Just like another O’s minor league hurler, righty Ryan Long, right-hander Daniel Federman hoped he could make it onto a roster for the World Baseball Classic. And like Long, Federman had never even pitched as high as Double-A ball and not only did he make it, he has a 0.00 ERA to show for his one inning on the mound.
On March 13 in Miami, Federman pitched a scoreless and quick 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh inning on just nine pitches for Team Israel against Puerto Rico. He got three groundouts against Johneshwy Fargas, Nelson Velazquez and Vimael Machin.
It was over fast as he averaged, per Statcast, 92.8 mph on his fastball, which topped at 93.4. He threw four fastballs, three curves, one changeup and one cutter.
“You know, warming up in the bullpen, it definitely sped up a little bit,” Federman, 24, said over the phone this week from O's minor league camp. “You look around and see the most people you have ever pitched in front of. But I think it was good that we had some veteran guys that had played in pro ball 10 or 15 years and guys that had been in the World Series. A big emphasis to the younger guys was 'just breathe.' It’s the same game.
“So, in the ‘pen it sped up a bit, but after the first pitch it felt weirdly calm out there. I’m definitely a fiery person and definitely very energetic. But I didn’t feel sped up when out on the mound. Glad how it all worked out.”
