EVERETT – When Doug Fister first stepped into the Everett AquaSox clubhouse before the season began, something happened that he’d never before experienced in his baseball career.
He had to look up at a teammate.
Being 6-foot-8 is only good for second best with the AquaSox this season.
In Fister and the 6-9 Kameron Mickolio, Everett has a pair of tall trees on the mound, and those two have been towering over the competition so far.
“It’s kind of nice,” Fister said about having a teammate of similar height. “It’s a little bit familiar.”
Added Mickolio with a chuckle: “You don’t feel like the outcast.”
Fister and Mickolio are both 22-year-old right-handers who were selected by the Seattle Mariners out of college in this year’s draft. Fister, a native of Merced, Calif., was a seventh-round pick out of Fresno State. Mickolio, from Bozeman, Mont., was an 18th-round selection out of Utah Valley State.
So far for Everett both have fared well.
Fister began the season in the rotation, making four strong starts before being moved into the bullpen to lighten his load following a long college season. Going into Sunday’s game he was 1-2 with a 0.90 earned-run average. He gave up just 16 hits and three walks in 20 innings, striking out 19. He also recorded a save in his first relief appearance.
Mickolio has been one of Everett’s most-dependable relief pitchers this season. In seven appearances he had no decisions, a 2.61 ERA and one save. In 101/3 innings he gave up 10 hits, two walks and struck out nine.
“This is the only time I’ve had guys this big,” Everett pitching coach Juan Alvarez said. “They’ve got great stuff, so it’s easy to work with them. Those guys have good arms, good pitches, are around the zone and know how to pitch.”
When one considers athletes in the 6-8, 6-9 range, one immediately thinks basketball ahead of baseball.
“I get that all the time,” said Fister, who did play basketball in high school. “Nine times out of 10 they ask the question, ‘Do you play basketball? What school?’”
But that height can be useful in baseball, too, particularly for a pitcher.
Being taller means longer arms and legs, and thus longer levers. The longer the levers, the greater the force, meaning taller pitchers are better built for throwing hard. Mickolio’s fastball is currently topping out at 93 mph, Fister’s at 91 mph – though neither categorizes himself as a power pitcher.
Tall pitchers, because of the length of their stride and the length of their arm, also release the ball closer to the plate than shorter pitchers. Therefore, the batter has a fraction less time to judge the pitch before it arrives at the plate. That also creates an intimidation factor in favor of the pitcher.
But the biggest advantage comes from being able to throw the ball at a downward angle toward the plate.
“There’s not that many guys who can create that downhill angle,” Alvarez said. “That’s the toughest angle for any hitter to hit.”
Said Fister: “Being able to throw downhill is the key for every pitcher out there. It’s the hardest pitch to hit. Kam’s got more of an advantage than I do because he’s taller, he really throws downhill.”
But being a tall pitcher also comes with its issues. Longer limbs can be more difficult to control. The most famous tall pitcher in history, former Seattle Mariner Randy Johnson, needed several years at the beginning of his major-league career before mastering his mechanics.
“It’s harder for them in some occasions to stay back with their weight back,” Alvarez said. “The staying-back part is the most important thing with them, staying on top of the ball and creating that angle.”
But Fister and Mickolio both feel comfortable with their mechanics.
“If you come in a total mess and your mechanics are all messed up, then it might be difficult,” Mickolio said. “But if you keep throwing the way you’ve been throwing your whole life, it shouldn’t be a big factor at all.”
Fister also noted that being taller can sometimes affect a pitcher’s mobility off the mound.
But despite all the plusses and minuses, there’s always one certain advantage to being a tall pitcher, as Mickolio quipped:
“If you thump someone in the head, maybe he’ll think twice about charging the mound.”
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