Mike Busby’s Fastball Is Only a Whisper to Batters

If you’re trying to find what separates Mike Busby from most prep pitchers--listen, don’t look.

To most batters, Busby’s 86-m.p.h. fastball, launched from his intimidating 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame, looks about the same as other fastballs. It’s a blur.

But somehow, the sound is different when Banning High School’s ace right-hander is on the mound. You’ll hear the ball pop into the catcher’s glove a little louder than usual, and the swish of bats hitting nothing but air.

Dale Johnson, San Pedro’s All-L.A. City Section catcher and one of the South Bay’s finest hitters, knows that sound only too well.

Johnson may be hitting .352 against everybody else, but in six trips to the batter’s box against Busby this season, he has found himself right back in the dugout.

“Johnson powders everything that everybody throws him,” Banning Coach Syl Saavedra said. “Except for Mike. Mike has his number.”

So far this season, Johnson’s number against Busby has been three--as in strike three. On March 13, in Banning’s 12-4 victory over San Pedro, Busby blew letter-high fastballs past Johnson for strikeouts in each of Johnson’s four at-bats.

Johnson didn’t fare much better Tuesday, as Banning routed San Pedro, 14-1, behind Busby’s four-hitter. But at least he made contact, tapping a weak grounder to second base and a pop-up to the mound.

“I try a little harder to get Johnson out because he’s so good,” Busby said. “He’s got a good eye, but I know what he likes. He likes to swing at the high fastball, so I’m happy to put it there and see if he can hit it.”

Banning (13-7 overall, 9-3 in the Southern-Pacific Conference) plays host to San Pedro at 3 p.m. today, when the teams meet for the final time in conference play. But Johnson can breathe a sigh of relief--Banning’s starting pitcher will be left-hander Anthony Lozano.

Even Busby, who easily leads the South Bay with 96 strikeouts in 69 innings, needs a rest once in a while.

The lanky, 17-year-old junior is 7-3 with a 1.32 earned-run average. He comes after hitters with an impressive collection of pitches.

“I’m not afraid to throw any of them, at any time,” Busby said.

First of all, there’s Busby’s favorite pitch, the fastball.

“Mike will challenge hitters with that pitch,” Saavedra said. “He’ll just say, ‘Here it is. Now try to hit it.’ ”

But Busby also throws a tight curve ball, a tricky change-up, and a nasty, biting slider.

Then there’s the pitch that Saavedra calls Busby’s “slow fastball,” a pitch that bites down deep into the strike zone.

“When the umpires are calling the low strikes, Mike is absolutely untouchable,” Saavedra said.

Busby’s strike-out pitches are the fastball high and tight and the slider down and away. Additionally, he is working on a sixth pitch--a split-fingered fastball that he learned at a pitching clinic in Hacienda Heights.

“I don’t throw it too often yet,” Busby said. “It hurts my hand too much right now. I’d just go out and hit batters with it. But it’s getting there.”

Perhaps the most amazing facet of Busby’s game is his impeccable control. Many hard throwers have a tendency to scatter pitches like buckshot. Busby, though, has walked only 14 batters in 69 innings. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is 7 to 1.

“You don’t see the kid getting into 3-2 counts on too many batters,” Saavedra said.

Busby’s mechanics, smooth for his age, are the key. He’s got a fluid leg kick and gets rid of the ball with an easy, back-bending motion.

“I don’t try to throw it as hard as I can,” he said. “Sometimes I don’t even get warmed up until the second or third inning. I’ll wait until the late innings and then really go with the hard stuff. But most of the time I just throw to the glove, wherever it’s set up.”

The approach has paid off. Busby pitched well early in the year, but was occasionally undone by Banning’s spotty defense. Only two of Banning’s 18 varsity players are seniors, and the Pilots committed 16 errors in the first three games--including seven in a game by one player.

But when the defense has tightened behind him, Busby has pitched brilliantly. He tossed a three-hit shutout in a 7-0 victory over league-leading Carson, striking out seven and facing only 26 batters.

Busby took a no-hitter into the late innings of a 17-1 victory over Dorsey. In a 2-1 win over Narbonne, he had a perfect game until one out in the fifth inning.

“Mike will be a complete pitcher when he learns that he doesn’t have to walk out on the mound and strike everybody out,” Saavedra said. “Sometimes he thinks that if the ball doesn’t go 80 miles an hour, it’s not worth throwing.

“But sometimes you’ve got to throw a curve ball in the dirt or waste a pitch. When he starts doing that consistently, he’ll be really effective.”

Busby is already overpowering enough so that Saavedra says, “Scouts are coming out of the woodwork.” Busby, who plays first base when not pitching, is also batting .378 in league games.

He spent the winter playing for a scout team of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Cal State Dominguez Hills, and will probably do the same before his senior season.

But the college scouts are becoming frequent visitors to Banning games. Busby has already spoken with USC Coach Mike Gillespie and wants to pitch in college before pursuing a professional career.

“We’ll have to see,” Busby said. “Once you get older, the people you’re going up against are all as good as you are.”

Saavedra thinks Busby has something special that will help him when the time comes.

“He’s an avid student of the game,” Saavedra said. “He has visions of becoming something great in this game, and he can do it, too.”