Pedro helped Severino become Cy Young material
By Roberto Salvador Klapisch
Luis Severino took one final moment to absorb the majestic view in front of him in Houston’s Minute Maid Park — a loud, raucous crowd; the Astros hugging the railing in the first base dugout, and, more significantly, the New York Yankees looking toward the 23-year-old right-hander as the bridge to the American League pennant and beyond that, the World Series.
It was no small leap for Severino, who only a year earlier had ended a disastrous season in the Bronx with a 3-8 record and an ERA that’d ballooned to nearly 6.00. The Yankees’ hopes for Severino were tempered by concerns that his power fastball-slider combination wasn’t sustainable and that he would continue to struggle as a starter.
Yet, there Severino stood in the fifth inning of Game 6 of the ALCS, not just at the top of the Bombers’ rotation with Masahiro Tanaka, but as a legitimate Cy Young Award candidate.
Cy Young Finalist
Although the Cleveland Indians’ Corey Kluber won the prestigious title in the American League this season, as announced yesterday, the fact that Severino was even a finalist along with Kluber and the Boston Red Sox’s Chris Sale speaks volumes about his growth and where he’s headed in his career.
“You think about how far Sevy has come, and how much potential and talent he has, he’s obviously matured a great deal,” former manager Joe Girardi said at the time. “He has so much confidence, it’s almost like he’s become a veteran.”
Unfortunately for the Yankees, Severino fell just short in his Game 6 assignment, leaving the game after allowing two hits and three runs in the fifth inning. The Yankees themselves never made it to the World Series because the Astros prevailed in their last two games, beating the Bronx Bombers by a combined score of 11-1 and eventually beating the Dodgers to become world champions.
But the Yankees, led by a young core that includes Severino, catcher Gary Sánchez and AL rookie of the year Aaron Judge, looked at their defeat as a teaching moment and went home promising to take care of unfinished business. Severino, in particular, said, “We’re going to be back.”
Country over rivalry
It was clearly a breakout season for a young and talented pitcher. What few realize is that it wouldn’t have happened without his failures in 2016 and subsequent mentoring by Pedro Martínez. Among Latinos, country, friendship and love for the craft almost always trump rivalries, and the former Red Sox ace and Hall of Famer took time last winter to teach Severino his famed changeup and how to use it to make his fastball more effective.
It was a simple lesson about keeping the same arm-slot as the other pitches, effectively hiding the changeup from hitters who’d be otherwise geared up for pure velocity.
Martinez spoke, Severino listened — two country boys from Manoguayabo and Sabana de la Mar, respectively — one Dominican legend to a budding Dominican star, keeping alive a link that started when Pedro was a little boy looking up to another Hall of Famer, Juan Marichal, dreaming that someday he, too, would be king of the mound.
“I always had great respect for Pedro when he was pitching,” Severino said in September. “He taught me that the most important thing about the changeup is to keep it in the strike zone. That helped me and gave me a lot of confidence.”
Martinez’s wisdom became the final piece of the puzzle for Severino. Not only did he post a team-best 2.98 ERA, he led the Yankees with 230 strikeouts, a 1.040 WHIP and 193.1 innings. Only Kluber and Sale finished with lower ERAs in the junior circuit.
Changing Speeds
The transformation eased the Yankees’ concerns about Severino’s future as a starter. What had worried them most — an overreliance on velocity — was now the very asset that made Severino stand out.
No pitcher in 2017 was able to maintain his four-seam fastball longer. Severino routinely hit 98 mph in the seventh and eighth innings, helping the Yankees’ staff lead the major leagues in average velocity. And with the changeup disrupting hitters’ timing, Severino’s heat became even more deadly than ever. At times, it was impossible to even make contact.
Twins manager Paul Molitor said as much on the eve of the wild-card shootout at Yankee Stadium. Minnesota’s scouting staff had been tracking Severino over the final weeks of the regular season, knowing that a one-game elimination would mean facing that three-tiered repertoire that’d made Severino nearly unbeatable.
When asked how his hitters would cope with Severino’s fastballs, sliders and changeups, Molitor said, “I don’t think you can go up there trying to hit all three of his pitches, because that’s usually not a good mix. A guy that was comparable for me in his prime was Pedro.”
Defeat and redemption
The Twins’ best hope was for Severino to beat himself — succumbing to an old-fashioned case of nerves in his first-ever playoff game. And that’s exactly what happened. Severino, jittery from the moment he stepped on the mound, lasted only one-third of an inning, giving up dingers to Brian Dozier and Eddie Rosario while allowing three runs.
Severino dropped his head and walked off the mound, the target of loud booing from an unmerciful Yankee Stadium crowd. Had it not been for the Yankees’ comeback against Ervin Santana and their eventual 8-4 victory, Severino’s performance would’ve dogged him into 2018 and beyond.
Given a second chance, he rebounded against the vaunted Indians, out-pitching Trevor Bauer at home in Game 4 of the ALDS — striking out nine in seven innings — and then matching Justin Verlander in a scoreless duel over the first four innings of Game 6 of the ALCS.
Those are the kinds of big-moment performances that will ultimately turn Severino into a Cy Young Award winner. That clunker against the Twins notwithstanding, Severino says, “I feel very confident every time I pitch. I’ve learned from my mistakes.”
Severino would owe Martínez a lifetime of gratitude if and when he ever wins the Cy Young. Martínez, after all, captured the award three times. In fact, the only other Dominican pitcher to win the award was Bartolo Colón in 2005. Pedro probably wouldn’t mind sharing a cluster of them with a fellow quisqueyano. That connection trumps the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry any day.
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