When Northwestern plays its home opener at Rocky Miller Park this weekend, it will face the Big Ten’s most dominating ace. To fully understand what this means for the Wildcats, you have to get to know Alex Wimmers.
It was the top of the ninth inning against Purdue on April 20, 2008 at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, with 3,225 fans in the stands. Wimmers stood atop the mound with the task of preserving the Buckeyes’ one-run advantage over the Boilermakers. Two Purdue hitters reached base, one on a fielder’s choice and another on catcher’s interference. Ryne White, one of Purdue’s top hitters, stepped up to the plate and blasted a first-pitch home run, giving the Boilermakers a 7-5 lead. The Buckeyes failed to score in their half of the inning, and Wimmers earned the first loss of his freshman relief campaign.
When the stadium cleared and Wimmers headed to the locker room, Ohio State coach Bob Todd pulled aside the Cincinnati native and told him to shake it off, to forget about the home run-it wasn’t the first one, and it wouldn’t be the last. Wimmers simply looked at Todd and said, “I apologize, coach. I’m going to try to make sure that never happens again.”
And that’s what Wimmers did-he tried. And he tried hard. During the summer after his freshman year, for the Luray Wranglers of the Valley League, the right-handed hurler developed a new pitch, what has now become a stifling changeup. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder had previously owned only a two-pitch arsenal consisting of a 90-92 mph heater and a knee-buckling 71-73 mph curveball.
“Coming into my sophomore year, I knew I had to have a third pitch,” Wimmers said. “I started out with (my changeup), I didn’t like it, I was like, ‘What am I doing wrong?’ I just kept working and working hard. I finally figured out something I could get in a groove with.”
After finding a groove with his changeup, Wimmers gained confidence in his repertoire. He became the Buckeyes’ ace in his sophomore season, striking out a staggering 136 batters in 104.2 innings. His success earned him Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Year honors and a 2010 preseason salute from Baseball America as the top prospect in the Big Ten.
Ohio State pitching coach Eric Parker said he thinks Wimmers deserves the recognition. Asked about the most impressive characteristic Wimmers has to offer, Parker answered without hesitation: competitiveness.
“He’s kind of easygoing, very unassuming off the field when you see him,” Parker said. “But when he steps on the mound, it’s all business.”
Wimmers said he learned to play with that competitive mentality at Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, where he pitched for coach Mike Cameron, Ohio’s all-time winningest baseball coach. Cameron, who worked with such talent as Ken Griffey, Jr., spent 39 years at Moeller before retiring in 2007. He even coached Wimmers’ father, Jerry, who was an outfielder for Cameron and who first exposed the young Wimmers to the sport he loves.
“My father was always pushing me to strive to do my best,” Wimmers said. “He’s always been a huge fan of baseball. He played baseball himself, so I guess I’m basically following in his footsteps.”
The 21-year-old fell in love with baseball and started playing competitively at the age of nine. When he wasn’t playing with an organized team, Wimmers and his friends took the field in the back yard and created their own home run derbies.
The junior’s thirst for success on the mound translated to an uncomfortable transition from his starting role at Moeller to the relief spot he took with the Buckeyes. Disappointed but not discouraged, Wimmers said he accepted his new role as best he could and prepared for his sophomore year, looking forward to an opening in the starting rotation.
Once he earned a starting role in 2009, Wimmers’ competitive mentality guided him straight to the record book: On May 2 against Michigan, Wimmers threw the first nine-inning no-hitter in Ohio State history. Just three weeks prior, Wimmers no-hit Michigan State for seven innings before giving up two runs in the eighth. After the game, one of Wimmers’ teammates said he didn’t think the ace could ever pitch a no-hitter. The 2010 preseason All-American responded to his friend with a bet-that he would accomplish the feat before he left Ohio State.
“I came that close,” Wimmers said. “I couldn’t let that be the closest I’ve ever gotten.”
It’s that intangible element coaches and teammates admire about Wimmers but also the factor opposing coaches and players hope to break through.
NU coach Paul Stevens plans to match sophomore right-handed pitcher Francis Brooke against Wimmers. Stevens said he thinks Brooke, who heads into the series with a 3.46 ERA, has done a “tremendous” job for the Cats this spring and deserves to pair against the Buckeyes’ best.
If Wimmers’ effort in last year’s game against NU is any indication, Brooke is in for a tough matchup. In the 2009 contest, Wimmers fanned 10 batters while allowing four earned runs in 7.2 innings.
So far this year, Wimmers has posted a 2.12 ERA and acknowledges that, as defending conference champions, he and his teammates have a target on their backs.
As freshman centerfielder Arby Fields said at practice Wednesday, it’s a target the Cats are aiming to hit.
“If we can take it to him, we can take it to anybody in the conference.”
