Chris Bassitt old school in mentality, performance for Toronto on mound
Chris Bassitt is a country boy.
Put a saddle on him and he’ll do the work, particularly on a baseball diamond. Bassitt was one of the most durable duelers in baseball as Toronto rode him for 33 starts to tie for the lead in the American League last season.
The Genoa graduate delivered 100 or more pitches 13 times and 92 or more an additional 11. That's more than two-thirds of his starts.
He was the rarest of roadblocks to stave off fresh relief pitchers these days. He tied for the league lead with 16 wins, one more than Yankees Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole.
Bassitt trailed only Cole with 21 quality starts. Cole (209) and Bassitt were the only two starters in the AL to toss 200 innings as Bassitt reached the milestone on the button for the first time in his career.
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Bassitt enters his 10th season in MLB. He missed the 2017 season rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery.
He established himself as one of baseball’s workhorses over the last decade. He has two career shutouts, which seem to have become as rare as no-hitters.
He once even bucked the trend to avoid the All-Star Game if you pitched the Sunday prior, volunteering for a turn instead. Thus, it had to be maddening when the Blue Jays were eliminated by Minnesota in two games in the Wild Card round last season.
Bassitt was waiting to pitch Game 3.
“The toughest part was going home,” he said. “We had a good group and you have to go home. It’s never a good feeling.”
Toronto lost 3-1 and 2-0 to the Twins.
“Similar to 29 other teams, we came up short,” Bassitt said. “Things didn’t go our way and we came up short of our goals.”
Toronto took the third Wild Card last season at 89-73, one game back of World Series champ Texas. The Blue Jays finished 12 games behind Baltimore for third in the AL East.
“We have the potential to be a really good offensive team, a really good pitching team and a really good defensive team,” Bassitt said. “On paper, we’re stacked in all facets. We have to play our game. The potential is there to win a World Series.
"We have to put everything we’ve got into it. You have to run into some luck, along with the talent to do it. We have to remain focused.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Bo Bichette fortify the lineup.
“His approach is unbelievable,” Bassitt said of Bichette. “He’s a complete hitter.”
Bassitt was in the top 10 in the AL for strikeouts (186) and ERA (3.60) last season.
“The biggest focus was my body health and coming to spring training healthy and ready for another long season,” he said. “Rehab some body parts that needed work and put yourself in the best position for the upcoming season.”
Last year was Bassitt’s first in Toronto.
“It was pretty hard to venture out with a newborn,” he said. “But the nature, the beautiful lakes. The city is beautiful. Two or three hours away, the wilderness side is the coolest aspect. There are beautiful spots to go.”
He’s learned the best ways to bale the hay in life.
“My energy and time is spent the right way, worrying about the right things,” he said of his blinders. “The things I can control. When you’re a young player, you worry about so many things outside your control.
“Everything that I can control, I’m doing my best to be good at those things. You have to have trust and faith the work and preparation are good. You’re not afraid to put a plan in and have confidence.”
Bassitt’s career coincides with the mass infiltration of analytics into every nook of the game. Bassitt is no doubt proud to wear an old school brand.
No fool, he also knows there’s a balance. Every player incorporates the knowledge differently.
“The biggest thing, you have to control the human element and the guys in the room and their health and their mindset in the moment,” Bassitt said. “Analytics don’t supply that. You have to have the right coaches to help use both.”
Bassitt doesn’t need you to go to the pen for a new arm. He’s proven absolutely bullish on that.
mhorn@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Toronto Blue Jays Chris Bassitt shoulders load
