Cal Football: Chase Garbers Getting His Arm Ready For A Long-Awaited Season
I’m re-reading the baseball classic Ball Four right now, the 50th anniversary edition of Jim Bouton’s breakthrough sports book.
In the opening chapters, Bouton is with the 1969 Seattle Pilots at spring training in Arizona and he talks a lot about how pitchers worry about their arm and take great precautions during the early days of camp.
After Cal’s third day of workouts on Sunday, I asked quarterback Chase Garbers if he takes a similar approach to his right arm at the outset of camp.
“I wouldn’t say (I'm) babying it, but you’re definitely cautious. You don’t want to over-throw your arm out,” Garbers said. “You don’t want to throw 60-yard passes about 20 times in a row. It’s not pretty smart.
“But you’ve got to go into camp ready to complete any pass that’s called and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.”
I wondered if it’s hard to resist just cutting loose after Garbers and his teammates waited so long for this season to be approved and practice to begin.
“Definitely, the first couple days you just want to go, go, go, just because you haven’t been out there in a while, he said. “As the day goes on, you definitely have to dial it back and be more cautious.”
So the current state of his throwing arm?
“Not sore, not tired. Arm feels great.”
So Garbers could go two innings on Monday?
“Oh definitely.”
Garbers said the Bears have gotten a lot of work done in three days, especially as it applies to installing new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave’s schemes.
*** Garbers talks about working on timing with his receivers and other camp goals:
The Bears got a few practices in last spring before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports, and Garbers worked closely in the interim with Musgrave on Zoom meetings.
As a result, Garbers said, the offense feels “really natural.”
“I like what I’m seeing in all aspects of offense,” he added. “We can’t wait until tomorrow to get after it for another day.”
*** Cal's game against Washington will be a Garbers family reunion:
The Bears open their season Nov. 7 at home against Washington, which will also serve as a Garbers family reunion of sorts. Ethan Garbers is a freshman at UW and one of four quarterbacks competing for the Huskies’ vacancy at that position.
“Right when we found out we were playing Washington I got a text from my brother, talking a little smack,” Chase said. “I had to remind him we’ve beaten Washington the past two years and that’s going to keep going forward. We’re not going to let that streak die off.”
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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
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