DENVER – On April 12, 2017, Denver native Kyle Freeland made the second start of his major league career against the San Diego Padres.
You may not remember that start. You’re likely far more familiar with the one right before it; the opening day extravaganza against the Los Angeles Dodgers that stole the heart of this baseball city, the shutout in his first start, at the place he grew up watching baseball.
But that second start against the Pads, in hindsight, is more interesting.
What could be so interesting about 4.2 IP with eight hits and six earned runs given up? As it has turned out, now through two full seasons, that was by far the worst outing of his career.
It is the only game in which he has ever given up six or more runs. He has given up five runs in a game only five times. Of his first 61 starts in MLB, 55 have seen him give up four or fewer runs.
That may not seem like much when compared to pitchers like Jacob DeGrom, Max Scherzer, and a handful of others, but that level of consistency is not only unheard of for someone who spends half their outings at Coors Field, nothing even in that realm has been seen up to and including the best of Ubaldo Jimenez.
There has been much debate over the years about what the altitude, or the big outfield, or the unique travel, do to the baseball club. Does it create a hangover effect that makes pitches much more difficult to track out on the road? Does it simply lead to an inordinate number of cheap hits, meaning that limiting contact should be key?
Does the ball really fly any farther in the humidor era?
But one thing has emerged as clear as an October day in the Colorado sun. It is remarkably difficult to remain consistent.
Whether you are pitching the baseball or trying to hit it, wearing a Rockies uniform has meant plenty of difficulty being good both at home and on the road. It rarely happens. Outside of Larry Walker in 1997, the effects of playing half their games a mile above sea level has been to see this odd do si do where players almost always have extreme splits.
In the last two seasons, we’ve seen Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon do this dance where when they dominate in one arena, their numbers suffer in the other.
Freeland may be the only player in franchise history to achieve this kind of steady, reliable production, and he has done it in his very first try at the Bigs.
And he has done it without being a statistical darling. Those who don’t watch him every day have been inclined to rate him lower because he doesn’t strike a ton of guys out.
But, in a one-on-one conversation with BSN Denver, Freeland says that just isn’t his goal.
“Obviously, my strikeout numbers aren’t like Scherzer or deGrom or Sale or any of those guys who punch ten-plus tickets a night,” he said. “But I pitch my game. My game is to induce weak contact and get a lot of ground balls and allow my defense to work in a way that helps create momentum not only for me but for my defense to get on to the offense where they’re in a good rhythm to go.”
After noting the specific quality of his infield defense, boasting two multiple-time gold glovers at third and second and a likely future Gold Glover at short, Freeland pauses and smiles.
“I’m sure you’ve seen Bull Durham,” he laughs, “but strikeouts are fascist and ground balls are more democratic.”
That’s not the only thing working against him. As someone who grew up a fan of the team he now plays for, Freeland is well aware that national viewers, and award voters, often have a few blind spots when it comes to the baseball played at Coors Field.
“I guess [Rockies pitchers] don’t get as much credit as they deserve,” he said. “Especially when… like you’ve seen the media where people knock hitters and don’t give credit to pitchers. The word double standard being thrown around quite a bit, especially this season. To me, I’d love to see an even playing field. It’s the game of baseball. You make your pitch or you don’t. You get a hit or you don’t. The ball goes over the fence or it doesn’t. It’s the game of baseball and it’s the beauty of it that anything can happen in this game no matter who you play for or who you play against.”
That attitude is a large part of what has helped him lead his club to consecutive postseasons for the first time in franchise history. It is also a huge part of raising the bar for the franchise beyond even just that.
“We’re obviously playing to win a division title,” he said describing the differences between this run and last year’s. “We’re not playing to do anything special. We’re playing our brand of baseball to get to the playoffs any way we can, obviously hoping to win a division title. I think the clubhouse is a little more comfortable being in that position last year of playing meaningful baseball, playing potential playoff baseball. So, we have a little more comfortableness in the clubhouse knowing what to expect and not having to press.”
In these high-intensity games, and as he progresses in his career, teams have started to try to combat Freeland’s ability by stacking up right-handed hitters against him. The Dodgers have gone to the extreme with it, and others have followed along. In a game where matchups and platoons are everyday inside baseball, Freeland has found a way of seeing an all opposite-handed lineup into an advantage.
“It’s been the thing throughout the season is I’ve faced a lot of lineups that have thrown a ton of righties in there with maybe a select few lefties – and those lefties are their big name guys. With San Diego, you’ve got Hosmer, who’s always been in the lineup and I’ve been able to control him well. For most of the season, they’ve thrown a lot of righties at me. But, in ways, it’s helped me a bit with my glove side.”
And, of course, since day one he seems to find those matchups against marquee pitchers, often going toe-to-toe with the likes of Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “But there’s no reason for me to change anything I do just because of whoever else I’m facing on the mound just because I’m not pitching against him. I’m pitching my game and I’m pitching against that lineup. Obviously, you’ve got to be aware of who’s on the mound and everyone knows what he’s capable of, but at the same time, he puts his pants on the same way I do. There’s no change in the way I’m going to go about pitching my game.”
All of this amounts to a 25-year-old who has put his name squarely in the conversation for National League Cy Young.
“It’s exciting and there’s some pride that goes into it having my name put in the same mix as the upper echelon pitchers in this game who have really stamped their name on baseball over the past few years,” he said of that chatter. “Especially Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, who’s always been consistent. He’s having an incredible year. (Aaron) Nola, who is my same draft class. Obviously, you can count Kershaw in that mix, Bumgarner in that mix a little bit, all those guys. It’s cool to have my name mixed in with those guys who have truly stamped their name on this game.”
Now, by posting the best ERA in franchise history (2.85) the local kid is stamping his name on the game as well. And it seems like he’s just getting started.
