Who knows what the future holds for Nick Pivetta.
To his credit, he has been good far more than bad throughout his first full season with the Red Sox, and at the age of just 28 years old he could very well have a lot more really good years ahead.
But, in the eyes of Boston sports fans, it doesn't really matter. In many ways, Pivetta defined at least a good chunk of his existence Sunday night.
That's how it works around here.
Nathan Eovaldi knows. He was the guy who turned in those six innings and 97 pitches of relief well into the Los Angeles night back in the 2018 World Series. That got him a postgame standing ovation from his teammates and legendary status for anyone reflecting on how the Red Sox reached the championship finish line that year.
This is the existence Pivetta now lives.
A big part of the perception is derived from the box score. The pitcher tossed four shutout innings all the way up until Christian Vazquez could walk if off in the 13th. In total, Pivetta threw 140 pitches in a matter of three days.
Along the way, there were three hits, one walk and seven crucial strikeouts, using a fastball that maxed out at 97.2 mph, a lethal combination of big curveballs and tight sliders, along with just a few changeups.
In the words of Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash after the game, "Pivetta was just really, really good for them."
But that was just part of this story.
Let's face it, what will really punctuate Pivetta's existence was how he went about it.
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) October 11, 2021
This is why the actions and reactions mattered: Because it's how we want our players to act in such moments.
"I just gave it my all, to be honest with you," Pivetta said. "I just competed with the strike zone, competed with those guys, and my energy just shows what this means to me and means to our team. It's really exciting. It's fun to be here. It's a moment in time for me and for our team. So I think it's just me showing my emotions. It's just excitement, and that's just the way it goes."
"We've seen it before," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "We saw it in Oakland. We saw it in Tampa. There's been a few games that he just gets -- he goes somewhere else mentally and physically. He was locked in. He did an amazing job for us."
We want to believe these very wealthy group of athletes still are living in a Little League world, showing the emotions we were raised on. Don't like a call? Let the ump know it. Get a big strikeout? You can't fist-pump enough. Finish off an inning? Start defensive-sliding to the dugout.
For kids growing up in the 1980's, Oil Can Boyd was the guy. Dennis Eckersley. Josh Beckett. Those were some others. Face it, the Derek Lowe crotch-chop in Oakland is still a big part of the montage from the Red Sox playoff run.
Factor in the importance of what Pivetta accomplished, and you have a certain kind of appreciation cemented in these parts.
Right guy. Right time. Now, never forgotten.
"I don't know. To be honest with you, it just kind of happens for me," he said of his emotions. "I think it's just my competitive nature. Like I said, how much I care about these guys here and how much I want to do good for the team and put them on my back and just we're all trying our hardest, and we're all doing the best we can. It was a team effort today. It was just exciting."
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