Photo by: AP
Manoah’s Memorable Big-League Debut
May 28, 2021 12:32 PM | Baseball, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – What an unforgettable Major League debut for All-American West Virginia University pitcher Alek Manoah!The 6-foot-6, 260-pound rookie righthander blanked the New York Yankees through six innings to earn his first big-league win. The No. 5-rated Toronto Blue Jays prospect allowed only two hits and struck out seven before giving way to reliever Jordan Romano who pitched a scoreless seventh in Toronto's 2-0 victory.
Manoah's advancement to the Majors has been meteoric since pitching West Virginia to an NCAA regional appearance in 2019.
He recorded just 35 minor league innings since being taken No. 11 overall in the 2019 Major League Draft. Before his Wednesday call up, Manoah had allowed just one earned run in 18 innings with 27 strikeouts at Triple-A Buffalo.
After walking the first batter he faced on four pitches, Manoah settled down to whiff Yankees second baseman Rougned Odor on four pitches. His most impressive work came later in the inning when he fanned Aaron Judge.
"I think those first four pitches were the most nervous, you know, the most excitement I had all day," he said afterward. "After those four it was kind of just like, I don't want to suck. So just lock it in right here and let's start pitching. Forget about everything else, we've got to pitch."
His mother, Susana, was in Yankee Stadium watching him pitch and social media captured her emotional response to her son's big moment.
Alek Manoah's mom was crying as he faced his first MLB hitter and she was PUMPED after he recorded his first strikeout pic.twitter.com/tVUGGxiLj0
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 27, 2021
Manoah is the first pitcher from the 2019 draft class to reach the Majors and the second overall to Chicago Whites Sox outfielder Andrew Vaughn.
Earlier this spring, former West Virginia University pitcher John Means pitched the first solo nine inning no-hitter in 50 years for the Baltimore Orioles.
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