In a Different Role, Rossiter Becomes a Star as Closing Act in Las Vegas

Like a lot of people in Las Vegas, Mike Rossiter is trying to beat the odds.

Instead of slot machines, craps or keno, Rossiter is playing the high-stakes game of triple-A baseball, seeking a chance to pitch in the major leagues.

The former Burroughs High right-hander is the closest he has been to reaching the big leagues since he was drafted 38th--with a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds--by the Oakland Athletics in 1991.

Rossiter, 6 feet 6, has moved from the Milwaukee Brewers’ Class-A affiliate in Stockton to the San Diego Padres’ double-A team in Mobile, Ala., to the Las Vegas Stars in a span of 16 months since being released by the A’s.

“I think I’ve opened a few eyes,” Rossiter said. “Now I want to open some more eyes.”

A confounding curveball and a fastball near 90 mph always did that for him, until injuries to his right elbow and shoulder forced him to miss the 1994 season and most of 1995.

“It’s been a long process,” he said. “But I’m trying to just keep trucking along. I’m out here trying to prove I’m a prospect again.”

Rossiter, 25, is 1-2 with a 3.54 earned-run average and two saves in 28 innings and 20 appearances with the Stars. He did not give up a run in seven appearances until the New Orleans Zephyrs tagged him for three runs in a 10-8 defeat on Aug. 8.

Before being promoted to Las Vegas on June 22, Rossiter was 2-0 with a 1.79 ERA in 45 1/3 innings at Mobile, where he began the season after signing a free-agent contract with the Padres in March.

“This year’s kind of been a breakthrough for me,” Rossiter said. “My arm feels really strong and I’m a lot more confident and positive now than I was a couple of years ago.”

A change of scenery helped fuel the change in attitude.

“When I left the A’s organization is when things really started turning around,” he said.

His recent success is something Rossiter expected long ago, and something aided by his move from the starting rotation to the bullpen.

“I pitched my first game in relief in Stockton and gave up four runs before I got the first out,” Rossiter said. “I’m thinking, ‘Oh God, this is going to kill me. I want to go back to being a starter.’ But I kept doing it, and the more I did it, the more I liked it.”

Used primarily in a set-up role at first, Rossiter recently became the closer for Las Vegas. He earned his first triple-A save against Tucson on July 10 and his first victory with Las Vegas last week against Albuquerque.

“He’s earned the right to finish a game,” Las Vegas pitching coach Dave Smith said. “If he finishes the way he’s been doing and keeps going the way he has, he should get a real good look next year.”

*

Westlake High graduate John Snyder was called up to the Chicago White Sox on June 29 after going 7-3 with a 4.36 ERA at triple-A Calgary.

He won six of his last seven decisions at Calgary, and his success has continued with the White Sox. Snyder, a 6-3, 200-pound right-hander, is 3-1 with a 5.79 ERA in seven starts.

He is the first White Sox starter to win his first three decisions since Jack McDowell of the Angels, a graduate of Notre Dame High, did it in 1987.

Snyder, 23, suffered his first loss, 6-4 to Oakland, last week and is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday at Anaheim.

“This whole thing’s been kind of a blur,” Snyder said. “It’s everything I hoped it would be and a little bit more.”

Snyder came to Chicago in a 1995 trade that brought Jim Abbott back for his second stint with the Angels. A double-A player at the time, Snyder was probably the least-known in the six-player deal.

Snyder picked up a 3-0 victory over Boston in his first start, a nationally televised game on July 4 at Fenway Park in which he held the Red Sox to five hits in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out seven, including the side in the first inning, and walked one.

“It was my first start, and to pitch so well there . . . and my grandfather was there, so he got to watch it,” Snyder said. “There were just a lot of factors that made it really special.”

He followed with victories over Minnesota and Texas, and had a 1.38 ERA after the three victories.

“I’m just trying to make an impression on somebody,” Snyder said. “Coming here was my goal and getting here was a lot of hard work.”

*

Also in the White Sox rotation is left-hander Jim Parque, a Crescenta Valley High graduate. He was the first player drafted in 1997 to reach the major leagues.

He was called up in May after being picked 46th overall out of UCLA and going 2-3 with a 3.94 ERA in eight games at triple-A Calgary.

Parque (3-4) struggled recently but beat Oakland, 5-3, last week for his first victory since June 15. He is scheduled to start Monday at Anaheim.

*

Well-traveled Brian Luderer spent nearly as much time in Greenville, S.C., last week as he has anywhere else this season.

Luderer, a catcher for the double-A Huntsville Stars of the A’s organization, played briefly in a 23-inning Southern League game against the Greenville Braves.

The Crespi High graduate grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the 17th inning.

The game lasted 6 hours 26 minutes, spread over two days after play was called at 1:06 a.m. EDT on Aug. 7 because of league curfew rules with the score tied, 7-7, after 20 innings.

The game was continued that night, ending when Adam Johnson of Greenville hit a three-run home run in the 23rd to give the Braves a 10-7 victory. The 23 innings tied a Southern League record.

“It was pretty amazing,” Luderer said. “It just kept going on and on.”

Luderer, 19, played for Class-A teams in Visalia, Modesto and Southern Oregon this season before being promoted to Huntsville three weeks ago.

“I haven’t really had any place that’s been home,” Luderer said. “I’m just trying to capitalize on all the opportunities.”

Luderer is batting .267 with four runs batted in.