Carlos Torres pitched with a Vinci MV30 for the Chicago White Sox in the 2009 baseball season. We caught up with Torres to ask him a few questions on baseball, his life and his career.

Q: Who had the biggest influence on your career?

A-Like most men, their fathers were their biggest influence on their lives and careers. To tell you the truth, I never really like sports, it was the competition that I craved. When my father would get back home from work or after I would help him finish after practice, we would make sure to take time out to teach me the basics and anything else he could about sports. Drills and bullpens were usually our thing. That was really the only thing that was ours. In high school I wanted to stop playing a few times but  never did because that was how my father and I shared feelings and emotions. And the only time I felt that if I didn’t keep playing he wouldn’t love me anymore, and so I kept at it. Waking up at 4:30 with me father to go to work and come back at 10 most nights was a lesson I never really understood until 2 years ago. It was his dedication to his family and his love for us that kept him working those long hours, picking up extra routes and never seeing the doctor because ” It doesn’t matter if I am sick”. That is dedication and hardworking. If there is anything someone I know will say about me it would have to be that I work hard and am dedicated. Lessons successfully learned from my father without knowing it. And I hope that while I am sitting here telling my daughter I love her everyday, that she might learn those same lessons from me that I learned from my father.

Q: What is your favorite baseball memory?

A- Don’t really have one. All of little league if I have to say. It was one of the few times you played because it was fun and pure.

Q: If you could play alongside any baseball player of all time who would it be?

A- Mariano Rivera. Not only because he is the most dominant reliever in the history of the game(dispite the number of saves Hoffman has) but he does it with one pitch. He throws one pitch and says “good luck”. Its a personality or ego that makes some people jump around like monkeys when theycollect a save. Maybe they strike out a guy and its “Lima time!” Rivera isn’t like that. He has the personality to throw one pitch at you and dare you to hit it, but give thanks to everyone but himself when in actuality, he is the main reason the Yankees are who they are with him on the team. Evidence was the playoffs this year. You can’t help but cheer for a ballplayer who is a hall of fame man, and player. I would love to learn from him.

Q: What is your favorite baseball movie of all time?

A-Sandlot. Just because those were the time where baseball was the best

Q: Growing up, who was your favorite baseball team?

A- I cheered for the A’s. And to tell you the truth I was a fan up until about 9 years ago. 9 years ago  a few of my friends an I went to a Giants and A’s game at the A’s field. We were sharing stories and reminicing on the old days when before we knew it we got into an accident. The hood was crushed and anti-freeze leaked out and we were only 5 exits from the stadium. After exchanging information, we look off for the exit and found out that it is hard for a car to start without fluid to cool it down. We started the car on accident, headed to the on ramp with friends jumping in the sun roof out of fear of the car not starting if we stopped. We made it to the exit before  we ditched the car in bushes off the highway, jumped into a car with a woman who was going to a Rave  and tring to convince us it was Way better than the game, and made a mad dash from the light to the gate, just in time for the 2nd inning. With a mixed group of friends, we sat in our seats and got yelled at by A’s fans, for cheering. I tried peacefully to explain I was an A’s fan to friends who liked the Giants but after a few fights, I decided I was going to be a Giants fan and try to beat up all the A’s fans. Push comes to shove, it was an adventure that ends with the same car we ditched taking us to within an hour of our house and a few scuffles and now I’m a Giants fan.

Q: What is your favorite food to eat while at a baseball game?

A- As a kid I never had money to eat when we actually got a chance to go to a game. The game was reward enough, but watching games everyday I find it is the only time I eat seeds. Those are very baseball to me. Real food would be any sandwich or gatorade.

Q: If you were to pitch against any player of all time, who would it be and how would you pitch to him?

A-Barry Bonds. Despite whatever opinion anyone has about him, he is the greatest hitter that anyone alive has seen to date. I saw him get walked with 2 outs in the 9th inning, up by 2 and BASES LOADED!!! They literally walked in a run to not have to pitch to Barry Bonds which meant they were only up by one now with the bases still loaded. A man who averaged a home run every 12 swings of the bat, and who had more walks by himself then most teams. I have always wanted to see him in his prime, bat against Mariano Rivera in his prime. That would have been a matchup of a lifetime to see. Its a personality thing that would force me to challenge him. A healthy dose of fastballs and cutters is what I would throw him backdoor, inside and if I’m ahead then a curve but not unless I am. It wouldn’t be a pitch to him kind of at bat, kind of a throw, my number one and second best pitch and see what happens.

We at Vinci hold only the highest regard for Carlos and wish “Bulldog” good luck and prosperity.