Reliever relishes mop-up role
Reliever relishes mop-up role

By Matt Patterson

Published: June 2, 2008

REDHAWKS reliever Bill White has been in virtually every situation a player in his position can be in. The life of a reliever is always teetering on success and failure.

For the 29-year-old White, it's a life he embraces. His high point this season was a game in Memphis where he entered in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game with the bases loaded and no outs. He struck out the side, and the RedHawks went on to win.

While most non-players might cringe at such a predicament, White embraces it.

"That's what makes it fun,” he said. "When the game is on the line, it's on me. I'm the one standing out here. If he even hits a pop-up, it's over. I don't want to give my teammates a loss and then they look bad and it was me that gave up the hit.”

When White enters the game in those situations, he doesn't think too far ahead.

"Mainly I concentrate on the first pitch, making sure that is what I want and you work from there,” he said. "If I start thinking ahead, more than likely I'll leave one down the middle and he'll hit it.”

White is 1-1 with a save and a 6.10 ERA. He's given up 14 earned runs in 20 2/3 innings pitched this year. But five of those runs came in one game. He's given up just two runs in his last eight appearances.

"The ups and downs are always going to be there,” he said. "You can have a couple of bad games as a reliever and it kills you. But you have to put it into perspective.”

In the end, the affable pitcher with the Kentucky drawl has to depend on himself, even though he gets plenty of advice.

"My dad's got an opinion, the pitching coach has an opinion,” White joked. "You just have to believe in yourself. Because if you go out there knowing it's going to get done, it's going to get done, but if you turn around and go, ‘Oh man,' most of the time you're going to fail.”

"That's what makes it fun. When the game is on the line, it's on me. I'm the one standing out here.”

RedHawks reliever Bill White

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