Cardinals relief pitcher
By Leslie Gibson McCarthy
Photograph by Scott Rovak
Cardinals righthander Josh Kinney methodically and deliberately mowed down opposing hitters last October—seven postseason appearances in which he struck out six in 6.1 scoreless innings pitched. He had the most success in the NLCS, deftly handling the heart of the New York Mets’ lineup in Games 2, 3 and 5—all Cardinal wins. But the most gratifying aspect of Kinney’s story is not that he was a key cog in the postseason bullpen. It was that he went from rural northern Pennsylvania to tiny Quincy University to the independent Frontier League River City Rascals to get there. Kinney actually lived all of those baseball clichés guys love to throw around in interviews: He worked hard, took his baseball career step by step and found himself in the right place at the right time. Kinney talked about his improbable journey—and his future—by telephone from his Pennsylvania home a few weeks before spring training.
Now that it’s been a few months since October, has it sunk in how incredible it all was? Yeah. It’s hard not to. Everything happened pretty fast, but it’s been nice to come home and step back from it all. It really sunk in again at the Winter Warm-Up, when we got to relive the experience again with the fans.
What was it like to be a rookie pitching under the pressure of a World Series? I wouldn’t say it helped being a rookie, but it helped having veteran guys around you. [Veteran closer] Jason Isringhausen is a good example of a guy who would talk with us bullpen guys and discuss different situations. He’s spent his whole career on the mound when the game’s on the line, so that was very valuable to hear from him.
But you handled it all well—even notorious Cardinals playoff killer Carlos Beltran. I faced him three times, actually—not that I’m counting. He’s their hot stick. But when you’re out there pitching, if you think, “This is the guy that kills us every time,” you’re never going to have any success. My approach to him and the rest of the hitters I faced was that they still had to hit me. I had the advantage. I hadn’t faced them, and they didn’t know what I had. Baseball is so mental.
You gave up a home run on your first pitch in the Major Leagues last July. Did that bother you? Not really. It was a home run. I’d given up lots of them [in the minors]. I knew it wouldn’t be the last one, either. It just happened to be the first pitch I threw.
Do you remember every batter who has hit a home run off you? I remember everybody I faced last year—and how I did against every batter.
Talk about going from a small Division II university in Quincy, Ill., to the big leagues. I just took each level for what it was and did my best. I went into each situation with kind of a lunchbox attitude: “This is where I’m playing, and I’m here because I like to play baseball.” Not for the money. Not for anything other than that I just like to compete. At each level I tried to do my best and have success so I could keep going up the ladder. I decided that if at any point along the road I was treading water, I’d have to make a decision, but I never faced that.
Where have you had the most fun? I’ve had the most fun in Busch Stadium, of course. That’s not to say I haven’t had fun in the minors. A lot of my teammates—Adam Wainwright, Tyler Johnson, Anthony Reyes—we’ve all come through the system together and gotten to be friends.
What about the upcoming season? Have you and the coaches set any goals? Baseball is a funny game; not a lot gets said. I know what I have to do and what I need to work on. That’s part of being a professional. It’s not the minor leagues, where you have your coach patting you on the back when you do a good job and helping you through the bad times. You have to do it on your own. It’s your career, and you have to be in charge. I don’t have a guaranteed contract, but my plan is to go in and pitch as well as I did last fall. My spot is mine to lose. I need to go in and earn it, and if I don’t, someone will take it. That’s the way the game is played.
Josh's Journey
Born: March 31, 1979
Height: 6-1
Weight: 195
Throws: Right
Signed as an undrafted free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals
in 2001.
2001: Division II Quincy University; River City Rascals; Class A Peoria; Class A New Jersey
2002: Class A Potomac
2003: Class A Palm Beach; Class AA Tennessee
2004: Class A Palm Beach; Class AA Tennessee
2005: Class AA Springfield; Class AAA Memphis
2006: Class AAA Memphis; St. Louis Cardinals
