Remember in Little league when your coach (who was mostly likely your dad or your friend’s dad) called on you to pitch one day, play shortstop the next day, and play catcher the day after that? Those were the days where there was so much flexibility in your roster, where you could almost count on playing a different position every day.
But as boys grow up and work their way through the ranks of the youth baseball hierarchy and into college and professional baseball, the positions become more specialized, and the versatility within a team’s roster is lackluster. Pitchers are only pitchers, infielders are only infielders, catchers are only catchers, and outfielders are only outfielders with the exception of the utility guy who can play multiple positions.
USM junior Grey Goodrich has broken this stereotype though, as he recently made the rare transition from strictly an infielder, to one of the Huskies go-to middle relief pitchers.
Three years ago when Goodrich first arrived on the USM campus, he was scheduled to play shortstop, following a long list of impressive predecessors that have occupied that position for Head Coach Ed Flaherty. Playing his first two years behind 2009 D3baseball.com honorable mention All-American selection and a 36 round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft in Chris Burleson of Portland, it was hard to crack the star-studded lineup for Goodrich.
Still not seeing much of the field in his junior season and after a minor injury where he chipped several teeth off a bad hop at shortstop in a JV game in USM’s annual spring trip to Arizona, Goodrich felt like there must be something he could do to get some playing time. He started messing around with pitches and boom; he became a pivotal member of the Huskies pitching staff.
“I pitched my freshman year in high school and I think one inning in my sophomore year, so it has been awhile since I’ve been on a mound,” Goodrich said. “After I got hurt in Arizona I wasn’t really playing at all so I knew I had to do something to get myself back on the field. I started fooling around in the bullpen in between games and I think Coach Prince saw me and mentioned it to Coach Flaherty. Towards the end of our trip they had me throw an inning and thought I could help out so I stuck with it.”
Since first appearing on the mound for the Huskies, Goodrich has contributed greatly for a rookie pitcher and can only get better. He has pitched six innings in seven games surrendering seven hits, six runs, and has struck out four while earning his first collegiate win on April 14 when he pitched two solid innings in an 11-7 comeback victory over Colby College. The right hander provides USM with another arm for those middle innings, and is up for any challenge presented to him as he’s adopted that one-on-one mentality that many pitchers possess.
“I mean who wouldn’t want to throw the ball as hard as they can at someone? It’s you against the other guy. I already was familiar with all the signs from playing infield for two years and Coach (Kevin) Smith is a great coach and has helped me out with the mindset of being a pitcher. I feel more in control on the mound than I do when I’m playing in the field,” Goodrich said.
The Amesbury, Mass. native, who has always been known for his strong throwing arm at shortstop, has brought something to his approach on the mound that gives opposing hitters a frustrated feeling. He uses a side-arm, somewhat submarine style of pitching that masks the ball so it’s harder for hitters to see when he delivers to the plate. This unique style that Goodrich slings across his body allows for greater velocity as well.
“When I first started pitching I didn’t feel like I was throwing hard enough over the top to be effective,” Goodrich said. “I wanted to get as much of an advantage over the hitter as I possibly could and not many hitters see the ball well when it’s coming at them from that angle so I decided to go with it. I think playing shortstop for so long helped too because shortstops use all kinds of arm angles when throwing to first.”
The addition of Goodrich to an already solid pitching staff, with 10 pitchers returning including Ben Ives (Portland), Nick Hahn (Guilford, Conn.), Joe Curran (Arlington, Mass.), and Mike Eaton (Sabattus) who will all be seniors, will make USM tough to hit in 2011.
For now, Goodrich will keep putting in his work on the mound so that he can contribute as a middle-reliever for the entire year next year, and help continue USM’s reputation as one of the top Division III baseball programs in the nation.