Reports of McDowell’s Demise Seem to Have Been Premature

Jack McDowell has been a professional baseball pitcher for less than a year, yet he already has been talking about trying to “salvage” his career.

The salvage project for the Chicago White Sox rookie, who lost six of his first eight decisions this year, received a boost June 10 when he shut out the Milwaukee Brewers on six hits in nine innings. He did not get the victory because the White Sox also failed to score for nine innings, winning in the 10th. But the young hurler out of Stanford and Notre Dame High was pleased with his performance.

“This is the first time I’ve felt good in awhile,” McDowell said. “Maybe we can salvage this thing.”

Wednesday, in Minneapolis, McDowell was charged with his sixth defeat, but he was hardly disgraced. He gave up eight hits and two runs in six innings against the world-champion Twins, who went on to win, 5-1.

McDowell is the “can’t miss” pitcher who went 3-0 in four starts with the White Sox at the end of last season after leading Stanford to the national championship in the 1987 College World Series. He had an earned-run average of 1.93 and had given up only 16 hits in 28 major league innings when the 1987 season ended.

He made the cover of a national sports magazine featuring key rookies for 1988, but he struggled through the early months of the new season. In his first 10 starts, through June 10, he was 2-5 with a 5.65 ERA. He went the distance once, in a 6-2 loss to Cleveland, and gave up 58 hits, 43 runs and 6 home runs in 57 innings. He struck out 32 batters but walked 27.

McDowell missed one start in late May to rest an arm that obviously was tired and sore far too early in the season.

“It would be one thing if I was getting beat with my best stuff,” McDowell said. “I really haven’t thrown the way I’m capable of throwing. It’s no fun to go out there when your arm is sore.”

McDowell’s arm was sore because he worked with weights during the off-season, then came down with tendinitis in his right shoulder in April. In an important match-up against Boston’s Roger Clemens in early May, McDowell gave up one run and three hits in seven innings and won, 6-2, but he now says that he should not have pitched that game.

“It ended up costing me,” McDowell said. “But I didn’t want to miss that start. That was the only game where I had below-average stuff and got away with it.”

The problem, said McDowell, was that he was coming across his body to hit the left side of the plate.

“It was tough to hit the outside corner to right-handers or the inside to left-handers,” McDowell said. “Now I can throw to both sides of the plate.”

McDowell’s 10-day rest seems to have brought back the pop to his pitch; he can again throw at 90 m. p. h.

“We’ve worked a little bit with my mechanics to free my arm up a little bit,” he said. “So, hopefully, I can save my arm a little bit this way.”

McDowell is a fierce competitor. He was unhappy when Chicago Manager Jim Fregosi decided to use Rick Horton instead of McDowell in the Opening Day game against California. The rookie claimed Fregosi did not understand how much he enjoyed pitching in big games.

He recorded one victory in April, against Oakland, and added the victory against Boston in early May, but he was giving up five and six runs an outing in his losses and no-decision games.

“I was going out there trying to survive,” he said. “It’s tough to face the other team when you’re having trouble with yourself.”

The facts are that McDowell is still only 22 years old and has the Milwaukee performance to prove that he can be a dominant pitcher.

“Hopefully it will always be like this,” he said.