By: Mike Holzheimer
What does it take to become a productive baseball pitcher at any level?
One seeking to find an answer to such a question needs to look no further than watching the efforts day in and day out of the Cleveland Indians’ Corey Kluber. If an illustration were to accompany the definition of consistent within the pages of Webster’s Dictionary, it would have to be a picture of Kluber.
The Tribe’s ace and two-time Cy Young Award winner is a true study of calm and steady nerves with the appropriate temperament each time he toes the rubber. Kluber is a craftsman, a surgeon, if you will, when he goes to the mound attacking a hitter’s weakness selecting the perfect pitch to deliver to the plate in just the right situation.
His assortment of pitches results in many opposing batters scratching their heads as they head back to the dugout having failed again to figure out the offerings of Cleveland’s two-time American League all-star, who yearly ranks among MLB’s best in terms of earned run average. Kluber spots pitches better than anybody in baseball. His fastball moves so well, batters simply cannot time the speed to the plate, while his off-speed pitches have hitters so out front, it appears as if they started their swing 30 minutes ago.
The Kluber slider and cutter are two of his better pitches amongst his awesome arsenal of choices. The cutter has batters ducking away from what appears to be a ball headed for their ribcage; then they watch as the ball breaks back to practically split the middle of home plate usually resulting in another called third strike. And all the batter can do is ask “what just happened’?
Such hitters are not alone as Kluber leaves many a man stepping inside the batter’s box slightly confused, and certainly very frustrated. There is no confusion or debate, however, as to the mastery of Kluber-the numbers prove that.
Following Wednesday’s victory over the Texas Rangers, Kluber’s career won-loss record elevated to 81-49 and an E.RA of 3.09, while his innings pitched (1,143.1) strikeouts (1,254) and walks surrendered (252) are true eye-opening accomplishments. These are the numbers any starting pitcher would take on his career resume, and certainly they are stats many starting pitchers can only dream about.
Last season, Kluber was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for September, the fourth such award for the Tribe’s No. 1 starter in 2017. His 5-0 record and 0.84 E.RA plus 50 strikeouts cemented such an honor.
Kluber was a fourth-round draft choice of the San Diego Padres in the 2007 June Amateur Draft from Stetson University (DeLand, Fl.), and made his major league debut against the Oakland Athletics on Sept. 1, 2011 at the age of 25. He was traded to Cleveland by San Diego in a three-team deal involving the St. Louis Cardinals with the Tribe sending Jake Westbrook to the Cardinals and outfielder Ryan Ludwick to the Padres. San Diego sent pitcher Nick Greenwood to St. Louis with Cleveland paying $2.7 million of Westbrook’s remaining salary. I’d say Cleveland made out on that deal.
And speaking of deals, the Cleveland front office will have a major decision to make regarding its star player very soon. Kluber is signed through 2019 with a team option for 2020-2021. In my mind, and in the mind of most baseball experts, or simply those with solid vision, there is no decision to make here-you sign Kluber. Andrew Miller and Cody Allen will also have options coming soon. And while baseball economics would suggest the Tribe can’t sign all three, and they probably won’t, it is fairly safe to assume that when the time comes, a pen and contract will be put in front of Kluber at the signing table.
Pitchers like Kluber just don’t come around that often. His talent speaks for itself but his demeanor is so perfect for a baseball pitcher. The next time Kluber takes the mound, watch closely and don’t watch the scoreboard. One would never be able to tell by Kluber’s facial expressions and body language that his team is winning or losing. And that is the trademark of a big league pitcher in that you never let them see you sweat. So much of the game is mental, and you can’t show negative emotions to the opponent because that’s when they know they’ve got you.
“It’s a treat that we get to watch Corey Kluber every fifth day,” SportsTime Ohio and former Tribe outfielder Rick Manning said, during a recent broadcast.
I couldn’t agree more. It is a joy and a treat to watch an artist at work. Kluber is a painter who creates portraits of near perfection with every starting assignment. Tribe fans can only hope that such art exhibitions will remain on display at Progressive Field in the many baseball seasons to come.
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