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As the holiday season fast approaches, we naturally associate "seasonal employment" with the retail world. However, professional baseball players will take up seasonal employment at the behest of their major league employers. The Mets' right-handed pitching prospect was honing his craft during the just-completed Arizona Fall League.
Each ML team sends six prospects to play in the AFL. Mulvey was one of only three players taken in the 2006 draft to play this season. The Mets, Cubs, Twins, Dodgers and Astros played for the Mesa Solar Sox. In all, there are six teams that play six games per week. The players enjoy the high level of competition and most are jockeying for position within their own organization, while others are auditioning for jobs with other teams. In fact, one of the first off-season trades included a current AFL player.
Mulvey enjoyed his AFL experience, rising to the level of the competition. In five starts he was 0-2 with a 6.00 earned run average (ERA). However, in his final start he pitched four innings and allowed only one earned run. He noted that every one there was "special," although he marveled at Phil Humber's "dirty curve" and Mike Pelfrey's 97 mph fastball. However, it was the Twins' Kevin Slowey's "ability to put the ball anywhere he wants" that caused him to smile.
Taking Mulvey with the 62nd overall pick was a no-brainer for the Mets. During his three years at Villanova University he made 41 starts, pitching 240 innings, striking out 222 batters, and posting a 14-16 record with an ERA of 4.43. In his junior year he was clearly the anchor/workhorse of the Wildcat staff, leading them with 92.1 innings pitched. He struck out 88 batters and allowed only 91 hits (pretty impressive in the aluminum bat era). Despite a 3-8 record he posted a solid 3.61 ERA and was considered one of the top pitchers in the Big East.
"That, choosing Nova over the St. Louis Cardinals, was not a difficult decision," Mulvey said. "Villanova offered "the best package, an ideal location, a great school and the best scholarship."
He hopes to complete his degree as soon as he can, as playing in the AFL interrupted his immediate scholarly plans. Once the AFL season ended, he was going back to Nova to hang out with friends before resuming his off-season training.
Despite liking all of the New York teams, he favored the Mets. His dad, Tom, liked both teams; whereas his mom, Carole, switched her allegiance from the Mets to Yankees (and now back to the Mets). Most of his friends were Yankee fans though. His two favorite players growing up were David Cone and Don Mattingly. He made the 40-60 minute trip into the city a number of times but doesn't remember ever wearing a Mets jersey. He hopes that will soon change, though he realizes that Met manager Willie Randolph won't likely hand over his number 12 jersey to him.
Mulvey didn't spend much time in the GCL, only pitching two innings. He did, however, get to work on his strength and conditioning. When he moved up to the Eastern League, he noticed the hitters had adjusted to using wooden bats and that the atmosphere was more professional. Nightly attendance in Binghamton was usually around 4,000 fans. During these two stops, he allowed only two earned runs in 15.1 innings before finishing his season with Mesa.
In assessing his game plan for 2007, he sounded much wiser than a typical 21-year-old. Rather than stressing the physical aspect of pitching, he wanted to work on his consistency, getting ahead with his breaking ball, working his fastball inside and finishing off at-bats. Anyone who watches baseball on a regular basis gets frustrated by pitchers who get ahead in the count and then proceed to lose the batter.
This is a young man of character who understands about giving back. When asked about his most memorable job, he replied, "Best paid job was working at a camp - getting to help kids on a daily basis."
He added that going down to Louisiana and helping after Hurricane Katrina has affected him deeply.
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