Carlos Rodon has faced his share of struggles ever since inking his six-year, $162 million contract with the New York Yankees.
Due to injury and underperformance, Rodon’s tenure in pinstripes has been an extreme disappointment.
Having said that, he sure picked a great time to deliver the finest performance of his Yankees career as he led the Bombers to a commanding 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
Heading into last night’s series opener, most Yankees fans didn’t know what exactly to expect from Rodon. After all, he lasted just 3.2 innings in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals.
In many ways, that start was indicative of his career. He came out on fire and couldn’t have possibly started the game any stronger. However, the wheels quickly came off leading to a devastating home loss.
Besides the positive results, there was one obvious difference between that ALDS start and the ALCS one last night: Rodon’s demeanor and body language.
As a matter of fact, Rodon credited Yankees ace Gerrit Cole for his cool, calm, in-control demeanor on the mound.
He admitted that witnessing the way Cole carried himself in his dominant Game 4 victory at Kansas City helped convince him to change his ways.
“It’s just like a robot walking to the dugout,” Rodon said of Cole.
Like many professional athletes, Rodon has had to manage his emotions during high-pressure moments.
His struggles in the ALDS stemmed partly from letting those emotions take over. But for this start, Rodon made a conscious effort to emulate Cole’s calm, workmanlike demeanor on the mound.
“The goal was to just stay in control, stay in control of what I can do, obviously physically and emotionally. I thought I executed that well tonight,” Rodon added.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with showing passion and emotion, especially when it’s raw and genuine. As a matter of fact, it can be a real weapon for many pitchers.
However, everyone is different, and one thing is for sure: the version of Rodon we saw last night was a whole lot better than the one we saw in Game 2 of the ALDS.
The Yankees will look to take a commanding 2-0 lead when the series continues tonight. First pitch is set for 7:38pm EST and the pitching matchup is a good one: Cole vs. Tanner Bibee.
What are your thoughts on Rodon’s comments?
More importantly, what are the chances we’ll have another Subway World Series on our hands???