No Win For Quicky Call-Up Tommy Hunter, But He Earns A “Job Well Done” From Texas Rangers

Posted on May 29th, 2009 7:44pm by Jeff Miller
Filed under Baseball, Texas Rangers

ARLINGTON - The last time that Tommy Hunter was seen in a Rangers uniform was last August at Fenway Park – a start of 1.2 innings and nine earned runs in a 10-0 loss to the Red Sox.

He provided 5.1 innings of three-run ball in an emergency starting role in Friday’s opener at Rangers Ballpark. Hunter left with the Rangers behind 3-2 before Texas rallied late to win 6-3.

“He took us far enough,” manager Ron Washington said. “When he left, we were still in the ballgame, and that was his job when he went out there. I really hoped he could have taken us into the seventh. He took us far enough.”

“For the most part, I kept the ball down,” said Hunter, who was returned to Oklahoma after the game. “It definitely feels good. Five and a third – I definitely wanted to do better, a personal goal. They said I did enough. I know I can do more. Get to seven. Every time, that’s my goal. At least seven.”

He said pitching coach Mike Maddux congratulated him afterward, noted there are some things to work on including his change-up.

Hunter has made nine minor league appearances this season, five at Frisco (three starts) and was promoted to Oklahoma, where he has made four starts (two quality). He’s listed at 255 pounds in the Rangers’ pre-season media guide, and his weight has often been a topic of conversation among Rangers fans. I asked him his weight, which he didn’t appear to appreciate: “My weight? Two-seventy-four. That was before the game; I probably weigh less now.”

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9 Comments to “No Win For Quicky Call-Up Tommy Hunter, But He Earns A “Job Well Done” From Texas Rangers”
  • Kaisersoze @ May 29th, 2009 at 11:12 pm

    I’ve always liked Hunter and thought he did well today. He is a changeup away from being a dependable #3/#4 starter in the majors.

  • Jack Daddy @ May 29th, 2009 at 11:36 pm

    Kaisersoze – bingo. He develops a change or a splitter (the Rangers don’t seem to allow their pitchers to throw the splitter – probably smart) and he could become deadly. His yakker is plus and he had much improved command of his fastball tonight.

  • morgan @ May 30th, 2009 at 12:09 am

    total curiousity: why do you think its “probably smart” not to have pitchers throw a splitter? The only guy who does is Franky. Again, just curious what makes you say that because I’ve never heard of a splitter being not a good pitch to have. Perhaps because its hard to throw?

  • Fai Mao @ May 30th, 2009 at 5:23 am

    Morgan.
    I could be wrong on some of this but: The split-finger fastball is sort of like a knuckleball in that it requires a guy with big hands. That makes it difficult to throw well and difficult to control. You also have to have a ++ fastball to make it work well because it looks like a fastball coming out of the pitchers hand but is slower. If your fast ball is 89 – 90 mph and the fork ball is 82-84 it is a hittable pitch or at least a lay-offable pitch. If your fast ball is 97 and your fork ball is 89 then it is a devestating pitch because the batter can’t react to the drop. It is also hard on the elbow. The last really good starter with a mean fork-ball/ Split-finger pitch that i know of was Jack Morris

    On the other hand, a circle change is easier to throw and ask Frank Viola or Nolan Ryan how effective it can be!It also looks like a fastball when thrown and has a side-to-side break as well as a drop. That is the pitch that caused batters to accuse Ryan of and Viola of throw a SPIT ball over

    Tommy Hunter should ask Nolan to show him the grip.

  • wes @ May 30th, 2009 at 9:18 am

    @Fai Mao- great explanation of the splitter and why many guys don’t/can’t throw it effectively, but i think roger clemens (juice or no juice) would have something to say about Jack Morris being the last starter with a really mean splitty.

  • Todd Trice @ May 30th, 2009 at 10:14 am

    Curt Schilling also threw a pretty good split.

  • morgan @ May 30th, 2009 at 5:16 pm

    Well that makes sense. The only thing I could think of was that the splitty has a tendency to break sideways instead of downwards because most guys throw at an angle instead of straight down. My high school coach, who pitched for the Braves back in the day, has a mean forkball that got him up there so thats why I have always thought of it as a great pitch.

  • Saturday a.m. Rangers things | myMLB - White Sox @ May 31st, 2009 at 10:29 am

    [...] Jeff Miller writes that Tommy Hunter didn’t get the win in game 1, but did his job in terms of giving the Rangers some innings and keeping them in the game, allowing them to come back in the late innings to get the win. [...]

  • Saturday a.m. Rangers things | myMLB - Athletics @ May 31st, 2009 at 10:31 pm

    [...] Jeff Miller writes that Tommy Hunter didn’t get the win in game 1, but did his job in terms of giving the Rangers some innings and keeping them in the game, allowing them to come back in the late innings to get the win. [...]