In First Person
Choptalk, June 1998 Issue
I really didn�t think I�d be here this fast. I thought if I came up at all, it would be in the middle of season or late.
I was hoping to make the team out of spring training, but when I got to thinking about it, it was an obvious choice for Bobby (Cox) and Leo (Mazzone) to go with Kerry (Ligtenberg) and Mike Cather and the others. Even though they needed another lefthander, I couldn�t see them going with a guy who never had any big league time. Kerry and Mike pitched so well last year, they really had no choice but to send me down.
I pitched pretty well down there (Richmond). I think I gave up three earned runs in 20 innings and struck out something like 25. Guys on the team were telling me, �Any day now, you�re outta here�, or �You�ll be gone in a week�. I told them to save it. Then (Mark) Wohlers got hurt and I knew they needed another guy, so that�s when I thought I might have a chance of going up.
I still feel confident. A lot of coaches say that when a guy comes up, he feels like he has to do something special to prove he belongs. There was nothing I could do different here than I did in Triple-A. I was throwing my fastball for strikes, I was moving it around, and throwing breaking balls for strikes. The first thing Leo told me when I got here was, �Don�t do anything different�.
I was consistent at Richmond. If I had been a little inconsistent, I would have had some doubts. But I was consistent there and I�m still confident here.
The first night I pitched here, I didn�t feel really comfortable. I didn�t feel like I could concentrate. There are just so many emotions; it�s your major league debut and there�s a lot of hoopla. It�s a big day and you�re trying to settle down. The second night, I was able to think my way through it and push aside some of the emotion. I had never pitched in front of a crowd that big, so I tried to focus on things that were the same in any game: 60 feet to the plate, the mound, throwing strikes.
I�m from Macon, so I�ve had some family and friends here at the ballpark. My parents and two best friends have been here and my high school coaches. My aunt and uncle live here and have season tickets.
It�s been a big week because, growing up in Macon, I was an Atlanta Braves fan. I was a big Dale Murphy fan. I liked Claudell Washington and Glenn Hubbard. And I really liked Bob Horner � I was there the night he hit four home runs. I still have the program from that game.
People say they are Atlanta Braves fans. Well, maybe they have been in the �90s. I was a Braves fan during the dog days of 50 wins a season. I was there when I was six or seven years old and Bruce Benedict would get introduced and the fans would yell �Bruuuuuuce�. It sounded like boos, and I�d ask my dad, �Why are they booing him? He�s on our team�. I�ve been a Braves fan since I can remember. Just to wear this uniform is special.
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