We hear redemption stories in life all the time. People love hearing about overcoming adversity and bringing success from what may have been utter failure. Sports can bring us many of the same stories. High draft picks and kids entering professional sports with high hopes, only to have to weather a rough start in order to just make it.
Baseball is a prime example of this; names like 2010 American League MVP Josh Hamilton dominate these storylines, mostly because of the success they have had in MLB since coming up into the big leagues. The 2011 season is not short of these kinds of stories; however there is one that stands out based on the unlikely rise of this player for the defending World Series champions.
With a rotation that boasts a two-time Cy Young Award Winner (Tim Lincecum), a workhorse that allowed zero earned runs in the 2010 MLB Postseason (Matt Cain), and a young gun that is barely old enough to partake in adult beverages (Madison Bumgartner), it is hard to imagine someone performing better. However, the San Francisco Giants do have a pitcher who was not even on the opening-day roster pitching better than all of those guys at the moment. Pitcher Ryan Vogelsong may be performing the best out of all the pitchers in the vaunted Giants’ rotation, posting a 5-1 record and a 1.86 ERA since having his contract purchased by the Giants back on April 17, 2011.
Vogelsong’s journey back to the major leagues fittingly has found itself where it started. The San Francisco Giants drafted Vogelsong back in the 1998 MLB Draft in the fifth round. Two short years later Vogelsong would be making his debut with the Giants as a September call-up in the 2000 MLB season, pitching two innings in a 13-2 rout of the Chicago Cubs on September 2nd.
In the very next season, the Giants would make Vogelsong part of a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for ace pitcher Jason Schmidt. Vogelsong and teammate Armando Rios would head to Pittsburgh. Luck would further stunt his progress as an elbow injury forced Vogelsong to need Tommy John surgery and be out of major league baseball for two seasons.
Upon returning to the Pirates in 2004, Vogelsong would pitch his first full season in the major leagues, although he struggled through most of the season. Two more seasons with the Pirates saw Vogelsong post modest numbers, though he would leave the Pirates in 2006 after posting a 10-22 record in the majors.
From there Vogelsong would go overseas and revive his career temporarily in Japan. In 2009, after the season in Japan, he would return to the United States and signed minor league contracts with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, though he saw no major league action with either team.
Vogelsong would return to the San Francisco Giants as a non-roster invitee in spring training in 2011. Though Vogelsong performed well, he would start the season with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies. That all changed when Barry Zito, the Giants’ enigmatic fifth starter, suffered a hurt foot. The Giants, scrambling to replace Zito, purchased the contract of Vogelsong from the Grizzlies. After two relief appearances, Vogelsong was inserted into the starting rotation and proceeded to win his first three decisions, allowing only two runs in those three wins. Vogelsong cemented his place in the Giants’ rotation, as manager Bruce Bochy has stated that Vogelsong will remain in the starting rotation when Barry Zito is ready to return to action.
Vogelsong was able to showcase a veteran’s savvy upon returning to the Giants. Through this season he has been able to effective place all of his pitches; Vogelsong’s repertoire includes three basic pitches, though his fastball has a number of varieties. He throws both a two-seam and a four-seam fastball, with a cut fastball that has some more lively movement than what he displayed earlier in his career. His changeup has shown more snap in 2011 and his curveball has some good movement. Vogelsong has limited his walks (having allowed only 19 in 72 2/3 innings pitched as of June 23, 2011) and has shown good command in striking out 57 batters.
This is not to say that Vogelsong’s future is guaranteed with the Giants, or that he will be a success from now until the end of his career. It does go to show that Vogelsong has gone through the up-and-down career that many fans love to see and that he has people throughout baseball rooting for him.
All stats from: Baseball-Reference.com
Cecil Butler III - A sports fan first, but one who looks at sports from all angles objectively with 20 years of self-taught knowledge.
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