Stephen Ridings’ journey through baseball has been a rocky one; the former hurler for St. Anthony’s in South Huntington played Division III ball at Haverford College – a level that doesn’t give scholarships – and he had planned, after being drafted by the Cubs in 2016, to eventually go back to school to finish his degree in chemistry, according to Newsday.
He was dealt from the Cubs to the Royals in March 2019, and while sitting out 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s cancellation of the minor-league season, he sold sports equipment in Florida. He also worked as a substitute chemistry teacher to make ends meet while working with Yankees Director of Player Health and Performance Eric Cressey in Florida, which led to the Yankees signing him
And now, on Tuesday, he was on the mound at Yankee Stadium making his MLB debut after being called up to help replace two pitchers on the COVID IL – and did so on the day after his grandmother passed.
“Yesterday my grandmother passed, about two years after my grandfather passed, so in the midst of my family trying to figure out funeral plans, dealing with all that, getting the call today and having this moment with them was indescribable,” Ridings said after the game. “To be able to have this moment with my family in the stands was very special."
If Ridings had a heavy heart, it didn’t show. His first pitch topped triple digits, and after going 3-0 on DJ Stewart, the rest of his 16 pitches were strikes, including another 101 MPH heater that Stewart swung through for Ridings’ first MLB K.
His only blemish on the night was a double allowed to Maikel Franco, but he rebounded to fan Pedro Severino and Pat Valaika to record three strikeouts in a scoreless frame, getting seven swings and misses and throwing the two hardest pitches of the night.
“Adrenaline is the only word I can think of," Ridings said. "My heart was racing, my mind was all over the place. It was important to just take a breath and go through the routine of getting ready."
Ridings had some fun with it after the game, too, with this witty reply to a tweet from Pitching Ninja Rob Friedman showcasing his first MLB pitch clocking in at triple digits:
Ridings had never played full season ball before signing with the Yankees – his high-water mark was Short-Season Class-A Eugene in 2018 – but started 2021 at Double-A Somerset. He was dominant there (4-0, 0.47 ERA, 30 K in 19 IP), and then allowed three runs in 10 innings (with 12 K) in Triple-A before his recall, allowing only four walks total this season and posting a 0.69 overall WHIP.
Tuesday was the first chance Yankees manager Aaron Boone got to see Ridings up close, and he was impressed.
"The stuff was impressive from the side, and he had a little emotion with it, a little strut out there,” Boone said. “He is confident, and you watch his deliveries, he’s in control of himself.”
Ridings took advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime on a day that was one of the hardest of his life, but he aced it with flying colors – and given the workload and structure of the Yankees’ bullpen right now, it’s possible the team has found an ace in the relief hole when they need it most.
“It’s been a minor-league season for him where it’s a ton of strikeouts and not a lot of walks at all,” Boone said. “So it’s been a guy that’s a strike thrower down there and you saw two really strong pitches with the fastball-breaking ball combo."
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