Pitching in front of friends always special for Arroyo
By DAVE SCHEIBER
Published April 24, 2005
ST. PETERSBURG - Bronson Arroyo was the last member of the Boston Red Sox to leave the field after pregame drills Saturday evening at Tropicana Field. He lingered for 15 minutes in the leftfield corner signing autograph after autograph and posing for endless snapshots with delighted fans, basking in a special glow that comes from being at home.
For Arroyo, a former all-state baseball player at Hernando High, that doesn't simply mean a return to the Tampa Bay area. It means finally finding a home in the majors, enjoying his greatest big-league success to date as a right-handed starter for the Red Sox.
The lanky 6-foot-5, 190-pounder, scheduled to face the Rays at 2:15 today, split four straight seasons between Triple A and the majors with the Pirates (from 2000-02) and Boston in 2003 before finding his rhythm in the championship season of 2004. Arroyo logged his first full season, posting a record of 10-9 with a 4.03 ERA in 32 games (including 29 starts).
What's more, Arroyo, 28, is off to a good start this season at 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA. But his strong delivery isn't limited to the pitching mound; his edgy rock vocals will soon be featured on his CD of '90s grunge-style covers titled Covering the Bases, to be released on July 12, the day of the All-Star Game. The next day, he'll give a showcase concert across the street from Fenway Park.
"It's been going great; I just finally got all the final mixes back," Arroyo said, smiling. "Everything is finished, and it's being mastered on May 2. I'm really excited about it."
But the truth is, Arroyo has plenty to be thrilled about these days, including playing in front of his hometown crowd.
"It's always fun coming here just because I'm sitting there on the bench and I look up at the (video board) every now and then and see people I graduated from high school with and didn't even know they were coming to the game," he said. "I know about 20-25 people are coming out Sunday. It's always more people than I expect. I've left 60 tickets here before, and I've seen more people I know than that who were at the game anyway."
Arroyo has pitched well before his family and old friends at the Trop, with a 1-1 record and 3.31 ERA in three games and two starts. The only one pitch he'd like to have back is a grand slam he gave up to Toby Hall, which wiped out his 4-1 lead at the time. As for feeling pressure from pitching in front of so many familiar faces, Arroyo has no problem.
"Any time you come to a ballpark that's as quiet as this one is for the most part, it feels a lot more like a spring training game," he said. "It was a nice crowd (Friday night), but even with that crowd, it's so different than pitching in Yankee Stadium or in Fenway Park. It definitely takes the edge off."
Overall, Arroyo is 2-1 against the Rays with a 3.52 ERA in three starts. And today marks his fourth start of the season, with his lone decision coming April 8 against Toronto. He also has a pair of no-decisions (though in his last one, he left in the seventh at Fenway with a 3-1 lead over the Blue Jays). For the record, Arroyo hasn't lost a game since Aug. 21.
"I've been feeling strong," he said. "I felt strong all through spring training and felt strong into last year, too. So I'm just trying to go out and get deep into ballgames ... and give us a chance to win."
Arroyo said he felt completely in the groove recently against Toronto, yet he knows he may soon be moving to the bullpen when Wade Miller returns from injury rehabilitation.
If the move comes, Arroyo is ready to accept it. "Personally, other than money-wise, I really don't care," he said. "I'll pitch out of the bullpen and be just as happy. I just want to help the club try to win another championship.
"Even if I was to pitch out of the bullpen the rest of the year," he added. "I know in the near future or the next year or two, I'm going to have the opportunity to start in the major leagues."