Lucas Giolito talks Connelly Early
"Yes, sir!"
It's not the usual response that is integrated into interviews with Major League Baseball players. But it is a staple when talking to Connelly Early.
And, if you take a slightly deeper dive into the Red Sox rookie's background, you will come to understand why that two-word phrase represents part of the foundation for Early's recent success.
While most of the references uttered about the lefty during his 11-strikeout major league debut against the A's surfaced the fact that he was a fifth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Virginia, it was the next level of information regarding his background that helps tell an interestign part of Early's tale.
That was the knowledge that he lived his first two collegiate seasons at a place where you had to deliver "Yes, sir!" to anybody and everybody - West Point.
"I feel like it all started at West Point," he told WEEI.com. "Them giving me a shot to go there, play baseball and also enjoy the school and enjoy the military stuff. Just learn a lot about myself. It really prepared me for the schedule that a professional baseball player goes through every single day and throughout the entire year. Just waking up every single day, making your bed, making your room look spotless, having that checked every single day and having to be out for formations looking the part. Then, obviously, in the summer training, staying on top of your physical self and also just the mental strength all those challenges bring during Army fitness training and the different things that go into it. It has definitely prepared me for this."
He added, "I feel like my parents raised me the right way, so I think it started at a young age. But also, I had my Dad and both my grandparents on both sides, who were all in the military. And my brother went to the Air Force Academy. So it definitely runs in the blood. I was just taught from a young age you have to keep your head down, go to work, do the things that you’re supposed to do, stay on top of it, and be as prepared as possible so when you do get into a moment like that, you’re mentally strong, able to go out there and enjoy it. I would say West Point was a huge factor for a big maturity phase for me and set me up really well."
It was a discipline and routine that manifested itself in that first MLB outing, with Red Sox players and coaches coming away very much impressed with the preparation and organization Early displayed despite the chaos that comes with any debut.
Between those two years as a cadet, to a minor-league career that saw him put up a combined 2.60 ERA over 18 starts with Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, Early was prepared not to allow the opportunity to get the better of him in Sacramento.
It would be fair to say he was prepared to be prepared.
"One hundred percent," Early said. "We have done that all the way through and through the minor leagues. Obviously, in High-A and Double-A there were a couple of less players we were scouting, but we got the idea of what we should look into and how we should attack certain guys, and also how you can trust your best stuff even if a guy is really good at handling this pitch. He has never seen you, and if his results are good off other guys’ changeu,p that might not necessarily mean he’s good off your changeup, especially if you execute location. As you go through the minor leagues, you go through more of the hitters, learn a little bit more, and it’s a little more in-depth. Then getting up there it’s going through the whole lineup because there is a lot more information and every guy up here is a big leaguer. Everybody is really damn good, so you just have to go out there and trust your stuff and execute your pitches. Sometimes you’re just trying to have them get themselves out."
"Not only was it myself telling me that, but just going over everything with the catchers, with the coaches, with the other guys on the team. They helped me feel I was part of this right off the jump. Just knowing that I throw the game, I’m able to throw, and I can compete at any level. I think they did a really good job of helping me feel that, not only internally, but also them telling me, ‘We have seen enough. You have done a good job. Just go out there and trust yourself and let the chips lie where they may.’"
Now, he gets a chance to define his discipline once again, getting a second start against the A's, this time in the heart of the pennant race at Fenway Park Tuesday night.
It seems as though, so far, Early is intent on staying true to the roots that were helped planted in those two years as a military man.
"Yes, sir!"
Those two words are a good start.