Bowden leans on veteran relievers as he attempts to jumpstart career
When Ben Bowden needs a support group, he can easily find it inside the Rockies clubhouse.
That’s where he’ll commiserate with right-handers Daniel Bard and Scott Oberg — two veteran pitchers who’ve dealt with major adversity and found a way to thrive.
“I’ll tell you what, when you’re physically injured, it can really mess with you — mentally,” Bowden, 26, said Monday from Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz. “It wears on you. But I look at the attitudes of those guys, and they are always so positive and so ready to go.”
Bard’s story has become a familiar one to baseball fans. After a sparkling start to his career in Boston, a severe case of the yips hijacked Bard’s career and he was out of the big leagues for more than seven years. He joined the Rockies on a tryout last year, made the team, and became the major league comeback player of the year. Now he’s the Rockies’ closer.
Oberg suffered axillary artery thrombosis (blood clots) in his right arm three times in five seasons. He underwent thoracic outlet surgery last September, a procedure he hopes will finally solve the problem. If all goes well, Oberg could eventually battle Bard for the ninth-inning spot.
Bowden? He has a chance to be the lone left-hander in Colorado’s bullpen.
If, that is, he can stay healthy and refine his stuff. Manager Bud Black has said that he’ll begin the season with an all-righty bullpen if need be, but he’d love to see Bowden take a step forward.
“He’s been a little bit — I don’t want to say injury prone — but some things have popped up physically that have really kept him from staying on a nice path of development,” Black said. “So the key for Ben is to stay healthy. If he does that, he’ll continue to build arm strength, he’ll get more repetitions. His pitching will become more polished…He really has conviction in his stuff. He’s on the attack.”
Coming out of Vanderbilt University, Bowden’s goal was to be a big-league closer. That remains the big left-hander’s dream, but he certainly didn’t expect to encounter so many detours
After a sparkling pro debut with low-A Asheville in 2016 (3.04 ERA in 26 appearances), the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder missed all of 2017 because of a left shoulder injury, as well as a herniated disc in his back that required surgery to repair. Last January, he suffered another herniated disc that sidelined him during the pandemic-shortened spring training.
Bowden said he’s healthy now, and he’s looked good thus far during Cactus League play, posting a 2.08 ERA with five strikeouts and two walks in five appearances.
“There’s been quite a few ups and some rough downs during this process, so there is no shortage of motivation,” Bowden said. “But it was definitely nice to have the injury kind of happen (last season) and get around it. And then within one season, get back to feeling that I was ready to go again. That was definitely nice.”
As for his clubhouse support group, Bowden has a special affinity for Bard, who at age 35 is Colorado’s oldest player.
“I grew up back near Boston, watching Bard pitch for the Red Sox,” said Bowden, who was born and raised in Lynn, Mass. “Then I saw him show up at camp last year and I was like, ‘Wow!’ I grew up watching him. He was throwing 100 at Fenway (Park), so I was picking his brain right away.
“But I’m motivated by both of those guys, 100%. They’ve really been there for me to talk to.”