The first pitch thrown by left-hander Brian Matusz at the University of San Diego hit the backstop on the fly. It happened against the No. 1 team in the nation and in front of his father.
The only way it could have been worse would be if he had drilled the mascot.
"I was so pumped up," said Matusz, taken by the Orioles with the fourth overall pick June 5 in the amateur draft. "That ball wasn't anywhere near where I wanted to throw it."
Most college freshmen probably would have become unnerved at the sheer embarrassment of the moment. But Matusz, whose calm demeanor surfaced early in his childhood, struck out the batter and completed the last four innings in a 2006 upset victory over Texas, the defending national champion.
"We knew he was good, but you don't really know until he's put in that situation, that environment," San Diego pitching coach Eric Valenzuela said. "That's when we knew we had something special in that kid."
Matusz was making a rare relief appearance against Texas, but he also was making a statement. The pressures of competing at a Division I school weren't going to change him. And, according to those who know him best, neither will moving up to the professional ranks.
"I threw that first pitch and said to myself: `Well, I can't do any worse than that. Now settle down and get in a groove,' and that's what I did," said the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Matusz, who went 12-2 with a 1.71 ERA and led the nation with 141 strikeouts as a junior this year. "My adrenaline was flowing, but I was able to get through it."
He usually does.
The Orioles became enamored with Matusz's arm and his ability to throw strikes with four pitches, including a changeup and curveball. But they were just as impressed with his character. In sports parlance, it's known as having good makeup, "and he's off the charts," Valenzuela said.
"He's been through this stuff, getting all this attention, since his senior year in high school," Valenzuela said. "Nothing ever fazes him."
Matusz's father, Mike, can take you back a lot further than St. Mary's High in Arizona. He invites you into the family car for the ride to 10-year-old Brian's district championship game and lets you eavesdrop on a conversation that reveals a side of his son's personality that might explain the casual reaction to hitting the screen.
