Former Major League Baseball pitcher Brad Penny officially retired in March 2016, but he's still as competitive as ever.

That's immediately evident when he talks about pickleball.

Penny, 46, has a passion for America's fastest-growing sport that essentially was born from losing a match in Overland Park, KS that he believes he should've won all along.

"I went to Blue Valley Rec and I got beat by someone who should not beat me at anything, and that was it for me. I was like, ‘This will never happen again,’ so I started practicing," said Penny, during a recent interview featured on the JustPaddles YouTube channel. "Anything I get into, I kind of dive in head first and give everything I've got to get better at it, and pickleball was no different. It’s addicting, it’s fun, it’s competitive, it’s a way to keep your heart rate going, and it’s a way to stay in shape. Without pickleball, I may be 320 pounds sitting here right now."

The two-time MLB All-Star and World Series champion, who pitched for the Marlins, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants, Cardinals and Tigers during his 14-year career, has been developing his pickleball skills with JOOLA pro Eric White.

Their first practice together reportedly spanned six-and-a-half hours from beginning to end, so this is obviously serious business.

"We did dinking cross-court, we did dinking head on, we did speed-ups head on, we did mid-court, we did point play where we worked our way in, we did third shots, so it was a full play session," recalled White. "There was a lot of video analysis, too, kind of checking things out, seeing where wrists are, seeing if the paddle head’s dropping before the speed-ups, before the flicks, seeing where our hands are, resetting, so just a lot of detailed stuff."

Penny is a pickleball instructor's dream since training is currently his top priority.

Getting as many reps as possible matters most.

"I like to drill more than I play right now just because I’m trying to get to a better level," insisted Penny. "A lot of the times, if you’re one of the better players on the court, you may hit 30 shots. If I go with Eric, we’re going to hit a couple thousand balls."

Penny has also benefited from participating in "higher-level games" with pros like Jack Sock.

That has certainly fast tracked his learning process.

"There are some shots that are overwhelming at times, but once you see them and once you get used to them, there’s nothing about the game that’s too fast. A baseball’s going a lot harder and looks a lot smaller. When someone’s throwing 95 plus, the ball looks really small. In pickleball, I don’t see those speeds, so nothing’s overwhelming. That’s what makes it a lot of fun," said Penny. "Should I ever be able to get on a court and beat a tennis player? No, but in pickleball I can."

It helps Penny's cause that pickleball and baseball have common elements, of course.

He makes that crystal clear.

"I have zero paddle experience other than pickleball, not even ping pong, but it’s a lot like hitting. If I’m sitting soft, fast is always going to beat me, but if I’m sitting fastball, soft I can always react to, for the most part. I don’t know how professionals play, but I would imagine they’re looking hard and reacting soft, so it’s very similar to hitting," explained Penny. "And then the strategy part. If me and Eric play, I feel like we kind of have the same thoughts on how we should play, and once you start implementing a game plan, it becomes a lot more fun."

It seems like the Blackwell, OK native will pursue tournament play in the near future.

But, he won't rush it. 

"If I ever want to play high-level tournaments, I need to know that I’m prepared. I don’t know if it’s a superstition, but I would say I’m more routine-oriented being that I’m a starting pitcher every fifth day. I need to have a routine, I need to be prepared, and I need to stick to that routine - and that’s tough in pickleball," mentioned Penny. "I don’t know how those pros do those three events. You don’t know when you’re going to play, you get a text message and you’ve got to run to this court. It’s hectic. It’s crazy. I respect that they’re able to go and perform at the highest level for how ever many days, four days, five days, and just keep playing, playing and playing. It’s impressive."

So which former MLB players would he like to play against in pickleball?

"I would love to see some of the hitters with the quick hands. I just feel like if a young Barry Bonds was to play pickleball, it would be impressive. I've tried to get Gary Sheffield. I see him at golf tournaments all the time," said Penny. "I would love to see how good I could be at 20 years old."