Tater Talk (2050.08): Unknown Minor-league Reliever Quietly Untouchable

[woods]

Welcome to Weymouth, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, where nothing notable has happened since the colonial era. The biggest news to come out of the town in the last decade was when an Amazon Supercenter took up shop in the early ‘40s.

But an unknown reliever might be on the verge of doing something historic for the Irish, the town’s Double-A affiliate of the Boise Spuds.

Chris Reed started his season on April 3, pitching 2.2 innings in mop-up duty to save a pretty taxed bullpen. He didn’t give up a run. And he hasn’t given one up since.

Off Topic

Chris Reed

Chris Reed is nobody. He was saving the team’s “good” relievers from pitching unnecessary innings that night, because that’s what his job is. And he did his job successfully. The thing is, he kept doing it, again and again, without fail, and people started to notice. They started to ask, where did this guy come from? Could he be… somebody?

Reed was the pitcher who came back to Boise when they traded César Torres to Charm City in 2047. No one remembers that about him, not even his own teammates. They all assume he was some 20-somethingth round draft pick who got lucky and made it to Double-A, because that’s where “nobody” relievers come from. And that’s what Reed is.

Except he might be somebody.

“It’s nothing,” he said about his streak, after another scoreless outing against Providence on Monday. “We lost the game, that’s what matters.” The Irish did lose that day. They usually do when Reed pitches. Not because it’s any fault of his. It’s just his job to pitch in losses.

When pressed about his streak, he continued to brush it off as “nothing”.

“I’ve just been lucky with getting big outs when I’ve needed to, and the defense behind me making some good plays,” he continued. “And I really hate you guys for making this about me, because now I’m sure I’ll get shelled next week. And that will hurt the team.”

The Irish are 36-32, and nine games back in their division. They’ve struggled to find consistency in their bullpen this year, with closer Andy Sisco Jr. blowing three saves in 13 opportunities, and no other real candidates to do the job. They really need a dependable reliever to close games. Someone they can call on in a one-run game with no margin for error. Someone who can put real W’s in the win column, which could be the difference between a playoff spot and a long winter. They really need somebody.

Maybe they’ve had somebody the whole time.

[Dington]

Love these stories of random minor leaguer success.

[woods]

Of course he gave up a run the next sim. Oh well, it was a fun story while it lasted.