All aboard for Subway Series

Post columnist Steve Serby caught up with Mets catcher Devin Mesoraco for some Q&A before this weekend’s Subway Series. Q: What drives you? A: It’s been a little while since I’ve been a good player. The past couple of years with injuries, I haven’t been able to prove that the good year that I had in 2014, that that wasn’t a fluke. I want to just prove that I’m a good player, and I’m capable of producing again. Q: Who is one catcher in baseball history whose brain you would have wanted to pick. A: Probably Jason Varitek. Q: Why him? A: [Former Reds teammate, and ex-Red Sox and Pirates pitcher] Bronson Arroyo always said that he was like the most-prepared, best-leader guy that he’s ever come across. I think that that’s what he was known for. He was the captain of the Red Sox, spent a long time there. That would be something great to be known for. Q: If you could test your skills against one pitcher in history, who would it be? A: I would rather face somebody that’s not very good so I can get some hits (smile). I don’t want to single anybody out on that one. Q: If you could throw out one base stealer in history, who would it be? A: Oh, I want to throw out [former Reds teammate] Billy Hamilton when we play them. Q: Why him? A: He talks a lot of s--t. Q: Is it important for you to stay calm? A: I think in some situations as a catcher, if you’re calm and you have a demeanor, that guy [who] kind of knows what the plan is and know what you’re doing, you can project that onto the pitcher and that will help them out. Q: Don’t you have to be a psychologist of sorts? A: I don’t know so much about a psychologist. I think with super young pitchers or guys that have no experience at all ... once you get up to the big leagues, guys kind of know themselves better. To me, I want to say it’s like a pilot or a copilot. I’m there to like facilitate, make their life easier. But at the end of the day, it all falls on whether they do well or whether they struggle. They’re the ones throwing the ball. I’m just trying to help out. Q: Give me a scouting report on you. A: Offensively, I would say wants to hit the fastball ... wants to pull the fastball ... struggles with offspeed pitches if you get ’em to the outer part of the plate ... has some power ... decent eye. Defensively, I would say average thrower ... good at blocking balls in the dirt ... average receiver. Q: That’s a very detailed scouting report. A: I think that I’m a realistic guy, pragmatic. ... It is what it is. Q: What’s it like crouching behind Giancarlo Stanton? A: He’s such a physical beast. That guy, just kind of look at him and you’re like, man ... I can see why he puts up the numbers that he does. We don’t even belong on the same field physically. Q: Aaron Judge. A: Judge is very similar. He’s just huge. Those guys to me look like football players that I’ve seen. They’re just such physical freaks. Q: Your first Subway Series starts Friday. A: It’ll be cool. I think that there’ll be some excitement in the stands, I would imagine. But at the end of the day, it’s just a baseball game. Q: What is it like playing in the Big Apple? A: I feel like I’m a realistic guy, and if I go up there and strike out, and the fans don’t like it, well, I don’t like it either. It really doesn’t make any difference. The same 60 feet, 6 inches, doesn’t matter. Q: What are your best and worst MLB moments? A: Worst would be anytime that I have to go see the doctor. Best was probably playing in the [2014] All-Star Game. Q: Tell me about that experience. A: It was awesome. Up until that point, I hadn’t done a ton in my career. I was amongst guys that maybe I didn’t even feel like I deserved to be amongst — you know, Clayton Kershaw, and name guys that are just superstars of the game, so that was very cool. Q: You were pitching in relief in high school when you were forced to undergo Tommy John surgery. A: I would catch six innings — that was my sophomore year. I wasn’t much of a pitcher. I would just come in and throw it hard. I think I had an oh-fer [that day at the plate], which was somewhat rare in high school. So I was maybe not the happiest, so I was throwing as hard as I possibly could. Just felt a tingle in my arm. We tried to rehab it, but b it wasn’t quite the same. Q: How scary was it for you? A: Yeah, it was scary at the time ... .. being that young, not quite knowing what to expect ... if it’s it gonna come back. That was scary s for sure. Q: Why was Jason Kendall your boyhood idol? A: He was a catcher for the Pirates. He was a hard-nosed guy. He was the best player on the team at that time. He was someone that I thought kind of played tough, went about things the right way. Q: What was it like meeting Johnny Bench when you played for the Reds? A: It was cool meeting him for the first time. He gave me his number. Occasionally I would get texts from him, more about hitting than anything else. But that was always cool to see his name pop up. Q: How frustrating was it starting as slowly as you did in the minor leagues? A: It was difficult, because again, I had high expectations. I think coming from where I hadn’t played a ton of baseball against great competition, started to play against older kids, it just took me some time to kind of get settled, and get confident and really start to feel like “I can do this.” Q: Describe your Single-A debut with the Sarasota Reds in 2007. A: That was cool. It was my fourth at-bat that day. I want to say it was a walk-off grand slam. And then the next day, I hit a grand slam in the first inning. Q: Hobbies? A: I do a little hunting back home [Punxsutawney, Pa.], play fantasy football with my friends. Q: Four dinner guests? A: My two grandpas and my parents. Q: Favorite movie? A: “Shawshank Redemption.” Q: Favorite actor? A: Denzel Washington. Q: Favorite actress? A: Jennifer Lawrence. Q: How does being a free agent next year impact you now? A: I’ve put like literally zero thought into it. My focus is on becoming a good player again. Q: How much do you burn to become the player you were in 2014? A: Yeah, that’s why I show up every day. I got a little taste of success, and it tastes pretty good.