In this week’s edition of “Small Talk,” Boston Red Sox pitcher Craig Breslow answers the big questions from little kids.
1. My favorite board game is Scrabble. I’ve used all seven letters of Scrabble in a game. Have you ever used all of them?
I don’t know the last time that I played Scrabble. I think instead I’ve been playing Words With Friends on my phone but there’s been a handful of times when I’ve used all the letters. I think I get a 35-point bonus for that. So if you want to challenge me to a game, bring it on.
2. I can sort of juggle. I’m wondering if anyone on the Red Sox can juggle?
I bet they can, but I haven’t seen it. I think I can juggle three balls at one time, but not much beyond that. I’m more like a clown than a juggler, but I’ll ask around and if anybody can do it I’ll get back to you.
3. It’s a coincidence that we have the same shirt on. Can you spell “coincidence”?
I’ll give it a shot. C-O-I-N-C-I-D-E-N-C-E.
4. Do all the teams get their coaches together and decide who they’re going to pick? Does the best team get the first pick? Is that how the draft works?
I’m pretty sure you nailed it. I don’t know if we’re on the market for a scouting director but you might have that in your future.
5. I like Yorkies. What’s your favorite kind of dog?
So I actually have had bearded collies which is like an English sheepdog. I’ve had those my entire life. The one I have now at my parent’s house is named Koufax after the pitcher Sandy Koufax.
6. Do you have any friends on the team?
I hope so, otherwise it’s going to be a long season. We have a lot of new faces so Spring Training has been a lot of fun getting to know a lot of the new guys. But I think a couple of the guys who are back from last year in the bullpen, like Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa, despite the fact that we don’t speak the same language, I would say they’re my friends.
7. This is from the 1980s. Did you listen to this when you were little? What else do you remember from the 80s?
Man, the 80s were a long time ago. My favorite team growing up was the New York Mets and I remember in 1986 they won the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. A pretty famous series. Much beyond that, I don’t totally remember, but when I look at pictures I see a lot of neon colors and big hair.
8. I love my social studies class. What class do you like?
I was always more of a math and science guy. I thought when I got older I would be a doctor and rely on my science skills, but the baseball thing has worked out. I still think math and science were my favorite subjects.
9. Did you play any other sports when you were younger?
When I was younger I played pretty much anything I could. I played football, basketball, baseball of course and soccer. Whatever professional sport was on TV that season, I felt like that was the sport I wanted to play.
10. Do you have kids or a wife?
I have a wife. We’ll see about kids.
11. I like to use bud headphones. What kind of headphones do you like to use?
I have a hard time with the bud earphones because they don’t always stay in my ears right when I’m running or working out. So I usually have some kind of headphones that have a clip that allow me to go for a jog. On the airplane I like to use those really big, obnoxious headphones so everyone knows I am not listening to whatever they’re saying.
12. Have you ever looked at microscopic organisms with a microscope?
I’ve actually used microscopes a lot. I was a molecular biophysics and biochemistry major in college, and we used them a lot in the lab. I’m not sure if we used the same microscope or were looking at the same things, but I’ve definitely gotten some experience.
13. One of my favorite movies is “Frozen.” Are you more of an Elsa or Anna?
I don’t know if I can answer that without getting myself in trouble or made fun of. I don’t know if I’m any kind of princess, actually.
14. Who chews the most gum? I like wintergreen gum. What’s your favorite kind of gum?
I don’t chew a ton of gum and not many guys in the bullpen chew gum either. The position players are pretty far away so it’s hard for me to see, but I know there’s a big stack of gum in the clubhouse, and it seems to have the need to get replenished every day. So, obviously somebody is chewing it. It might be Clay Buchholz’s kids.
Thumbnail photo via Nick Turchiaro/USA TODAY Sports Images