May 13, 2002 3 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Nothing about Josh Fogg indicates he’s a rookie – not his record, his personality or his larger-than-usual repertoire of pitches. Fogg was considered a throw-in by some Pittsburgh fans when the Pirates acquired him with pitchers Kip Wells and Sean Lowe from the Chicago White Sox in the Todd Ritchie trade last winter. Some throw-in.

So far, the right-handed Fogg has shown excellent command of his four pitches and the confidence to throw any of them at any time to any hitter. The result is a 5-1 record and most victories by any NL rookie pitcher except Kazuhisa Ishii (6-0), the Dodgers’ former Japanese league star.

“I’m sure some people thought I was nuts when I picked him over Lowe (for the rotation) in spring training,” manager Lloyd McClendon said after Fogg beat Houston 4-2 on Saturday night. “But one thing I saw was that guys weren’t centering the ball on him. There were a lot of popups and jam jobs, even in hitters’ counts. That told me he was doing something in the strike zone.”

Right now, so does his record, his 2.47 ERA and his average of 1.9 walks per nine innings, all of which rank among the NL leaders. He also has shown exceptional maturity for a 25-year-old pitcher who had only 11 games – and no starts – of major league experience until last month.

That’s why McClendon says Fogg “is a pleasant surprise,” yet, in the same sentence, adds, “But I can’t honestly say I’m surprised. His stuff is good, and I don’t think he’s a fluke.”

Fogg is trying to avoid being overly analytical of his successful start. He prepares from start-to-start, developing a game plan he thinks will be successful that day. Then, if his pitches aren’t working as he would like, he makes adjustments as necessary.

“I’m just trying to have fun,” Fogg said. “If I get behind and start grooving fastballs, I’m going to be in trouble. If I can pitch ahead in the count, I know I’m going to have a pretty good chance.”

To Pirates catcher Jason Kendall, Fogg reminds him of Greg Maddux, and not just because both wear glasses and look more like college professors – or in Fogg’s case, a college student – than pitchers off the field.

Just as Maddux does, Fogg uses all of his pitches – cut fastball, curveball, slider and changeup – in the count at any time. In one of his early starts, he threw mostly hard and inside in beating the Cubs; on Saturday, he relied mostly on his curveball in controlling the Astros, allowing four hits and two runs while walking none in seven innings.

“He keeps the ball down and works both sides of the plate. I know I keep repeating myself, but that’s what he does,” Kendall said. “He doesn’t get rattled out there, either. He’s very poised. He doesn’t let anything bother him. If you look at him, he’s got the same expression whether he’s just struck a batter out or given up a home run.”

Also, Fogg clearly isn’t flustered by the pressure of opposing big-name pitchers. He beat Arizona 3-2 on Monday for Randy Johnson’s first and only loss, then outpitched 2001 rookie star Roy Oswalt on Saturday night. He also beat the Dodgers’ Hideo Nomo last month.

“He keeps the ball down and he gets ahead in the count,” Houston’s Craig Biggio said. “He’s not afraid to throw any of his pitches at any time, a 2-1 slider or a 3-2 curveball. That tells you the guy has confidence in what he can do.”