Phillies' Pat Neshek: Sport needed this U.S. World Baseball Classic victory
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Pat Neshek is a baseball purist, a Phillies reliever with a funky windup who finds pride in studying and appreciating the game's past through his extensive memorabilia collection. But, by the end of the World Baseball Classic, where he had danced off the mound after strikeouts and hoisted a gaudy statue of a bald eagle to the grass at Dodger Stadium, he was convinced.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Pat Neshek is a baseball purist, a Phillies reliever with a funky windup who finds pride in studying and appreciating the game's past through his extensive memorabilia collection. But, by the end of the World Baseball Classic, where he had danced off the mound after strikeouts and hoisted a gaudy statue of a bald eagle to the grass at Dodger Stadium, he was convinced.
Baseball needed this, Neshek said. It needed flair. It needed personality, especially in a sport that has rewarded conformity and alienated young fans because of that. It needed the Americans to win a tournament that has always drawn more foreign interest.
Neshek, 36, viewed the United States' victory as an inflection point for baseball.
"I ended the innings with strikeouts every time, so it was like party central," Neshek said. "You see the other teams, they'd be down like five and they'd strike someone out and start partying. So I was like, 'You know what? I'm going to do it too.' It was cool. On Twitter, it energized a lot of fans. They liked seeing that stuff. I think we need a little bit of that out there."
Neshek, acquired last winter in a trade with Houston, appeared in five of the United States' eight tournament games. He struck out four, walked one, and allowed four hits in five innings. The well-traveled righthander was not a marquee name on the American team; he received a call in late January from Joe Torre asking if he'd be interested in possibly joining for the second round. Absolutely, Neshek told Torre.
Then, the U.S. team said Neshek could come for the whole ride.
"I didn't know what to expect going in," Neshek said. "It was probably one of the most fun times I've ever had putting on a uniform. It was great."
He spent almost three weeks with some of the country's best baseball players. "We got to do an All-Star Game every day," Neshek said. And, no, not all of them were there. Superstars such as Mike Trout and Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw skipped it. Some teams are hesitant to permit their high-paid employees to risk injury wearing another uniform. That may never change.
But Neshek would recommend the tournament to any player.
"Oh yeah," Neshek said. "And I don't think they're going to have a problem finding guys to play. You might have one guy say no next time. But I think it's going to be the thing. It's going to be the thing to do. I'm honored to be a part of the team that started that trend. It was a blast. I couldn't imagine saying no."
What struck Neshek the most was the passion displayed by the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rican teams. Their fans and the atmosphere they created, it stirred something that Neshek had not really experienced in his 10 major-league seasons.
"It made you want to do better," Neshek said.
The winning players were paid; they split a bonus pool. They received gold medals. One of the best perks, Neshek said, was a free pass from a monotonous spring training. That is a reward that should be more of a selling point.
"I feel like it's June right now," Neshek said. "You get a lot of confidence. It definitely got me prepared for the season, to say the least."
So how did Neshek become the happy bearded dude who emerged in the Dodger Stadium dugout with the garish eagle trophy as U.S. manager Jim Leyland hugged his coaches? It started earlier this month, when Neshek and fellow relievers Tyler Clippard and Sam Dyson decided that the Americans needed a mascot. One went to Toys "R" Us and found a two-foot plush eagle doll.
Not good enough.
They scoured Craigslist. Neshek called his mother and asked her to check the local Walmart for something. Nope. Luke Gregerson, another reliever, overheard the problem. His father-in-law just so happened to have a penchant for eagles and collected knickknacks. Perfect.
After the U.S. defeated Puerto Rico, 8-0, to win the title, the American players all gathered at the mound to celebrate. Neshek was one of the last ones there, and he held the eagle above his head. He placed it on the mound dirt. The players circled it and took turns petting it.
Neshek returned to Phillies camp Thursday, where three dozen players savored the chance to play real baseball, and Neshek felt a letdown. He had pitched in front of full stadiums. Another week of Grapefruit League exhibitions awaited.
"It's kind of a bummer," Neshek said. "You wish you could go right into the season right now."
Updates on three
Clay Buchholz: The scuttlebut among scouts this spring has centered on Buchholz's flat stuff. He's been hit hard. The standard caveat about spring performance meaning little applies here. But it's something to watch in April.
Hoby Milner: The reliever was inconsistent in a spring tryout as a Rule 5 pick with the defending AL champion Indians, but the Phillies are happy to have the lefty back. "He's interesting, is probably the best word," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said last week. "With his deception and the angles that he throws from, he's kind of built to face lefties."
Andrew Pullin: A rib-cage injury limited his stint in big-league camp to five at-bats, but the feeling is that Pullin could rise fast because he can really hit. Pullin is healthy now. He's expected to begin at double-A Reading, in an outfield that could include Tyler Goeddel and Carlos Tocci.
@mattgelb
