A pitch for normalcy
Can being normal be a disadvantage? In the world of baseball closers, apparently so, according to the Wall Street Journal. But N.Y. Mets hurler and Rowan County native Bobby Parnell isnít too worried about being perceived as a regular guy.
ěWhere closers are concerned, normal isnít in vogue,î WSJ sportswriter Mike Sielski writes in a Sunday column. He cites San Francisco Giant Brian Wilson (ěmore recognizable for his ink-black beard and unorthodox sartorial habits than for his accomplishments on the fieldî) and Mitch ěWild Thingî Williams as representative of the trend to idiosyncratic closers. Sielski asked Parnell, the former East Rowan High standout, whether he thought closers needed to have a few loose screwballs.
ěI try not to be weird,î Parnell says. ěSome of the good ones have been. I donít think itís a necessity.î
Parnell, whoís vying to be the Metsí closer, doesnít need to worry about a lack of weirdness. His fastball has been clocked at 103 mph.
Thatís not normal. Itís just plain nasty.