Bonderman and Cluck: The Student and The Professor

Note: 2007 (Cluck has retired and Bonderman is an All Star pitcher still with the Detroit Tigers.)
 
I was happy to see the College World Series finals pit two teams with good academic reputations. As usual, it was good baseball played with youthful exuberance. Watching all that excitement made me stop once again to ask if professional teams, especially baseball teams, should be drafting and signing young players out of high school or even high school players who qualify after their junior year. One of the latest high school juniors to be signed was Jeremy Bonderman, now of the Detroit Tigers.
 
As a college coach, I went into many homes armed with the evidence and statistics on why it was better for a young man to attend college than it was for him to go straight into pro ball. Of course, my main argument was that for any young man, it was best for him to get his education. Almost anyone has a much better chance to get a good job and succeed in life with a college degree. It is also true that very few players, once they have signed a pro contract, go back and get their degree.
 
In addition, I convinced many parents that, as a college coach, I would train their sons in the fundamentals of the game and be involved in their maturation process on and off the field. In essence, I was an intermediary between them being in the family nest and them being totally out in the world on their own. Some statistics show that college players have a better chance of getting to, and staying in, the big leagues than do their high school counterparts. I also argued that they only had one time in life to have the college experience.
 
These were good arguments, and college was the right decision for a good number of young men. I would have been dead wrong if I would have tried to convince Jeremy Bonderman to go to college.
 
As far as his maturity, Jeremy is a 20-year-old pitcher going on 30. Athletically, he already has a good Major League fastball and an outstanding Major League breaking ball. But where Jeremy stands out is in his mental maturity and toughness.
 
Jeremy developed that toughness from growing up in Burbank — not Burbank, Calif., but Burbank, Wash., a suburb of Pasco. He likes working on the farm. He doesn’t like hitting the books. He likes to work. Anybody I have known who farmed worked his tail off. They do the work that needs to get done no matter how hard it is or how long it takes, or they don’t eat. It’s that simple.
 
Bonderman states his position in baseball just as simply. “If you can’t perform, you won’t be here. There is always someone down below working as hard or harder to take your place.” When he says he “busts his butt every day, lifts his weights, runs, and works hard in the bullpen,” you get the idea he knows what hard work is. I had players go through four years of college who didn’t understand this basic principle for success.
 
Bob Cluck, the Tigers’ pitching coach, says that right away, in Spring Training this year, he set out to develop tough guys who would make no excuses. He wanted the pitchers to challenge the hitters and to cut down on bases on balls. I asked him what attracted Bonderman to him, and he didn’t hesitate to reply, “the look in his eyes, his demeanor, being very professional about his approach, and his body language on the mound.”
 
Cluck said that Jeremy came to him early and stated that even though he knew they didn’t expect him to make the club, he was going to make it tough for them to cut him. Manager Alan Trammell and Cluck brought him into a spring game with the bases loaded and none out. All Bonderman did was pick a runner off base, get the next hitter to pop up, and strike the next hitter out, getting out of the jam. From then on he continued to impress the staff enough that he ended up in the starting rotation and on the Opening Day roster.
 
Shortly into the season, he came to Cluck again and said, “I don’t know how the rotation is going to work out, but I sure would like to pitch against Oakland. It was Oakland who traded him, and he wanted to show Billy Beane he could pitch. He had his best game of the year.
 
After that game, he heard a sportscaster comment that he pitched decently against a banged-up Oakland team, but a real test would be if he pitched against the Yankees. He went back to Cluck and said, “I don’t know how the rotation is going to work out, but I sure would like to pitch against the Yankees.” He got a no-decision that day pitching against Clemens, who was going after his 300th win.
 
This isn’t a fairy tale story. This is about a tough, 20-year-old pitcher who would be a sophomore in college, who currently has a record of 2-12 with 90-plus innings pitched in the big leagues. Many people would say it would be better for him to be in Double-A or college, where he would have less pressure while he learned how to pitch.
 
Professor Cluck disagrees, and I agree with him. He points out that Jeremy would win in Double-A with just his fastball and breaking ball, but that whenever he came to the big leagues he would still have to learn the changeup and make other adjustments that Cluck is helping him make this year. It’s not like he is the only player learning to play at the Major League level. The Tigers have a roster full of them.
 
Listen to the educator, Cluck, talk about Bondermans’s situation. “I needed to watch him over a number of starts. He’s learning right here in the toughest arena in the world. I watch his back and help him with the media.
 
“He asks me what to say, and I tell him to give the catcher credit when you win, and if you don’t pitch well, take it on yourself. Start there — it’s a good place to start. Don’t make any [negative] statements about your teammates or the other club.”
 
Cluck goes on: “Taking your lumps is a good way to appreciate the good times when they come.” Bob sees the big picture and helps his pitchers see it, too. Starting pitching hasn’t been the problem for the Tigers this year. Scoring runs and playing timely defense have been most of the problem. Nevertheless, the starters have an expectation of throwing a great game every time out. They know if they don’t, the team’s chances of winning aren’t good. Bob Cluck has gotten them to take that responsibility. For those pitchers who learn, it will make them much better in the long run.
 
I asked Jeremy what he thought about his pitching coach. He thinks Bob Cluck is the best. He emotionally stated, “He understands, listens, tries to help you any way that he can. He will do anything for you. He knows what I am going through. He knows that because I want to win so bad, I am scared of failure. He says, ‘That’s OK, but use it the right way to help you, not hurt you.'”
 
This is personal tutelage at its finest, at the highest level of his profession. There is no way he would have gotten this kind of education even if he had attended Stanford or Michigan.
 
The Tigers’ pitching staff has struggled lately, giving up more walks than earlier in the year. Bonderman, however, continues to go right after the hitters, hardly walking anyone.
 
Jeremy ended our conversation about Cluck by saying, “When he leaves, it will be a sad day. He is a great pitching coach.” I’ll add, ” professor,” in what has turned out to be the tough school of the Major Leagues.
 
For many players, college is the way to go. Jeremy Bonderman is in a tougher school with a gifted professor. I think he will graduate.
 
July 2003
By Geoff Zahn Former Head Baseball Coach University of Michigan and 12 Year Major League Veteran Pitcher