When Erickson looks to his left, he sees six-time Gold Glove winner Roberto Alomar at second and the unsung Rafael Palmeiro (a career .994 fielder but nary a fielding award) at first, completing what may be the best defensive infield in baseball. That's good news for Erickosn, who throws one of the game's best sinkers. "I've realized that getting an out with one pitch is better than throwing four or five ptiches," he says. "I feel better about letting the hitters hit the ball. I've got great defense behind me, so why not rely on those guys to make the plays."
Pitching half his games at Camden Yards, where the ground is soft and the grass is thick, Erickson leads the American League in ration of ground ball hits and outs to fly ball hits and outs. At week's end 75.1% of the hits and outs off him came on grounders, so naturally he was also tied for the league lead (with Yankees lefthander Andy Pettitte) with 14 ground ball double plays.
While overshadowed in the Orioles rotation by free-agent pickup Jimmy Key, a lefthander who began the season 8-0, and righthander Mike Mussina, a longtime fan favorite who came within two outs of pitching a perfect game last Friday, Erickson was among the league leaders with eight wins and a 2.94 ERA through Sunday. After four lackluster seasons in which he didn't finish with an ERA under 4.81, Erickson has rediscovered his form from '91, when he won 20 games with the Twins and finished second to Roger Clemens in the Cy Young voting.
There are other factors in Erickson's resurgence. He has been reunited
with catcher Lenny Webster, a teammate during his days with Minnesota.
Erickson has also added a sharper slider and a changeup to his repertoire
this season.