Get To Know Red Sox Starter Sean O'Sullivan
By Johnny Carey, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Taking the hill at Fenway Park on Tuesday night for the Red Sox will be ... Sean O'Sullivan?
If you're not familiar with this Sean O'Sullivan (there's a good chance you might know another Sean O'Sullivan from the Boston area), don't feel bad. After all, whoever created his Wikipedia page even felt the need to clarify that you're searching for Sean O'Sullivan (baseball).
O'Sullivan might not be a future Cy Young Award winner, but so what? He's someone who is so easy to root for in a spot start that he deserves some attention.
It's time to give the man his moment.
Listed at 6-foot-1, 245 pounds, O'Sullivan is, let's say, an imposing figure on the mound. His burly build and red beard make him look a lot more like someone you'd play beer league slow-pitch softball with than someone you'd expect to see on the mound at Fenway Park.
O'Sullivan is also the definition of a journeyman. He's made 67 career major league appearances, including 52 starts, for five teams in parts of seven seasons.
He's pitched in Triple-A every single year since 2009, and has played 11 minor league seasons in total.
Last season, O'Sullivan was given the opportunity to start 13 games for the lowly Phillies, where he struggled in a major way. In those 13 starts, O'Sullivan finished 1-6 with a 6.08 ERA, while allowing 16 home runs. His 2015 ERA wasn't far off from his career ERA of 5.96, which goes to show why O'Sullivan hasn't stuck anywhere in the big leagues.
This year in Pawtucket, however, O'Sullivan has been on the top of his game, posting a 0.879 WHIP and 3.00 ERA in five starts.
If everything went the way the Red Sox organization would like, Henry Owens would be starting tonight. The reason Owens isn't making this start, though, is simple. He hasn't shown any command whatsoever on the mound, while O'Sullivan is being rewarded for excelling in that exact area.
In his five Triple-A starts, O'Sullivan has only five walks to go along with 32 strikeouts - a far cry from the 13 walks and nine strikeouts Owens has given the Red Sox this season. He certainly doesn't have the same "stuff" as Owens, but reliability made him a more enticing option to John Farrell and/or Dave Dombrowski this time through the rotation.
There's also the desperation factor that makes O'Sullivan's start interesting. For a guy who has bounced around as much and for as long as O'Sullivan, he knows that he most likely won't get too many more opportunities. His most recent start in the major leagues came last July, and if he doesn't pitch well on Tuesday, there's always the chance it could be his last opportunity ever.
But that isn't bothering him -- O'Sullivan is just excited for the chance to pitch at Fenway Park for the first time.
"I am super excited because I had been here a few times with other teams, but I had never gotten to actually throw here," O'Sullivan said, per the Boston Herald. "I'm excited about the opportunity."
He even almost missed the call giving him that opportunity.
"We were at home when my manager called me at about [1 a.m.], and I had actually missed the first 10 phone calls that I got," O'Sullivan said. "Finally I leaned over when I heard my phone vibrating on the ground and saw who was calling. I thought, 'Whoa, I better pick this one up.'"
It was certainly good for him, and probably good for Red Sox fans that he picked up the phone, because after a quick film study of sorts, I have come to the conclusion that per innings pitched, there is not a pitcher with better highlights than Sean O'Sullivan.
Just take a look at his two most notable career highlights, and tell me you aren't excited to watch this man pitch.
So while Sean O'Sullivan will most likely never be a permanent part of the Red Sox rotation (nor should he be), it's hard not to root for the guy.
There's just something about watching O'Sullivan pitch that makes you think, "If only I didn't get cut from my JV high school baseball team back in the day, I could have made it to the big leagues."
And that's a beautiful feeling. Cherish it tonight.
Johnny Carey is a senior at Boston College. You can find him on Twitter@JohnnyCarey94.
