SERBY’S SUNDAY Q&A WITH... T.J. RIVERA
Young Mets infielder and Bronx native T. J. River a took as wing at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: What kept you believing during your 5 1/2 years in the minor leagues? A: I’ve always felt I was born to play baseball, even when I was a kid I felt like I was. And even when I wasn’t drafted, I felt like this was gonna be something I was gonna do all my life, and I’m gonna always feel like that until I’m done playing ball. There were moments where you question when it’s gonna happen.
Q: What makes you think you belong here? A: Well, If I don’t believe I belong here, then I’m gonna get destroyed in this game, I feel. Your body’s gonna start reacting to your beliefs, and whatever you believe it’s gonna come out. I don’t know what it is that makes me believe it, but ... I feel like if any other human can do this game, then why couldn’t I? There’s no reason for me not to try doing something that I love to do. I can’t give up. I have no right to give up, that’s how I look at it. I have to give my all.
Q: If there was a movie about your life, what would be a good title for it? A: “Believe.”
Q: What’s it like playing for your hometown team? A: It’s so cool because everybody gets to experience it with me, like the people I grew up [in The Bronx] with, my family obviously, my wife. ... I keep seeing people that I hadn’t seen in so long at almost every game, so that’s what’s really cool about it. It’s like bringing back old memories. I’ll see somebody I saw in high school, I’m like, “Oh wow, remember these days.”
Q: Having grown up a Yankees fan, what are your impressions of Mets fans? A: They’re different than the Yankee fans, that’s for sure. I think they’re a lot more passionate, which is cool. There’s some diehard Yankee fans, don’t get me wrong. But you also have the name, the Yankee name. Met fans, I don’t think they have that name, so they’re truly passionate fans that want to win, and they’ll let you know when you’re not winning (laugh). They’re pretty straight up with you, that’s for sure.
Q: Do you like that? A: I don’t mind it. I mean, it’s just the New York lifestyle. New York is an aggressive ... there’s not many feelings. You can’t have feelings, can’t have emotions in New York, I feel. I feel like whether it’s in business or it’s in baseball, there’s some aggressive people up in New York, and it’s a lot different than anywhere else (laugh). Obviously I don’t agree with it sometimes, but you gotta love how passionate they are, and they want to win and they expect the best from you, so you gotta give it your all.
Q: What is the biggest obstacle you’ve overcome? A: Obviously going undrafted, and you’re gonna have to climb a little harder, or not really harder, you get the same opportunities, but you gotta prove yourself over and over again. You know and you believe deep down that you can do it, but you have to prove to these people that you actually can over and over. I knew it was gonna be like that, but it got a little frustrating at times, so that was probably the hardest part.
Q: Superstitions? A: I take my helmet off and look at a little piece of tape I have in there before every at-bat, before I get in the box. I always put my left sock on first, which is weird, but I don’t know why. I sometimes go to my right, but it’s most of the time the left side. (Laugh) And I have a “No Days Off” tank top I always tap before I go out in my locker.
Q: The tape you look at ... A: It says “Believe” on it.
Q: When did you put that in there? A: My wife works at a graphic design company, and they made me some stickers that said “Believe” on it. That word has always stuck with me, like I’ll write it down on tape and put it in my locker sometimes, or I would always just have that word, ’cause you gotta believe in yourself, and I’ve always felt that, and you always gotta believe that you’re here for a reason. ... It was the weirdest thing, I was looking for my “Believe” stickers for my bats one day. I was watching a movie, I can’t remember the movie, and their big thing was, “You gotta believe.” It was this football movie. The next day, we [Las Vegas] were playing in Sacramento, and I swear to you that I go to the field for BP, and there’s one of my “Believe” stickers from the year before, swear to God, on the dugout still. It was No. 5, said “Believe” on it, and it had this pattern, the same pattern my wife made. It was my sticker. It had to be from the year or earlier in the season if we maybe came to Sac. And I thought it was the weirdest thing that the sticker was there. I took the sticker and stuck it in my helmet, so I could see the “Believe.” And then from then, the sticker’s gone, I don’t know what happened with the sticker, it was a different helmet, it’s in Vegas now, so I wrote it down myself.
Q: It was on the dugout wall? A: I might have put it there like way back, but I can’t remember, that’s how far back it was.
Q: You had a “Believe” sticker on your bats? A: You have the barrel and then the knob, there’s a little round part on the knob that you can put a sticker or something on. They put your number here.
Q: Why were Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams your favorite Yankees? A: I always liked the No. 2 growing up as well, he played shortstop for the team I grew up liking. Just the way he played — he was never like this cocky ... out-there person. He was very to himself, but you could tell how in-the-moment he was when he played. He was never like too hyper or too crazy. He was just cool, calm, and I loved how everybody admired him because of the way he was off the field as well. Bernie was the same way. They both had some fire in them at times when they had big hits or big moments, but they were very calm, they were very peaceful people. I did like Paul O’Neill, too. He was a little fiery (laugh). He was cool to watch.
Q: What about Alex Rodriguez’s swing attracted you? A: I liked his leg kick. He doesn’t have as big of a leg kick now, when he was playing recently, but I liked how he could hit for average but always had so much power, too. And to all the fields. He would hit the ball to right center really well. I kind of had a little leg kick as well, but I always tried to mimic his swing.
Q: What is your best baseball moment? A: I hit a walkoff homer in the first game of the playoffs in Double-A, and winning the championship was pretty cool there. But my best moments have probably been here in the big leagues. The national anthem for my first game was pretty special because that really hit me like, “Wow, I finally made it.” My ultimate goal wasn’t just to make it, so I wasn’t like, “All right I’m here, I’m done.” But it was like one of my goals to you know, “Wow, I’m here, now let’s run with this and try to do whatever I can.”
Q: What was it like living back with your parents in Throggs Neck? A: (Laugh) It was weird waking up and saying, “I’m about to go play at Citi Field.” That kind of feeling was weird because I grew up there all my life, I’d wake up there all my life and I’d go play outside or go to high school. Q: A message to Mets fans? A: I like the Mets, their thing that they say, “You gotta believe.” I’m huge on that. And I always see it on people on Instagram and stuff, and there’s a lot of Met fans that have writings and stuff, “You gotta believe.” Their support has been great, they’ve taken me in — I don’t know if it’s because I’m a New Yorker (laugh), but they’ve welcomed me really well. Just thank you for the support, and hopefully we can win this thing for all of New York.