Yankees’ Headrick on Record Pace in Early Season
The current pace of games is, frankly, not sustainable—not for a whole season, anyway.
Brent Headrick, a left-handed reliever for the Yankees, has pitched in 12 of the first 18 games this season. He’s on track to potentially match the MLB record for appearances by a pitcher in a season, held by Mike Marshall of the Dodgers at 108 games in 1974. That likely won’t happen, though.
The Yankees started the season with a few off days, allowing Headrick more playing time. At 28, he’s shown a promising level of durability, believing he can maintain this in the upcoming games, even as this is his first full season as a dedicated one-inning relief pitcher.
Headrick leads the majors in relief appearances and entered Wednesday’s game boasting eight strikeouts so far—not bad for someone coming off a strong spring training, where he received accolades from manager Aaron Boone.
“I won’t be at 100 percent every night, but I’ll give my best whenever I’m out there,” Headrick mentioned before the Yankees’ narrow 5-4 win over the Angels. “We’ve been gearing up for this. We’re ready to pitch several days a week and even go longer if needed.”
Interestingly, he hasn’t set a specific goal for the number of games he wants to pitch this season.
In 2022, he was a starter, racking up 108⅓ innings, so it’s not so much about the total innings but more about how he can recover from game to game.
Boone noted that Headrick faced some challenges last year transitioning from starting to relief, yet he’s already observing improvements this season.
He started the season strong, maintaining an eight-game shutout streak through the seventh inning, only to allow runs in his next two outings. Fortunately, he bounced back with another shutout on Tuesday.
Remarkably, he has pitched four times in just the first three weeks of the season.
“Brent was great,” Boone expressed. “He’s taken on a significant role and has remained quite consistent.”
Headrick has the opportunity to solidify his position in a Yankees bullpen still grappling with questions about its efficiency. Maintaining stamina will be crucial as he faces the inevitable challenges of increased workload. Hitters will adjust, so he understands the need to refine his pitches—two-seam fastballs for both left- and right-handers, alongside four-seamers, sliders, and some new splitters are all in his repertoire.
Ultimately, even if the pace seems impossible to sustain, Headrick feels he has a foundation to build on. “It’s a long season,” he said. “I try to remain neutral about everything. My focus is just to go out and execute, because when I’m at my best, I know I can deliver.”
