Few places in Bradenton are more aptly named than Ball Park Deli & Sub Shop, located a short fly ball away from McKechnie Field, which is the spring home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the summer home of the Bradenton Marauders, the Pirates' high Single-A team.
Ball Park became a haven for me of sorts during the summer of 2010, when I started chronicling the Marauders' inaugural season.
My routine went like this: I'd head to the Marauders clubhouse at around 5, get my interviews, grab a spot in the press box, grab a sub from Ball Park (which closed at 6) and spend the rest of the night working on a feature while working my way through a scrumptious sub the length and width of a baseball bat.
It was a good plan. It worked.
Then along came Jeff Locke.
I was covering the Marauders the night after Armando Galarraga, pitching for the Detroit Tigers at the time, came within an out of tossing a perfect game before he was done in on a blown call by first-base umpire Jim Joyce.
As galling as it was for fans to watch Galarraga's quest for greatness get snatched away so unfairly, I figured it was more so for a fellow pitcher, who knows how hard it is to get three professional hitters out in a row, let alone 27.
It was about 5:30 or so when the Marauders' pitchers finished their stretching and tossing and began making their way back into the clubhouse to grab some dinner.
The first guy I saw was Locke, which was good, because not only was he one of the better pitchers on the staff (he went 9-3 that year before a promotion to Double-A Altoona), but he was one of the few guys I hadn't talked to.
So I made my way over and we started chatting. Off the bat, he was one of the nicest and most articulate people I have interviewed.
Lots of eye contact, lots of good answers. This wasn't a guy spouting out a bunch of yes and no answers - he and his teammates watched Galaragga's shot at history get wiped away by a mistake, and Locke, who had never met Galaragga, was hurting for him.
“It’s sad, it’s shocking,” Locke told me that night. “Honestly, as a pitcher, you’re speechless.”
Turns out, Locke lost two no-hitters in the seventh inning twice the season before against the Salem Red Sox, but considered himself lucky because he lost them on clean hits rather than close calls.
“It’s wacky how you can do that — 27 up, 27 down,” Locke said.
“Especially because the major-league strike zone is like a postage
stamp. It’s tough to throw strikes over that plate and not have
professional baseball players hit them.”
We spoke for awhile, after which I thanked Locked for his time and made my way out of the clubhouse. Then I noticed the time: It was 5:55. No way I'd make it to Ball Park in time. Jeff Locke had been such a good interview he forced me to alter my dinner plans.
But I really didn't care. I got a pretty decent
column out of it, and, most importantly, a better understanding of Locke.
As I write this, the Pirates are 51-30 and owners of baseball's best record. And Locke, who won a spot in the rotation this spring, has been a revelation, posting a 7-1 record and 2.06 ERA in 16 starts.
Maybe the Pirates will ride this wave all the way into the postseason for the first time since 1992. And maybe Locke will get to pitch in a playoff game. If he does, I'll be sure to watch. And while my diet is much better now than it was three years ago, I may have to celebrate the moment with a sub from Ball Park.
I just have to remember to get there before 6.
Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2010/06/04/2335350/pitchers-from-bradenton-to-detroit.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2010/06/04/2335350/pitchers-from-bradenton-to-detroit.html#storylink=cpy
