Quick Hitters with Cole Tucker

INDIANAPOLIS - After joining the Pirates on April 20, Cole Tucker has already made a big impact for the club both at the plate and in the field. We caught up with him on his experience so far this year and his life outside of baseball.

Q: Who was your favorite player growing up and how have they influenced your game?
A: Definitely Derek Jeter was my favorite player growing up. Just a guy who was drafted out of high school, tall, lanky, biracial shortstop, I kind of have some similarities to him. I'm not saying I'm going to be a 3,000-hit guy, be in the Hall of Fame, whatever, but he's always been my go-to guy and just the way he's carried himself on and off the field and how he played the game really hard. That's really shaped my game and my life.
Q: You made a great play a couple days ago and threw it from your knees. Do you think that should have been on the SportsCenter Top 10?
A: I think it could have been. I think the plays on there have a little more glitz and glamour if you're in the big leagues, so maybe if I was playing for the Pirates at the time it would have been on it.
Q: What is your mindset as you step up to the plate?
A: It depends on the situation, but overall, I'm trying to just hit the ball hard, you know, it depends. If there's a man on second, no outs, obviously you want to move him, or a man on third less than two you want to drive him in. Basically, if you hit the ball hard, good things usually happen, it usually takes care of itself, so just try to do damage and drive the ball.
Q: What would you be doing right now if you weren't playing baseball?
A: I'd be playing the drums somewhere, definitely.
Q: What expectations do you have for yourself this year?
A: I obviously want to be in the big leagues and help the Pirates win. Wherever I am I just want to go out and be the best version of Cole Tucker I can be.
Q: What is your favorite homecooked meal?
A: That's tough. My family has this dish that we call beef finera. It's basically steak and Worcestershire sauce and garlic and a bunch of stuff over pasta. That's probably my favorite one.
Q: What are a couple of your hobbies or what do you do in your free time?
A: I love movies and I love music, so I'm either at home watching a movie or at the movie theater or I'm at home playing the drums or playing the guitar.
Q: What's your favorite movie?
A: School of Rock, probably. School of Rock.