American Idol Winner Scotty McCreery Sets Career High For Single-Game Strikeouts

Obviously inspired by my interview with him coming out in that week's issue of ESPN The Magazine, American Idol winner Scotty McCreery Friday night struck out a career-high eight batters in his Senior Night start for Garner Magnet High School against Southeast Raleigh. 

I already rambled about Scotty in a previous blog post, and I swear, I'm not just going on about the kid because he's famous. I really love the fact that he's made time to play baseball this year. He's never going to get to do it again. I mean, yeah, he'll probably get to throw around some if he wants, but he'll never play on an organized team after this season's over. He recognized that, and forced it into his schedule. That's love of the game, man. Some weekends he's touring with the biggest names in country music—heck, he's becoming one of the biggest names in country music—but for a few months, he's also just been a kid on a ballclub, out there raking dirt, tamping the mound, wearing the exact same uniform as a dozen other guys, just being a kid.

There's something just impossibly romantic about that to me. This country music star, clinging to his youth in the form of a kid's game. 

I know, sorry, I'm getting way too saccharine right now. Sue me. I just thought it was awesome, and sometimes that makes me ramble. 

Let's flip this. Turn it on you. What would you do if you could McCreery yourself? What I mean is, what's something from your youth you'd do more of if you could? If you can't, why not? And if you can—why ain'tcha? 

Go.

Extras: The Scotty McCreery Interview

"Baseball’s a huge part of my life and I do expect it to get into my music more at some point."

Practically every story or interview in a magazine has had something left out. Sometimes that's because some stuff just ain't all that interesting. But often it's just because there's not enough space. Hence, "Extras." 

I interviewed American Idol winner Scotty McCreery for this week's issue of ESPN The Magazine. Scotty's also a senior at and a pitcher for Garner Magnet High School in North Carolina. Make sure to read the mag's version of the interview here. Below there are the extras, the stuff that got left out. Scotty breaks down what he throws—turns out the dude has a great mind for attacking batters—and he talks about why he chose to enroll at North Carolina State University next fall and what he'll study there. He also talks about what he prays before he pitches, how he got into baseball in the first place and how much it means to him, its impact on his music, and much more. 

Quick thought about Scotty: He had a few pre-packaged answers like any other celebrity—which is totally fine; in today's world, with certain blogs and sites just dying to pounce on a misconstrued phrase, which can totally ruin your rep, you gotta be super careful—but once we got  going about baseball, it was just a couple ballplayers talking the game. The kid really loves it. I mean, he's touring with Brad Paisley, finishing high school, and writing new music. And he still carves out time for baseball. 

And he's good enough to be 2-0 with a 1.03 ERA right now. Rock on, McCreery. 

Anyway. I know you care more about what Scotty has to say than me, so here's the interview. Enjoy.

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