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Thursday, March 31, 2011 ★ Section G
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Halladay by the Numbers
Notables
Toughest Matchups
7-time All-Star Stamina: He threw the most
David Ortiz Lifetime vs. Halladay:
complete games in the AL in 2003, ’05, ’07, ’08, and ’09 — and the most in the NL in 2010.
27 for 99, 6 doubles, 6 HRs, 24 RBIs, 7 walks, 16 Ks. Ortiz named Halladay the most difficult of the Phillies four aces he has ever faced. “I have had a lot of bad at-bats against Doc,” he said. “Doc, he makes your life impossible. He has so many angles he throws the damn ball that it’s ridiculous.” Told of Ortiz’s comment, Halladay laughed. “I can remember quite a few times when he liked [the different angles],” he said. “You never wanted to face him after the sixth inning.”
2003 AL Cy Young: Blue Jays 2010 NL Cy Young: Phillies May 29, 2010: He pitched
the 20th perfect game in MLB history. Oct. 6, 2010: He pitched the second no-hitter in postseason history, becoming the fifth player ever to throw multiple no-hitters in a single season.
2010 Pitch Type
Fastball
Changeup:
37.4%
11.5%
Mike Lowell Lifetime vs. Halladay:
WILFREDO LEE / Associated Press
Roy Halladay celebrates his perfect game with Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard — a 1-0 victory over the Marlins in Miami.
Career Statistics
Cutter: 34.2%
Curveball:
16.9%
Career Pitch Type Changeup:
5.0%
Other
1.0%
Fastball
50.7%
Cutter: 20.0%
Curveball:
23.3%
Year
Team
W
L
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
TOR TOR TOR TOR TOR TOR TOR TOR TOR TOR TOR TOR PHI
1 8 4 5 19 22 8 12 16 16 20 17 21
0 7 7 3 7 7 8 4 5 7 11 10 10
Total
SOURCE: FanGraphs
G Games played, GS Games started, CG Complete games, SHO Shutouts, IP Innings pitched, H Hits allowed, HR Home runs allowed, BB Walks, SO Strikeouts, BF Batters faced
W-L%
169 86
ERA
G
1.000 1.93 .533 3.92 .364 10.64 .625 3.16 .731 2.93 .759 3.25 .500 4.2 .750 2.41 .762 3.19 .696 3.71 .645 2.78 .630 2.79 .677 2.44
2 36 19 17 34 36 21 19 32 31 34 32 33
.663
GS CG SHO
IP
H
HR
BB
2 18 13 16 34 36 21 19 32 31 33 32 33
1 1 0 1 2 9 1 5 4 7 9 9 9
0 1 0 1 1 2 1 2 0 1 2 4 4
14.0 149.1 67.2 105.1 239.1 266.0 133.0 141.2 220.0 225.1 246.0 239.0 250.2
9 156 107 97 223 253 140 118 208 232 220 234 231
2 19 14 3 10 26 13 11 19 15 18 22 24
2 79 42 25 62 32 39 18 34 48 39 35 30
3.32 346 320
58
19
2,297.1
2,228 196
SO SO/9 13 82 44 96 168 204 95 108 132 139 206 208 219
8.4 4.9 5.9 8.2 6.3 6.9 6.4 6.9 5.4 5.6 7.5 7.8 7.9
485 1,714
6.7
7 for 30, 3 HRs, 9 RBIs, 1 walk, 7 Ks. Lowell’s .233 career average certainly is nothing special, but for some reason the third baseman’s 2007 season stuck in Halladay’s mind. “That one year when he was with the Red Sox and he was the World Series MVP, he was as good as anybody I had ever seen,” Halladay said. “I just couldn’t get him out.” Actually, Halladay got Lowell out quite frequently that year. The Red Sox third baseman went only 3 for 13 against him. Two of those hits were home runs. The good news for Halladay if he faces the Red Sox during a June interleague series is that Lowell is no longer with the team. The bad news: The Boston lineup is more loaded than ever. — Bob Brookover
Birds were the last to boast four 20-game winners By Daniel I. Dorfman
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For Palmer and the O’s, it was all about running
FOR THE INQUIRER
o one doubts that the words challenge and expectations are going to be constants with the Phillies rotation this season. But Jim Palmer said the staff should concern itself only with 2011 and not where it ranks in the history books. “The challenges and expectations are not that different if they are individuals or if they are together,” Palmer said. “One of the great challenges for all of us is that every year you write a new chapter in your book. The challenge is, can I be as good as I was last year?” Being as good as last year was something that Palmer and Roy Halladay discussed in 2004. Halladay was coming off his first Cy Young Award, in 2003, but was struggling the following season. So he went and talked with Palmer, who has been a broadcaster since his Hall of Fame career ended. Palmer said Halladay told him that his goal for that year was seven innings and three runs per start. “He told me he forgot about the process of getting there,” Palmer said. “You forget about the pitching, that you are only as good as your next start. There are so many nuances in pitching, such as getting strike one. It was something I had learned, but it was a reminder that there is a process to being great.” Halladay wound up going 8-8 in 2004, but he has since had six straight seasons of brilliance and now finds himself as a starter in a rotation that could rival the group Earl Weaver was able to throw at the American League 40 years ago. In 1971, the Baltimore Orioles quartet of Palmer, Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson, and Dave McNally became the last starting rotation to have four 20-game winners. In this age of five-man rotations and reliance on the bullpen, it is hard to believe there will ever be another one. Their respective numbers had McNally leading the staff with 21
McNally
The 1971 Orioles Starting Rotation
By Daniel I. Dorfman
J
im Palmer remembers when he first got to Baltimore in the late 1960s, and his workout routine was limited to running from foul line to foul line and around in circles in the outfield. “We were naive,” Palmer said. “Nobody did any kind of rotator cuff work. I didn’t do anything like that until 1976, after I had won 20 games five or six times.” Palmer, the most famous of the Orioles quartet of pitchers that in 1971 became the last rotation to have four 20-game winners, may not have had the exercise regimen that Phillies ace Roy Halladay does today. But he knew it was important
Associated Press
“We were all different,” Jim Palmer said of himself and his rotation mates. wins, and Palmer, Dobson and Cuellar all having 20. They led Baltimore to the American League pennant before the Orioles lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a seven-game World Series. “We were all different,” Palmer said of that Orioles staff. “Dobson was a free spirit who changed speeds with the best of them. He could get you out two or three different ways. He was fun-loving. “Cuellar had a screwball, which wasn’t used all that much in the major leagues at the time. But I was surprised how hard he threw it. He was a Crazy Horse, and that
Dobson Pitcher
FOR THE INQUIRER
Palmer
Cuellar
W-L
ERA
CG
SHO
IP
BB
K
Dave McNally
21-5
2.89
11
1
224.1
58
91
Pat Dobson
20-8
2.90
18
4
282.1
63
187
Jim Palmer
20-9
2.68
20
3
282.0
106
84
Mike Cuellar
20-9
3.08
21
4
292.0
78
124
was what we called him. People forget how good Mike Cuellar was.” Palmer described McNally as the silent one. “He was a tenacious guy and really stubborn. He won 20 games four times. When I was injured I would sit in the stands and watched him, and I learned how to pitch.” As for the Phillies, Palmer is impressed. “On paper these guys are going to be fabulous,” he said. “There is great comfort on being on a staff like that.” One guy could have a bad night, he said, but the chances of a long losing streak are small. Palmer also said he expected some individual competition among the four aces, even if no one admits it. “The way [the 1971 Orioles] went about it was that I didn’t want them to fail,” Palmer said of his pitching mates. “I wanted them to succeed. That is what winning teams are all about. I just wanted to do better than them. Not by them failing. “The Phillies … are all going to push each other, and they will not come out and say it. I never said I wanted to be better than the other guys when I pitched. But that is what I was thinking.”
