What Happened To The BEST Closer In Baseball?

[@SamuelSerranobrito]

Bro turned into Emmanuel Class-A this postseason

[@iTalkStudios]

💀

[@tarilapoweigha9017]

😂.

[@kevincanning3051]

I see what you did there

[@don63]

I see what you did there 😂

[@jimc.goodfellas]

Got 'im

[@es9947]

It's pretty clear what the difference is. Clase is a fantastic closer who excels at protecting leads. He protects leads to get a save. In the playoffs, however, he has been brought in the game in non-save situations, with the game tied. It's very different psychologically. I know that some people will say that pitching is pitching, but a lot of closers are great in save situations but struggle a lot in non-save situations.

[@XBarajasX]

Also to take him to get more than 3 outs is a different context

[@mariopalos9238]

Good point. I've seen this phenomena happen with a lot of closers.

[@joshuacmorgan]

I agree totally with this. I was saying the same thing with my family. But he’s not alone. I suspected the same nervousness with other pitchers on the team in this postseason.

[@JahWontPayTheBill]

He’s about to do it again too

[@vietnamvet4533]

Yea and a lot of guys are big game player Santa isn't one of them.

[@alexknight1991]

8:33 That was Anthony Volpe not Jon Berti.

[@SilentWeaponsIIl]

Clase went from lights out to getting his lights knocked out

[@dankexposed305]

Bro went from lights out to lights on

[@Aaren-ln7uk]

It's not only him. It was his whole bullpen. It's 100% their Manager fault. He would use them like disposable gloves per game. Take away their confidence

[@jlawhonestmusic6565]

Nice video bro!!! Very well explained about the Cutter. My pitching coach explained to me how a Cutters main purpose is for directional hitting. We're all taught as hitters. "Hit it where it's pitched" The Cutter was created for that purpose. The movement of the pitch is supposed to manipulate the point of contact. Throw it properly and the batter hits the ball right into the teeth of wherever the defence is positioned. It's pretty much the same as a Sinker. The point of contact on the Sinker should generate ground balls if thrown properly. But if not, the Sinker will become a souvenir for someone just like the Cutter when Jugde and Stanton went back to back. In my opinion nothing works better then a fastball/change up combination. Fastballs for the right handed hitters. Change ups for the left

[@generalimlerith8356]

I’m confident we’ll never seen anyone as good as Rivera at throwing cutters and never allowing runs when Rivera came in you knew you were 100% screwed lol

[@generalimlerith8356]

@@matthewdaley746 diamondbacks where a one hit wonder they’ll. Never win again don’t compare Arizona to the glory of Mariano Rivera

[@jayjay_7174]

Lights out!

[@Aaren-ln7uk]

Their manager screw their whole bullpen. He used the like disposable gloves for the whole playoff run

[@AmorFatiMementoMori]

Clase has always been it it’s just The Yankees have done well against Clase his whole career so idk why it’s such a shock, but I think they really got on him this round was because of you look at their dugout they were studying the whole time he was pitching/before coming in. Give the Yankees props for doing In game adjustments.

[@manuelpinzon7207]

Well they started saying he was better than Mariano and now he have 4 run in 2 games? How much in many inning in total in postseason?

[@TopClevelandFan]

Pretty sure they were talking about the regular season

[@priyanksrikanth4424]

@@TopClevelandFan Still the claim was ridiculous

[@Iamhungey]

@@priyanksrikanth4424 Big time since postseason and longevity is that separates Mo from other closers.

[@seanstuchbery]

clase never blew a world series tho

[@manuelpinzon7207]

@@seanstuchbery indeed, something that he and I have in common , never blown or pitched in a ws ( dropped baseball in high school)

[@sortofanoakyafterbirth3661]

As a Cleveland fan, I'm glad Skubal is probably going to win the Cy Young, to avoid Clase getting it after this postseason.

[@andrewdiana7955]

voting for the cy young ends before the post season

[@SuperCatacata]

​@@andrewdiana7955that wasn't their point

[@piggy8761]

There is zero chance a reliever will ever get a Cy Young buddy. They will get nominated but they can never win it.

[@MichaelIp]

@@piggy8761 Since 1990, three relievers have won the Cy Young. Most recent is Eric Gagne in 2003. So never say never.

