Crescent-News.com - Billingsley reflects on his rookie season with the Dodgers

By TIM McDONOUGH

mcdonough@crescent-news.com

The 2006 Major League Baseball season has officially come to an end, and with it came the end of an unforgettable rookie season for Chad Billingsley of Defiance.

Billingsley, a former Defiance High School standout, got the call of a lifetime when the Los Angeles Dodgers brought him up to The Show in June after starting the 2006 season at Triple A Las Vegas. All Billingsley did was help pitch the Dodgers to the National League wild card and a berth in the playoffs.

Not bad for somebody just a little over three years removed from high school.

The thing that really helped me and has helped me along the way is always remembering that baseball is game, said Billingsley who finished 7-4 this season with a 3.80 ERA. Being able to compete and doing what you know you can do is the reason why its so much fun. My job is get guys out and at times when I tried to do too much, thats when I got in trouble.

After getting off to a somewhat slow start in the majors, the right-handed starting pitcher hit his stride in the rotation for L.A. after the All-Star break. Following the midsummer classic Billingsley and the Dodgers took off and the team went from back in the pack to playoff contention. It was a stretch in which Billingsley not only found his groove both mentally and physically, but his bearing as well as a major leaguer.

When I got called up I was going through a period where my arm was feeling fatigued, but after the All-Star break my arm started feeling really good and my body felt really good, said Billingsley who struck out 59 batters in 90 innings pitched. I think after adjusting too, I felt like my old self and I wasnt trying to do too much. I was throwing all my pitches for strikes and the team was playing great baseball.

Following the streak Billingsley ran into a problem in late August during a game in Arizona. The 6-1, 215-pounder strained an oblique muscle early in a game against the Diamondbacks, but continued to tough it out for four more innings. Following that performance, however, Billingsley had to take nearly three weeks off to heal before coming back to pitch again.

I was really on a roll when I strained the oblique in Arizona, said Billingsley. In the third inning I threw a curve and I came down too hard and I felt it right away. But I ended up throwing four more innings because I knew I had to tough it out because our bullpen was shot. The injury was definitely tough, it was really tough mentally. But I made it through it and thankfully it wasnt a problem the rest of the season.

Once the wild card berth was secure, Billingsley and the Dodgers made their way to New York to take on the NL East champion New York Mets. Although Billingsley didnt get the chance to start in the series, he did pitch two innings of shutout relief. During his time on the hill Billingsley was able to keep the heart of the Mets order, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and David Wright off the basepaths. Its something he wont forget in a season of unforgettable moments.

It was a great experience to make the playoffs in my rookie year, said Billingsley. There were a lot of young rookies like Russ Martin, Andre Ethier and me who got to play with a great group of veteran guys. The veterans really helped us a lot and I think we did a good job of helping us to get there.

Throwing two innings was great and I did what they brought me in to do which was put up zeroes, continued Billingsley. Being in New York was kind of rough, because its New York, but it was fun. Getting the chance to pitch against Beltran, Delgado and Wright was a lot of fun and although we didnt win, the experience was everything I could have hoped for.

Other memories that Billingsley wont forget include getting that first victory, getting a hit in his first at-bat and the young guys on his team that helped the Dodgers make the playoffs in his rookie year. Billingsley is well aware that some players go their whole career and never make it to the postseason.

When we clinched the wild card it really was unbelievable, said Billingsley. The champagne was being sprayed everywhere and it was just like you see when youre watching it on TV as a kid. It was great to be a part of it and to see how crazy it really is. I know that some guys never get the chance to get into the playoffs their whole career, so for me to be able to do that as a rookie is unbelievable.

With an unforgettable season behind him, Billingsley is looking forward to his future and the future of the Dodgers. While getting to the major leagues was always one of his major goals, it wasnt and isnt his final goal. Billingsley has many individual and team goals he would like to accomplish in what he hopes will be a long, outstanding career.

I know that Ive worked really hard and that Im fortunate to have made it to the major leagues when I was 21, but just getting to the majors wasnt the goal, said Billingsley. Of course getting there was a big goal, but my goals for my career are much bigger. I want to win Cy Young Awards, I want to win 300 games and I want to make it to the Hall of Fame.

I want to have a long, healthy, successful career and reach my goals, concluded Billingsley. Getting there is just the first step, its a big step but its just the first one. I know those are big goals, but Im ready to work for them. I want to win a World Series too, so I know theres a lot of hard work ahead.