RSN: You’re only a few weeks into your pro career. At what point did it really hit home that you’re a professional baseball player?
JV: It was probably during workouts, before the season started. I’d look down at “Red Sox” across the front of my shirt, and think, “I did what I’ve always wanted…my dream came true.” Walking into the clubhouse here, for the first time, and seeing the jerseys hanging on the lockers…that was a special moment.
RSN: What was your draft experience like?
JV: I was sitting there, following it on the Internet, and in a way it was really hard. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and I found myself thinking, “What if I don’t get a chance? What if I don’t play baseball anymore?” I didn’t want to think about how that was a possibility, but I knew that it was. Now that I’m here, I know I can’t take this opportunity for granted.
RSN: What do you remember about your first professional at-bat?
JV: I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be, but my adrenaline was still pumping. I have to admit that even though I didn’t get on base, I was glad I didn’t K. I was happy to put the ball in play, because I didn’t want to start with a strikeout.
RSN: Looking back four years, do you remember your first at-bat in college?
JV: I think….man, I’m not sure if I remember. I know I was battling for playing time as a freshman. Actually, thinking about it, I’m pretty sure I got a base hit over the third baseman’s head. I was pinch-hitting, and it was our first successful pinch-hit of the year. I got more playing time after that.
RSN: Comparing now to then, how difference is your approach?
JV: I think it’s pretty much the same. Just like from high school to college, I have to adjust to a higher quality of pitching. Here, pretty much everyone I’ll face is as good as the best I went up against at Niagara. I know I wasn’t a top pick, so I’ll have to prove that I can play at this level…prove that the Red Sox made a good decision in taking me. If I don’t succeed, it’s something a lot of people will have expected, but I’m coming in with a lot of confidence.
RSN: What about as a hitter? How different are you in that regard?
JV: After my junior year, I worked with Reed Easley, who was drafted by the Mariners out of Niagara last year. He totally helped me change my swing, which has really helped me as a hitter. He changed my hand path to make my swing shorter, and he worked on making sure I was getting down on the ball…getting me to hit more line drives and ground balls.
RSN: You have the Niagara record for both triples and stolen bases. Do you consider yourself a “speed guy”?
JV: Yeah, I guess so. I’m pretty fast. It’s a big part of my game, which is one reason I wanted to hit more balls on the ground. If I can use my speed to make infielders rush, that gives them more room to make errors. I’ve hit in the 2-hole a lot, and that’s let me either swing away and slash -- or I can bunt. I’ll try to bunt for base hits when I can.
RSN: You’re a centerfielder. How would you describe your defensive game?
JV: I feel that I can run down any ball hit in the air, unless it’s too far in the gap or off the wall. My arm plays a big part of my game, too. I’ve thrown runners out, and consider that an asset.
RSN: I understand that you grew up a Red Sox fan in upstate New York. Tell us about that.
JV: We moved to Baldwinsville (NY) when I was one or two years old, but I was actually born in Hartford (CT). That’s where my dad is from. His family was huge Red Sox fans. My dad’s dad passed away a few years ago, and he and my grandmother were really big influences on me becoming a fan. My mom’s family is from Syracuse, though, and they’re all big Yankees fans. Ever since the draft, they’ve been saying they want the Red Sox to trade me to New York!
RSN: Do you remember your first time at Fenway Park?
JV: I’m pretty sure it was the first big league game I was at, and I was maybe 12 years old. I know I saw Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 33rd home run the year he was in the big home run race with Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.
RSN: I understand that you were a history major in college. Are you big into baseball history?
JV: I probably haven’t been as much as I should, and I really want to get to know the game better. I went to the Hall of Fame the other day when we were in Oneonta, and it was great. I like to read, so I want to learn more about the ancestors and legends of the game. You’re right that I majored in history, but I was originally math, and then sports management. After that it was history, with a minor in fine arts.
RSN: Pedro Martinez is pitching against the Red Sox, for the first time, at Fenway Park, in a few days. If you could be there, how would you respond when he’s introduced?
JV: I’d cheer him. Along with Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, he’s one of the best pitchers ever for the Red Sox. Those guys in 2004 had so much heart, and he was a big part of it. I’d definitely cheer.
RSN: What about if he were to hit David Ortiz with a pitch?
JV: If he hit Big Papi? I’d boo, of course! Like everyone else in the ballpark.
RSN: What if you’re in the big leagues in a few years, and he hits you?
JV: If Pedro hit me? Man, I’d be honored! That would mean he feared me as a hitter. At least I hope that’s what it would mean.
RSN: Tell us a little about what you’re into off the field.
JV: I really like music. Back in high school, I played the drums in a band. Some friends and I put it together to compete in a battle of the bands, and I learned in about two months. I remember that we played D’Yer Maker, Heartbreaker, and a few other songs. I’ve mostly been into classic rock, but lately I’m into alternative and punk. My iPod is filled with so much stuff. Like baseball, it’s a big part of my life.
RSN: Anything else you’d like to add before I let you go?
JV: Family is important to me, and without my parents I probably wouldn’t even be here. And I have two younger brothers, Chris and Tyler. They’ve really helped me, both by being competitive and supportive. The Christian faith is also big in my life. I was a Eucharistic minister in high school and college. Now that I’m here, Id like to spread the Christian faith through baseball.