The future arrived at Comiskey Park Tuesday, and for once, it looked great for the White Sox.
Jack McDowell, the team`s No. 1 draft pick in June, made his major league debut a memorable one. The ex-Stanford ace pitched four-hit, shutout ball over seven innings to lead the Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
The loser was 42-year-old Joe Niekro, who signed his first pro contract in 1966, the same year McDowell was born. McDowell struck out four and didn`t issue a walk, although he did hit a batter. Bobby Thigpen finished up to preserve the win.
More importantly, McDowell showed poise on the mound. He didn`t seem rattled at any point, and exhibited the desire to throw inside, a trait not often seen in young pitchers.
”I didn`t expect to do that well,” he said. ”This is something I never pictured, but it was always in the back of my mind. When I went out on the field, it was an amazing feeling.”
”Sure he had an advantage pitching against them for the first time,”
said Sox manager Jim Fregosi. ”But if you watch the game of baseball, you know he`s got a quality arm.”
All in all, it was a pretty good first return on the Sox`s investment of $175,000 they gave McDowell to sign. McDowell held out nearly seven weeks before signing. One of his desires was a chance to receive a September call-up.
”It`s important to me,” McDowell said. ”I think I`m the kind of player who can adjust. I think I have the physical ability. I`ve always been told by people that I should be able to come pretty fast. The quicker I see what it`s all about up here, the more it will help me out.”
McDowell, however, doesn`t hold any notions about making the big club next year. General Manager Larry Himes emphasized that it`s premature for him to be thinking those thoughts.
”I told him to not worry about trying to make the team tonight,” Himes said. ”It would be stupid to pitch under that kind of pressure.”
Can McDowell make the Sox next year? In six appearances at Sarasota in the Rookie League and Double-A Birmingham, he was 2-2 with a 6.31 earned-run average.
”It`s tough to say,” he said. ”It depends on how much I improve from this year to next. I`m not saying where I`m going to play. A lot depends on the work I do during the off-season. I`m going to work on strength and endurance.”
At 6 feet 5 inches, 185 pounds, McDowell could add some bulk to his frame. However, he seems to have the physical abilities, and more importantly, the confidence to become a good major league pitcher.
”Pitching in the pros is a different game from college,” McDowell said. ”With every jump, there`s a change in style. It`s more of a mental game than a physical game here. In college, I could get by more on my physical ability.”
Donnie Hill keyed the Sox offense with three hits, including a two-run double in the seventh.
The Sox broke the game open with three runs in the seventh. Hill`s two-out double off Juan Berenguer proved to be the big blow.
