BRADENTON, Fla. – First National Bank Field in Greensboro was not kind to right-handed relief pitcher Bear Bellomy in 2021.
The 2019 28th rounder’s numbers were a little skewed on the surface, with a 4.57 ERA in 67 innings as a reliever. At home, Bellomy posted a 6.49 ERA, versus a 2.51 ERA on the road.
“I think Greensboro, everybody knows it’s a hitter’s ballpark,” said Bellomy. “I’m a flyball pitcher, so I don’t think it benefitted me, to say the least.”
Bellomy gave up nine of his 13 home runs on the season at home, and displayed worse control issues, possible due to trying to miss bats rather than attacking hitters. The big takeaway throughout the season was emphasizing his best stuff in the zone.
“Once I had that mindset of throwing all of my pitches with intent, belief, and conviction in the zone anytime in the count, I feel like that’s where I really took off in the season,” said Bellomy.
Bellomy throws a four seam fastball that sits 92-93, touching 95, a split changeup, and a curveball. His arsenal led to a lot of strikeouts last year, recording 85 in 67 innings, with a higher total away from Greensboro. It can be difficult to trust your stuff in any situation, but especially when you’re getting uncertain feedback from a hitter friendly home park. Bellomy was able to get beyond that, moving away from fine tuning his approach to miss bats.
“For me it was fairly easy, personality wise how I am,” said Bellomy on adjusting to trusting his stuff. “It’s just simplified things.”
Bear Bellomy: Matchup Oriented Approach Brings Positive Results
The Pirates moved Bellomy to Triple-A for one appearance at the end of 2021, then sent him to the Arizona Fall League in the offseason. Bellomy put up a 3.86 ERA in 11.2 innings against the higher level of competition, striking out nine and walking four.
Bellomy should move to Double-A Altoona this year, getting a chance to continue showing his stuff against upper level hitters. The new home park should take away the added help for opposing hitters. If Bellomy maintains the high strikeout totals at the higher level, he could emerge as a future MLB relief option for the Pirates.
