How Jacob Misiorowski stays grounded after dominance against Phillies
· Yahoo Sports
The day after Jacob Misiorowski's insane one-hit, complete-game shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies, the right-hander was relaxing in the home clubhouse at American Family Field, occupying the seat in front of his locker just like he would any other day prior to a game.
One would have never guessed he'd just thrown the most dominant game in Milwaukee Brewers history, one in which he became just the seventh pitcher ever to produce a game with 15 or more strikeouts while allowing one or no hits and issuing no walks.
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Gerrit Cole had been the last to do it for the Houston Astros against the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 8, 2019.
So how was Misiorowski feeling? What's been going through his mind? What's life been like?
"I mean, it's been crazy," he said. "A lot of people texting, calling, saying congrats. It's been crazy, but it's been good. Family's here, so that's awesome."
Once Misiorowski put the wraps on his responsibilities following the game Friday, he got a good night's rest, jumped into some family time and then headed back to the ballpark to begin the cycle all over again of getting himself ready for his next start.
"Got to go to breakfast with (his family) and hang out for a little bit," said Misiorowski. "Then you come here and really don't think about it because you're just moving on."
It's tough enough to remain incognito when you check in at 6 feet 7 inches tall and are one of the biggest stories in baseball these days. But 12 hours or so after completely dominating the Phillies and leading off every sports highlight show on TV, Misiorowski acknowledged things have reached something of a fever pitch.
"That's been for a while," he said of the notoriety. "But now, like, the day after, it was maybe a little bit weirder."
Misiorowski did find time along the way to poke a little fun at himself and manager Pat Murphy with a post on Instagram featuring a picture of his head photoshopped onto the body of Forrest Gump as the beloved movie character sits on a bench at the bus stop where he recounts parts of his amazing life to strangers.
It was manager Pat Murphy who first drew the parallel – lovingly – during Misiorowski's initial foray into the major leagues last season and he mentioned it again in his postgame news conference on Friday.
On Saturday, Murphy wanted to make sure Misiorowski knew where he was coming from with the reference.
"I was really worried I offended him," he said.
Clearly, Misiorowski's Instagram post signaled he's good with it. Murphy explained to reporters further what he means when he references Forrest Gump.
"It's meant to be a compliment for a guy who didn't put any limits on himself," Murphy said. "His naivete was a factor in a positive way, where he went out and achieved whatever he set his mind to and wasn't even aware of the outside forces and didn't let anything hold him back.
"I think that's how greatness sometimes gets achieved. And this kid is on his way."
Much has been made about Misiorowski's diligence when it comes to preparation and affinity for working hard between his starts.
So, what did Saturday hold for him in that regard?
"I'm already done for the day," he said in the mid-afternoon. "I go run for a half an hour on the warning track and come in and spend some time in the training room and get soft tissue work, some stretching, stuff like that.
"Then call it a day."
What's crazy is even after throwing 95 pitches, of which three hit 103 mph or better in the final at-bat of the game, Misiorowski was ready for more.
"I feel really good," Misiorowski said. "I feel like I could go back out and throw another inning or two."
Misorowski indicated he was a touch sore, which is normal for him following any start.
"It's nothing major," he said. "At the most it's a little soft tissue or something in my arm, something dumb like that where it takes one of our guys in there, Jevin (Boardman, the Brewers' massage therapist), to get it out in five seconds. So, nothing crazy."
Pitchers have all sorts of post-start routines they utilize for recovery. Misiorowski prefers scraping, during which specialized tools scrape the skin in an effort to break down scar tissue, adhesions and knots, promote blood flow to the area and help promote healing.
"Some guys do cupping, but I don't. I'm big into scraping," he said. "I've followed along with Kyle (Harrison) and those guys and watched that and it's working.
"It's a new thing for me."
Clearly, it's working – along with everything else Misiorowski has been doing this season. Through 14 starts he's already accounted for 3.9 Wins Above Replacement, an 8-2 record, 1.34 ERA, WHIP of 0.73 and 131 strikeouts in 87 innings.
In other words, sheer domination.
"Pretty special," Murphy said. "What we're watching, guys, it's pretty special."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How Jacob Misiorowski stays grounded after dominance against Phillies