what would it be?

It would definitely be a split finger fastball. Just the way my hands are made up, I’m really not comfortable throwing it because I think it would put too much stress on my elbow. But I still think it’s the single best pitch in baseball. If I could throw that pitch without any risk of arm injury, that’s the pitch I’d throw.

Who throws the best one?

Schilling has a great one. Clemens, Dan Haren. You just see that common thread with guys who can throw one. It’s just such an overpowering pitch because it has the quality of randomness, the way a knuckleball does. It just interacts with the air differently every time. So you could throw three in a row, and there’s a good chance the hitter’s not going to square all of them up. Even if he knows it’s coming.

As Poz has pointed out and you've discussed many places, you are very statistically aware and willing to study how numbers might help you. What stat do you think is the most underappreciated by fans?

I think it’s becoming more mainstream, but definitely on-base percentage. It’s been debated whether hitters are born with the ability to judge the strike zone, or whether it’s a learned ability, through practice. But there’s some guys that just have a knack. Off the top of my head, Billy Butler’s a guy like that. If the ball’s out of the strike zone, it’s like they don’t even flinch. A lot of guys, you see their hands start forward. Some guys, it just doesn’t even faze them if it’s out of the strike zone. I don’t know if it’s learned or if they’re born with it, but that’s the thing I notice the most about hitters.

What's your favorite baseball website?

Gosh, there’s so many of them now. Really, just any of them, if they’re coming up with new material. I try to only get on there every couple of days, just to see what’s new. I just think it’s still an evolving community and the stuff they’re coming out with is so new and fresh, yet we don’t really know which ones to use. That’s kind of my role, I feel like, to figure out which ones are applicable to what I do, and break them down, and test them out, and see how they can help the players.

What about a non-baseball site?

I’m on ebay the most. I collect baseball cards.

I didn't know that. What's your best card?

I have some relatives that collect my cards. I guess I always had more faith in my ability than other people did (laughs), so I have all my original cards that my relatives collected for me. My best one is my very first card, it’s a superfractor. So if it comes down to it and I have a pretty good career, that will be my most valuable card.

I'm sure you saw the prank pulled on Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick. It was all in fun, but I've talked with baseball people who think it went over the line, with the involvement of the front office, coaches, manager, even the media. What do you think?

I used to do pranks during summer ball, when it’s a much more relaxed atmosphere. I’m always very hesitant, because I believe it should be done within a winning atmosphere. I don’t feel like it’s the place of players to be joking waround if you’re losing. I saw guys with the Mets do it a little bit when we made it to the postseason two years ago. I think it definitely has a place because it keeps everybody light, but I think it needs to be done in the context of a winning streak or a winning season.

OK, almost done now, we'll finish with some quick ones. Who is your best dressed teammate?

He’s gone now, but still, it’s Reggie Sanders. He’s in the hall of fame.

You debuted with the Mets. What's the best word to describe playing in New York?

One word? Tense.

Favorite ballpark?

That's easy. Petco Park in San Diego.

Because it's in San Diego or beacuse of something about the park?

Because they’ve got a great clubhouse, and I love how they incorporated the old building in left. It’s a pitcher's park, and it’s at sea level. Can’t ask for anything more.

What's your favorite music?

Anybody who can sing. I love Michael Buble. He’s just mellow, I can throw that on and be comfortable and relax.

Is that what you listen to pregame?

Music’s not a big pregame thing for me like it is for some guys. I actually try to stay within myself. Some guys try to get fired up. I try to stay mellow because I think I can stay within myself and mellow a little bit more.

Cool. Thanks a lot, I appreciate the time.

My pleasure. Anytime.