[@gliiitched]

Challenging and beating Gagné's streak is the only way a reliever will ever win a CY in the future.

[@DDDDD760]

What made Rivera’s cutter so unique was the late break, PERIOD.

[@tommyfu9271]

@@matthewdaley746 actually that inning was a great example of how good it was. river almost never got rocked the way Clase has been even the rare times he gave up runs.

[@javi994]

@@matthewdaley746 Only guy that got solid contact on it was Tony Womack

[@javi994]

@@matthewdaley746 Unquestionably is your favorite word lmfao

[@joefelice5062]

The Yankees got to all of the big guys in CLE pen - not just Clase. They challenged the wrong guys in the wrong way, throwing a lot of pitches in the middle of the plate. You gotta hit the corners.

[@Bearsfan15654]

Cleveland’s bullpen management could’ve definitely been better.

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

@@Bearsfan15654Agreed

[@johnbontea1353]

You are the smartest guy on here. Juicy fat meatballs over the plate no mixing up pitches. I couldn't believe what I was watching. Vogt handled this series so poorly

[@Eragonfrost]

Clase Twitter post showing his rings was too funny

[@matthewfox4876]

7:52 I was about to leave my house during the carpenter ab,but i stayed to watch it. Best decision I ever made

[@johndurrer7869]

The playoffs have a lot of pressure, some players handle the pressure great like Enrique Hernandez Hernandez and they actually thrive in the moment while some players can’t control their emotions and their performance suffers like Kershaw. You never know who is who until they have been through the playoffs enough times to wear the sample size is large enough. For example Will Smith of the Dodgers has been moved way down in the order for the first time in nearly half a decade. It’s not because he struggled for the last 25 at bats, its because he struggled for the last 200 at bats in the playoffs

[@NoaEvans-r1d]

The Aaron judge of pitching 😂

[@slimejohnsonn]

J-ram has been horrible also

[@PipeGuy64Bit]

@@slimejohnsonn That's the joke. Put up great numbers in the regular season but then underperform in the playoffs.

[@bigrich6075]

​@@PipeGuy64Bit judge had a much better postseason than clase that's for sure

[@slimejohnsonn]

@@PipeGuy64Bit i know big dawg i had to defend judge with me being a yankees fan

[@gsuandre5579]

@@bigrich6075 whatt?? you have soto batting 333, torrer 297, staton 294, rizzo 429, volpe 310, my man judge is batting 161 with obp 317n and slugging 387, he is basically half of the player he was in regular season. you can sit him on the bench the team will still win they have like 5 player over 400 OBP.

[@ChristopherVargas-y3c]

He doesn’t sub to Italk

[@iTalkStudios]

True

[@ChairmanMeow1]

Seems to me that all two-pitch relievers are having major issues. I think in the future relievers will be required to develop a third (offspeed) pitch.

[@williamford9564]

Closers are typically volatile sometimes year to year. In 2023, he led MLB in blown saves in 2023 with 12 and had 9 losses (!!) as a relief pitcher! His 2023 self came out in the playoffs and who knows what happens in 2025.

[@DylanOfTheTower]

Honestly that's just the nature of baseball. That's what makes consistent greatness in this sport so impressive

[@louisminati]

His velocity was down big time game 3. A little better 4. But he is getting womped. As a Cleveland fan, it hurts bad. But we ride or die with our guy no matter what. Postseason pitching is a different thing. There are a million factors to us losing. 4-15 with 12 LOB is crazy. Mad opportunities it didnt even have to be close game if guys come through on offense

[@iTheBestQB]

I have an opinion to throw out, Kenley Jansen who is one of the best closers in baseball, also relies on a Cutter as his primary pitch, and a slider as his secondary, he also uses a 2-Seam Fastball that goes the opposite direction of the Cutter and has had a K% on that pitch of 40%-46% which I’m sure adds to more Whiffs and K’s on his Cutter and Slider because of that. Definitely think Clase should experiment with a 2 Seamer especially in series where he’s leaned on heavily where teams see his stuff more.

[@ronpeacock9939]

The bigger question was... if it was moving more was his Velo still up or was it down a bit? Mariano Riveras cutter moved a bunch but he also only threw it about 90-92 MPH... the higher the velocity, the lower the movement... that's a fact of baseball. Even in Major League III, they talked about the higher the velocity the less opportunity for movement. So if he was seeing move moventment, I'd compare his velo first.

