Mets pitcher Griffin Canning takes aim at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: The book “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle has impacted you.
A: I read it in 2023. I wish I could go back and read it for the first time, but I think I’m realizing so much of things are just circumstantial. For whatever reason, at the time in my life when I read it, I was injured (back) and had more free time than I had ever had before in my life. I was 25, 26 years old, still trying to figure out who I was. I grew up Catholic, but kind of got away from religion, I guess, and kind of went down the spiritual path. It felt like every single word I read just kind of resonated with me. That’s kind of what he writes in the book is like, “Nothing I’m writing is nothing that you don’t already know within you.”
Q: What resonated with you specifically?
A: It’s being in the present moment. Every day that I would pitch, I would read a chapter of the book, and just kind of pick out some passages that resonated with me, and they’re more like “I am” statements. I’d be like: I am present in the moment, focused on the task at hand. I felt like it kind of took some pressure off myself. Got me in the best head space I’ve ever been in in my life, on the field and off the field. Your mind is such a powerful tool that you have, but I don’t think people realize how lost in thought continuously we are. You have this inner dialogue going on in your head, and it can be pretty detrimental to people. So I think it was about just kind of recognizing when you’re lost in thought. It talks about as soon as you recognize that you’re like thinking, and you come into the present moment.
Q: You picked up that book because of what you were going through with your back?
A: I was hurt and not playing baseball for the first time in a long time. I want to be known as a baseball player, that’s my identity to a certain degree, but I kind of learned you got to have some hobbies and be able to get away from the field. I think it’s easier for us to go home and just only think about baseball, only think about your mechanics because all you want to do is get better. A lot of times once you get out of your own way, things usually start to work out for the better.
Q: So when you got healthy again, your headspace was much better on the mound?
A: I made it a point when I came back in ’23 that I was going to enjoy myself and have fun: I’m playing in the big leagues, my lifelong dream, so why not enjoy it instead of putting all this pressure on myself? I started judging myself on the outings like of how present I was … you think about anybody in any field, when they’re at their best you’re in this, like, flow state where you’re really not thinking about anything, like, you’re so deeply involved in the task at hand, and it’s like the best feeling in the world. So everything I would do kind of was centered around trying to get into that zone. I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot right now, too, where I’ll finish an outing and it’s like the last however many hours I don’t even remember. You’re so focused on the task at hand that it’s like time isn’t really a thing to you anymore. Being in that state of mind, especially pitching, is one of the better feelings.
Q: So you’re past putting pressure on yourself now.
A: I try to, yeah. All we want to do is feel like we’re getting better. Sometimes you’re your harshest critic for no real reason, so yeah, try and have fun and enjoy myself.
Q: You still pick up the book every so often?
A: I do, yeah.
Q: But you’ve already learned all those lessons from the book, so you don’t need to read it again, right?
A: You still fall into those ruts where you might be overanalyzing or stuck in your own head, so every once in a while it’s good to get back into it.
Q: Have you told any of your teammates about the book?
A: I told a couple of guys, yeah.
Q: How has it made a difference away from the mound?
A: Just not taking myself so seriously. A lot of the stuff that you can drum up in your own mind usually isn’t true. People are usually more worried about themselves than other people. It’s trying to notice things you don’t normally notice when you’re walking outside, or focus on your breathing, or little things like that. In the book, he talks about we become like knowers and namers. Like we walk by a tree, you’re like, “Oh yeah, it’s just a tree” instead of like looking at the tree and noticing the different colors or the textures and stuff like that. When you see little kids, they’re so enamored by everything around them, and I think that’s kind of how we’re supposed to be, and then you get older, and you kind of lose that side of you.
Q: Are you a knower or a namer?
A: I don’t want to be either. I think you want to be like a noticer, or an experiencer.
Q: What is the biggest obstacle you had to overcome?
A: The injury, I guess, but so much good came out of it, it’s hard to look at it as a bad thing. I feel like life is trying to teach us lessons, and you’re going to keep going through the lesson until you learn it. For whatever reason, I had to get hurt for me to maybe go down this other path and kind of learn some stuff about myself a little bit more on and off the field. I feel like I came out of it stronger.
Q: What was the lesson you learned?
A: I think it goes back to not taking myself too seriously. Just kind of understanding the things that make my mind and my body feel good, allow me to get out of my own way and enjoy myself.
Q: What was the low point, and did you think your career might be over?
A: I missed half of ’21 and all of ’22. No, I didn’t feel like it was going to be over. I had dealt with a stress fracture before in college my freshman year, so I kind of knew that my body would heal. There was for sure doubt. I think it kind of just left a sour taste in my mouth the way I was pitching in 2021 — just pitching hurt, just not getting great results, wasn’t very fun. It was hard to get away from baseball, but at the same time I had a summer off in Newport Beach [Calif.]. I was going to the beach every single day. … I don’t think I had really too low of a point.
Q: Why did you like Orel Hershiser so much?
