Any time Harrison Bodendorf attended Major League Baseball games during his youth, he found himself in repetition.
Residing in Temecula, California, the Bodendorf family was within driving distance of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Anaheim Angels, San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics.
But the shortest drive was to San Diego.
Harrison and his parents, David and Cheryl, became regulars. Padres legends Will Myers and Justin Upton were fixtures of his childhood. Quickly, he learned the ins and outs of what’s now PetCo Park.
It was conflicting for Bodendorf, an avid Giants fan. Still, he made the most of it.
Bodendorf spent that time analyzing form, delivery and general pitch technique anytime the MLB greats passed through old AT&T Park. When he and his family arrived back home, he’d do the same from his living room couch when the Giants played — not to create a carbon copy replica of their technique, but for the sake of fine-tuning his game.
It’s paying off.
In his junior season with Oklahoma State baseball, after spending his first two college years at Hawaii, Bodendorf has surged to become the Cowboys’ ace pitcher. Through 12 starts and 13 total appearances, Bodendorf has posted a 2.63 ERA — No. 40 nationally and fourth-best in the Big 12 — to go with 81 strikeouts and a .190 batting average against through 68⅓ innings.
He’s been the silver lining for an otherwise fluctuating OSU team this season.
“He’s a gamer,” Cowboys catcher Ian Daugherty said. “He’s calm and cool on the outside. But when you get to know him, he’s one of the fiercest competitors you’ll ever meet.”
Bodendorf’s dynamic left-handed changeup with big league-caliber movement, complemented with a stellar curveball, stands out. So does his pitch ability and general baseball IQ. But above all else, his ability to “be his own person,” OSU coach Josh Holliday said, is unparalleled.
“I’ve never really been one to idolize players,” Bodendorf said in an interview with The O’Colly. “This might sound bad, but I never tried to mimic people or players like that. I’d look at technique and all that, but I’d never try to mimic them when I was pitching.
“I always wanted to be my own version of myself. Not basing my skillset or game off someone else. I always enjoyed watching them. That was always fun. But I really just wanted to be as good as, if not better than, them more than anything.”
Bodendorf listed Barry Zito and Madison Bumgarner — both of whom pitched for the Giants — as his two favorite Major Leaguers growing up. Both are multi-year All-Stars. Both are crafty left-handed pitchers. And both showcased wicked lefty changeups.
Sound familiar?
Still, Bodendorf never delved into the art of copying a professional. Instead, he tweaked some things on his end and applied them moving forward.
First, he altered the way he gripped his breaking pitches. But he maintained his throwing motion.
Second, he grew fond of Bumgarner’s moxie on the mound. But he built a balance of that and his game-day persona.
What didn’t change, he said, was his drive to be the best. Better than anyone he stepped onto a baseball diamond with. Even better than Bumgarner and Zito — one day, at least.
“My curveball was already my go-to pitch during that time,” Bodendorf said. “The (changeup) was in development. But from my perspective, I was thinking, ‘Well, Bumgarner and Zito do this in the Big Leagues, so I want to try doing this.’
“I never tried to throw exactly like them, but I applied what they did to my game.”
It paid dividends. Now, even his teammates are uneasy about facing him during live at-bat practices.
“That’s one of the nastiest lefty changeups I’ve ever faced,” OSU right fielder Nolan Schubart said. “It looks like it’s starting out, and then it comes in on you so quickly that you feel like you don’t have any time to react to it. It’s a scary pitch to face as a hitter. It’s one of the best ones I’ve seen from a (college) pitcher.”
Schubart said he bested Bodendorf during fall camp. Teammates echoed Bodendorf’s contradiction of that sentiment.
Schubart isn’t the only reigning All-American whom Bodendorf has dominated this season.
Texas A&M’s Jace LaViolette, a consensus first-round projection in the MLB Draft this summer, went 0 for 2 against Bodendorf. Louisville’s Lucas Moore, a .380 hitter thus far, was hitless. Kansas slugger Brady Ballinger was held to one hit.
Now, heading into a pivotal three-game road set at Baylor, which starts Friday at 6:30 p.m., the Cowboys (22-21, 10-11 Big 12) will need Bodendorf to continue to be himself on the mound.
With a hot streak over the final two weeks of regular season play essential for OSU to attain a 12th-straight at-large regional bid, Bodendorf’s success will be paramount.
“Harrison is simply an outstanding pitcher; I wouldn’t want to face him, I can tell you that,” Holliday said. “He’s just so tough on opposing hitters, which makes him a valuable asset for us, obviously.
“Harrison is a guy we can count on to go pitch us 110 to 120 pitches each game, and each time he goes out there, we’re confident that we’ll win. He’s such an elite competitor that the moment never gets too big for him, and that’s a rare thing to find today.”
But above all else, Bodendorf said he finds solace in being able to pitch alongside his teammates for at least two more weeks.
“At the end of the day, I’m just going to go out and compete for my team,” Bodendorf said. “I know I’m good enough to help my teammates, and I’ll do that at all costs, even if I end up having a little Bumgarner or Zito in me that day.”
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