Palmer understood the importance of keeping his legs strong. “We ran like maniacs.” to keep his legs strong. “We ran foul line to foul line, and we played long catch, and we did our long toss off the mound,” Palmer said. “We would come out of batting practice early, and we would do a power shag where we would run around in the outfield. We ran like maniacs.” In those days, Palmer said, most pitchers did not work out with weights, and he described sports medicine as being in the “dark ages.” He said that doctors and trainers most often took corrective measures, and knew little about the preventive procedures that keep pitchers in shape today. “It wasn’t that they didn’t want to be proactive,” Palmer said of the training staff. “They just didn’t have the knowledge.” It was from some of his fellow pitchers that Palmer said he got some of his best conditioning advice. In 1974, Palmer went 7-12 as
injuries limited him to 26 games. But the next season he was back to form, and at the 1975 All-Star Game in Milwaukee Palmer was discussing conditioning in the bullpen with Mike Marshall, who had won the Cy Young Award the year before. “He was talking about how he threw the screwball and how he used his arm,” Palmer said. Marshall told Palmer that certain pitches, such as the screwball, generated less stress on the arm and could lengthen a career. “It made a lot of sense,” Palmer said. Palmer said he also picked up a conditioning tip from former Phillies great Steve Carlton. “He had these ball bearings that he used in his hands and would work his flexors and tenders, which are the muscles that lead into your elbow,” Palmer said. “So I started carrying those in my bag, and I used them to build up my elbow.” On his way to 268 wins and three Cy Young Awards, Palmer said he also used his pride as a motivator. “I didn’t want anyone to be in better shape than I was,” he said, “so that is how we got in shape.”
Halladay vs. Palmer
First 13 seasons (Palmer from 1965 to 1978)*
Halladay Stat Palmer 2 Cy Young Awards 3 .663 W-L% .650 3.32 ERA 2.63 346 Games 424 320 Games started 398 58 Complete games 187 19 Shutouts 51 2,297.1 Innings pitched 3,119.2 2,228 Hits 2,547 944 Runs 1,015 848 Earned runs 911 196 Home runs 216 485 Walks 1,049 1,714 Strikeouts 1,860 6.7 Strikeouts per 5.4 9 innings
Thursday, March 31, 2011
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THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Plan and Purpose
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Photo illustration by DAVID SWANSON
Roy Halladay’s meticulous preparation involves taking cues from an ex-teammate and a famous Olympian.
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By Bob Brookover
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
arvey Dorfman’s contributions to Roy Halladay’s rise from a struggling young starter with the Toronto Blue Jays to the best pitcher in baseball have been well documented. The Mental ABC’s of Pitching, a book authored by the recently deceased Dorfman, became Halladay’s baseball bible, a how-to course on narrowing focus in order to maximize performance. Less well known are the influences of Carlos Delgado, a former big-league slugger, and swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic athlete in history. While Dorfman became Halladay’s mental guru, Delgado and Phelps made less direct contributions to the meticulous preparation the ace of the Phillies aces goes through between each start. As a young pitcher with the Blue Jays, Halladay noticed that Delgado kept a book on each pitcher he faced in an effort to catalog what he might be seeing on a particular night. “It was amazing how he could go back and really have an idea of what his at-bat was going to be like just by looking at his past stuff,” Halladay said. “I saw that, and decided I should start keep-
ing better track of the hitters.” Phelps’ role in Halladay’s routine is entirely indirect, and it begins immediately after the righthander throws his final pitch in a game. Known for his endurance on the mound — Halladay has led the majors in complete games five of the last eight years — the pitcher grew interested in the workouts of two of the world’s greatest athletes. “I started reading some things a few years ago, and Lance Armstrong had a lot of interesting ideas. But the one I really added to my workouts was from Michael Phelps,” Halladay said. “He’d talk about how he would go out and do all these races and as soon as he was done he’d go out and swim laps in the pool. He said that really was the only reason he was able to go out and do all those races in the Olympics. “It made sense. All of a sudden you shut your body down after this intense activity, and if you completely shut it down, you aren’t really helping yourself start a recovery process.” Halladay, 33, obviously cannot go find another place to pitch to hitters once he is done working. Instead, he logs miles on a stationary bike. The fact that Halladay’s preparation for his next start begins as soon as his previous start is over
YONG KIM / Staff Photographer
As soon as one start ends, Halladay begins preparing for the next.
explains a lot about why he has become baseball’s premier pitcher. You don’t lead your league in innings pitched four times, win 20 games three times and the Cy Young Award twice by going at things half-heartedly. Halladay has each day of his baseball life mapped out, starting in spring training when he wakes up at 4 a.m. and is almost always the first to arrive at Bright House Field.
“It’s just the way I like doing it,” Halladay said. “I found out early in my career that I’d go out and do all my stuff on the field, and there were times when I’d come in and I lost the ambition to do all the things I needed to get done. I’d just as soon go fishing or golfing, because we didn’t have to be there after the workout was over. I just felt like if I could get in and get my stuff done, it’s a more quality workout and then at the end of the day I’m done.” During the season, each day between starts has a specific plan and purpose for Halladay. The day after his start, for example, he goes through extensive leg and cardio workouts. “The legs, especially that day, are really important because that’s what I work on more intensely than anything else,” Halladay said. Two days after a start, Halladay goes through an upper-body workout and his bullpen session. Halladay’s bullpen focus and intensity vary based on the time of year and how he is feeling. “During the season, I think it’s just body awareness,” he said. “You’re working on your mechanics and making sure you feel comfortable with what you’re doing. You’re not real worried about your location or what your
pitches are doing.” Two days before a start, Halladay turns his workout attention back to his feet and legs. “I do a lot of agility and foot-quickness drills and some sort of light leg exercises,” he said. Halladay also starts studying the video and print library of the hitters he will be facing in his next start. The studying continues the day of his actual start, which is the one day Halladay typically does not beat his teammates to the ballpark. “When you’re out there and you have your plan established with your catcher, then you just really start going with what he’s doing,” he said. “Situations do come up where you may think, ‘I saw this, and this is what we talked about, so let’s do this here.’ But after I talk to Carlos [Ruiz] — especially with him, because he has been great — I don’t feel like I have to sit there and do this on a certain pitch or that on another pitch. I can let him call the game.” It was a combination that led to perfection, a Cy Young Award, and so many other special moments a year ago. Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.
