Ryan Howard, a left-handed slugger who has averaged 51 home runs and 143 runs batted in for three seasons, was so baffled by reliever Brian Fuentes in 2007 that after whiffing twice against the left-hander, the Philadelphia star said that if he ever faced Fuentes again, he "would go up there right-handed."
That's the kind of vertiginous sensation the new Angels closer can cause for batters, especially left-handers, who have hit .215 with 10 homers in 532 plate appearances against Fuentes in seven seasons.
But it's not as if right-handers tee off on Fuentes, the former Colorado standout who signed a two-year, $17.5-million deal with the Angels on Dec. 31 to replace the departed Francisco Rodriguez.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Fuentes has held right-handers to a .225 average with 31 homers in 1,260 plate appearances.
Fuentes, 33, has an unorthodox sidearm, short-arm delivery that resembles a forehand Frisbee flip and creates an illusion that the ball is coming out of his jersey instead of his hand. The funky motion makes Fuentes' 91-mph fastball seem quicker to batters.
"It's the deceptiveness," Fuentes said by phone from his home in Merced, Calif. "I've never faced myself. I just know from the few hitters I've talked to that it's harder for guys to pick up [the ball] early. I don't question it. I just go with it."
Fuentes, nicknamed "T-Rex" after the dinosaur with the short, flipper-like arms, has gone with this delivery since 2000, when coaches in the Seattle organization suggested an overhaul.
In his fifth minor league season and second at double-A New Haven, Conn., Fuentes was a struggling starter who, with a traditional over-the-top delivery, had good stuff but spotty command. Pat Rice, then Seattle's minor league pitching coordinator, approached Fuentes with a radical idea.
"They told me to drop my arm angle down, to throw submarine style," Fuentes said. "They told me to throw that way in my next game. They didn't care about results. They wanted to see what happens."
Fuentes can't remember the opponent that game, but he remembers the first inning vividly. He struck out the side.
"I came off the field with a big smile, and [the coaches] were laughing in the dugout," Fuentes said. "I went from there."
The Mariners converted Fuentes to a reliever in 2001, and after a trade to Colorado, Fuentes split 2002 between triple A and the big leagues. He solidified a spot in the Rockies' bullpen in 2003.
