We are about a week away from the All Star Break and the guy that everyone's talking about (no not Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani) is Clay Holmes. And on Saturday, the New York Times had a feature on the Yankee closer, who has been nothing short of incredible this season. Clay Holmes gets a feature in the New York Times and he totally deserves it.
The Times called Holmes "the breakout star of this blissful Yankees season" and I could not agree more. He can pitch, he can field and he can lead this team to the post-season. This guy has it all.
“I had a lot of people saying to go with a short-arm action, to make so many big mechanical changes,” Holmes said at Fenway Park on Thursday, before stifling the Boston Red Sox to save another Yankees victory. “Ultimately I went against it, because I knew there was maybe a risk of losing my sinker. That’s when I really was like: ‘The sinker is going to be my ticket. I need to really figure out how to make it as good as it can be,’" reported the New York Times.
And I tell you what, it is his sinker that is carrying him to the All Star Game in Los Angeles on July 19th because as the Times reports, through Friday, Holmes had a 0.47 earned run average and 16 saves in 17 chances. He has faced 142 batters and allowed no home runs." Who does that? It is our guy, Holmes!
"Holmes is the only pitcher in baseball (minimum 30 innings) who throws his fastball at least 80 percent of the time — and by fastball, of course, he means the sinking two-seamer. Even when he throws a four-seamer, which should stay straight, Holmes still sinks the ball," reported the Times.
To see him perform, is just a delight. He is like a jack rabbit on the hill—throwing hard and jumping off the mound to protect the rest of the infield. On Friday night's closing situation in Boston, he looked extraordinary, launching off the mound to make the play at first, and shutting down the Red Sox like an exterminator does against pests.
Yes, we know that Clay Holmes is that good. And yes, the Yankees know he is that good. But now the rest of America knows he is that good because he was featured in the New York Times. Let's go! Clay Holmes is our closer and when he takes the stage in LA later this month, everyone else will see for themselves what all of the hype is. He is going to kill it!
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--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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