The Yankees’ top prospect Justus Sheffield made his long-awaited Major League debut last night in the Bronx. The Bombers had a 10-1 lead over rival Boston in the top of the ninth, and out came the 22-year-old who was acquired from Cleveland in the Andrew Miller trade. The game was already won, but the atmosphere in the stadium was electric as everyone wanted to see what the kid had.
The rookie hurler made it a memorable appearance that’s for sure. The bases were loaded with just one out and the .334 hitting Mookie Betts at the plate. Betts launched one deep, which luckily hooked foul, before Sheffield got him to hit into a double play to seal the W.
When YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits asked the southpaw after the game what it was like to come into the game, he said:
“My legs felt like Jell-O. I mean, the first thing I was thinking was, you know, don’t trip running to the mound. Just don’t trip. Just get out there. And once I got out there I felt like, you know, when I got on the mound, everything was going to settle down a little bit. But you know, the nerves, and you know just the adrenaline was pumping, it was pumping heaviest. But, you know, I’m glad I got to go out there and get my first one in.”
Watch Sheffield’s full postgame interview below.
Top #Yankees prospect Justus Sheffield describes his feelings after pitching a scoreless 9th inning in his #MLB debut. pic.twitter.com/vKHOlfEYXj
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 20, 2018
