When pitching coach Tim Stoddard speaks, his players listen.
At least they better.
“Listening is sometimes a failing art in today’s society; more people want to talk than want to listen,” coach Paul Stevens said. “But when he has something to say, I’d surely be opening my ears. Because when he’s taking the time to tell you something, he definitely has a reason why he’s saying it and you’d be well served listening to it.”
For starters, he just looks like someone who should be listened to. Stoddard’s husky 6-foot-7 frame has a calm, authoritarian edge that makes it seem like he’s seen everything and has a good handle on what to do in any situation.
Then there’s the fact that he pitched in the major leagues for 13 years with a 3.95 career ERA. And he won NCAA championships in baseball and basketball at North Carolina State. And he was part of the World Series-winning Baltimore Orioles in 1983.
He knows how to compete. He knows how to win.
“It gives him that initial credibility,” senior Julio Siberio said. “He’s been there and done it and won championships, and that’s what we want to do.”
Stoddard is in his 13th year of handling the pitching staff at Northwestern (6-16, 3-1 Big Ten) and he uses lessons learned from a life in competitive sports to enrich his players in baseball and in life.
“He has a tremendous grasp on the game and the individuals he coaches,” Stevens said. “He understands what it takes and what people’s strengths and weaknesses are and he does a tremendous job of getting those attributes out of people if they are able to come out.”
Stevens, who said he played against Stoddard in high school and college, approached him before the 1994 season and offered him a position on his staff.
Stoddard said he hadn’t been doing much since retiring from baseball in 1989, so he decided to take Stevens’ offer.
“He was one of the fiercest guys I’ve ever seen between the white lines and one of the biggest teddy bears outside of the white lines,” Stevens said. “If there’s somebody who definitely knew how to compete and bring it when he was in a uniform, it was coach Stoddard. He brings that passion to the pitchers on our staff.”
Stoddard left his mark almost immediately. The Wildcats posted a 70-41 record in his first two years. In 1995, NU led the Big Ten in ERA, posting a 3.08 mark in conference games.
Although the Cats haven’t duplicated the success in Stoddard’s first two years since then, the effect of his tutelage can be seen by the 10 NU pitchers that have been selected in the MLB free-agent draft under Stoddard’s watch.
Stoddard said he tries to focus his instruction mainly on the mental aspect of pitching.
“That’s everything in pitching. You have to go out there believing that you’re going to get every batter out and you’re going to win every little battle more or less,” he said. “You have to realize that you’re going to lose some of them and not let that upset you.”
Senior Chris Davidson said Stoddard draws on his wealth of experience to identify with his pitchers during successes and struggles.
“Some of his best stories are how he coped with setbacks, injuries,” Davidson said, “times when he blew it as much as the times when he was winning the World Series or winning the NCAA championship.”
Despite all of his knowledge in the area of pitching, Stoddard also seems content to let his staff finds its own strengths.
Siberio said this style has helped him identify his strengths as a breaking-ball pitcher.
“He goes about it with a style of letting us pitch within ourselves,” Siberio said. “He lets us each have our own style. He doesn’t really emphasize everyone throwing the exact same way.”
Even with his track record of grooming pitchers for higher levels of professional baseball, Stoddard said his main job is to help his pitchers grow as players and individuals.
“You get to see them get better each year,” he said. “And that’s the part I like to see.”
Reach David Morrison at [email protected].