A: (Laugh) When I got to UCLA, my coach [John Savage] kind of compared me to him, like being a bulldog on the mound, so I started wearing No. 55 in college. I started watching him more. I enjoy listening to him when he does the Dodger games. I feel like you always kind of gravitate towards guys that look similar to you. He was a thinner guy, athletic on the mound.
Q: Your mound mentality: Are you a bulldog?
A: Yeah, I’d like to think so, but I’m pretty even-keeled. I had a coach when I was younger … you’re playing in a tournament, you walk up, there might be like four fields all around so there’s games going on, and he said, “If somebody walks up and they see you out on the field, they should never know if you’re 4-for-4 or 0-for-4.” So that was always something I kind of took to heart, not getting too high, not getting too low. But over the last couple of years, I’ve definitely gone down kind of this more holistic like Zen more approach. Just trying to be in the moment, and embrace it and enjoy it.
Q: If Orel Hershiser was watching you pitch, would he say, “That guy reminds me of me?”
A: Yeah, I like to say I’m attacking the zone, I’m throwing strikes, I’m throwing four pitches for strikes. I think when I get in those scenarios where there’s some runners on and stuff like that, your adrenaline kind of kicks up, and that’s when the bulldog would turn on, I guess.
Q: So you’re an even-keeled bulldog.
A: (Laugh) Yeah.
Q: What drives you?
A: I think trying to reach my full potential without really ever knowing what it is. I don’t know how good I can be, so I think it’s always just wanting to improve and be the best version of myself.
Q: How good do you think you can be?
A: (Laugh) I think it can be really good. I think it’s more of a process mindset, try and take it one day at a time and not being in the past or the future, just kind of trying to live in the present moment.
Q: Where is your confidence level?
A: It’s pretty good. It’s weird as baseball players how superstitious a lot of guys are. It’s stupid, but sometimes you don’t want to say things out loud because you’re worried it’ll, like, jinx it a little bit, I feel like I know myself pretty well, and I know kind of what my blueprint is when I want to go out there and pitch, and then kind of know when I need to deviate from my plan.
Q: Give me a scouting report on you.
A: I’m an athletic strike-thrower, even though I’ve been walking a lot of people (smile). I’m going to throw four, five, six pitches for strikes. I kind of really just pride myself on being a pitcher and being a baseball player and just being able to understand the rhythm of the game, and trust my instincts and trust my intuition on what pitch I need to throw … competitive and field my position well.
Q: Do you think you’ve surprised people here? When you came here, nobody knew what to expect.
A: I think it’s easy to look at the season last year that I had and just not expect much … you’re just going to have a year where things don’t really go your way. … Obviously I’m really grateful that the Mets saw something that I know I can be and just kind of let me prove it, and obviously to have the help of the pitching coaches and the medical staff and some of the other guys on the staff, it’s been a lot of fun.
Q: Have you surprised yourself?
A: I don’t think so. I think the hardest thing in this game is just being consistent. So I think right now I’m just finding a little bit of consistency and want to keep it rolling.
Q: What is it like pitching on the big New York stage?
A: Pitching here has been a lot of fun. The fans … two strikes, two outs in an inning, and they get up and they start cheering. Yeah, you can definitely feed off that type of energy. Just the general buzz in the stadium is a lot of fun to be out there on the mound, it kind of keeps you going, and kind of sustains some energy.
Q: In 25 words or less: Juan Soto.
A: I think he’s supremely confident in who he is as a baseball player … trusts himself, knows what works for him … really, really, really, really good hitter.
Q: Francisco Lindor.
A: Awesome leader. … After every win, he goes around and gives everybody like a little high-five and a hug. Him and Pete [Alonso] are two of the better leaders in the clubhouse that I’ve seen.
Q: Alonso.
A: He’s really funny. He’s a jokester, but super prepared in his day-to-day routine and kind of knows what he’s trying to do. I really respect how he judges his at-bats. He’s not looking at results as much as did he execute his approach?
Q: Brandon Nimmo.
A: Nimmo’s probably the nicest guy on the team … super-genuine, cares about everybody.
Q: Kodai Senga.
A: Knows his body really, really well. He’s a jokester, too. Knows himself really well, knows what makes him good and how to get the most out of himself.
Q: Carlos Mendoza.
A: Mendy’s awesome. Really takes the time to go up to each guy every day, wants to know how you’re doing, talking to guys in between innings, see how you’re feeling … just a really good leader.
Q: Jeremy Hefner.
A: Hef is a little sarcastic, like a dry sense of humor, but he puts confidence in us, really genuine and he knows what he’s doing.
Q: Luis Torrens.
A: I’ve gotten along with Luis really well. I just happened to throw to him a lot during spring, and then unfortunately once Alvy [Francisco Alvarez] went down, I was throwing to him a lot. I think we just built a relationship really quickly where we kind of go out there and we’re competing together and trust each other.
Q: Steve Cohen.
A: I think it’s awesome that we have an owner that’s a fan of the team.
Q: Tell me about your godmother’s grandson.
