Sunflower seeds, sunglasses and uncertainty – welcome to the life of a relief pitcher.
Unlike starters, relievers have no idea when they will enter a game. Better yet, they don’t even know if they will enter a particular game.
The uncertainty that surrounds relief pitchers is what makes them a special breed, even though one glance towards State’s bullpen may reveal a state of relaxation rivaled only by fans attending the game.
“A lot of position players give us a hard time and say we don’t do as much and all we do is help set up batting practice,” freshman lefthander D.J. Thomas said. “But you never know when you’re going to get in the game, so you just have to stay prepared.”
Despite what it may look like on the surface, Wolfpack relievers are constantly on the edge of their toes. Around the fourth inning, relievers will move from the dugout to the bullpen, where stretching takes place before relievers start warming up.
“We spend a lot of time stretching and doing band work,” junior lefthander Grant Sasser said. “As a relief pitcher, you don’t know when you’re going to throw so you have to keep your arm conditioned. We try to throw every day or every other day at least.”
To avoid tired arms, only a certain number of relief pitchers are available for the Pack, depending on whether someone threw multiple innings the day before or has an upcoming scheduled start.
“There’s usually a hot list posted at the beginning of the game so we know who’s available to pitch that day,” Thomas said.
The hot list usually contains half of the Wolfpack bullpen, but can change depending on the circumstances such as an extra-inning game.
Perhaps the most important aspect to the success of a relief pitcher is warming up. Wolfpack relievers said the ideal pitch count before entering the game is between 15 and 20 pitches, but junior righthander Vance Williams said it is essential to stay loose in case a quick pitching change is needed.
“You have to stretch periodically whether you’re going to be called or not,” Williams said. “Sometimes you have plenty of time to get ready but other times you might only have eight or 10 pitches to get warm. It just depends on the situation.”
As the weather warms, relievers naturally require less time to get warmed up compared to the frigid conditions the team played in to begin the season. But Sasser admitted that throwing the ideal 15-20 pitches improves performance on the mound.
“Later in the year when it gets hotter, guys can get ready in seven to 10 pitches,” Sasser said. “I think all of us would agree though, the more you get to throw [in the bullpen], the better you’re going to pitch.”
For Thomas, who is only one of two freshmen on State’s roster, transitioning to the bullpen after being a starter for nearby Riverside High School in Durham was challenging mainly due to the different level of strain relief pitching puts on the arm.
“It was a rough transition. I had dead arm the first couple of weeks from throwing every other day,” Thomas said. “But you just have to build your body up and get used to it.”
So far this season, Sasser and Williams have dominated out of the bullpen and currently sport the team’s top-two ERAs at 1.29 and 2.10, respectively. With the Wolfpack (18-15 overall, 5-10 ACC) offense struggling to find its stride and suspect starting pitching, an emphasis is on the bullpen to close out games when the Pack gets a lead.
The Wolfpack returns to the diamond today as it hosts the UNCW Seahawks at 3 p.m. in the 76th meeting between the two schools.
