A's pitcher Kendall Graveman brings 'knife fighter' mentality to mound

A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman is one of the loosest guys in the clubhouse, but around an hour before game time, he flips a switch.

And suddenly, this 6-foot-2 right-hander becomes a bad man.

“Some of our kids would call him a knife fighter,” said Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen, Graveman’s college coach for four years. “You step between the lines, someone is gonna get cut up. He was that deadly serious when he stepped out on the field.”

Graveman brought that demeanor with him from Alexander City, Alabama, where he played for his dad from Little League through high school.

“He wanted me to be respectful and a nice guy, but once you cross that white line to go play baseball, it’s time to compete,” Graveman said. “That’s something in my childhood that kind of stuck and is still there today.”

It’s something the A’s desperately need from Graveman. They also need him to stoke the competitive fire of the other starters. At 27, Graveman will be the senior member of the Oakland rotation. With 71 major league starts, he also is the most experienced. His numbers - 22-24 with a 4.11 ERA - are hardly imposing.

And yet, there is something about him.

No less an authority than Dave Stewart sees it. Asked which current A’s player would best fit with the powerhouse rotations that Stewart anchored from 1987-92, the four-time 20-game winner didn’t hesitate: Kendall Graveman.

“I think he would have fit right in,” Stewart said. “His work ethic is unmatched by anybody on this current team. He goes about his business and competes. He likes to take the ball. I think Kendall fits.”

Cohen called Graveman “a college version of Dave Stewart. That look on his face. That level of competitiveness. That attack mode on the mound.”

Graveman said he doesn’t feel worthy of the comparison, at least not yet, but it is nice to hear.

“The greatest compliment as a competitor is someone that’s willing to go out there and give it his all, good or bad,” Graveman said. “When you watched Dave Stewart, he wasn’t gonna leave anything out there. I think that’s what makes me rest easy at night. Knowing I fought for my team that day.”

Oh, he’ll fight.

In Graveman’s senior year at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs went to the College World Series (where they lost in the final to UCLA). Their run began on a Sunday afternoon in a regular-season game against Southeastern Conference rival Louisiana State.

Mississippi State had lost the first two games of the series. Graveman, the Sunday starter, flipped the switch and became that bad man, the knife fighter.

He threw a fastball behind the head of LSU first baseman Mason Katz, prompting LSU manager Paul Mainieri to sprint from the dugout as he argued for Graveman to be ejected. Graveman stayed in the game and earned the win, starting a 20-14 run that took the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament.

“I felt like I needed to protect my teammates,” Graveman said. “Looking back, it might not have been the smartest thing to do, but they wore us out the first two nights. It was a game that we ended up winning and kind of flipped our season.”

Cohen described Graveman as the greatest competitor he has coached over his 25 years in baseball.

“This kid is different. He is the model of consistency in terms of bringing it every day. You wish everyone can be like Kendall Graveman,” Cohen said. “So much presence. So much moxie.”

Giants pitcher Chris Stratton spent three years at Mississippi State with Graveman and said he has never known a nicer guy. The two became good friends, were in each other’s weddings and often go out for dinner together during spring training.

But Stratton has seen what happens when Graveman takes the mound.

“He’s the most competitive guy I’ve ever played with,” Stratton said. “He just has that fire, especially when he’s on the mound. It’s definitely intense. When he gets on the bump, it’s time to go.”

While Graveman believes his intensity is mostly a positive, there have been times where he has let it get the better of him. There were times in college when he would get into heated arguments with Cohen and pitching coach Butch Thompson after games in which he would get removed early.

Graveman still finds himself trying to harness that intensity, but he believes he has better control of it now as he has matured in the big leagues.

“It was always those moments where something inside of me clicked. I really don’t know why it’s like that,” Graveman said. “Some people have it, some people don’t. I don’t so much like winning, I just really hate losing.”

Looking to set the tone, Graveman took the responsibility this spring of calling early-morning meetings for all the pitchers in camp. The message: developing a competitive spirit not only against opponents but also among themselves.

“This is going to benefit all of us. Not everybody goes about it the same way,” Graveman said. “You look at Jake Peavy, one of the greatest competitors I’ve seen on the mound. This guy was out there cussing at himself when he did good and when he did bad. Then you look at someone like Corey Kluber; they say he’s like a robot out there, but he’s competing just as much. Two totally different demeanors.

“Within this pitching staff, I’m not trying to make everyone compete the way I do. But as long as you’re competing and we know that, it’s going to come off different to everyone. The guys that are behind them playing defense know they’re going to get a guy that’s not scared and competing every pitch. I think if we can do that over a 162-game stretch, we’ll all be better for it. We gotta find our own little way to compete.”