Major League Baseball

For Royals' Guthrie, World Series road has been long, winding mission

Published Oct. 23, 2014 9:15 p.m. ET

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Erik Malinowski

SAN FRANCISCO — Nothing about Jeremy Guthrie's career has been dominant or expected.

The veteran right-hander was a star at Stanford —€“ he once threw a 13-inning complete-game victory — and a first-round pick of the Cleveland Indians. But he didn't become an everyday player until he was 27 and plucked off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles .

Before all that, there was the two-year stretch where Guthrie didn't even pick up a baseball, traveling the world to conduct his Mormon missionary work.

On Friday night, the Kansas City Royals will send Guthrie, now 35, to the mound to start Game 3 of the World Series at AT&T Park. The Royals and Giants split the first two games in Kansas City with San Francisco taking the opener. 

Even today, his career has not exactly become that of a dominant hurler. Some of his career stats (through the 2014 regular season):

Guthrie has given up more hits (1,670) than innings pitched (1,616 1/3), and though he's pitched 200-plus innings in a season five times, he's never struck out more than 130 in any of them.

Guthrie has led the league in something five times — but they were for losses (2009, 2011), homers allowed (2009), hits allowed (2013) and batters hit (2014).

Here's one of the great things about baseball: How much of any of that will matter when he takes the mound in Game 3?

Zero.

Guthrie, who was 3-9 with a 6.35 ERA in 19 games for the Colorado Rockies before a 2012 midseason trade to Kansas City for left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, is in his second full season with the Royals. He was 15-12 with a 4.04 ERA last year.

This season, Guthrie went 13-11 with a 4.13 ERA. He appeared in one playoff game, posting a no-decision in Game 3 of the ALCS when he worked five innings of one-run ball on three hits to the Orioles. 

"(Jeremy) loves interacting with fans," Royals manager Ned Yost said on Thursday. "He loves interacting with people. He's just a great guy to be around. He's not one of those guys that are really full of himself. He's one of those guys that's a humble guy, but he works extremely hard, he's extremely smart, and he's got a great personality."

Some 24 hours before he would step out of the visitors dugout in San Francisco and take the mound for the biggest game of his life, Guthrie was asked about his path, the circuitous sequence of events that has led to this.

His answer was just about the most thoughtful reply one is likely to hear from a ballplayer reflecting on how his entire career has come down to one game:

"Well, I appreciate the question. Yeah, I left after my freshman year. I was a freshman at BYU. I led the team in innings with 65. I think I led the team in wins with six, and I was not even that far behind in ERA with a 6.70.

"So when I left, baseball was not something that I foresaw in my future, at least long term. I loved the game. I enjoyed playing it, but I was burned out. I had pitched poorly as a freshman, and quite frankly it was not fun.

"So when I took my call to be a missionary for two years, I left my glove behind, I left the ball behind, and that was really because that is what is asked of a missionary. When a missionary leaves, they're asked to leave everything behind that could be a distraction to them.

"At the time, that was my girlfriend who is now my wife, Jenny. That included baseball. That included family. It included my interests: Shoes, chess and every other thing that could distract me from what the goal was, which was to find people that were truly interested in listening to the message that we shared as missionaries. So I did that.

"When I came back, I had no expectations. It wasn't one of those things where I prayed one night and said, 'Lord, if I do this, you promise me to do this.' It was not that way. It was, 'I'm going to give this up, and I know whatever happens will be the best for me and it will be thy will.'

"So when I came home, I was fortunate to get that transfer to Stanford, because they had three openings for their starters, and things just took off. ... I have a number of articles photocopied from my time in Stanford in '01 and '02, that the only explanation I had — I think I tried to come up with them for a while ... but after the more I tried to answer questions as to how my baseball life or career had turned around, the less I had answers for it. I began to think, the only answer I have is this is just a tremendous blessing.

"So that blessing really carried me through three very difficult seasons as a Cleveland Indian. My first three years in professional baseball, aside from the first two months, where I was the greatest thing to ever happen to Cleveland minor-league baseball, according to them. From there it was downhill for a long period of time.

"And those were more of a crossroads than what you referenced in Colorado because I was not good, and I did not have confidence, and my pitches were not crisp, and they were not executed, and I didn't have anything going for me as a professional pitcher.

"But that understanding that everything that happened to me was happening for a reason, helped me to continue to grind through it, to push, and when it did click for me at the end of '05 in Triple-A, I was able to run with it. ... Eventually I was released by the Indians, claimed by the Orioles. Gave up one run in spring training, and eight years later I get a chance to pitch in a World Series game.

"So life, baseball, everybody has a story. I'm no different. But what I learned as a missionary in those two years away are the foundation for everything that happens to me in my life.

"Sometimes it's used for positive. I remember a number of articles saying, 'This kid's very mature, this kid is this, this kid is that because of his mission.' And when I pitched poorly for three years, 'I was not a good pitcher, and the two years off hurt me, and baseball wasn't important to me and church was more important.'

"So when I pitch and there is something written or something said or there is a perception, I understand, when it's one way, everybody has a reason and an explanation for why it is that way, and when it flips, a lot of those reactions just automatically flip over even though nothing has really changed except the result.

"So results don't drive what I do. I don't think they should drive anybody, but it's the effort that you put in and the experience that helps you become who you are."

Guthrie has a chance to forever own this moment, but regardless of what happens, this moment will never define him. He simply will not allow it.

You can follow Erik Malinowski on Twitter at @erikmal and email him at erik.malinowski@fox.com.

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