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

Velocity is the most overrated statistic in modern MLB pitching. Sorry but not sorry unless it’s 100+ MPH pitches…

[@jimharper2180]

From Josh Hader to Devin Williams to Emmanuel Clase, this postseason has been absolutely *brutal* for elite relief pitchers. Who’s next? Díaz? Kopech? Treinen? Weaver?

[@thebadbatch1132]

Weaver already gave up a HR to Big Christmas

[@thebadbatch1132]

But you are right, it is not just Clase

[@michaelpopo7856]

Kerry Bonds broke him.

[@iTalkStudios]

Oof

[@girbanzobean]

🐅🐅🐅

[@MichaelIp]

Gotta wonder if Kerry's hr just broke his confidence

[@louisminati]

Jake Rodgers base hit to set it up was arguably more embarrassing

[@George50809]

Kerry Carpenter?

[@R2M_Productions]

I’ve never been a fan of putting your closer in a tie game

[@DylanOfTheTower]

Or in the 8th, for me at least

[@Iamhungey]

Easy, he's going through what I have been when dealing with post-nasal drip.

[@ElCrab]

Clase's cutter is a bit harder in terms of velocity than Kenley Jansen's, but Jansen's cutter has so much more horizontal movement and late life in that way that makes it a swing-and-miss pitch, especially to lefties. Watching so much of Clase this postseason, it seemed as if Cleveland used him way too much, for too long, and often in non-save situations. Of course it's also a small sample size, but I have to think it's not just different for the closer to pitch in non-save situations, but it might actually help the hitters knowing they're not facing a deficit, that they're almost freerolling in their ABs.

[@scsmith4604]

Cleveland's problem is they had to use the bullpen way too much this year. Their starting pitching was horrible.

[@williamford9564]

I noticed the same thing too about the starting pitching. Bibee and Lively are #2 starters at best and the rest, Carrasco, Allen and Gavin Williams are terrible!

[@SkinnyVinnie]

Relievers are seen a few times a year by one team leading into a playoff series, when playoffs start teams see the relievers on a nightly basis, that’s why relievers start to get figured out/ exposed. It’s throughout mlb history, with Mo as a very rare exception.

[@raytello6557]

Closing games in the playoffs is a whole other beast. I think these past four or five years the Astros have had the best playoff relief pitchers I have seen. Cold blooded and dominant.

[@gls888]

He's overworked. Velocity is down. Also facing the same hitters repeatedly will give them a better chance. Also there is possibility that the Yankees advance scouting team has figured something out.

[@varunaX]

over worked? he rarely pitched more than a single inning a night

[@DionysusAlS]

More proof that you should never give away the store to trade for or sign an elite closer. It's just too random-- they could be unhittable one year and hittable the next, or go from one to the other when the postseason starts, like Clase. It's best to develop a few stud late-inning relievers in your minor league system and go with the hot hand.

[@alexl6556]

In some cases yes. I don’t think the Cubs win without Chapman, but there is a lot more evidence of it not working.

[@alexl6556]

@@matthewdaley746the elite should go in. High leverage situations have become way too devalued. Closer matters

[@DionysusAlS]

@@alexl6556 , if I remember, that 2016 Cubs team did try some of their young relievers in the closer role to mixed results. They decided to trade for Chapman as a half-season rental. It worked out, but it cost them Gleyber Torres.

[@alexl6556]

@@DionysusAlS Right, but they got a ring and that’s what matters the most. Same deal as the rams trading for Stafford for a ring and now the Lions have a franchise QB. Both teams would do that trade again

[@tommyfu9271]

almost all closers are fickle whores. Rivera was a cyborg.

[@chrisc3118]

CBS Sports published an article today about what's potentially wrong with Clase. His cutter is his primary pitch 75% of the time and it's off. Most of the article suggests it's mechanical. I think it's a combo mechanical and mental due to the pressure of the playoffs.

[@XenonSwift]

And the Rangers traded Clase away for 1 inning of Corey Kluber. The Rangers have won a WS and Cleveland continues to have the longest WS drought in history.

[@MikeHart72]

It’s the playoffs, the best of the best. Every team and player is trying their best to win a ring. These things happen

[@George50809]

You are right.

