Zach BRITTON

Steve Serby tosses around some Q&A with new Yankees reliever Zach Britton.

Q: If you could pick the brain of any pitcher in MLB history.

A: I was able to pick Mariano’s (Rivera’s) a couple of years ago, when I won the Reliever of the Year award, and he was at that World Series game, which was awesome with a guy that relied predominantly on one pitch, too. To sit there with him and Trevor Hoffman for a few innings, pick those guys’ brains, that was awesome.

Q: What did you learn?

A: It was something that maybe I kinda thought, but it was just that you can never lose confidence in what you do well, regardless of if it works or it doesn’t work that day. Especially as a reliever, you blow a save and the next day you come back out there, you gotta be confident that you can get it done, especially with one pitch. You’re not tricking anybody. Everybody knows what you’re doing. And if you execute, you’re gonna be successful. And I remember Mo was telling me — and I think about it after I had bad outings sometimes — was that, “What are you gonna do, change who you are?” No, you’re gonna continue to do what you do. And you just gotta believe in yourself every time you go out there. You can never waver. And Hoffman, changeup, same type of thing. And he was like, “You guys actually kinda threw hard. I was throwing a changeup up there, you know?”

Q: Your mound mentality.

A: Just attack. You’re on the defensive, technically, but as a pitcher, you’re the aggressor. I’ve always thought that I need to be aggressive with my stuff and keep the hitters on edge.

Q: Is it different as a closer?

A: That’s a good question. This is my first taste of doing like kind of a setup role, so I’m still getting adjusted to it. I’m trying to make sure it doesn’t change. It’s the same thing. It’s about getting three outs at the end of the day, right? I’m embracing it. I’m not mad I’m not closing games. I want to win a World Series, and I think this is a team that can do it. I think it’s more preparation. It’s knowing that I might throw the seventh or eighth so that I’m mentally prepared going in there rather than it being the ninth inning. It’s gonna be an adjustment, but I don’t think I’m gonna have any issue with it going forward.

Q: What was that like when you went on that 43-game scoreless streak and 60-game save streak?

A: A lot of people have asked me about that. You know what was funny? There were days where I’d warm up and be like, “Today’s the day that I give up a run” or something, just didn’t feel good. I think the one thing I remember most is there were a lot of times where mentally I was just able to push myself through some outings where physically I didn’t feel great. You were just so focused on making each pitch. People always say it’s one pitch at a time, and it was really weird to be like kind of floating, and actually, my only focus was only on one pitch. And if I executed, I knew I was gonna get the guy out. There was never a doubt.

Q: Sadie Stephens?

A: I grew up with her in California. She and her baby were killed by a drunk driver. It was the first time I had somebody I was really close to that was killed. And (that) really impacted me that like, “Oh, my gosh, it doesn’t just happen to other people. It happens to me.” Really good friends with her family, had a shirt made from Under Armour, and I still wear iit underneath my jersey ever since she was killed. So luckily the Yankees like to wear the black undershirt. It’s always a constant reminder that I’m really fortunate, and no matter how bad my day might be, there’s a lot of things that are worse. Spending some time with a young fan, like going to sign an autograph rather than blowing ’em off, it can really impact somebody’s day for the best. And so it’s a constant reminder every time I look in my locker and see her name, miss her and wonder what she would think now. I talk to her dad all the time. She’s a reminder for me that I have it pretty good and to be very, very thankful.

Q: How did you know her?

A: We grew up together, we went to church together in California. She has two older brothers that we used to play with all the time. I had two older brothers as well, so she was kind of like the sister we didn’t have.

Q: Her name is in your locker?

A: I have a mural. She used to show horses, so there’s a horse with a lady standing next to a horse with her name and the day she was born and the day that she died. Under Armour made it for me.

Q: You suffered fractures of your skull and clavicle and a separated shoulder in 2003. How scary was that?

A: I think it was more scary for my parents than me because I was blacked out most of the time.

Q: There was bleeding in the brain?

A: Dove for a ball. Where our field was, my freshman year of high school, it was in a park, light standards were right next to the field, so big concrete base, dove into it, tried to catch a ball. I was out for pretty much all my freshman year.

Q: Did you think your career was over?

A: The doctor kind of came in, said I had some bleeding in the brain, and that there was pressure in there and they might have to go in there and open up the skull or relieve pressure. That’s when I knew something was serious, and I got lucky and they just monitored me through the night, and that next morning, everything had subsided. I was very lucky.

Q: Your ruptured Achilles?

A: That happened in December. All the thoughts go to my head, “Am I even gonna play this year?” The surgeon I had said, “Hey, I’m really good at what I do. I’m gonna get you back.” He got me back before six months, which is just unreal. The fact that I’m pitching with the New York Yankees eight months away from surgery just blows his mind.

Q: Your son Zander is 3.

A: We have a daughter, Zilah, that’s 1, and a baby girl on the way.

Q: Describe Zander’s personality.

li A: He’s all boy, running around. He loves baseball. Manny Machado is his favorite player, so I had to break the news to him the Orioles traded him (to the Dodgers). But he loves it here with the team so far. He’s really enjoyed New York. He loves to have fun. It’s a good reminder sometimes when you watch your kids play. At that age, it’s just all about having fun and no worries whatsoever.

Q: What’s it like being a New York Yankee?

A: It’s pretty cool. A little overwhelming at first. Just to think about the history of the franchise, you know? Not that the Orioles don’t have a good one, but you can’t top the Yankees history, and the fact that I’m able to put on the jersey with no name. You play for the name on the front. It’s never more apparent than when you get here. They always say, “Earn those pinstripes,” so that’s the goal.