close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • The Toms River NJ product reflects on the World Series journey
    news

    The Toms River NJ product reflects on the World Series journey

    Vaseline Posted on

    play

    LOS ANGELES – Mark Leiter Jr. has been to a World Series before.

    From the stands of Shea Stadium, a 9-year-old Leiter Jr. how his uncle Al Leiter started Game 5 of the 2000 World Series for the Mets against the Yankees, who won all night.

    “I remember him throwing a lot of pitches (142),” said Leiter Jr., who grew up in Toms River, NJ. “I remember it was a tight game all the time, not much attacking.

    “What I remember most was him coming up to hit, and the crowd going ballistic because he stayed in the ball game,” on a night when runs were at a premium.

    “I probably didn’t understand it at the time, but those are big moments,” said Leiter Jr., on the eve of his first World Series as a Yankees reliever.

    Leiter Jr. has exchanged text messages with his Uncle Al, and his father Mark, who pitched in the big leagues for 11 seasons but never in the postseason, will be at Dodger Stadium this weekend.

    “If you get traded mid-season to a first-place team, hopefully this is what you have in mind,” said Leiter Jr., who came over from the Chicago Cubs at the MLB trade deadline.

    “And to get to this stage is… that’s what it’s all about.”

    Mark Leiter Jr. gets a new perspective on the game

    After being left out of the first two selections of the playoff rounds, Leiter Jr. getting the Yankees to this point — by pitching Cleveland as a late replacement in the Yanks’ last two AL Championship victories.

    Before Ian Hamilton’s calf injury opened the door for Leiter Jr., the right-hander underwent some self-reflection.

    “You’re disappointed, but I feel like we had a really good group of guys,” said Leiter Jr., whose signature splitter wasn’t the weapon it was with the Cubs earlier this year.

    In 21 games with the Yanks, Leiter Jr. pitched. to an ERA of 4.98, and “I’ll probably never be honest with anyone about how hard I actually am on myself.

    “But all the other guys pitched well and they deserved where they were,” said Leiter Jr., who played in high school at TR North. “Unfortunately we had one less pitcher in each round and I think I was the odd one out.”

    That changed last Friday, with Hamilton’s injury and Leiter Jr.’s activation. before Game 4 – a game he entered in the seventh inning, leaving two inherited runners on base to maintain a one-run lead.

    In the eighth inning, Leiter Jr. one out away from maintaining that lead, but he misplayed David Fry’s comebacker, allowing the equalizing run to score.

    The Yankees would score twice in the ninth, and Leiter Jr. became the winning pitcher of Game 4.

    “You make some throws and something unforeseen happens and the run still scores,” Leiter Jr. said.

    “I kicked a ball, made a pretty tough throw (to first baseman Anthony Rizzo). And Rizzo comes out and gets the hit to open the ninth inning (rally).

    “I picked the guys up the inning before, and they picked me up to score the tying run,” Leiter Jr. said. “That really described what I was going through,” and the nature of the Yankees’ game.

    During his inactive period, Leiter Jr. was able to “being proud of what the other guys accomplished, and looking at it from a different lens in the dugout,” which offered a unique perspective on the game.

    He would also appear in the Yanks’ clinching Game 5, replacing starter Carlos Rodon and ending a fifth-inning rally in Cleveland.

    When Leiter Jr. once activated, manager Aaron Boone said he was able to get into a game at a critical time, and that happened on consecutive nights.

    “You don’t know where you fit,” Leiter Jr. said. “But you remain ready for whatever moments await you.”

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like