[@MikeRay1978]

He got overworked and was due anyway. He also faced a lineup of killers.

[@slayermcrx7519]

After the comeback of comebacks Cleveland pulled off in Game 3, just to have another comeback chance dashed due to Clase getting shelved HARD, he may have just cost his team any chance at getting back in the series unless they win tonight in Game 5

[@piggy8761]

Yankees have already seen Clase multiple times over the regular season Torres and volpe have hit him in the regular season, and guess who had line drives against him last night Torres and volpe They also blasted Cade smith, they’ve gotten to Gaddis earlier this series too So yeah when you dont have Shane Bieber, you can survive 162 games with rest, minor league call ups, etc. But when you play against an elite team in the Yankees in a best of 7, over exposure of the relievers is what you get what you’re seeing now.

[@SuperCatacata]

Ofc they have to win game 5. If they don't they are out 😂

[@nickuber2573]

Crazy how it has changed

[@janjamiyt]

I think it really boils down to three things: 1. Misuse and overuse. Starting with inherited runners and pitching multiple innings is difficult when you're not used to it. This also applies to the whole bullpen. When you don't get more than 3 innings out of your starters the bullpen will be gassed. They barely got away with it in the ALDS because they had lots of days off. 2. Regression to the mean. Clase got lucky this season. Several unearned runs in extras/off errors, close calls, etc. He was elite but not best relief season of all time elite 3. The Yankees are just a damn good team, with a lot of good power hitters, and credit to them for coming up in the clutch. Same thing happened to Weaver in game 3, playoff teams have really good hitters who come up in the clutch. It's easier to get a save against the White Sox than the best team in the AL.

[@javi994]

@@matthewdaley746 wtf does the ‘88 series have to do with this 😂

[@Platerpus7]

There’s a difference between a cutter and a Mariano Rivera cutter. Mariano’s cutter broke late and broke crazy. He also had pinpoint control. Mo threw a heavy ball. Ask anyone who plays baseball that’s a thing. It was very hard to square up his cutter so it felt like the ball he threw was heavy.

[@who-f8w]

This dude imploded in game 2 of the ALDS and game 3 of the ALCS and Cleveland bailed him out both times, just for him to finally fuck it up and cost them in game 4 of the ALCS.

[@bdcdavid83]

Check his record, even in the regular season, he has a losing career record. His saves are stat pads.

[@kevinurvalek2289]

anthony volpe* not Berti got that hit

[@johnbontea1353]

I agree he was misused which means the blame is actually on vogt. Who also didnt walk the yankees best hitters. Also he acted like he was facing skubal every game. And he needed to chill out and let his starters pitch.

[@therealjaystone2344]

Meanwhile, the Mets 3-1 series comeback have begun. Whoever beats Milwaukee at October is going to the WS with 100% accuracy. Dodgers 3-1 series lead will have peak memes.

[@hollow7029]

Either the Dodgers do the most Dodger thing of all time, or LOLMETS lives on.

[@therealjaystone2344]

@@hollow7029 you misspelled Dave Roberts overmanagment?

[@Mikey-ct3qf]

Dude it’s not happening 😂

[@rawkusrex]

nobody believes that. The Brewers werent even that good

[@slayermcrx7519]

@@hollow7029 after this season LOLMETS is in the freezer. they didn't bow out in the first round like we all thought they would after barely getting in. as it stands they made an ultimate comeback to make the postseason in the first place. LOLMETS doesn't exist at least for this year anymore since the Mets proved us wrong

[@silentaces732]

How can he fix it? But locate better he was just missing his spots and the Yankees didn’t miss. Weaver got his to for leaving meatball to Noel. It’s why I love this game.

[@generatorx]

It's not bad luck when a batter gets a soft hit. It's the pitcher's fault for putting it in the batter's wheelhouse. A hit is a hit, not matter how fast it's traveling. Bunch up about a half dozen consecutive ones and see how may runs score.

[@antonioreconquistador]

Same as what happened to cardiac clay, hes hung too many of his secondaries vR

[@gregthegroove]

From Immaculate Clase to Emanuel Class A minors. The cutter he throws IMO, is thrown wayyyyy too hard. In a batters eyes, I don’t think there’s enough time for the ball to move as much because he throws it as fast as his FB. You can hardly see it move. His FB looks too similar to me. But his strength is also accuracy and he’s consistent.

