Isiah Kiner-Falefa landed himself in the New York Yankees record books with a historic eephus pitch in the 11-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.
In fact, the defeat to the Twins was the worst game of the Yankees’ season so far. Franchise history was also made, but not the kind of history you’d want to be remembered for.
Kiner-Falefa threw the slowest pitch in Yankees history in his first-ever appearance on the mound at 38MPH, beating 350,000 tracked pitches. The 28-year-old is a utility player for the Yankees, playing both the infield and outfield this season. He made his entrance in play in the ninth inning of a 10-run game.
But amazingly, Kiner-Falefa gave up just one hit in the inning and didn’t allow a run while getting three hitters to fly out. His exploits on the mound had him poking fun on his departure, putting his hands out as if he was ready to undergo a foreign substance check from the umpires.
Kiner-Falefa’s eephus pitch left fans dumbfounded, though. “Throw the damn ball,” one fumed on Twitter. “Quit making a mockery of the game and sulking that you no longer are a starter.”
Another said: “Isiah Kiner-Falefa's debut on the mound was fire. He definitely brought the heat with that pitch.”
Teammate Anthony Rizzo was also complimentary of the former Twins star, saying his pitching antics “saves” the Yankees ahead of Friday’s second clash with Minnesota. “Saves us big time for tomorrow,” Rizzo said. “I was really hoping Kiner would play into the crowd a little bit more and give a little crowd pleaser coming off the field, but it's not his style.”
The Yankees are joint second in the American League East. They’ve won eight of their 13 games played and have a PCT of .615. The Toronto Blue Jays are running with the same record, while the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox occupy the bottom two positions.
The Tampa Bay Rays appear to be running away with it at the top of the ALE league, winning all 13 of their outings so far.
