3/12/2000 - Closing in on Koch

In mid-May of last season, rookie phenom Billy Koch seemed to appear from out of nowhere to give the Toronto Blue Jays their first dominate closer since the days of Duane Ward. Koch logged 31 saves, good enough to finish the season ranked sixth in the American League in that category.

William Christopher Koch was born on December 14, 1974 in Rockville Center, New York attended West Babylon High School in New York. Idolizing Nolan Ryan, Koch attended Clemson University and was a standout on the university's baseball team. In his final year at Clemson (1996), he struck out an average of 12.3 batters every 9 innings. In 19 appearances that year, he went 10-5 with 1 save. Striking out 152 batters (5th in NCAA Division I) in 112 innings, he finished with a 3.14 ERA.

As the 4th over-all pick in the June 1996 draft, Koch would be the second-highest drafted baseball player in Clemson University history. (Kris Benson, also drafted that year holds the top honour.) It was only fitting that he finished 4th, as Baseball America magazine ranked him the 4th best prospect college prospect. After being signed, Baseball America ranked him as the 6th best prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

He was also be named to the United States Olympic Baseball Team that year. He made three appearances during the Olympics, going 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA, as the United States team won the bronze medal.

In 1997, Koch was invited to take part in the Blue Jays spring training and pitched in three games. He went 0-0 with a 9.82 ERA, as he gave up four earned runs in 3-2/3 innings pitched. Assigned to Dunedin, Koch had pitched 21-2/3 innings in three starts for the Dunedin Blue Jays when the ulnar colateral ligament in his right (pitching) elbow snapped. At the time of the injury, Koch had attained a 0-1 record with a 2.08 ERA. He was sent to see the famous Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham Alabama. Dr. Andrews took a tendon from Koch's left arm and used it to reconstruct Koch's right elbow. Because the tendon in stronger than a ligament, this surgery (known as Tommy John surgery) may have actually strengthened Koch's elbow.

Koch started back at Dunedin in 1998, but seemed to suffer no ill effects from the injury or the surgery. He posted a 14-7 record with a 3.75 ERA, tying the league in wins, and earning a spot on the Florida State League All-Star team. His final two starts would take place at AAA-Syracuse, where he went 0-1 with a 14.29 ERA. He appeared in relief during the International League playoffs, pitching 1-1/3 scoreless innings.

At the end of the 1998 season, he was awarded the Howe Sportsdata Comeback Player of the Year and had risen to be named the 2nd best prospect in the Jays organization by Baseball America.

Koch had made five starts for Syracuse to begin the 1999 season (going 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA) before fate would present the young right-hander with a the biggest opportunity of his career, not to mention a new role. In May, the Jays came to realize that they needed a reliable closer, if they were to have success during the season. Koch, who had only one stint in relief in his entire pro career, was called in to fill the roll. While Koch had expected to be a starter when he made his way to the major leagues, it didn't take him long to make the transition. Called up to the majors on May 5th, he made his major league debut that same day, pitching 2-2/3 scoreless innings, retiring the first six Oakland Athletics that he faced. In his second major league appearance, Koch earned his first major league save (and his first save since 1996 at Clemson University), thanks to two hitless innings in relief of starter Pat Hentgen.

By the time the 1999 All-Star break came, Koch was 0-0 with 14 saves and a 1.34 ERA. In July, Koch logged 11 saves, a new club record for saves in a month, and enough to win the American League Rolaids Relief Award, the first Blue Jay to win the award since Duane Ward in 1993.

Koch was said by some to have the hardest fastball in the major leagues, hitting as high as 101 or 102 mph, and averaging in the high 90s. But the second half of the season was a bit rougher for Koch, as American League hitters began to take advantage of sparadic control problems and more experience against the young pitcher. His second-half record was 0-5 with 17 saves and a 5.70 ERA. Despite this, Koch finished the season with 31 saves in 35 save opportunities, a new American League Rookie record.

For his 1999 season, Koch came in 7th in Rookie of the Year voting, and was rewarded with a 3-year, $3.5 million dollar contract during the off-season. Not bad for a guy who was pitching in the minors to start the season, and earned the major league minimum of $200,000.

As Koch gains more major league experience, not to mention more experience in the fine art of being a big-league closer, he can only get better, and thus the Blue Jays, with confidence that any late inning lead will likely hold up (something only a quality closer can provide), can only improve as a team.

John M. Milner firmly believes that Joe Carter's home run in the 1993 World Series was one of the turning points of his life. Discuss this, his columns, baseball or life in general with him at docmilner@yahoo.ca.

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