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Cliff Lee by the Numbers
Toughest Matchups
Notables
Two-time All-Star Stamina: He threw the most
Raul Ibanez
Lifetime vs. Lee: 9 for 36, 2 RBIs, 10 Ks Ibanez and Lee were regular foes in 2005 (3 for 9) and 2006 (3 for 11), when Ibanez played for Seattle and Lee was in Cleveland. Lee usually got the best of Ibanez, striking him out seven times in those 20 at-bats, but those battles are what stuck out to Lee. “As far as lefty-on-lefty, back then he was as good as it gets,” Lee said. “I thought he was very underrated. Obviously, since then he’s established himself a little more. He was a guy who was somehow under the radar with Kansas City and Seattle. He’s gotten a little more recognition here. “He always gave me trouble,” Lee said. “But that was six years ago.”
complete games in the AL in 2010 (7).
2008 AL Cy Young: Indians First-pitch strikes: In 2010,
Lee threw first-pitch strikes 69.7 percent of the time — the highest percentage among ERA qualifiers. Hitters batted .348 and slugged .504 on Lee’s first pitches.
2010 Pitch Type
Curveball Changeup Fastball
5.6%
63.6%
9.4%
Josh Hamilton Lifetime vs. Lee: 5 for
Cutter
Slider 1.6%
DAVID J. PHILLIP / Associated Press
Cliff Lee and Carlos Ruiz embrace after the Phillies take Game 1 of the 2009 World Series against the Yankees.
19.8%
Career Pitch Type Career Statistics Curveball Changeup Fastball
8.2%
12.1%
68.7%
Slider Cutter
8.1%
2.9%
SOURCE: FanGraphs
G Games played, GS Games started, CG Complete games, SHO Shutouts, IP Innings pitched, H Hits allowed, HR Home runs allowed, BB Walks, SO Strikeouts, SO/9 Strikeouts per 9 innings
Year
Team
W
L
W-L%
ERA
G
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2009 2010 2010
CLE CLE CLE CLE CLE CLE CLE CLE PHI SEA TEX
0 3 14 18 14 5 22 7 7 8 4
1 3 8 5 11 8 3 9 4 3 6
.000 .500 .636 .783 .560 .385 .880 .438 .636 .727 .400
1.74 3.61 5.43 3.79 4.40 6.29 2.54 3.14 3.39 2.34 3.98
2 9 33 32 33 20 31 22 12 13 15
2 9 33 32 33 16 31 22 12 13 15
0 0 0 1 1 1 4 3 3 5 2
0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 0
102 61
.626
3.85 222 218
20
5
Total
GS CG SHO
IP
H
HR
BB
SO
SO/9
10.1 52.1 179.0 202.0 200.2 97.1 223.1 152.0 79.2 103.2 108.2
6 41 188 194 224 112 214 165 80 92 103
0 7 30 22 29 17 12 10 7 5 11
8 20 81 52 58 36 34 33 10 6 12
6 44 161 143 129 66 170 107 74 89 96
5.2 7.6 8.1 6.4 5.8 6.1 6.9 6.3 8.4 7.7 8.0
1,409.0 1,419 150 350
1,085
6.9
17, 2 RBIs, 2 Ks The reason Lee singled Hamilton out is fairly simple in his mind. “He’s, in my opinion, the best player in baseball,” Lee said. The lefthander has been able to keep Hamilton, the reigning American League MVP, in check over their limited duels. That doesn’t matter, Lee said. “Josh Hamilton is always a tough out,” he said. Being in the National League for the next five seasons should limit the times Lee sees Hamilton’s Texas Rangers, with whom Lee played for half a season en route to a World Series appearance. — Matt Gelb
Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine powered remarkable run A
By Daniel I. Dorfman
Devotion to his routine helped Glavine excel
FOR THE INQUIRER
s the Atlanta Braves went on their remarkable run of 14 straight division titles from 1991 to 2005, three names stood out as the cornerstone of that era: Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine. So as the Phillies prepare to take the field in 2011, Glavine recalled what it was like to pitch in a rotation of superstars, and he concedes it was not pleasant at times. “It gets aggravating. It gets to be a pain in the neck sometimes,” Glavine said. “As a player you just want to go out there and play. But the expectations from their [fans] are going to be a lot. I know there were times in Atlanta if one of us gave up two or three runs, people were wondering what was wrong. So it is hard to live up to expectations.” Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux formed the most dominant pitching rotation baseball had seen since the Baltimore Orioles staff of the late 1960s and early 1970s. All three are likely to wind up in the Hall of Fame, as they have combined for seven Cy Young Awards. Maddux had professorial looks that belied a fierce competitor who earned the nickname “Mad Dog.” Smoltz, who, at the age of 7 told his parents that he was going to be a major-league pitcher, went on to win 213 games and develop into one of the game’s dominant closers from 2002 to 2004. Glavine had to decide between pro hockey and baseball when he was drafted in both sports after lettering in both in high school. He seems to have made the right choice, since his career accomplishments include 305 wins, two Cy Young Awards, and 10 All-Star Game appearances. What Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, and Cliff Lee will have to get used to, Glavine said, are the constant comparisons to those great staffs in Baltimore and Atlanta. They may also be measured against the dynamic duos of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgers of the 1960s and Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks of 10 years ago. “We went through [those comparisons] as well,” Glavine said.“They will be stacked up [against] as [to] where these guys [compare] with the greatest 1-2 combinations and the greatest 1-2-3 combinations,” Glavine said. Still, after citing the distractions that the Phillies pitchers will have to put up with at times, Glavine said they should be fine once they go out and concentrate on their work. “At the end of the day, if they go out there and pitch the way they are capable of, everything will work out, and they can figure out the historic stuff at the end of the year,” he said.
