Dodgers’ McCarthy finally back in control
It’s an issue ballplayers assiduously avoid but quickly recognize, like a no-hitter in progress. Except there’s nothing to celebrate about this phenomenon.
The yips, baseball’s term for the mental malady with the physical manifestation of rendering a player unable to throw a ball accurately, can strike unexpectedly and derail careers, its origins often a mystery. Those afflicted typically don’t talk about it, and people around them don’t bring it up either.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy had a case of the yips last year when, a month after returning from Tommy John elbow surgery, his control inexplicably abandoned him. A pitcher who had averaged 1.5 walks per nine innings over his previous five seasons issued 15 in a three-game span covering 81⁄3 innings in August.
The Dodgers put him on the disabled list with what was listed as a hip injury, and McCarthy spent the next six weeks “finding myself again.” A cerebral pitcher who had reshaped his career by delving into advanced metrics, the veteran right-hander suddenly had to contend with his mind as his worst enemy.
That makes it all the more remarkable that McCarthy ranks as the Dodgers’ second-most effective and reliable starter, behind three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw.
After logging a 5.29 ERA and lots of missed time in his first two years in L.A., McCarthy has gone 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts. His command is back. His confidence is rising. His cutter is again generating soft contact. And the Dodgers, beset by injuries and ineffectiveness in the rotation, are thrilled to get his somewhat surprising contributions.
The Dodgers are finally getting what they hoped for when they signed McCarthy to a four-year, $48 million deal in December 2014. But he lasted only four starts in 2015 before blowing out his elbow, requiring an operation that knocked him out until midseason in 2016.
With the Dodgers rotation decimated by injuries, McCarthy skipped his last couple of rehab starts and returned to the mound July 3, pitching well in that month but with diminishing returns. Then suddenly he couldn’t find the plate.
McCarthy doesn’t delve deeply into the reasons why he endured the condition, saying off-kilter mechanics converged with other factors. He acknowledges worrying about his career.
“The thoughts are there. It’s whether or not you allow them to take root, take hold,” said McCarthy, 33. “So I tried my best not to let that happen. It was simply, this is something I can work toward and get over, and I just kept it as simple as I could in regard to that. Let’s just keep throwing and see where I get to.”
Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said McCarthy might not have been physically ready to be thrown in the midst of a playoff chase. Honeycutt also pointed out that it’s not unusual for pitchers to lack command when they first return to action after Tommy John surgery.
Former Dodgers pitching great Orel Hershiser saw firsthand the impact the yips can have on a player. His former teammate, Steve Sax, is among those remembered for the affliction, as are fellow second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, catcher Mackey Sasser and pitchers Rick Ankiel and Steve Blass.
Ankiel eventually gave up pitching and became an outfielder. That was not an option for McCarthy, whose case was not as pronounced.
“I think in some ways the yips probably came about a little bit because he’s so thoughtful,” Hershiser said of McCarthy. “What we do on the mound sometimes is a little bit more unconscious than it is conscious. You’re just thinking too much and it gets in the way of what you can do naturally as an athlete.”
Hershiser gives McCarthy credit for publicly acknowledging his battle.
After the six-week layoff late last season, McCarthy took a major step forward in his final start by throwing 51⁄3 innings of two-run ball while giving up one walk vs. the Colorado Rockies.
He was left off the playoff roster but channeled that disappointment into honing his craft. Early in spring training, McCarthy tinkered with the grip on his cutter, and it has become more effective.
“I’ve been able to work on being not just a healthy big-league pitcher but a good big-league pitcher,” McCarthy said.