“I’m 5-6. My first year of professional ball, I listed myself as 5-8, but they had me at 5-8, 145 pounds. That made me feel like I was some frail guy, which I’m not. I weigh 165, 170 pounds. I used to lie about my height, but I don’t do that anymore. I am 5-foot-6.”
This is what Danny told Tim when he met him. And according to ESPN stats, Herrera is the shortest pitcher ever in the non-accurate information.
The only other shortest pitcher is the same height as Danny and the man is Bobby Shantz. Shantz was the AL MVP in 1952 and retired with 119 victories in 1964.
But Herrera might not be a Shantz. He is himself. He has a heart, a heart bigger than any others, and bigger than his height. And right now, he looks like a star with a 1.96 ERA, and has 18 strikeouts in just 23 innings pitched in.
Here is what teammate, Adam Dunn, said about Danny when he met Tim:
“The first time I saw him was last year during the week of the Kentucky Derby, and we figured he would have to leave the team that Saturday to go ride one of the horses. I’ve never faced him. But I haven’t faced anyone his size since I was 11 or 12 years old.”
Wow! That is all I can say. Just a plain “wow.” He hasn’t faced a 5′6″ kid since he was eleven or twelve years old. But wait. Danny has been through this kind of stuff in the Minors. Take a look:
“The best one was last year. I was at [Triple-A] Louisville. One of our catchers, Albert Colina, who is a really big guy, picked me up and put me in his lap as he sat in the bullpen. Then he stuck his arm inside my jacket, and up my back. He wouldn’t let me go. I thought, ‘What is he doing?’ Then, whenever I would talk, he would move his lips. Everyone was cracking up. He was the ventriloquist, and I was puppet. That was the best one.”
Talk about it! Man.
Every person comes in different shapes and sizes in the world. It’s the same exact thing in baseball with pitchers, batters, anyone. Pedro Martinez is short and rumors say that when he first came into the league, he was 138 pounds but could throw a 90-mile ball.
Others like Steve Dalkowski, who is 5′9″, say that he was hardest thrower ever when he played in the majors. But that was a rumor as well. But these rumors could be true, and they have to be if Danny Herrera can play just as good as that.
“It’s genetics; you are born to throw a baseball. You are born with how hard you can throw,” says Tom House in a conversation with Tim. “Big, tall pitchers, the levers are longer and require more strength to get the middle finger to the release point. Actually, it is easier for a smaller person. I use the golf analogy. How many 7-foot golfers are out there?”
None. None at all. No 7-foot golfers I have seen. Great way to point that out Tom. And it really doesn’t matter about height. That is why you don’t see many NFL players taller than 6′5″. Most of them are probably about 6′1″.
But this isn’t football here, it’s baseball. But it is the same thing. Sure, Randy Johnson, who recently got 300 wins (congrats), is 6′10″ but you really won’t see a 6′10″ pitcher other than “The Big Unit.”
Take Billy Wagner for example. He can throw a 100-mile ball any day, and he is only 5′10″. Pretty clever, huh? Take a look at a rising pitcher, Ian Snell. He was great in the Minors but is looking to improve in the Majors. He is 5′11″. He can throw hard.
But back to Herrera. Many people questioned the kid out of the University of New Mexico. Scouts mostly paid attention to his height. At 5′6″ and 165 pounds, nobody thought he would be a hardball thrower or even a good pitcher at all.
People say that he was lucky that he was picked 45th overall in the 2006 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers.
Danny was never even compared to his family in height and weight.
“I have a brother who is 6 feet tall and almost 200 pounds,” he said. “My dad is 5-10. I figured I was going to grow at some point. But the height never came.” Wow.
Here is an excerpt some of you baseball fans might enjoy:
“One of the area scouts made an impassioned plea to take this guy, you know, when we give the area guys a chance to take a flier on a guy, a gut pick,” said Buck Showalter, then the Rangers’ manager. “He said, ‘He has an out pitch, he’s left-handed and has the heart of a lion. We asked, ‘What’s wrong?’”
“He’s 5-6,” the scout said.
But the first time Showalter saw Herrera throw, he said, “He will pitch in the big leagues.”
And he did. The Cincinnati Reds pitching coach, Dick Pole, said that Herrera has some big guts and isn’t afraid of anything. Of course he isn’t. He is unstoppable and truly unbelievable.
If I have to pick a song describing Danny, it would be “Heart of a Champion” by Nelly.
And if he continues doing what he does, a champion will be remembered forever. And Danny Herrera’s path to that has just started, and to all he has been through, he won’t let this go away from him.
So it doesn't matter if you are short in height, because he is big, which makes him larger in life.
And that person is Danny Herrera.
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