Oct. 20, 2008
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 20- 6:09 PM
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Like the rest of you around the world, I was locked into my television set as Tampa Bay pitcher (and former Commodore) David Price entered a pressure-packed situation in game seven of the American League Championship Series Sunday night at Tropicana Field.
As Price took the mound, he faced a bases loaded, two-out jam in the top of the 8th inning with Tampa Bay holding a 3-1 lead over the defending champs from Boston.
I was nervous. I’ll admit it.
You would think Price would be, too, right?
I mean, it was the biggest game in franchise history.
Everything was on the line for a pitcher that had only seven career appearances and thrown a total of 12 2/3 innings.
The fate of Tampa Bay’s season depended on his left arm.
And Price wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
“I want the ball in those types of situations when the game’s on the line,” Price told the Nashville media during a teleconference on Monday. “I want that spotlight on me.”
Instead of getting rattled by the moment, the 23-year old phenom made it look like a Sunday walk in the park by recording the final four outs to send the Rays to their first ever World Series appearance.
Fact of the matter is, Price has made it look easy all year long. He started the season in Single-A ball and cruised through the minors before getting called up to the majors in mid-September to help a team in the thick of a pennant race… a team that’s historically been in the cellar of the AL East.
When asked if his success surprised him, Price responded emphatically `absolutely not.’
“I went 12-1 in the minors with about 19 starts. I really do expect to be 19-0 with a 0.00 ERA and not give up a hit, ever. That’s just the way I was raised. I expect to win every time I touch the ball.”
No doubt about it, Price’s confidence is what makes him special. No matter what the situation is, he thinks he can beat you. Knock him down, and he’ll come back even stronger.
He’s also the ultimate team player. He has gifts most of us could only dream about, yet he’s always been humble and willing to do whatever’s needed.
“Whether it’s throwing one pitch or 100 pitches,” Price said, “anything I can do to help this team win is fine with me.”
Those of you watching Sunday night’s game probably thought about what happened to him the last time he took the mound at Hawkins Field against Michigan in 2007.
We all felt it was a cruel way to end the career of one of the greatest college baseball players of all-time.
But that’s baseball.
And the thought of it made Sunday’s performance even sweeter.
“It’s just good to see a kid who left this field distraught (against Michigan) and how the game came back to him again,” said Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin. “I’ve always told the guys that the game rewards the people who put the most time into it. When he left after that Michigan game, I felt terrible for him because he didn’t deserve that moment. But the game came right back around to him, and when it mattered most in his professional career, he was doing the one thing that he dreamed of doing here and that was sitting on the bottom of the pile.”
And nobody could be happier about the way it turned out than Price.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s definitely a feeling that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
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Check out these full-length interviews from Monday with both Price and Corbin.There’s some really great stuff here.
Audio: Listen to Teleconference with Price
Audio: Corbin Talks About Price
Since Price is the theme of today’s post, here are some of his highlights from the 2007 season on VUcommodores YouTube page.
