Baseball Guru
08-03-2004, 09:04 AM
By Laurence Miedema, Mercury News
Jason Schmidt used to worry that the best years of his career were being wasted in the parts of six seasons he spent languishing with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It turns out the Giants right-hander, 31, couldn't have been more wrong.
After finishing second last season in the National League Cy Young Award voting, Schmidt has established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
"He's matured as a pitcher, and now I think he's the best pitcher in the game," San Diego Manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's an impact pitcher."
Schmidt has a chance to become the second Cy Young winner in San Francisco franchise history (joining Mike McCormick, 1967).
Other contenders include Houston's Roger Clemens (12-3, 2.77 ERA), Arizona's Randy Johnson (10-9, 2.79 and a perfect game), the Chicago Cubs' Carlos Zambrano (10-6, 2.78), Atlanta's Russ Ortiz (12-6, 3.19) and last year's winner, Los Angeles closer Eric Gagne, who has converted 30 of 31 save opportunities.
Schmidt (13-4) leads the majors with a 2.75 ERA, leads the league in wins and is slowly gaining national recognition.
Despite undergoing elbow surgery during the winter and spending the first two weeks this season on the disabled list, he has been the league's most dominant starting pitcher after bursting onto the scene last season with a 17-5 record and major-league-leading 2.34 ERA.
Schmidt has yielded two or fewer earned runs (and pitched at least six innings) in 15 of his 21 starts this season, including two of his losses. He has pitched two one-hit shutouts and went three months without a loss before his 12-game winning streak was snapped July 22 by the Padres. Last month he was named to the All-Star team for the second consecutive season.
Not a bad run for a guy who before last season had never won more than 13 games and was deemed little more than a journeyman with a live arm.
Unhappy in Pittsburgh
"I was just too young, too green and kind of over my head," Schmidt said, referring to stints with Atlanta and Pittsburgh. "Confidence is the big thing. I'm probably the same pitcher, just with different results."
The results have been career-altering.
At the time the Giants stole Schmidt from the Pirates in a deadline deal in 2001, his career numbers were hardly remarkable -- 49-53 record and a 4.58 ERA. He is 50-18 with a 2.89 ERA with the Giants.
"A lot of guys come up to the majors stuff-wise that's special, but it's all the other intangible things," said Texas Rangers Manager Buck Showalter. "Knowing that more is not always better."
Schmidt showed flashes of brilliance with the Pirates, but the losing atmosphere and arm trouble took their toll on his confidence. He said he often asked to be traded and finally got his wish in July 2001 when he was sent to the Giants, along with outfielder John Vander Wal, for outfielder Armando Rios and pitcher Ryan Vogelsong.
"I was in the prime of my career and I wanted to win; it was like wasting the best years of your life for absolutely no reason," Schmidt said. "I used to tell pitching coach Pete Vuckovich, `When I get out of here, you watch. I guarantee it's going to get better for me.' "
The deal may go down as one of the most lopsided in baseball history.
A new beginning
Schmidt reached 50 wins in a San Francisco uniform faster than any player in franchise history, needing just 89 starts. Hall of Fame right-hander Juan Marichal had required 97 starts.
"He was obviously the No. 1 guy with us, but because of injuries he never really had his whole arsenal to try and put up those ace kind of numbers," said outfielder Brian Giles, Schmidt's teammate with the Pirates in 1999-2001 who now plays for San Diego. "Now all of a sudden, he's not only a dominant force on their team, he's a dominant force in major league baseball."
Schmidt dominates with a 96 mph fastball and an 89 mph change-up that has the late-breaking bite of a split-finger fastball. He quit throwing breaking pitches after the All-Star break last season because they caused too much pain on the torn tendon in his right elbow.
Schmidt went 8-1 with a 2.29 ERA in his final 11 starts and yielded one run in 16 2/3 innings in the playoffs. He is mixing in more breaking pitches this season, but rarely more than a handful each game.
"You almost know what's coming, but you still can't do anything about it," said Rangers outfielder Brian Jordan, who spent the previous two seasons with the Dodgers.
"I think we're just watching a guy mature," Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti said. "What normally happens to a pitcher is they get into their late 20s, and if their stuff is still there and they haven't been beat up with injuries, they normally do find their way. He's finding his way."
