“There was an at-bat against Shin-Soo Choo, it was a 3-2 count, and [Dioner] Navarro called a sinker in, like front-door sinker. That’s a tough pitch to throw, especially for someone who never throws sinkers. So, I kind of stood there and looked at him for a second on the mound, like ‘you sure?’ and he put it down again. So, I said ‘alright, let’s do it,’” says Stroman. “I threw it perfectly and he took it for strike three.”
Stroman fist pumps, jumps, or let’s out a yell on the mound when he gets excited for a pitch or a call, and on that day, he did just that.
“I was more shocked at myself for throwing that pitch, in that situation, in that count, way more than the punch out. I had just learned the front-door sinker and that was all Navarro having the confidence in me to say ‘throw it, throw it.’ That was kind of a turning point for that pitch,” he says.