A's Ace Mark Mulder ranks among game's elite pitchers: Oakland left-hander has been the majors' winningest hurler since the start of the 2001 season and through July 2004

Baseball Digest, Oct, 2004 by Chris Haft

BY NEARLY ANY STANDARD, Mark Mulder is among the brightest of the starting pitchers in the major leagues. But the A's left hander didn't swagger into last July's All-Star game start for the American League thinking he ranks among baseball's pitching royalty.

"There are guys who have been doing it a lot longer and been a lot more successful," Mulder said. "You get a little nervous around those guys--'nervous' is the wrong way to put it. But just walking into the clubhouse is kind of intimidating."

Mulder lacks the big-name reputation of Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling or Roger Clemens. Although his years in the major leagues (five) fall short of the number of Cy Young Awards won by Clemens (six), Mulder has achieved more in recent seasons than almost any of his peers.

Since the start of the 2001 season, Mulder has won 69 games, more than any other major leaguer--including Schilling (65), Johnson (61) and Clemens (62). With a 14-3 record through August 1 this season, he was leading all major league pitchers in victories. Mulder paced the American League in complete games (four) and innings (155) and owned the league's fourth-best ERA (3.43).

But figures don't accurately reflect why Mulder made his second All-Star team in a row and was rivaling the game's top pitchers for supremacy. Talk to Mulder about the unofficial yet widely used statistic known as a "quality start"--three earned runs or fewer allowed in six innings or more--and he'll ridicule you. Talk to him about the quality of Oakland's ability to compete when he's on the mound, and you'll get a sense of what drives him.

"They make a big deal about quality starts. But if you go six innings and allow three runs, that's a 4.50 ERA. In reality, that's not a good thing," Mulder said. "But if you keep your team in the game and give them a chance to win each and every start, what could be better than that? That, to me, is my main goal."

For instance, one of Mulder's most satisfying outings of the season fell short of the "quality start" standard. On June 29, he yielded four runs and nine hits in seven innings against Anaheim. Mulder left the game trailing, 4-3, but he and the A's prevailed on Bobby Crosby's two-run single off Francisco Rodriguez in the bottom of the seventh.

"I was proud of that start," Mulder said. "I didn't have my best stuff. I didn't have great control. I gave up four runs, but I battled. To me, that was the bottom line, that I battled my butt off and we ended up winning."

Mulder's "battles" aren't furious. He projects a calm image on the mound, eschewing the grunting or fist-pumping of other hurlers. Although he routinely dispatches opponents with a minimum of pitches and therefore throws some of the fastest games in the majors, he never rushes through his task, recalling the John Wooden maxim, "Be quick but don't hurry."

"He knows how to win," A's catcher Damian Miller said. "Whenever he gets in trouble, the damage is limited. He has a great knack for that. You see a lot of other guys panic. They get in trouble, and it's a three- or four-run inning. He gets the bases loaded and it's a one-run inning."

Said Mulder, "The minute you start getting in trouble, you can't try to do new stuff. You can't try to make a nasty pitch or 'paint the black' because that's when you fall behind. You have to stick with what works for you and go after hitters like there's nobody on base."

Unlike many young pitchers, Mulder, 26, is acutely aware that the pitcher controls the action.

"Nothing's going to happen until I throw a pitch," he said. "The team relies on me to make good pitches. That's what I like, though. I can dictate the tempo of the game, basically."

A's right fielder Jermaine Dye has noticed what Mulder brings to his craft. "He's smart," Dye said. "He studies the game, studies the hitters and knows what to do and what not to do to them."