What drives veteran Madson to keep pitching at elite level?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Ryan Madson is the type of person who doesn't provide a quick, stock answer to a question. Ask the 37-year-old reliever something and he'll pause before saying anything, consider his thoughts on the subject and then reveal them in a matter-of-fact tone.

Which made his answer to the following question - "After a long and productive career spanning 15 seasons, what drives you to keep pitching in the majors?" - more elaborate and more interesting than a reporter might have anticipated upon asking it.

"Hmm," Madson said as he began the process of gathering his thoughts. "There's a couple things that fuel my desire to play."

And then he was off ...

"Number one is the competition still," he said. "Mound and hitter. That situation, there's a lot of fun still to be had. That feeling you get in a major league game, in playoff games and World Series games, is so unmatchable off the field. That rush, that's what fuels me to still be here."

Madson has found himself that in that one-on-one competition 3,603 times in his career, 203 of those pitcher-batter encounters occurring in the postseason. And, aside from a few blips along the way, he's been awfully effective.

After a couple subpar seasons early in his career with the Phillies, including a period where he was used as a starter, Madson found his groove. From 2007-11, he appeared in 310 games, posted a 2.89 ERA, notched 49 saves and (most importantly) helped lead Philadelphia to back-to-back World Series appearances that included a title in 2008.

Then came something more than a hiccup. A free agent for the first time after the 2011 season, Madson signed with the Reds but never threw a pitch in a regular season game for them. He blew out his elbow in spring training, had Tommy John surgery and was left to become a free agent again the following winter and try to convince another club to take a chance on him.

The Angels took that chance, but Madson likewise never threw a major league pitch for them, appearing in only one minor league game and realizing his arm had not fully recovered. Unable to find a third club that would take another chance on him, he sat out the 2014 season, made family his priority and assumed retirement was forthcoming.

By now, you probably know what happened next. How Madson found new hope in a revolutionary biomechanics program based in Phoenix called EVO UltraFit. How that program, which includes electrical stimulation of various key parts of the body, plus a host of other new-age training methods, allowed Madson to completely revive his career and get a contract with the Royals. How he proceeded to post a 2.13 ERA in 68 games for Kansas City in 2015 and remarkably win another World Series. And then how that earned him a three-year, $22 million with the Athletics, who traded him to the Nationals last summer.

Which brings us to the continuation of Madson's answer to the original question.

"Number two was to make a successful comeback," he said. "I'm still part of that deal. That's why it's so fulfilling, that obligation that I signed up for three years."

Madson knows how much he had to endure just to put himself in position to earn that contract (the largest of his career) and so he feels a certain pride in completing what he started. Not only for his own benefit, but for those who designed and then implemented the program that made it possible in the first place.

Which leads him to continue his initial answer to the question of what drives him.

"And then another reason would be to prove that this style of conditioning and pitching that the EVO people gave me, the revitalization of my career they gave me, to prove that their system works," he said. "And to give them satisfaction in the time and effort and knowledge, basically the lifetime of dedication that Jay Schroeder has had to sportsmanship, to shed light on that. To basically squeeze everything I can out of what he's given me."

What Schroeder and the EVO UltraFit program have given Madson is the kind of stuff he never had as a pitcher earlier in his career, even when he was healthy and in his 20s. During his final pre-surgery season with the Phillies (2011) his fastball averaged 95 mph. By the second half of last season with the Nationals, he was averaging 97 mph.

There aren't many 37-year-olds who can boast that kind of thing. Which is reason No. 4 that Madson hasn't lost any passion for baseball.

"To be able to play at such a high level at a high age is a cool thing to do," he said. "So I like that aspect of it, too, of being the old player and still hanging with the young guys as far as velocity goes. Resiliency through the whole season, staying healthy. This has become a young kids' game. To be able to put a little weight on the other side of that scale is also a reason why I do it."

Madson thinks back to veteran teammates of his from the early days of his career. Tim Worrell. Tom "Flash" Gordon. Billy Wagner. He always appreciated how much fun those guys, all in their 30s, had.

And now that he falls into the same category those relievers did, Madson is trying to spend more time appreciating his own final years in the majors.

"And that's probably the fifth reason why I'm still playing: Because it's a much more enjoyable experience now as an older player," he said. "I'm already accomplished. I don't need to prove anything. Although I put it on myself, wanting to be the best, it's a more pleasurable experience now than it was early in my career, as far as the pressure of performing. Now I can relax and enjoy and be present more."

Thus concluded Madson's answer to the original question.

What drives a 15-year veteran reliever with two World Series rings and a major scar on his elbow to keep trying to be among the best in the big leagues? Turns out there's a lot.