C.J. Nitkowski threw his last major league pitch on June 7, 2005, when he walked Scott Hatteberg of the A’s while pitching for the Washington Nationals. His ERA after seven games in relief for Washington was 8.10.
Within a week he was pitching for the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs. He spent 2006 in the Pittsburgh organization without ever getting a shot in the big leagues. He spent 2007 and 2008 pitching in Japan, 2009 and 2010 in Korea. Towards the end of his time in Korea Nitkowski suffered his first arm injury and was out of baseball in 2011.
For most players approaching their 39th season six years removed from the big leagues with a lifetime record of 18-32 and a 5.37 ERA, plus a sore arm, professional baseball would have been in the rear view mirror. Especially those with a wife and three children. Nitkowski, instead, put himself through stem cell injections and arduous rehab with the hope of one more shot at the show.
“I still felt the passion to prepare, the family was onboard and supportive, and almost every former player I spoke with encouraged me,” Nitkowski said from his home in suburban Atlanta. “My ex-teammates who had been retired for awhile told me you can do this other (post baseball) stuff forever. Nothing else compares to baseball. I wanted to be at peace when I finally quit playing.”
So on July 21, 2011, Nitkowski had the stem cell procedure done. The procedure itself, he says, “was a breeze.” Then came rehab. Nitkowski began exercises on July 23. He began throwing in earnest on Aug. 18. But was different now was Nitkowski was reinventing himself as a sidearm thrower trying to get back into professional baseball as a situational lefthander facing mostly opposing lefty hitters in relief.
Such pitchers are increasingly valuable as major league baseball becomes more specialized. Javier Lopez has been successful with the Giants in a similar role, and the A’s use Pat Neshek as a right-handed sidearm specialist facing righty hitters almost exclusively.
Nitkowski was so dedicated to this last chance that he flew to the Dominican Republic on his own dime for a winter ball tryout. “My agent had a (potential) number one draft pick throwing a bullpen session at 7 a.m. in front of several scouts. He suggested I come down and throw at 6:15 before the college kid began warming up and the scouts could watch me.” So the 1995 number one draft choice of the Cincinnati Reds “humbled myself” and drove from Georgia to Florida, at his own expense, to throw at dawn in front of scouts who had come to see someone else.
Scouts from the New York Mets liked what they saw and told Nitkowski as much. His tryout made the news, hopes were lifted, but nothing was said for months. Professional baseball is in part a game of attrition, especially with pitchers. As injuries mounted for some and others proved ineffective, the Mets remembered Nitkowski and in July offered him an opportunity to pitch for their AA club in Binghamton, NY.
J.P. Riccardi, a Mets executive, told Nitkowski, “we’ll give you a couple of weeks and see how it goes.” At Binghamton it went extremely well. Nitkowski gave up just one hit in six outings, no runs, and, he said, only one lefty even put a ball in play. Clearly, it was time for Nitkowski to face more mature hitters, and on Aug. 6 he found himself in AAA with the Buffalo Bisons, one step from the majors.
His first few outings went just as they had in Binghamton. Articles appeared in USA Today and the New York Times heralding his imminent promotion to the Mets (who were having a historically bad second half due in part to an underperforming corps of relief pitchers and could use the help) before a few bad outings turned it all around.
“I had three bad games in a row,” Nitkowski said. “I was new to sidearm pitching and couldn’t correct myself during a game when I began to struggle. I gave up seven runs in one game and 11 in two. Every pitch I threw was flat. The ball didn’t feel right coming out of my hand.” Finally, Nitkowski said, he watched some video and met with the Mets minor league pitching instructor and together they discovered a flaw in his mechanics, which he was able to correct, and developed a new game plan for right-handed hitters.
“I finished my last three games really well,” Nitkowski said. “In 18 minor league games other than those three (poor games) I gave up just one earned run.” Unfortunately, those three games made it impossible for the Mets to promote Nitkowski to the majors and finish this Cinderella story in a fashion that would have been suitable for a TV movie.
Still, there is a chance for another chapter. Buffalo manager Wally Backman is, according to Nitkowski, recommending the Mets invite the lefty sidearmer to spring training next season. Others in the organization are also said to be supportive. “I’m at a stage where I don’t think they would lie to me about that,” Nitkowski said. “The Mets are my first choice and I want to pay them back for the opportunity they game me by succeeding for them in the big leagues,” he added.
If the Mets do let him go, Nitkowski said he would like to square accounts with the big league team with which he spent the most time. “I didn’t handle myself well at the end with Detroit (in 2001) and I’d like to have the opportunity to go back and do it over with them.”
While his family remains supportive, Nitkowski admits that his wife, Megan, was not prepared for the down side of rollercoaster ride. “I’ve had a ton of failure in baseball, some of it in a really short period. My wife said that was one part she had kind of put out of her mind and didn’t miss.”
By March Nitkowski could be in spring training as a 40-year-old lefty specialist trying to hook on for one more moment on the big stage. It will be a fascinating story to follow.
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