Jordan Montgomery thrives on a pitch Yankees stopped him to throw

Tuesday September 13, 2022

Be it back luck for the Yankees or you may say good luck for Jordan Montgomery. The former Yankee who was sent to St. Louis on a deadline-trade deal has emerged as a key player for the Cardinals. He has fast become a world-class player for his new team.

When Montgomery left the Yankees, he didn’t look anything like the world-class player he is today with the Cardinals. There’s a good reason why he failed in New York but has prospered since moving to Busch Stadium.

It turns out that the Yankees’ coaching staff, over many generations, didn’t know what works the best for Montgomery’s capabilities. The reason they didn’t pay attention to the mental side of the game.

Since Joe Girardi’s days, the Yankees have been criticized for being too “by the book” and lacking emotion. Joey Gallo’s acquisition drew similar criticism. Some scouts say that Gallo would have had trouble in New York no matter what, and Cashman was told the same thing by his sources last summer. But the general manager overstepped it and thought that the back of the baseball card would look the same no matter where it was. He traded Gallo this season too.

Then there is Montgomery, who is doing well with St. Louis and looks settled after having a new fastball. Well, he doesn’t have a new fastball, but he does play in a way, which is the opposite of what the Yankees told him to do when he was trying to hit batters.

During an R2C2 podcast, Montgomery discussed his newfound love for the pitch with Ryan Ruocco and Sabathia. According to him, the Yankees asked the South Carolina native to depend on his curveball and change. He was told in New York that his fastball lacks the force that can bring results. This resulted in the pitcher “auto-taking” with two strikes, when a batter turned confident to deal with a speed pitch and ignored to see that he had to face a fastball.

Montgomery also missed his fastball when he tried to attack. After all, if you’re never told to bring a pitch, you won’t be prepared to go far enough inside when the time comes.

Jordan Montgomery is a new man with a new fastball after leaving the Yankees

Montgomery resisted the Yankees’ advice and was back to his own assessment to regain confidence in his fastball. But he still threw it tentatively, remembering that the team told him he wouldn’t succeed that way. He never used his fastball to “blow the batter’s doors off.”

I didn’t have much faith in my heater (at) the Yankees, Montgomery said plainly. I’d been told that it wasn’t that good compared to my other pitches, and if I was gonna get hit, it was gonna be on a curveball or a changeup, which isn’t how you can pitch.

Now, with the Cardinals, the situation is completely different. Montgomery’s fastball-first version has a 1.45 ERA and a 2.28 FIP in seven starts, and he will get a playoff start with his new team.

Fans might have been worried about the Dodgers “unlocking” Gallo, but they should have been worried about Montgomery in St. Louis. It turned out that his trick was simple and all in his head.

Now we know that Montgomery “never” would have done this well with the Yankees. And it’s all because they told him directly not to do it.

Do you blame the Yankees’ top brass for selling Jordan Montgomery? Do you have a message for them?