MESA, Ariz. – Cubs right-hander Ben Brown has sat through long drives out to each of his Cactus League appearances this season.
On Friday, it was halfway across the valley to Peoria for a night game. Last weekend, it was to Glendale. But his first start of the spring was the furthest commute – over an hour to Surprise.
“It’s exciting to start new and to see your name on a lineup card again,” he said after that Feb. 23 start, after tossing two scoreless innings against the Royals. “I feel extremely blessed just to have this opportunity to go out there and pitch, and I’m thankful for it. So, there were a lot of emotions driving over here today, just a lot of excitement. I’m grateful for new beginnings, new starts, and I felt awesome.”
Brown entered Friday with a spotless spring training ERA and just three hits allowed total in four innings.
Spring training is just the beginning of a nearly nine-month slog through 162 regular-season games and ideally a deep postseason run. But for Brown it’s also a check point after a intensive offseason program.
“I’ll give Ben credit,” manager Craig Counsell said. “The day the season ended, he had a plan.”
The way Brown describes it, it was an “all-encompassing” plan, covering mental, mechanical, physical and arsenal changes. He spent much of the offseason working with Mets right-hander Clay Holmes, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said.
Brown entered spring training more physically imposing. He’s been throwing a new sinker in Cactus League outings while continuing to work on his changeup.
“I was taking all accountability for where things went wrong last year, ultra accountability,” Brown said. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine how things went. And I wanted to identify all the issues that I had. And I wanted to make the best out of them, and work on them, and learn from them, and really have an opportunity to show that I can do more, that I’m capable of more. And I was hell-bent on doing that.”
Hottovy has taken it upon himself to guide Brown back to some of the positives from last season as well. Along with the lows, Brown had some dominant starts against staunch lineups. And though he fell out of the rotation and finished with a 5.92 ERA, he also achieved a major goal of his: staying healthy.
“And now you use that to springboard this season,” Hottovy said.