| Curtis A. Clark. 10th August, 2005 - 12:28 am
 Jeremy Bonderman, the Tigers 22-year-old hard throwing right hander, is already in his third year of major league baseball and second year removed from losing 19 games. Thrown to the fire in his first year Bonderman, then 20, had the stuff, just not the head. Most agreed he would one day be a good pitcher, but probably on a different team, years from now. No one would have guessed Bonderman could go from a 19 game loser to a 19 game winner in just 2 years.
In the off season, catcher Ivan Rodriguez started the Bonderman hype. Describing his stuff as electric during the preseason. An endorsement from your all star catcher is one thing, producing is another. Tigers fans got excited, but with as poor as the team has been in recent years, they dismissed it as promise. This year though, Bonderman is reaching his promise and starting to carve out a name for himself. Teammates know they can beat anybody when he is on the mound. A feeling the Tigers organization needed desperately. A good shot of confidence for their battered team.
This year alone Bonderman has out dueled Angels ace Bartolo Colon with 8 innings of near perfect pitching. Shut down the Yankees 10-2 with Cy Young winner Randy Johnson on the mound. Went 8 strong innings beating the then sizzling Indians 7-3 on the road. And dropped a 3 hit 8 inning gem on the road against the majors best record Chicago White Sox. Bonderman has 120 K’s and just 46 walks in 156 innings of work. He has a 4:05 Era with a 1.27 WHIP, giving up over 4 runs only 5 times all year.
His high ERA can be attributed to those 5 games over 4 runs, where he gave up an average of 6 per. That you can chalk up to youth. The kid is getting his head in it more and more every game. Soon those 6 earned run games that raised his ERA will fall off as his veteran savy starts to build.
We are talking veteran savy on the shoulders of a kid only 22 years of age. That cannot be emphasized enough. Bonderman pitches like a guy in his 30’s. Team are scared of him for a good reason.
The unquestionable ace on the Tigers staff, he should be their anchor for years to come. With high heat prospects Verlander and Zumaya looking to crack into the Tigers lineup next year, Bonderman will need to add leadership to his glistening portfolio. If he can do that, the Tigers could field a staff as young and talented as the always young and deadly Oakland A’s.
With 10 starts left this season, Bonderman has an outside chance at 20 wins. That would cap one of the all time turnarounds in MLB history. With his birthday in October it would put him in exclusive company as one of the few 23 year old 20 game winners in MLB history.
Bonderman may not be a record setter this year, but his performance this season has already signaled his arrival. While not receiving the hype of young studs, Blanton, Harren, Hardon, Duke and Carlos Zambrano, Bonderman is quietly consistent with more wins than all of them.
What Bonderman has that none of them do is the unquestioned title of staff ace. Something he earned in the off season by winning over manager Alan Trammell and his teammates. If he continues to improve at the present rate he may be a Cy young candidate in a few years.
Also this year, Bonderman was a definite All Star snub. With the All Star game in Detroit this year it was a crime that Matt Clement got the nod over Bonderman. His numbers were better than Clements, especially when you consider the differential in runs scored from the Tigers to the Redsox.
Bonderman is now the guy other teams talk about when they come to face Detroit. Come next season Bonderman will be the poster child for Detroit baseball. A more enviable role now than in the past. At just 22 he has possibly the brightest future a Tiger has had since Alan Trammell.
How he has flied under the radar outside of Detroit can mostly likely be attributed to the lack of national interest in Detroit Tigers baseball. But it wont be long until Bonderman’s name is a staple among the conversation of the leagues best pitchers. |
