By Joe Mason
For the Times
Kevin McGovern needed a break from pitching.
He didn’t need a break from baseball.
McGovern completed his freshman year at La Salle University in May. Now, as a member of both the Bustleton American Legion and North Philadelphia Flames PennDel League team, he’s still contributing — just not the way people are used to seeing him produce.
"Both of my coaches have asked me to throw a little," McGovern said. "I can’t. I’d love to, but I really need as much rest as possible. College is the main thing right now.
"I’m sure if I wanted to, they’d let me pitch any time I want. But I’m doing everything I can to keep my arm fresh. When college season ended, my arm was pretty much done, just very tired. I needed a little break."
McGovern certainly had to learn a new role at La Salle.
The 2007 graduate of Archbishop Ryan High School had a fantastic senior campaign.
He went 10-1 with 84 strikeouts, helping the Raiders advance to the Catholic League championship game.
That was high school.
College, well, it was different.
McGovern pitched in 15 games for the young Explorers, all out of the bullpen.
Coming into the game instead of starting it was an adjustment, but McGovern still enjoyed the playing time.
"Playing was a great surprise because you never think you’re going to see that much action as a freshman," said McGovern, who went 0-1 with an ERA of just over 7, but did hold batters to a .271 batting average. "It was a really good surprise."
A good surprise, but one that had its complications.
"I was used to getting the ball, going out for seven innings, then having some time off," he said. "Coming out of the bullpen, it’s completely different. You don’t get as much rest, you have to be ready to go every day when you pitch relief. It’s not bad, it’s just different."
Kind of like not pitching at all.
Always a productive hitter, McGovern is now using his stick to help his summer clubs.
He helped Bustleton finish the regular season 8-8, which was good enough for a playoff berth in the upcoming postseason. Seeding was not finalized when the Times went to press this week.
With the Flames, McGovern has contributed, but the results haven’t been very good. North Philadelphia is 2-17-2 on the year.
But there are other perks to playing for the Flames.
"I get the best of both worlds because I see the guys I played with at Ryan on the Bustleton team and the guys I played with at Dougherty on the Flames," said McGovern, who transferred from Dougherty to Ryan prior to his senior year. "I’m playing for fun and I’m having fun. I mean, I want to win and we’re trying hard, but we’re still having fun. Baseball is fun."
While Bustleton didn’t finish atop the American Legion standings, this week begins the new season.
Teams such as Olney, Loudenslager and Rhawnhurst have plenty of firepower, but McGovern is confident his team can make some noise and possibly win the city crown.
"We have a great lineup and good pitching," he said. "We need to put it all together. If we do that, I don’t think any team out there can say that they’re unbeatable when they play us. But if we don’t, we won’t win."
So, now that it’s playoff time, any chance we’ll see the lefty take the mound to steal a game?
"Nope."
Come on! Playoff time, pressure is on, and the best American Legion pitcher in the Philadelphia area is rested and ready to go. No chance of him taking the mound to pitch for Bustleton?
"No chance," McGovern said. "I’m preparing for La Salle. I’m doing everything I can to get my arm back to one-hundred percent. I haven’t had any pain, but you need rest if you want to succeed. That’s what I’m doing now." ••