If Mets pitcher Dillon Gee wasn't making millions throwing fastballs, he would be one heckuva gamer. You can tell, too. Before games, the 25-year-old rookie is usually sitting around, iPad in hand, fighting through a portable shooter (last week, it was Nine MM) or fooling around with his all-time favorite game, StickMan Golf.
Gee sat with Complex for a few minutes to talk PlayStation, Sonic the Hedgehog, and why he never plays pitchers in MLB: The Show.
Interview by Ebenezer Samuel
Always nice to run into a gamer in an MLB clubhouse. We see a lot of guys on iPads these days, but not many go home to consoles.
I'm not amazing. I grew up playing video games, and I can get good at some. Whenever I play them a lot, I get good. But being in the majors, now, I don't have as much time to play.
Any withdrawal symptoms?
A little bit. The other day we had a day game, so I had the evening off. I told my wife, "I'm gonna go play some video games." She was like, "No. You're not going to play video games. I don't ever get to see you. I don't want to see you just sitting there."
So when do you get to play?
It's mainly in the offseason. In the minors, too. When I was in Triple-A Buffalo last year, we played Call of Duty in the clubhouse.
Bet you wish you had PS3s in the lockers, here? The Dallas Mavericks have that. Seriously, Caron Butler told us so after the NBA championship.
I heard Mark Cuban put them in all the lockers, and there are a couple lockers around the league that have video games. Actually, we have an Xbox here, but I've never seen anyone playing it.
Can you remember back when you did have time to game all day and all night?
Yeah, when I first started playing. I played all the regular Nintendo games. Then, it went to Sega Genesis. I was awesome at Sonic the Hedgehog and all that. Then it went to the Nintendo 64. Oh, and I had a Dreamcast. Not a lot of people loved it, but that thing was awesome.
So when did all that come to an end?
I didn't have my own console for the last three years. I had a PlayStation 2 early on in my college days at Texas, but I sold it. I didn't play any video games for a long time. If I did, it was on other people's machines.
Then like a year ago, I finally had a bit more money in my hands. I was in Buffalo playing Call of Duty with the guys. And I got into it again, so I got a PS3.
What's your all-time favorite system? We're crossing our fingers that you don't say Dreamcast.
It's not the Dreamcast. I probably had the most fun with the PlayStation 2. I have the PlayStation 3 now, and I like it a lot. You have Blu-Ray. You don't have to pay for a subscription. You have the internet. You can do so much with that.
What do you play on the PS3 these days?
I play Call of Duty: Black Ops and MLB, mostly. I have this hunting game, Big Game Hunter, but I don't play that much. The baseball is the one I play most. I have the new one that just came out this year. I always play "Road to the Show" mode.
Wild guess: You make sure you're the nastiest pitcher coming up through the minors?
No. I like to make my own guys and get them to the big leagues, and make them so good they can hit like 100 homers a year. I got a guy right now, he's pretty good. He's at the All-Star Break and he's got 50-something homers.
Why don't you play as a pitcher? Seeing as you are one and all?
I find it boring to make a pitcher. I want to hit. I made my guy a shortstop. I used all my credits to build up his power so he's not a great fielder.
Isn't it strange that a pitcher who relies on fielders in real life would make a shortstop with bricks for hands?
Nope. I just want to hit homeruns.
