The Most Underrated Ace in Yankees History

[@burningphoneix]

I don't know where I heard this story but when Ozzie Guillen was constructing the post-season roster for the 2005 White Sox, someone suggested taking a younger pitcher who was statistically better than Hernandez. Ozzie's response was "Fuck you, this is El Duque"

[@UrlacherBears54]

Vintage Ozzie.

[@Chicagoathletics]

Yep, and it was the right move. When called upon he was solid. Especially that game in Boston.

[@StarkRavingSports]

Jolly you should try recreating his windup

[@bryantsteury8910]

It’s the way I have to contort myself when working out Taco Bell in the bathroom

[@michaelkelly6242]

It’s the way my body jives after I sip an ice cold Baja blast freese

[@StarkRavingSports]

@@michaelkelly6242 based baja blast enjoyer

[@PrimarySweeper13]

I can

[@mannythedaddy]

do y'all all work for jomboy?

[@toyotafan7881]

Never forget his relief appearance in the 2005 ALDS Game 3. Dude was a stud.

[@UrlacherBears54]

White Sox fan here before the video starts, we'll never forget El Duque against Boston with bases loaded. Fucking legend.

[@benalport8621]

Varitek, Graffanino, and Damon was no easy task especially in a pressure cooker situation like that!

[@impairedthoughts4701]

That was the year the blacksox became the whitesox for me.

[@justingerald]

The only two teams to go 11-1 featured El Duque (99 was the other)

[@Eabatu]

Came here to post exactly this. El Duque is beloved by Sox fans because of that.

[@Bottles93145]

Yankees fan here… I remember that situation vividly and I was rooting for him and the Sox. One of the craziest pressure situations I’ve seen a pitcher in and he made it look easy to get out of.

[@realAAron124]

Will never ever forget what he did for my White Sox at Fenway against the defending, down 3-0 comback, world champion Boston Red Sox.

[@gdbalck]

Grew up in Havana idolizing him - he was our neighbor and the star pitcher of the Industriales. My family and I got out of Cuba in '94. Words cannot express what a joy it was to see him again and pitching with the Yankees. Got to see him start a few times at the old stadium.

[@Js-gw4il]

The Pokémon Diamond and Pearl background music. I see you are a man of culture.

[@garygranteed54]

Always loved El Duque. A true pitcher. Changes speeds, arm angles and reads the bat. Super nice guy too! I actually sat next to him and his wife on flight from Aruba back to U.S. He let me wear his World Series ring to take a picture.

[@king_ltc_]

While people might only know El Duque because of that A-Rod piss missile, dude was a very solid pitcher for a very long time. He was that one piece the White Sox needed for their WS run and it was magical.

[@king_ltc_]

@breadandcircuses8127 Yeah sucks.

[@nomercyinc6783]

calling homeruns piss missiles is dumb as fuck

[@braxton3556]

See I don't even know the piss missile you're referring to. He was known for being the guy with funky wind up and great nickname on multiple Yankees World Series teams. He had a commercial. You act like he was some forgotten gem, he was well known.

[@king_ltc_]

@@braxton3556 Bro that clip is posted everywhere. Living under a rock.

[@Bottles93145]

To be honest I’ve never even seen that “piss missile”. I’ve only known him for being a dominant pitcher during the Yankees 90’s dynasty.

[@tayloroleary8880]

Showing Papi when talking about the NYY v BOS 1999 ALCS is misleading. He didn't join Boston until 2003.

[@dshiesty1871]

I was thinking the same thing lmao

[@Chicagoathletics]

You right!! We love him here in Chicago. When called upon in the 2005 postseason he was solid.

[@jman2050]

Man I had completely forgotten about El Duque’s relief appearance against the Red Sox in 2005. Arguably the most clutch playoff performance in his career, and that’s saying something given his playoff resume.

[@TheCreepedPig]

Thank you very much jovial melon for this informative video

[@JZekis]

He was lackluster in 2005 on the White Sox but he was also better than any 5th starter that they had the previous 5 years. They don't make the playoffs without him.

[@coolconfuzer]

My favorite pitcher of all time. He was so cool.

[@BoondockBrony]

I was legitimately shocked he wasn't in the hall of fame with all the memories I have about El Duque. Not saying he should in hindsight but I remember pre-teen me going "this man is a legend in the making."

