![]() His team was working out one day at the Grand Canyon University ballpark in Phoenix when Baum became mesmerized by a stranger on the mound who was darting a pitch that seemed to disappear - it was as if the top half of the ball was sliced off midway to the plate, causing the rest to plummet viciously. A six-foot-three right-hander with the University of New Mexico, Baum had just finished his sophomore year and was pitching in an Arizona summer collegiate league. He origin of Gausman’s splitter lies back in 1993 with a man named Chris Baum. This is the story of that pitch, how the right-hander eventually mastered it and what it became. He, and the whole baseball world, certainly know now. “At first, I didn’t really know what it was going to be,” says Gausman. It took years of trial-and-error, of tinkering, for the pitch to become what it is today - measurably the best splitter in baseball, one of the best single pitches in the sport. And yet, getting to this point was anything but an A-to-B journey. The “how” of it all is pretty simple: When he finally figured out how to maximize his greatest weapon - that otherworldly splitter - he was rewarded with the comfort of certainty in the majors. The 31-year-old is a starting pitcher again, and given the five-year, $110-million deal he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays this off-season, he’s cemented in that role. “‘Maybe I’m just a nasty bullpen guy.’”įast forward to 2022 and there’s no “maybe” required: Gausman is definitely nasty, only now he’s back to plying his trade from the rotation. “In my head, I’m like, ‘To be honest, I don’t know if I’ll ever be a starter again because I’m doing so well at this,’” Gausman recalls of his thoughts at the time. The rare “immaculate inning” causes Gausman to rethink his new place in the game. Gausman fires just nine pitches, all strikes, retiring three more batters on swings and misses. He enters the game in the eighth inning and makes quick work of Paul DeJong, Yadier Molina and Lane Thomas, getting each hitter to strike out swinging. Louis Cardinals, everything seems to click. ![]() In his fourth outing with the club, against the St. “We think you can be a premium backend reliever with those two pitches.” Gausman had heard that line of thinking before, but this time he accepts it and then some. Just grip and rip,” Johnson advised Gausman. He told the right-hander that he’d be a reliever for the rest of the campaign and his repertoire would be stripped down to only two pitches - a four-seam fastball, along with the splitter. The Reds respect that standout weapon in his arsenal and pitching coach Derek Johnson made sure to let Gausman know as much on his first day with the organization. ![]() He knows he’s got the tools to succeed - most notably a devastating split-fingered fastball. ![]() How he arrived at this place is perplexing for Gausman. And so here he is, at 28 years old, feeling almost like he’s starting from scratch. But true to his amusement park ride of a big-league career, those good times didn’t last. In 2018 he posted a 2.87 ERA across 10 starts with the Braves, after the club acquired him from Baltimore. Gausman’s been a starting pitcher for the majority of his career, and at times, a very successful one. He’s pitching out of the Cincinnati Reds’ bullpen now, and in addition to the shot his confidence just took, his new role is an unfamiliar one. It’s August of 2019 and the sting of being designated for assignment by the Atlanta Braves just days ago is still fresh in his mind. O this point, life on the mound has been a roller-coaster ride for Kevin Gausman. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |