'California' Marlins Q&A: Four Marlins visiting home state of California
Palm trees. Sunshine. Surf.
When the Miami Marlins embarked on their current 11-game road trip, four players from California expected contingents of family and friends to watch them take on the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
Christian Yelich, who grew up 40 minutes away from Dodger Stadium, will get to play his hometown team in the Golden State for the first time in his career.
Casey McGehee will return to northern California after spending last season playing in Japan. Giancarlo Stanton has hit 14 homers at the three ballparks on the trip. Reed Johnson's love for baseball can be credited to his grandmother taking him to Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium as a boy.
FOX Sports Florida's Christina De Nicola caught up with the Californians on the best in music, food and sport their state has to offer.
CHRISTIAN YELICH
Hometown: Thousand Oaks
High school: Westlake
What's the most stereotypical California thing about you?
Nothing.
Did you ever surf?
Nah, dude.
Who's the best musical act to come out of the state?
Incubus.
What's your go-to food?
Probably Mexican food or In-N-Out. Anything that looks sketchy is probably going to be good.
How will it feel to play at Dodger Stadium where you grew up going to games?
That'll be a cool experience. It's something I've been looking forward to. I can't even tell you how many games I've seen at Dodger stadium. A ton.
Do you have any favorite memories?
I think just all of them. That's where I first really started watching baseball. My first experience of watching a major-league game was at that stadium. That's where I've been going since I was 4 years old. Actually playing on the field instead of sitting in the seats is going to be weird.
CASEY McGEHEE
Hometown: Santa Cruz
High School: Soquel
College: California State University -- Fresno
What's the most stereotypical California thing about you?
You'd probably find me in a t-shirt and shorts with flip-flops if it's anything above 50 degrees. I'm not big into dressing up. I don't know if I fit most of the stereotypes.
Who's the best musical act to come out of the state?
It's not even close -- best band of all-time -- Sublime.
What song?
It changes all the time. My favorite one would probably be ... You put me on the spot! That's a hard question. Either "Garden Grove" or "Boss DJ." My sister got me on Sublime when I was younger.
What's your go-to food?
Whenever I go back to see my parents (in Santa Cruz) I've got to go to Tacos Moreno and get a burrito. That's usually the first stop of a trip.
Did you grow up cheering for a certain team?
I was fortunate. I had the best of both worlds because I was close to Oakland and San Francisco, so I had American League and National League baseball. I liked both of them, but I never had a team that I was diehard about. I had certain players I liked to watch. There were some teams you would watch one year and they were fun to watch. I just always liked baseball in general.
Any specific memories stand out?
Biggest memory -- I wasn't there but was coming home to watch the (1989) World Series with Oakland and San Francisco and the earthquake. That's one of them, and probably my first baseball memory was Kirk Gibson hitting the home run off Dennis Eckersley (in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series). That was the one I remember watching everything about it.
As far as being at the stadium, I'll never forget that feeling coming up through the tunnel when you'd go out to see the field and grass and how perfect it is. I always like to go to Dodger Stadium because you still get that feeling when you get out on it. It's one of those places where it's perfectly manicured all the time, just feels like what a big-league field should feel like.
GIANCARLO STANTON
Hometown: Panorama City
High School: Notre Dame
What's the most stereotypical California thing about you?
People comment on black socks, black capped socks. I wear sandals on South Beach so a lot of that.
Who's the best musical act to come out of the state?
(long pause) I don't know. Kendrick Lamar's from LA.
What song?
"Money Trees."
What's your go-to food?
Mexican food. The most bootleg spot you can find. A taco truck.
REED JOHNSON
Hometown: Riverside
High School: Riverside
College: California State University - Fullerton
What's the most stereotypical California thing about you?
I guess I say dude a lot. I think the cars I drive are a little more California than anything. I have an old classic car -- a '51 Mercury, so it's what people say when they see it. "I knew it was yours!"
Who's the best musical act to come out of the state?
One of my favorite bands was Sublime, and then Blink-182 are from San Diego. I grew up listening to those two bands.
What's your go-to food?
Mexican food. Bean and cheese burrito from Roberta's. If it's got bars on the windows it's a good place to be.
Did you grow up cheering for a certain team?
The Padres. When I was growing up my grandmother had season tickets so they had certain packages. She would take me early and get autographs and go shag batting practice out in the stands, and then I would come up to my seat. She took me to the All-Star game in 1992. I was into baseball already, but being around those big leaguers all the time. My son is similar to me. Not a lot of little kids will sit there and watch a game. I grew up a Padre fan for that reason.
Did you have any favorite players?
Gary Sheffield was there and played third base. I was a big Gary Sheffield fan, and then I got to play against him when he was with the Yankees. I had a Mizuno glove and everything. All the stuff he did at third base -- I just loved watching him play. He could hit balls so far. Obviously Tony Gwynn was just the face of the franchise for so many years.
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
