[外電] 金鷹小聯盟潛力新秀Brian Matusz的談話
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Minor Notes: A Conversation with Orioles Prospect Brian Matusz
by Paul Bugala on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 11:18 am EDT | Permanent Link
Like a lot of students, Orioles prospect Brian Matusz visited Washington, DC
when he was in junior high. Like a lot of kids that age, he visited the
monuments and the Smithsonians, but never imagined he’d return to the Mid
Atlantic to help renew hope in the long-suffering Baltimore Orioles
organization.
“In eighth grade I didn’t think baseball was something I was going to
pursue my whole life,” Matusz said during a recent interview with Paul
Bugala of Baseball Daily Digest. “I just can’t believe how lucky I am to be
able to play professional baseball.”
Of course, as the left-hander knows, luck can only take you so far. Success
in professional baseball requires lots of helping hands and hard work. Matusz
’s luck is backed up by plenty of both.
Like a lot of players, the Matusz began his journey to professional baseball
in the shadow of his big brother.
“My big brother Chris was always better than me,” Matusz said. “He was the
better baseball player and the better basketball player. I always looked up
to him and I always will. He helped me out when guys would pick on me because
I was the young guy on the team in high school. He was always there to back
me up. I still talk to him after every outing and during the off-season he
watches me throw bullpen sessions and helps me out.”
Like a lot of high school graduates, Matusz had to decide whether going to
college or work was the best idea for him. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
picked Matusz in the fourth round of the 2005 amateur draft and offered him
an opportunity to realize his dreams. In the end, Matusz decided he still had
more to learn and opted for college.
“I’m sure it would have been real tough if I went pro out of high school,”
Matusz said. “I don’t know if I’d still be playing baseball right now.
You never know, being so young. I feel like I developed in college.
“In high school, I threw a fastball and curveball predominantly. I had a
change up, but I threw it about four times in my high school career. In high
school, I could throw a fastball by guys and there was no point in having a
change up.”
Matusz attended the University of San Diego where he matured as a pitcher and
a person.
“In high school you live at home with your parents. You’re not independent.
But in college, I was independent. It was a five or six hour drive from home,
” Matusz said. “I didn’t go there with any friends. I had to meet new
people. I took a step out of my comfort zone and tried something new.”
His willingness to challenge himself and be open to new ideas also helped
Matusz round out a repertoire of pitches that today is among the most
polished in minor league baseball.
“Once you get to college, a 90 mile per hour fastball is pretty common,” he
said. “So, a change up was one of the best things I could have learned
during my freshman year. It felt natural, but I worked on it a lot with our
pitching coach Eric Valenzuela. I felt like I could keep my arm speed
consistent with my fastball and it ended up being very good in my sophomore
and junior years.
“The slider was a pitch I worked on my sophomore year, right before the
season. I tried to learn a cutter. I just messed around with it and it turned
into a slider. It’s a different angle and look than the curveball. And when
you have two breaking pitches to keep batters guessing, you’re in pretty
good shape.”
By his junior year at University of San Diego, Matusz was a first team
All-American and, according to the 2009 Baseball America Prospect Handbook,
few pitchers entering professional baseball have had better secondary
pitches. So when Baltimore selected Matusz with the fourth-overall pick of
the baseball amateur draft, he was widely considered the best pitcher
available.
“I put myself in a situation to get drafted high and now I’m with the
Orioles,” Matusz said. “And I couldn’t be any luckier. This is a great
place to be and I’m enjoying every day of it.”
After a good showing in the Arizona Fall League, Matusz learned some lessons
about the importance of fastball command with the Frederick Keys of the
High-A Carolina League at the beginning of the 2009 season. He started the
year with a few short outings, but posted a 2.16 ERA through 66 and
two-thirds innings and earned a promotion to the Double-A Bowie Baysox in
June.
“A lot of the guys I’ve faced here (in the Carolina and Eastern Leagues)
are the same guys I faced in college,” Matusz said. “I don’t focus on
competition as much. I focus on what I can do for myself to succeed. It’s no
secret. As a pitcher what you have to do is hit spots. You need to mix it up
and keep guys off balance. It’s making adjustments to the hitters. And I’ve
been lucky to have great catchers like Caleb Joseph and in Frederick and Adam
Donachie in Bowie.”
At the Eastern League All-Star break, Matusz has allowed only 11 hits in 26
and a third innings in Bowie. He has yet to give up a home run and has struck
out 32 batters. Matusz’s dominance earned him a spot in the 2009 Future Game
and the Eastern League’s Pitcher of the Week honors for the week ending July
12.
“You can call all four pitches in any count,” Adam Donachie said after
Matusz’s July 7 start. “The curveball is his out pitch right now, but the
next time he comes out it could be his slider. Even a couple times today he
used his change up. Later he was starting to get a little tired and his
curveball was getting up. So, he went to his change up and it was still right
there.”
Matusz is one of several promising young pitchers who will be vying for a
spot in the Orioles rotation in the coming years. Still, the lanky prospect
knows his performance is all he can control and consistency will get him to
the major leagues.
“It’s just a matter of maintaining,” Matusz said. “The whole point of
this first year is to get that five-day rotation and go deep into the year. I
’m locked in right now. It’s just a matter of time and getting my innings
in.
“Getting to play baseball for a living is the best thing in the world. I
talk to other people and if they’re lucky they’re going to work to sit at a
desk. My job is throwing a baseball and having fun playing a game that I
loved since I was a little kid. It’s an unbelievable opportunity. I think
about it everyday.”
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