If you weren’t already a David Price fan, you probably will be soon.

After nearly three weeks of workouts and in their ninth Spring Training game, the 35-year-old Murfreesboro, TN native and first-round draft pick in 2007 by the Tampa Bay Rays out of Vanderbilt University made his first appearance of the Spring … as a reliever.

As it turns out, and unbeknownst to everyone, the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner had reached out to Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman before Friedman signed 30-year-old right-hander Trevor Bauer to a lofty three-year/$102 million contract.

“Right before we signed Trevor, I reached out to Andrew and said, ‘If it happens, I’m willing to do whatever you guys need me to do,’” Price told reporters following his Spring Training debut on Monday. “I said, ‘It’s not a problem for me, just keep me in the loop and let me know, and I’ll be ready for whatever.’“

Did I mention that Price is a former Cy Young Award winner … as a starting pitcher? He is also a five-time All-Star, a two-time ERA titleholder, and a World Series champion … all as a starting pitcher.

Needless to say, with eight guys competing for five starting rotation spots, this had to be music to the ears of Friedman and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Heck, it might have even been the deciding factor in the Bauer deal.

So what was it like for the 12-year MLB veteran to be back on the field, even if for only a ‘meaningless’ Spring Training game?

“It felt good. Good feel last night, good feel yesterday leading up to today,” Price answered. “It’s knowing when I woke up I was excited, antsy when I got to the field. It felt good to get back out there.”

What was it like for the soft-spoken left-hander relieving instead of a starting?

“[Relieving] is a little bit different than starting, but the mound is still 60 feet six inches; none of that stuff changes,” Price replied. “My job doesn’t change, just go out there and get guys out and be ready for whatever.”

And get guys out, he did.

Although Price pitched only one inning, he retired the White Sox in order in the top of the fourth inning … on five pitches – including a three-pitch strikeout of White Sox center fielder Luis Robert.

Asked if it was a surprise for him to be anxious for a Spring Training game, Price gave an answer that every Dodger fan will love.

“Absolutely not. I care a lot about what I do; I love the game of baseball. So any time I get to go out there and compete on that mound, I’m going to be excited about it; that’s just the bottom line,” he answered without a hint of hesitation or doubt. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in a B-game or on the backfields, wherever it is, if I get to play the game of baseball out there on that mound, I’m going to be excited about it.”

Are you a David Price fan yet? If not, check out his reply when it was pointed out to him that he hit 94-MPH on the radar gun with his fastball:

“I was hoping for 92,” he said humbly. “I threw a changeup at 86, so I knew it couldn’t have been too bad. But 94, that’s awesome. If I can go out there and do 91 … 93, I can be very effective. So if I can get it up to 94, 95, and maybe even more, that’s a good sign.”

Asked if he expects to be ready for Opening Day despite his late start, Price was very confident in his answer.

“I expect to be ready; I kind of mapped it out earlier today, get to, I guess, five games in and just take the regular progression and go 30, 45 (pitches), 60, 75,” Price said. “I think I would be ready for 80, 90 pitches in my first regular-season game, whatever it is. But I told them, ‘Whatever they need me to do, whatever makes the 20-21 Dodgers better, I’m all for it.’“

David Price – A new fan-favorite for Dodger fans.

Play Ball!

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