Two Firsts in One Game For Young Sox Pitchers

It was last night at Jacobs Field in Cleveland that marked the return of Jon Lester. We all know and will always remember his heroic story, his battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and his victory over it.

I am fairly certain in my statement when I say that everyone reading this right now has heard all the details about the disease and how Lester was treated successfully and has made a full recovery. And most of you watched the Red Sox-Indians game last night – maybe not with as much emotion as Jon Lester’s mom – and saw what most Sox fans had been waiting for since spring training: a chance to see Jon Lester pitch in the big leagues again.

Well, there he was last night, the center of attention atop the loneliest circle a baseball field has to offer, surrounded by almost as many Red Sox fans as Indians fans. Lester came through with the win, his first in the Major Leagues since he was diagnosed with Aniplastic Large Cell Lymphoma.

Here was his pitching line: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR. 96 pitches, 55 strikes.

Lester got the win, and all the publicity. Of course he did, and it was well deserved publicity. What he has accomplished was extremely courageous and there will probably be a five minute long, ear-ringing, foot-stomping standing ovation for him when he takes the mound at Fenway Park for the first time since his return. There’s actually a good chance that Fenway will collapse from all the excitement.

But what got lost in the shuffle of Jon Lester’s return in my vision was a 25 year-old fire-baller from right around the corner. West Roxbury, actually.

After logging 79.2 innings of relief for the Boston Red Sox over parts of three seasons, Manny Delcarmen got his first career major league save. Usually this would just be a nice story about the local kid who grew up a Red Sox fan, had talent, got drafted and pitched for the home town team. A dream come true of course.

But for me, my teammates, the other teams and all the alumni of the Yawkey Baseball League, we’re collectively proud of Manny Delcarmen for putting us on the map for future talents that happen to swim through the kettle known as the Yawkey League.

The next time someone happens to ask me or anyone else who happens to play in the Yawkey League, how the talent is, we can say to them:

“You know who Manny Delcarmen is?”

“Yea, the set-up man for the Sox.”

“Well, he played in the Yawkey League when he was 18 years old.”

Now, I wasn’t there to face him, and I’m glad I wasn’t because I may have soiled myself in the process. He was an elite Yawkey League player, but nonetheless, there are still a few guys on my team that can say that they played against him before the spot light shone bright on him.

The key to Delcarmen’s successes this year has been simple. He’s throwing first pitch strikes on a consistent basis and he’s locating his pitches. That’s really all you have to do to be successful at the Major League level. And throwing 95 miles and hour seems to help too.

The point of this is to be proud that you have a chance to play in the Yawkey League. Whether you’re a potential Yawkey league HOF’er, a middle of the road guy or you’re just sitting on the bench waiting for your chance to play, think about who sat down on that very same bench at one point in the past.

And you never know when another Manny Delcarmen or Rich Hill is going to appear in the Yawkey League, leave his impression and give you another name to drop on your friends in the future.