Major League Baseball

1-on-1: Tigers' Price on free agency, Cy Youngs and ... his Commodores

Published Jun. 8, 2015 1:52 a.m. ET

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Detroit Tigers ace David Price spoke with great candor and perspective throughout a 1-on-1 interview with FOX Sports on Friday, a day before our broadcast of his complete-game victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Price touched on a number of topics, including a trip to watch his Vanderbilt Commodores play in the NCAA baseball tournament Monday (an off day for the Tigers); who he believes is the best pitcher in the American League right now; and his free agency after this season. The full interview can be seen above, and at this link, and here are some of the highlights:

On whether he’ll be noticeable in the crowd Monday, while watching Vanderbilt play Illinois in Champaign, Ill.:

“I’m definitely going to have Commodore gear on. I would like to be able to blend in. I’m just going to support those guys. Coach (Tim) Corbin has this program right where it needs to be. I’m excited for them. It’s a good time for Vandy sports right now.”

On what has made the Vanderbilt baseball program so successful (the Commodores are the defending national champions) and why his three years at the university have had such a huge impact on his life:

“Coach Corbin. He’s a culture changer. That’s what he did at Vanderbilt. To do that with the standards he has academically and on the field — being in the SEC, which I feel like is Double-A baseball — is a testament to how hard he works, just being able to recruit those guys to come to the school ... It was very demanding (for me), both baseball-wise and academically. It makes you manage your time. It turned me into a grownup. That’s why I went to school and didn’t want to sign professionally after high school. I wasn’t ready for that yet. Everybody’s different, but some (high school) kids might look in the mirror and say they’re ready — and they’re far from it. I think every kid needs to go to college. You need to experience those two, three, four years of college baseball and that college lifestyle. That’s going to prepare you for the minor leagues and — better yet — prepare you for the big leagues.”

On how he’s a different pitcher now than in 2012, when he won the American League Cy Young Award:

“I feel like I have more pitches. I didn’t really throw a changeup in 2012. Last year, it was one of my better pitches for a while. Just being able to adjust on the fly, whether it’s pitch by pitch, or game by game, I’m always tinkering with stuff and looking for ways to get better. Earlier in my career, I wanted to do it one way. This game is extremely tough. These hitters are very good. If you don’t switch up what you’re doing, they’re going to adapt to you. I want to be ready for whatever they do. I’ve always got different tricks in my bag, so I’ll be ready for it.”

On who would receive his vote, if he had to cast an AL Cy Young ballot now:

“That’s tough. If I had to do it today, I would have to give it to Sonny Gray. I am biased toward Sonny [a fellow Vanderbilt first-rounder], but to me it’s 1(a) and 1(b) with Sonny Gray [of Oakland] and Chris Archer [of Tampa Bay]. I feel like, right now, Chris Archer might be the best pitcher in baseball. He definitely possesses the best pitch in baseball, with his slider. But what Sonny’s done so far, leading all of baseball in ERA, he’s throwing the ball extremely well. Dallas Keuchel from the Astros — another SEC guy [Arkansas] — he’s throwing extremely well, as well. If it ended today, I would have to give it to Sonny, but if Archer won it, I would definitely get it.”

On his close relationship with Archer, his teammate for three seasons with the Rays:

“He’s evolved a lot. It’s tough to do that at the big-league level. Being as young as he was, you want to do things your way. He’s always open for change, and that’s something I would talk to him about when I was teammates with him. You’ve got to be ready for every situation, pitch to pitch. He was always a very high-energy guy. Some people don’t like it, and that’s something we had to talk about. Being the ace of that staff right now, guys are coming for him. You don’t want to give (hitters) any more motivation to stand in the doorstep of your Hall of Fame. That’s what I tell him: ‘Those hitters are trying to take something off your plate and keep you from joining Cooperstown.’ He’s a smart kid. He’s always open for suggestions. He will stay that way, because he’s a good dude. He means lot to me.”

On how — as a free-agent-to-be — his experience at this year’s All-Star Game would compare to last year, when he was on the verge of being traded and treated like royalty by aspiring future teammates:

“I don’t think it would be quite the same. Some of the other All-Stars might be in their free-agent year, as well, so I don’t think I would have an experience like I did last year. Last year was definitely the best experience I had at the All-Star Game, and it wasn’t just because of (how the players treated me). I was still with Tampa. Minnesota is my favorite AL park to go to. I love that city and the ballpark, and we were opening there after the All-Star Game, so I got to stay there for like a week. That was really cool.”

On how he’s handled the emotions of being so close to free agency:

“To be honest, I haven’t thought about it. It’s not something I think about. When you get caught up looking in the future and past, that’s when the present isn’t as fun, or you don’t enjoy it, or bad stuff happens ... So I just want to stay in the present, help this team win, and, when I’m not pitching, help pick guys up and be a good teammate. If you can do that, those guys know you’re not worried about what’s going to happen in however many months. I want to win. I want to win right now. I want to win with these guys. That’s the attitude I bring to the field every day.”

On how important a team’s culture will be, in deciding where he wants to sign after this year:

“Winning definitely sets a precedent over everything else. After that, (the team) has got to have a good culture. If they don’t have a good culture, they have to be open for change. I want to have fun, and some teams are just a no-fun zone. I don’t care how much money I’m making. To me, I couldn’t imagine waking up and being like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go to the field today.’ I couldn’t handle that. I’ll quit before that happens. I want to win. I want to win now. I want to win for a long time. I want to be part of something special. If that opportunity opens itself up to me, I would appreciate it.”

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