special section, phillies, march 31, 2011, phila. inquirer

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The InquirerThursday, March 31, 2011★ Section G

By Daniel I. DorfmanFOR THE INQUIRER

J im Palmer remembers whenhe first got to Baltimore inthe late 1960s, and his work-

out routine was limited to run-ning from foul line to foul lineand around in circles in the out-field.“We were naive,” Palmer

said. “Nobody did any kind ofrotator cuff work. I didn’t doanything like that until 1976,after I had won 20 games fiveor six times.”Palmer, the most famous of

the Orioles quartet of pitchersthat in 1971 became the last ro-tation to have four 20-gamewinners, may not have had theexercise regimen that Philliesace Roy Halladay does today.But he knew it was important

to keep his legs strong.“We ran foul line to foul line,

and we played long catch, andwe did our long toss off themound,” Palmer said. “We wouldcome out of batting practice ear-ly, and we would do a power shagwhere we would run around inthe outfield. We ran like mani-acs.”In those days, Palmer said,

most pitchers did not work outwith weights, and he describedsports medicine as being in the“dark ages.” He said that doctorsand trainers most often took cor-rective measures, and knew littleabout the preventive proceduresthat keep pitchers in shape to-day.“It wasn’t that they didn’t want

to be proactive,” Palmer said ofthe training staff. “They justdidn’t have the knowledge.”It was from some of his fellow

pitchers that Palmer said he gotsome of his best conditioning ad-vice.In 1974, Palmer went 7-12 as

injuries limited him to 26games. But the next season hewas back to form, and at the1975 All-Star Game in Milwau-kee Palmer was discussing con-ditioning in the bullpen withMike Marshall, who had wonthe Cy Young Award the yearbefore.“He was talking about how he

threw the screwball and howhe used his arm,” Palmer said.Marshall told Palmer that cer-tain pitches, such as the screw-ball, generated less stress onthe arm and could lengthen acareer.“It made a lot of sense,” Palm-

er said.Palmer said he also picked up

a conditioning tip from formerPhillies great Steve Carlton.“He had these ball bearings

that he used in his hands andwould work his flexors and ten-ders, which are the muscles thatlead into your elbow,” Palmersaid. “So I started carrying thosein my bag, and I used them tobuild up my elbow.”On his way to 268 wins and

three Cy Young Awards, Palmersaid he also used his pride as amotivator.“I didn’t want anyone to be in

better shape than I was,” hesaid, “so that is how we got inshape.”


N o one doubts that the wordschallenge and expectationsare going to be constants

with the Phillies rotation this sea-son. But Jim Palmer said the staffshould concern itself only with 2011and not where it ranks in the histo-ry books.“The challenges and expectations

are not that different if they areindividuals or if they are together,”Palmer said. “One of the great chal-lenges for all of us is that everyyear you write a new chapter inyour book. The challenge is, can Ibe as good as I was last year?”Being as good as last year was

something that Palmer and Roy Hal-laday discussed in 2004. Halladaywas coming off his first Cy YoungAward, in 2003, but was strugglingthe following season. So he wentand talked with Palmer, who hasbeen a broadcaster since his Hall ofFame career ended.Palmer said Halladay told him

that his goal for that year was sev-en innings and three runs per start.“He told me he forgot about the

process of getting there,” Palmersaid. “You forget about the pitch-ing, that you are only as good asyour next start. There are so manynuances in pitching, such as gettingstrike one. It was something I hadlearned, but it was a reminder thatthere is a process to being great.”Halladay wound up going 8-8 in

2004, but he has since had sixstraight seasons of brilliance andnow finds himself as a starter in arotation that could rival the groupEarl Weaver was able to throw atthe American League 40 years ago.In 1971, the Baltimore Orioles

quartet of Palmer, Mike Cuellar, PatDobson, and Dave McNally becamethe last starting rotation to havefour 20-game winners. In this ageof five-man rotations and relianceon the bullpen, it is hard to believethere will ever be another one.Their respective numbers had

McNally leading the staff with 21

wins, and Palmer, Dobson and Cuel-lar all having 20. They led Balti-more to the American League pen-nant before the Orioles lost to thePittsburgh Pirates in a seven-gameWorld Series.“We were all different,” Palmer

said of that Orioles staff. “Dobsonwas a free spirit who changedspeeds with the best of them. Hecould get you out two or three dif-ferent ways. He was fun-loving.“Cuellar had a screwball, which

wasn’t used all that much in themajor leagues at the time. But Iwas surprised how hard he threwit. He was a Crazy Horse, and that

was what we called him. People for-get how good Mike Cuellar was.”Palmer described McNally as the

silent one. “He was a tenacious guyand really stubborn. He won 20games four times. When I was in-jured I would sit in the stands andwatched him, and I learned how topitch.”As for the Phillies, Palmer is im-

pressed.“On paper these guys are going

to be fabulous,” he said. “There isgreat comfort on being on a stafflike that.”One guy could have a bad night,

he said, but the chances of a longlosing streak are small.Palmer also said he expected

some individual competitionamong the four aces, even if no oneadmits it.“The way [the 1971 Orioles] went

about it was that I didn’t want themto fail,” Palmer said of his pitchingmates. “I wanted them to succeed.That is what winning teams are allabout. I just wanted to do betterthan them. Not by them failing.“The Phillies … are all going to

push each other, and they will notcome out and say it. I never said Iwanted to be better than the otherguys when I pitched. But that iswhat I was thinking.”

For Palmer and the O’s,it was all about running

Palmer understood theimportance of keeping hislegs strong. “We ran like

maniacs.”

Birds were the last to boast four 20-game winners

Associated Press“We were all different,” Jim Palmer said of himself and his rotation mates.

Halladay by the Numbers

Fastball37.4%

Cutter: 34.2%Curveball:

16.9%

Changeup:

11.5%

SOURCE: FanGraphs

2010 Pitch Type

Career Pitch TypeFastball50.7%

Other1.0%

Cutter: 20.0%Curveball:

23.3%

Changeup:

5.0%

Notables7-time All-Star

Stamina: He threw the mostcomplete games in the AL in2003, ’05, ’07, ’08, and ’09 —and the most in the NL in 2010.

2003 AL Cy Young: Blue Jays

2010 NL Cy Young: Phillies

May 29, 2010: He pitchedthe 20th perfect game inMLB history.

Oct. 6, 2010: He pitched thesecond no-hitter in postseasonhistory, becoming the fifthplayer ever to throw multipleno-hitters in a single season.

