Richard Fitts talks about 'nerve racking' start and flirting with a Perfect Game
If you were to ask Richard Fitts, he constantly talks about how he’s still developing as a pitcher in professional baseball. He has his goals, and being a future Cy Young Award winner is one of them.
On May 29, Fitts looked like an ace on the mound, tossing a one-hit gem and flirting with a perfect game on the road against the Charlotte Knights.
“Ultimately, I’m still developing,” said Fitts to Beyond the Monster. “I don’t think I’m a Cy Young winner right now if I get to the big leagues, and that’s where I want to be.”
The 24-year-old hurler threw seven scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and giving up an unearned run while striking out seven in his incredible outing.
“It was a fun game, ultimately, but it starts to get a little more nerve-racking. Nobody wants to talk about it in the dugout, but I was thinking about more than everyone else,” said Fitts, taking a perfect game into the latter innings.
“I think the big thing now is trying to keep everything the same in those games. Dan (DeLucia) is coming up to me every inning, saying, ‘Hey, you need anything’ and I’m like, ‘No, I’m good. I just try to go after these hitters,” said Fitts.
Fitts’ teammates and coaches gave him the traditional silent treatment for the most part during this outing.
“It’s a little more different; everyone is a little more tense when that’s happening, but ultimately it’s just baseball. Go out there and get three outs, and we’re doing our job,” added Fitts.
The No. 2 ranked pitching prospect in the Red Sox system, according to SoxProspects, recorded 15 swings and misses in the outing. He threw 82 pitches in total, 65 for strikes with 36 sliders, 32 four-seam fastballs, and 14 changeups.
It’s not the first time in his professional career that he has come close to throwing a perfect game. He also flirted with a no-hitter in college at Auburn.
“I’ve had that happen twice to me,” said Fitts. “One time in college, I took one (no-hitter) into the sixth inning, and one time a couple of years ago in High-A, I took a perfect game into the eighth inning.”
Fitts has continued to develop this season, working on crafting a stronger slider and going deeper into games. His start in Charlotte was his best outing of the year and offered a glimpse of what he can bring to the table as a starter for the Red Sox.
“I have games like the Scranton game and get beat around a good bit, but I take a deep breath and come back in the next day have a meeting, and I look at how I can get better. Ultimately, I kind of pick up some stuff and transition to what my goals were, and I’ve now had success the last two weeks and build off that. If I have a bad outing, who cares.”
The Red Sox wanted to see Fitts come out of the bullpen and see how he responded to that in-game situation. Tracy told reporters a few weeks ago that the team didn’t want his potential first appearance in Boston to be out of the bullpen.
