Alek Manoah shut out the current New York Yankees on Sunday. A couple of hours later, he got a call from a Yankees legend.
Following the Toronto Blue Jays prospect’s winning major-league debut, there was no shortage of congratulatory messages and phone calls. But hearing from CC Sabathia was particularly special for the 23-year-old.
“Him congratulating me and giving me some advice moving forward is definitely something I’ll remember forever,” Manoah said during an interview on Sportsnet’s Baseball Central. “A lot of people [compare] me to him, so that’s a huge blessing for me, to just be able to be in the same category… just being spoken of like CC.
“He’s a legend. Everything that he does, not only for the game of baseball, but off the field, for his community.”
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Sabathia ended his 19-year MLB career right where Manoah started his, after 11 seasons and a World Series title with the Yankees. The six-time All-Star and ALCS MVP had nothing but praise for the Blue Jays newcomer.
“He was just like, ‘Man that was really fun to watch. That was amazing,'” Manoah said. “He was just telling me to keep working, to enjoy the moment, to really take it in and to keep working hard.”
Manoah threw six innings in the first of two seven-frame contests against New York on Sunday, striking out seven hitters while allowing just two walks and two hits. Before that outing — good for a 2-0 Blue Jays win — the righty had played just 35 minor-league innings over two seasons in the minors.
He promptly regained his composure on Sunday after allowing a four-pitch walk to leadoff man DJ LeMahieu and performed like a veteran from that point on.
“Thirty-five innings of pro baseball, but countless hours working behind the scenes,” said Manoah. “Learning my body and learning my mechanics is more important than honestly running 10 sprints or doing workouts. If you don’t know your body, your feel for pitches, your mechanics … it doesn’t matter how physically in shape you are, how mentally tough you are, you’re not going to be able to make the adjustments.”
Manoah takes as much pride in being a student of the game as he does in his confidence while he’s on the mound. Regardless of whether he was facing Aaron Judge or LeMahieu, Manoah had his way of establishing his mound presence.
More than once, the rookie pitcher stared intensely in the direction of the batter as he rubbed up the ball, taking his time with every pitch.
“I’m just there to remind them that this is my game,” Manoah said on Baseball Central. “This is going to be our team game right here, and it’s going to be on our pace. I’m going to stand there, I’m going to hold the ball and I’m going to let you know that we’re going to go when I’m ready.
“Some hitters might not like it, but, you know. That’s just the name of the game.”
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