Toughest Matchups

G Games played, GS Games started, CG Complete games, SHO Shutouts, IP Innings pitched,H Hits allowed, HR Home runs allowed, BB Walks, SO Strikeouts, BF Batters facedCareer Statistics

Year Team W L W-L% ERA G GS CG SHO IP H HR BB SO SO/9

1998 TOR 1 0 1.000 1.93 2 2 1 0 14.0 9 2 2 13 8.4

1999 TOR 8 7 .533 3.92 36 18 1 1 149.1 156 19 79 82 4.9

2000 TOR 4 7 .364 10.64 19 13 0 0 67.2 107 14 42 44 5.9

2001 TOR 5 3 .625 3.16 17 16 1 1 105.1 97 3 25 96 8.2

2002 TOR 19 7 .731 2.93 34 34 2 1 239.1 223 10 62 168 6.3

2003 TOR 22 7 .759 3.25 36 36 9 2 266.0 253 26 32 204 6.9

2004 TOR 8 8 .500 4.2 21 21 1 1 133.0 140 13 39 95 6.4

2005 TOR 12 4 .750 2.41 19 19 5 2 141.2 118 11 18 108 6.9

2006 TOR 16 5 .762 3.19 32 32 4 0 220.0 208 19 34 132 5.4

2007 TOR 16 7 .696 3.71 31 31 7 1 225.1 232 15 48 139 5.6

2008 TOR 20 11 .645 2.78 34 33 9 2 246.0 220 18 39 206 7.5

2009 TOR 17 10 .630 2.79 32 32 9 4 239.0 234 22 35 208 7.8

2010 PHI 21 10 .677 2.44 33 33 9 4 250.2 231 24 30 219 7.9

Total 169 86 .663 3.32 346 320 58 19 2,297.1 2,228 196 485 1,714 6.7

David Ortiz

Lifetime vs. Halladay:27 for 99, 6 doubles,6 HRs, 24 RBIs,7 walks, 16 Ks.

Ortiz namedHalladay the mostdifficult of the Philliesfour aces he has ever faced.

“I have had a lot of bad at-batsagainst Doc,” he said. “Doc, hemakes your life impossible. He has somany angles he throws the damn ballthat it’s ridiculous.”

Told of Ortiz’s comment, Halladaylaughed.

“I can remember quite a few timeswhen he liked [the different angles],”he said. “You never wanted to facehim after the sixth inning.”

Mike Lowell

Lifetime vs. Halladay:7 for 30, 3 HRs,9 RBIs, 1 walk, 7 Ks.

Lowell’s .233 careeraverage certainly isnothing special, butfor some reason thethird baseman’s 2007 season stuck inHalladay’s mind.

“That one year when he was with theRed Sox and he was the World SeriesMVP, he was as good as anybody Ihad ever seen,” Halladay said. “I justcouldn’t get him out.”

Actually, Halladay got Lowell out quitefrequently that year. The Red Sox thirdbaseman went only 3 for 13 againsthim. Two of those hits were home runs.

The good news for Halladay if hefaces the Red Sox during a Juneinterleague series is that Lowell is nolonger with the team. The bad news:The Boston lineup is more loadedthan ever.

— Bob Brookover

WILFREDO LEE / Associated Press

Roy Halladay celebrates his perfect game with Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard — a 1-0 victory over the Marlins in Miami.

Pitcher W-L ERA CG SHO IP BB K

Dave McNally 21-5 2.89 11 1 224.1 58 91

Pat Dobson 20-8 2.90 18 4 282.1 63 187

Jim Palmer 20-9 2.68 20 3 282.0 106 84

Mike Cuellar 20-9 3.08 21 4 292.0 78 124

The 1971OriolesStartingRotation

McNally Dobson Palmer Cuellar

Halladay vs. PalmerFirst 13 seasons (Palmer from1965 to 1978)*

Halladay Stat Palmer

2 Cy Young Awards 3

.663 W-L% .650

3.32 ERA 2.63

346 Games 424

320 Games started 398

58 Complete games 187

19 Shutouts 51

2,297.1 Innings pitched 3,119.2

2,228 Hits 2,547

944 Runs 1,015

848 Earned runs 911

196 Home runs 216

485 Walks 1,049

1,714 Strikeouts 1,860

6.7 Strikeouts per9 innings

5.4

G2 B www.philly.com THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Thursday, March 31, 2011

By Bob BrookoverINQUIRER STAFF WRITER

H arvey Dorfman’s contribu-tions to Roy Halladay’srise from a strugglingyoung starter with the

Toronto Blue Jays to the bestpitcher in baseball have been welldocumented.

The Mental ABC’s of Pitching, abook authored by the recentlydeceased Dorfman, became Halla-day’s baseball bible, a how-tocourse on narrowing focus inorder to maximize performance.Less well known are the influ-

ences of Carlos Delgado, a formerbig-league slugger, and swimmerMichael Phelps, the most decorat-ed Olympic athlete in history.While Dorfman became Halla-

day’s mental guru, Delgado andPhelps made less direct contribu-tions to the meticulous prepara-tion the ace of the Phillies acesgoes through between each start.As a young pitcher with the

Blue Jays, Halladay noticed thatDelgado kept a book on eachpitcher he faced in an effort tocatalog what he might be seeingon a particular night.“It was amazing how he could

go back and really have an ideaof what his at-bat was going to belike just by looking at his paststuff,” Halladay said. “I saw that,and decided I should start keep-

ing better track of the hitters.”Phelps’ role in Halladay’s rou-

tine is entirely indirect, and itbegins immediately after the right-hander throws his final pitch in agame. Known for his enduranceon the mound — Halladay has ledthe majors in complete gamesfive of the last eight years — thepitcher grew interested in theworkouts of two of the world’sgreatest athletes.“I started reading some things a

few years ago, and LanceArmstrong had a lot of interestingideas. But the one I really addedto my workouts was from MichaelPhelps,” Halladay said. “He’d talkabout how he would go out anddo all these races and as soon ashe was done he’d go out andswim laps in the pool. He saidthat really was the only reason hewas able to go out and do allthose races in the Olympics.“It made sense. All of a sudden

you shut your body down afterthis intense activity, and if youcompletely shut it down, youaren’t really helping yourself starta recovery process.”Halladay, 33, obviously cannot go

find another place to pitch to hittersonce he is done working. Instead,he logs miles on a stationary bike.The fact that Halladay’s prepara-

tion for his next start begins assoon as his previous start is over

explains a lot about why he hasbecome baseball’s premier pitcher.You don’t lead your league ininnings pitched four times, win 20games three times and the CyYoung Award twice by going atthings half-heartedly.Halladay has each day of his

baseball life mapped out, startingin spring training when he wakesup at 4 a.m. and is almost alwaysthe first to arrive at Bright HouseField.

“It’s just the way I like doingit,” Halladay said. “I found outearly in my career that I’d go outand do all my stuff on the field,and there were times when I’dcome in and I lost the ambition todo all the things I needed to getdone. I’d just as soon go fishingor golfing, because we didn’t haveto be there after the workout wasover. I just felt like if I could getin and get my stuff done, it’s amore quality workout and then atthe end of the day I’m done.”During the season, each day

between starts has a specific planand purpose for Halladay.The day after his start, for ex-

ample, he goes through extensiveleg and cardio workouts.“The legs, especially that day,

are really important becausethat’s what I work on more in-tensely than anything else,” Halla-day said.Two days after a start, Halladay

goes through an upper-body work-out and his bullpen session.Halladay’s bullpen focus and

intensity vary based on the timeof year and how he is feeling.“During the season, I think it’s

just body awareness,” he said.“You’re working on your mechan-ics and making sure you feelcomfortable with what you’redoing. You’re not real worriedabout your location or what your

pitches are doing.”Two days before a start, Halla-

day turns his workout attentionback to his feet and legs. “I do alot of agility and foot-quicknessdrills and some sort of light legexercises,” he said.Halladay also starts studying

the video and print library of thehitters he will be facing in hisnext start.The studying continues the day

of his actual start, which is theone day Halladay typically doesnot beat his teammates to theballpark.“When you’re out there and you

have your plan established withyour catcher, then you just reallystart going with what he’s doing,”he said. “Situations do come upwhere you may think, ‘I saw this,and this is what we talked about,so let’s do this here.’ But after Italk to Carlos [Ruiz] — especiallywith him, because he has beengreat — I don’t feel like I have tosit there and do this on a certainpitch or that on another pitch. Ican let him call the game.”It was a combination that led to

perfection, a Cy Young Award,and so many other special mo-ments a year ago.

Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at215-854-2577 [email protected].

Plan and PurposeRoy Halladay’s meticulous preparation involves taking cues from an ex-teammate and a famous Olympian.

Photo illustration by DAVID SWANSON

YONG KIM / Staff PhotographerAs soon as one start ends, Halladaybegins preparing for the next.

www.philly.com B G3THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRERThursday, March 31, 2011


A s the Atlanta Braves went ontheir remarkable run of 14straight division titles from 1991

to 2005, three names stood out as thecornerstone of that era: Greg Mad-dux, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine.So as the Phillies prepare to take

the field in 2011, Glavine recalledwhat it was like to pitch in a rotationof superstars, and he concedes it wasnot pleasant at times.“It gets aggravating. It gets to be a

pain in the neck sometimes,” Glavinesaid. “As a player you just want to goout there and play. But the expecta-tions from their [fans] are going to bea lot. I know there were times in Atlan-ta if one of us gave up two or threeruns, people were wondering whatwas wrong. So it is hard to live up toexpectations.”Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux

formed the most dominant pitchingrotation baseball had seen since theBaltimore Orioles staff of the late1960s and early 1970s. All three arelikely to wind up in the Hall of Fame,as they have combined for seven CyYoung Awards.Maddux had professorial looks

that belied a fierce competitor whoearned the nickname “Mad Dog.”Smoltz, who, at the age of 7 told hisparents that he was going to be amajor-league pitcher, went on towin 213 games and develop intoone of the game’s dominant closersfrom 2002 to 2004.Glavine had to decide between pro

hockey and baseball when he wasdrafted in both sports after letteringin both in high school. He seems tohave made the right choice, since hiscareer accomplishments include 305wins, two Cy Young Awards, and 10All-Star Game appearances.What Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels,

Roy Oswalt, and Cliff Lee will have toget used to, Glavine said, are the con-stant comparisons to those greatstaffs in Baltimore and Atlanta. Theymay also be measured against the dy-namic duos of Sandy Koufax and DonDrysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgersof the 1960s and Curt Schilling andRandy Johnson of the Arizona Dia-mondbacks of 10 years ago.“We went through [those compari-

sons] as well,” Glavine said.“They willbe stacked up [against] as [to] wherethese guys [compare] with the great-est 1-2 combinations and the greatest1-2-3 combinations,” Glavine said.Still, after citing the distractions

that the Phillies pitchers will have toput up with at times, Glavine saidthey should be fine once they go outand concentrate on their work.“At the end of the day, if they go out

there and pitch the way they are capa-ble of, everything will work out, andthey can figure out the historic stuffat the end of the year,” he said.


I t may be less than three yearssince Tom Glavine pitched inthe majors, but he considers

himself part of a different genera-tion from those toiling on themound today. That is especiallytrue when Glavine looks back onhis diet.“We didn’t worry about what

we ate in those days,” Glavinesaid. “As long as you weren’tgaining or losing weight, you didwhat you wanted to do.”While Glavine ate a variety of

food, he took a standardized ap-proach in his workout routinebased on pitching every fivedays. He lifted weights on theday after he pitched, took a long-distance run the second day, dida shorter weightlifting sessionand a run on the third day, andtook off on the fourth.The former Braves and Mets

lefthander points to that routine asone of the reasons he posted dou-ble-digit wins in all but two seasonsof his career, one that will surelyplace him in the Hall of Fame.“I never wavered from it,” Gla-

vine said. “I always had that consis-tency, and I think that was helpful.”While Glavine spent plenty of

time in the weight room, he doesn’tthink that is critical for all pitchers.“There are so many schools of

thought on weightlifting,” he said.“Everybody is different. It is up tothem, and if it makes [the pitcher]feel good, then it is good for them.”One of the main reasons Glavine

was so successful was that hespent so little time in the trainer’s

room.With only one exception, Gla-vine started at least 32 games inevery 162-game season in which heplayed from 1988 to 2007.Besides staying in shape, he

said, there is not just one way forpitchers to stay healthy. Theabundance of resources for bothpitchers and trainers is an advan-tage for the hurlers of this era.“Like so things in life today the

information is so vast out there,”Glavine said. “There are no guar-antees of what you can do to pre-vent injuries. But everybodyseems to think that if you are inshape you have less chance ofgetting injured.”

Devotion to his routinehelped Glavine excel

Lee vs. GlavineFirst nine seasons (Glavine from1987 to 1995).

Lee Stat Glavine

1 Cy Young Awards 1.626 W-L% .6023.85 ERA 3.52222 Games 262218 Games started 26220 Complete games 335 Shutouts 13

1,409 Innings pitched 1,7211,419 Hits 1,649661 Runs 751603 Earned runs 673150 Home runs 113350 Walks 579

1,085 Strikeouts 1,0316.9 Strikeouts per

9 innings5.4

Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine powered remarkable run

Associated PressGreg Maddux, with John Smoltz and Tom Glavine, helped lead the Bravesto 14 straight division titles. All three are likely Hall of Famers.


Greg Maddux 21-10 2.36 8 1 267.0 52 197

Tom Glavine 22-6 3.20 4 2 239.1 90 120

John Smoltz 18-6 2.94 3 1 223.1 43 125

Steve Avery 15-11 3.62 3 1 243.2 100 208

The 1993BravesStartingRotation

Maddux Glavine Smoltz Avery

TOM MIHALEK / Associated PressTom Glavine won at least 10 games in all but two years of his career.

Cliff Lee by the Numbers

Fastball63.6%

Slider 1.6%Cutter

19.8%

Changeup

9.4%

Curveball

5.6%

2010 Pitch Type


Slider

2.9%Cutter

8.1%

Changeup

12.1%

Curveball

8.2%

SOURCE: FanGraphs

NotablesTwo-time All-Star

Stamina: He threw the mostcomplete games in the AL in2010 (7).

2008 AL Cy Young: Indians

First-pitch strikes: In 2010,Lee threw first-pitch strikes69.7 percent of the time —the highest percentageamong ERA qualifiers. Hittersbatted .348 and slugged .504on Lee’s first pitches.

