Who's Matt Krook? You'll See

I’m a big fan of lefties. On occasion I’ll play The Show with my 20-year-old and we compare our teams with each other and he’s always breaking my balls because I’ll be stacked with lefties in the lineup and several more in the rotation or pen. I’m a lefty and to be honest, I don’t even realize I’m doing it. But now that you know I’m a lefty, doesn’t it make sense?

I was reading about this new young lefty that the Yankees may have coming out of the pen if everything goes his way this spring, and his name is Matt Krook. And his story is a cool one. Check this out from the New York Post:

“It took 500 innings in three different organizations, and did not even include the 2020 season that was stolen by the pandemic.

“It was awesome,” Krook said Friday, remembering the November phone call in which the Yankees, by selecting him to the roster, were protecting him from the Rule 5 draft. “I’ve been in the minor leagues for a long time. So to get that call and get added and for them to believe in me meant a lot. It felt really good.”

The next call felt even better.

Krook has entered Yankees camp as a dark horse to win a spot in the bullpen.”

“The 28-year-old went 10-7 with a pedestrian 4.09 ERA last season at Triple-A, but most notably struck out a large number of batters, whiffing 155 in 138.2 innings. In 2021, his first year in the organization, things went even better; Krook split time at Double-A and Triple-A, whiffing 132 in 106 innings pitched, posting a 2.89 ERA.”