Future looks bright for Zaleski

Charlotte Knights right-handed pitcher Matt Zaleski, shown above in action in Charlotte, is making steady progress on his way to the Major Leagues. He's the son-in-law of retired Linton-Stockton baseball coach Bart Berns. (Photo courtesy Charlotte Knights).

For 21 years Bart Berns coached the Linton-Stockton Miners on the diamond. Now that he's retired he's taken up a new pastime, watching son-in-law Matt Zaleski pitch for the Charlotte Knights.

"Next spring break, I've never went anywhere in 21 years," Berns said shortly after announcing his retirement. "I'm going to be in Arizona or where ever he's at I'm going to be watching him."

The lanky righthander is currently 6-6 on the year with a 3.87 earned run average. In 20 appearances this season -- including 18 starts -- the Indiana State University graduate has allowed 101 hits in 116.1 innings of work.

Berns' stepdaughter Audrey met Zaleski in college and things blossomed from there, including annual visits to the Linton area to give a pitching clinic to the Miner pitching staff.

"I met her in college and that's how I got to Linton," Zaleski said as he sat on the bullpen bench inside Indianapolis' Victory Field prior to the Knights game with the Indians recently.

"Usually it's in the offseason around Christmas time I'll go in and help out their pitchers."

Zaleski tries to do more than just bring the presence of a pro baseball player to the pitchers he mentors during the session.

"I try to teach them proper mechanics really," he said. "I try to clean up their mechanics so they don't get hurt in the future and maybe add a little velocity."

Zaleski says that's one thing he's noticed in the private pitching lessons he gives to younger players -- and it's something he tries to correct, no matter at what level his pupils are throwing.

"Young kids that you see don't have proper stuff and they're always wanting to add velocity or whatever," Zaleski said. "What it boils down to is mechanics."

From a baseball standpoint, Zaleski could very well end up in the Major Leagues, if not this year, very soon.

He doesn't worry about what will or won't happen between him and the Chicago White Sox. He leaves it up to his agent to handle the negotiations with the parent club about whether or not his contract -- which expires at the end of the season -- will be renewed.

Instead he focuses on the present situation and will let the future take care of itself, and the present situation is apparently a pretty good one for the young righthander in baseball terms.

Two people who know quite a bit about what it takes to play in the Majors feel he has a solid chance.

Richard Dotson, who spent 11 seasons in the big leagues with the White Sox, Yankees and Royals, says Zaleski has what it takes.

"He's got pitcher's savvy," Dotson said. "He's definitely a pitcher, he's got a great mentality on the mound, he's a great teammate and I'd like to see him one day get a chance. The guy can pitch."

His stint with the Knights is not the first time the two have worked together. Dotson says Zaleski has worked through being "the odd man out" and turned himself into a versatile hurler.

"I don't know if he's going to be a starter in the big leagues," Dotson said. "But I can see where he'd help a big league team because he can pitch."

Zaleski says while Dotson is a solid pitching coach and positive influence on the entire Knights pitching staff, he's pretty much let him learn on his own, but is there when he needs him.

"I've been pitching for a long time now," Zaleski said. "So I kind of can feel what I'm doing. So I go to him for some reassurance."

His manager, former Yankees and Braves first baseman Chris Chambliss agrees with Dotson's assessment and says Zaleski is the real deal.

"He throws a variety of pitches -- cutters, sinkers and changeups and stuff -- and he throws them with the same armspeed," Chambliss said. "He has excellent deception with that."

Chambliss goes further by saying he's in Triple A for a reason.

"Everybody that's here is one step from the Majors," Chambliss said. "So he's certainly in that category. When you're in the starting rotation in Triple A you've got a chance to make it to the Major Leagues."

On the personal side, Zaleski says the time he gets to spend with Audrey is limited during summer-long grind that makes up a baseball season. He admits they usually only see one other on an inconsistent basis.

"It's like once or twice a month," he said. "We both knew what we were getting ourselves into with my lifestyle and all."

That hasn't always been the case for the two according to Zaleski. He said they spent one season living in the same city, but cutbacks at the hospital where she was employed forced an end to the situation.

"It was real nice," Zaleski admitted. "But then the hospital cut down on the budget and it wouldn't let her do it anymore."

When he signed his minor league contract, Zaleski said he tried not to form an opinion about what it would be like for him. Instead he just decided to go with the flow and let things unfold as they will.

But he also didn't go into pro baseball totally blind either. His brother Kevin spent time with the Florida Marlins organization as a part of the Kane County Cougars in Double A.

"He lived at home in Aurora with us," the Chicago-area native said. "My bunkmate was actually Brent Billingsley who got to go up with the Marlins, so I got to see him throughout his minor league career. So I never really expected anything more or less and kind of just understood what was going on."

Zaleski, who joined the Triple A affiliate of the White Sox late last year, says the move to Charlotte has been his best experience so far in professional baseball. He admits it's a major change from the bus rides and bad food that have a tendency to dominate life in the low minors.

"You play in better ballparks, travel you get to fly in planes instead of taking 18-hour bus rides," he said with a smile. "Pregame and postgame spreads and better food and a couple of cold beers in the clubhouse afterwards."

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