Clay HOLMES
SERBY’S SUNDAY Q&A WITH ...
Yankees reliever Clay Holmes, currently filling the closer’s role with Aroldis Chapman sidelined, takes a swing at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: What’s it like when you’re in a zone the way you’ve been?
A: For me being in a zone, it’s instead of thinking so much, you’re able to see things. I don’t really have to think about what I’m trying to do, or what I need to do, I can just see them happening, I can visualize them in my head. You see it happening, and you just do it. You have confidence in what’s going to happen before it does. I think that’s the place that every athlete tries to get to.
Q: What is unique about your sinker?
A: I think one thing that makes it unique is just the angle that I throw it from. I’m definitely a little higher slot, it creates a little more angle along with the sink. I think gaining that understanding why my sinker moves the way it does has helped me make it more consistent. I’m able to command it better, but also repeat my best movement a little more often.
Q: How did you gain that understanding?
A: Really through some trial and error stuff. I remember 2019, Jared Hughes was with the Philadelphia Phillies at the time. I saw him at the team hotel, he asked me if I wanted to ride to the park with him, so I did. He was just asking me about my sinker, and he was looking into a lot of things and he kind of showed me his process and the questions he has with his sinker. He’s telling me about my sinker, and he actually knew more about my sinker than I did. It created a curiosity in me. I think from then on, whether it’s conversations with him . ... I’ve read just a little bit with Bart Smith, a guy that’s pretty familiar with some of the sink shift weight stuff, I just really started to dig into it and learn about it.
Q: Describe your scoreless innings streak, at 23 innings heading into Friday.
A: I’m a guy that likes to look at my pitch metrics and keep up with kind of how things are trending and what I need to pay attention to and put focus on. I’m definitely aware of it, but my focus goes back to the things I can control and kind of where my pitch metrics are. If I know that those things are trending in the right direction, the sinker’s sinking like I want it, I try to go put up a zero every time I go out there, whether it’s you’re on some type of streak or you’re coming off a bad one. Q: What is so much fun about the closer role? A: If you’re closing a game, your team has the win, and it’s ultimately up to you to kind of close that out. Any pitcher that is competitive enjoys helping the team win in any way they can. It’s fun being trusted in those situations.Q:
Do you think about the All-Star Game?
A: Any player with aspirations, that’s a goal of theirs. I think it would be a great honor and such a cool experience.
Q: What is it like pitching on the New York stage?
A: For me, I think it just draws out that competitive nature in me. I hate losing, and here you’re expected to win. The expectations, it just brings a little more energy, a little more focus, a little more edge. People expect it, and us players expect it. I think it brings out the best in some people.
Q: What do you like best about this team?
A: We can win in a lot of different ways. We have the 10-run games we put up or we beat someone 1-0. They’re all fun, and I think we’re capable of doing it all. Q: What can you tell me about your valedictorian speech at Slocomb, Ala., H.S.? A: (Laugh) Not much, I think that was one time in my life where I was kind of blacked out. I think I was more nervous giving that speech than anything I’ve ever done. But it was a cool honor. I took pride in it. Definitely had a lot of classmates I respected a lot, and was just super thankful for the opportunity.
Q: You must remember some of it.
A: I talked a little bit about just having passion and perseverance.
Two things that I believe, that as far as my life and other successful people that just typically find something they’re super passionate about, and there’s gonna be adversity, and it’s how you deal with it, how you persevere through it that ultimately is gonna determine where you end up.
Q: You got all A’s. How do you explain your 4.0 GPA?
A: I just enjoyed learning, I still do. I enjoyed paying attention in class, and the note-taking. Then obviously I think just the competitive part of me took it serious. I don’t know, it was something that I took pride in, and wanted to have good grades.
Q: How many were in your graduating class?
A: Around a hundred, probably maybe a little more.
Q: What is the biggest obstacle or adversity you had
to overcome?
A: Going into the 2020 season, I kind of made some adjustments, was kind of having a good spring, only had a few outings, but I ended up getting hit with a comebacker, broke my leg. Then COVID happened. I was in the boot during the quarantine shutdown. Then my first game back [2020], went down with an elbow strain. It was a point where I felt like I was starting to gain some traction, and just kind of dealt with some bad blows there, and I think ultimately that kind of put me in a spot where it just kind of created a sense of urgency for me. I knew I had the talent, but I knew I needed to figure some things out that were really gonna work for me. I started working with Tread Athletics and took off from there.
Q: What do you remember about the Nelson Cruz comebacker?
A: It was a spring training outing in Fort Myers [Fla.]. I threw a sinker a little up and away, but he hit like a little one hop, it kind of skipped out and I followed through and basically all my weight was on my right leg and I kind of twisted around to try to field it, missed it, it hit me on the outside of my right leg. As soon as it hit me, I felt my leg kind of give ... couldn’t really walk the next morning, so went in and got some X-rays and CT scan and it showed the fracture there, so I was put in a boot for six weeks.
Q: Tell me about your 2014 Tommy John surgery.
A: I think I was 20 years old at the time, almost 21. It was definitely a lot to learn for me to go through that process, and obviously being away from the game, getting it taken away from you, it’s always hard as a player. But I think for me, having Jameson Taillon, he did his first Tommy John, we did it together, he had it like two weeks after me. We were able to kind of lean on each other, learn from each other.
Q: Did you have any fears either time that your career could be over?
A: Some normal doubts. I think for me the injuries in 2020 were super-frustrating. It’s just one of those things where you can let it frustrate you and ... get the best of you, or you can make the most of the situation and find ways to use it to get better and learn more things about yourself and your body and your delivery.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Tiger Woods, Albert Einstein, Jesus. Q: Favorite movie.” A: “Star Wars” fan, “Lord of the Rings.” Q: Favorite actor? A: Denzel Washington. Q: Favorite actress? A: Anna Kendrick. Q: Favorite singer/ entertainer? A: Eric Church. Q: Favorite meal? A: A good ribeye steak.