Submarine righty Rowen gets big league look

PITTSBURGH -- Reliever Ben Rowen is a baseball throwback, a sidearm submarine pitcher that is getting a late-season look with the Brewers.
The 27-year-old made his Brewers debut on Sunday, throwing a scoreless inning with a strikeout of Starling Marte to close out a 10-0 win over the Pirates, sealing a series sweep.

The right-hander is a kindred spirit with some other submarine hurlers in baseball history evoking memories of Ted Abernathy, Elden Auker, Chad Bradford, Mark Eichhorn, Gene Garber, Kent Tekulve and Dan Quisenberry.
"I watched other guys when I was growing up," Rowen explained. "One of the biggest was Chad Bradford, he was still pitching when I was growing up, and anytime he was on television, I sat and watched him, and I actually connected with him about a year and a half ago, and hopefully I'll connect with him a little more.
"I've been throwing submarine for about 10 years now. Back in high school my freshman year my coach dropped me down to sidearm, and I pitched like that for four years and at the end of high school and then college straight submarine, so it's been a while."
Rowen had a chance to rub elbows with another famous sidearm thrower, former Pirates star reliever Kent Tekulve who does the pre and postgame shows on Pirates television.
"It was wonderful," Rowen stated. "What a pleasure to meet him, such a great guy and just get a few tips, and maybe I can implement that into my game."
The Brewers claimed Rowen, 27, off waivers from the Blue Jays on Aug. 4. He posted a 1.69 ERA and 12 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings with Triple-A Colorado Springs, lowering his ERA to 2.33 over 45 total Minor League appearances in 2016.
"He's a player that's been claimed by several different teams," Brewers manager Craig Counsell stated. "He's kind of been a victim of the waiver game a little bit. He's gotten limited opportunities at the big league level, but he's always performed in Triple-A. He performed in the month that we've had him, and so we thought that we'd see what it looked like at the big league level. He is unique, and that's what makes him different, and hitters don't like different. He is something very different, and he's going to pitch and we'll see how he does."