The education of Bowden Francis

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Bowden Francis isn¡¯t like other pitchers.

He checks a few of the expected boxes, but they don¡¯t add up to much. He¡¯s 6-foot-5 with the slow, easy swagger of a big leaguer. He¡¯s had success and he¡¯s failed. From a distance, he¡¯s another starter trying to stick.

There¡¯s a reason people are so drawn to Francis, though. It feels like he understands things about himself that you¡¯d love to understand about your own self.

Francis practices meditation and yoga, burns sage in the clubhouse and speaks of ¡°getting back to the source¡± to understand his true self. He has his own, unmistakable style. Across the wall of the gym he¡¯s built in his garage, it reads: ¡°Starve the ego, feed the soul.¡± His evolution has been self-driven, spiritual in ways.

Last year, Francis¡¯ stretch run was one of the stories of the season, twice flirting with a no-hitter in the ninth inning. These were lights in a lost season. The Blue Jays want Francis to take those moments and hold them close to his chest. They matter.

"Don¡¯t lose the edge you had to have that performance,¡± manager John Schneider told Francis. ¡°He¡¯s about as easy come, easy go as they get. I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s had shoes on this many days in a row in camp.¡±

Now, Francis wants to make these feelings last. Sitting at his locker in the Blue Jays¡¯ clubhouse in Dunedin, Fla., Francis can tilt his head from left to right to see Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jos¨¦ Berr¨ªos. It¡¯s a young pitcher¡¯s dream.

¡°It¡¯s incredible,¡± Francis says. He shakes his head and his smile grows bigger. He knows what these pitchers can mean to him, to his career, to his evolution. It¡¯s time for him to grow again.

This is the education of Bowden Francis.

Class: The Art of Eating Innings
Professor: Chris Bassitt

Bowden Francis speaks a language long forgotten.

He doesn¡¯t care about throwing 102 mph or lighting up a laptop screen. Baseball has enough young pitchers chasing those things. Francis wants a vintage stat line.

"I¡¯m just trying to eat innings,¡± Francis said. ¡°I want to prove that I can throw 180-plus innings and 30-plus starts. I want to be durable. I want to prove I can do this year in, year out. That¡¯s the name of my game. Be durable. It¡¯s kind of like Bassitt¡¯s game ¡­ I¡¯m trying to think of the right word ¡­¡±

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Francis often does this. He¡¯s so comfortable pausing for a breath in the middle of interviews, thinking for 10 or 15 seconds about what he truly means, what he truly wants to say. There¡¯s this surprising rasp of conviction in his voice.

"It means something to me,¡± Francis said. In the Minor Leagues, that was my goal. Innings. Always. It wasn¡¯t my ERA or WHIP, it was innings.¡±

We¡¯ve seen Bassitt become (nearly) emotional exactly one time, when he hit the 200-inning milestone on Sept. 29, 2023. That night, he called it ¡°my only goal forever." Francis wants to keep that art form alive in Toronto.

Class: Intro to Communications
Professor: Kevin Gausman

Since Gausman has been in Toronto, the starters move as a pack. They sit together, throw together, hang out together and win together. Francis is the beloved younger brother now.

"I always love watching guys who look at pitching as a craft,¡± Gausman said. ¡°All of these guys are like that and they¡¯re really good at their craft. That¡¯s one thing that is different for me since I¡¯ve been here, we communicate. We watch each other¡¯s bullpens. It¡¯s not always like that, which is unfortunate. Early on in my career, it was kind of every man for himself. This is a very close-knit group.¡±

Last year, Francis latched onto Gausman and Bassitt. This year, it¡¯s Scherzer. During and after Scherzer¡¯s recent bullpen sessions, Francis has been right there by his side, watching and listening.

¡°You learn more from watching and talking to guys,¡± Gausman said. ¡°We¡¯re around each other a lot. If we¡¯re not talking and communicating about our craft, then we¡¯re only getting worse.¡±

Class: Physical Education
Professor: Jos¨¦ Berr¨ªos

There¡¯s still a physical element to all of this, which is where La Makina comes in.

Look at Berr¨ªos¡¯ total starts in recent years: 32, 32, 32 and 32. That¡¯s who Francis wants to be, even if it takes getting whooped by Berr¨ªos in the gym.

¡°It¡¯s about the intent,¡± Francis said. ¡°Most people go through the motions and do their lifts, but the way he focuses on his, it¡¯s like every rep is his last. That¡¯s what people should take from Jos¨¦, his intent.¡±

Berr¨ªos is built like a linebacker but keeps his movements fluid enough to stay athletic on the mound. From Berr¨ªos, Francis has often learned when he needs to listen to his body, when it speaks to him.

¡°I watch how consistent he is, how focused he is. He always stays hungry,¡± Francis said. ¡°No matter how good his numbers are, he keeps his head down, all the time. He¡¯s special to watch and I feed off of it. Watching him in the weight room, you want to get right after it with him.¡±

Class: Advanced Career Development
Professor: Max Scherzer

Even for other stars, pitching next to Scherzer means something.

"First off, he has an aura about him,¡± Gausman says with a grin.

Scherzer has thrown 2,878 innings over 17 seasons. He¡¯s been dominant since Francis was in junior high school. Francis is the human embodiment of old and new school coming together, making him a perfect match with the three-time Cy Young Award winner, who is 12 years his senior.

¡°It¡¯s funny. I would watch his highlights every night in junior college,¡± Francis said. ¡°I was such a big fan. To have him here, it¡¯s just amazing, his mental presence. He¡¯s someone for me to listen to. This is a camp for me to not talk, just listen.

"The times change,¡± Francis continued. ¡°Routines are going to be different, with the old school and the new school. I¡¯m just going to learn and pick what works for me. We¡¯re all going to talk shop and learn from each other.¡±

Class: Routine Management
Professor: The Dean, Pete Walker

Pitching is a form of meditation to Francis. The routines that go into pitching only expand that practice. It¡¯s something he wants to honor, not just trudge through.

"Bowden¡¯s interesting, because I think some of our veteran guys actually learned something from him last year,¡± Pete Walker said. ¡°He¡¯s very professional. He has a good routine now, and he¡¯s very strict with his routine. I still think he¡¯ll make some adjustments along the way, everyone has to. He has some good veteran guys around to help him out, but he¡¯s a professional.¡±

As Francis has grown, so have these routines. It¡¯s been a long, consistent process to get here, but he¡¯s found something at the end of his work.

"Once you figure it out, you have to keep your core things,¡± Francis said. ¡°With that said, though, you have to have some adaptability in there, too, because you don¡¯t feel the same midway through the year. Doing the same thing midway through the year might not work. It¡¯s about having a good core routine, but you have to flow after that.¡±

Flow. Francis keeps coming back to that. He has so much to take from these four veteran starters, but he needs to shape those lessons to himself. It needs to work for Bowden Francis, the starting pitcher. It¡¯s time to take these lessons, every little thing, and let them flow.