[@MarkSkrzypczak]

One of my favorite Yankees from the dynasty. El Duque has one of those stories that could be made into a movie or a mini series. I don't know much about his Cuban stats but I heard he was a workhorse and was the best player on a dominate Cuban national team. We are fortunate that we got to see him shine on the biggest of stages.

[@obedrodriguez9074]

He actually holds the all-time win-loss record in the Cuban League at 126-47 (.728)

[@jamesesterline]

I'd like a video on Jason Kendall since he's likely the most underrated catcher in history and a video about Brian Giles' brother Marcus who put up the 3rd most WAR in the NL in 2003 and was a great second baseman for the Braves in the early 2000s but injuries and decline ended his career at only 29.

[@joerapo]

I watched a lot of Kendall in a Pirates uniform as a Cardinals fan. He's definitely an underrated catcher.

[@hattorihongzo]

Guts of a cat burglar. Absolutely fearless on the mound. My all-time favorite SP.

[@poindextertunes]

I used to always pick his windup on MLB The Show. I remember his fastball maxed out at 95 😂 But his slider tho 🔥

[@ernestoereigosa580]

As a Cuban lifelong El Duque fan, I must say his first team isn't called Capitals. Is Industriales. One of the two best teams in the world, according to El Duque. The other one is NYY. Really enjoyed the video. Glad to see Cuban players are not forgotten and get some recognition.

[@deifor]

Industriales was the team in Havana he pitched before leaving. My beloved Industriales.

[@yungloafers3023]

as a white sox fan, I can confirm this man is a cult hero in our fandom. we appreciate the hell out of him he was an absolute BALLER

[@bobluchetta-stendel3863]

I am and will always be a fan of the DEVIL RAYS. Tampa is my second city, Chicago will always be my true home, but Florida will always be where I remember visiting my Grandma Mary Lou and going to Devil Rays games.. but we went to Rays games as well.

[@theknowledgeco-operative6997]

He and his brother Livan are ridiculously underrated.

[@deadhead658]

Always loved El Duque. I actually remember being at this first game, a game he only started because David Cone's mother's dog bit his hand and he had to be skipped in the rotation. Instead I got to see this man shut down the Devil Rays (aside from a McGriff homer) and I was a fan ever since.

[@Cindoreye]

His playoff performances for the Yankees were phenomenal.

[@davidtran2026]

For another option of obscure, lesser known good player to do a video next - you should consider doing Hiroki Kuroda. No all star appearances, but he was about as solid of a starter and reliable as you can depend on. Played full seasons for most part except for the one year which he managed 20 starts still despite injury, ERA never above 4, ERA+ stayed above 100 throughout, and also had a few good postseason games. Honestly underappreciated though I did like him when he played for the Dodgers. Again reliable and steady, also had a pretty darn good NPB career prior to coming to MLB in 2008 and then upon returning to Japan after his MLB stint.

[@LouT1501]

Jolly, I always learn something from your videos! Thank you.

[@6thwilbury2331]

Holy shit, I threw a literal fist pump at the 8:00 mark with the El Duque TV ad. It remains the thing I remember most about him. Oh, and yes, I do remember Ben Grieve for one simple reason: it was the second time in all the years I played fantasy baseball that I drafted the eventual Rookies of the Year. It was him and Kerry Wood that year. The first time was the Mike Piazza/Tim Salmon year. But as much as I still brag about it 20+ years later, it's worth noting that I had a lot of absolutely wasted picks in other seasons in which I tried to pick that year's ROY winners. Scott Leius and Bret Barberie in 1991, for example. And why wouldn't I use my 18th and 20th round picks on Sidney Ponson and Carl Pavano?

[@kenanharristv7956]

Sonic 06 background music. You're the best, jolly

[@anadraham2995]

If only we could have seen him at 25 in mlb - what could have been. You always knew you had the upper hand starting El Duque in the playoffs - ice ran through his veins 🥶🥶🥶

[@reggiegarcia07]

Always a wonderful day when Jolly posts

[@Cardsfan5]

Look at the side burns on the expos fan in 10:06 they are immaculate

[@ScottyMac247]

Jolly your content is really just better than anyone else’s like you brother

[@anthonyemerson2965]

My dad was a huge Red Sox fan, but loved El Duque because of his windup and how high he wore his socks.

[@wilsonli5642]

I remember Ben Grieve, mostly because I was playing fantasy baseball in the late 90's-early 00's. That's also how I remember that David Ortiz was still on the Twins back in 1999, not on the Sox as implied by the picture you show at 6:35.

