Chris Perez isn't planning on letting up on the heat in second season as Cleveland Indians closer

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- If not for the small matter of the title being copyrighted, and perhaps for the larger issue of clean-cut Robert Redford playing the leading man, "The Natural" might be the appropriate name for the making of Chris Perez as a major-league closer.

He always had the arm and a love for the high wire. Now he has an inaugural season of success behind him and a looks-the-part beard to go with long locks and the attitude best captured in his Twitter bio:

"Chris Perez, relief pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, former UM Hurricane. Just a normal guy with an arm like a ******* cannon."

A year ago in spring training, when Perez was the closer in waiting behind Kerry Wood, pitching coach Tim Belcher shared a scouting report about a young aggressive Reds' player Perez would face the next inning. Belcher said the kid was a dead fastball hitter. Came word from Perez, "He ain't seen mine yet."

Perez, 25, backed up the bravado in 2010. His 1.71 ERA was the second-lowest among AL relievers. Opponents hit .182 of him, the fifth-lowest. With runners in scoring position, hitters batted .133. His 23 saves in 27 chances made him the youngest reliever in Indians history to record 20 saves.

"It was a tremendous year for me personally," Perez said. "Obviously I was able to finally achieve what I always wanted to do in this game, which is to be a closer. I had a really good second half and that kind of validates all the hard work and years that it took to get to this point."

Wood's injury last spring cleared the path. But whatever angst the Indians felt about Perez moving into the closer role was mitigated somewhat by the second half of 2009 -- which was particularly impressive considering how his Indians career began after the June 27 trade from St. Louis for Mark DeRosa.

Perez lasted two-thirds of an inning in his debut against the White Sox, allowing two hits and four runs. He hit two batters, walked one, threw a wild pitch, allowed a stolen base and failed to cover first. A week later, Chicago's Paul Konerko hit a grand slam off him.

Not the best way to make friends and influence a new fan base. Soon after, though, Perez put together a consecutive scoreless streak of 20.2 innings. Perez and the Indians gained confidence. Both knew coming into 2010 that if the Indians fell flat, Wood would likely be traded to a contender.

"It was a perfect season all the way around," Perez said of his development. "Even -- you don't want anybody getting hurt -- but even Woody going down in spring training made it so much easier knowing that I was the guy out of spring training."

Indians' manager Manny Acta called Perez becoming the closer "a matter of time." Perez's success means one less concern for Acta coming into 2011. For Perez, the concern is doing it all over again.

"The history of baseball is that there are a whole bunch of guys that had one of two good years," Perez said. "I don't want to be that. I want to be here for the long haul and have a great career."

Some big-league closers come to the job out of failure. They flop as a starting pitcher first. Or injuries dictate it. Perez never got attached to that idea of starting pitcher celebrity. Not in high school -- where he dedicated himself to catching and found the mound almost by accident.

His junior year at Pendleton (Fla.) high school, his team played seven tournament games in three days and exhausted its supply of pitchers. Perez volunteered. He had no idea about mechanics or direction but was clocked at 93.

"From that time on, my dad's like, 'You are not catching anymore,'" Perez said.

Except for a brief experiment as a starter at Miami, he moved directly to the bullpen and told to forget his change-up. Getting on the reliever track early and staying there speeded his development when St. Louis drafted him.

"He definitely had the stuff," said pitcher Anthony Reyes, who was with the Cardinals at the same time. "He's refined his pitches. That's allowed him to take the next step."

Perez thrives on the action. In college, he fell in love with the idea of pitching with the game on the line. He also watched relievers like Houston Street get drafted and make a quick impact. Now he's done the same.

In 2011, the idea is to make it a lasting one.



(cleveland.com)