Sports journeys have headwaters. Nick Pivetta’s flowed from Little League at Layritz Park to the Royal Athletic Park mound, and first start and first win in Victoria HarbourCats franchise history in 2013, to fabled Fenway Park.
“I am still getting to know Fenway,” said Pivetta.
“But you can feel the passion people have for this team.”
The Red Sox — much like the Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers — elicit strong emotions steeped in baseball history and lore.
Pivetta is 5-0 in nine appearances this season with the Red Sox, heading into tonight’s scheduled start against the Atlanta Braves. The Islander reflected on the teams that got him to this point in Boston.
They include the Victoria Eagles of the B.C. Premier Baseball League. Pivetta is part of an alumni list from the BCPBL that includes current or former MLB players Rich Harden and Michael Saunders from the Victoria Mariners, James Paxton, Tyler O’Neill, Ryan Dempster, Jeff Francis, Brett Lawrie, Adam Loewen, Justin Morneau and Hall of Famer Larry Walker.
“It shows just how much baseball has grown in B.C.,” said Pivetta, in a telephone interview.
But the one stint he gives the most credit to is his two years playing for the Canadian junior national team in 2010 and 2011. Not only is donning national colours a high honour for any athlete, the Baseball Canada program has earned a reputation for teaching the game the right way.
“Playing for the junior national team really was a key factor in getting me to where I am,” said Pivetta.
Where Pivetta is at the moment is in a very good place. He has begun to use his commanding six-foot-five, 215-pound frame to best advantage in remaining undefeated this season with his five victories against no losses with a 3.59 ERA and 50 strikeouts in holding opposition bats to a .189 average in 47.2 innings pitched. Including his 2-0 record after arriving in Boston late last season in a trade from the Philadelphia Phillies, Pivetta is 7-0 in his Red Sox career. The cries have been loud among Philadelphia fans that the Phillies gave up on Pivetta too soon. Maybe fans of the Washington Nationals, the club that selected Pivetta in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft, can make the same case.
“I am focusing on the Red Sox and not [things that have happened in the past],” said Pivetta.
“The media attention is part of the job. My confidence is rising and I am building that consistency that is needed for success at this level.”
Yet, few journeys are on straight roads. Pivetta is 26-30 in his five-season MLB career with the Phillies and Red Sox with a 5.21 ERA and 484 strikeouts in 454 innings pitched. His turnabout this year is attributed to having faith in his fastball by challenging batters outright by putting the ball across the plate.
“Nick had a late arrival date but his time is now,” said Jim Swanson, GM of the HarbourCats and scout for the Detroit Tigers.
“He is finally figuring out that his stuff is good enough. If he gets it over the plate, he will get the guy out.”
It’s a process of learning and adapting, agreed Pivetta.
“It’s never finished,” said the 28-year-old right-handed hurler.
“There’s still a lot of baseball to play. I want to get better and better as I go on. It’s an ever-evolving thing that keeps growing.”
But it had a beginning, which is not forgotten. The question for Island baseball fans is usually Toronto Blue Jays or Seattle Mariners? Pivetta grew up as a fan of the Blue Jays, so his recent no-decision start against the Jays in Dunedin, Florida, stood out among the regular run of games.
“It didn’t have the Rogers Centre vibe of when I pitched against the Jays [while with the Phillies] in 2018 in Toronto but it was still a neat experience,” said Pivetta.
It all comes back to up-bringing for the Islander.
“I started this sport because it was fun and I simply enjoyed playing,” said Pivetta.
As complicated, business-like and pressure-loaded as things get in the top level of the game, he never wants to lose touch with that simple truth. If you’re among the very few good enough, as he was, the more serious stuff will come at you in due time.
“People ask if I have any advice for young kids in the sport and I say just go out there and have fun.”
