Although Mark Prior has yet to throw a pitch in the big leagues, has made only nine minor-league starts and is set to begin his major-league career with a team languishing in fifth place in the National League Central, the young right-hander already leads the league in one category: hype.
Not since Michael Jordan’s 1995 return from retirement and a failed attempt to play baseball has the hype over a debut in Chicago eclipsed the fervor of Prior’s scheduled start Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field.
The fever is fueled not only by the rookie’s potential–Baseball America called him the greatest college pitcher ever–but also the Cubs’ dismal start and lack of postseason success through the years.
With easy accessibility to statistics and real-time scoring on the Internet, as well as the plethora of sports-talk radio and TV shows, the time when players in any sport could work their way through college and minor-league systems to make quiet major-league debuts is over.
“I can’t think of any comparable situation,” said Jerome Holtzman, Major League Baseball’s historian and former longtime Tribune national baseball reporter. “[In the past] you didn’t know [about players] until they got to the majors.”
They know about Prior.
Since the Cubs chose Prior with the second overall pick in the 2001 draft, his every pitch has been chronicled, from spring training through his final pitch in Friday night’s loss with Triple-A Iowa.
As the Cubs’ losses have mounted, so has the scrutiny of the pitcher seen as a potential savior.
That’s why the Cubs have received more than 150 requests for media credentials for Wednesday’s game. On a normal Wednesday night game in May, the number is around 50. The Cubs expect a near-sellout crowd.
There have been other heralded rookies in Chicago, most notably Jordan. Like Prior, Jordan was seen as a savior for a struggling franchise that had finished 27-55 in the 1983-84 season.
“I remember playing a preseason game in Gary, Ind., and you knew something was going on because [Jordan] had a huge following then as far as fans,” said Tim Hallam, the Bulls’ senior director of media services. “The tremendous hype didn’t really start until the end of the second year and the third year, specifically when he was leading the NBA in scoring and having such a phenomenal year.”
The anticipation was even higher when Jordan came out of retirement the first time, near the end of the 1994-1995 season.
“When he was thinking about coming back and the rumors started to get a little stronger, we had the TV trucks from everywhere around us for a week,” Hallam said. “In the end he came back and played a game at Indianapolis. That was an overwhelming situation. I think we had a media list from Chicago alone going to Indiana of well over 100. So it was a big deal.”
For the Bears, the most highly anticipated debut since Red Grange changed the face of pro football in 1925 likely was that of the dynamic duo of Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers, picked third and fourth overall in the 1965 draft. The Bears were coming off a 5-9 season and coach George Halas–and Bears fans–were ready for the local hero, Butkus, and the scintillating runner, Sayers.
“Halas made a three-ring circus of it,” said Cooper Rollow, a former Tribune sports editor. “There was all kinds of hype–newspaper hype. The days of big-time television and talk shows and Internet hadn’t happened yet, but they were as big as you can get at that time and the pressure was as big as it can get at that time.”
There have been other highly anticipated debuts in Chicago sports. Some, like the White Sox’s Carlton Fisk’s three-run homer to beat his former Red Sox teammates on Opening Day 1981, were harbingers of great success to come. Denis Savard had three assists in his first Blackhawks game in 1980.
Some, despite terrific starts, ended badly. Albert Belle began his White Sox stint in style, homering in his debut in 1997 to help the Sox defeat Toronto, but was gone after the 1998 season.
Savard’s advice for Prior is simple.
“His goal should be to go out and pitch hard, throw strikes and see what happens,” said Savard, a Hall of Famer and currently an assistant coach with the Hawks. “He shouldn’t have added pressure because of where they have been all year. He can’t be a savior–he can’t win five games in one night.”
More Top Picks Best Ankle Weights
If Prior doesn’t deliver immediately on his promise and the Cubs keep spiraling, it shouldn’t affect the team much.
“It’s not going to hurt the Cubs,” Holtzman said. “Nothing can hurt them at this point.”
Big beginnings
Here is a look at some of the more memorable Cubs starting debuts over the last 20 years.
Greg Maddux (September 7, 1986): The 20-year-old scattered 11 hits, walked three, struck out four in a complete game. He is 261-148 with a 2.84 ERA in his career, 95-75 with the Cubs, 166-73 since joining Atlanta.
Jeff Pico (May 31, 1988): The 22-year-old became the first Cub since 1909 to throw a shutout in his big-league debut. He held the Reds to four hits, struck out six and did not walk a batter in a 1-hour-57-minute game at Wrigley. Pico had just 25 more starts in his career over three seasons and finished 13-12 with a 4.24 ERA.
Jim Bullinger (August 30, 1992): Kirt Manwaring spoiled his no-hit bid with a home run in the eighth inning, but Bullinger finished off the complete-game one-hitter for his first victory as a starter. His record with the Cubs was 27-28 over five seasons with a 4.77 ERA, including a 6.54 ERA in his last season as a Cub.
Amaury Telemaco (May 16, 1996): Debuted with seven innings of one-hit ball in a 13-1 victory over the Astros. He finished the season 5-7 with a 5.46 ERA.
Kerry Wood (April 12, 1998): In his first start, Wood pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowed four runs on three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in a 4-1 loss at Montreal.
The starting gate
Mark Prior will be the fourth pitcher to make his major-league debut as a starter this season. Of the previous three, only San Diego’s Dennis Tankersley had big-time credentials. Baseball America ranked him the No. 2 prospect in the Padres’ organization behind third baseman Sean Burroughs.
DATE PLAYER AGE OPP DEC IP ER H BB SO
May 4 Nate Teut, Florida 26 at Milwaukee Lost 4.1 5 8 1 3
May 4 Jason Simontacchi, St. Louis 28 vs. Atlanta Won 7.0 2 5 1 4
May 10 Dennis Tankersley, San Diego 23 at Atlanta ND 5.2 2 4 4 5
%%
%%