By Daniel I. Dorfman
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Associated Press
Greg Maddux, with John Smoltz and Tom Glavine, helped lead the Braves
FOR THE INQUIRER
t may be less than three years since Tom Glavine pitched in the majors, but he considers himself part of a different generation from those toiling on the mound today. That is especially true when Glavine looks back on his diet. “We didn’t worry about what we ate in those days,” Glavine said. “As long as you weren’t gaining or losing weight, you did what you wanted to do.” While Glavine ate a variety of food, he took a standardized approach in his workout routine based on pitching every five days. He lifted weights on the day after he pitched, took a longdistance run the second day, did a shorter weightlifting session and a run on the third day, and took off on the fourth. The former Braves and Mets lefthander points to that routine as one of the reasons he posted double-digit wins in all but two seasons of his career, one that will surely place him in the Hall of Fame. “I never wavered from it,” Glavine said. “I always had that consistency, and I think that was helpful.” While Glavine spent plenty of time in the weight room, he doesn’t think that is critical for all pitchers. “There are so many schools of thought on weightlifting,” he said. “Everybody is different. It is up to them, and if it makes [the pitcher] feel good, then it is good for them.” One of the main reasons Glavine was so successful was that he spent so little time in the trainer’s
Lee vs. Glavine
First nine seasons (Glavine from 1987 to 1995). Lee 1 .626 3.85 222 218 20 5 1,409 1,419 661 603 150 350 1,085 6.9
Stat Glavine Cy Young Awards 1 W-L% .602 ERA 3.52 Games 262 Games started 262 Complete games 33 Shutouts 13 Innings pitched 1,721 Hits 1,649 Runs 751 Earned runs 673 Home runs 113 Walks 579 Strikeouts 1,031 Strikeouts per 5.4 9 innings
room. With only one exception, Glavine started at least 32 games in every 162-game season in which he played from 1988 to 2007. Besides staying in shape, he said, there is not just one way for pitchers to stay healthy. The abundance of resources for both pitchers and trainers is an advantage for the hurlers of this era. “Like so things in life today the information is so vast out there,” Glavine said. “There are no guarantees of what you can do to prevent injuries. But everybody seems to think that if you are in shape you have less chance of getting injured.”
to 14 straight division titles. All three are likely Hall of Famers.
Maddux
The 1993 Braves Starting Rotation
Glavine Pitcher
Smoltz
Avery
W-L
ERA
CG
SHO
IP
BB
K
Greg Maddux
21-10
2.36
8
1
267.0
52
197
Tom Glavine
22-6
3.20
4
2
239.1
90
120
John Smoltz
18-6
2.94
3
1
223.1
43
125
Steve Avery
15-11
3.62
3
1
243.2
100
208
TOM MIHALEK / Associated Press
Tom Glavine won at least 10 games in all but two years of his career.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
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Faith in Simple Routine Cliff Lee stays true to a training regimen he began using nine years ago with the Indians. By Matt Gelb
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
here is a reason, Cliff Lee says, why he found a routine he liked nine years ago and has essentially stuck with that exact program through three trades and a Cy Young Award. “I keep it simple,” Lee said. “The simpler the easier for me.” Lee is perfectly uncomplicated. When it’s his half inning to pitch, he sprints out of the dugout to take the ball. When he has recorded the third out, he sprints back to his same spot on the bench. Publicly, he’s blunt. He’ll often speak his mind, and if he is in a foul mood or asked something silly, he won’t do a dance. He usually has an idea of what he wants in any given situation. Before 2003, his first full season in the majors, Lee met Tim Maxey — as all the Cleveland Indians pitchers did at some point. Then the team’s strength and conditioning coordinator, Maxey was in charge of developing a workout routine. Maxey had spent the previous two seasons introducing a form of interval training to the pitching staff. He showed Lee the program, and the young pitcher began asking questions. Maxey knew he had him hooked. “He wanted to learn why we were doing things,” Maxey said. “We
tried to explain. If you can’t justify why you’re doing something — exercises, drills, philosophies — then it’s very difficult to get them to buy into the program.” Lee discovered something he liked. It worked well. Simple as that. “I have a lot of faith in it,” Lee said. “I’ve been doing the same thing for a long time.” Maxey, now the joint strength and conditioning coordinator for Major League Baseball and the players’ union, is hardly shocked at this development. He recalls a 24-yearold Lee who devoted himself to the program. It offered consistency and control. What else could a young pitcher want? Maxey described his program as a holistic approach to conditioning a pitcher. The goal is to not just simulate what happens on the field but to train the major muscle groups and energy systems involved in pitching. There are moments of great activity, repeating a violent motion over and over again. Then, there is the stillness when the pitcher’s team is at bat. “We want to train our athletes to pitch those nine innings,” Maxey said. “Cliff was expecting to have the energy capacity to perform those nine innings.” That requires a year-round commitment. The cornerstone, Maxey said, is the hip and leg program. Lunges worked best for Lee, so Maxey imple-
in the first, second, or third inning, then they buy into the program.” That’s what happened to Lee. The results, obviously, have been inarguable. Since 2005, Lee is just one of eight pitchers to have thrown at
preparation will be a glance at the scouting report. “Some guys want more information. That’s great if it works for them,” Lee said. “But for me, usually when I try to do that stuff, it
“I prefer to just make a pitch, see how they react, and make an adjustment off that.”
YONG KIM / Staff Photographer
Lee’s program aims to give a pitcher
consistency and control.
mented them prominently. Most important, there is less continuous running. There is a savings in fatigue with the intermittent work, and, done right, Maxey said, that can be converted into an increase in intensity. For a pitcher such as Lee, who has always made a conscious effort to stay in games as long as possible, stamina was imperative. “In the end, it has to be beneficial to the athlete,” Maxey said. “Over time, when you start feeling the results, and you feel as strong in the sixth, seventh, and eighth inning as you did
least 200 innings in five seasons. Of course, Maxey is sure to note that Lee must do the pitching, and this is a results-driven business. But Lee decided long ago that Maxey’s program puts him in the best possible position to succeed. On the first day after a start, Lee will work close to three hours doing Maxey’s interval training program — including a massage of his shoulder and back at the end. “Basically,” Lee said, “everything possible.” On the second day, the load is lighter, with a bullpen session included. The third day is even lighter than the previous one, and his fourth day is a game of catch and short sprints. He does not watch video. He does not take notes on himself or his opponents. The only game-specific
complicates things, and I get away from keeping it simple and doing what I do. If I try to outsmart myself, it usually backfires. “I prefer to just make a pitch, see how they react, and make an adjustment off that.” It’s that control of the situation that sold him on his between-starts routine. That control defines Lee on and off the mound. “I don’t think I’ve got everything figured out,” Lee said. “But I feel like my routine is pretty solid, and I rely on that whether you have a good game or a bad game. If you focus on your routine, those things will even out, and you’ll play out to be who you are.” Contact staff writer Matt Gelb at mgelb@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/magelb
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Roy Oswalt by the Numbers Notables
Toughest Matchups
Three-time All-Star (2005-07) Two-time 20-game winner
Barry Bonds Lifetime vs. Oswalt:
(2004-05)
4 for 9, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, and 4 RBIs. Asked about the toughest two hitters he ever faced, Roy Oswalt gave the most frequent answer you’d probably get from someone who pitched in the National League during the top half of the 21st century. “Probably Barry Bonds back in the day,” Oswalt said. His reason would make a lot of pitchers nod in agreement. “His strike zone was a little smaller than everybody else’s,” Oswalt said. “And any pitch you threw up there, it seemed like he was right on it. He was just a tough out.”
