Mule on the Mound : With a 0.67 ERA, 31 Strikeouts and 7 Saves in Just 24 Innings, Big Dave Muhlethaler of Central Canada Is a Kick as Cal Lutheran Reliever

Anyone who has played baseball has dreamed of walking to the plate in the ninth inning with the tying and winning runs on base.

The image is colorful and clear. You dig at the red dirt inside the batter’s box with your back foot, tap your bat on the plate, peer out to the mound, only to see . . .

A sneering, 6-4, 215-pound Canadian wearing thick glasses, who rocks and sidearms an 87-m.p.h. fastball?

Title it, “Return of the Killer BB’s” with a reversed capital K.

The 22-year-old is Cal Lutheran College’s equivalent of San Diego Padres reliever Goose Gossage or the Atlanta Braves’ Bruce Sutter. When Kingsmen baseball Coach Al Schoenberger calls on a fireman, David Muhlethaler’s got the hose.

“Muley,” as Schoenberger calls his bullpen workhorse, has shouldered the burden well. He has seven saves and three wins in 13 appearances, and has fashioned an earned-run average of 0.67.

Muhlethaler’s control has been as astounding as his record. Most pitchers hope to strike out more hitters than they walk; Muhlethaler has struck out 31 and walked only 2.

“Nearly 80% of his pitches are strikes,” said Schoenberger. “If you know baseball, you know that is a phenomenal percentage.”

Surrendering an average of a hit an inning is respectable for a college pitcher. There have been only 11 hits off Muhlethaler in 24 innings.

Besides being instrumental in 10 of CLC’s 18 victories, Muhlethaler has made managing easy for Schoenberger.

“Knowing Dave can slam the door lets me play for a one- or two-run lead,” said Schoenberger. “Having a guy like him is a real luxury at a small school like CLC. It’s awfully easy to blow a lead in the late innings of a Saturday doubleheader--schools our size just run out of strong arms.”

Said Muhlethaler: “Everything has come together for me this year. My role is defined, and I am comfortable with it.”

Muhlethaler’s success as a reliever came after a series of false starts.

He left his Edmonton, Alberta, home at 18, determined to pitch in Southern California, which is the Mecca of college baseball. Despite redshirting at Long Beach City College in 1981, he managed to secure a partial baseball scholarship from Hancock Community College in ’82.

“I didn’t pitch well at Long Beach, but (Hancock Coach) John Osborne saw something in me, and I am thankful for that,” said Muhlethaler.

Although he was moderately successful as a starter at Hancock for two years, he was forced temporarily to abandon his trademark--the sidearm delivery.

“I owe a lot to Coach Osborne, so I’m not knocking him,” said Muhlethaler. “But he was convinced the only way I’d be successful was to throw over the top.”

After going 5-1 his sophomore year at Hancock, Muhlethaler was recommended to Schoenberger by Osborne.

“I like the velocity on his fastball,” said Schoenberger. “Besides, him being a foreign student, I figured he could probably get some sort of financial aid.”

Muhlethaler found the aid, and the opportunity, at CLC. But for the first time in his life, he couldn’t find the plate.

“First, I couldn’t throw strikes,” he said, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. “That led to a loss of confidence. It was a continuous downward spiral.”

Oddly, the spin may have saved his career. After going 1-1 with a 5.35 ERA in 1984, he was ready to experiment.

“A week before this season began, I was throwing in the bullpen, and I went sidearm a couple of times,” said Muhlethaler. “Al said he liked the movement on the ball, and encouraged me to continue with it.”

Said Schoenberger: “We wouldn’t normally alter a delivery that drastically. But with Dave, there was a difference of night and day in his pitches.

And his sidearm fastballs are most effective as night approaches.

“Late in a game, when the sun is going down over that hill,” he said, pointing beyond the left-field fence at CLC, “people don’t want to hit off me. I can see it in their faces.”

While waiting to be summoned, he remains alert by keeping the score book in the Kingsmen dugout.

“I study the hitters, make mental notes,” he said. “But no matter what they have done earlier, I’m still going down their throats with my best stuff.”

His teammates can appreciate that.

“He takes pressure off the infield,” said Kingsmen second baseman Jon Egertson. “Sometimes, when he’s really on, we all become spectators, watching Muley mow ‘em down.”

Now that college hitters are such easy marks, he ought to get a shot at pro baseball.

“He may not be drafted, but he’ll get signed as a free agent,” said Schoenberger. “In fact, I’ve talked to Sparky (Anderson), and I think Detroit is going after him.”

If so, it would be a sort of pay-back for Anderson. Much of Muhlethaler’s tuition is paid by scholarship money raised in the annual Sparky Anderson Golf Tournament.

But Detroit probably will have competition.

“Moose Stubing (the Angels’ third base coach who managed AAA affiliate Edmonton) has offered me a chance to sign the last two summers,” said Muhlethaler. “He says, ‘No bonus, but I’ll give you a plane ticket.’ ”

Muhlethaler quickly turns the topic of conversation away from signing with the pros. He is concerned with more immediate tasks.

CLC (6-3, 18-9) is in the thick of the NAIA District III pennant race. Point Loma College (7-2) is in first place, and Southern California College (6-2) is second.

“If we sweep Point Loma, we’re in good shape,” said Muhlethaler, referring to today’s doubleheader at home. “Any way you look at it, we should make the playoffs.”

The top three teams in District III automatically qualify for the NAIA playoffs.

Regardless of the outcome of the season, Muhlethaler is satisfied with his move to Southern California--and CLC.

“The patience Al had with me last year is something I’ll never forget,” he said. “And look how it has paid off for both of us.”