NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks pitcher Mathew Krall celebrates after getting the final out of an inning in the Mavericks 8-1 win over the Regina Red Sox on June 17 at Athletic Park.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Mathew Krall brings an intensity on the mound that imposes itself not only on the other team but on his own manager.
“His demeanour, I joke that he’s a little bit of a psychopath and I kind of leave him alone, don’t talk to him because you might find yourself hidden somewhere,” Mavericks head coach Tyler Jeske joked.
He said Krall is great to talk with when he’s not on the mound but when’s he’s pitching he flips a switch.
“He turns into a different animal, you talk to him when he’s not about to go into the game or he’s not on the mound, and he just goes into another level,” Jeske said. “It’s, ‘I’m coming right at you, I have no fear, I’m gonna get you out. I have the confidence to where I’m gonna beat you.’
“He’s fearless.”
The 20-year-old Krall said he’s still learning how to control those emotions.
“I usually just let it go, I let my emotion come over me, good and bad,” Krall said. “But I’m really controlling.
“I just, like, I’m in control, whatever happens in the field is most likely going to be my fault, so I can’t blame anyone else but myself.”
It’s a need to control starts with Krall’s pre-game routine, which he follows to a tee, and he says he doesn’t like anyone talking to him once he’s locked into the game.
“I start usually 45 minutes before the game but I lock in an hour before I get ready to play,” Krall said. “I visualize seeing my pitches going over the plate and then around 6:15-6:20, that’s when I start warming up, getting loose through my bands.”
Krall is scheduled to pitch Thursday when the Mavericks host the Moose Jaw Miller Express at Athletic Park. That game was not finished by time of press, but finished with Medicine Hat losing 10-9. The Mavs also lost 11-5 to Moose Jaw on Wednesday.
Krall is also one of the few Mavericks pitchers who gets work in between innings he’s on the mound by stretching with rubber bands. He says he picked it up from a friend at junior college.
“I like to keep my shoulder warm,” Krall said. “I like coming in right after the inning to calm myself down. I get really anxious and cool off my breathing, get my heart rate down, speed it back up and get the blood flowing before I go back out.”
The Texas product said he’s enjoying the cooler temperature of Medicine Hat and he went for a jog Wednesday morning in 20 C, and it was 101 F, 38 C back in Corpus Christi, Tex.
Krall says he’s already enjoyed working with Mavericks pitching coach Rod White because he hasn’t forced a program on him, but had adapted to make him better.
“His programs really fit to work around you, he doesn’t have la set thing, he’s going to adjust the program to you.”
Away from the ball park Krall says he hangs out with his teammates and just downloaded an NHL video game without knowing the rules. He says his grandpa was a Dallas Stars fan but Krall himself never got into the sport.
He hopes to improve his strength and control while donning the Mavericks red before returning to Prairie View A&M University.
“I’m going to work on getting stronger, throwing the ball harder and learn how to control throwing the ball harder,” Krall said. “Because when I throw the ball hard, I get wild, so I want to get control of the ball.”
