6 October 2023
HOUSTON — Someday when they’re old enough, Bailey Ober is looking forward to telling his four young children — daughters Blake and Olivia and sons Jax and Kollins — about the time he pitched against a future hall of famer in the postseason.
First, Ober has to author the conclusion to that story. That will come on Saturday when the Twins take on ace pitcher Justin Verlander and the Astros at 3:45 p.m. in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Minute Maid Park.
“It’s unbelievable,” the 28-year-old said. “… It’s just a surreal moment to be able to throw against Verlander in the postseason.”
Ober found out on Friday afternoon that it would be him, not Joe Ryan, who would have pitched Game 3 of the Wild Card Series had it gotten there, or even veteran Kenta Maeda that would draw the important start against the defending World Series champions.
It was a decision that manager Rocco Baldelli said he hadn’t come to concretely until about 10 minutes before he called Ober into his office at Minute Maid Park on Friday.
“I can’t tell you it was an easy decision picking amongst them, but Bailey is a guy that offers a pretty unique look. He’s pitched real well lately. He came off of the little break that he had later on in the year really strong,” Baldelli said. “Overall, we just really like what we’ve seen. (The Astros) haven’t seen him lately. I think it’s been a couple of years since they faced him. And that’s all kind of woven into it.”
The conversation in which Baldelli informed him of the decision, Ober said, was “extremely fun,” which stands in contrast to some of the difficult conversations the manager and starter had to have earlier this season.
That began in January, after the Twins acquired Pablo López, and Ober all of a sudden became the odd-man-out in the starting rotation. At the end of spring training, Baldelli had to tell Ober that they planned to option him to Triple-A. And in late August, after spending most of the season pitching effectively in the majors, the Twins optioned Ober to St. Paul once more with his workload in mind.
“He doesn’t dwell on things,” Baldelli said. “He’s very much a guy that’s just looking for the things that what can he do? What can he control? What can he take advantage of to help himself in his career and not ever get brought down by anything.”
And, he’s a guy who gives the Twins a chance to win pretty much any game they put him on the mound to start. Ober finished this season with a 3.43 earned-run average in 26 starts this season. He gave up three runs or fewer in all but four of those starts and finished his regular season off by giving up just one run on two hits in 6 2/3 innings last Sunday in Colorado.
Because he pitched the regular-season finale, he knew he wasn’t going to be on the roster for the Wild Card Series. But he had gotten an indication that he was going to get a start should the Twins advance. and had started preparing for it.
Now, he’s set for the biggest start of this career, something he’s been envisioning since childhood.
“Watching all those games in the playoffs growing up when I was a kid, when it was on TV, staying up until 1 or 2 in the morning watching them play, that’s all I ever really wanted to do,” Ober said. “I wanted to be in these situations. I want the pressure. I want to go out there and just have fun and enjoy the moment.”
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