NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Mavericks starter Josh Landry walks out onto the grounds at Cairns Field in Saskatoon ahead of the Mavs' 3-0 Game 2 win over the Berries Thursday night.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Josh Landry put on a display Thursday night that tops what Kevin Mitchell has ever seen from a pitcher.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks’ head coach was bubbling talking about the 6-foot-7 lefty’s performance, beyond the fact that Landry’s outing led the Mavs in a 3-0 Game 2 win over the Saskatoon Berries to force a decisive Game 3 Friday at Athletic Park. It was a 12-strikeout, eight-inning outing that Mitchell says exceeded all expectations.
“He’s a guy who is a bit older, he’s been around and has pitched in some really big games in his life, having recently won a (college) World Series,” Mitchell said. “That’s the guy that I thought we were getting, and I’m glad he was able to put on the show for us.”
Landry, a product of Long Beach, Calif., worked primarily as a reliever for the Mavs throughout the season due to an inning limit after being a starter during the school season with the Hope International Royals in Fullerton, Calif.
He returned to a starter’s role in the last week of the season, working a five-inning, four-strikeout win over the Berries on Aug. 3 before his masterclass performance Thursday night. When he took the mound Thursday, Landry says he was just trying to replicate his mechanics from the previous start.
“I still had the feel, I fell asleep envisioning the same mechanics,” Landry said. “I woke up seeing the same visions, being on top of the change-up, change-up’s low in the zone, breakers down in the zone, fastballs inside, being able to go upstairs with it, everything was clicking.”
He enjoyed his first taste of the WCBL playoffs, grinning from ear to ear with a smile Mavs fans have come to expect from the 24-year-old.
“It was really fun, I was more so looking forward to coming to enemy territory and quieting the crowd like we did (Thursday),” Landry said. “It was really fun, they got loud with the bases loaded, we’d get out of it and you could hear the wind just get taken from their sails. That was fun, hearing how quiet a large group of people can be.”
While Game 2 was the biggest game the Mavs have had this season, it paled in comparison for Landry who pitched in the NAIA College World Series, winning a national title with Hope International. He threw 2.2 innings with two strikeouts in the Royals’ 15-11 win over Georgia Gwinnett on May 29, punching the ticket to the national finals.
He says that Royals teams wasn’t the best squad in the tournament but they were a group that banded together at the right time. A fate he hopes follows true in Medicine Hat.
“We didn’t have the highest velo but all 40 guys on the roster pulled the same rope, on and off the field,” Landry said. “The little things they did, right. With the drills, practice, everyone took that very seriously. That’s why guys had success.”
Landry is a sophomore freshman at the school level, with COVID-19 stoppages earning him extra years, as well as redshirting his freshman year. He also missed two years while rehabbing an elbow injury that has left him with a picturesque scar on his left arm and a lot of lessons. He says the rehab was tedious, it drained him mentally and physically but he says it made him a better pitcher and person.
“Rehab is a boring thing, it sucks being away from what you want to do, but it also teaches you way more than you thought you knew,” Landry said. “Arm care isn’t just the shoulder and elbow, it’s your calves, your spine, your hips, your knees, your ankles, everything goes into arm care. That’s something my pitching coach has really emphasized and shed light on.”
Landry credits his pitching coach Payton Lobdell, who also runs a pitching instruction company called Backyard Bullpens. The Mavs’ lefty says Lobdell has helped him learn how to use his entire body while pitching and the importance of connection from head to toe with every pitch. He’s picked up a lot of tips throughout his young career and has enjoyed passing them on to whomever is willing to listen to act as that mentor he’s cherished in the past.
“I sort of let my work ethic do the talking and then guys will approach me and pick my brain a little bit, and I have no problem chatting it up,” Landry said. “Because then it gives me an insight to, ‘Well, what would you do?’ Now I have different options.
“With the younger guys, a lot of them have a slight mechanical hitch that doesn’t allow them to repeat pitches and then that becomes a mental problem and you can repeat the issue. My big thing is getting the guys with the water bag, trying to work with them on some lower body stuff but also telling them to have the conviction, go in with two strikes, get that fastball in there; it’s OK to miss just don’t miss over the plate.”
He’s the first to cheer on teammates and encourage them when they get down in outings. He’ll often say, “We ain’t trippin” after a questionable strike call on either side of the ball.
With a national title under his belt and the ring to match, Landry gleams at the idea of adding a piece of jewelry to his hand with the Mavs logo etched in stone. He did his part the first chance he had and looks to do whatever else he can to make that dream come true.
“I’ve joked, winning here would be conquering North America,” Landry said. “I championed America and then go champion the True North.”
