Get To Know Your Mariners: Life as lefty reliever Taylor Guilbeau

Mar 23, 2020, 1:07 PM

Mariners Insider, Seattle Sports

We continue with the Mariners spring training videos as we have a few still remaining in the hopper, all of them really good conversations that help you get to know these guys a little bit better.

Drayer: A look at M’s roster battles after Tuivailala’s release

Today’s interviewee, relief pitcher Taylor Guilbeau, resulted in the most revealing of the get-to-know videos simply because I knew the least about him and there wasn’t a lot online to learn more. I knew he was from Louisiana and went to the University of Alabama. I knew he was a good presence in the clubhouse, I knew he was very stand-up in his few postgame interviews. I knew he threw primarily a sinker/changeup mix, and I knew Mariners manager Scott Servais liked what he saw from him out of the pen after he was called up in late 2019.

After that? Not much.

So this interview was very much just a conversation. I had next to no questions prepared, deciding to let the interview go where it might. It was actually a fun exercise in interviewing. While there are most often questions that need to be asked, you never want to forget to listen, and when you have the luxury of being able to do so, when there is no immediacy or time restraints, you sometimes end up with your most enjoyable interviews.

In learning more about Guilbeau, we get a good picture of what it is like to grow up and live in Louisiana. We have learned so much from the numerous players from so many different countries who have worn the Mariners uniform, but there are some parts of this country that are just as foreign to us if you haven’t found yourself outside of the Pacific Northwest very often. Guilbeau talks of the one red light (with a qualification) town he grew up in, what they do for fun there, what a summer day off is like. We find out what a “camp” is and what weekly dinner at grandpa’s is like. The door is open.

Yes, there is gumbo talk. Guilbeau cooks, and from the sounds of things is probably a little bit more confident in his gumbo than teammate and fellow Louisianan Austin Nola. After five seasons in the minors, Guilbeau bought his first house, and while that experience was exhilarating, he also felt the same nerves most do when signing the papers.

On the field, the southpaw embraces the new three-batter-minimum rule and came to spring training armed with a new weapon learned off Instagram of all places. He will talk us through that one and much more in the video.

Let’s get to know Taylor Guilbeau.

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