Statistics can lie

Devin Malone

As I begin writing this, the Wild Things are about 90 minutes from the scheduled start of a three-game series at Traverse City. Before looking ahead, let's reflect on last weekend series against the Windy City ThunderBolts.

Washington won two of the three games, and the key to the series win was a come-from-behind win Friday night. In that game, Scott Dunn had a quality start, C.J. Beatty delivered a game-tying home run in the 8th inning, Al Yevoli was credited with a win and Stewart Ijames had a game-winning hit in extra innings.

However, the player who might have done the most, considering his experience and the circumstances, to give Washington the win in that game was relief pitcher Devin Malone, who got nothing more than one impressive line in the boxscore. Malone threw 2 1/3 perfect innings of relief during a tie game. And it was only the third outing as a professional by Malone, who was drafted in the second round by the Wild Things at the Frontier League tryout in April.

It was a tight situation for a rookie to be put in, but Malone delivered. He fell behind the first batter he faced 3-0, but battled back to strike out Ryan Soares, the T-Bolts' No. 3 hitter. Malone retired all seven batters he faced, including two on strikes. He showed poise, control and a 90 mph fastball.

Those were things you would not have expected if you looked at Malone's statistics the last two years at Louisiana-Monroe. Malone had a 5.94 ERA and issued 16 walks in 16 2/3 innings as a senior for the Warhawks. His record was 0-1 with two saves. As a junior, Malone pitched in only five games for all of six innings.

Those are not the kind of statistics that get a pitcher noticed by a professional team at any level.

"He's a walking example of a guy, who if you pay more attention to what is on paper than what your eyes see, then you're going to miss him," Washington manager Bart Zeller said. "I don't know what happened in college, but he looked very good at the Frontier League tryout. (Pitching coach) Kevin (Gryboski) and I really liked his composure, the movement on his pitches and his command of the strike zone."

Putting a guy with all of two outings of pro experience into a 3-3 game in the 9th inning was a bold and risky move.

"When Devin fell behind the first batter 3-0, I was saying to myself 'What did we do?' But he battled back and pounded the strike zone like a veteran," Zeller said. "That first at-bat changed the whole complexion of the game. When he got a 1-2-3 inning, you could see everybody's outlook picked up."

Malone's senior season at Louisiana-Monroe started well. He was named the Warhawks' closer and earned two saves, but as soon as he ran into his first tight spot, he says, the coaching staff started to lose faith in him. And Malone lost some confidence in himself.

"It seemed liked every time I was put in the game, we had somebody warming up in the bullpen," Malone said. "It was like I was always looking over my shoulder. I never got comfortable, then I was pitching only once every three weeks. But pitching here, it seems the coaches believe in me."

After a forgettable senior season at Louisiana-Monroe, Malone found that not many baseball people wanted to reply to his emails asking for a tryout or even answer his telephone calls.

"I finally got somebody with the Alpine Cowboys of the Pecos League to answer by calls," Malone said. "I signed with them in October, but I thought I could do better than that and decided to go to the Frontier League tryout."

The Wild Things were tipped off about Malone, who did not play baseball until he was 14, by first baseman William Beckwith. Malone and Beckwith were high schools teammates for three years at West Lowndes High School in Crawford, Miss. Malone was better known for his exploits on the football field and basketball court than in baseball. As a senior wide receiver, Malone caught 54 passes, including 11 touchdowns. He also was all-state in basketball, averaging 14 points and eight rebounds per game.