Erickson adhered to that philosophy right up until last week, when, to the shock of 17,988 who bothered to show up at the Metrodome, he set the night on fire again . The righthander threw a no-hitter against the Brewers, the first at the Metrodome and the Twins' first in 4,201 games, dating back to Dean Chance in 1967. Brewers' Manager Phil Garner, fully aware of who threw this one, says, "That's the beautiful thing about his game. You never know what'll happen."
You never know if that was a one-night stand or the rebirth of a 26-year-old player's career. Erickson, after all, had the world in his first full major league season. He won 20 games. Tony La Russa chose him to start the All-Star Game for the American League, but because of an injury teammate Jack Morris took his place. Even as the first questions about Erickson's ability began to swirl, he made a quality start in Game 6 of the World Series against Atlanta, enabling the Twins to win it all a night later.
From then until now, what happened to Erickson could be compared to what happened to Whitey Ford. In 1950, the rookie lefthander led the Yankees to the pennant and beat the Phillies in the last game of the World Series. Ford then was drafted, and after two years in the Army he resumed what would be a Hall of Fame career. The only real difference is that Erickson could not attribute his two-year leave to Uncle Sam.
Erickson fell to 13-12 with a 3.40 ERA in 1992 and 8-19 with a 5.19 ERA in1993. Only Pedro Ramos (20 in 1961) ever lost more games among Twins pitchers. It had gotten so frustrating, Erickson sometimes turned to Junior Ortiz, his personal catcher in 1991 who went on to Cleveland and now Texas. "We talked over the last couple of years, and he'd ask me, 'How come I'm not pitching like I used to?'" Ortiz says. "I just said he's getting more pitches up. The last couple of years I faced him, and I noticed that he was throwing some hanging sliders. Everything was off. The first year, he kept everything down, especially his sinker. The last couple of years, the sinker has not been like it was the first year. Everything was flat."
"Also, the good thing about '91 was he didn't shake me off. I'd put down the sign, and he'd throw it. He was that sure of his pitches. I noticed the last couple of years that he's shaking off a lot. Two or three times. That gives the hitters a little edge. It gives him a chance to think about wht's coming. Maybe that will change now that they have anew catcher."
Rookie Matt Walbeck caught the no-hitter, and Erickson blew away predecessor and Brewers' D.H. Brian Harper, whose offseason departure was openly applauded by the pitcher. Harper was known more for his offense. Twins' General Manager Andy MacPhail says he expects Erickson to more closely resemble the 1991 model, but only if he makes some adjustments. "I heard Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor at a banquet this offseason, and they both talked about that very same thing," MacPhail says. "They're guys who have spent close to 40 years in the majors between them, and it's constant adjustments. You do the best you can under the circumstances you have. You have to adapt to the changing circumstances. And that catcher that you throw to, that's part of the equation."
Twins pitching coach Dick Such says what's being thrown is more important than what it's being thrown at. "(Erickson) is not known for his finesse or much off-speed other than his breaking ball," Such says, "so if he can learn to change his speed, the hitters won't be too select and looking fastball all the time." What the coaching staff and Erickson want, however, often have been different things. When asked how much Such has helped him, Erickson said, "I really have no comment. You know what I mean? I'd just be better off. A lot of people say the more I've been around him, the worse I've gotten. Trying to change things, all that different stuff . . . . Everybody looks for a reason, an excuse or whatever. Everybody's saying, 'Maybe you should try doing this or that.' I say, 'I threw the ball fine, it just didn't work out.' People panic a lot and try to figure out how they can help me. I didn't see that big a reason for change."
Indeed, Erickson was vintage 1991 during the no-hitter. Although some scouts have questioned his velocity, the Twins say his fastball peaked at 94 mph--on the slow gun. And he says, "I kind of reverted back to the slider I had a couple of years ago. I was just throwing in the 'pen the other day and it felt a little different. I don't know if it was a different grip or just a differnt arm angle or something."
Twins outfielder Kirby Puckett was among those who had no idea whether
this was the start of something old, but if nothing else it was an evening
to remember. "Scotty's taken so much abuse," Puckett says. "'He ain't the
same this, he ain't the same that.' A lot of abuse, man. I'm happy for
him."