[@paulgroman4704]

You do a great job Jolly, only thing you could add is maybe a couple comments on where these players are nowadays and what they're up to. Great content!!

[@dnavarro972]

As a die hard Rangers fan, thank you Jolly. We do deserve that WS championship

[@shanemosser]

Jolly doing his best Jon Gruden voice at 4:27

[@sheawhitey5009]

I WAS In the HOSPITAL WHILE MY WHITE SOXS WERE ROLLING THRU THE PLAYOFFS & WORLD SERIES. THE PITCHING STAFF WAS OUT OF BOUNDS. CLUTCH HITTING ON POINT. LADY LUCK WAS SWEET. AND THE STARS & MOON ALIGNED IN OUR FAVOR. I'VE EXPERIENCED IN MY LIFETIME ALL THE CHICAGO CHAMPIONSHIPS I NEED... INCLUDING THE ONE ON THE NORTH SIDE 🤣🤣🤣 you got to take the good with the bad everybody 😂😂😂😂

[@AG-yv8yb]

Me and a buddy were at yankees old timers day last yr. We were in a elevator near suite area and who walks in elevator with his translator. El duque himself. As we all left elevator I said a couple words to him as he was walking away. He exited elevator and was walking into a door and he heard me and he turned around and motioned for us to come and he took a couple pics with us. Very humble guy and he could of easily let the door close behind him and didnt.

[@noworries2432]

He was insane!

[@maxberglind3275]

2005 ALDS, Game three, bottom of the sixth, with the bases loaded, and nobody out is the greatest relief appearance of all time. John Rooney with the all-time call of, "Hocus Pocus says Hernandez!"

[@nickhussong645]

The Rays dropped ‘Devil’ before the ‘08 season. As they went on their World Series run churches in Florida put up signs that read “If the Rays can do it without the Devil, can’t you?” Which made it especially satisfying when they did not, in fact, do it.

[@pranavarora9976]

6:33 I was confused for a bit and thought the video had abruptly shifted to 03, since Big Papi was still on the Twins in 99 iirc. Otherwise great work as always Jolly.

[@JDrinov]

Babe wake up, Jolly just dropped a new video

[@bonsun4186]

Happy Birthday Mr. Grape!

[@davethewolf]

As a die hard Mets fan the first Mets Pitcher Jersey I ever got was RA Dickey. In my mid to late teens, at that point didnt get to see to much winning, but saw this 40 year old KBer and was instantly drawn in. He's still one of my favorite baseball players of time since.

[@KneeDeep2231]

I really appreciate the Pokémon music usage

[@amontalvo171]

You should do one on Sterling Hitchcock that would be a fun one plus I always thought he had one of the coolest pitch deliveries ever.

[@CheithKeith]

Hell yea. Thanks for this knowledge!

[@youngslimee]

Yes, I am a blue jays fan and I remember when Ben Grieve played for Tampa bay

[@dontlikethisplace]

He was my favorite pitcher as a young fan

[@govdave007]

My favorite pitcher!!

[@daltonoutlaw7697]

Ben Grieve is Tom Grieve, the old announcer for the Texas Rangers before the new guys. Tom was one of the best broadcasters we had, and he would watch Ben's games in the booth

[@mikejanacone8328]

I never realize he didn’t get his career started till he was in his 30s and he still managed to win four World Series and be a significant contributor on each of the four teams very impressive career given the circumstances

[@Padresfan23]

Jolly’s back!

[@jorgeorozco5417]

A legend

[@jmarley3839]

Loved El Duque!!!

[@davidjohnson6611]

El Duque mid-90s fastball and when he also had three or four other pitches and control he was a beast especially in big games. That same repertoire would be successful today but most try to throw the hardest fast while they can consistently pitching to contact while conserving power will always work unfortunately guys would rather blow their arms out and get paid doing it

[@bowdenproductions]

If I know anything about marketing. The Rays City Connect is a trial of bringing back that name I bet. It’s also one of the best CC uniforms overall. I think they’re realizing they could move more merchandise going back to it. You see the logo more and more the last few years. Kind of how the Coyotes road tested bringing the kachina back with the NHL’s reverse retros.

[@colinconklin6767]

Ben Grieve was pretty underrated. Im a Tigers fan but enjoyed watching Ben play.

