Meet John Schreiber
John Schreiber has already made his fair share of memorable Red Sox memories, with the latest round coming Sunday when he struck out the side in the eighth inning of the Sox' 6-4 win over the Cardinals.
But before his current run as Red Sox relief ace, the Fenway bullpen was the site one of the Michigan native's most painful sports moments.
That came on Oct. 13, 2013 when Schreiber was home watching his beloved Tigers. It was, of course, thanks to David Ortiz's game-saving, game-tying grand slam in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series.
"Me throwing some laundry at my door, almost breaking my bedroom door while my whole family was asleep," said Schreiber on the Bradfo Sho podcast when asked what he remembered about the homer into the Red Sox' bullpen.
"A few years ago when I was out of pro ball if I saw that clip I would be like, ‘Alright, C’mon. Get this out of here. I don’t want to see it.’ We were stacked."
Schreiber ultimately got a chance to play with some of those same Tigers on the field that day, making it to the big leagues with Detroit in 2019.
But after his two seasons of struggles with the Tigers, Schreiber landed with the Red Sox. And thanks to some adjustments - particularly to his two-seam fastball - and much-needed confidence, the righty's career has taken off.
In 20 appearances, Schreiber has allowed just two earned runs on the way to a 0.87 ERA, striking out 24 in 20 2/3 innings.
"I’m having a blast," he said I think the biggest thing is just being here and having so much confidence. A big part of the success is having that confidence.
"(Last year during his Red Sox debut) I was jittery but was like, 'Dude, this so much fun.' That’s when it clicked in my head that you have to go have fun out there. You can’t be worrying about stuff out of your control. That has helped me out so much. ... I just felt like a different pitcher. I was like, ‘Dude, you can do that.’"
Listen to Schreiber talk about his Detroit fandom, his evolution, his beard and his belief in ghosts in aliens during his appearance on the Bradfo Sho podcast ...