SEATTLE -- George Kirby already paints the strike zone as well as any arm in the sport, but he’s extended his artistry to canvases away from the mound.
And quite literally.
Kirby has taken up painting as a way to harness his ever-evolving grasp of baseball’s mental side, which was already a pointed emphasis for the Mariners’ insanely competitive right-hander.
“It just gives you, I don't know, 20 minutes to free your mind a little bit through visualization,” the 2023 All-Star told MLB.com earlier this week.
On the mound Saturday, Kirby painted five punchouts and helped lift the Mariners to a 7-3 win. It wasn’t his most dominant effort in what’s been a reign of terror over Texas that now includes a career 9-1 record and 1.33 ERA.
Yet, throughout this outing that helped snap Seattle’s four-game skid, the mental perks of Kirby’s new hobby were evident in broad brushes.
“The practice is more to just kind of free your mind,” Kirby said. “If you mess up, just keep going. Don't worry about it.”
This new hobby has far more functionality than a player seeking simple arts and crafts during his down time. No, this has direct carryover to his goals on the mound for 2026. Specifically, Kirby is trying to let go of pitch-by-pitch frustrations -- be it a well-executed offering that a hitter connects or even a dreaded walk.
And never was that executed more in this young season than during Saturday’s fourth inning.
Kirby took a 107.8 mph comebacker off his backside, lost Seattle's second and final Automated Ball-Strike System challenge by impulsively exercising one himself and issued a walk that loaded the bases. It was the type of jam where “Furious George” from his early career might’ve reared.
But this newer, more mature version of Kirby remained poised. He wound up generating consecutive flyouts to leave the sacks packed and preserve what was a 1-0 lead.
“He's just more in control of himself, his emotions, which makes him more confident, which gives him more conviction,” Mariners pitching coach Pete Woodworth said earlier this week. “And then that all just cycles.”
Kirby was overpowering at the start, but labored as the day progressed, ultimately finishing one out shy of clearing the sixth inning -- and shortly after surrendering a solo homer to Josh Jung that wound up being the lone run against him. That lowered his ERA to 2.97, but it was also the shortest of his five starts.
And that’s OK.
“In the past, I would struggle to get back in control and kind of nitpick, give up some more singles, a couple of runs,” Kirby said. “Now it's just like, 'It happened, [screw] it, go back out there, worry about the batter and just keep going.'”