Major League Baseball

Local lefty Delzer gets shot throwing BP for A's

Published May. 4, 2011 5:24 a.m. ET

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Eddie Delzer is 50 years old, a generous 5-foot-8 with a fastball that tops out around 78 mph - or, on a good day, 80 mph when he's pitching in the dry Arizona air and the ''adrenalin is going.''

Might not seem like much, but this former minor leaguer and college standout suddenly has a sweet part-time job with the Oakland Athletics. Delzer is their lefty batting practice specialist. He shows up at the Coliseum when called upon, suits up in his green and gold No. 86 A's uniform and throws for all of 24 minutes. Two 12-minute sessions. Then, his day is done.

Delzer received a call from a buddy last month that the A's were looking for a left-hander to toss BP. He delivered a resume to general manager Billy Beane and Co., threw a tryout for hitting coach Gerald Perry and landed the job.

With Oakland facing three lefty starters during its recent four-game series against the AL West rival Texas Rangers - the A's won three of four - Delzer spent three days with the club. He's not sure how regular he will be, but he's thrilled for any chance he gets. He lives only 10 minutes away in nearby Alameda.

''The A's call me 'Alameda Eddie,''' he said with a grin.

Longtime equipment manager Steve Vucinich, the guy who hands out the jerseys and other gear, didn't even know Eddie's last name the other day.

On Monday, Delzer arrived at the ballpark and checked in with Perry before getting to his ''mental stuff'' to gear up, basically a detailed routine of stretches and warmups.

''You're nervous and excited,'' Delzer said. ''You hope you throw strikes. If they can get six or eight hits off lefties, I've done my part. I'm on call whenever they need me.''

Across the bay, John Yandle has been doing the same thing with the reigning World Series champion Giants going on three decades. A former Triple-A pitcher, Yandle was home run king Barry Bonds' regular batting-practice pitcher for the slugger's 15 seasons with San Francisco.

Many other clubs also employ batting practice pitchers.

Delzer has a strong baseball background, having spent two of his four years in the minor leagues at the Double-A level in the Angels organization. He was managed in A-ball by current Tampa Bay skipper Joe Maddon. Delzer pitched for renowned junior college program Sacramento City College and won the College World Series with Cal State Fullerton in 1984 when he weighed all of 133 pounds. His 18 strikeouts still stand as a single-game school record.

A's catcher Kurt Suzuki, a fellow former Fullerton star, came up to Delzer from behind the other day and gave him a big bear hug.

''It's great for Eddie,'' Perry said of this opportunity.

These days, Delzer does more umpiring of high school games and works as a private consultant focused on baseball issues and the mental part of the game. He is active in a men's senior league and his Bay Area team has won two of the last three World Series at its level.

Delzer figures he will get paid on a per-game basis by the A's. Not that the extra money is his focus or motivation for this gig.

''It doesn't really matter,'' he said. ''It's just the prestige of it. It's just fun to come out here and be part of it. It's for the love of the game ... I love the smell of the grass. I'm here for an hour or two and throw for 24 minutes, two 12-minute sessions. Green and yellow have been my favorite colors since I was a kid.''

Delzer, a native of Southern California, was a better wrestler than anything else during high school. He also ran cross country because he was too small for football or basketball. But baseball was his first love. He joined the Air Force at age 17 and was stationed in Sacramento. There, he was out running one day when he saw a team practicing - he wound up trying out and made it. That's when his baseball career took off.

Now, his own 21-year-old son, Matthew, is a firefighter in the Coast Guard in Seattle. Delzer knows his boy will get a kick out of the stories from this experience.

''If I'd been right-handed, my career would have been over when I was 9 or 10,'' Delzer said.

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