Attitude, arm carry Chico from alley to major leagues
By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Sports Writer
March 30, 2007
Washington Nationals rookie Matt Chico's path to the major leagues began with a tryout in an alley behind a warehouse.
Well, actually, Chico's roundabout route to Washington's starting rotation this season started long before his ad-hoc audition about a month before the 2003 amateur draft for Mike Rizzo, then the Arizona Diamondbacks' scouting director.
Chico drew plenty of attention as a high school pitcher, enough to be drafted in the second round by the Boston Red Sox in 2001. He didn't sign, though, and went to Southern California, where he averaged a strikeout per inning as a freshman.
Slipping grades led him to leave USC and enroll in a junior college, where he was red-shirted. Then came a stint in semipro ball, playing with guys a decade or more older, as Chico waited for what he was convinced would come -- another chance.
"It's a matter of timing and opportunities," Chico said.
So his trip to the majors really got going after throwing for Rizzo on a makeshift mound outside the California warehouse where Chico began working out at age 10.
"I can honestly say I've never drafted anybody else after throwing in an alley. Usually, we do it on a diamond," Rizzo, now Washington's assistant general manager and vice president of baseball operations, said with a laugh Friday. "This guy has gone some through trials and tribulations. You talk about a 'road not traveled' -- this is a road to the big leagues that hasn't been traveled very much."
Impressed as much by Chico's attitude as his arm, Rizzo and the Diamondbacks picked the left-hander in 2003's third round. He was traded to the Nationals last summer in the deal that sent Livan Hernandez to Arizona.
Now, despite never pitching above Double-A, Chico is slated to make his major league debut next week as Washington's No. 3 starter.
"We're not going to baby him," manager Manny Acta said, "because we want to see if he can handle it."
Rizzo and others in the organization believe Chico's journey helped him build the presence they've seen this spring, what pitching coach Randy St. Claire calls "the confidence he brings to the mound, no matter who's at the plate."
That's not necessarily obvious when talking to the 6-foot, 205-pound Chico. No loud boasts here. Indeed, you have to lean in sometimes to hear him.
"He's not going to be afraid," Rizzo said. "With that said, he, like any other young pitcher, is probably going to have his ups and downs this year. But I don't believe he's going to take it into his next start."
That approach, a varied array of pitches, and Washington's need for starters allowed the 23-year-old to persuade the club he'll handle the jump from Double-A.
"To me, it's just another game, just another level. Same strike zone. Same mentality of the game," Chico said. "Just quicker. That's the thing I've got to realize, too -- hitters are going to be quicker and better, and I have to place the ball a little better."
In his final spring tuneup, Friday against the Baltimore Orioles at Norfolk, Va., Chico was charged with four runs on four hits and three walks over 5 2-3 innings in Washington's 6-5 loss.
But no one -- not Chico, not Rizzo, not catcher Brian Schneider -- thinks those numbers will be on the kid's mind his next time out, when it counts. If he can do what it takes in an alley, he figures he'll be fine at RFK Stadium.
"I had to learn how to handle my emotions pretty quickly and, I guess, mature in a sense, because of the route I took, and I think it's helped me," Chico said. "So many things happened with school and baseball, and everything hit me at once. I had the opportunity to stay down or get back up, and it took a lot of fighting to get back up."
By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Sports Writer
March 30, 2007
Washington Nationals rookie Matt Chico's path to the major leagues began with a tryout in an alley behind a warehouse.
Well, actually, Chico's roundabout route to Washington's starting rotation this season started long before his ad-hoc audition about a month before the 2003 amateur draft for Mike Rizzo, then the Arizona Diamondbacks' scouting director.
Chico drew plenty of attention as a high school pitcher, enough to be drafted in the second round by the Boston Red Sox in 2001. He didn't sign, though, and went to Southern California, where he averaged a strikeout per inning as a freshman.
Slipping grades led him to leave USC and enroll in a junior college, where he was red-shirted. Then came a stint in semipro ball, playing with guys a decade or more older, as Chico waited for what he was convinced would come -- another chance.
"It's a matter of timing and opportunities," Chico said.
So his trip to the majors really got going after throwing for Rizzo on a makeshift mound outside the California warehouse where Chico began working out at age 10.
"I can honestly say I've never drafted anybody else after throwing in an alley. Usually, we do it on a diamond," Rizzo, now Washington's assistant general manager and vice president of baseball operations, said with a laugh Friday. "This guy has gone some through trials and tribulations. You talk about a 'road not traveled' -- this is a road to the big leagues that hasn't been traveled very much."
Impressed as much by Chico's attitude as his arm, Rizzo and the Diamondbacks picked the left-hander in 2003's third round. He was traded to the Nationals last summer in the deal that sent Livan Hernandez to Arizona.
Now, despite never pitching above Double-A, Chico is slated to make his major league debut next week as Washington's No. 3 starter.
"We're not going to baby him," manager Manny Acta said, "because we want to see if he can handle it."
Rizzo and others in the organization believe Chico's journey helped him build the presence they've seen this spring, what pitching coach Randy St. Claire calls "the confidence he brings to the mound, no matter who's at the plate."
That's not necessarily obvious when talking to the 6-foot, 205-pound Chico. No loud boasts here. Indeed, you have to lean in sometimes to hear him.
"He's not going to be afraid," Rizzo said. "With that said, he, like any other young pitcher, is probably going to have his ups and downs this year. But I don't believe he's going to take it into his next start."
That approach, a varied array of pitches, and Washington's need for starters allowed the 23-year-old to persuade the club he'll handle the jump from Double-A.
"To me, it's just another game, just another level. Same strike zone. Same mentality of the game," Chico said. "Just quicker. That's the thing I've got to realize, too -- hitters are going to be quicker and better, and I have to place the ball a little better."
In his final spring tuneup, Friday against the Baltimore Orioles at Norfolk, Va., Chico was charged with four runs on four hits and three walks over 5 2-3 innings in Washington's 6-5 loss.
But no one -- not Chico, not Rizzo, not catcher Brian Schneider -- thinks those numbers will be on the kid's mind his next time out, when it counts. If he can do what it takes in an alley, he figures he'll be fine at RFK Stadium.
"I had to learn how to handle my emotions pretty quickly and, I guess, mature in a sense, because of the route I took, and I think it's helped me," Chico said. "So many things happened with school and baseball, and everything hit me at once. I had the opportunity to stay down or get back up, and it took a lot of fighting to get back up."
