Bassitt set as A's Opening Day starter

With constant questions about which pitcher might draw the Opening Day assignment only increasing in frequency over the past week, A’s manager Bob Melvin decided to turn the tables on reporters with his own question.

“Do you want to know who the Opening Day starter is?” Melvin asked to begin his pregame media availability in Mesa, Ariz., on Thursday morning.

Letting the tension build for a few seconds, he finally let it out.

“Chris Bassitt,” Melvin said. “Big shocker, right?”

Though he’s also fared well this spring with a 1.74 ERA in three Cactus League starts, Bassitt earned the honor largely based on his emergence as Oakland’s unlikely ace in 2020, going 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 63 innings to end the year eighth in American League Cy Young Award voting. That breakout last season, however, was only a small part of his journey to this point.

From the time he was selected by the White Sox in the 16th round of the 2011 Draft, Bassitt has faced an uphill battle. He was traded to the A’s just three years into his pro career in ‘14 and fell into an even deeper hole in May ‘16, when, after struggling to a 6.11 ERA in five starts to begin the season, he learned that he needed to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Missing most of the 2017 season, Bassitt reached a point in his recovery where he began to wonder if he might have thrown his last pitch in the Major Leagues. Even when he did make it back, every Spring Training Bassitt entered prior to this year saw him having to battle just to earn a spot on the roster. That’s why now at age 32, the right-hander is a little more appreciative of this opportunity.

“I look back two or three years ago after [Tommy John surgery], and I questioned if I was ever going to make it back, period,” Bassitt said. “I thought the end of my career was a lot closer than I thought, just because I wasn’t recovering from that injury. But I had this whole organization backing me every day and pushing me to stick with things even when things were going like crap.

“I don’t take just making a team for granted. I know how hard it is to stay in the big leagues.”

Melvin has witnessed the ups and downs Bassitt has gone through in his time with the A’s. In that period, he said a transformation took place. The old Chris Bassitt is gone. The pitcher taking the mound on April 1 against the Astros at the Oakland Coliseum? That’s Chris Bassitt 2.0.

“There was a time that he struggled a little bit with going back and forth [between] being a reliever and being a starter,” Melvin said. “I think he realized that you have to earn your stripes, and he earned his stripes. Then just gaining confidence last season with how well he pitched against good clubs and how much we relied on him, I think all that plays into what you’re seeing as a different Chris Bassitt than maybe [in] years past. This kind of starts a different level for him.”

The first version of Bassitt wasn’t too shabby. In 73 games (61 starts) for the A’s since 2016, Bassitt has put together a 3.56 ERA with 324 strikeouts in 368 2/3 innings.

This will be the first Opening Day start of Bassitt’s career. Sure to sweeten the moment will be the presence of the Oakland faithful at the Coliseum after its absence from the ballpark last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning on Opening Night, the Oakland Coliseum will allow a limited-capacity crowd of about 20 percent to enter.

“I think every single person has been missing fans,” Bassitt said. “We play in some big ballparks, and we’re blessed to do that, but I think we quickly realized last year that those parks are pretty dang boring if you play with no fans. Seeing the fans and knowing the right field crazy people are going to be out there with their signs and their horns, I think we’re all definitely looking forward to the hecticness of the Coliseum.”