University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
From the Bullpen - Stephen Castleman
2/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
From the Bullpen - Stephen Castleman
Senior pitcher Stephen Castleman has pitched in two games this year and is 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in 11.0 innings pitched. He is tied for the team lead with 11 strikeouts and has walked five batters. He picked up his first win of the season on Sunday at South Alabama, combining with John Nicholas for an 8-0 shutout victory. He pitched 7.0 innings, giving up eight hits, walking three and striking out six batters.
SouthernMiss.com: Tell me a little bit about your background in baseball and what made you come here to Southern Miss.
SC: I always wanted to play Division I baseball and did not get that many offers coming out of high school. So when they offered me, I thought that it was the chance of a lifetime to just go up there and try to prove myself. I was average coming out of high school and was not a big name. I thought that I would come here and not really try to make a name for myself, but to prove to myself that I could play at the Division I level.
SouthernMiss.com: What are some of your personal goals for this year?
SC: Since I have been here I have been fairly consistent with my pitching, being in the games a bunch, but I have been off and on since my freshman year. My goal is to be real consistent this year and throw a lot of strikes and keep the team in the game every time I go out and try to keep myself in the starting rotation every weekend.
SouthernMiss.com: Evaluate yourself at this point this year, even though it only has been two starts.
SC: Coming off of my surgery and not doing a lot this fall, I think that I worked hard to get myself where I am right now. I am throwing the ball well, and I am throwing a lot of strikes, so as long as I can keep it up everything will go good.
SouthernMiss.com: In order for Southern Miss to be successful this year, how much of a leadership role do you feel you personally have to take?
SC: Being the only senior pitcher, I feel that I have to be a big time leader. I was not chosen as a captain, but I have been here for five years, so I know the ropes, and I know what everybody needs to do. I feel like I kind of have to guide the young pitchers and help them learn what is going on this year.
SouthernMiss.com: I would say that no one player probably knows Coach Palmer like you do.
SC: He and I have been through a lot of things together. I know what he wants and what he expects out of all the players. I feel that I can go up to him and talk to him about anything.
SouthernMiss.com: What do you feel in your career is the best game that you have pitched?
SC: Probably Sunday. I threw some good ones last year, but I think that was one of our biggest wins so far. I know that the season is young, but just to beat them there and to win that tournament was real big for us.
SouthernMiss.com: Besides the Pete, what is the favorite stadium you have played in?
SC: It would have to be Mississippi State. It is unbelievable. I came on in relief there two years ago and just the whole atmosphere, everyone is yelling at you, they do not want you to do good. Then, when you go out there and shut their team down, it is unbelievable. There are about 10 thousand people there every game, and it is just a crazy crowd.
SouthernMiss.com: Who is your favorite pro player?
SC: I would probably have to go with John Smoltz. I have followed the Braves my entire life and seeing him pitch, he is always a competitor and never has a letdown. He goes out there and gives it all he has every time. He also shows a lot of emotion, which I kind of do myself. It is not a good thing, but if that is the kind of pitcher you are that?s what you have to do. I like him.
SouthernMiss.com: Is he the kind of player that you pattern yourself after?
SC: Well, kind of. It is kind of tough to pattern myself after him, because he throws different than I do, and a lot harder than I do.
SouthernMiss.com: Do you have a certain other player that you pattern yourself after?
SC: Not really.
SouthernMiss.com: Tell me something about Coach Palmer that is unique that people would want to know?
SC: I have been with him for five years so there have been a lot of ups and downs, but once you get to know him and know how he wants you to act, he is real easy to get along with. I mean, he is tough, but he is always tell you the truth. He will always give you his honest opinion. He is always straight with you and give you his honest opinion and never holds anything back. He is going to tell you how he feels.
SouthernMiss.com: Favorite musical group or type of music?
SC: Type of music would probably be rap. Favorite group ... I will go with P.Diddy. It is kind of rap, but he changes, because he goes from old style to new style, so I like him.
