Tampa – Devin Williams is used to it all.
“It's usually the first question people ask me – or the only question,” he said with a laugh.
So, in a clubhouse full of new teammates and coaches, Williams has already handed out a fair bit of questions about the very unique and nasty pitch, which has its own name: Airbender.
“It's honestly really simple, at least in my mind,” Yankees New Closer told Steinbrenner Field on Saturday. “It's a four-seam ChangeUp grip, and I remember it. I know what I want to do with it. It's a little more difficult to put the words in.
“Other people can't really replicate what I do based on their arm slots and the way their bodies work. It works for me. It's one of those things. Max Fried probably can't teach someone else to Curve Ball. That's a second nature for him.”
Most people are curious how Williams throws the pitch.
Opposing batters are equally interested in how they should hit it.
“It's much more fun than trying to come back and face him,” said Austin Wells, who caught Williams' first live batting practice on Friday.
Since Williams entered the league in 2020 as the NL Rookie of the Year with the Brewers, his changeup has been one of the best pitches in the majors.
The opposite batsman hit just .134 (69-515) with 245 strikeouts.
The Yankees have seen many pitches through the screen, but this week they won front row seats this week to see devastating moves on their way to the plate.
“I told him today, that was my first time standing behind it. It's impressive,” manager Aaron Boone said.
It's part of Williams' orientation to his new organization after the Yankees acquired him for Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin in December.
They expect him to lock in a strong, deep bullpen with a variety of looks that he can throw at the enemy, as well as numbers.
Williams is at the forefront of the group and enters his third season as a full-time closer.
The brewer moved him to the role at the 2022 trade deadline after dealing with Josh Hader.
Since then, Williams has converted 59 of his 66 savings opportunities in the regular season.
Of course, Williams' latest save chance was held in Do-or-Die Game 3 of the NL Wildcard series, which will face the Mets last October.
He went into the ninth inning to protect a 2-0 lead, three outs from his advance to the NLDS and instead gave up a three-run home run to Pete Alonso in a changeup that effectively ended the Brewers season. I did.
Saturday Williams said he “fueled me as always trying to make me better,” and talked about his close mentality, not just moving straight to the next day's game after a rough outing. I did.
Except that Williams had no next game last October, instead he had an entire offseason to sit on that blown-up save.
“We didn't have a game the next day, so it's hard to move on,” Williams said. “In that case, you're like playing that moment, what could I do differently? I don't know if this changed too much on that outing. In the end. So it's baseball.
“I got two ground balls. In that inning I found a hole (one of which came before Alonso's home run) – 2 feet or 2 feet to the left or right If this conversation isn't there, it's just something you had to deal with and move on.”
