So you want to pitch?

The Sydney Morning Herald has this on ex-Rattler Ryan Rowland-Smith. The headline is okay. The subheadline is better. The lede is awsome! The last two are pulled from the story.

A detour in Venezuela has put Ryan Rowland-Smith on his way from Seattle's bullpen to the starting rotation, writes Alex Brown in London.

The cockroaches he could take. So, too, the long, crowded bus trips. But when Ryan Rowland-Smith found himself at the epicentre of Venezuelan political turmoil late last year, the nerves began to fray.

There is a bit about the protests and living in Venezuela. Cockroaches again figure into the story.

I know that this is the equivalent to just over 90mph on a fastball, but hearing it in KPH makes you stop for a moment.

Since returning to the US for spring training, Rowland-Smith has proved harder to hit than a one-iron down a hallway. Using his 150kmh fastball, curve, slider and change-up to full effect, the left-handed hurler has yet to yield a run in six games, posting five strikeouts in the process. With opening day barely a week away, expect Rowland-Smith to figure prominently on the Mariners' Major League roster.

That Rowland-Smith feels comfortable at baseball's elite level is, in itself, astonishing. This time last year, the rookie southpaw was content to play in triple-A, one tier below the majors, and watch the show from afar. But a succession of injuries to Mariners relief pitchers prompted the front office to promote him to the major leagues in May.

And when it eventually came time to take the mound, the rookie Australian was presented with the daunting challenge of facing Ken Griffey jnr, once the best all-round hitter in the game, first up.

"I thought that it was pretty cool, because even my mates back in Australia would know who he was because he was on The Simpsons," he said. "I was just thinking to myself, 'You're young. Just don't walk anyone. Compete and give yourself a chance.' Before I knew it, I was ahead in the count, and I started thinking I was a chance of getting him out. Then I threw the crap out of a breaking pitch, and he swung. And I had an out. It was surreal. I didn't know whether to look up at the crowd or down at the ground - walk off the field quickly or slowly.

"Then I sat back and thought, 'This is it. I'm in the majors.' I actually surprised myself, because I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be. I was really enjoying it."

In the weeks to come, however, Rowland-Smith would make his debut all over again. As he was to discover, there are Major League ballparks - and then there is Yankee Stadium.

"I had felt pretty settled to that point, and was starting to feel that I belonged in the majors," he said. "But New York is intense. The noise, the history, the atmosphere. In my first game there, Brad Pitt was sitting right above our dugout, and he was surrounded by paparazzi. The whole experience was humbling and brought me back to earth pretty quickly.

"Even warming up is crazy. The fans there don't hold back at you. They swear and abuse you, and if you make eye contact, you're finished, because they know they're getting through to you and they'll swear at you all night long. Even five-year-old kids are giving it to you. And they do their homework. The next night I came back, and they'd obviously done their research. They knew all about me and even my mum's name, and I was just copping it. But that's just the way it is."

These days, Rowland-Smith is more than comfortable in his Major League surrounds, sharing a locker room with the likes of Ichiro Suzuki - "He's the David Beckham of Japan; they shut down department stores for him here just so he can shop in private" - and attracting attention on the streets of Seattle.

"There have been a few times over here where I've got my coffee for free because people have recognised me," he said. "That's pretty cool, because if I walked into a Macca's in Newcastle, no one would have a clue who I was."

Success, though, was not always guaranteed. Despite strong sporting bloodlines - his grandfather, Bob, was once the state minister for sport, recreation and racing, and his father, Rob, is personal trainer to a number of athletes, including Layne Beachley - Rowland-Smith was never a stand-out in the juniors, and was once cut from the NSW Schoolboys team. But what he lacked in velocity he made up in desire.

"I had a couple of videos of games from the states, and I just watched them over and over," he said. "I absolutely loved the game, even if I wasn't all that good. I actually never thought I'd make the majors - playing a couple of years of college ball sounded pretty good. But I had a late growth spurt and things went from there."

Perhaps it's fitting, then, that he should now make his home on the west coast of America. What better place for a fanciful tale and a happy ending.

This is a really neat part of the article. Rowland-Smith pitched against Ken Griffey, Jr and here is what the folks back home thought...

"I thought that it was pretty cool, because even my mates back in Australia would know who he was because he was on The Simpsons," he said. "I was just thinking to myself, 'You're young. Just don't walk anyone. Compete and give yourself a chance.' Before I knew it, I was ahead in the count, and I started thinking I was a chance of getting him out. Then I threw the crap out of a breaking pitch, and he swung. And I had an out. It was surreal. I didn't know whether to look up at the crowd or down at the ground - walk off the field quickly or slowly.

One more. What is it like your first time in Yankee Stadium?

"But New York is intense. The noise, the history, the atmosphere. In my first game there, Brad Pitt was sitting right above our dugout, and he was surrounded by paparazzi. The whole experience was humbling and brought me back to earth pretty quickly.

"Even warming up is crazy. The fans there don't hold back at you. They swear and abuse you, and if you make eye contact, you're finished, because they know they're getting through to you and they'll swear at you all night long. Even five-year-old kids are giving it to you. And they do their homework. The next night I came back, and they'd obviously done their research. They knew all about me and even my mum's name, and I was just copping it. But that's just the way it is."

Check out the whole article on the ex-Rattler ('02, '03).