[@JP-c2t]

Even the best closer in baseball, Mariano Rivera, had bad days. It happends....

[@elasmojones]

Baseball is chaotic, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. In the end you have to throw strikes. All strikes can be hit.

[@Carlishere11663]

Kerry Carpenter broke him, aka sign Kerry to a lifetime deal cuz he’s gonna hit 700 career bombs

[@JimH-ey4ov]

They keep bring him in for either non-save situations or one inning plus situations. Use him the same way he was used during the season. Starting the ninth inning in a save situation. The Guards are throwing him off his game this post season. Stick with worked so well during the season. Hate to say it but Guards management has not been wise with their starters and that runs down hill to the relievers. Good luck against the Yankees. Hoping they can push it to seven. Go Guards!

[@Le_JYT]

HOLY CRAAAAAAAAAAPPPPP ITALKKKKKKKKKKKKK

[@Brettyb93]

He is also missing over the plate with a hard hittable pitch to power bats like judge and Stanton, you aren’t going to out power those guys and it’s showing

[@gregdiamond6023]

He chokes when it matters most. Watch, next year he'll be a shell of himself.

[@brettb9541]

""Sometimes you just run into a Buzzsaw." - Wayne Gretzky " - Michael Scott

[@luisterrero3964]

I understand the statistics and everything but overall I think he just experienced playoff baseball where he faces the best teams and not the white Sox. Yes a little bit unlucky with a few hits but he’s still a great pitcher just best pitcher against best hitters, something has to happen of course

[@Pitchithard]

They gave up way too many home runs. But when you have Zero starting pitchers that’s what eventually happens.

[@snackcakeman]

It’s all in how you frame the numbers.

[@youngdebbis]

this video should be called "repeating that clase doesnt get strikeouts even though closers should for half the video"

[@tylerhurd8510]

The Yankees own him. I think he’s blown 6 out of his last 10 against them

[@rainbowhouse3427]

Maybe because he is super predictable 😂 They are going to get you someday if you try to overpower hitters instead of pitching smart like locating the pitches better instead of YOLO pitches. Watched some of his games that he played they only used him when the hitters are struggling, so he gets an easy save. I never really seen him in a super pressure situation until this post season, and he is getting exposed.

[@joewaring]

This happens to all of them , Jansen , kimbrel, etc… always get burnt in the post season

[@DOAzahir]

He was making good pi

[@Enteryourssn]

Historically too, NY has hit clase well. Everything you just said, plus I think clase along with basically the rest of the other horsemen were just gassed. Vogt lived and died by the pen this year. Should’ve let his starters get deep into games, or just used other guys like Avila, or Morgan a little bit more. I think clase will be fine tho. Too talented not to be.

[@Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer]

So...just hit a 101mph ball....? (I mean that as in its hard. Not easy)

[@hateusernames2]

Is it the pressure of October Baseball getting to him?

[@JackKnoxx]

Maybe Clase should add a third pitch to strike guys out.

[@hankglidden1463]

I mean I feel like anyone who knows ball could have seen this coming. One does not simply put up a sub 1 ERA with a BELOW AVERAGE strikeout rate. Not only did he have a sub .200 BABIP, but he had a HR/FB ratio of 4.3%, which is less than half of the MLB average. This is arguably the luckiest relief season in MLB history, Clase is an elite closer, but his 2.42 xERA is FAR more indicative of his skill then his 0.61 actually ERA.

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

Wow

[@Someone-hi1nt]

as in giving up 3 home runs and 8 earned runs in 7 innings? no, a lot of people that know ball didnt see that coming lol

[@hankglidden1463]

@@Someone-hi1nt I'm saying regression was to be expected. That's it.

[@Someone-hi1nt]

@@hankglidden1463 regression isnt the reason why this video was made, its the fact that hes been by far the worst pitcher this postseason, and has already given up double runs and more home runs in a couple of appearances than he did during a whole 162 game season

[@louisminati]

I'm a cleveland fan and this is accurate. Our defense is elite with maybe 3 GGs and top 2 defensive runs saved. He did have a tendency as well to put guys on base and get out of it, but we seen his shakiness in 2023. It sounds crazy, but due to how stacked the bullpen is, wouldn't mind him splitting saves next season with Cade.