Toughest Matchups

G Games played, GS Games started, CG Complete games, SHO Shutouts, IP Innings pitched,H Hits allowed, HR Home runs allowed, BB Walks, SO Strikeouts, SO/9 Strikeouts per 9 inningsCareer Statistics


2002 CLE 0 1 .000 1.74 2 2 0 0 10.1 6 0 8 6 5.2

2003 CLE 3 3 .500 3.61 9 9 0 0 52.1 41 7 20 44 7.6

2004 CLE 14 8 .636 5.43 33 33 0 0 179.0 188 30 81 161 8.1

2005 CLE 18 5 .783 3.79 32 32 1 0 202.0 194 22 52 143 6.4

2006 CLE 14 11 .560 4.40 33 33 1 0 200.2 224 29 58 129 5.8

2007 CLE 5 8 .385 6.29 20 16 1 0 97.1 112 17 36 66 6.1

2008 CLE 22 3 .880 2.54 31 31 4 2 223.1 214 12 34 170 6.9

2009 CLE 7 9 .438 3.14 22 22 3 1 152.0 165 10 33 107 6.3

2009 PHI 7 4 .636 3.39 12 12 3 1 79.2 80 7 10 74 8.4

2010 SEA 8 3 .727 2.34 13 13 5 1 103.2 92 5 6 89 7.7

2010 TEX 4 6 .400 3.98 15 15 2 0 108.2 103 11 12 96 8.0

Total 102 61 .626 3.85 222 218 20 5 1,409.0 1,419 150 350 1,085 6.9

Raul Ibanez

Lifetime vs. Lee: 9 for36, 2 RBIs, 10 Ks

Ibanez and Lee wereregular foes in 2005(3 for 9) and 2006 (3for 11), when Ibanezplayed for Seattleand Lee was in Cleveland. Lee usuallygot the best of Ibanez, striking himout seven times in those 20 at-bats,but those battles are what stuck out toLee.

“As far as lefty-on-lefty, back then hewas as good as it gets,” Lee said. “Ithought he was very underrated.Obviously, since then he’s establishedhimself a little more. He was a guywho was somehow under the radarwith Kansas City and Seattle. He’sgotten a little more recognition here.

“He always gave me trouble,” Leesaid. “But that was six years ago.”

Josh Hamilton

Lifetime vs. Lee: 5 for17, 2 RBIs, 2 Ks

The reason Leesingled Hamilton outis fairly simple in hismind.

“He’s, in my opinion,the best player in baseball,” Lee said.

The lefthander has been able to keepHamilton, the reigning AmericanLeague MVP, in check over theirlimited duels. That doesn’t matter, Leesaid.

“Josh Hamilton is always a tough out,”he said.

Being in the National League for thenext five seasons should limit thetimes Lee sees Hamilton’s TexasRangers, with whom Lee played forhalf a season en route to a WorldSeries appearance.

— Matt Gelb

DAVID J. PHILLIP / Associated Press

Cliff Lee and Carlos Ruiz embrace after the Phillies take Game 1 of the 2009 World Series against the Yankees.


By Matt GelbINQUIRER STAFF WRITER

T here is a reason, Cliff Leesays, why he found a routinehe liked nine years ago andhas essentially stuck with

that exact program through threetrades and a Cy Young Award.“I keep it simple,” Lee said. “The

simpler the easier for me.”Lee is perfectly uncomplicated.

When it’s his half inning to pitch, hesprints out of the dugout to take theball. When he has recorded thethird out, he sprints back to hissame spot on the bench.Publicly, he’s blunt. He’ll often

speak his mind, and if he is in afoul mood or asked something silly,he won’t do a dance. He usually hasan idea of what he wants in anygiven situation.Before 2003, his first full season

in the majors, Lee met Tim Maxey— as all the Cleveland Indians pitch-ers did at some point. Then theteam’s strength and conditioning co-ordinator, Maxey was in charge ofdeveloping a workout routine. Max-ey had spent the previous two sea-sons introducing a form of intervaltraining to the pitching staff.He showed Lee the program, and

the young pitcher began askingquestions. Maxey knew he had himhooked.“He wanted to learn why we were

doing things,” Maxey said. “We

tried to explain. If you can’t justifywhy you’re doing something — exer-cises, drills, philosophies — thenit’s very difficult to get them to buyinto the program.”Lee discovered something he

liked. It worked well. Simple as that.“I have a lot of faith in it,” Lee

said. “I’ve been doing the samething for a long time.”Maxey, now the joint strength

and conditioning coordinator forMajor League Baseball and the play-ers’ union, is hardly shocked at thisdevelopment. He recalls a 24-year-old Lee who devoted himself to theprogram. It offered consistencyand control. What else could ayoung pitcher want?Maxey described his program as a

holistic approach to conditioning apitcher. The goal is to not just simu-late what happens on the field but totrain the major muscle groups andenergy systems involved in pitching.There are moments of great activi-

ty, repeating a violent motion overand over again. Then, there is the still-ness when the pitcher’s team is at bat.“We want to train our athletes to

pitch those nine innings,” Maxeysaid. “Cliff was expecting to havethe energy capacity to performthose nine innings.”That requires a year-round commit-

ment. The cornerstone, Maxey said,is the hip and leg program. Lungesworked best for Lee, so Maxey imple-

mented them prominently.Most important, there is less con-

tinuous running.There is a savings in fatigue with

the intermittent work, and, doneright, Maxey said, that can be con-verted into an increase in intensity.For a pitcher such as Lee, who

has always made a conscious effortto stay in games as long as possi-ble, stamina was imperative.“In the end, it has to be beneficial to

the athlete,” Maxey said. “Over time,when you start feeling the results,and you feel as strong in the sixth,seventh, and eighth inning as you did

in the first, second, or third inning,then they buy into the program.”That’s what happened to Lee. The

results, obviously, have been inargu-able. Since 2005, Lee is just one ofeight pitchers to have thrown at

least 200 innings in five seasons.Of course, Maxey is sure to note

that Lee must do the pitching, andthis is a results-driven business.But Lee decided long ago that Max-ey’s program puts him in the bestpossible position to succeed.On the first day after a start, Lee

will work close to three hours doingMaxey’s interval training program— including a massage of his shoul-der and back at the end.“Basically,” Lee said, “everything

possible.”On the second day, the load is

lighter, with a bullpen session in-cluded. The third day is even light-er than the previous one, and hisfourth day is a game of catch andshort sprints.He does not watch video. He does

not take notes on himself or hisopponents. The only game-specific

preparation will be a glance at thescouting report.“Some guys want more informa-

tion. That’s great if it works forthem,” Lee said. “But for me, usual-ly when I try to do that stuff, it

complicates things, and I get awayfrom keeping it simple and doingwhat I do. If I try to outsmart my-self, it usually backfires.“I prefer to just make a pitch, see

how they react, and make an adjust-ment off that.”It’s that control of the situation

that sold him on his between-startsroutine. That control defines Leeon and off the mound.“I don’t think I’ve got everything

figured out,” Lee said. “But I feellike my routine is pretty solid, and Irely on that whether you have agood game or a bad game. If youfocus on your routine, those thingswill even out, and you’ll play out tobe who you are.”

