Perrotto: Something Seemingly Different About David Bednar This Year (+)
BRADENTON, Fla. – David Bednar has passed the stage of establishing himself as a quality major-league closer.
In three seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he has converted 22 of 28 save opportunities. Bednar has also posted a sparkling 2.40 ERA in 106 games and 112.2 innings to go with a 1.04 WHIP and 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
Bednar was also selected for the All-Star Game last year. Last week, he finished a stint with the United States team in the World Baseball Classic.
However, Bednar seems a little bit different this spring training and it is in a good way. There is a sense that he has reached another level of confidence.
It is seemingly a byproduct of being around some of the greatest players in baseball at both the All-Star Game and WBC. The WBC was particularly an eye-opening experience as Bednar had a chance to spend two weeks with the team instead of the two-day, in-and-out nature of the All-Star Game.
“It was definitely cool to see some of the guys and it makes a lot of sense why they are so good,” Bednar said. “They do all the little things. They come to work every single day and they have the routine set and they go about their business all the right way. They show up and be a true professional. They show up and they play really hard every day.
“I think it’s one of those things that you try and find the secrets but there are really no secrets. It’s grinding every single day and they do with the best of them with a laser focus intent. I think that’s just one of those things that just being a fly on the wall and watching some of those guys go about their day is one of the takeaways: go about your business the right way with good intent and good things happen.”
No one has ever questioned Bednar’s work ethic. The 28-year-old wasn’t heavily recruited while pitching at Mars High School and wasn’t drafted from Lafayette College until the 35th round in 2016 by the San Diego Padres.
To go from where Bednar was to where he is now doesn’t happen without a lot of effort. However, Bednar’s focus might be even sharper following two weeks of high-intensity games with Team USA.
That made returning to Bradenton last week for the final few days of spring training somewhat anticlimactic.
“Definitely a different vibe coming into spring training after that,” Bednar said with a smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready for game action than right now. I’m ready to go.”
There is a sense of hope around the Pirates’ camp with spring training ending Tuesday and the season opener coming Thursday against the Reds in Cincinnati.
Following the addition of veterans like Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Santana and Rich Hill in the offseason, the Pirates should field a more representative team than the last two seasons when they lost 101 and 100 games.
“I’m really optimistic about this group,” Bednar said. “I’m really excited for this season. Personally, I’m about as prepared as I’ve ever been to pitch in those moments.”
Having covered three WBCs, I can attest that those games have an intensity akin to the major-league postseason. Bednar smiled when I asked him about that.
“I’d like to be able to find out in October,” he said.
The chances of the Pirates playing in October are slim. Just in case, though, Bednar will be prepared.
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