PITTSBURGH -- It started to feel real whenever Bubba Chandler emerged from PNC Park’s bullpen and started running out to the pitcher’s mound.
“No, that's a lie,” Chandler said, immediately catching himself. “When I threw my last couple warmup pitches and the crowd got pretty loud, it was like, 'OK, this is it.' I don't know how I threw a strike first pitch, but I did."
That first Major League pitch from the game’s top pitching prospect ran 98.9 mph right in on Orlando Arcia’s hands, which the veteran was able to foul off. Arcia would double, but he was stranded when Chandler fanned Ryan Ritter and Mickey Moniak with 100 mph heat (well, 99.9 and 100.4 mph, if you don’t believe in rounding). Those are the two fastest pitches for strikeouts this year by a Pirate.
Afterwards, Chandler said he didn’t know he hit triple digits on the first two Major League tickets he punched.
“They were 100? Nice,” Chandler beamed.
“That’s not true,” Henry Davis, Chandler’s friend and first pro roommate, would retort to Chandler’s claim. “No chance.”
Well, the way Chandler tells the story, he was looking for his family in the stands instead of taking peeks at the radar gun. So he might have missed the flashing triple digits, the extra K being added to the strikeout counter or Davis giving an emphatic glove slap after the whiff.
“I was pumped,” Davis said. “Threw it right by 'em.”
It probably would have been nice for the author of that masterpiece to see that it was triple digits instead of searching for the Chandler crew. Alas …
“Freaking pitch clock,” Chandler said. “There were a couple times [that] I’d think ‘That’s them.’ I think they had a whole bunch of my jerseys on, but there were not enough jerseys around them.”
That first inning was just an appetizer of what Chandler had in store for the night, and what could be coming in the weeks and years to follow. He tossed the final four innings in the Pirates’ 9-0 win over the Rockies, becoming the first player in franchise history to record a save in his Major League debut -- and the first pitcher to record a scoreless four-inning save in his Major League debut.
He allowed two hits, struck out three and got six whiffs on 40 pitches, but that statline doesn’t exactly capture the energy exuded by the 22-year-old stud.
Chandler stories or claims can have an air of hyperbole, but that’s only because the talent is so outrageous that even the most outlandish of claims has a sense of validity. When you have someone who learned to play left-handed to get on the field in high school, was almost Clemson’s quarterback and was homering his first years as a pro, then jeez, maybe he could throw 100 mph for a strikeout -- adrenaline and Red Bull pumping through his veins -- and not even know it.
All of this to say, can you believe what you just saw?
“He’s an unbelievable talent,” Braxton Ashcraft, who struck out six and got the win, said. “One of the best arms I’ve ever seen.”
The talent is undeniable. The date and role of his debut were unexpected. After two strong months in the Minors, Chandler started to struggle with his command in June. Calling him up at some point this year always seemed to be in the cards, but that slump complicated when that arrival would be.
He’s going to be used as a bulk reliever for now with an opportunity to earn starts. That dream of a Major League debut didn’t have a save, but the foot is in the door.
“In the end, I'm here in the big leagues,” Chandler said. “There's not a lot of 22-year-old kids that get to do this. I'm grateful. I was mad, yeah, whatever. But at the same time I didn't need to take care of what I needed to take care of, so that falls back on me. Now I'm here. Don't care.
“Stress, I guess stress is a big thing. I've never really been a stressed-out guy, but I have been the past couple months just trying to get here."
Judging by his smile, some of that weight is now lifted off his shoulders.
“Just like anyone, I work every day of my life and try to be the best you can, whatever it is,” Chandler said. “There’s a lot of times during the offseason or during the season it’s like, ‘This sucks.' [A] where’s the light at the end of the tunnel type of thing. I found it. I’m going to see my parents and have fun.”
Take that to the bank.