2005 NLCS MVP (Astros) Just win, baby: He led all MLB pitchers in wins (137) from 2001 through 2009 and ranked third in ERA.
Versatility: He played two innings in left field on Aug. 24, the first appearance by a Phillies pitcher at another position since 1971.
2010 Pitch Type Changeup
Fastball
55.4%
15.1%
Ryan Howard Lifetime vs. Oswalt:
MARK J. TERRILL / Associated Press
Roy Oswalt won the MVP award in the 2005 NLCS, leading the Houston Astros to the World Series.
Slider 14.8%
Curveball
14.7%
Career Pitch Type Curveball Changeup Fastball
17.6%
6.6%
64.7%
Cutter
Slider
0.6%
10.4%
Career Statistics Year
Team
W
L
W-L%
ERA
G
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2010
HOU HOU HOU HOU HOU HOU HOU HOU HOU HOU PHI
14 19 10 20 20 15 14 17 8 6 7
3 9 5 10 12 8 7 10 6 12 1
.824 .679 .667 .667 .625 .652 .667 .630 .571 .333 .875
2.73 3.01 2.97 3.49 2.94 2.98 3.18 3.54 4.12 3.42 1.74
28 35 21 36 35 33 33 32 30 20 13
20 34 21 35 35 32 32 32 30 20 12
3 0 0 2 4 2 1 3 3 1 1
1 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 1
150 83
.644
3.18 316 303
20
8
Total
SOURCE: FanGraphs
G Games played, GS Games started, CG Complete games, SHO Shutouts, IP Innings pitched, H Hits allowed, HR Home runs allowed, BB Walks, SO Strikeouts, SO Strikeouts per 9 innings
GS CG SHO
IP
H
HR
BB
SO
SO/9
141.2 233.0 127.1 237.0 241.2 220.2 212.0 208.2 181.1 129.0 82.2
126 215 116 233 243 220 221 199 183 109 53
13 17 15 17 18 18 14 23 19 13 6
24 62 29 62 48 38 60 47 42 34 21
144 208 108 206 184 166 154 165 138 120 73
9.1 8.0 7.6 7.8 6.9 6.8 6.5 7.1 6.8 8.4 7.9
2,015.0 1,918 173 467 1,666
7.4
8 for 22, 2 doubles, 2 HRs, 7 RBIs Asked for a second guy on the list, Oswalt could not come up with a name. “Sometimes a guy is hitting .400 off you and they have five flairs, so you don’t remember that,” Oswalt said. Since Oswalt couldn’t think of anyone, we searched for a second hitter who has worn him out and came up with teammate Ryan Howard. In 26 plate appearances, Howard batted .364 with two doubles, two home runs, and seven RBIs against Oswalt. He also drew four walks. By contrast, Oswalt will miss Chase Utley, who batted just .174 against him. — Bob Brookover
Former Met sees echoes of Seaver in Halladay By Daniel I. Dorfman
H
Ryan: Throwing, genetics kept The Express running
FOR THE INQUIRER
e is most remembered for his longevity. Even at age 46, he was still blowing away hitters. But a generation earlier, in the time of four-man rotations, Nolan Ryan was just learning how to pitch. He said he was lucky that Tom Seaver, who went on to join him in the Hall of Fame, was leading the staff of the New York Mets, who won an improbable World Series in 1969. While Seaver was only two years older than he, Ryan said he and the rest of the Mets — especially the pitchers — followed Seaver’s lead. “He was really focused on what he wanted to accomplish,” Ryan said of Seaver. “He was an overachiever, and his ability caught up with his drive and determination.” Seaver won the first of his three Cy Young Awards in 1969. He set an example for Ryan and fellow young pitchers Jerry Koosman and Tug McGraw. Moving forward to 2011, Ryan said he senses that Roy Halladay could fill the Seaver role for the Phillies. Perhaps not by his words, but by his actions, Halladay can serve as an example through his relentless workout routine. “When you see people as consistent as Halladay, they have to have a work ethic and the professional attitude to be successful and to pitch the number of innings they
Seaver
1969 Mets Starting Rotation
`By Daniel I. Dorfman
T
Tom Seaver set the tone for the Miracle Mets, Nolan Ryan says. are pitching,” Ryan said. In the year of the ’69 Miracle Mets, Ryan went 6-3 and saved Game 3 of the World Series as the Mets defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in five games. It was one of the first of many career highlights for Ryan, who racked up 324 wins in 27 years for
Koosman Pitcher
Gentry
Ryan
W-L
ERA
CG
SHO
IP
BB
K
25-7
2.21
18
5
273.1
82
208
Jerry Koosman 17-9
2.28
16
6
241.0
68
180
Tom Seaver Gary Gentry
13-12
3.43
6
3
223.2
81
154
Nolan Ryan
6-3
3.53
2
0
89.1
53
92
Associated Press
four teams on his way to becoming the all-time strikeout leader with an astounding 5,714. He also hurled an amazing seven no-hitters. Over the phone from his office in Arizona, where he was watching his Texas Rangers, Ryan recalled how all the Mets pitchers matured together. “We were all the same age,” he said. “We were all in the development stages of our career.” Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels are not in the early stages of their careers. Last year, Ryan saw firsthand what Lee could do, as the lefthander helped lead the Rangers to their first World Series appearance. Like the rest of baseball, Ryan is anxiously waiting to see what the Phillies rotation will actually do once the season starts. “Those guys will feed off each other and set a standard that is very high, and because of the makeup of their starting staff they will not want to be the guy who has a subpar performance,” Ryan said.
