From Scott Ostler at the SF Chronicle-
If you'd never heard of this guy, you weren't alone. In an organization rich in well-publicized pitching prospects in recent years, Sadowski has been the Unknown Hurler.
His college career was a joke and his long minor-league career was spectacular, in the way that a NASCAR crash can be spectacular. He had surgery on his shoulder, elbow and brain, though not all at the same time.
It was a shock, even to Sadowski, when the Giants gave him a shot at the No. 5 starter slot. Maybe they were afraid if they bypassed Ryan, his mom might get involved.
Sadowski, who is 26, was a nice high school pitcher in the Miami area. He was recruited to Florida, where he got his butt Super Glued to the bench. In two seasons, he pitched a total of 62/3 innings.
"My last start (seven shutout innings against the Astros on Friday night) was longer than my entire career at Florida," Sadowski said Sunday.
You can guess how much interest he stirred among pro scouts. Sadowski believed he could pitch, but he knew it would be almost impossible to get a sniff. So he asked his mom, a retired elementary school teacher, to phone each of the 30 big-league teams, get the name and phone number of the team's Miami-area scout, call each team's scout and say, "I'm Ryan Sadowski's mother. Please phone my son. He can pitch and he'd like a chance to show you."
Why didn't Ryan make the calls himself?
"If you just do something a little out of the ordinary, it might grab someone's attention," he said.
To the scouts who were nice enough to phone him, Ryan said, "Listen, I'll come to you, I have a catcher. Just give me 10 minutes of your time."
All but two of the scouts told Sadowski they had exactly zero interest in a pitcher who barely pitched in college. But two scouts, including one for the Giants, told Sadowski they remembered him from high school and they'd take a look.
Sadowski met the scouts at his old high school field, slapped catcher's gear on his college roommate and threw. He looked pretty good. Word spread. He held another one-man tryout camp and four scouts showed. Then 10. Then 30.
One of the scouts, whom Sadowski describes as "a mysterious man with a mustache" turned out to be Dick Tidrow, the Giants' vice president of player personnel. The Giants drafted Sadowski in the 12th round in 2003.
A young man with Sadowski's genius for self-promotion probably should be running for U.S. senator, but he likes baseball, so he signed with the Giants and went to the minor leagues. In his first season, Sadowski had a subdural hematoma - bleeding into the brain - possibly caused by a fall in the shower. Surgery (two holes were drilled in his skull) and recovery cost him a year and a half.
He made steady progress on the mound, overcame two arm surgeries, and was disappointed this year when he didn't get invited to big-league spring training. He went to Triple-A Fresno, pitched well, and recently heard a rumor that his contract was about to be purchased by a team in Japan.
"I got called into the office in Fresno," Sadowski said. "They said, 'Your contract's been purchased.' I figured, 'All right, fly me to Tokyo, I'll take the train down to Yokohama.' They said, 'Nope, your contract's been purchased by the Giants. You're going to Milwaukee,' and I said, 'Holy cow.' "
Did he really say "Holy cow?"
"No," Sadowski said. "I was speechless, which is pretty rare for me."
If he is nervous pitching in the big leagues after six-plus years in the boondocks, it hasn't showed. In two starts, the skinny 6-foot-4 right-hander has been as cool as the morning fog. Thirteen scoreless innings. The fifth spot is his to lose.
"To be mentioned in this rotation is unbelievable," Sadowski said. "You've got three Cy Young winners, another guy (Matt Cain) that's pitching as well as anyone in the National League. And me."
This is no time for modesty, Ryan. Get your mom involved, maybe she can have you added to the NL All-Star team.
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