Doug Fister an integral piece for contending Tigers
With an improved ability to induce ground balls and cut down line drives, newly-acquired Tiger Doug Fister has evolved into one of Major League Baseball’s top pitchers in 2011 – despite the fact that until last week, his win-loss record sat at 3-12.
The third-year pitcher’s success on the mound can be attributed to an increased focus night in and night out.
“My game plan is to go out there and throw as many strikes as possible in the right locations at the right time,” Fister told The Good Point. “Really my focus is trying to get bad contact in the first three pitches, allowing me to possibly go deeper into a game.”
Improving upon an impressive 2010 in 21 starts with the Seattle Mariners this season, Fister’s new philosophy has worked wonders. Before joining the Tigers, Fister’s ERA sat at 3.33 with a WHIP of 1.171 in 146 innings. The only problem, though, was that he had so few wins to show for it, thanks largely in part to abysmal run support from the worst offense in baseball.
While the relevance of pitcher win-loss records debatable at best, it’s hard to ignore the main contributor to that 3-12 record: Seattle’s inability to provide him run support. Fister received an average of just 2.3 runs per start this season with the Mariners, and taking out a rare 13-run outburst on April 19, that number drops to just 1.8. Out of those 20 games, the M’s lost 16.
Needless to say, it’s easy to see how Fister has been revitalized since arriving in Detroit, where he’ll likely factor into one of the AL Central’s top rotations for the foreseeable future.
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But the adjustment inherent with moving across the country, however, isn’t always as easy as pulling on a new jersey. Fortunately, Fister wasn’t the only Mariner to head east in the deal. Relief pitcher David Pauley, a teammate since last season, was acquired by the Tigers in the same trade for a package of prospects.
For Fister, having a teammate like Pauley in tow has helped him deal with the drastic move, and also with the adjustments to a new city, team, and clubhouse.
“It’s been a lot easier for me, more emotionally and mentally than anything else, having somebody that I’ve relied on all year to be a sounding block and somebody that is a good buddy,” the California native said.
Fister’s first start in a Tigers uniform came Wednesday and in it he attacked the strike zone with first-pitch strikes while inducing 13 ground ball outs. Just as he had done all year in Seattle but with a different result on the scoreboard, Fister put faith in the Tigers’ defense behind him.
Through seven strong innings at Comerica Park, Fister gave up just eight hits and three runs (two earned). It was the 15th consecutive start in which he lasted at least six frames. Even one of those earned runs could have been avoided if Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta had successfully completed an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
Throughout his debut, Fister displayed strong command of the strike zone, walking none and throwing 73 of his 99 pitches for strikes. Oddly enough, though, his stat line didn’t include a single strikeout either. That’s fine with him, however, as he’s more than comfortable with having his infielders help him out.
“I like that; being able to rely on the defense. The defense here is tremendous, so I’d be foolish not to utilize that,” Fister said.
For the Tigers, Fister represents a hard-to-acquire, core pitcher entering the prime of his career, at a steal of a price. He’s not arbitration-eligible until the end of next season and remains under team control until the end of 2015. Add him to other Tigers starters that are locked up like Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, and it’s clear that the club is successfully building one of the AL’s elite rotations for years to come.
The advantages of the new relationship go both ways, too. These days Fister finds himself not just on any baseball team, but one that currently sits atop the American League Central with a 3.5-game lead and their sights firmly set on a deep postseason run. Not bad at all, considering just one week ago, he was pitching for the AL’s worst team.
“It’s just a different atmosphere altogether; a different group of guys, a different camaraderie,” the 6’8″ right-hander said. “Not that things weren’t like [this] over in Seattle, [but] guys are coming in here every day with that fire in their eyes and wanting to compete.”
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