FOR THE INQUIRER
he Nolan Ryan biography has so many amazing parts. The 324 wins, the 5,714 strikeouts, the seven no-hitters, and the 12 one-hitters. But one part of his career almost defies logic: his durability. From 1971 to 1992 — when he was 45 years old — the pitcher dubbed “The Ryan Express” started at least 26 games every season with the exception of the strike-shortened 1981 campaign. And that was despite shoulder surgery after the 1975 season. It was even more remarkable considering Ryan was not a knuckleballer or a soft tosser but instead threw 100 m.p.h. fastballs until the end of his career in 1993. So what was his secret? He didn’t really have one, Ryan said. The Hall of Famer attributes his success to a dedication to throwing, throwing, and more throwing. And adding some running to the mix. And don’t forget this, he said. Good family traits go a long way. “Your work ethic has a lot to do with staying away from a careerthreatening injury,” Ryan said. “But the biggest thing is genetics. There were a lot of pitchers who wanted to pitch as long as I did. But because of their body type or injury, it didn’t allow them to play as long as I did.” Few pitchers in Ryan’s day had detailed workout plans other than to keep their arms loose and their legs strong. Ryan made his debut for the New York Mets in 1966. Ryan remembered how, if an injury did occur, the doctors
Oswalt vs. Ryan
First 10 full seasons (Ryan from 1968 to 1977). Oswalt Stat 0 Cy Young Awards .644 W-L% 3.18 ERA 316 Games 303 Games started 20 Complete games 8 Shutouts 2,015 Innings pitched 1,918 Hits 765 Runs 712 Earned runs 173 Home runs 467 Walks 1,666 Strikeouts 7.4 Strikeouts per 9 innings
Ryan 0 .518 3.05 329 296 138 34 2,231 1,532 862 755 121 1,381 2,420 9.8
Associated Press
Nolan Ryan, pitching for Texas in 1989, made his major-league debut in 1966 with the Mets.
could do little about it. “They didn’t have sports medicine” that’s available today, he said. “All of that has evolved in the last 30 years.”
Thursday, March 31, 2011
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Seal of Approval
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Photo illustration by DAVID SWANSON
Roy Oswalt still does a version of the Navy workout he learned from a couple of famous ex-Astros teammates.
T
By Bob Brookover
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
his is not the first time Roy Oswalt has been part of a starstudded starting rotation. For three years — 2004 to 2006 — he was part of a Houston Astros trio that included Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. To this day, those two still influence Oswalt’s pitching preparation. “Roger and Andy actually had a lot to do with what my workouts are like now,” Oswalt said “They had a Navy Seal workout that they did, and that’s what I try to do in the offseason to get in shape.” It makes sense that Oswalt would follow the intense workouts he started while teammates with Clemens and Pettitte. They were three of the best years of his baseball life. The first two years he won 20 games, and the third one he had a league-low 2.98 ERA. The Astros reached the National League Championship Series in 2004 and the World Series in 2005. You don’t mess with success, although Oswalt, 33, has learned to lighten his workout routine with age. “I kind of do an abbreviated version of the Navy Seal stuff,” Oswalt said. “You try to do five or six laps around the field — about a mile and a half — and you do stuff between each lap. So you’ll do a lap around the field, stop and do 50 mountain climbers, then you’ll do another lap
and do 50 crunches.” There’s also a sprint workout. “You sprint 80 yards, then come back and do your sit-ups,” he said. “Do another sprint and do ball pickups. You have a little different movement each time. It’s a neat workout. A lot of people run three miles, and it gets boring doing one thing. I like to mix it up.” In Oswalt’s mind, his offseason work is vital to his in-season success. “My goal once I get here is to just maintain it,” Oswalt said. “Some guys try to do more when they get to spring training, but I try to get in the best shape I can be when I get here so I can then do stuff just to stay in shape. “I usually start around Dec. 15. I start by lifting weights. I used to start a little bit earlier when I had 700 or 800 innings. But you start getting around 2,000 innings and you try not to do quite as much.” Oswalt’s approach somewhat contrasts with Roy Halladay’s intense routine, but the veteran pitcher has learned from experience to do what works best for him. “I just think everybody has their own routine,” Oswalt said. “Doc likes to get here early in the morning and get his workout done early. I can do mine after the workout. We’re just different people.” Oswalt has observed some of Halladay’s workouts and said they’re
YONG KIM / Staff Photographer
Oswalt, 33, says he has learned to lighten his routine with age.
not as intense as those Shane Reynolds used to do with the Astros. “I’ve never seen anybody work out the way Shane did,” Oswalt said. “I was telling Doc about it. He did more pure running than anybody until his last year, when he had back surgery and he couldn’t do it anymore.” Back issues have affected Oswalt’s workouts in recent years as well. “My biggest thing the last two
years is that I’ve kind of modified my program,” he said. “I used to do a lot of running, a lot of stadium running, and I had a few back problems a few years ago. So I kind of cut some of that out, and I started doing more cardio with the bike and a little bit more pool work. You kind of have to adjust as you go.” Unlike Halladay, when Oswalt is done pitching he does not feel the need to work out after the game. Instead, he saves his most intense workout for the day after his start. “During the season, once I’m done with the game I’m done,” he said. “I throw 110 to 115 pitches and try to recover after that. The next day is the hard day. You try to flush your body as much as possible. My routine has changed a little bit in the last two or three years. I used to run 20 minutes — about three miles. Now, I kind of pull that back to where I try to run 10 to 12 minutes outside, then go back inside and do a bike.” Oswalt also works his lower body the day after his start. “The second day after a start I do upper body and run 10 minutes,” he said. “I do core work every day. I do 500 crunches any style you want to do it.” Oswalt’s use of video is typically restricted to the day after and the day before his starts. The day after he pitches, he watches his previous
start, and the day before he watches the coming opponent. When he has a specific question about a hitter, he sometimes leans on an old teammate the way Halladay relies on his catalog of hitters. “If I need to know anything I can call Roger Clemens,” Oswalt said. “He has everything on a BlackBerry. I have called him and asked him what he has on different guys. He still has 22 years of pitching to different guys, and I guess it’s in some kind of thing he keeps notes in.” Clemens, of course, had a real intensity on the mound, while Oswalt is typically cool and composed. “It ain’t no big deal,” Oswalt said. “When you get out there, it’s the same game you’ve been playing your whole life. I probably am the same way now as when I came into the league.” This is not the first time Oswalt has been part of a star-studded starting rotation, but this season will mark the first time since 2002 that he has not been his team’s opening-day starter. Even with Clemens and Pettitte around, he was the main man in Houston. Now, he’s No. 3 behind Halladay and Cliff Lee. But don’t expect his routine or demeanor to change. Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.
