Keeping An Open Mind With First Impressions

I always try to remember that first impressions can be wrong and that you need to keep an open mind. Recently, baseball reminded me of the need to not judge in haste.

On Monday, May 24 left hander Vidal Nuno debuted for the Captains in the top of the fifth inning of a scoreless game against the South Bend Silver Hawks. Nuno, a 22 year old 4th round pick from Baker University in Kansas, replaced starter Austin Adams. Adams pitched a great game going four innings and allowing one hit with four strikeouts and no walks. It was one of the performances that propelled Adams to Midwest Pitcher of the Week honors.

Nuno came and proceeded to - putting it mildly - stink up the joint. He gave up two runs in the fifth inning and four more in the seventh. Before manager Ted Kubiak pulled him with two outs in the 7th, Nuno gave up 6 runs, 9 hits (4 of them doubles) while striking out only one batter. At least he didn’t walk anyone, but he did ruin an outstanding effort by Adams. He ended the game with an ERA of 20.25. 20.25!

I along with many Captains fans was furious. Antwoine Hubbard pitched the remainder of the game, giving up only 1 hit in the remaining inning and a third. The Captains ended up scoring three runs in the bottom of the 7th, so without Mr. Nuno’s performance the Captains would have won instead of losing their second game in a row. The next day Ross Atkins, the Indians Director of Player Development, attended the game against Dayton. I and a few other Captains fans talked about going over to him and asking “What on Earth did you ever see in Vidal Nuno? He’s terrible-that’s one of the worst performances we’ve ever seen!”

Well, I guess there’s a reason Ross Atkins is the Director of Player Development for a major league team and I’m a management consultant who writes for a blog. Nuno started the game in Great Lakes on Saturday May 29. He pitched 4 scoreless and hitless innings, struck out 7, walked none and hit one. Wow, what a difference! His piggyback mate, Austin Adams, combined with Nuno to shutout the Loons 2-0 with Adams getting the win. I thought, 'gee maybe I’m wrong about Nuno' but decided to wait until he pitched another game before I decided that I had made a mistake. You can be too hasty with these things.

Vidal Nuno next appeared in a game on Thursday, June 3 against the Beloit Snappers. Nuno, still piggybacking with Adams, came on in the 5th. Nuno pitched 3 innings and got the win while giving up only a solo homer to Beloit DH Daniel Rams in the 6th. Nuno struck out 6 and walked one. He’s now 1-1 in 3 games, with 9.2 innings pitched, 14 strikeouts (13 in the last two games) and only 1 walk. Let me repeat that. 14 strikeouts and 1 walk! He’s lowered his ERA to 6.52. Quite an improvement.

Indians fans may remember Chris Perez’s debut with the Tribe last year after coming over from St. Louis. Indians fans moan and groaned and some wanted Perez tarred and feathered. Eventually though, Perez settled down to become a pretty decent reliever and possibly the Tribe’s closer of the future. As the saying goes “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”, but that doesn’t mean that with hard work and determination, you can’t change someone’s mind. So, I must say to Vidal Nuno and Ross Atkins, “I was wrong”.

Photo courtesy of Lianna Holub

Terry Evitts, a management consultant and baseball historian, is a life-long resident of Lake County. He follows the Captains for IPI and may be reached at tevitts@indiansprospectinsider.com.

Posted in: Vidal Nuno