A: Yeah, Jeffrey Hayak. I’m super-close with my godmother [Diana)]. Her grandson passed away when he was about 8 or 9. We were pretty close in age. I started writing his initials [JRH] on every mound in every start. When I was younger, I went to Cooperstown and played in a tournament out there, and she had always kind of referenced monarch butterflies, whenever she would see a monarch butterfly she kind of attributed it to being Jeffrey. We started seeing butterflies all over the place, we’d be playing at like 9 o’clock at night, a butterfly would fly through our dugout or something. His family lives in Baltimore, so last year when we went to Baltimore, they built a field for him, like a Little League field, so I got to go see it and hang out with them and take some pictures with them there. Super-special for my godmother to have that connection between me and him. I’m still talking to his family frequently. Cool thing to take him around with me on every mound.
Q: What did you tell your mom when she went through her breast cancer ordeal last spring?
A: I think you see people get diagnosed with cancer or some other illness, and they kind of like take it on as their identity, and I feel like that kind of sends people on a downhill spiral, so I told her just to not let it become her identity, it was just something that popped up and she just had to deal with, and luckily she’s doing great now.
Q: Were you frightened?
A: Yeah, I think it caught us all off guard. Once my mom was diagnosed, she started talking to some other friends, and then like friends of friends had it and stuff like that. Yeah, a little shocking and scary for sure.
Q: You won a Gold Glove in 2020.
A: I really pride myself on fielding my position well. I played a position (shortstop, second base, center field, third base) all through high school and then once I got to college I was just a pitcher. Just always loved taking ground balls.
Q: How did your fascination with Derek Jeter begin? Your mother tells me you were asked to do a book report on a famous person and you picked him.
A: I think everyone my age when you’re younger, you just kind of liked Derek Jeter, like he was just the guy. The way he carried himself on and off the field, never saw something happen with him off the field, he was always kind of private, kept to himself … the way he talked to the media … he was just a pro.
Q: Why aren’t you on Twitter?
A: I deleted all my social media when I signed with the Mets. … Just easier to not have it. Luckily I’ve been throwing well so far (smile), but the fans are passionate here, you see stuff, it’s easier just to not see it.
Q: Describe sock baseball in the living room with your older brother Spencer.
A: We would roll up a couple of socks so it was like a ball, and then we’d kind of stand by the front door and we had this credenza-type thing that had two little cabinets that was kind of like the strike zone. Then we had one of those little tiny wood bats that you see.
Q: Did you do any damage?
A: Probably, as much as a sock can do. But I’m sure we knocked down some lamps.
Q: You and your brother would practice batting stances.
A: Like Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Ken Griffey Jr., those are the stances that stood out for sure.
Q: Your went to a World Series game because your family had Angels season tickets in 2002.
A: I remember the red sticks that we used to hit together against the Giants. My mom’s aunt was a big Giants fan. I remember the atmosphere and standing on the seats and watching the game and just how electric it was.
Q: Favorite players?
A: My favorite players back then were Francisco Rodriguez and David Eckstein.
Q: What about Zack Greinke?
A: That was as I got a little bit older.
Q: As a high school senior, winning the 2014 CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) division championship at Dodger Stadium was an emotional moment for you.
A: Those were my best friends. I think it was kind of just a culmination of high school knowing it was the last time playing together.
Q: What was it like losing to San Diego State to be eliminated from the 2017 NCAA Tournament as a junior?
A: I kind of knew that I was probably going to get drafted and that would be my last game at UCLA. Some of my best friends that I’m going to have for the rest of my life, and probably even more so than high school, just the amount of hours that you’re putting in together and working to win a national championship. It sucks to finish on a losing note like that. Tears of sadness, but tears of joy too, just really grateful and thankful for my time there.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Albert Einstein, Socrates, Abraham Lincoln.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Pulp Fiction.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: John Travolta.
Q: Favorite actress.
A: Alexandra Daddario
Q: Favorite entertainer?
A: Tom Misch.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Filet mignon, baked potato, broccoli.
Q: You’ve wanted to be a professional baseball player since kindergarten.
A: I think stuff like that’s pretty powerful. I’ve read some stuff too, like your DNA can like alter … if I want to be a basketball player, I don’t just have to randomly get lucky that I can jump high. If you’re a little kid and you want to be really good at basketball, your body just kind of like adapts, and you start turning into this guy that can jump high and do all these things. I never had a backup plan, I always just wanted to be a baseball player, I honestly never once thought about doing anything else.
Q: Why is this such a fun team to be on?
A: Nobody’s playing for themselves. Everyone just wants to win and is doing whatever it takes. Every guy’s pulling for each other. Guys like Sean [Manaea] and Pete keep things light, and we’re able to joke around and have fun and not take ourselves too seriously.
Q: Have you dreamed about winning a World Series?
A: Yeah, I think we all do. My mom always tell me, she’s visualized me pitching in the World Series. I think coming over here and being with this team, it feels like a definite possibility. I think we have the right guys and the right camaraderie.