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Lesson Learned
Photo illustration by YONG KIM
A rough 2009 helped push Cole Hamels to work harder on his preparation between starts. It paid off. By Matt Gelb
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
t came in the stifling St. Louis heat, everything Cole Hamels had worked for. Players and coaches still talk about that game on July 22, 2010, and not just because it was the turning point for the Phillies, a chaotic day that ended in Philadelphia with the late-night firing of hitting coach Milt Thompson. No, what the Phillies remember about that day is Hamels one-hitting the Cardinals for eight innings with a fastball constantly clocked at 95 and 96 m.p.h. and a temperature that matched it. Here it was, the product of maturation between starts. It was something Hamels decided he needed to embrace near the end of a vexing 2009 season because, as he says, “I was trying to push through all the crap.” Before, Hamels would take his fourth day off to rest before pitching the next day. He never took written notes on opposing batters. He would not sit down with catcher Carlos Ruiz a few hours before starts to discuss a plan of attack. “I realized talent can only take you so far,” Hamels said. And this is when you realize that Hamels is 27. He’s the youngest of the Four Aces. He made his majorleague debut at 22 and was a World
Series MVP at 24. He is still learning. “When you see guys that are so talented and working hard every day, you have that guilt,” Hamels said. “Did I work as hard as I could today? I think that makes you want to work out harder.” Jamie Moyer provided the best cues, or better yet, embarrassment. “Having a guy,” Hamels said, “that’s basically twice your age outworking you, you don’t want that happening.” The fourth day between starts became another day for more shoulder exercises. Hamels bought a notebook at the behest of Moyer. He saw Roy Halladay’s meticulous notes and created his own system. The meetings with Ruiz became regular. His four days between starts became harder work than when he took the ball on the mound — a fundamental principle of Halladay’s preparation. “That’s why I was able to do so much and be in games where it was 100-something degrees,” Hamels said. “I’m not used to doing that in California. I was able to fight through it and focus so it doesn’t bother you because you’re so prepared. You’re confident.” Much was made of Hamels’ winter workouts after the 2009 season. He changed his program from the
from April to November. More important, Hamels carried his new philosophy from the winter into the 2010 season. That, he says, is why his mental and physical preparation changed the most. “It was thinking you deserve a day off,” he said. “And now I figure, ‘No I don’t.’ I can take the day off in the offseason. Sometimes I don’t
Last season Hamels stopped taking a rest day between starts. “I realized talent can only take you so far.”
YONG KIM / Staff Photographer
For Hamels, teammate Jamie Moyer helped provide the best cues.
year before, when he could bask in the glory of a championship and throwing wasn’t viewed as imperative because of 2621/3 innings logged
necessarily do that because I’m like, ‘What do I have to lose?’ I feel better after I work out. I almost feel guilty if I give myself a day off.” The first day after a start is Hamels’ toughest. He’ll run for close to an hour, do a 40-minute shoulder exercise, and finish with a leg routine. This year, he’s using a 25-minute timed circuit developed by Dong Lien, the team’s strength and conditioning coordinator. Then he’ll watch video of his
performance from the night before and jot down notes. Hamels said he’s always watched video — “I’m a very visual guy” — but he never took notes before the end of 2009. Day two is the bullpen session and an upper-body workout. Hamels will watch video of his next opponent for the first time. Days three and four are more cardio, leg exercises, and the shoulder routine. “Last year, I never got tired of it,” Hamels said. “I think it really helped me. I think it put me a step above mentally because I didn’t give in or give myself a day off. I just kept battling. I felt like that really made me grind out a lot more.” It worked. In 2010, hitters had a lower on-base-plus-slugging percentage against Hamels when his pitch count was 76 or higher than any other time in the game. Observers saw an improved Hamels, able to contain his composure in crucial situations. Where it started was in the work between starts that no one sees. “It becomes so monotonous,” Hamels said, “but the moment I walk in, I know exactly what I have to do. I know how long it’s going to take me. I do it. It’s over with. I don’t short myself.” Contact staff writer Matt Gelb at mgelb@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/magelb.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
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Cole Hamels by the Numbers
Toughest Matchups
Notables
Postseason star: In 2008,
Derek Jeter
he set Phillies records for most wins (4), innings (35.0), strikeouts (30), and starts (5) in one postseason.
Lifetime vs. Hamels:
5 for 10, 1 RBI, 1 K It didn’t take Cole Hamels long to come up with Jeter as one of his nemeses. The Yankees shortstop is nicknamed “Captain Clutch,” and that’s why Hamels despises facing him. “Especially with the game on the line,” Hamels said. Hamels has never allowed more than a single to Jeter, but he remembers many of the at-bats being tedious. “The guy can foul balls off until he gets that one pitch,” Hamels said. “You really do have to battle and he’s not afraid to walk. If he does walk, he’s going to steal a bag. He’s a very tough hitter.”
Finishing strong: He held opposing batters to a .217 average in his final 22 starts in 2010. Home cooking: He is the alltime wins leader at Citizens Bank Park (34).
2010 Pitch Type Changeup
Fastball
54.4%
22.8%
Adrian Gonzalez Lifetime vs. Hamels: Cutter 14.7%
Curveball
(new pitch in 2010)
8.2%
Career Pitch Type Changeup
Fastball
56.4%
29.4%
Career Statistics
Cutter
Curveball
3.3%
10.8%
DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Cole Hamels won NLCS and World Series MVP honors in 2008 after going 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five starts.