Contact staff writer Matt Gelbat [email protected]. Follow himon Twitter at twitter.com/magelb

Faith in Simple RoutineCliff Lee stays true to a training regimen he began using nine years ago with the Indians.


“I prefer to just make a pitch, see how they react,and make an adjustment off that.”

YONG KIM / Staff PhotographerLee’s program aims to give a pitcherconsistency and control.


`By Daniel I. DorfmanFOR THE INQUIRER

T he Nolan Ryan biographyhas so many amazing parts.The 324 wins, the 5,714

strikeouts, the seven no-hitters,and the 12 one-hitters. But onepart of his career almost defieslogic: his durability.From 1971 to 1992 — when he

was 45 years old — the pitcherdubbed “The Ryan Express”started at least 26 games everyseason with the exception of thestrike-shortened 1981 campaign.And that was despite shouldersurgery after the 1975 season.It was even more remarkable

considering Ryan was not aknuckleballer or a soft tosser butinstead threw 100 m.p.h. fast-balls until the end of his careerin 1993.So what was his secret?He didn’t really have one, Ryan

said. The Hall of Famer at-tributes his success to a dedica-tion to throwing, throwing, andmore throwing. And adding somerunning to the mix.And don’t forget this, he said.

Good family traits go a long way.“Your work ethic has a lot to do

with staying away from a career-threatening injury,” Ryan said.“But the biggest thing is genet-ics. There were a lot of pitcherswho wanted to pitch as long as Idid. But because of their bodytype or injury, it didn’t allowthem to play as long as I did.”Few pitchers in Ryan’s day had

detailed workout plans otherthan to keep their arms looseand their legs strong. Ryan madehis debut for the New York Metsin 1966.Ryan remembered how, if an

injury did occur, the doctors

could do little about it. “Theydidn’t have sports medicine”that’s available today, he said.“All of that has evolved in thelast 30 years.”

Associated PressNolan Ryan, pitching for Texas in1989, made his major-leaguedebut in 1966 with the Mets.


H e is most remembered for hislongevity. Even at age 46, hewas still blowing away hitters.

But a generation earlier, in the timeof four-man rotations, Nolan Ryanwas just learning how to pitch. Hesaid he was lucky that Tom Seaver,who went on to join him in the Hallof Fame, was leading the staff of theNew York Mets, who won an improb-able World Series in 1969.While Seaver was only two years

older than he, Ryan said he and therest of the Mets — especially thepitchers — followed Seaver’s lead.“He was really focused on what

he wanted to accomplish,” Ryansaid of Seaver. “He was an over-achiever, and his ability caught upwith his drive and determination.”Seaver won the first of his three

Cy Young Awards in 1969. He set anexample for Ryan and fellow youngpitchers Jerry Koosman and TugMcGraw.Moving forward to 2011, Ryan

said he senses that Roy Halladaycould fill the Seaver role for thePhillies. Perhaps not by his words,but by his actions, Halladay canserve as an example through hisrelentless workout routine.“When you see people as consis-

tent as Halladay, they have to havea work ethic and the professionalattitude to be successful and topitch the number of innings they

are pitching,” Ryan said.In the year of the ’69 Miracle Mets,

Ryan went 6-3 and saved Game 3 oftheWorld Series as the Mets defeatedthe heavily favored Baltimore Oriolesin five games. It was one of the first ofmany career highlights for Ryan, whoracked up 324 wins in 27 years for

four teams on his way to becomingthe all-time strikeout leader with anastounding 5,714. He also hurled anamazing seven no-hitters.Over the phone from his office in

Arizona, where he was watching hisTexas Rangers, Ryan recalled howall the Mets pitchers matured to-gether. “We were all the same age,”he said. “We were all in the develop-ment stages of our career.”Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt,

and Cole Hamels are not in the ear-ly stages of their careers. Last year,Ryan saw firsthand what Lee coulddo, as the lefthander helped leadthe Rangers to their first World Se-ries appearance. Like the rest ofbaseball, Ryan is anxiously waitingto see what the Phillies rotation willactually do once the season starts.“Those guys will feed off each oth-

er and set a standard that is veryhigh, and because of the makeup oftheir starting staff they will notwant to be the guy who has a sub-par performance,” Ryan said.

Former Met sees echoes of Seaver in Halladay


Tom Seaver 25-7 2.21 18 5 273.1 82 208

Jerry Koosman 17-9 2.28 16 6 241.0 68 180

Gary Gentry 13-12 3.43 6 3 223.2 81 154

Nolan Ryan 6-3 3.53 2 0 89.1 53 92

1969MetsStartingRotation

Seaver Koosman Gentry Ryan

Roy Oswalt by the Numbers

Fastball55.4%

Slider 14.8%Curveball

14.7%

Changeup

15.1%

2010 Pitch Type


Cutter

0.6%Slider

10.4%

Changeup

6.6%

Curveball

17.6%

SOURCE: FanGraphs

NotablesThree-time All-Star (2005-07)

Two-time 20-game winner(2004-05)

2005 NLCS MVP (Astros)

Just win, baby: He led all MLBpitchers in wins (137) from2001 through 2009 andranked third in ERA.

Versatility: He played twoinnings in left field on Aug. 24,the first appearance by aPhillies pitcher at anotherposition since 1971.

Toughest Matchups

G Games played, GS Games started, CG Complete games, SHO Shutouts, IP Innings pitched,H Hits allowed, HR Home runs allowed, BB Walks, SO Strikeouts, SO Strikeouts per 9 inningsCareer Statistics


2001 HOU 14 3 .824 2.73 28 20 3 1 141.2 126 13 24 144 9.1

2002 HOU 19 9 .679 3.01 35 34 0 0 233.0 215 17 62 208 8.0

2003 HOU 10 5 .667 2.97 21 21 0 0 127.1 116 15 29 108 7.6

2004 HOU 20 10 .667 3.49 36 35 2 2 237.0 233 17 62 206 7.8

2005 HOU 20 12 .625 2.94 35 35 4 1 241.2 243 18 48 184 6.9

2006 HOU 15 8 .652 2.98 33 32 2 0 220.2 220 18 38 166 6.8

2007 HOU 14 7 .667 3.18 33 32 1 0 212.0 221 14 60 154 6.5

2008 HOU 17 10 .630 3.54 32 32 3 2 208.2 199 23 47 165 7.1

2009 HOU 8 6 .571 4.12 30 30 3 0 181.1 183 19 42 138 6.8

2010 HOU 6 12 .333 3.42 20 20 1 1 129.0 109 13 34 120 8.4

2010 PHI 7 1 .875 1.74 13 12 1 1 82.2 53 6 21 73 7.9

Total 150 83 .644 3.18 316 303 20 8 2,015.0 1,918 173 467 1,666 7.4

Barry Bonds

Lifetime vs. Oswalt:4 for 9, 2 doubles,1 triple, 1 HR, and4 RBIs.

Asked about thetoughest two hittershe ever faced, RoyOswalt gave the most frequent answeryou’d probably get from someonewho pitched in the National Leagueduring the top half of the 21st century.

“Probably Barry Bonds back in theday,” Oswalt said.

