Diehard Q&A: Alan Embree

Diehard recently spoke with Red Sox pitcher Alan Embree about the challenges of switching leagues for a story scheduled to appear in our July issue.

Diehard: What kind of adaptation process did you have in switching leagues in the middle of the 2002 season?

Alan Embree: I think the main thing was just the fact I didn’t know the hitters. You’ve got to feel your first couple weeks through, your first couple series [against] each team. And you’re dealing with the designated hitter. You don’t have that letdown, you don’t have that break [in] the lineups. There’s a dangerous hitter every time.


DH: Are batters more aggressive in the American League than in the National League?

AE: Yeah, one thing I did notice was that the pitchers didn’t challenge them with fastballs as much as they did in the National League. Saw a lot more 3-1 breaking balls, 3-2 breaking balls over there.


DH: Would you throw a fastball in that count in the NL?

AE: Oh yeah, most definitely. And over here, you get burned with it a couple times and soon you’re going ‘wait a second, this worked [before].’ And you learn. You adjust by elevating or throwing in more. Over here, you’re throwing in much more than you do over there.


DH: How did you manage to make a pretty seamless switch to the AL [after striking out 38 batters and recording an 0.94 ERA in 28 2/3 innings for the Padres, Embree struck out 43 batters and posted a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 innings for the Sox]?

AE: Initially, I think it was just experience. The fact I had pitched in the American League before helped a lot, too [Embree pitched for the Indians in 1992 and 1995-96 and for the White Sox in 2001].


DH: How did pitching in the AL change between your stints in the AL?

AE: Basically, [umpires] were trying to go to the high strike. And then you had QuesTec come in and [pitchers] didn’t get as much off the plate as you used to. The AL was more up in the strike zone, you’d get [more] calls [up] than off the plate. It was just getting used to ‘OK, this is what you’ve got to deal with.’


DH: How did interleague play hasten the adaptation process?

AE: I think it’s leveled in the fact the umpires [now umpire in both leagues]. But I think it just depends on what league the home games are in, because that’s the advantage we lose—the designated hitter over there. When we go over there, they have to add a designated hitter. The guy that you put there wouldn’t normally be a DH. He’d be more of a pinch-hitter.


DH: Have you ever talked to hitters who have changed leagues to get their thoughts on the switch?

AE: [John] Olerud and I talked about it. I think it’s probably harder for the hitters to adjust to the pitchers, because the plate doesn’t change. You’ve still got to throw it across the plate, where the hitters have to adjust to different sequences of pitches.


Diehard managing editor Jerry Beach can be reached at [e-mail]. To receive a free issue of Diehard, call 888-979-0979.