MLB rising Twitter star Trevor Williams on GoT, GIFs, and the Canada incident

Of all the major North American sports, baseball might the one in most dire need of more compelling characters. Compared to the almost WWE-esque atmosphere of grudges the NBA has cultivated, it can feel awfully buttoned up.

As a result, to hook more casual fans an injection of personality certainly wouldn’t hurt. Of course, no single player can be responsible for that, but in Trevor Williams the Pittsburgh Pirates have someone taking steps in the right direction.

Williams – a 25-year-old rookie pitcher – has become a rising star on Twitter, where he can be found under the handle @MeLlamoTrevor. The erstwhile little-known pitcher has been winning over fans with a combination of philosophical pontifications, pop culture references and utter nonsense. Here’s a recent, representative sample of his thoughts.

So, what exactly is going on inside the mind of one of baseball’s emerging personalities? One moderately intrepid reporter sought to find out in an interview that bounced from a misunderstanding with Canada, to his frustrations with Game of Thrones, to his post-win Twitter ritual.

The Canada Day incident

On July 1, Williams found himself in the unusual position of being at odds with an entire country thanks to this Tweet:

From a Canadian perspective, it’s easy to interpret this as a profoundly obnoxious message. Living directly above the United States has equipped many Canucks with an experience or two of suffering through loud and unwanted displays of American patriotism. To the untrained eye this looked no different.

However, that’s exactly the opposite of what Williams was getting at.

“I was pointing out the irony that we were wearing our Fourth of July stuff, not on the Fourth of July. I think it was hilarious that MLB was doing it from July 1 to July 5th,” he says of the rationale behind the Tweet. “I think it’s funny and it shows that everyone takes everything so personally on the internet now.”

Despite his intentions, his mentions were quickly engulfed by Canadian rage, prompting him to post this followup on July 2.

Game of Thrones

One of Williams’ favourite topics – on Twitter and in person – is Game of Thrones. An avid reader of the source material, he’s constantly annoyed by the way the HBO show strays from the books. His most recent outburst on the topic came following the July 24 episode.

“I get that they are two separate entities now, even George R.R. Martin came out and said he doesn’t write with them anymore,” he says. “He’s an executive producer, but that’s them just throwing a bunch of money on him there. It really fell downhill after the Red Wedding. It separated itself.”

Forced to choose from his many qualms with the show (which he still watches “just to get mad”) Williams thinks the treatment of Stannis Baratheon is the most egregious. In the books the king is presented as a three-dimensional character, while he’s far more villainous on TV.

“That’s not the Stannis of the books,” Williams says, practically grinding his teeth. “That’s not the true king that’s portrayed in the books. That’s the one thing I’m most frustrated by.”

During a recent episode, Major League Baseball made its mark on Game of Thrones as New York Mets ace Noah Syndergaard had a brief cameo as a soldier dying in battle. If given the same opportunity Williams would opt for a more peaceful appearance.

“It would be me and [orphan chef] Hot Pie in the back, just cooking,” he says, conjuring the image. “They’d flash at me and I just headnod to Hot Pie, or he asks for something and I give him a high five.”

#RaiseIt

While the appeal of Williams’ Twitter persona hinges on creativity, there’s one way in which he’s utterly predictable. After every Pirates win he tweets the team’s hashtag #RaiseIt with a different GIF. Here are some recent examples:

It seems like a simple reflex, but in reality a lot goes into the GIF choices.

“It starts with who’s the star of the game,” he explains. “If it’s collective then it goes to what team we were playing. I did a Kid Rock one the other day Detroit because Eminem is too easy.”

For example, when he’s facing the Toronto Blue Jays?

“There would be a checklist,” Williams says. “If someone hit a homer it would be something about them or their name. If not Trailer Park Boys would be my Number One, or I’d go Terrance and Phillip [from South Park] as my Number Two. After that maybe just a guy just drinking maple syrup.”

How does he ensure he’s got something locked and loaded every time though?

“I’ve got a good GIF hookup guy. I can’t ruin my secrets. I have a guy.”

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Canada Sports: