Less Turns Out to Be More for Royals’ Gubicza

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mark Gubicza, after several unsuccessful seasons of trying to be the perfect power pitcher, cut back enough this year to become an All-Star.

Gubicza, in his fifth year with the Kansas City Royals, was a perennial slow starter until the right-hander overcame his tendency to try to throw too hard.

Instead of wondering why he couldn’t win in the early part of the season, Gubicza fashioned a 12-5 record and 2.58 earned-run average in earning a berth on the American League All-Star team.

Gubicza had always tried to throw the ball past every batter. As a result, his control suffered. Last year, wildness was one reason he had a 13-18 record and a 3.98 ERA.

Kansas City pitching coach Frank Funk studied video tapes of Gubicza early in the season and compared them with tapes of the pitcher late in the season. The tapes led Funk to believe that a natural weariness eventually would set in during the course of the year and prevent Gubicza from overthrowing the ball, resulting in improved control.

Gubicza’s statistics from the 1986 are especially supportive of Funk’s theory. In the first half of that season, Gubicza was 3-5 with a 4.80 ERA. After the break, he was 9-1 with a 2.70 ERA.

There was another statistic on Funk’s side. Until this year, Gubicza never had won a game in April.

Funk and Gubicza agreed that improving the pitcher’s control would be necessary to make him more successful.

“The first day of spring training I asked him what he needed to do to improve on last year, and he said cut down on walks,” Funk said. “I told him that was the only thing between him and Cooperstown.”

Gubicza never had an dreadful strikeout-to-walk ratio, but the bases on balls were plentiful enough--he set a club record with 120 walks in 1987--so that he always seemed to be pitching out of trouble. That made him try to throw even harder, and the cycle only worked against him.

Funk convinced Gubicza to throw at about 85% of full strength. Instead of the wildness that came with overthrowing, Gubicza had control of his pitches. Before at midseason, Gubicza had usually posted nearly as many walks as strikeouts. This year, he had struck out 86--a career high at the All-Star break--while walking 50.

“At 85 percent he has better control and movement (on the ball),” Funk said. “His fastball actually sinks. It’s what you call a heavy ball. . . .”

Kansas City Manager John Wathan says that since Gubicza is no longer always behind on the count, he doesn’t always have to try to make a perfect pitch.

“Goobie tried to make the perfect pitch every batter,” he said. “It’s awful tough to make the big pitch all the time. Now he knows he doesn’t have to do that. I think he’s beginning to learn about himself.”

Gubicza’s watchwords this year have been to “stay within myself.”

“That means I have to keep from overthrowing. In the past I was throwing so hard, I didn’t have control,” he said.

Gubicza also found that he doesn’t tire as quickly.

“This has been beneficial because I have been lasting longer in games, too,” he said. “In the latter part of the game, when you need to reach back for that extra something when you need a strikeout, you can do it.”