His reason would make a lot ofpitchers nod in agreement.

“His strike zone was a little smallerthan everybody else’s,” Oswalt said.“And any pitch you threw up there, itseemed like he was right on it. Hewas just a tough out.”

Ryan Howard

Lifetime vs. Oswalt:8 for 22, 2 doubles,2 HRs, 7 RBIs

Asked for a secondguy on the list,Oswalt could notcome up with aname.

“Sometimes a guy is hitting .400 offyou and they have five flairs, so youdon’t remember that,” Oswalt said.

Since Oswalt couldn’t think of anyone,we searched for a second hitter whohas worn him out and came up withteammate Ryan Howard. In 26 plateappearances, Howard batted .364with two doubles, two home runs, andseven RBIs against Oswalt. He alsodrew four walks.

By contrast, Oswalt will miss ChaseUtley, who batted just .174 against him.

— Bob Brookover

MARK J. TERRILL / Associated Press

Roy Oswalt won the MVP award in the 2005 NLCS, leading the Houston Astros to the World Series.

Ryan: Throwing, geneticskept The Express running

Oswalt vs. RyanFirst 10 full seasons (Ryan from1968 to 1977).

Oswalt Stat Ryan


2,015 Innings pitched 2,2311,918 Hits 1,532765 Runs 862712 Earned runs 755173 Home runs 121467 Walks 1,381

1,666 Strikeouts 2,4207.4 Strikeouts

per 9 innings9.8

Associated PressTom Seaver set the tone for the Miracle Mets, Nolan Ryan says.


By Bob BrookoverINQUIRER STAFF WRITER

T his is not the first time RoyOswalt has been part of a star-studded starting rotation.For three years — 2004 to

2006 — he was part of a HoustonAstros trio that included Roger Cle-mens and Andy Pettitte. To this day,those two still influence Oswalt’spitching preparation.“Roger and Andy actually had a

lot to do with what my workoutsare like now,” Oswalt said “Theyhad a Navy Seal workout that theydid, and that’s what I try to do inthe offseason to get in shape.”It makes sense that Oswalt would

follow the intense workouts he start-ed while teammates with Clemensand Pettitte. They were three of thebest years of his baseball life. Thefirst two years he won 20 games, andthe third one he had a league-low 2.98ERA. The Astros reached the Nation-al League Championship Series in2004 and the World Series in 2005.You don’t mess with success, al-

though Oswalt, 33, has learned tolighten his workout routine with age.“I kind of do an abbreviated ver-

sion of the Navy Seal stuff,” Oswaltsaid. “You try to do five or six lapsaround the field — about a mile anda half — and you do stuff betweeneach lap. So you’ll do a lap aroundthe field, stop and do 50 mountainclimbers, then you’ll do another lap

and do 50 crunches.”There’s also a sprint workout.“You sprint 80 yards, then come

back and do your sit-ups,” he said.“Do another sprint and do ball pick-ups. You have a little differentmovement each time. It’s a neatworkout. A lot of people run threemiles, and it gets boring doing onething. I like to mix it up.”In Oswalt’s mind, his offseason

work is vital to his in-season success.“My goal once I get here is to just

maintain it,” Oswalt said. “Someguys try to do more when they getto spring training, but I try to get inthe best shape I can be when I gethere so I can then do stuff just tostay in shape.“I usually start around Dec. 15. I

start by lifting weights. I used tostart a little bit earlier when I had700 or 800 innings. But you startgetting around 2,000 innings andyou try not to do quite as much.”Oswalt’s approach somewhat con-

trasts with Roy Halladay’s intenseroutine, but the veteran pitcher haslearned from experience to do whatworks best for him.“I just think everybody has their

own routine,” Oswalt said. “Doclikes to get here early in the morn-ing and get his workout done early.I can do mine after the workout.We’re just different people.”Oswalt has observed some of Hal-

laday’s workouts and said they’re

not as intense as those Shane Rey-nolds used to do with the Astros.“I’ve never seen anybody work out

the way Shane did,” Oswalt said. “Iwas telling Doc about it. He did morepure running than anybody until hislast year, when he had back surgeryand he couldn’t do it anymore.”Back issues have affected Oswalt’s

workouts in recent years as well.“My biggest thing the last two

years is that I’ve kind of modifiedmy program,” he said. “I used to doa lot of running, a lot of stadiumrunning, and I had a few back prob-lems a few years ago. So I kind ofcut some of that out, and I starteddoing more cardio with the bikeand a little bit more pool work. Youkind of have to adjust as you go.”Unlike Halladay, when Oswalt is

done pitching he does not feel theneed to work out after the game.Instead, he saves his most intenseworkout for the day after his start.“During the season, once I’m

done with the game I’m done,” hesaid. “I throw 110 to 115 pitches andtry to recover after that. The nextday is the hard day. You try to flushyour body as much as possible. Myroutine has changed a little bit inthe last two or three years. I usedto run 20 minutes — about threemiles. Now, I kind of pull that backto where I try to run 10 to 12 min-utes outside, then go back insideand do a bike.”Oswalt also works his lower body

the day after his start.“The second day after a start I do

upper body and run 10 minutes,” hesaid. “I do core work every day. I do500 crunches any style you want todo it.”Oswalt’s use of video is typically

restricted to the day after and theday before his starts. The day afterhe pitches, he watches his previous

start, and the day before he watch-es the coming opponent.When he has a specific question

about a hitter, he sometimes leanson an old teammate the way Halla-day relies on his catalog of hitters.“If I need to know anything I can

call Roger Clemens,” Oswalt said.“He has everything on a BlackBer-ry. I have called him and asked himwhat he has on different guys. Hestill has 22 years of pitching to dif-ferent guys, and I guess it’s in somekind of thing he keeps notes in.”Clemens, of course, had a real inten-

sity on the mound, while Oswalt istypically cool and composed.“It ain’t no big deal,” Oswalt said.

“When you get out there, it’s thesame game you’ve been playingyour whole life. I probably am thesame way now as when I came intothe league.”This is not the first time Oswalt

has been part of a star-studdedstarting rotation, but this seasonwill mark the first time since 2002that he has not been his team’sopening-day starter.Even with Clemens and Pettitte

around, he was the main man inHouston. Now, he’s No. 3 behind Hal-laday and Cliff Lee. But don’t expecthis routine or demeanor to change.

Contact staff writer Bob Brookoverat 215-854-2577 [email protected].

Seal of ApprovalRoy Oswalt still does a version of the Navy workout he learned from a couple of famous ex-Astros teammates.


YONG KIM / Staff PhotographerOswalt, 33, says he has learnedto lighten his routine with age.


