HERE’S JOHNNY
AS HE EYES A BOUNCE-BACK 2018, THE GIANTS’ FIREBALLING ECCENTRIC SHARES WHAT DRIVES HIM ON AND OFF THE BASEBALL FIELD
San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto says his mother was his inspiration.
He owns a ranch, but he’s quick to point out he’s not a cowboy. “Not like Bumgarner,” he says. He’ll post shirtless edits on Instagram, but when his baseball career is over, he fancies himself a serious businessman. Johnny Cueto doesn’t come across as a baseball diehard, and he’ll even admit his mother forced him to play the game as a child. Yet a competitive drive has carried Cueto, 32, through a 10-year major league career, fueled by a desire to prove doubters wrong. (We’ll allow him to elaborate on that in his own colorful Johnny Cueto way below.) After struggling through an injury-riddled 2017 season, Cueto sat down to explain (with the translation help of Giants broadcaster Erwin Higueros) why he returned to the Giants, what drives him to perform and the allure of relaxing on his ranch.
QYou’re from San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic, which is considered “the land of shortstops.” Why did you decide to become a pitcher instead of a shortstop?
AWhen I first started playing baseball, I would play the outfield. I had a strong arm and I ended up playing both. I would pitch one day and I would play the outfield the next. But then I realized because I threw hard and I had a good arm, I decided just to stay in pitching.
QYour mom worked hard to be able to buy you equipment when you were younger, what do you remember about the sacrifices she made to help you play baseball?
AShe was basically my inspiration. I mean, there were some times that I didn’t want to go play baseball and my mom would say, “No, you’re getting up, you’re going to play.” And I would say, “No I don’t feel like it,” and she would say, “No, you have to go.” But in order to get to the baseball field, I had to jump over a huge wall. It was a private wall like at a university, so I had to jump that wall to walk over to the stadium. My dad would tell me, “I think the reason you don’t want to play baseball is because you’re looking at girls and the girls are after you.”
QAs a shorter pitcher (5-foot-11), you had to overcome doubts about your size. Do you take more satisfaction in your accomplishments knowing that scouts overlooked you?
AIt’s true, there were a lot of teams that didn’t even pay attention to me because of my size. I have small hands and plus I was skinny, so they would say, “Nah nah, you’re too small to play baseball.” But even though they had doubts, I never put my head down and I never gave up and one of the things I think I have over other players that give up is that I have balls.
QSome of your most memorable performances came on big stages. What do you remember about your Major League debut, when you struck out 10 hitters in seven innings, and your World Series start, when you threw a complete game for Kansas City?
AIt was against the Diamondbacks and of course I felt good, I was like on Cloud Nine after that game. But it was just one game, and like I said, there’s some players that just don’t have the guts to do it over and over. And the complete game against the Mets, it was unbelievable. But if I remember correctly, that game against Houston (Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS), was either you win and you continue or you lose and you go home. So it was amazing.
QThis offseason, you had an opt-out clause in your contract, but when you arrived at spring training, you said you never thought about leaving the Giants. Why?
AIt’s a combination of a lot of things. First of all, I like the team and I like the fans. Not just in San Francisco, but when we go on the road, there’s Giants fans all over the place and I like that. At the end of the day, it’s a business decision, right? I had a bad year, so I sat down with my agent and we talked about it. We came to the conclusion it was best for me to stay here. If not, I would probably still be having some of the issues that the free agents are having right now.
QDo you know how much longer you want to keep pitching and when you do stop, have you thought about life after baseball?
ARight now I can’t tell you if I’m going to play three or four years more after my current contract. But if you ask me, I would like to pitch for 20 more years, I just don’t know. But afterward, maybe I’ll become a businessman. Rent apartments, build properties, maybe go to my ranch and just relax over there. But of course, I have to work on my son and get him ready for baseball.
QYou’ve told stories about your ranch in the Dominican Republic, but what inspired you to purchase it?
AI know a lot of chiefs of police down there and they would invite me to their ranches, so after seeing how beautiful they were, I wanted to get one. I was able to buy one, but it wasn’t built. It was just like land. So I had to build it, but the reason I like to go there is just to relax. I use it like a retreat. I bring my friends over so we can relax, we play dominoes, listen to music and have a couple of drinks. But basically, it’s just for me to relax and to get away from the real world.
QYour Instagram is pretty famous these days. What’s the secret to social media success?
AThere’s no secret, it’s like a hobby to me. I’m like an open book. I mean, I am aware of what I can post and what I can’t, but I do it for the fans. I want the fans to see the real Johnny.