Posted Aug. 15, 2002
Pavlik's sigh of relief
Hard-throwing rookie turns heads as Dust Devil months after 9/11 scare
By Mark McKenna
Herald staff writer
Tri-City Dust Devils pitcher Isaac Pavlik took the field Tuesday night at Tri-Cities Stadium and delivered a flawless performance.
Pavlik didn't flash his fastball or his knee-buckling breaker. He didn't even throw a pitch. He did, however, draw cheers from fans and high-fives from teammates with his rendition of the national anthem.
"I love the spotlight," said Pavlik, a 22-year-old left-hander from Rutherford, N.J.
Nowhere is that more evident than on the mound, where Pavlik is thriving in his first professional season. He enters tonight's home game against the Everett AquaSox with a 5-1 record and a 1.48 ERA.
Pavlik doesn't exactly strike fear into opposing hitters. At
5-foot-8, 170 pounds, you might expect him to be a crafty lefty who tries to trick hitters. But he's the opposite - a power pitcher who can blow a hitter out of the box with his 93 mph fastball. In 2413 innings, all in relief, he's struck out 26 and walked only seven.
"Pavs attacks hitters," said Mike Snyder, the Dust Devils pitching coach. "The first couple of games, he was so juiced up we had to calm him down. He's been pretty dominant ever since."
Pavlik, a 10th-round draft pick by the Colorado Rockies out of Seton Hall University, pitches without fear. No game is too big, no situation too intense.
Not after Sept. 11.
His mother, Patty, a computer analyst for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., was working at the World Trade Center on the day of the terrorist attacks.
Patty's office was on the 69th floor of the south tower - the second of the 110-story skyscrapers hit - but she was on the stairwell on the 50th floor when the plane crash occurred. Miraculously, she and her co-workers made their way out of the tower before it collapsed.
"She thought it was all over," Pavlik said.
Pavlik recalls every detail of the tragic day. He had just taken a shower at his family home and was preparing for class when he noticed he had seven messages on his cell phone. He soon got the bad news.
"It was weird, but I had a gut feeling that my mom was all right," Pavlik said. "But I was still scared."
Feeling helpless and without a way to communicate with his mother, Pavlik decided to go to class. He walked onto the Seton Hall campus, saw a group of students crying in the cafeteria, then walked out.
"There was no way I could concentrate in class," Pavlik said. "I remember thinking, 'How could I go on without my mom, let alone play baseball?' She's my biggest fan."
When Pavlik returned home around 11:30 a.m., he got a hug from his father, listened to his mother's voice on the answering machine, then lost it.
"I cried my eyes out I was so relieved," he said.
Pavlik refocused on baseball his senior year and quickly caught the attention of major league scouts. He was 3-5 with eight saves and a 2.85 ERA in earning first-team All-Big East honors.
"I was disappointed when I wasn't drafted as a junior, so I used that as motivation my senior year," said Pavlik, who has drawn comparisons to Houston Astros closer Billy Wagner.
Pavlik has mostly been used late in Dust Devils games, usually pitching no more than two innings. His future role in the organization is uncertain.
"I'll do whatever they want," Pavlik said. "But if I had my choice, I'd like to be used as a starter or a closer. I like to be the guy who is pitching when the game is on the line."
Again, Pavlik craves the spotlight.
He spends much of his free time singing in his band, 24/7, back in New Jersey. Since he's been in the Tri-Cities, he and a few teammates have been regulars on karaoke nights at a Pasco tavern.
"I like all music ... rock, country, rap," said Pavlik, who lists Linkin Park and Third Eye Blind among his favorite bands.
Snyder, himself an accomplished guitarist, smiles when he talks about Pavlik.
"He's a people person," Snyder said. "I don't think there's one guy on this team who doesn't like Pavs. He's going to be successful in whatever he does in life."
Dust Devils manager Ron Gideon predicts a long baseball career for Pavlik.
"He's left-handed, he has good stuff and he has a big heart," Gideon said. "It's hard to turn away a kid like that."
| Tri-City Posse | Preps, college | Tri-City Americans | Opinion: Jim Riley |
Outdoors |
| Adult sports | Hydros | Area golf | Top 100 stories | Jeff Morrow |
This page and all contents are ©opyright 2000 by the