THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 20, 1995 TAG: 9505200472
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Two years ago, Randy Marshall took one of the quickest right turns out of baseball you'll ever see. The Tides' only representative in the 1992 International League all-star game, the starting pitcher for the National League affiliates no less, Marshall was released by the New York Mets less than a year later.
He had lost all effectiveness. He had become incredibly hitable, first in Triple-A and then Double-A, to the tune of 80 hits allowed in his first 42 innings in 1993. But this weekend, as he revisits Harbor Park as a Toledo Mud Hen, Marshall is on track to return to the all-star game, if not earn his first trip to the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers.
A 28-year-old lefthander, Marshall is 2-1 with a league-best 1.76 earned-run average. Marshall, whose victories include a 7-0 complete-game victory over the Tides a month ago, has given up only 37 hits in 46 innings and opponents are batting only .227 against him.
``Detroit's coaches have done a good job with him, and you've got to give a lot of credit to Randy for remolding himself and becoming the type of pitcher he can be,'' said Tides pitching coach Bob Apodaca, who was with the Tides when Marshall bottomed out.
``I'm not going to be tough on myself. He was a project for me. I wanted him to make some adjustments, and if I had won (20) games a couple years before, I might have been reluctant to change things, too.''
With the Tides, Marshall physically was the same guy who went a combined 20-2 in two Class-A leagues for the Tigers in 1990. But Apodaca remembers Marshall, a sinkerballer, insisting on keeping the ball high in the strike zone, which Triple-A hitters began to feast upon, even in Marshall's all-star season in '92. Marshall started strongly that year but wound up 7-13 with a 4.04 ERA, and only got worse in '93.
These days, Marshall keeps it consistently low. But mostly he credits a mental change, sparked by a family tragedy, for his reversal and comeback, which included a mediocre 1 1/2 seasons in Triple-A with the Colorado Rockies.
He signed with the Rockies two weeks after his release from the Mets. A few days later, Marshall's younger brother, Greg, 22, was killed when the car he was driving was run off the road by another motorist, never identified, near their home in Ypsilanti, Mich.
``That changed my whole life,'' Marshall said. ``He was my best friend. You always think that happens to somebody else, but when it does happen, it really affects you. It changed me in many ways, forever.''
Marshall said he used to take bad performances harder and let pressure pile up. Today, ``I don't care so much what happens on the field,'' he said. ``I want to do well, and if I don't it upsets me, but I can let it go. I realize there are so many more important things.''
That's a convenient cliche, until Marshall follows up with something that indicates a sincere attitude.
``I love the game, but I can't wait until I'm done playing,'' he said. ``I'm looking forward to the day I can get a regular job and start teaching and coaching and spending time with my wife. I missed a lot of years with my brother. That bothers me. It haunts me.''
The specter of his fade with the Tides, however, has been shaken, almost as suddenly as it arrived. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Randy Marshall, a 28-year-old lefthander, is 2-1 with an
International League-best 1.76 ERA.
by CNB