Escape from New York: Ex-Yankee Ivan Nova thriving with Pirates

NEW YORK – It was almost five years ago, on July 25, 2012, that Ivan Nova endured his wildest game as a major leaguer.

The right-hander gave up two runs over five-plus innings, recording a no-decision in what was eventually a 5-2 win for the New York Yankees against the Seattle Mariners. What made it a notable performance for Nova was that he issued a career-high six walks in an outing where only 58 of the 107 pitches he threw were strikes.

In two months this season, Nova has matched his total from that day in Seattle, with six free passes. The difference, of course, is that those six walks represent Nova’s total for 77 innings over 11 starts. At 0.70 walks per nine innings, the 30-year-old from the Dominican Republic has been the National League’s stingiest pitcher when it comes to allowing free bases.

This has not been a five-year transformation, but something much quicker. Nova issued 25 walks in 97.1 innings for the Yankees last season, then was traded to Pittsburgh in August and walked only three of the 263 batters he faced down the stretch - a span of 64.2 innings.

"We didn’t have him before, so it’s really not as big a concern to us as it is to everybody else that’s seen him before," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "We appreciate what we’ve seen. The comments that he makes internally, he says, 'I was tired of pitching the way I was pitching. I don’t think it’s ever been about walking or not walking. I just felt there was more there and I’m not afraid to let it go.' I shouldn’t say afraid, because that’s not accurate.

"He’s said, 'I’m going to throw strikes and I’m going to challenge them.'"

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Actually, that's exactly what Nova said, although he did stress that the paring down of his walk rate was more of a byproduct of being more aggressive in the strike zone, rather than the result of an emphasis on avoiding walks.

"One of the keys is not to be afraid to go out and throw strikes," Nova said. "I just try to go out and have fun pitching my games. It doesn’t go through my mind that I don’t want to walk anybody. I just want to go deep in the game and give my team a chance to win games."

Nova has done all he can to give the Pirates a chance to win when he's on the mound, with quality starts in nine of his 11 outings this season plus a win over Atlanta when he gave up four earned runs in 8 1/3 innings. The 5-4 record is, as win-loss records often are, an indication of the Pirates' run support for Nova. He's fifth in the National League with a 2.92 ERA and fourth among pitchers at 2.3 wins above replacement.

His aggressive approach and aversion to walks has also made him a baseball purist's dream: Nova averages just 12.9 pitches per inning, easily the best rate in baseball. Runner-up Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros (13.7) is the only other qualified starter throwing fewer than 14 pitches per frame.

While Hurdle is unconcerned with what Nova did before getting to his team, seeing Nova become one of the top pitchers in the Senior Circuit is a confusing phenomenon for regular connoisseurs of American League ball. Nova signed with the Yankees as a 17-year-old in 2004 and had flashes of brilliance after making it to New York, including finishing fourth in the 2011 Rookie of the Year vote, but never fully put it together.

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Nova was traded to the Pirates at last year’s deadline for a pair of low-level minor leaguers, Tito Polo and Stephen Tarpley. It was a perfectly reasonable return for a pitcher two months from free agency with a 4.41 career ERA and a 4.90 mark for the season. What nobody could have known was how much Nova would benefit from getting out of New York.

"I think I gained all my confidence back," he said. "I trusted myself a little more than what I used to. I have a clearer mind and I’m not thinking too much about what’s going on outside, or what’s going to happen next. I’m just enjoying my time pitching, and everything has gone well because of that. I’m not worried about anything else, just pitching my game. I did (worry) a lot of times. It was part of something I don’t even want to remember."

The mental effect of changing teams is a big part of how Nova has become such a force for the Pirates. There’s also the benefit of working with renowned pitching coach Ray Searage, who Nova said helped with some adjustments to keep his motion flowing toward the plate. Beyond that, though, there’s a physical component - Nova’s recovery from Tommy John surgery.

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In 2014, Nova made only four starts, suffering a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament in late April. He returned to the mound in June 2015, but, as is fairly common after returning from the ligament replacement operation, did not feel totally like himself. That took some time. How much time?

"This year is when I felt like nothing happened," Nova said. "A lot of people judge you and say stuff. But a lot of people don’t know what you’re going through. Having Tommy John surgery is not easy. You lose a full year, doing nothing with baseball. Then you have that in the back of your mind, that feeling, and you think about if you’re going to feel good again.

"People give their opinion, and I respect that, but people don’t know, really, what it feels like, to have that surgery and the stuff that you’ve got to go through. It’s a lot of pain, a lot of missing the game that you love and the game that you want to play. You know you’re going to be away for 13-14 months, and then you get two or three months to get ready. It’s tough. You’ve got to have a strong mind.

"When I came back, I was pretty good at the beginning, but worried all the time, 'what’s going to happen with my arm? Was my arm really fully healthy?' Because I did have some pain. It was a real struggle after the Tommy John. I did have some good games after, and I did have some bad games. If I had good games, how could I blame the bad games on the Tommy John? It’s a real struggle."

With that struggle behind him, in the first season of a three-year, $26-million contract with a team where he feels happy and wanted, Nova is taking big steps toward the stardom that seemed his destiny as a rookie. And while he’s taking those steps, nobody is walking against him.