The Miami Herald published this great article about Guthrie and his bright prospects for this season. It also touches briefly on his missionary experience:Orioles' Guthrie on the rise again
BY MIKE PHILLIPS
BY MIKE PHILLIPS
You could get a nosebleed trying to follow the career of Jeremy Guthrie, who somehow has gone from being released by the Indians just two years ago to becoming the favorite to be Baltimore's Opening Day starter.
That's just part of Guthrie's yo-yo journey through baseball -- a crash-and-burn, rise-from-the-ashes saga that might have left the average player a little schizophrenic.
Not Guthrie, an easygoing pitcher who is grounded in his faith.
Maybe it was that two years of doing missionary work in Spain that helped shape Guthrie into what he is and where he is today, standing on the mound with a rock-hard foundation.
''It was the best two years of my life,'' said Guthrie, a devout Mormon, who left BYU and baseball with a sore arm after his freshman year to serve his two-year missionary commitment to the Church of Latter Day Saints.
''Of course [my religion] comes first,'' he said. ``It's helped me in baseball and in everything I do, because it is the most important thing to me. It's a lot easier to endure the ups and the downs because you have a base and a foundation of what is important to you.''
He has had more than his share of ups and downs, and it all started on that trip to Spain. Guthrie, who had an ERA of 6.25 at BYU, was ready to leave baseball behind. He didn't pick up a baseball for two years in Spain, where he knocked on doors for 12 hours a day professing his faith to strangers.
When he came back to the United States, he transferred to Stanford.
''I went to Stanford with the idea of working for Nike. It was an opportunity to get a great education to prepare for that,'' he said. ``I ended up on the baseball team. They allowed me to walk on the team, and it worked out.''
Worked out is an understatement. Guthrie was a two-time All-American who led Stanford to the College World Series, and the Indians made him their first-round pick and signed him for $4.5 million. He was rising again.
The crash came in 2004 when Guthrie struggled in the minors at Akron, Ohio.
''I just didn't feel comfortable on the mound and couldn't get any rhythm that season,'' he said. ``That was probably the low point, but I never thought about giving up baseball. I started pitching better [in 2005], but the Indians had a lot of young pitchers, and they really didn't have a place for me.''
BARGAIN OF THE YEAR
After the 2006 season, the Indians released Guthrie, and the Orioles picked up the bargain of the year, snatching Guthrie for the $20,000 waiver price after Kansas City and Tampa Bay passed on him. Guthrie barely made the team last spring and played for the minimum $385,000. But after being dumped by Cleveland, he began to look like one of Baltimore's best pitchers and a favorite for Rookie of the Year. He finished the season ranked 13th in the American League in ERA (3.70) and 14th in batting average allowed (.2.49), and when the Orioles traded ace Eric Bedard just before spring training, Guthrie became the favorite to be the Opening Day starter.
Orioles manager Dave Trembley likes Guthrie's fastball and his focus on the mound, but he also admires his grit, because of the way Guthrie came back quickly from a rib injury to finish September.
''I admire Jeremy for his thought process and his eagerness and his mental outlook,'' Trembley said at the time. Trembley hasn't announced his Opening Day starter, but the young Orioles are now counting on Guthrie to be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher.
''He has to be,'' said Baltimore first baseman Kevin Millar, one of the few veterans on the Orioles. ``He has to do it, and he can do it. We need him to be that guy.
''When he spots his fastball, he [can be an ace],'' Millar said. ``He pitched some great games for us last season, and we need him this year.''
Aided by an even temperament and his faith, Guthrie doesn't get too high or low no matter when he starts.
''It's never really been a goal of mine to be the Opening Day starter,'' he said. ``Last year it seemed like I faced No. 1s from the other teams a lot anyway.''
A SHOE GUY
Guthrie might be a rising star, but he could be selling shoes.
''My goal is to work for Nike,'' he said. ``I'm a shoe guy. I grew up in Oregon so I've always been a shoe guy and I've always had a passion for shoes.
``I would do anything, advertising, design, being a representative, anything. I would do anything from selling shoes at a NikeTown to working in the corporate offices.''
For now, Guthrie is looking for that big season, the one Millar and others believe he can have.
''I've had a lot of ups and downs, but I wasn't down when the Indians released me,'' Guthrie said. ``When I came here I was excited about the opportunity, and making the most of it.''
So far he has, rising again.
