Brooks Kriske thought it might be over.
“I was getting older and it felt like I was on my last legs,” he said.
Instead, a year later, he made his major league debut with the Yankees, shooting a ninth inning without scoring to help in a 9-3 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards on Wednesday.
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He helped Gerrit Cole secure his second striped victory. He held the ball from his first strikeout. After the game, Cole presented him with the lineup card.
“It was amazing to follow him,” said Kriske. “He is the best pitcher on the planet.”
On Wednesday, Kriske was finally in his league after a tough time in the minor leagues. The Yankees called him on Saturday night when they were in Washington, DC, and they needed pitching depth. He was one of the relievers the Yankees added when they sent Clint Frazier.
Kriske, 26, walked with the leader but eliminated two.
With the stadium empty due to the coronavirus, his family watched from his home in Arizona. He said his phone was “pretty crazy” with subsequent calls and messages.
“I have been telling my friends and family that two years ago I was not sure that this opportunity would ever come,” said Kriske. “I was 24 years old on the short-season A-ball team. I was excited. “
The Yankees selected Kriske in the sixth round of USC in 2016. That season, he needed surgery from Tommy John, which eliminated his 2017. In 2018, he performed well, but in 2019, he said he wasn’t sure where he was standing. . in the organization depth table.
“I was never going to quit smoking,” he said. “We have a chance at this. Most of us are connected in the same way. We will not give up. I definitely went into spring training in 2019 unsure if I was going to go through spring training. So I worked a lot during the offseason and it was worth it. ”
“I knew I was going to physically survive. I always wanted to play. I wasn’t sure if I was going to have a job at the end of spring training. “
Kriske earned a spot on the Yankees’ 40-player roster in the offseason with a strong performance at Double-A Trenton, where he posted a 2.08 ERA in 43 games.
Getting the end meant the world to him.
“It was the culmination of the work and of all the people who have supported me all this time,” he said.
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