By PATRICK OBLEY
The State
September in Cuba.
The kid on the mound was sweating. It was 95 degrees in the shade and 45,000 Cubans were trying to get inside his head.
What the Cubans did not know was the kid was fluent in the local language. After all, his minor at Winthrop University had been Spanish.
Impossible to fluster and impervious to gamesmanship, the kid on the mound hurled five solid innings for Team USA against the Cuban National team in the championship game of the Americas Olympic Qualifier. In the end, Team USA prevailed, bringing home gold medals and a berth in the 2008 Olympics.
That effort characterized the season for Kevin Slowey, but it would not tell the full story of a remarkable year that resembles a paraphrased version of the Johnny Cash song “I’ve Been Everywhere”:
Crossed the deserts bare, man, Breathed the mountain air, man.
Travel he’s had his share, man, Slowey’s been everywhere.
He’s been to:
Fort Myers, Daytona, Sarasota, Clearwater ...
Lakeland, Palm Beach, Dunedin, St. Lucie ...
Tampa, New Britain, Bowie, Reading ...
New Hampshire, Connecticut, Altoona, Erie ...
Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Peoria ...
Surprise (Ariz.), Rochester and Havana, Cuba...
That’s 23 ballparks, four leagues and a trip to Cuba in seven months for the former ace of the Winthrop pitching staff who was selected by Minnesota in the second round of the 2005 draft.
“It was a lot of travel, but I saw a lot of neat places,” Slowey said. “It was a blessing, really, to break up the season a little bit, to go to a new location every couple of months.”
He began the season at Fort Myers of the Class A Florida State League and finished it in the Class AAA International League championship series at Rochester. In between were stops in the Eastern League and Cuba.
He finally packed his bags for the offseason after spending time with Mesa in the Arizona Fall League.
Cumulatively, the right-handed finesse pitcher went 8-6 with a 1.93 ERA in 167.2 innings, walked 24 and struck out 163.
That success, crafted with an 89-mph four-seam fastball as his out pitch, defies conventional baseball wisdom. Pitchers who live and die with an ordinary fastball are akin to a Perseid meteor, which burn brightly but flames out in seconds.
“That’s a good way of putting it,” said John Manuel of Baseball America magazine. “That’s the thing that surprises people. Scouts just don’t see guys who can go to Double-A and Triple-A working just off a fastball who aren’t throwing 95.”
Slowey’s success rests on his control and guile. On the scout’s scale of 2-8 for control, Slowey gets a unanimous 8 from all who see him, which is exceedingly rare.
“The thing that makes me believe in him is that everybody who talks about him — pro agents, Team USA teammates — all of them talk about his ability to adjust when he needs to,” Manuel said.
And on those occasions when batters force Slowey to adjust?
STRIKE ONE
June in Daytona.
The kid on the mound knows he will toss one inning at the Florida State League’s all-star game.
It was over before he blinked.
“It happened so fast, nobody knew what I did,” Slowey said.
Nine pitches. Three strikeouts.
“He was on the mound for what, like 90 seconds?” Manuel said. “The buzz words for him are efficiency and command. The ability to be fine. He really has shown that ability.”
The all-star appearance was Slowey’s last in a Fort Myers Miracle uniform. In 14 Class A starts, Slowey posted a 4-2 record with a 1.01 ERA. In 89.1 innings, Slowey fanned 99 and walked nine.
His next stop was New Britain of the Class AA Eastern League.
Time for an adjustment.
When Slowey had an off-night in Class A, he escaped unharmed.
In Double-A, his bad starts were punctuated by mammoth home runs.
“Certainly for me, the biggest step was the Florida State League to Double-A,” Slowey said. “Using fastballs in fastball counts probably was not a good idea.”
Minnesota minor league officials were fascinated by Slowey’s rough start at New Britain. They wondered how would he adjust to the first adversity he had faced in pro ball.
“I asked the catchers what do I have to do, because this isn’t going to cut it,” Slowey said. “That’s where I really learned to do a lot more.”
It was at New Britain that Slowey eased up on the use of his fastball. He learned to use a change-up or a curve in fastball counts. He added to his fastball arsenal, learning a two-seam pitch to go with his four-seam standby.
Steadily, Slowey improved his stats. By mid-August, he had a 4-3 record with a 3.19 ERA. More important, his strikeout-to-walk ratio returned to familiar territory. In 59.1 innings, Slowey struck out 52 and walked 13.
He was ready to take the next step.
That step would have to wait.
STRIKE TWO
September in Cuba.
