There's Hope For You Yet

by JA, The Feed

Any Hollywood producers out there looking to make a sequel to The Rookie? Not the Charlie Sheen-Clint Eastwood vehicle, the one about Jim Morris, a lefthanded high school pitching coach who made his big-league debut at 35 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The team gave him a tryout after he made a promise to his students that he would give it a go if they won their district championship. When he hit 98 on the gun the Rays signed him to a contract. He got called up in September of 1999 and struck out Royce Clayton on four pitches. It was a heartwarmer of a tale.

Morris didn't come completely out of the blue though. He was the fourth overall pick in the first round in the secondary phase of the 1983 January draft, a long since gone relic, and the Brewers held onto him until arm injuries caused his release in 1987. Brodie Downs never got such a chance. He graduated high school 10 years ago and garnered no interest from scouts after a modest scholastic career. He became a land surveyor, started a family and began pitching in a recreational league in Ceres, California. Life seemed full but Downs was about to embark on a fairy tale.

Fate intervened in the form of former National League co-Rookie of the Year Butch Metzger, now a scout for the Texas Rangers. Metzger was intrigued by his 94-mph fastball and asked what organization Downs had pitched for. The answer was none and he got the same reply when he asked about his collegiate history but his boss didn't want to sign a 27-year old with no experience but Metzger urged him to give it a shot. Downs enrolled at Modesto Junior College, went 6-4 with a 2.55 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 98 innings. Some other scouts nibbled but Downs was still gobsmacked when he got a call this June telling him that the Mariners chose him in the 23rd round. The team put him at AAA Tacoma where he threw five innings before heading down to AA West Tennessee so he could get more regular work. He's thrown eight innings for the Diamond Jaxx and won his first game Monday with two scoreless innings in a 6-5 win over the Carolina MudCats.

With the Mariners in a pennant race it seems unlikely that they'd take a shot with Downs this season. Then again, unlikely might as well be his middle name. That means all bets are off and here's hoping that one day soon you're looking down a box score and finding Downs under Felix Hernandez on the list of pitchers in a 7-3 Mariner win. Take this as inspiration, dear readers, and join that darts league at the local pub or the firm softball team. It could be you sifting through offers from production companies this time next year. Just don't let Dennis Quaid play you. He'll never be better than he was in The Parent Trap.