News
Q's with A's: Clayton Mortensen
Rookie starter on getting traded, shelled and better
Clayton Mortensen has made two appearances for the A's this season. (Ed Zurga/AP)
By Mychael Urban / MLB.com
09/10/09 9:00 PM ET
It's been a circuitous route to the big leagues for right-hander Clayton Mortensen, the newest rookie member of Oakland's starting rotation. A 24-year-old from Rexburg, Idaho, he attended a community college in Oregon before starring on the mound at Gonzaga University and signing with the Cardinals, who picked him 36th overall in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft. Then came the standard Minor League stops. Batavia. Quad Cities. Springfield. Memphis. And thanks to the July trade that sent Matt Holliday to the Cards, for whom he made his big league debut in June, Mortensen has added to his list of pro ball homes in the past couple months. Assigned to Triple-A Sacramento after the four-player deal, he was called up to the A's in early August for a spot start in Kansas City, sent back to Sacramento, and called back up last week for another go-'round. This time he's here ... for at least another few days. Filling in for injured righty Vin Mazzaro, he'll make his second start for Oakland on Friday in Minnesota. On Wednesday, he sat down with MLB.com in Chicago for the latest installment of oaklandathletics.com's getting-to-know-you feature, "Q's with A's." MLB.com: What was your initial reaction to being traded to Oakland? Mortensen: I was definitely shocked by it. I had no idea I was even on the trading block, so when I got the call, I was absolutely shocked. I knew there was interest [on St. Louis' part] in Holliday, but I didn't know if they were actually pursuing it or how seriously. Then one day I wake for a bus ride to New Orleans and they tell me, "You're going to the A's." And I was like, "All right. Cool." MLB.com: Did you know the A's were in the middle of rebuilding? Mortensen: I knew the team was really young, a lot of young pitchers up here especially, and I figured it was a great opportunity. [Getting called up to face the Royals] definitely happened a lot faster than I was expecting, but it was a great opportunity to finally get to start in the big leagues and see how it goes. MLB.com: You gave up eight runs in four innings against the Royals. Your next time up, you went seven innings, with six zeros, against the Mariners. What was the difference? Mortensen: There was a lot different. After that first one was over, I came out of it and knew I could have been a lot better. I was kind of pitching timid, pitching away from contact. You know, afraid of the big league hitters. Last time out, I was like, "You know what? I'm just going to go out there, let 'em hit the ball and see what happens." That's what I normally do, and I got a lot more ground balls in my second outing, and after that, I just felt comfortable. I knew I could get some of these guys out. I felt good about it. MLB.com: Have you had that "Welcome to the big leagues" moment on the mound yet, where somebody just crushes a good pitch? Mortensen: Well, it wasn't really a good pitch, but it definitely got crushed. It was Juan Uribe of the Giants, in my [Cardinals] debut. I'd given up four runs in my first inning off an error that we had, and the first guy in my second inning hit a double, and then Uribe hit a 2-2 fastball into Big Mac Land [at Busch Stadium], about 15 rows up. I was just like, "Wow. These guys hit the ball hard." MLB.com: Do you feel comfortable in this clubhouse yet? Mortensen: Definitely. All these guys have really warmed up to me and seem excited that I'm here. So it's been good; really relaxed. You just go out and play baseball. A lot of people have gone out of their way for me, telling me things here and there, what to do and what not to do, what to expect. MLB.com: How do you go from growing up in Idaho to playing JC ball in Oregon to playing D-1 ball in Washington state? Mortensen: It was a crazy route. I always wanted to play pro ball, and out of high school there was only one school, Treasure Valley [Community College], just outside of Idaho, that offered me a scholarship. So I was like, "Let's go see what college ball's all about and see what happens." And that's where I really fell in love with it. You're playing with guys who just love to play the game, and love to work, and it just brought a new light to baseball for me. I decided, "Hey, I'm going to keep pursuing this." MLB.com: Did you think, at the time, that you were good enough to make it this far? Mortensen: I found out my sophomore year there that I was actually pretty good at this and wanted to see where it could take me. I ended up getting drafted in the 25th round by the Rays in 2005, but I just didn't feel like I was ready to go yet. I was still a little young. Still immature. I wanted to see what I could do at the next level first, and that was D-1. MLB.com: And that took you to Gonzaga. Mortensen: Well, first I signed to go to BYU, but a month before the school year started, BYU's head coach called me up and told me I didn't get accepted. And I said, "You're the head coach. Can't you pull some strings or something?" And he said, "At any other school, probably. Not at BYU." So now I'm out of a place to play, but I was playing summer ball at the time, and a teammate of mine was playing up at Gonzaga, and he said, "Let me call my coach. Let's get you out there." And I had started to really blossom in that league, was doing really well, so the coach came and watched me. And then it came down to Gonzaga or Oklahoma State, and Gonzaga just had a better offer. It was closer to home, and I knew a bunch of people who were going to be there. So, OK, let's go see what Gonzaga's all about. MLB.com: You going back to Idaho in the offseason? Mortensen: Probably a little bit, but I'm playing in the Arizona Fall League, and that's going to be good. I'm excited about that. Once that's over, more than likely I'll just stay down there and work out at the [Minor League] complex [in Phoenix] and get ready for Spring Training."Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
