The Truman Show

By KYLE KEOUGH
Double Day AP

During his time in Boston, Benny Truman had always been a pitcher with great potential and little to show for it. After a season and a half, Truman (20-17 during his stay with the Beaneaters) was jetted off to the Omaha Spikes in a deal that was met with little fanfare. Truman wasn't, after all, a fan favorite in Boston: his 5.77 ERA before being moved is as clear an indicator of that as any.

Yet in Omaha, Truman's pitching career has undergone such a dramatic transformation that the 29-year-old lefty is one of the biggest surprises in Double Day in season three.

So good has he been that as the midpoint of the season nears, he remains a frontrunner for the NL Cy Young award, a shocking revelation considering his struggles in the American League.

Truman (11-2, 2.59 ERA) earned his 11th win of the season yesterday, a 7-inning effort in which he gave up only 2 earned runs. He even went one-for-three at the plate, scoring a run.

It was just another start for a pitcher who has become revered in Omaha as a strikeout artist (his 104 Ks rank 5th in the ML) and a reliable staff ace for the 40-41 Spikes. His transformation has also made him among the leading vote-getters for the All Star Game; an appearance in the summer classic would be the first in his career.

In just 16 starts, he has surpassed his win total over the course of a 32-start season two. And he has done it on a rather average team, which makes the fact that he shares the ML lead for wins with Rafael Mercado (11-2) and Darryl Redman (11-3) even more astounding: those two pitchers play for top clubs record-wise.

His numbers compare favorably to Mercado's, who, with the Durham Tobacconists, is a two-time All-Star and the reigning Cy Young winner: his 2.59 ERA is a shade better (3.08 for Mercado) and he has 17 more Ks with one more start.

Nobody expects Truman to be there at the end as Cy Young winner. Durham and Louisville boast perennially strong rotations; the Chicago Whales and Witchita White Stockings both boast multiple pitchers with strong credentials; the strongest pitchers, statistically speaking, can be found mostly in the NL this year, making it a much more competitive race.

But still, nobody expected him to be an All-Star favorite and one of the league's best pitchers halfway through the season.

Omaha has become host to the Truman show, and one of the season's biggest surprises continues to prove skeptics wrong.