Steve Sparks is an efficient storyteller, which serves him nicely within the broadcast sales space. Now in his 14th season working alongside Robert Ford, Sparks types one half of a Houston Astros radio workforce that ranks among the many greatest within the enterprise. He used to throw knuckleballs for a residing. Pitching for 5 groups from 1995-2004, primarily the Detroit Tigers, the 61-year-old Tulsa, Oklahoma native took the mound 270 occasions to the tune of a 59-76 won-lost file and a 4.88 ERA. All informed, he confronted 626 totally different batters over 1,319 2/3 innings of labor.
How nicely does he bear in mind his more-notable matchups? Following within the footsteps of Geoff Blum, David Cone, Mark Grant, Mark Gubicza, Jeff Montgomery, and Dan Petry — hyperlinks to these items might be discovered on their participant pages — Sparks sat down for the seventh installment of our Difficult Profession Quiz.
I started by asking which batter he confronted essentially the most occasions.
“It could most likely must be any individual within the American League Central,” replied Sparks, whom I spoke with at Fenway Park in early Might. “I’ll say Frank Thomas.”
His guess was spot on. Sparks confronted Thomas 60 occasions, with “The Large Damage” going 13-for-49 with three dwelling runs, 9 walks, and a pair of plunkings. His reminiscences of the Corridor of Famer?
“I had the impression that he couldn’t attain the skin nook,” Sparks informed me. “I felt like if I needed to go someplace, throwing a fastball or a cutter, I may go away to Frank Thomas. I came upon in a short time that I used to be mistaken. He was to this point off the plate that I didn’t suppose he may attain it. However he may.
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“What an entire hitter he was,” Sparks added. “We see it loads with Yordan Alvarez now. He’s not only a slugger by any means. He’s an on-base machine and a slugger.”
Requested who was an in depth second to Thomas in variety of plate appearances towards him, the knuckleballer-turned-broadcaster guessed Jim Thome. He wasn’t too far off — he confronted the left-handed masher 52 occasions — however the appropriate reply is Omar Vizquel, whom he confronted 59 occasions.
“I don’t suppose I did very nicely towards him,” Sparks stated. “With me throwing the knuckleball, that sort of hitter had fairly a little bit of success. They didn’t get huge; they stayed inside themselves and went the opposite method. Vizquel most likely did fairly nicely towards me.”
That wasn’t essentially the case. The defensively gifted shortstop fanned simply twice, but in addition went a nothing-special 14-for-56 (.250) with a lone stroll.
Knowledgeable that two gamers are tied for the dignity of getting essentially the most hits towards him, with 16 every, Sparks requested in the event that they each performed within the AL Central. I informed him that one did, whereas the opposite didn’t. His non-AL Central guess, Derek Jeter (15-for-36), was a close to miss. The proper solutions are Alex Rodriguez (16-for-38) and Ray Durham (16-for-52).
“That doesn’t shock me,” Sparks stated of Durham, who was a Chicago White Sox stalwart for eight seasons. “I performed towards him loads in Triple-A, too, and he had method. He was a type of guys that didn’t attempt to pull the baseball. He would go together with it, however when he noticed it elevated, he would make go and go within the different path.”
The opposite half of the reply wasn’t one thing that Sparks anticipated.
“Actually?” he responded upon listening to Rodriguez’s identify. “That surprises me. I recall having actually good success towards him early on, though I do keep in mind that a little bit afterward he began attempting to take the ball up the center, relatively than attempting to tug me.
“He truly broke my finger one time,” Sparks added. “I feel we had been in Seattle. He hit a one-hopper that I reached for and broke the ring finger on my naked hand. It’s nonetheless bent. I didn’t miss any time, although. My subsequent begin was towards Oakland they usually shot me with some drugs earlier than the sport to kill the ache. I don’t bear in mind precisely how I did, but it surely was a no-decision.
My apples-to-oranges point out of an notorious Dock Ellis sport elicited amusing. “It was a unique medicine,” Sparks replied.
After first guessing Thome, Sparks appropriately named A-Rod because the participant to whom he surrendered essentially the most gophers. One of many 5 is particularly memorable.
“I didn’t have very many good video games once I was in Arizona, however I bear in mind having have one towards the Yankees,” stated Sparks, who allowed one run over seven innings that day. “I pitched nicely, however A-Rod hit one of many furthest dwelling runs ever at that stadium. Again then it was Financial institution One Ballpark, ‘The Bob.’ It’s all my son saved speaking about within the elevator once we bought to the parking storage after the sport: How far was that dwelling run? Gary Sheffield was within the elevator with us, and he was laughing. We’d beat them, however A-Rod hit that bomb.”
Sparks confronted 29 totally different batters 35 or extra occasions. Of them, who had the bottom OPS? In different phrases, which batter did he personal?
“I didn’t personal anyone,” responded Sparks. “However I’ll guess Greg Norton.”
That certified because the erstwhile hurler’s largest miss. He confronted Norton simply 11 occasions, with the switch-hitter going 3-for-7 with a double and 4 walks. The proper reply is Rafael Palmeiro, who went simply 3-for-33 with a .586 OPS.
“I feel that was most likely only a coincidence,” Sparks stated of his success towards Palmeiro. “I bear in mind having a reasonably good sport towards Baltimore, and a few good video games towards Texas, however I feel it simply relied on whether or not or not I had knuckleball. If these days coincided with dealing with Palmeiro, so be it. When you’ve got one, it doesn’t actually matter who it’s, to be sincere with you.”
Then once more, there are, as he’d talked about earlier, higher methods to method a knuckleball pitcher. Taking the ball the opposite method is only one of them.
“I’ll let you know what one of the best method was,” stated Sparks. “I used to speak to Tim Wakefield about it. The fellows who bought on prime of dwelling plate, as shut as they might, toes on the chalk, made you steer the ball away from them, since you didn’t wish to hit them and provides them a free base. That took away one aspect of the plate and usually bought them higher pitches to hit. You’d form of get across the ball by steering it that method, which turned the pitch into form of a nasty slider.”
“A number of it’s the kind of swings,” he additional opined. “Some hitters had swings that had been longer, and that performed nicely towards the knuckleball’s path and pace. And it’s humorous, generally it was catchers who had success towards me. Ron Karkovice [3-for-10 with two home runs]. Tony Peña [3-for-10 with a double]. That they had a had swing for that pitch.”
One hitter specifically owned him, going a preposterous 9-for-12 with a double, a house run, and a stroll. Requested if he knew who that was, Sparks initially guessed Paul Molitor (8-for-16 with a pair of two-baggers and a stroll), solely to then nail the right reply: Troy O’Leary.
“Rafael Devers truly jogs my memory of him,” Sparks stated of the left-handed-hitting outfielder, who performed seven of his 11 season with the Pink Sox. “His physique language. However he was considered one of my favourite teammates within the minors [with the Brewers]. We bought alongside very well. He most likely simply had a variety of confidence dealing with me. He was in temper and let it fly.”
Or maybe these had been video games the place his knuckleball merely wasn’t excellent?
“I don’t know,” stated Sparks. “Perhaps I used to be throwing extra fastballs. I threw extra fastballs than most knuckleball pitchers.”