[@johnrobertson1]

1” more movement in a 7-inning sample size is statistically irrelevant. He’s made some bad pitches and the hitters have made good reads. They haven’t all been cutters.

[@StephenGiarrusso]

As a Yankees fan I’m happy

[@francescoravenda5070]

David fry Stan’s all silent now😂

[@robynsnest8668]

Well, this did not age any better.

[@smcwlt_9]

Bro really just called volpe bertie lmaoooo

[@BeerCanDan93]

He was overused did they not have a set up man or something ?

[@unemployicus]

Juan Soto & Giancarlo Stanton.

[@Bryan-yx2rt]

Someone told him he pitched for Cleveland

[@randy2152]

He deserves it for staring down Kerry “Bonds” Carpenter.

[@r0cky_2010]

Emmanuel Clase got the yips

[@kenichi407]

he pulled a holmes...

[@kevinbmx9826]

I’m here after you said Yankees choke. Well not this time. Vamos Yankees ya tu sabes 💙💙🤍🤍

[@Luke_Groundwalker]

Incredible how you try to hype up Mariano and yet also downplay at the same time 😂😂🙈🙈

[@jimc.goodfellas]

It's simple...hes a relief pitcher. He was due

[@JuanSotoEnthusiast]

Rip Cleveland guardians 🌹🪦🦅(sorry couldn’t find the 🕊️emoji)

[@SFGiants5]

You just used it though 💀

[@sortofanoakyafterbirth3661]

​@@SFGiants5😂 didn't even edit the comment...I don't understand

[@BenjiWii]

Sir, you just used the emoji you were looking for

[@George50809]

That's okay you couldn't find the emoji. The Guardians will be fine.

[@NoaEvans-r1d]

Couldn’t you have just added it in after finding it there’s no edited symbol are you slow 😂

[@Mansfrom22]

He literally turned into game 5 tarik skubal

[@AsianVideoGamer]

Cleveland went to the well way too many times. Batters see him like 3 games in a row

[@ryanrau6714]

This side of Mo the reliever is a fickle thing

[@geneparadiso6258]

The best closer in baseball retired his number 42 in 2013.

[@OnlyBands1]

The New York MFN YANKEES happened to Clase

[@eshep71]

His first run and blown save this year was vs the Yanks too. his only ER for 2 months. He shut them out for 2 ip later in the season as well.

[@eshep71]

@@matthewdaley746 pro hitters who have seen it all

[@jeremiahsmith8499]

@@matthewdaley746 You think the Yankees are "unquestionably" better than the Dodgers? Dawg, even Yankee fans know that's not true lmao. You're gonna be fighting HARD in that World Series. Dodgers are a star-studded team. I'm no Dodger fan but.. c'mon bro. Be real. They have an Ohtani for your Judge, a Betts for your Soto. You are not "unquestionably" better. It's extremely questionable.

[@Keefer24]

⁠@@jeremiahsmith8499who do they have for Stanton ? Don’t compare betts to Soto bro that’s just nonsense, look at both of their numbers for the season and post season. You sound like a azz clown 😂🤡

[@chiapets2594]

The Yankees Dismantled him

[@dcoker9738]

Doesn't help after Game 3 after he got bailed out by Noel home run in the 9th and of course the fry home run to win it he got dress and left most likely before the game was over he went home and flexed his accomplishments cause he thrashed by fans for blowing the lead

[@goldenspatian517]

Bro called Volpe Jon Berti lmao

[@iTalkStudios]

Same thing

[@walterbriggs6657]

Kerry carpenter.

[@nickr3441]

So if you're unlucky you're lucky and if you're lucky you're unlucky? Did I get that right?

[@Thelastprime24]

I don’t know what to say hi

[@rawkusrex]

Clase is just doing too much. seems like he cant handle the pressure of the postseason

[@jakeelliott3562]

i feel like he thinks nobody can hit him so he throws it wherever and thinks they wont hit it

[@OH_MY_DOGGG]

Sometimes you run out of "la gasolina" as I call it.

[@Un_k_noWN]

Enmanuel No Class eight

[@Skye-wv3ck]

Its all about mental