Adam Macko - oodpovede na novinárske otázky po prvom štarte v MLB

Slovenská verzia / Slovak Version

Pre prvé správy (Breaking news):

Čo pre teba znamenal debut v MLB osobne? Aké emócie a dojmy prišli s dosiahnutím tohto míľnika?

Sníval som o tomto okamihu už veľmi dlho. Tento moment sa mi navždy vryl do pamäti. Myslím na všetkých ľudí, ktorí ma sprevádzali na mojej ceste a podporovali ma. Cítim obrovskú vďačnosť.

Ako si sa dozvedel o svojom povolaní do A-tímu / o šanci na debut a aká bola tvoja reakcia po tom dlhom čakaní?

Manažér Triple-A mi zavolal práve vo chvíli, keď som sa chystal odísť zo štadióna. Pokúsil sa zažartovať, že som si vzal priveľa hamburgerov a že musím priniesť darček trénerom, ktorí sa k jedlu nedostali. Potom povedal: „Mimochodom, ideš do Detroitu na možné povolanie do tímu.“ Keď som dorazil do Detroitu, snažil som sa to všetko vstrebať. A potom mi nadhadzovačský tréner Blue Jays oznámil, že ma aktivujú — a to bol úžasný pocit.

Povedz nám o rozhovore, ktorý si mal s rodičmi, keď si im oznámil, že ideš do Major League.

Snažil som sa všetkých spojiť na telefóne, aby som im to mohol povedať naraz. Spojil som 5 rôznych hovorov a urobil sme FaceTime všetkých dohromady, a keď som im to povedal, začali plakať. Mali zo mňa obrovskú radosť. Moja snúbenica bola vlastne prvá, komu som to povedal, a okamžite ronila slzy. Bolo skvelé vidieť tú podporu okolo seba.

Ako veľmi si si užil samotný zážitok a ako by si zhodnotil svoj výkon?

Moje emócie boli na všetkých stranách. Pred zápasom som bol nervózny, ale ako zápas pokračoval, dostal som sa do dobrého rozpoloženia. Hneď ako som hodil posledný rozcvičovací nadhod v bullpene a začal som vybiehať na ihrisko, bolo to niečo, čo neviem opísať. Bolo tam toľko emócií. Cítil som sa točiť hlavu, kolená sa mi triasli. Ale keď som sa dostal na mound, začalo to byť známe — ako tá istá hra, ktorú hrám od svojich 7 rokov. Usadil som sa. Môj chytač bol ten istý chytač, s ktorým som hrával v Triple-A, takže sme si navzájom rozumeli.

Detailnejší samostatný rozhovor:

Stávaš sa prvým slovenským rodákom v MLB za takmer 100 rokov — čo pre teba tento míľnik znamená a kam ho radíš medzi vrcholy svojej kariéry?

Som rád, že môžem reprezentovať Slovensko v dobrom svetle, a dúfam, že môžem urobiť všetkých hrdými. Tam som začal celú svoju baseballovú cestu a som za to navždy vďačný.

Cítiš, že sa baseball otvára aj hráčom z netradičných baseballových krajín, ako naznačuje aj tvoja vlastná cesta?

Dúfam, že áno. Keď som začínal hrať baseball na Slovensku, nepôsobilo to tak veľko ako to, čo ľudia robia teraz — kempy a veľké baseballové podujatia. Zdá sa, že to rastie, a som z toho veľmi šťastný. Chcem s tým časom pomôcť, keď budem môcť.

Pri pohľade späť na MLB Draft 2019 a výber tímom Seattle Mariners — ako si spomínaš na ten moment a čo pre teba znamenal?

Bol to ďalší úžasný moment v mojej kariére. Vedel som, že potrebujem vstupenku do profesionálneho baseballu a dúfať, že sa prebijem a dostanem do veľkej ligy. Chcel som jednoducho šancu. Veľa vecí v baseballe je mimo tvojej kontroly, takže som bol pred draftom veľmi nervózny. Keď ma vybrali, patrilo to medzi najvyššie momenty mojej kariéry.

