Schooners’ Nambiar drawing attention
Left-handed pitcher among NECBL leaders in ERA with 1.32
Groton — Kumar Nambiar grabbed the attention of his Mystic Schooners teammates and the rest of the New England Collegiate Baseball League in his first start of the summer, throwing six spotless innings. No hits. No walks. Six strikeouts. Perfect. Only a pitch limit kept him from staying in the game.
It's been a joy ride ever since that sparkling performance on June 7 for Nambiar, a Yale rising senior. Nambiar (4-0), a 5-foot-10 lefthander, ranks among the NECBL's earned run average leaders at 1.32.
Pro scouts are showing up at Fitch High School, the home of the Schooners, to watch the talented lefty pitch.
"It's cool," Nambiar said of pitching in front of scouts. "(Mystic general manager) Dennis Long told me
after a start that a couple of scouts had come to specifically see me and I was in awe. I was shocked. It's not something I've ever experienced before.
"In the back of my head, I know they are there. I just try to pitch my own game and not worry about them . ... Playing professionally is something that I'd like to do but there's only so much I can control with that."
He better get used to the attention.
A dominant Nambiar allowed only one earned run in his first five starts, owning a microscopic 0.31 earned run average before his first bumpy outing against the league-leading Valley Blue Sox last week. Opponents are batting an icy .175 against him.
"I'm having a great time," Nambiar said. "Really glad I made it out here to Mystic. Host family has been great. Team is super fun. We've been doing well. That's all I can ask for."
Pitching is a strength of this Mystic team. Entering Monday's action, the Schooners owned the third best earned run average (3.79) in the league. A 4-3 win over Ocean State helped lower the number and improve Mystic's record to 18-15.
Nambiar, who's from Larchmont, N.Y., regularly pounds the strike zone, fanning 31 and walking seven in 34 innings while allowing just 22 hits.
He has a friendly competition with Yale teammate and roommate Scott Politz who's pitching for Falmouth in the Cape Cod League.
"I'm a pretty competitive person with whatever I'm doing," Nambiar said. "I've been trying to compete with him for three years and it's been extremely difficult because he's a stud. I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself ... even though I know in the back of my head that I'm here to have fun.
"At the same time, I think I've found a good mix of both where I can work hard but also have fun with all these great guys."
Last season as a junior, Nambiar was a fixture in the starting rotation at Yale, making a career-high 11 starts. He went 5-2 with a 5.18 earned run average.
After taking last summer off, Nambiar followed his coach's advice and headed to Mystic. The Schooners have had good luck with Yale players. Richard Slenker helped the Schooners win their first NECBL title in 2016.
"Being able to play in the summer with guys all over the country, it's a special experience and not many people get to do that, so it was something that I didn't want to pass up," Nambiar said. "And it's a good time to get better."
Nambiar has certainly taken advantage of his summer. He's worked hard at his craft and has faith in manager Rob Bono, who's also the pitching coach. He has four quality pitches — four-seam fast ball, changeup, curve ball and slider — at his disposal. He attributes his success this summer to being able to locate his fastball.
Long loves Nambiar's makeup, calling him a "fearless competitor."
"He's been great all summer," Bono said. "He's a strike-thrower. He has multiple pitches that he throws in any count. He has confidence in them all. Days that he's gotten hit, it's just been a mistake here or there and the other team has put a good swing on it. He competes night in, night out. Pitch by pitch.
"He's a great kid. He's what you dream about as far as a player that you want in your program."
Nambiar's summer baseball season is winding down. He figures he has one start left before reaching his innings limit.
It will be hard for Nambiar, who's a lock to be selected to compete in the NECBL allstar game, to leave his teammates.
"I'm not ready to go home," Nambiar said. "My (Yale) coach doesn't want me here much longer. I'm approaching 100 (innings) for the year. Just one more start. It's disappointing. I don't want to leave these guys hanging. Hopefully, these guys can keep it rolling." g.keefe@theday.com