SOURCE: FanGraphs
G Games played, GS Games started, CG Complete games, SHO Shutouts, IP Innings pitched, H Hits allowed, HR Home runs allowed, BB Walks, SO Strikeouts, SO Strikeouts per 9 innings
Year
Team
W
L
W-L%
ERA
G
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total
PHI PHI PHI PHI PHI
9 15 14 10 12 60
8 5 10 11 11 45
.529 .750 .583 .476 .522 .571
4.08 3.39 3.09 4.32 3.06 3.53
23 28 33 32 33 149
GS CG SHO 23 28 33 32 33 149
0 2 2 2 1 7
0 0 2 2 0 4
IP
H
HR
BB
SO
SO/9
132.1 183.1 227.1 193.2 208.2 945.1
117 163 193 206 185 864
19 25 28 24 26 122
48 43 53 43 61 248
145 177 196 168 211 897
9.9 8.7 7.8 7.8 9.1 8.5
8 for 22, 2 HRs, 2 RBIs, 3 BBs, 7 Ks The challenge in facing Gonzalez, beyond the fact he is one of the best hitters in the majors, is familiarity. Both Hamels and Gonzalez grew up in the San Diego area. They share the same agent, John Boggs. They talk baseball a lot. And when the matchup comes, there is plenty going on between the ears. “It’s like the hardest chess match,” Hamels said. “He’ll sit on certain pitches. He knows it’s bound to come, and he seems to always get a hit in a big situation. All of a sudden, everything unravels from there.” — Matt Gelb
Osteen fit in with three future Hall of Famers By Daniel I. Dorfman
F
Running was in vogue, and Dodgers did a lot of it
FOR THE INQUIRER
or Claude Osteen, the hitters he would stare at from the mound weren’t the only competition he faced when he was a member of the 1966 Los Angeles Dodger rotation. That’s the one that featured three future Hall of Famers: Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Don Sutton. “Each guy in his own way tried to outpitch the other,” Osteen said of what he described as a close-knit Dodgers staff. “If Sandy threw a shutout the day before, the guy following him would try and duplicate it.” Osteen wanted to equal Koufax in terms of the box score, but he was going to do it his way. “I certainly couldn’t pitch like Koufax,” Osteen said. “My stuff wasn’t anywhere near his, but I could come up with the same results. Maybe not in terms of strikeouts, but I could win 1-0 or 2-1, and so could he.” So how will that translate for the Phillies this season? Osteen said he expects Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee to be the leaders. “They are expected to be very good, and they are,” he said. “Each one knows what they can do. The other pitchers will learn a lot by watching them.” “One of our fortes [with the Dodgers] was when you did not pitch you were watching the other guy pitch. You didn’t miss a trick … watching the other guy pitch and watching the hitter respond. You can learn so much watching from the bench. If you see a guy get tied up on a particular pitch, you put that away into your memory.” Referring specifically to Lee and his time in Texas last year, Osteen said, “From the Rangers’ perspective, if they didn’t learn something they weren’t watching.” Yet Osteen cautioned that you can go only so far in trying to emulate others. “You have to pitch your way, and you can’t pitch like Halladay or Lee,” he said. “You might be able to take one thing from Cliff Lee by throwing strikes, because he is a strike machine. But you have to do it your
Koufax
1966 Dodgers Starting Rotation
By Daniel I. Dorfman
A
Associated Press
Sandy Koufax led the 1966 Dodgers with a record of 27-9. Fellow starter Claude Osteen said the members of the rotation pushed one another. way.” Osteen said he is not overly concerned that Cole Hamels or Roy Oswalt will have a problem doing that. “Those guys have pitched long enough to know what works for them and what doesn’t,” he said. Another Phillie sure to be under the microscope this year is pitching coach Rich Dubee. Osteen held that job with the Phillies from 1982-88, and he said Dubee will have his challenges — just as Osteen did in working
Drysdale Pitcher
Osteen
Sutton
W-L
ERA
CG
SHO
IP
BB
K
27-9
1.73
27
5
323.0
77
317
Don Drysdale 13-16
3.42
11
3
273.2
45
177
Claude Osteen 17-14
2.85
8
3
240.1
65
137
Don Sutton
2.99
6
2
225.2
52
209
Sandy Koufax
12-12
with star pitcher Steve Carlton. “As a pitching coach, you get to know all of their personalities and what keywords work with one guy,” Osteen said. “Carlton only had one thing he wanted me to watch. He was always concerned about where he took his hands when he made his turn. He wanted his hands to be back. There weren’t many times his hands would not get back there, and then he would have a flat slider.” But, like almost everyone else in baseball, Osteen does not expect Dubee to be overloaded with problems in 2011. “Those guys know how to pitch,” he said. As for what the Phillies might have to deal with off the field, Osteen said he expects a lot of fun. “They will probably start experiencing some of the things we experienced, such as people coming to the park just to see them play,” he said. “People are aware of how good that rotation is. People came from miles around just to see Koufax pitch. It created an exciting time because it gives you a lot of pride in wearing the uniform, knowing that we are going to have a packed house.”
FOR THE INQUIRER
s Claude Osteen looks back on his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he remembers one constant about his exercise routine: running, running, and more running. Osteen was part of a Dodgers rotation headlined by future Hall of Famers Don Drysdale, Don Sutton, and Sandy Koufax (in his last year in baseball). The four starters combined for 59 wins, with Phil Regan going 14-1 out of the bullpen, to lead the Dodgers to the National League pennant. They were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. As he looks back, Osteen recalls sparsely outfitted equipment rooms. But running was coming into vogue, and the Los Angeles pitchers were quick to incorporate running into their routine. Some of the players would run two to four miles each day. That was one way pitchers got themselves in shape in those days. The other, Osteen remembered, was, “You threw batting practice several times because it was the thinking then [that] your legs needed a certain amount of pounding. And what better way to get that than facing a hitter in batting practice? What the batting practice does is not only gets your legs in shape, … you learn so much about your stuff and what moves and what doesn’t, and it just makes you a better pitcher.” “Between those two things” — running and throwing — “that was what you did to get ready when the bell rang,” he said. “We all thought that, and I still believe that.” The fact that the 1966 Dodgers staff was remarkably free of injury — the rotation combined for 157 starts — certainly makes a case for Osteen’s beliefs. “Even if we got a nagging injury, if we were physically able to do it, you went there and pitched,” Osteen said. Even while Koufax was leading the staff in victories and starts on his way to his third Cy Young Award, he was forced to retire at the end of that season because of crippling arthritis in his shoulder. “You were aware of what he
Associated Press
Claude Osteen embraces Sandy Koufax (left) and Don Drysdale after a 1965 World Series win.
Hamels vs. Koufax First five full seasons (Koufax from 1955 to 1959). Hamels Stat 0 Cy Young Awards .571 W-L% 3.53 ERA 149 Games 149 Games started 7 Complete games 4 Shutouts 945.1 Innings pitched 864 Hits 396 Runs 371 Earned runs 122 Home runs 248 Walks 897 Strikeouts 8.5 Strikeouts per 9 innings
Koufax 0 .509 4.16 137 77 15 3 516.2 450 264 239 68 305 486 8.5
was going through in the training room,” Osteen said. To recover quickly after a start, Osteen and the other pitchers submerged their pitching elbows and shoulders in ice for as long as 45 minutes. That is a practice some pitchers still follow today. “It was the belief back then that would stop the capillary bleeding and speed us toward our next start,” Osteen said. “And it worked.” Osteen said that sports medicine and training have come a long way since his time, and he takes pains not to compare eras. “Pitchers [today] are better conditioned,” he said. “They do a heck of a lot more. I’m not saying we did it better. It was just the way we did it.”
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
There are over 30,000 reasons to come out and support the 2011 Blue Cross Broad Street Run. Thank you, runners! It’s another sell-out.
Sunday, May 1, 2011 8:30 AM From school yard to ship yard
Watch as 30,000 runners compete in the largest ten-miler in the country. Stretching from Central High School to the Navy Yard, come claim your spot along historic Broad Street to take in all the action.
HEALTH AND FITNESS EXPO
Open to the public Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30 and featuring over 50 booths on the West Club Level at Lincoln Financial Field.
Only in Philadelphia! Only on Broad Street!
Neighborhoods along the course will feature live entertainment from high school bands and cheerleaders, gospel choirs, string bands, Mummers, radio stations, DJs, and drill teams. There are also 10 Dunkin’ Donuts located along the course where you can grab a cup of morning coffee while you watch the race. So come out and be a part of the festivities!
Visit www.broadstreetrun.com for more information.
Become a volunteer
We need hundreds of volunteers to help make this event a success. If you would like to become a volunteer go to www.broadstreetrun.com to register online.