Number Zero put up nothing but zeroes in his relief debut for the Yankees.
Brooklyn product Adam Ottavino became the first player in franchise history to wear “0” as his uniform number, and he tossed 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings of relief Thursday in support of Masahiro Tanaka in the Yanks’ 7-2 win over the Orioles at the Stadium.
“It was kind of a blur, but I had fun. I got here early, and it was kind of weird waking up in my own bed and coming to the field. That was strange, but other than that it was a fun game, and I’m glad I got to get in there,” Ottavino said. “The intros were the coolest thing, the crowd was super loud, and putting on the uniform was cool.
“But I didn’t really notice anything while I was pitching, because I was kind of focused.”
Ottavino, a childhood Yankees fan while growing up in Brooklyn, attended Berkeley Carroll High School then Northeastern before being drafted in the first round by St. Louis in 2006. He pitched five games for the Cardinals in 2010, but he spent his past seven full seasons in Colorado before signing a three-year deal worth $27 million as a free agent with the Yanks in January.
“I feel like I got a lot [of nerves] out in spring training honestly, and now I was really focused on the guys I had to face. It felt like a regular game to me, honestly,” Ottavino said. “I had probably a dozen people here, so I was just happy I got in, because they spent a lot of money to come. I was happy for that.”
The 33-year-old righty had made headlines shortly before signing with the Yanks when he told MLB.com about a conversation he once had with a minor league coach boasting he’d “strike out Babe Ruth every time” if The Bambino played today.
Ottavino later admitted he regretted invoking Ruth in his example, and he even recently recorded a tongue-in-cheek video for MLB.TV of himself pitching to the legendary Yankee in grainy black-and-white footage with him saying in the voiceover: “Did I really say I’d strike Babe Ruth out every time?”
Ottavino’s opponents Thursday hardly were of Ruth’s caliber, but he fanned three of the four Orioles he faced, including Rio Ruiz on a called third strike after replacing Tanaka following Trey Mancini’s RBI double in the sixth. Ottavino also caught Chris Davis and Jesus Sacre looking in a scoreless seventh before Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman finished up the loaded Yankees bullpen’s first closeout of the season.
“Adam came in at a time in the game that was a big spot. We liked the lane he was coming into, and to go out there and kind of dominate, the way he’s done, there’s no question,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I’m sure there was a lot running through his mind and his veins and the excitement that comes with today, being a lifelong Yankee fan and coming home, so to speak.
“For him to go out and get results and execute the pitches he wanted to do, I’m really excited for him.”
