mikeg826
06-17-2011, 8:51am
NEW YORK - Because he had not yet officially signed with the New York Yankees, Brian Gordon had to throw a bullpen session on a field adjacent to the new Yankee Stadium upon his arrival Wednesday afternoon.
It was on a patch of Bronx real estate where Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle once played the game, and a bystander was impressed by the anonymous righthander getting his work in on the hallowed ground where the original Yankee Stadium once stood.
"No one recognized me, but one guy said: 'Hey, you have a good arm,' " Gordon recalled.
The Yankees, who had not scouted Gordon before plucking him from the Phillies' triple-A Lehigh Valley roster this week, decided they would find out for themselves how good the converted outfielder's arm was by giving him a chance to make his first major-league start Thursday against the Texas Rangers.
New York manager Joe Girardi was not disappointed.
Impressed was the word Girardi used after the 32-year-old rookie allowed only two runs in 51/3 innings of a game the Yankees eventually won, 3-2, in 12 innings.
So impressed that when Gordon was done, Girardi told him he'd get another start in five days, when the Yankees play an interleague game in Cincinnati. Girardi likes the fact he's going to have a pitcher who has hit 119 minor-league home runs in his career.
"We talked about how he is a strike thrower, and he has outstanding command," Girardi said. "To be a position player as high as triple A and then decide that you want to pitch is really pretty amazing. He used his curveball really effective, he used his change-up. . . . I was impressed."
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Gordon's performance was that he was able to keep his emotions in check on a day he later described as the highest high in a career also filled with plenty of lows.
He had plenty of reasons to be overwhelmed. This was his first major-league start and his fourth big-league game. Those were Yankees pinstripes he was wearing and this was a ballpark he had never been in before. He was also going against his former team, which is owned by Nolan Ryan, the man who first tutored him on being a professional pitcher in 2007. And, finally, the Rangers bench coach is Jackie Moore, who was Gordon's manager when he presented the idea of converting from an outfielder to pitcher.
"I think the good Lord has a sense of humor for everything to happen the way it did," Gordon said. "I didn't know how I was going to react. I figured if I just pulled my hat down and I just saw the catcher, I'd think: 'Hey, I was doing that a week ago at triple A.' Once I got on the field, everything sort of calmed down and everything started happening."
Gordon did the same thing he had done all season in an IronPigs uniform: He threw strikes. Through four scoreless innings, he had thrown 37 of his 49 pitches for strikes.
A leadoff walk in the fifth to Taylor Teagarden came back to bite Gordon when Endy Chavez followed with an infield single and Ian Kinsler doubled down the left-field line. Gordon showed some poise by getting Elvis Andrus to chase a 70-m.p.h. curveball in the dirt for the first out of the inning.
After Girardi ordered an intentional walk to Josh Hamilton, Gordon used his slow curve again to retire Michael Young on a pop-up to second baseman Robinson Cano.
"It is very slow," Gordon said. "It was a pitch shown to me as a youngster, and it's something I've been throwing since I was 12 or 13. It has been my go-to pitch since I was a little kid."
Gordon came ever so close to escaping the jam when Adrian Beltre just got a piece of an 0-2 fastball that catcher Russell Martin could not hold for a strikeout. Two pitches later, Gordon hit Beltre with a curveball to force home a second run.
"That was frustrating," Gordon said. "I wanted to make a good pitch right there. I thought I had him, then the excitement goes up, the fans were cheering, and instead of staying relaxed, I let it get to me."
To his credit, Gordon retired the next hitter to get out of the inning. When he surrendered a one-out single in the sixth, Girardi emerged from the dugout and motioned to the bullpen. Gordon left to the first standing ovation of his life.
"That was special," he said. "The last 24 hours, I never experienced anything like it. Now, hopefully, I can stick around a little bit and help out the Yankees. It sounds weird just saying that."
It was on a patch of Bronx real estate where Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle once played the game, and a bystander was impressed by the anonymous righthander getting his work in on the hallowed ground where the original Yankee Stadium once stood.
"No one recognized me, but one guy said: 'Hey, you have a good arm,' " Gordon recalled.
The Yankees, who had not scouted Gordon before plucking him from the Phillies' triple-A Lehigh Valley roster this week, decided they would find out for themselves how good the converted outfielder's arm was by giving him a chance to make his first major-league start Thursday against the Texas Rangers.
New York manager Joe Girardi was not disappointed.
Impressed was the word Girardi used after the 32-year-old rookie allowed only two runs in 51/3 innings of a game the Yankees eventually won, 3-2, in 12 innings.
So impressed that when Gordon was done, Girardi told him he'd get another start in five days, when the Yankees play an interleague game in Cincinnati. Girardi likes the fact he's going to have a pitcher who has hit 119 minor-league home runs in his career.
"We talked about how he is a strike thrower, and he has outstanding command," Girardi said. "To be a position player as high as triple A and then decide that you want to pitch is really pretty amazing. He used his curveball really effective, he used his change-up. . . . I was impressed."
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Gordon's performance was that he was able to keep his emotions in check on a day he later described as the highest high in a career also filled with plenty of lows.
He had plenty of reasons to be overwhelmed. This was his first major-league start and his fourth big-league game. Those were Yankees pinstripes he was wearing and this was a ballpark he had never been in before. He was also going against his former team, which is owned by Nolan Ryan, the man who first tutored him on being a professional pitcher in 2007. And, finally, the Rangers bench coach is Jackie Moore, who was Gordon's manager when he presented the idea of converting from an outfielder to pitcher.
"I think the good Lord has a sense of humor for everything to happen the way it did," Gordon said. "I didn't know how I was going to react. I figured if I just pulled my hat down and I just saw the catcher, I'd think: 'Hey, I was doing that a week ago at triple A.' Once I got on the field, everything sort of calmed down and everything started happening."
Gordon did the same thing he had done all season in an IronPigs uniform: He threw strikes. Through four scoreless innings, he had thrown 37 of his 49 pitches for strikes.
A leadoff walk in the fifth to Taylor Teagarden came back to bite Gordon when Endy Chavez followed with an infield single and Ian Kinsler doubled down the left-field line. Gordon showed some poise by getting Elvis Andrus to chase a 70-m.p.h. curveball in the dirt for the first out of the inning.
After Girardi ordered an intentional walk to Josh Hamilton, Gordon used his slow curve again to retire Michael Young on a pop-up to second baseman Robinson Cano.
"It is very slow," Gordon said. "It was a pitch shown to me as a youngster, and it's something I've been throwing since I was 12 or 13. It has been my go-to pitch since I was a little kid."
Gordon came ever so close to escaping the jam when Adrian Beltre just got a piece of an 0-2 fastball that catcher Russell Martin could not hold for a strikeout. Two pitches later, Gordon hit Beltre with a curveball to force home a second run.
"That was frustrating," Gordon said. "I wanted to make a good pitch right there. I thought I had him, then the excitement goes up, the fans were cheering, and instead of staying relaxed, I let it get to me."
To his credit, Gordon retired the next hitter to get out of the inning. When he surrendered a one-out single in the sixth, Girardi emerged from the dugout and motioned to the bullpen. Gordon left to the first standing ovation of his life.
"That was special," he said. "The last 24 hours, I never experienced anything like it. Now, hopefully, I can stick around a little bit and help out the Yankees. It sounds weird just saying that."