Small Talk: Rick Porcello Loves To Play ‘Boom Beach’ On His iPhone (Video)

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello took some time to answer the big questions from little kids on “NESN Clubhouse.”

Q. Sometimes my fastball curves, even when I throw it with all of my might. How can I fix that to protect my arm?

A. My best advice to you is don’t throw it too far to where the ball is going to be curving, but get to a comfortable distance — as far out as you can get — and throw it as hard as you can with keeping your head on your target. The ball is probably curving because your head is falling off your target and then your hand gets away from your head. So go to 100 feet or 120 feet, however far you can throw it, and keep your head on target and try and throw it right through whoever you’re going to play catch with.

Q. Did you ever play “Scrabble” when you were younger? Do you still play it?

A. Unfortunately I played Scrabble when I was younger with my mother and still play with her now, and I don’t think I’ve beaten her yet. So it’s one of those games that I don’t like to play because I don’t win too much.

Q. I’ve seen one of these but I don’t know what it’s called. I would call this a “box disc.” What’s it called, anyway?

A. You don’t know what that’s called? That’s just a regular VCR movie tape. When that’s younger that’s all we had. We didn’t have DVDs or you couldn’t download movies online yet. Actually when I was five or six years old we didn’t even have Internet yet.

Q. I speak Creole. Do you speak any other languages?

A. I speak a little bit of Spanish just from being around the other guys in the clubhouse, some of the Latin guys, but that’s about it. I don’t know any other languages.

Q. I got braces before my brother. Did your older siblings do everything first?

A. Yeah, my older brother definitely did everything first, and myself and my younger brother learned from him. It was the same in my family. He always did everything first and we all kind of followed and tried to do everything he did.

Q. Who is the best dancer on the Red Sox?

A. If you were on our team you’d probably be the best. But I would give it to Joe Kelly. He thinks he’s the best dancer, so I don’t want to hurt his feelings or anything like that.

Q. I use Google more than the dictionary. Is Google your favorite search?

A. Yup! Google is my favorite search engine as well. I use it for everything — looking up restaurants or any kind of information I want. That’s my go-to.

Q. I like to write stories and poems. Did you ever write stories?

A. Yeah, all growing up and going through school we used to have to write short stories and things like that. So I’d write them for school and when I figured out I wasn’t a very good writer I kind of stopped and just started reading everybody else’s stuff. So if you have some stories that you’ve finished, send them to the ballpark and send them to me. I’d love to read them!

Q. I play “Minecraft” on my iPod. What do you do on your iPod?

A. I do everything on it. I play games. My favorite game right now is “Boom Beach.” I listen to music, watch videos. I use it for everything.