Aké nezvyčajné je byť draftovaný priamo zo strednej školy a aké výzvy prináša táto cesta?

Výzvou bolo najmä manažovanie času, ale akadémia na Fox Hall je v tom veľmi dobrá. Pripravila ma na hru vo veľkej lige. Som im navždy vďačný — vďaka nim bol prechod do Majors oveľa hladší.

Čo ti dalo pôsobenie v organizácii Blue Jays a v ich farmárskom systéme ako hráčovi a aké konkurenčné je to prostredie?

Prepracoval som sa cez High-A s Blue Jays. Po celý čas sú tréneri a personál úžasní v príprave hráčov na to, čo nás čaká vo veľkej lige, a v tom, aby bol ten prechod čo najhladší.

Reprezentoval si Kanadu na World Baseball Classic (a viedol si si tam výborne!) — aký to bol zážitok a čo pre teba znamenalo reprezentovať svoju krajinu na takom pódiu?

Na WBC sme hrali proti množstvu skvelých tímov. Reprezentuješ celú krajinu, takže je tam veľký tlak. Dalo mi to veľa sebavedomia. Tá skúsenosť mi pomohla ľahšie sa adaptovať na debut v Major League.

Tvoj úspech môže priniesť baseballu na Slovensku väčšiu viditeľnosť. Ako sa cítiš pri predstave, že sa môžeš stať jednou z tvárí tohto športu u nás?

To by bolo šialené. Veľmi by som si to vážil, keby sa to stalo. Dúfam, že budem reprezentovať dobre.

Slovenská baseballová federácia by mala záujem, aby si prípadne reprezentoval Slovensko na Majstrovstvách Európy 2029. Je to pre teba hypoteticky zaujímavé — povedzme ako spôsob uzatvorenia kruhu na tvojej baseballovej ceste?

Určite. Už prebehli nejaké rozhovory so Slovenskou federáciou. Problémom je, že termíny zvyčajne padajú do stredu sezóny MLB, takže si nie som istý, ako pravdepodobné to je. Ale ak bude akýkoľvek čas, keď sa budem môcť zúčastniť, veľmi rád by som to urobil. Mám to v hlave už od svojich 12 rokov.

Aká je tvoja rada mladým chlapcom na Slovensku, ktorí hrajú baseball a chcú sa dostať do Major League ako ty?

Užívajte si hru, ako sa len dá. Bez ohľadu na to, kde práve ste, ide o vzťahy, ktoré si po ceste budujete a ktoré vám tú cestu uľahčia. Nedávajte si na seba priveľký tlak. Užívanie si hry a víťazenie boli najlepšími učiteľmi počas celej mojej kariéry. Keď to môžeš robiť so spoluhráčmi, ktorých máš rád, je to ten najlepší pocit.

English Version

For the Initial Coverage / Breaking News Story

What did making your MLB debut mean to you personally? What emotions and impressions did come with reaching this milestone?

I had been dreaming about this for a long time. This moment has been engraved in my mind forever. I think about the people who have been around me throughout my journey and supported me. I feel tremendous gratitude.

How did you find out about your call-up / debut opportunity, and what was your reaction after working toward this moment for so long?

My Triple-A manager called me just as I was about to leave the stadium. He tried to make a joke that I took too many hamburgers and that I had to get a present for the coaches that didn't get to eat. Then he said, “By the way, you're going to Detroit for a possible activation.” When I got to Detroit, I just tried to soak it all in. And then I got notified by the Blue Jays pitching coach that they were going to activate me — and that was an amazing feeling.

Tell me about the conversation you had with your parents when you told them you got called up to the Majors.

