Aaron Small
Aaron Small
Aaron James Smallis an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is probably best remembered for his short successful stint as a starter for the New York Yankees in 2005...
hold
This is the way I used to hold that pitch.
ahead early glad strike worse
The big thing for me is getting ahead with strike one, ... Early on in the game, I wasn't doing that. I was just glad it wasn't worse than it was.
fairy hoping tale
This is fun. I couldn't have scripted it this way. I'm just hoping for a fairy tale ending.
ball changed finger grip huge inches instead last middle sink slide spring
He changed the grip on my sinker last spring and got it to sink more consistently. He had me put my middle finger on the seam instead of my first finger, and slide it up on the ball about two inches. Those two inches made a huge difference.
against challenge excited good spring start
Sure, I'd like the opportunity. It would be a good challenge for me. I was excited about the start I had against them in spring training. That was neat.
appreciate defensive good run support team
That's a good thing to hear, and I appreciate it, ... I also think that without the defensive and run support, nothing happens. It's a team game.
caught people
I'll tell people I'll really look back on this year. Right now I don't really get too caught up in (his success). To do it for this organization, it is an honor.
caught focus inches red throwing wearing
I'll try not to get too caught up in the situation, ... I want to focus that it's 60 feet, 6 inches that I'm throwing to. Just another batter; this one is just wearing a Red Sox uniform.
dream help insurance last pinch serious seven six stadium start team time wake yankee
I know I'm an insurance policy. I've been that for the last six or seven years. This has been a dream come true. After my first start at Yankee Stadium I said 'Don't pinch me, I don't want to wake up,' but now it's serious time and I want to help this team any way I can.
imagined night
I never could have imagined having a night like this in my career.
looked people
There's times I looked around, but never in awe, ... In Columbus, we had about 1,200 people and here we had, what, about 50,000, so it's a little different.
bit count felt games hated matter missing nag pitch pop time took
Once I felt good, it was a matter of just getting in games and getting my pitch count up. They were really cautious, which was good. It's something you don't want to nag you or to pop back up later. I hated missing every bit of it up here, but we took our time and got it right.
game heart looking pray releasing tired
I didn't feel like my heart was in the game anymore. I told the chaplain: 'I'm just releasing it to God. I surrender. I'm tired of doing it myself. Pray with me.' I wasn't looking for a sign. Just some peace.
chance great win
If I could put up the zero, we had a great chance to win this game.