We should never take anything for granted, especially if we’re talking about our passion and we’re professional athletes. If you don’t take our word for it, just ask New York Yankees’ starting pitcher Jameson Taillon.
Taillon hadn’t wear Pinstripes for an official game since 1, May2019. He was shut down for the season with a forearm injury that required surgery, and some people questioned whether he was ever going to be back to his former self.
Fast-forward to today and not only he made it back from that injury but also, he’s now a part of Aaron Boone’s rotation. That’s why he was so emotional after his first MLB start in nearly two years.
Yankees Jameson Taillon Gets Emotional After First Start In Two Years
Taillon was out there for 4.2 ip when the New York Yankees had their series finale vs. the Baltimore Orioles, allowing a couple of home runs and striking out seven hitters over the night.
So, when asked about how he felt after enduring such a long time without being on the mound, the 29-year-old was pretty humbled:
“Extremely grateful. I didn’t really have time to reflect while I was out there. I had some time once I was done. That game ran a little long and I had plenty of time to get in my thoughts, and this is gonna sound cheesy, but I’ll never take a day in a big league uniform for granted, that’s for sure,” Taillon said after the game, as quoted by Yahoo! Sports.
“I was super happy to be out there. Felt really good to compete. Good to get the first one out of the way, really excited to be a part of this team and now just build off of this and get going,” he added.
Taillon also said that even though he didn’t miss giving up a couple of home runs, he was still pretty excited about being back out there:
“I haven’t been pissed at myself in a while. Giving up two home runs, I think I made a comment about that to the other starters. In a weird way, I obviously didn’t miss giving up home runs, but I missed that competitive fire and that edge. When you’re rehabbing, that’s impossible to mimic. It’s impossible to get in spring training, it’s impossible to get in a live BP or a bullpen setting. I never enjoy doing that, but I did miss the competitiveness of me vs. you, me vs. the hitter. So yeah, I guess I haven’t been mad at myself in a while,” Taillon concluded.
Sadly, the Yankees still lost the game despite his solid outing and they’re having trouble again with runners in scoring position. Hopefully, they’ll turn this around pretty soon and put an end to their title drought.