[@FsMetal-gk4iw]

I know of Ben Grieve. Mostly because his dad Tom was in the Rangers broadcast booth from 1995-2022. Miss TAG on Rangers broadcasts

[@Whitsoxrule1]

Some may wonder why El Duque didn't pitch at all in the 2005 ALCS after such a dominating performance in the ALDS and his impressive postseason resume. Shouldn't he have been one of the first guys to turn to when the Sox were in a jam? Nope, he simply wasn't needed. After dropping game 1 the four aces mentioned in the video pitched FOUR STRAIGHT COMPLETE GAME WINS to win the series 4-1. As a Sox fan that fact does not get talked about nearly enough, we will never see anything like that happen ever again

[@David-vk5zd]

Jolly still out here doing the Lord's work using Pokemon soundtracks.

[@mathewbreh3081]

I know you probably don’t take requests, but you should look into the life of Edgar Martinez. He has a great story and would make a great video

[@MrWrinkleYT]

I just remember my dad telling me about him when i was a bit young

[@carlpacquing2575]

His postseason resume is impressive!

[@ProjectPete_]

Jolly, I’ve been watching since before you joined JM, and I cannot commend you enough for your growth and improvement, all while maintaining your unique voice and approach to production and topic selection. You’re excellent at what you do and have become a daily watch for me!

[@Franco-u2e]

El duque great pitcher llego a la mlb cuando tenia 32 años y ganó 4WS

[@croke835]

Jolly if someone freezes you in the slap ball playoffs you gotta do the El Duque

[@kajr8580]

Hey Jolly love the video as always man keep up the good work. If you see this; I wanted to say though that it seems that the discount code that you provided for the MOVA globes appears to be invaild. I copy and pasted directly from the discription and that 10% still was not applied when trying to check out. Im not sure if it isuser error or if the code is not active. Jsut wanted to let you know.

[@the51geese38]

JM baseball should do an RBI draft, like homers but with RBI’s

[@robertcrist6059]

4:27 Hey don't knock Angel Berroa! I'd say we are still waiting on that guy to pan out at SS, but you know we got the real one now anyways BWJ!!

[@manontheemooon2335]

I remember reading a book about him and his brother in elementary school and always thought he was a star due to it lol

[@dtibbs23]

Great video!

[@LeBayfields]

Wake up babe, happy berry dropped a new vid

[@tokowpc]

holy shit thanks for reminding me that el duque dance commercial existed

[@robertthomas5074]

One of the best Yankee pitcher signings ever

[@ShelleyLevyMusic]

He needs his own movie

[@jimwinchester339]

Wow - 4 World Series rings in 8 seasons. That's almost the stuff of Yogi.

[@TheTEN24]

I remember el duque being a Met late in his career and everyone finding out his real age was totally different lmao, dude was so solid tho

[@jacobmyers4641]

another excellent video from the Happy Huckleberry

[@MrAklay47]

Great video, let’s get a papa grande video soon.

[@Neckrollios18]

Ask and you shall receive. The Rays become the Devil Rays during every Friday home game, with no backorder issues from Fanatics. Rays up!

[@gkatusared]

unforgettable..

[@gumball3D]

He saved the 1998 season from going down 3-1 in Cleveland.

[@Appalachy13]

I had heard of Ben grieve but I’m and A’s fan!

[@JoezMcflySports]

I love el duque

[@nateealy7506]

Love the content

[@smolitj]

Hey Coney, why don’t you have a dance?

[@Grumpojec]

Mo Vaughn catching quiet strays in this video.

[@MountainStreamLives]

There are few starters I’d want in a big game ahead of this guy. And in a jam I’d want him to come in over anyone. No pitcher could slow the game down and curb a rally like him. He felt no pressure in the biggest spots. He’s also totally overlooked regarding the ability to control the running game. All this and I’m not a Yankee fan.

[@gardenboydon]

We rangers fan have been thru a lot before our WS win

[@thafamilyjules]

Can’t be showing papi in a 1999 Red Sox slide

[@bralph82]

Great vid

[@carloscolmenarez5748]

Nice, a new joyful grape video

[@Inmytimeofdying93]

The only reason I know Ben Grieve is I'm a lifelong Rangers fan, and his dad is Tom Grieve. Former Rangers great, GM and broadcaster

[@hemifete00]

As a Red Sox fan… of course I hated the Yanks! But man I loved El Duque… to this day I’ll imitate that delivery! One of the best….Marishal…Tiante…Willis…Nomo