THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608300809
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 101 lines
When the Kansas City Royals wanted to send Mike Fyhrie to Double-A this spring and move him to the bullpen, Fyhrie asked to be traded and the Royals granted his wish.
But before Fyhrie left Kansas City's spring training complex headed for the Norfolk Tides, Royals minor league director Bob Hegman told him, ``You know Mike, you have big-league stuff. You just need a breakthrough year.''
Does a 15-6 record and a 3.07 earned run average qualify?
Fyhrie was named International League most valuable pitcher today, marking the second consecutive season in which a Norfolk Tide - Jason Isringhausen won it last year - garnered the award. Fyhrie leads the league in victories and earned run average and if he finishes the season leading in both categories, he'd be the first to do so since Rochester's Dennis Martinez in 1976.
Two other Tides - relief pitcher Derek Wallace and second baseman Jason Hardtke - have also been named to the 1996 International League All-Star team chosen by IL managers and the media.
Wallace, called up to the New York Mets two weeks ago, was 5-2 with a 1.72 earned run average and 26 saves. Hardtke, who didn't join the Tides until mid-May and missed a month with a knee injury, was hitting .316 with 8 home runs and 33 runs batted in prior to Wednesday's game in Pawtucket. He has committed just five errors.
Fyhrie concludes that Harbor Park, with its expansive outfield and pitcher-friendly winds, has something to do with his success.
``I was in Omaha the last year and a half, and it was just the opposite, a hitter's park all the way,'' Fyhrie, 26, said. ``Balls flew out of that place.
``You pitch in a place like this and you're not afraid to throw a fastball on a 3-1 or 2-0 count. I don't know what my stats are, but I know they're better at home than on the road. This park allows a guy to build some confidence, then you can take that confidence on the road.''
Fyhrie is 8-5 with a 2.45 earned run average when pitching at Harbor Park. On the road, he has a 4.15 earned run average, but an even better 7-1 record.
In August alone, Fyhrie is 5-0 with a 2.04 earned run average.
It's a good thing he's built up the confidence to pitch on the road, for he is slated to pitch Game 3 of the Tides' five-game playoff series with the Columbus Clippers. Should the Clippers hold on to first place in the IL West Division, Game 3 would be in Columbus.
``You wouldn't have thought I'd be in this position in April,'' said Fyhrie, who pitched collegiately at UCLA. ``I certainly wasn't thinking about winning 13 games or 15 games or whatever. Heck, this pitching staff was thrown together so late that at the banquet to introduce the team, (then Tides manager) Bobby Valentine could hardly pronounce my name.''
It rhymes with fear me, but that's not the approach Fyhrie takes. There's no 95 mile-per-hour fastball here. Just four quality pitches that work their way all over the strike zone and sometimes beyond.
``My out pitch? Whatever's working,'' Fyhrie said. ``I struck out a season-high 10 in Syracuse and six or seven of them were looking on fastballs. Other nights I can get strikeouts on the curve. But I don't have a go-to pitch, nothing overpowering. What I do is change speeds pretty good and then throw a fastball out of the zone a bit and make 'em chase it.''
Fyhrie wonders if any teams will chase him in the offseason.
``Maybe somebody likes what they see and takes me in the Rule V draft,'' Fyhrie said.
The Rule V minor league draft allows a major league team to pick up a player who has played three full years as a pro but is not protected on a 40-man roster. This is Fyhrie's fifth full season in the pros.
The team that takes the player, however, must keep him on the major league roster for the entire season and pay the player's previous organization $50,000.
Otherwise, the team loses the player and the player's previous organization can buy him back for $25,000.
``I'd like to think I have a chance at being added to the Mets' 40-man roster,'' Fyhrie said. ``But with the young starting pitching the Mets have right now, mine is not the best situation. I can only hope for a chance.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot
In need of a breakthrough season, Mike Fyhrie has responded with a
15-6 record and a 3.07 ERA to earn league most valuable pitcher
honors.
Photos
Virginian-Pilot file
Jason Hardtke, top, gave Norfolk punch rare in a 2nd baseman, and
Derek Wallace, above, turned into a solid closer. They join Mike
Fyhrie on the IL All-Star team.
Graphic
IL ALL-STAR TEAM
Catcher Jorge Posada, Columbus
First base Ivan Cruz, Columbus
Second base Jason Hardtke, Norfolk
Third base Phil Hiatt, Toledo
Shortstop Clay Bellinger, Rochester
Outfield Rudy Pemberton, Pawtucket
Outfield Billy McMillon, Charlotte
Outfield Phil Clark, Pawtucket
Designated hitter Jerry Brooks, Charlotte
Starting pitcher Mike Fyhrie, Norfolk
Relief pitcher Derek Wallace, Norfolk by CNB