By Matt GelbINQUIRER STAFF WRITER

I t came in the stifling St. Louisheat, everything Cole Hamelshad worked for.Players and coaches still talk

about that game on July 22, 2010,and not just because it was theturning point for the Phillies, achaotic day that ended in Philadel-phia with the late-night firing ofhitting coach Milt Thompson.No, what the Phillies remember

about that day is Hamels one-hittingthe Cardinals for eight innings witha fastball constantly clocked at 95and 96 m.p.h. and a temperaturethat matched it.Here it was, the product of matu-

ration between starts. It was some-thing Hamels decided he needed toembrace near the end of a vexing2009 season because, as he says, “Iwas trying to push through all thecrap.”Before, Hamels would take his

fourth day off to rest before pitch-ing the next day. He never tookwritten notes on opposing batters.He would not sit down with catcherCarlos Ruiz a few hours beforestarts to discuss a plan of attack.“I realized talent can only take

you so far,” Hamels said.And this is when you realize that

Hamels is 27. He’s the youngest ofthe Four Aces. He made his major-league debut at 22 and was a World

Series MVP at 24.He is still learning.“When you see guys that are so

talented and working hard everyday, you have that guilt,” Hamelssaid. “Did I work as hard as I couldtoday? I think that makes you wantto work out harder.”Jamie Moyer provided the best

cues, or better yet, embarrassment.“Having a guy,” Hamels said, “that’sbasically twice your age outworkingyou, you don’t want that happen-ing.”The fourth day between starts

became another day for more shoul-der exercises.Hamels bought a notebook at the

behest of Moyer. He saw Roy Halla-day’s meticulous notes and createdhis own system. The meetings withRuiz became regular.His four days between starts

became harder work than when hetook the ball on the mound — afundamental principle of Halladay’spreparation.“That’s why I was able to do so

much and be in games where it was100-something degrees,” Hamelssaid. “I’m not used to doing that inCalifornia. I was able to fightthrough it and focus so it doesn’tbother you because you’re so pre-pared. You’re confident.”Much was made of Hamels’ win-

ter workouts after the 2009 season.He changed his program from the

year before, when he could bask inthe glory of a championship andthrowing wasn’t viewed as impera-tive because of 2621/3 innings logged

from April to November.More important, Hamels carried

his new philosophy from the winterinto the 2010 season. That, he says,is why his mental and physicalpreparation changed the most.“It was thinking you deserve a

day off,” he said. “And now I figure,‘No I don’t.’ I can take the day offin the offseason. Sometimes I don’t

necessarily do that because I’m like,‘What do I have to lose?’ I feelbetter after I work out. I almost feelguilty if I give myself a day off.”The first day after a start is

Hamels’ toughest. He’ll run for closeto an hour, do a 40-minute shoulderexercise, and finish with a leg rou-tine. This year, he’s using a25-minute timed circuit developedby Dong Lien, the team’s strengthand conditioning coordinator.Then he’ll watch video of his

performance from the night beforeand jot down notes. Hamels saidhe’s always watched video — “I’m avery visual guy” — but he nevertook notes before the end of 2009.Day two is the bullpen session

and an upper-body workout. Hamelswill watch video of his next oppo-nent for the first time. Days threeand four are more cardio, leg exer-cises, and the shoulder routine.“Last year, I never got tired of it,”

Hamels said. “I think it reallyhelped me. I think it put me a stepabove mentally because I didn’t givein or give myself a day off. I justkept battling. I felt like that reallymade me grind out a lot more.”It worked. In 2010, hitters had a

lower on-base-plus-slugging percent-age against Hamels when his pitchcount was 76 or higher than anyother time in the game.Observers saw an improved

Hamels, able to contain his com-posure in crucial situations.Where it started was in the workbetween starts that no one sees.“It becomes so monotonous,”

Hamels said, “but the moment Iwalk in, I know exactly what Ihave to do. I know how long it’sgoing to take me. I do it. It’s overwith. I don’t short myself.”

Contact staff writer Matt Gelbat [email protected]. Follow himon Twitter at twitter.com/magelb.

Lesson LearnedA rough 2009 helped push Cole Hamels to work harder on his preparation between starts. It paid off.

YONG KIM / Staff PhotographerFor Hamels, teammate Jamie Moyerhelped provide the best cues.

Last season Hamelsstopped taking a rest day

between starts.“I realized talent can only

take you so far.”

Photo illustration by YONG KIM



F or Claude Osteen, the hitters hewould stare at from the moundweren’t the only competition he

faced when he was a member of the1966 Los Angeles Dodger rotation.That’s the one that featured three fu-ture Hall of Famers: Sandy Koufax,Don Drysdale, and Don Sutton.“Each guy in his own way tried to

outpitch the other,” Osteen said ofwhat he described as a close-knitDodgers staff. “If Sandy threw a shut-out the day before, the guy followinghim would try and duplicate it.”Osteen wanted to equal Koufax in

terms of the box score, but he wasgoing to do it his way. “I certainlycouldn’t pitch like Koufax,” Osteensaid. “My stuff wasn’t anywhere nearhis, but I could come up with thesame results. Maybe not in terms ofstrikeouts, but I could win 1-0 or 2-1,and so could he.”So how will that translate for the

Phillies this season? Osteen said heexpects Roy Halladay and Cliff Leeto be the leaders.“They are expected to be very

good, and they are,” he said. “Eachone knows what they can do. Theother pitchers will learn a lot bywatching them.”“One of our fortes [with the Dodg-

ers] was when you did not pitch youwere watching the other guy pitch.You didn’t miss a trick … watchingthe other guy pitch and watching thehitter respond. You can learn somuch watching from the bench. Ifyou see a guy get tied up on a particu-lar pitch, you put that away into yourmemory.”Referring specifically to Lee and

his time in Texas last year, Osteensaid, “From the Rangers’ perspec-tive, if they didn’t learn somethingthey weren’t watching.”Yet Osteen cautioned that you can

go only so far in trying to emulateothers.“You have to pitch your way, and

you can’t pitch like Halladay or Lee,”he said. “You might be able to takeone thing from Cliff Lee by throwingstrikes, because he is a strike ma-chine. But you have to do it your

way.”Osteen said he is not overly con-

cerned that Cole Hamels or Roy Os-walt will have a problem doing that.“Those guys have pitched longenough to know what works for themand what doesn’t,” he said.Another Phillie sure to be under the

microscope this year is pitchingcoach Rich Dubee. Osteen held thatjob with the Phillies from 1982-88, andhe said Dubee will have his challeng-es — just as Osteen did in working

with star pitcher Steve Carlton.“As a pitching coach, you get to

know all of their personalities andwhat keywords work with one guy,”Osteen said. “Carlton only had onething he wanted me to watch. He wasalways concerned about where hetook his hands when he made histurn. He wanted his hands to be back.There weren’t many times his handswould not get back there, and then hewould have a flat slider.”But, like almost everyone else in

baseball, Osteen does not expectDubee to be overloaded with prob-lems in 2011.“Those guys know how to pitch,” he

said.As for what the Phillies might

have to deal with off the field, Os-teen said he expects a lot of fun.“They will probably start experienc-

ing some of the things we experi-enced, such as people coming to thepark just to see them play,” he said.“People are aware of how good thatrotation is. People came from milesaround just to see Koufax pitch. Itcreated an exciting time because itgives you a lot of pride in wearing theuniform, knowing that we are goingto have a packed house.”