I was trying to get everyone together on the phone so I could tell them at the same time. I merged 5 different calls and FaceTimed everyone together, and once I told them, they started crying. They were super happy for me. My fiancée was actually the first person I told, and she was bawling right away. It was great to see the support all around me.

How much did you enjoy the experience itself, and how would you evaluate your performance?

My emotions were all over the place. I was nervous getting into the game, but as the game went on, I was in a good state of mind. As soon as I threw my last warm-up pitch in the bullpen and started running out on the field, it was something that I can't explain. There were so many emotions. I felt light-headed, my knees were shaking. But as I got out there on the mound, it started to feel familiar — like the same game I've been playing since I was 7 years old. I got settled in. My catcher was the catcher I played with in Triple-A, so we were comfortable with each other.

For the Detailed Feature Interview

Becoming the first Slovak-born MLB player in almost 100 years — what would this milestone mean to you, and where would it rank among the highlights of your career?

I'm happy I can represent Slovakia in a good light, and hopefully I can make everyone proud. It's where I started my whole baseball journey, and I'm forever grateful.

Do you feel baseball is becoming more open to players from non-traditional baseball countries, as your own journey may suggest?

I hope so. When I started playing baseball in Slovakia, it didn't feel as big as what people are doing right now — camps and big baseball events. It seems to be growing, and I'm so happy for that. I want to help with that down the road when I can.

Looking back at the 2019 MLB Draft and being selected by the Seattle Mariners — how do you remember that moment, and what did it mean to you?

That was another amazing moment in my career. I just knew I needed a ticket to get into pro ball and hopefully fight my way and make it to the big leagues. I just wanted a chance. A lot of things in baseball are out of your control, so I was super nervous going into the Draft. Once I got selected, it was up there in the top moments of my career.

How uncommon is it to be drafted directly out of high school, and what challenges come with that path?

The challenges were just managing your time, but thankfully the academy at Fox Hall is really good at helping you with that. It prepared me to play in the big leagues. I am forever grateful to them — they made getting into the Majors much smoother.

What has your time in the Blue Jays organization and farm system given you as a player, and how competitive is that environment?

I've worked my way up from High-A with the Blue Jays. Along the way, the coaches and staff have been amazing in preparing the players for what to expect when we get to the big leagues and making that transition as smooth as possible.

You represented Canada at the World Baseball Classic (and did a great job there!) — what was that experience like, and what did it mean to represent your country on that stage?

When I was at the WBC, there were a lot of great teams we played. You are representing a whole country, so there is a lot of pressure. It gave me a lot of confidence. Getting that experience helped me ease into my Major League debut.

Your success could help bring greater visibility to baseball in Slovakia. How do you feel about potentially becoming one of the faces of the sport there?

That would be wild. I would be very appreciative of that, if it were to happen. I hope I represent well.

The Slovak Baseball Federation would be honored to potentially see you represent Slovakia at the 2029 European Championship. Is that something you would hypothetically find interesting — perhaps as a way to come full circle in your baseball journey?

Definitely. There have been some talks with the Slovak Federation. The challenge is the dates usually line up in the middle of the MLB season, so I'm not sure how likely it could happen. But if there's a time I'm able to go, I would love to do that. It's been on my mind since I was 12 years old.

What is your advice to young kids in Slovakia who play baseball and want to make it to the Major Leagues like you?

Enjoy the game as much as you can. No matter where you are at, it's about the relationships you make along the way that help make the journey easier. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Enjoying the game and winning the game has been the best learning point throughout my career. When you can do that with teammates you love being around, it's the best feeling.

NOTE: Slovak questions author: Michal Duchovič, TASR.SK 
Q&As managed thanks to Adam Macko himself and Andrea Goldstein, Bluejays.com
Translation: Martin Cernak, SBF & Claude AI
SBF Kontakt: Martin Cernak, Táto e-mailová adresa je chránená pred spamovacími robotmi. Na jej zobrazenie potrebujete mať nainštalovaný JavaScript., +421 917 777900