Tag: ALCS

Going, Going, Gone

(This story originally appeared in the October 2019 edition of Yankees Magazine.)

I’ve definitely written more words about CC Sabathia than any other person or subject in my career. I’m not sure exactly how it started, I just felt a quick rapport with him as I started my Yankees career, and I was able to mine about five very personal, very in-depth stories out of him.

In that time, I’ve been to two of CC’s houses, I’ve shared meals with him on the road, I’ve hung out around his kids. I ran a marathon on his PitCCh In Foundation’s running team. I packed backpacks that he and Amber would give to young school kids.

CC is a special guy, a huge heart, an amazing talent, a real hero to so many baseball fans. When he struggled, he wore it for everyone to see. When he thrived, fans felt every bit of his joy and intensity. He was so dominant for so long, then relied on smarts to finish his journey. In the end, with more than 3,000 strikeouts and more than 250 wins, he seems a sure get a spot in Cooperstown. He earned it.

Last year, I wrote a long feature about his career, figuring it might be the end of the road. When he came back for one more year, I decided that I wanted to do something different. I wanted to look at the role that baseball played in who he was, and what life would be like for him — and for the Yankees — when it was over. So I followed him a bit around the city and around the country, all the while trying to find out what sense of nostalgia he was feeling. The answer, usually, was none. He would laugh, but would say that he just wasn’t feeling it yet. He told amazing stories about his time in the game, about his dreams, but he said that he was also looking forward to it being done.

I told him he had to make me a promise. The minute he started feeling nostalgic, he had to promise to let us know. He laughed.

In the end, the injuries won out, and it looked like CC’s career was going to end even before his last postseason. When he was able to get that spot on the ALCS roster, I was thrilled to see him get one more shot on the mound. When he came in for Game 4, and we all figured it was possibly his last time on the Yankee Stadium mound, we all watched extra close. When his shoulder gave out, and he had to walk off the field in pain, next to trainer Stevie Donohue … it was one of the hardest things I’ve watched on a baseball field.

The next day, arm in a sling, CC was laughing. He knew it was over, but he loved the ride, loved leaving it all out on the field. He told stories about the fact that shit never could start until he was ready. It was awesome, albeit too late to get into the story.

That said, I’m thrilled with this one. I love the way it tells Amber’s story alongside his. I love the quotes from Mark Teixeira about the things he misses, about success, and the desire to hit home runs again. I love when Amber says that they grew up in the game, but now they’ve grown out of it.

I’m going to miss covering CC Sabathia, but I’m so lucky to have gotten to write about him so much over the years. I hope I did it well.

https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/cc-sabathia-finishes-final-season?t=yankees-magazine

Up, Down and Back Again

(This story originally appeared in the April 2018 issue of Yankees Magazine.)

I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed writing this story, and how pleased I was with the outcome. I went down to Santo Domingo in January to spend some time with Luis Severino for this story, and with Estevan Florial for one that would run in May.

My goal was mainly to watch Severino work out, to see how what his life at home was like. I had never been to the Dominican Republic, so I really had no clue what to expect. But we all watched Sevy grow up before our eyes in 2017, then saw him crash head-first into a wall in the AL Wild Card Game. He lasted only a third of an inning that night, an utter disaster for a pitcher who would end up finishing third in AL Cy Young voting.

But when the Yankees came back to beat the Twins, Severino got another chance to show who he really was, and he was very effective the rest of the postseason. So the two of us spoke a lot about that whole roller-coaster experience, and how similar it was to what he experienced in 2016, when — after a brilliant 2015 debut — he was simply dreadful as a starting pitcher. He obviously came back in 2017 and showed what he could do, much as he did in the 2017 postseason. So what did he learn from that first turnaround? What was he applying? And how was he approaching his new role as the team’s ace, the eventual Opening Day starter?

I’m basically in awe of guys like Severino. So talented, so genuinely nice and interesting, such a bright future. One highlight of the trip was that we conducted our main interview with him at his apartment. All along, his wife and mother were in the kitchen cooking lunch. After we wrapped up, we shook hands and started to say goodbye, but he told us that we had to stay for lunch, that they were cooking for us, that we were their guests. I’ve been out to eat with players before during interviews, and it’s always a bit strange to share a meal under those circumstances. This was just a giant feast in the guy’s house, the food delicious and fresh. It was typical of the way that guests are treated in the culture, and my photographer was actually surprised that I had been so surprised. He had figured all along that they were cooking for us. Shows what I know.

That’s what the guy is like, though. I mentioned in a podcast recently that a lot of players, when they don’t want to deal with an interview, will say something like, “I’ve got to go run.” Severino will say that he has to go run, then he’ll go run, then he’ll come back and seek you out because he remembers that you needed him. He’s still so young, but he’s such a pro, a very easy guy to cheer for.

Hope you enjoy this one.

https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luis-severino-armed-with-2017-playoff-lessons/c-269277258?tid=163658034