Lenny DiNardo is a left-handed pitcher and a right-handed guitar player. An admitted music freak, the 28-year-old DiNardo is in his second season with Oakland after beginning his big league career with the Red Sox in 2004. DiNardo has made 9 appearances on the campaign, including a pair of starts, and is 1-2, 7.31 in 16 innings.
David Laurila: How similar are pitching and playing the guitar?
Lenny DiNardo: For me, if I don’t pick up the guitar for awhile, it’s one of things where, “Man, I really suck at this.” I’ll think, “Wow, man, I really need to pick this up more.” But after about five or ten minutes I kind of get it back, and pitching is the same thing. When I pick the ball up after a month or two off, in the offseason, I have to teach myself how to throw all over again. It’s something that you have to work on; it definitely doesn’t come natural for me. They’re both things I’ve had to work hard at.
DL: Does playing the guitar help you on the mound?
LD: It gives me calluses, which is good because that prevents blisters. I used to have a huge blister problem in college, where I’d go out every Friday night to pitch, and I’d get a blister. Then I’d have to spend the whole next week working on getting it callused so that I go back out there the next Friday. I haven’t had that problem since I picked up a guitar. My finger dexterity has also got a whole lot better, because when you’re stretching for a chord — before, it would be impossible and I’d have to use my other hand to move my pinky over. Now I have all these different pressure points in my hand that I didn’t even know that I could use. My main pitch is a cut fastball, and all that is is a pressure-point pitch. I throw it a bit more with my middle finger, or for my two-seamer I’ll put a bit more on my index finger. So I think that it definitely helps in that sense.
DL: A cut fastball is your go-to pitch. What is your go-to with the guitar?
LD: Chord wise? I don’t know. It depends on what kind of mood I’m in, honestly. Sometimes I’ll play a blues riff, or sometimes I’ll play nothing but bar chords or finger chords that day. But that’s a good question. I guess it depends on my mood.
DL: What are you playing and listening to these days?
LD: I’m really into a guy named Townes Van Zandt, who was almost like a newer Hank Williams. If you listen to Hank Williams’ songs, all of his lyrics – he lived. He lived hard, and he put that through in his tone, his voice and his guitar. Townes Van Zandt is kind of the same deal. He played in the late ‘60s, the ‘70s and the ‘80s, and I think he died in 1997 of a heart attack or something like that. But he was one of those guys where all of his lyrics are just so heart-felt. He could write a sad song, and I’m really into sad songs.
DL: What else are you listening to?
LD: Of newer stuff, I just bought an album by Band of Horses, which is really good. I’ve been playing it constantly in my hotel room the last couple of days, kind of as background music. And, believe it or not, there’s a record by Chris Isaak, called Forever Blue that I’ve really been into. If you’re into sad songs, that’s probably the king of the heap right there. The songs are well written with a lot of pretty melodies.
DL: Do you listen to sad songs after you’ve had a bad game?
LD: I listen to them whether I have a bad game or a good game. Sad songs are my favorite songs.
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