Jeremy Guthrie

I said, I don't know how I can go from

91 miles per hour at BYU.

Take two years off.

Don't throw a single ball for two years.

Lose 25 pounds of presumably muscle that I had gained in high school.

And then within two and a half months, I'm throwing 97 miles per hour.

I said, I have no explanation for that other than just a gift in the hand of God touching my arm and saying, this is what I have in store for you.

And so quickly, I was confident, believed I could be a part of the team and earned a spot, you know, from going from a walk-on to actually having a role as the Friday starter for a team that eventually became the number one team in the country and who eventually lost in the championship game to Miami in the College World Series in 2001.

So it was unexpected.

It was a whirlwind.

It was really an enjoyable ride.

And the camaraderie that you asked about is...

I tell people all the time, my teammates at Stanford, from the pitching staff all the way to our elite infield and our outfield that had three major league players in the outfield go on to have good careers in the big leagues.

I just grew a love of baseball.

These guys loved baseball.

They ate, slept and drank it, but in a good way, in a really kind of productive, constructive way that made me love baseball more, which caused me to just enjoy myself.

And when I enjoyed myself, I got much better, which is what do parents and coaches tell their kids all the time?

Have fun.

And it sounds like a cliche, but the moment I began to have fun in baseball was the moment my talent and career really took off.

That's a great question.