The pain that made Phillies all-star Pat Neshek a sidearm pitcher

The throbbing pain in Pat Neshek's right forearm failed to ease as he stood on first base in his final high-school game. Neshek was hit by a 90-mph fastball, a pitch so fast that he did not have a chance to move before it drilled the inner part of his wrist. His career was about to change forever.

"I was like, 'What is this pain?' I don't even know how to explain it," Neshek said. "But it felt like someone just took the tendon and ripped it out."

The Phillies reliever is in Miami this week for his second All-Star Game. He has spent 11 seasons in the big leagues, finding success with a sidearm delivery that he only began to craft once he was plunked by that pitch in high school. The pain bothered Neshek the rest of the summer, forcing him to play at shortstop, where he discovered he could throw pain-free if he whipped the ball with a sidearm motion. Neshek tried later that summer to throw sidearm on the mound. It worked and his career took off.

"It's definitely why I have success," Neshek said. "I hide the ball and it gets on guys a little bit quicker. If I'm not hiding the ball, then there's no way. Maybe I would've been able to make it to the majors, but I wouldn't have had a career like this."

The pitch that changed Neshek's course was thrown by C.J. Woodrow, who played three minor-league seasons with the Phillies. Woodrow and Neshek were two of the best pitchers in Minnesota.

"He was crowding the plate," Woodrow cracked. "To be honest, I thought I hit him in his shoulder. I ran into him in the minor leagues. We ran into each other in A-ball. He showed me the welt on his wrist where it hit him and said, 'It hit here and I had to start throwing sidearm.' Things happen for a reason, I guess."

Neshek traveled that summer to Kansas City to play for an AAU team that recruited him as a pitcher. He told the team when he arrived that he would have to play shortstop. The pain in his wrist made pitching uncomfortable. He tried and couldn't throw a strike. It was embarrassing. The team reached the national championship in August but ran out of pitchers before the second game of the series.

"They were like, 'You have to go for us.' I'm like, 'OK. I'll try it.' I went six innings and we won the game," Neshek said. "That was the first time I threw sidearm. It felt normal for me. I couldn't go back because it hurt so bad. When I try to do it now, it's just not normal. It's weird. I don't even know how it happened."

Neshek played at Butler before being drafted in 2002 by his hometown Twins. It was the second time Minnesota drafted him; the Twins first called his name in 1999, just a few hours before Woodrow's fastball drilled him. Neshek does not blow hitters away. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and he mixes in a low-80s slider. The deception from the delivery gives Neshek a different look, keeping hitters off balance. The unique delivery even makes his fastball appear faster. Neshek almost lunges toward home plate as he fires the pitches toward home plate like a Frisbee.

The righthander has allowed runs in just two of his 38 appearances this season. He has been the Phillies' most reliable pitcher and is now one of the most popular arms on the trade market. The Phillies will likely trade Neshek, who would pitch key innings for a playoff contender. He might even get a crack at his first World Series. And to think Neshek's journey might never have happened had it not been for the fastball he just couldn't get away from.

"I joke with him and said, 'Hey, if I can get half of 1 percent of your total major-league earnings, I'd be happy forever.' I've yet to see a check, so I'm still waiting," Woodrow said. "It's kind of cool just how things happened. I'm very happy for him. It's cool to see him do really well. It's really special and I'm really proud of him."