Contact Laurence Miedema at lsmiedema@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5887.
Jason Schmidt used to worry that the best years of his career were being wasted in the parts of six seasons he spent languishing with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It turns out the Giants right-hander, 31, couldn't have been more wrong.
After finishing second last season in the National League Cy Young Award voting, Schmidt has established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
"He's matured as a pitcher, and now I think he's the best pitcher in the game," San Diego Manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's an impact pitcher."
Schmidt has a chance to become the second Cy Young winner in San Francisco franchise history (joining Mike McCormick, 1967).
Other contenders include Houston's Roger Clemens (12-3, 2.77 ERA), Arizona's Randy Johnson (10-9, 2.79 and a perfect game), the Chicago Cubs' Carlos Zambrano (10-6, 2.78), Atlanta's Russ Ortiz (12-6, 3.19) and last year's winner, Los Angeles closer Eric Gagne, who has converted 30 of 31 save opportunities.
Schmidt (13-4) leads the majors with a 2.75 ERA, leads the league in wins and is slowly gaining national recognition.
Despite undergoing elbow surgery during the winter and spending the first two weeks this season on the disabled list, he has been the league's most dominant starting pitcher after bursting onto the scene last season with a 17-5 record and major-league-leading 2.34 ERA.
Schmidt has yielded two or fewer earned runs (and pitched at least six innings) in 15 of his 21 starts this season, including two of his losses. He has pitched two one-hit shutouts and went three months without a loss before his 12-game winning streak was snapped July 22 by the Padres. Last month he was named to the All-Star team for the second consecutive season.
Not a bad run for a guy who before last season had never won more than 13 games and was deemed little more than a journeyman with a live arm.
Unhappy in Pittsburgh
"I was just too young, too green and kind of over my head," Schmidt said, referring to stints with Atlanta and Pittsburgh. "Confidence is the big thing. I'm probably the same pitcher, just with different results."
The results have been career-altering.
At the time the Giants stole Schmidt from the Pirates in a deadline deal in 2001, his career numbers were hardly remarkable -- 49-53 record and a 4.58 ERA. He is 50-18 with a 2.89 ERA with the Giants.
"A lot of guys come up to the majors stuff-wise that's special, but it's all the other intangible things," said Texas Rangers Manager Buck Showalter. "Knowing that more is not always better."
Schmidt showed flashes of brilliance with the Pirates, but the losing atmosphere and arm trouble took their toll on his confidence. He said he often asked to be traded and finally got his wish in July 2001 when he was sent to the Giants, along with outfielder John Vander Wal, for outfielder Armando Rios and pitcher Ryan Vogelsong.
"I was in the prime of my career and I wanted to win; it was like wasting the best years of your life for absolutely no reason," Schmidt said. "I used to tell pitching coach Pete Vuckovich, `When I get out of here, you watch. I guarantee it's going to get better for me.' "
The deal may go down as one of the most lopsided in baseball history.
A new beginning
Schmidt reached 50 wins in a San Francisco uniform faster than any player in franchise history, needing just 89 starts. Hall of Fame right-hander Juan Marichal had required 97 starts.
"He was obviously the No. 1 guy with us, but because of injuries he never really had his whole arsenal to try and put up those ace kind of numbers," said outfielder Brian Giles, Schmidt's teammate with the Pirates in 1999-2001 who now plays for San Diego. "Now all of a sudden, he's not only a dominant force on their team, he's a dominant force in major league baseball."
Schmidt dominates with a 96 mph fastball and an 89 mph change-up that has the late-breaking bite of a split-finger fastball. He quit throwing breaking pitches after the All-Star break last season because they caused too much pain on the torn tendon in his right elbow.
Schmidt went 8-1 with a 2.29 ERA in his final 11 starts and yielded one run in 16 2/3 innings in the playoffs. He is mixing in more breaking pitches this season, but rarely more than a handful each game.
"You almost know what's coming, but you still can't do anything about it," said Rangers outfielder Brian Jordan, who spent the previous two seasons with the Dodgers.
"I think we're just watching a guy mature," Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti said. "What normally happens to a pitcher is they get into their late 20s, and if their stuff is still there and they haven't been beat up with injuries, they normally do find their way. He's finding his way."
Contact Laurence Miedema at lsmiedema@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5887.