There was plenty of downtime for Team USA between games at the Americas Olympic Qualifier.
Slowey spent his time roaming the streets of Havana.
“Being down there, first of all, you see how blessed we are as a nation,” Slowey said. “It’s the creature comforts that (Cuba) doesn’t have. That was amazing.”
Unlike the United States, where football has surpassed baseball as the national pastime, Cuba lives and dies with its national baseball team. Kids, hoping to one day don that uniform, spend their days playing ball.
“Just on the walk from the hotel to the stadium, we probably saw a dozen more fields,” Slowey said. “They play from earliest morning until it’s time to go home and eat.”
Thanks to his Spanish minor, Slowey made an impression on those children.
“I played some handball, some stickball,” Slowey said. “I wish it could have been more.”
The Americans blew through their first four games before losing to Venezuela, 12-9, on Aug. 31. Slowey was knocked around in that defeat, surrendering four runs in five innings.
Team USA then won three more games to set up the championship against Cuba.
At Latina Americano Stadium, Slowey held the Cuban lineup at bay for five innings, allowing his team to take a 4-1 lead.
“Obviously, it was the biggest game I’ve ever thrown in,” Slowey said. “It was one of those crowds. Not hostile, but you’re in Cuba and you know it. That was almost unfortunate for me because I could understand what they were yelling, and it wasn’t nice.”
The bullpen blew the lead, but Team USA won 8-5.
“That’s one of those things I wouldn’t trade for the world,” Slowey said. “The team was hand-selected. It was a big honor to represent our country.”
Slowey pitched in that game knowing he would not return to New Britain.
“Two days before I left Cuba, the Twins called and said, ‘Hey, you’re going to Rochester,’” Slowey said. “I called my folks to let them know, but I had to cut out all my articles because it was $3.50 per minute. I just said, ‘Hey, Dad. Rochester. When get back.’”
Armed with the kind of confidence in his ability that could only be gained during a trial by fire, Slowey headed to Triple-A, where Rochester was playing for the International League title.
STRIKE THREE
September in Rochester.
Slowey recognized a few of the faces in the Red Wings clubhouse. He did not expect to pitch because Rochester’s experienced staff was intact.
He started the second game.
After the heartstopping experience in Cuba, Slowey found the pressure of pitching in the International League title series easy to deal with. For 7ð innings, he stymied Toledo, allowing a run and a walk while fanning six to pick up the win.
Back in Rock Hill, Slowey’s former college coach grinned.
“What he did during the Triple-A playoffs impresses me the most,” said Winthrop coach Joe Hudak, who recruited a skinny, 6-foot-3, 170-pound Slowey based on his performance during a tournament at Myrtle Beach.
“That was a tough situation,” Hudak said. “Not only is he coming in cold, but he’s coming into a situation where maybe the club has decided to bypass one of their regular starters to give the ball to Kevin.”
Minnesota also was pleased. Slowey displayed command not only of his fastball but also of his other pitches. The only question remaining in Twins general manager Terry Ryan’s mind was whether Slowey could handle 200 innings.
To that end, Slowey was shipped to Mesa to play in the Arizona Fall League. There, he rounded out his year with eight appearances, mostly in relief. In 19 innings, Slowey fanned 12, walked two and posted a 2.37 ERA.
Today, Slowey is working out at Duke, where his brother is pursuing a law degree. He knows he will get a long look from the Twins during spring training. Twins personnel already are comparing Slowey to former staff ace, Brad Radke, who retired earlier this month.
“The Twins couldn’t be more complimentary when they throw around the Brad Radke comparisons, especially with what Brad has done for the Twins the last couple of years,” Manuel said.
Manuel recently ranked Slowey third among the Twins’ 10 top prospects, behind pitchers Matt Garza and Glen Perkins, both of whom could break camp with the Twins in the spring. He expects Slowey to be with the Twins at some point next year.
“It could be earlier than later,” Manuel said. “They have a lot of openings right now. If he had a lights-out spring, I could see him making the staff.”
If that happened, file Hudak in the “not surprised” category.
“I can’t say anything he did surprised me,” Hudak said. “He has such great command and demeanor. Intelligence and toughness. Not too many people have the kind of year he’s had.”
For his part, Slowey has no timetable.
“I have a lot of faith in the Twins,” he said. “I’m sure they will give me a chance. That’s one of their fortes — bringing up their prospects, giving you a shot.
“I know I have more work to do before then. We’ll see what happens. I’ll go wherever they want me to go.”
And why not — after all, he’s been everywhere.