SouthernMiss.com: If you could pick any of the coaches on our coaching staff to sit down and listen to music with, would any of them do it?
SC: Not a chance. They all listen to old school rock and roll stuff.
SouthernMiss.com: As a player, what gives you the greatest satisfaction?
SC: After a big game or even a small game, just seeing the fans who appreciate what you do is probably the greatest satisfaction of being a baseball player.
SouthernMiss.com: Who is the best hitter on our team?
SC: I would probably have to go with two of them ... Jared probably has the best eye and hardest person to get a ball past, and Willcutt has probably the best swing. If you make a mistake, he will hit it every time.
SouthernMiss.com: Opponents, who is the best hitter that you have faced as a pitcher?
SC: I would definitely go with Andy Cannizaro from Tulane. He is probably one of the toughest outs that I have ever had to face in college ball.
SouthernMiss.com: Did you get him out?
SC: No.
SouthernMIss.com: Who is the best player at Southern Miss on your tenure here?
SC: The best player at Southern Miss, I would have to go with Dusty Haley. He had a lot of talent and a bunch of raw skills. He did a lot with what he had. During the game he was a 100 percent player all of the time. I admired that about him.
SouthernMiss.com: What do you do to relax away from baseball?
SC: I try not to talk about baseball a bunch. We do that here at the field, and after it is over, I like to go home and watch TV, movies, play Playstation, and really just getting away from it. That?s the biggest thing.
SouthernMiss.com: What is your favorite game on playstation?
SC: Right now it is Tiger Woods 2003.
SouthernMiss.com: Which golfer are you?
SC: I made up my own player, but I am Jasper Parnavick on the game, because you have to pick one off of the game.
SouthernMiss.com: You are on the mound, you are getting ready to pitch, you are taking your sign, what goes through your mind at that point?
SC: There are not a lot of things that you can do once you are out there, because you have been schooled on everything to do once you are in the game. All you can do is just go out there and throw strikes, and if it is there, then it is there and if it is not, then you have to make some adjustments to throw strikes.
SouthernMiss.com: Once you are through your motion and the ball is leaving your hand, what goes through your mind at that point?
SC: Being hit as many times as I have, I am always trying to get ready for the ball to come right back at me. It is probably one of the scariest things having the ball come right back at you. So you always have to be ready for that.
SouthernMiss.com: Who is the person that you most admire and why?
SC: I would have to say that it is my grandfather. He has been paralyzed since he was 14, but he always went out and supported my dad and my aunt. My aunts and my dad worked hard their whole life with him being paralyzed. There is never a dull moment in his life, I mean he is always up and happy and never upset about anything, just happy to be alive every day.
SouthernMiss.com: What is his name?
SC: Steve Castleman. Yes, I am a fifth.
SouthernMiss.com: What are your career goals after you are done in baseball?
SC: After I am done here, it is going to be time to go get a job. I want to do an internship with a pro team, but that is hard and you have to know the right field to get into. I would love to work a front office job with a pro team.
SouthernMiss.com: Who is your favorite professor on campus?
SC: Patty Polk Munn is an accounting teacher and a big baseball fan. Her husband, I think, played here, and she is always supportive of everything we do. Anytime we are in need of help with our schoolwork or anything, she just gives us a lot of her attention.
SouthernMiss.com: Most embarrassing moment on the mound?
SC: I don?t know, there have been a bunch of them. Two years ago, Coach Palmer was going to take me out of the game, and I did not think that he was going to come out to the mound and take me out of the game. I thought that he just was going to the bullpen for a relief pitcher. So I just dropped the ball and walked off and made a butt of myself. I was pretty embarrassed the rest of the day.
SouthernMiss.com: Should Pete Rose be reinstated?
SC: Most definitely. He has served his time. They say that he gambled on the game, but it is not about what he did after the game. He did everything that he could do while he was playing, set records, and he competed every time he went out. I would say that he should be reinstated just for what he did during baseball not after.