Sandy Koufax 27-9 1.73 27 5 323.0 77 317

Don Drysdale 13-16 3.42 11 3 273.2 45 177

Claude Osteen 17-14 2.85 8 3 240.1 65 137

Don Sutton 12-12 2.99 6 2 225.2 52 209

1966DodgersStartingRotation

Koufax Drysdale Osteen Sutton


A s Claude Osteen looks backon his time with the Los An-geles Dodgers, he remem-

bers one constant about his exer-cise routine: running, running,and more running.Osteen was part of a Dodgers

rotation headlined by futureHall of Famers Don Drysdale,Don Sutton, and Sandy Koufax(in his last year in baseball). Thefour starters combined for 59wins, with Phil Regan going 14-1out of the bullpen, to lead theDodgers to the National Leaguepennant. They were swept bythe Baltimore Orioles in theWorld Series.As he looks back, Osteen recalls

sparsely outfitted equipmentrooms. But running was cominginto vogue, and the Los Angelespitchers were quick to incorporaterunning into their routine. Some ofthe players would run two to fourmiles each day.That was one way pitchers got

themselves in shape in thosedays. The other, Osteen remem-bered, was, “You threw battingpractice several times because itwas the thinking then [that] yourlegs needed a certain amount ofpounding. And what better wayto get that than facing a hitter inbatting practice? What the bat-ting practice does is not onlygets your legs in shape, … youlearn so much about your stuffand what moves and whatdoesn’t, and it just makes you abetter pitcher.”“Between those two things” —

running and throwing — “thatwas what you did to get readywhen the bell rang,” he said. “Weall thought that, and I still be-lieve that.”The fact that the 1966 Dodgers

staff was remarkably free of inju-ry — the rotation combined for157 starts — certainly makes acase for Osteen’s beliefs.“Even if we got a nagging inju-

ry, if we were physically able todo it, you went there andpitched,” Osteen said.Even while Koufax was leading

the staff in victories and startson his way to his third Cy YoungAward, he was forced to retire atthe end of that season because ofcrippling arthritis in his shoul-der.“You were aware of what he

was going through in the trainingroom,” Osteen said.To recover quickly after a start,

Osteen and the other pitcherssubmerged their pitching elbowsand shoulders in ice for as longas 45 minutes. That is a practicesome pitchers still follow today.“It was the belief back then

that would stop the capillarybleeding and speed us towardour next start,” Osteen said.“And it worked.”Osteen said that sports medi-

cine and training have come along way since his time, and hetakes pains not to compare eras.“Pitchers [today] are better

conditioned,” he said. “They do aheck of a lot more. I’m not sayingwe did it better. It was just theway we did it.”

Running was in vogue,and Dodgers did a lot of it

Cole Hamels by the Numbers

Fastball54.4%

Cutter 14.7%(new pitch in 2010)Curveball

8.2%

Changeup

22.8%

2010 Pitch Type


Cutter

3.3%Curveball

10.8%

Changeup

29.4%

SOURCE: FanGraphs

NotablesPostseason star: In 2008,he set Phillies records formost wins (4), innings (35.0),strikeouts (30), and starts (5)in one postseason.

Finishing strong: He heldopposing batters to a .217average in his final 22 starts in2010.

Home cooking: He is the all-time wins leader at CitizensBank Park (34).

Toughest Matchups

G Games played, GS Games started, CG Complete games, SHO Shutouts, IP Innings pitched,H Hits allowed, HR Home runs allowed, BB Walks, SO Strikeouts, SO Strikeouts per 9 inningsCareer Statistics


2006 PHI 9 8 .529 4.08 23 23 0 0 132.1 117 19 48 145 9.9

2007 PHI 15 5 .750 3.39 28 28 2 0 183.1 163 25 43 177 8.7

2008 PHI 14 10 .583 3.09 33 33 2 2 227.1 193 28 53 196 7.8

2009 PHI 10 11 .476 4.32 32 32 2 2 193.2 206 24 43 168 7.8

2010 PHI 12 11 .522 3.06 33 33 1 0 208.2 185 26 61 211 9.1

Total 60 45 .571 3.53 149 149 7 4 945.1 864 122 248 897 8.5

Derek Jeter

Lifetime vs. Hamels:5 for 10, 1 RBI, 1 K

It didn’t take ColeHamels long tocome up with Jeteras one of hisnemeses. TheYankees shortstop is nicknamed“Captain Clutch,” and that’s whyHamels despises facing him.

“Especially with the game on theline,” Hamels said.

Hamels has never allowed more thana single to Jeter, but he remembersmany of the at-bats being tedious.

“The guy can foul balls off until hegets that one pitch,” Hamels said.“You really do have to battle and he’snot afraid to walk. If he does walk,he’s going to steal a bag. He’s a verytough hitter.”

Adrian Gonzalez

Lifetime vs. Hamels:8 for 22, 2 HRs,2 RBIs, 3 BBs, 7 Ks

The challenge infacing Gonzalez,beyond the fact he isone of the besthitters in the majors, is familiarity.Both Hamels and Gonzalez grew upin the San Diego area.

They share the same agent, JohnBoggs. They talk baseball a lot. Andwhen the matchup comes, there isplenty going on between the ears.

“It’s like the hardest chess match,”Hamels said. “He’ll sit on certainpitches. He knows it’s bound tocome, and he seems to always get ahit in a big situation. All of a sudden,everything unravels from there.”

— Matt Gelb

DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer

Cole Hamels won NLCS and World Series MVP honors in 2008 after going 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five starts.

Osteen fit in with three future Hall of Famers

Associated PressSandy Koufax led the 1966 Dodgers with a record of 27-9. Fellow starterClaude Osteen said the members of the rotation pushed one another.

Associated PressClaude Osteen embraces SandyKoufax (left) and Don Drysdaleafter a 1965 World Series win.

Hamels vs. KoufaxFirst five full seasons (Koufaxfrom 1955 to 1959).

Hamels Stat Koufax


945.1 Innings pitched 516.2864 Hits 450396 Runs 264371 Earned runs 239122 Home runs 68248 Walks 305897 Strikeouts 4868.5 Strikeouts per

9 innings8.5


From school yard to ship yardWatch as 30,000 runners compete in the largest ten-milerin the country. Stretching from Central High School to theNavy Yard, come claim your spot along historic BroadStreet to take in all the action.

HEALTH AND FITNESS EXPOOpen to the public Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30and featuring over 50 booths on the West Club Level atLincoln Financial Field.

Only in Philadelphia!Only on Broad Street!Neighborhoods along the course will feature liveentertainment from high school bands and cheerleaders,gospel choirs, string bands, Mummers, radio stations, DJs,and drill teams. There are also 10 Dunkin’ Donuts locatedalong the course where you can grab a cup of morningcoffee while you watch the race. So come out and be a partof the festivities!

Become a volunteerWe need hundreds of volunteers to help makethis event a success. If you would like to becomea volunteer go to www.broadstreetrun.com toregister online.

There are over 30,000 reasonsto come out and support the2011 Blue Cross Broad Street Run.Thank you, runners! It’s another sell-out.

Sunday, May 1, 2011 8:30 AM

Visit www.broadstreetrun.comfor more information.


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