Batting Around with Kip Wells

The Vitals: 6-3, 205
DOB: April 21, 1977 in Houston, Texas

Childhood Heroes: "Well, I grew up in Houston. So I had a lot of Houston guys -- like Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, local guys that I was able to follow. Guys like Will Clark. And just random players, that for some reason, I took a liking to."

Nicknames: "Kipper I guess is the only name. My parents called me that."

Hobbies/Interests: "The normal activities, like golf, playing basketball, playing football, outdoors stuff. As you get older, your hobbies change. I just got married so I'll enjoy spending time with my wife."

Favorite Movies: "Got a lot of favorite movies. Probably 'Braveheart'. 'Gladiator'. 'Fletch'. 'Caddyshack'. Baseball movies -- I liked 'Field of Dreams'."

Musical Tastes: "I'm a big Dave Matthews fan, love Dave Matthews. Most of Pearl Jam. Variety of music. I listen to some rap, techno and some Christian music. All facets, so, I don't discriminate."

Early Baseball Memory: "Hitting my first home run was like my biggest childhood memory. I didn't start playing until I was 12. I missed out on a lot because I started late. Fortunately most of my good memories are more recent than past."

Pre-Game Feeling: "Just try to stay relaxed and go over who I'm facing. What I'm gonna do to them. And try to get myself prepared to go out there and win the game. Keep my team in the game as long as I'm out there. Not get too excited about anything. Because I need to stay within myself."

Favorite Meal: "Probably pizza. Pizza's always a winner."

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: "Anything sweet."

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: "Cheesecake."

First Job: "Pizza place. Working at a pizza place. Making pizzas at CiCi's Pizza in Houston."

First Car: "A 1987 Chevy Blazer. (Color?) Like a two-tone black and gray."

Greatest Sports Moment: "Hmmm. I don't know, in all honesty. Probably giving up Barry Bonds' 600th home run. I gave up that one three years ago. That was a pretty special event -- even though I was the one that gave it up. I've had some great games that I've thrown, where I've hit a home run, had a shutout going, stuff like that. But as far as just the seriousness of the event -- that was a pretty unique situation."

Most Painful Moment: "I broke my arm when I was 16. Throwing a pitch. I had to have my arm cut on and fixed. It's called Little League elbow -- when your muscles are stronger than the bones. It just happened. That was probably my most devastating moment. Fortunately I was able to recover and get to where I'm at. That was pretty scary at the time."

Funny Baseball Memory: "There's been a lot of stuff that makes me laugh. Watching my teammate Josh Fogg try to take a guy out at third on a slide -- pretty hilarious incident. He was trying to come in hard, totally did a 360, tried to catch himself."

People Qualities Most Admired: "Just a good work ethic. Guys that don't talk too much. Let their work ethic and focus be the way they carry and present themselves. And someone who does what he says and he says what he does."

Scoop Malinowski is a contributor to MLB.com. He created the Biofile interview feature in 1992. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Source: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/