Tough losses have been a theme this season for the Niles North baseball team, which has made senior George Sherman extra important. Sherman, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound lefty who possesses a 1.25 ERA, is the ace of Niles North’s staff.
“George has been our go-to guy on the mound,” Niles North coach Ed Toledo said. “He gives us a quality start every time out. Whenever things don’t go well, we look for him to stop whatever has been going wrong. We know he’s going to go out there and limit the other team’s offense.”
While Sherman figured to be the team’s best pitcher entering the season — he was also viewed as the ace of last year’s team — he took what he said were necessary steps this offseason to become better. Despite his intimidating size on the mound, Sherman’s fastball sat in the low 70s last season. And while he’s a self-described finesse pitcher who relies on location and his offspeed stuff, he felt it prudent to add velocity on his fastball.
So, on the advice of Toledo, he adopted a long-toss program, throwing long distances, sometimes up to 300 feet, with nearly max effort. One of the benefits of the long-toss program, according to Toledo, is that it conditions the arm and builds strength and endurance while also improving throwing mechanics. Sherman and other pitchers used the grass football field behind the main stadium for the program three times a week in the fall.
Sherman said he also hit the weight room hard and added 10-15 pounds of muscle to his already well-built frame.
The results have followed. Sherman said his fastball has gained about 7 mph and he now sits around 80 mph. But he said location is still his strength.
“My approach on the mound is more hitting spots and stuff and just setting up batters,” Sherman said. “Just locating the fastball and stuff like that and just keeping them off balance to where they can’t sit on any pitch and drive it to the gap or anything.”
While the extra velocity has been helpful, Sherman said his changeup has improved the most. In the past, he held his changeup like he held his four-seam fastball. This year, he throws the pitch with a circle change grip, which has added a whole new dynamic.
To throw the pitch, Sherman’s pointer finger and thumb touch and form a circle when he grips the ball. He has fiddled with the circle change in previous years, but could never consistently throw it for strikes, often burying it in the dirt.
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With extra practice this offseason, that changed. The pitch is thrown from the same arm slot as his fastball to disguise it and it starts at the middle part of the plate before it sinks and tails away from a right-handed batter.
“That’s one that really can be an out pitch, or can get someone set up for an out pitch,” said Sherman, a Skokie resident. “I think (that) has been the most important addition this year for me.”
Sherman added that by adding mph to his fastball, and creating a bigger difference in speed between his fastball and changeup, his changeup has become a swing-and-miss pitch.
Sherman has been dominant of late, as he went 8 2/3 innings in a 1-0 win over Vernon Hills on April 17 and he threw a complete-game shutout in an 8-0 win over Maine West on April 29. The win over Maine West was a nice reprieve for Sherman. He often doesn’t get much run support, Toledo said, because he’s usually up against the opposing team’s best pitcher as well.
“But he’s never said anything and I just know that he loves to compete,” Toledo said. “He doesn’t care if he wins 10-9, he just wants to play. I think that’s what makes George so good.”
Sherman said he doesn’t view his vital role as a burden, but rather a source of inspiration each time he takes the mound.
“Everyone (on Niles North) knows I’m coming to pitch, which helps my mindset, too,” Sherman said. “Coming into the game I’m really calm and try not to think about it too much, because I think the mental part is a big part of pitching. I just know that I keep my fielders on point, because usually I’m a contact pitcher, so they’ll be ready to play when I’m out there as well.”
Brett Christie is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press