JA HAPP FASTER, STRONGER, BETTER IN 2020

In 2002, Disney produced a movie called "The Rookie" where a high school baseball coach and father of three did the impossible.  His fast arm, after a life of injuries, actually healed and somehow, he was throwing faster and harder than ever.  So hard, as the story goes, that he became a rookie as an old guy of close to 40-years-old.  It is based on the true story of Jim Morris, who had a brief, but famous Major League Baseball career in 1999–2000.  What does all of this drama mean?  It means that maybe JA Happ is back to his rookie ways, as his fast ball was stronger, faster and better in his first appearance at spring training 2020.

Source: AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

“Life was there on the fastball. Mixed in some four- and two-seamers that I thought were effective. Thought threw a couple of good changeups and a slider. Good day of work. Got his workload up a little bit how we wanted to,” said Skipper Aaron Boone about his pitcher as reported by NJ.com.  Happ's fast ball clocked 93 mph, as he threw two scoreless innings, striking out three against the Blue Jays in the Yankee opener at George Steinbrenner Field.  Sure, this is one of many outings, but with all of the doom and gloom already facing the club around pitching, this is a bright light.

“The fastball was really coming out good,” Higashioka said. “All his secondary pitches looked really good. Sharp. I thought his location was really good as well. I thought he looked excellent,” reported NJ.com.

Source: SNY

During the off season, Happ spent a lot of time in player development in Tampa, working on mechanics and strengthening his arm.  Hopefully this work will pay off as he is likely being considered as a potential Opening Day starter for the Yankees with both Luis Severino and James Paxton likely out of the mix at the early onset of the 2020 season.

Angels pitching sensation Shohei Ohtani said he swam and shot some hoops this offseason as part of his training.  By the looks of him, he really has transformed his body as he comes back from Tommy John surgery, which shut Ohtani down for the latter half of 2019.  Like, Happ, he wanted to work hard and be better and that's the kind of dedication the Yankees and any team for that matter needs.

Source: SI.com

“You’ve got to do it because you want to do it,” he said. “You don’t want to do it because somebody writes something that maybe you don’t like or because you see something you don’t like. I think that’s a fleeting type of motivation. I think the motivation is always in here, doing what I needed to do," said Happ.

Let's hope that the Yankees pitching continues to both impress and suppress opponents this season.  This is a good sign on day one that Happ is ready to take the lead.  We need him to be that guy.  We need him to be that pitcher.

--Suzie Pinstripe
 BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof