New York Yankees Editorial: Michael Pineda Out-Duels his Former Mentor

Monday night for Michael Pineda was just awesome. Not only did he make his first start at Safeco Field since being traded over to the Yankees in January of 2012, but he also out-pitched his former friend and former mentor in ‘King’ Felix Hernandez.

As a matter of fact, Pineda’s last start in Seattle was on September 10, 2011 as a member of the Mariners in a 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals, which is over three years to the exact date that Michael Pineda was swapped for former top Yankees prospect Jesus Montero.

If there was any speculation remaining that the Mariners still held the upper edge in that blockbuster trade, Monday night finally sealed the deal for Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees. Michael Pineda’s valued has far exceeded Jesus Montero’s, and in his long anticipated return to the evergreen state, Pineda carried a shutout into the seventh inning, which was more than enough to earn the Yankees a win thanks to Mark Teixeira’s grand slam, which eventually chased Hernandez from the ballgame en route to a 7-2 Yankees victory. Montero is yet to start a game for the Mariners in 2015, having last played for them in June of 2014.

"“I’m very excited today for this game,” Pineda told Billy Witz of the New York Times. “I had really good focus today and tried to do the best on the mound. I pitched my game.”"

Witz did a great job in pointing out that Pineda tilts his hat to the side just like Hernandez, and he wears uniform number, 35, which is one digit higher than Hernandez’s 34, which speaks volumes of the impact that Felix Hernandez had on Pineda.

Also, according to Witz, Pineda is attempting to develop a changeup for his arsenal of pitches, just like Felix Hernandez, who has one of the best in the game. C.C. Sabathia knows a thing or two about changeups as well, so hopefully the combination of the two can benefit Pineda’s development of one.

Aside from pitching, King Felix showed Michael Pineda the ropes of being a professional ball player, wearing collared shirts to home games, dressing in suits on road trips and how to hail a taxi to the ballpark.

All in all, Monday night’s performance is the type of effort the Yankees had hoped for when they acquired Pineda after his All-Star season in 2011. With all the injuries behind him and pine tar incidents in his rear view, Michael Pineda shined on potentially the biggest stage of his professional career to date. He out pitched the games best pitcher on the road to keep the Yankees atop the A.L. East. What more can you ask for?

Big time players make big time plays in big time games.

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