Yankees Red Sox Rivalry Highlighted By Feel Good Stories Of Ron Marinaccio And Garrett Whitlock

In 2017 Ron Marinaccio and Garrett Whitlock were part of the draft class for the New York Yankees and this weekend their paths converged for a pair of memorable feel-good reasons – a major league debut and a contract extension.

On Saturday, Marinaccio made his major league debut with over 100 family and friends in the stands from his hometown of Toms River, N.J. He threw four of his first pitches out of the strike zone, received a pep talk from first baseman Anthony Rizzo and then struck out Bobby Dalbec, retired Jackie Bradley Jr. on a groundout and a fanned Christian Vazquez.

Marinaccio was a 19th-round pick after winning 15 games in three seasons Delaware in the Colonial Athletic Association. He became a Yankee after posting a 3.16 ERA in five minor league seasons and then was asked to make his debut in an extremely high-leverage spot.

“There was a ton of adrenaline,” Marinaccio said. “That’s as special of a moment as I could have come into — Yankees-Red Sox. I’m kind of glad I got to kill two birds with one stone. I got the debut out of the way and got an exciting situation to pitch in as well.”

Marinaccio became the fourth player born in Toms River to appear in the majors and third for the Yankees. The others were Al Leiter — best known for being dealt to Toronto for Jesse Barfield in 1989 and for helping the Mets to the “Subway Series” 11 years later – and Andy Messersmith – best known for being part of the 1975 Seitz decision that ushered in the start of free agency.

Rizzo’s pep talk and Marinaccio’s successful debut occurred five days after the first anniversary of Whitlock’s major league debut.

Whitlock’s debut could have been with the Yankees as he was their 18th-round pick out Alabama-Birmingham. He presently is the only player from UAB to appear in the majors to date and joined Matt Beaty and Kyle Lewis as the third player from Snellville, a Northeast Atlanta suburb that also is the hometown of Minnesota Timberwolves forward Josh Okogie, standout NBA reserve Lou Williams and former NFL kicker Jason Elam.

Whitlock made it to Double-A with Trenton but after the 2019 season, the Yankees left him exposed in the Rule 5 draft because he was coming off Tommy John surgery. At that point he was mostly a starting pitcher as 38 of his 42 appearances were starts and Whitlock posted a 2.41 ERA, including a 1.03 ERA in three starts in the Gulf Coast League in 2017 where Marinaccio’s pro career began.

He made 46 appearances last season for the Red Sox and among his statistical highlights were a .194 opponents batting average in high leverage situations, a 0.56 ERA in 18 appearances in the eighth inning and a 2.08 ERA with 11 strikeouts in six outings against the Yankees.

Those numbers were part of one of the best years by a Rule 5 pick. Among the 30 rookies with at least 70 innings, Whitlock was first in ERA and second in WHIP.

“Last year when they took me in the Rule 5 draft, it was an honor then, just because the fact they took a chance on me, everything like that,” Whitlock told reporters. “I just want to work my tail off.”

Whitlock’s 47th appearance resulted in him standing in the middle of the Boston clubhouse and detailing how he did not execute on a pitch for DJ LeMahieu hit for a game-tying homer in the eighth inning in Friday’s season opener in a game where he fanned four of the eight hitters preceding the homer.

Two days later, he was talking for different reasons.

Hours before Jake Diekman fanned Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Joey Gallo to end Boston’s 4-3 victory on Sunday night, the Red Sox announced they signed the right-hander to a four-year extension that contains club options for 2027 and 2028

He signed the $18.75 million deal two years after the pandemic canceled the minor league season, leading to him coaching travel-ball and working landscaping.

“He’s a great kid. He deserves it,” manager Alex Cora told reporters. “The commitment he’s making is very important for us and I’m glad he’s going to be with us for an extended period of time.”

There have been plenty of notable Rule 5 picks, including Roberto Clemente, whom the Pittsburgh Pirates plucked from the Brooklyn Dodgers after they tried to hide him from scouts in the minors due to him being a “bonus baby”.

Other notable Rule 5 picks include Jose Bautista, who was picked in 2004 by Baltimore four years before his career turned in Toronto. Another notable Rule 5 pick is Johan Santana, who was left unprotected by Houston in 1999 and made his debut with the Minnesota Twins where he won a pair of Cy Young Awards before being known as the pitcher to the throw the first no-hitter in Mets’ history.

“It was just like two years ago — I was working two jobs, you know, trying to survive the COVID season and everything like that. And so, now, just to be sitting here doing this, it’s all very surreal.”

There were plenty of stars during the latest installment of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry but also a pair of feel-good bullpen stories for both teams.