Michael King had a chance to show former teammate Corey Kluber how much he had learned from him up close and personal this weekend, as Kluber took the mound for the Rays Saturday.
Unfortunately, King came in with runners on first and second and one out in the seventh inning of that game with two on and one out and surrendered the go-ahead run, then another insurance run in the eighth of Tampa Bay’s 3-1 win. Lucas Luetge took the loss but it was another rough outing for King, who had a 0.51 ERA entering play May 8 but has allowed at least one run in five of seven outings over the last three weeks.
“I didn’t get the job done; I just have to execute better,” King said after Saturday’s loss. “Definitely frustrating. I threw a couple pitches today I felt I didn’t convict like I should have, and I hate that.”
All that said, King had a very strong first month of the season, thanks in large part to Kluber – who, while with the Yankees last season, helped the youngster refine one of his pitches.
“The day before his no-hitter in Texas, he saw me throw a bullpen and realized we have similar arm slots, and he basically said, ‘I think I can help you with your slider,’” King told YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits on Saturday. “He taught me the Kluber-ball. Still trying to perfect it – I don’t have the same command he does – but I’m trying to use that to my advantage and get outs with that.”
King told the story a few weeks back as well, saying that basically, Kluber watched him throw sliders and offered an idea to change the grip.
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“The first one I threw was good. It felt good, and TrackMan showed it was a good pitch, so he said, ‘Keep ripping that,’” King said.
The righty was thankful that a veteran newcomer to the team was willing to do that for him, and he was “sad to see” Kluber end up with Tampa Bay this season.
“It’s awesome the Yankees have the veterans that can help young guys with their experience. It was really cool to see a guy take an interest in me, who only had a year or so of service time,” King said. “I was sad to see him not sign back with us. He came in and was a big veteran presence for our staff.”
King credited Adam Ottavino for doing similar in 2020, but when asked about his own influence on King’s slider, Kluber gave all the credit back.
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“He’s probably giving me more credit than I deserve,” Kluber said Saturday. “I don’t think it was more than a conversation, but I’m glad we had it and it helped him with his confidence. He’s the one that had to put in the work and figure stuff out.”
King is hopeful that he can figure it out again after seeing his ERA balloon from 0.69 at the end of April to 3.10 entering the Yankees’ final game in May, hopeful the Kluber-ball, or King-ball, or whatever it is can be effective again.
“Pitch selection has been the biggest thing,” he said. “I just have to slow the game down, live in the moment, and make sure I throw the pitch I want to throw.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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