Dodgers News: Dustin May Isn’t Interested in Sacrificing Intensity to Pitch Deeper into Games

Dodgers RHP Dustin May has some of the most electric stuff in baseball. When he’s at his best, he’s virtually unhittable, with a fastball that touches triple digits and secondary pitches that move out of the zone like a frisbee.

Coming off Tommy John surgery, May was okay last season, making three good start and three pretty bad ones. Overall, he told our very own Doug McKain that he wasn’t very pleased with his performance, however, he deserves some slack as he was coming back from a major injury.

Now, fully healthy, May is ready for a breakout season. He’s excited to get back out there, and has already shown the intensity on the mound, shouting expletives from the mound during meaningless spring training games. This week, May spoke to AM 570 LA sports radio, and was asked if he could potentially lessen the intensity earlier in the game to pitch later into ballgames. He made it pretty clear that there’s no way that’s going to be an option for him.

“I mean, that’s never going to be me,” May said. “I’m gonna go out and I’m going to give it 100 percent. I’m going to be full throttle from first pitch. I’m gonna go as long as my body lasts. That’s kind of my focus and that’s the way that I go about my business. …

“I’m not here to go out and give you a 80 percent for the whole game and go longer, I’m going to go out and give you 100 percent and if that’s a full game. it’s a full game. If it’s five innings, it’s five innings or however many innings I’m allowed to go, I’m going to give you max effort. That’s the way I go about life. The way about go about competing. And that’s just that’s just me.”

You have to love this answer from May. Despite the fact that he could potentially dial things down and go deeper into games (although I don’t think it would really matter anyway), May isn’t going to change who he is. He’s going to throw every single pitch like it’s the most important of the game, and that fire is a part of what makes him so dominant.

Sometimes, though, that fire can be bad. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has said he noticed May has been better at controlling his emotions thus far this season, but May didn’t exactly agree.

“I mean, I personally don’t,” May said about controlling his emotions better. “I mean, I feel like I’m coming in a healthy spot so I’m not already kind of pissed off in the moment. So, having a little bit less irritation like going into the the moment I feel like has helped me just focus on pitching instead of like some of the outside stuff whether it be like pain management or whatever, going through my body like I feel like I’m in a much better spot right now.”

As long as May can use the emotions to his advantage, he should be in for a huge season in LA. He’s not going to have his best stuff in every single start, but I expect May to have a dominant season now that he’s fully healthy — especially if he can channel those emotions in a positive way.

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