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Brian Ross
Editor's Note - As this article was going to press, Mike Gallo was called up to the Astros. Our congratulations.
New Orleans - 07.07.03 - Confidence. Smarts. Southpaw. The question is: What are the three key ingredients to a major league career as a left-handed reliever?
When we first started trakcing Mike Gallo this season, his ERA was hovering around 1.17 at AAA New Orleans. By the time that we sat down with him in mid-June, it had dropped to a slim .90. He is doing this without the "read" that many PCL pitchers are getting this year from the frequent play with teams within their 'division." He has been up to the triple-A for about a month.
It's about ninety minutes before game time. The smoke from pre-game burgers cooking on the George Forman grill in the common area creates a haze in the hallway that make you think that you're already in Houston. There's a card game on near the grill. A few guys are camped out around the locker room watching an action picture on big screen. Mike Gallo sits by his locker, checking out the movie and cleaning up from batting practice.
At 26, the 6'0", 175 lb. left hander greets you with the eyes of a competitor. He is casual, relaxed, but there is a confidence and an intensity about Mr. Gallo that tells you how he got here.
Welcome to Pro Ball
Gallo was a 5th round draft pick on the Houston Astros in the June, 1999 draft. His contract with the Astros is renewable through June of 2005.
Following the draft he was dispatched to the Auburn Doubledays in the Short-Season A New York-Penn League. He pitched there for two weeks with a 1.23 average in about 14 innings of work.
His first pro game for the Doubledays stands, in this young career, as his greatest moment. "I went five innings. We were winning 2-1, and there was this rapid-fire play and I said to myself 'Welcome to pro ball.'"
Next he was moved up to the Class A Michigan Battlecats in the Midwest League. This promotion took some adjustment. Gallo's ERA rose to 5.85 with 60 innings under his belt and a 2-3 win-loss record. He worked on improving his variety of pitches. His workload increased steadily, and his ERA dropped to 3.84 by the end of the 2001 season.
"I was trying to get adjusted to the pro ballgame. That was the biggest adjustment for me. Eat, sleep, drink baseball." Pitching Coach Charlie Taylor put Mike through his paces, and worked with him on the development of a wicked curve ball.
Gallo moved to the Class A Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League in 2002 to continue work with Taylor. Over the summer, Gallo developed a slider, which he refined with Taylor at Lexington, where his ERA dropped further to 1.83.
Armed with an impressive arsenal of pitches, Gallo was promoted to Round Rock in August of 2002. He didn't stay with the club long, being called up to the Zephyrs in May of 2003.
Prior to the 2003 season, Gallo was 3.85 lifetime. For you stats freaks, Gallo had a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2002.
The key to sucess for Mike? "It's confidence. Every time I go out there," says Gallo. "That's the biggest key. If you don't have confidence in yourself, you're not going to succeed. The way you pitch, when you have that kind of confidence, your stuff's better. If you're batting .400, I'm going to go at you like you're batting .100."
The Zephyrs are Gallo's latest stop on the road to Houston. If he keeps pitching this way, he might be able to make the bullpen for the September call-up or as an injury replacement.
Mission: Lefty
"Houston says that's my job, when and if I do make it, to get those left-handed hitters out," says Gallo. His speaking style belies his competitive spirit. He attacks answers much as he attacks batters. A month in the AAA and he is learning to inject a bit more humility into the verbal fastballs.
He has an outstanding variety of pitches, great placement, and exceptional control of his speed, which vexes batters on both sides of the box.
Student of the Game, and His Opponents
Whether he's on the mound or on the bench, Gallo is a very careful student of his opponents. He studies the hitting characteristics of his opponents carefully, and makes note of their strengths and weaknesses. His sharp read of batters may explain why he's been able to get off to a great start at the AAA level, and why he might be able to move into the Astros' bullpen with equal ease.
"Everybody's got the physical capabilities to play in the big leagues. It's just a matter of what they have upstairs. Dealing with adversity. How do you react when you have a bad game? What do you do to come back? When you've had a bad game coming back to that next game is huge. You see guys in rookie ball and A ball struggle with that. Up here [in AAA] guys make adjustments a lot quicker. You may make a hitter look stupid with a curve ball. You throw that to him again and he hits it 500 feet. You've got to keep a level head."
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