Sea Dogs’ Zink gets a grip on knuckler

For Charlie Zink, the Portland Sea Dogs have become his Double-A Mafia family. Every time he tries to get away, they keep pulling him back.

Since signing with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in 2002, the knuckleball pitcher has spent all or part of five of six seasons with the Dogs.

“I first came up in ’03, but was only here a month. In ’04, I was here for two months and got hurt. In ’05, I was here like 21/2 months and then went to Triple A,” said Zink. “Last year I was here for a week after being in Triple A the rest of the year. I can’t seem to quite get away totally.”

This year is no exception to that trend as Zink finds himself opening the season as a member of Portland’s highly-regarded starting rotation.

What is an exception, however, is the way Zink has started this season.

“This is unbelievably hot for me. I’ve always had trouble throwing early in the year because it’s so cold, but I guess I just came in ready to throw this year,” Zink said. “I’m getting real excited for when it warms up and when we get some humidity because that helps the ball dance around a little bit.”

Zink, 27, already has reason for excitement as he enters tonight’s scheduled start with a 2-0 record and 1.00 ERA. In three starts, he’s walked nine batters and struck out 16 in 18 innings.

“I feel like I’m just better than hitters when I’m out there now. I’m a lot more confident and I trust myself a lot more,” Zink said. “Plus this is the best shape I’ve ever been in. I’m as fit and strong as I’ve ever been and I have a more consistent knuckleball than I ever have.”

Zink credits physical and mental development for his newfound aptitude, which started a month or two into last season, when he went 10-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 16 starts.

Not bad for a guy who was completely frustrated, totally lacking confidence, and more than ready to knuckle under and give up the knuckleball.

“I think it was ’05. I called my agent and told him I wanted to go back to being a regular pitcher,” Zink recalled. “Luckily he talked me out of it.”

“I’m sold on it now,” Zink added. “I could top out at 92 my first year and I wanted another chance to be a regular pitcher, but now that I’m confident in what I’m doing, there’s no way I want to be a regular pitcher.

“It’s too much fun when you’re throwing slow and nobody’s hitting it.”

“It” has been hit just nine times this season.

Why the drastic turnaround?

Zink points to an offseason spent getting in better shape and shedding weight by running two hours a day and working out another two hours daily, but it was the simple, random act of reading a one-page magazine article that made the biggest difference.

“What really turned me around was reading an article about Phil Niekro in ESPN Magazine,” Zink said. “It actually showed his grip. I just happened to try his grip in the bullpen that day and that’s when everything turned around.

“I wasn’t supposed to pitch that night, but we went into the 14th inning and I pitched the 14th and 15th, struck out four, and got the win. I have used the same grip ever since.”

He’s also increased his strength and stamina while dropping 20 pounds to get to his current 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame. Pitching coach Mike Cather is impressed with the results, but not surprised.

“It’s actually pretty easy coaching a knuckleballer, especially Charlie because he’s so disciplined in the way he works,” Cather said. “He’s a workaholic and he knows what he should do to make himself better and he’s done that.

“I’m usually a guy who gets here pretty early in the day and he’s always beaten me here. That’s impressive.”

It wasn’t that long ago that the right-hander was anything but impressive. He was 10-11 in 2003 with a 3.80 ERA. In 2004, he slumped to 1-10 and 5.77 while battling tendinitis. In 2005, he was 10-6 and 3.86.

Zink accidentally became a knuckleballer after throwing a couple of the pitches during warmups six years ago.

“I was playing catch in the bullpen. I hit our trainer in the face and split his eye open with one. Then they had me throw it to another guy and I hit him in the chest a couple times,” Zink recalled. “That was pretty much it from there.”

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net