Newcastle player among bright, young pitchers for Mariners in ’09
February 5, 2009
By Jim Feehan
When players report to spring training later this month, which one of the top Seattle Mariners’ pitching prospects hails from Newcastle?
Cheryl Ann Jensen takes a photo of her daughter, Naomi Jensen, 10, a student at Cougar Ridge Elementary School, during an autograph signing with Ryan Rowland-Smith at DJ’s Sportscards in Renton. Photo by Jim Feehan
Stumped?
Ryan Rowland-Smith was Seattle’s most effective starter in the second half of the 2008 season, finishing with a 3.39 ERA and a 4-3 record from his 11 starts.
Rowland-Smith, originally from Newcastle, Australia, is the first player with a hyphenated last name ever to appear in a Major League game. The 26-year-old had an auspicious debut. The left-hander made his major league debut for the Mariners on June 22, 2007, against the Cincinnati Reds at Safeco Field. He struck out the first batter he faced, Ken Griffey Jr., and pitched one and one-third scoreless innings.
And although he isn’t from this Newcastle, Rowland-Smith is no stranger to the city nestled between Renton and Bellevue. His girlfriend’s sister lives in Factoria and Rowland-Smith has been to The Golf Club at Newcastle for a fundraising benefit for cystic fibrosis.
“I had never been to Bellevue until two years ago, when I met my girlfriend,” he said. “I was driving up the 405 freeway, because I was staying down in Tacoma, and I saw a sign saying Newcastle, and I just had to call my mum to tell her there’s a suburb here called Newcastle.”
Following the conclusion of the 2008 season, Rowland-Smith appeared at a fundraising event at a Tukwila bowling alley for Seattle Seahawks’ Marcus Trufant and signed autographs at DJ’s Sportcards about a mile south of Newcastle in the Renton Highlands.
“I just like him as a pitcher and his glasses are cool, too,” said Naomi Jensen, 10, a Cougar Ridge Elementary School student, who got Rowland-Smith’s autograph and posed for a photo with the pitcher.
“I’m such a huge fan of his,” said Cheryl Ann Jensen, Naomi’s mother. “He’s a great addition to the Mariners’ pitching staff.”
Baseball is not as popular as cricket, rugby and surfing in Australia. Rowland-Smith saw a U.S. baseball game on late night TV in Australia and he was hooked. He also studied videotapes of the 1993 World Series and was impressed by the play of John Olerud, who he would later meet in spring training.
“I thought the game was fascinating,” he said. “My dad was upset I didn’t take up rugby.”
When he was a child, Rowland-Smith was teased about being “too soft” for playing baseball. But at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds now, no one is teasing him about being soft.
Rowland-Smith most credits his mother, Julie White, for helping him reach the majors. When he had a chance to play baseball at the New South Wales State Institute of Sport, his mother made the four-hour, round-trip drive to Sydney three times a week. She also drove her son to tournaments all over Australia to increase his exposure.
“I think Mum loved that I was doing something different,” he said. “My mum played a huge role in my being here.”
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What a great, simple story,especially for children, Got all the factsbright too!Newcastles must be great
places no matter where in the world they are!