New York Mets rookie Jonah Tong was inspired by San Francisco Giants legend Tim Lincecum because he maximized what his body allowed him to do. Lincecum, standing at five-foot-11, has proven with his career that success on the mound is possible without the prototypical MLB pitcher’s size.
Lincecum played for the Giants from 2007 to 2015. He won three World Series with the team and was also a two-time Cy Young winner. Meanwhile, Tong made his debut for the Mets last season.
The rookie pitcher’s throwing mechanics have often been compared to those of Lincecum. In his interview with “Pitching Ninja” Rob Friedman on Friday, Tong explained why that’s the case.
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“I was always the smallest guy on my team,” Jonah Tong said (timestamp: 6:59). “When you think of big league pitchers, you think of 6-foot-5 pitchers, weighing over 200 pounds, throwing 100.”
“But the way he was able to get the most out of his body and have the success that he had, it was just kind of like, okay, well, you know, maybe a deGrom or a Verlander isn’t accessible for me in my frame, but maybe Lincecum is,” he added.
While Tong is six feet and one inch tall, deGrom and Verlander are six feet four and six feet five, respectively. Additionally, Tong has a slim figure like Lincecum. Meanwhile, deGrom has a long, athletic frame and Verlander has a sturdy frame.
“He had the biggest influence just because of how he maximized what he had physically,” Jonah Tong said. “As I got older, got stronger and a little bigger, I realized that I could always take those traits, amplify them a little bit, and then find myself inside of that. You’ll always have influences from everywhere.”
Tong said a pitcher can draw on a smooth, fluid, effortless mindset like DeGrom’s, as well as Lincecum’s violent, explosive style. He also said a pitcher will eventually find his own rhythm.
Jonah Tong talks about Jacob deGrom
In the same conversation with Rob Friedman, Jonah Tong also discussed the surreal moment of facing his heroes in MLB. One of those moments was throwing against Jacob deGrom in September.
Although he performed poorly in the game, Tong enjoyed watching deGrom play. He noted that DeGrom’s rhythm was the same every time.
“Everything was literally down to the smallest detail, exactly the same,” Tong said (timestamp: 5:58). “Like the way he finished, the way he went through everything, it wasn’t like, okay, you could tell anything was going to happen. No, it felt like it was there. It’s all in front of you.”
Tong only pitched 0.2 innings in the game, but allowed six earned runs. Meanwhile, deGrom allowed three earned runs in seven innings pitched. The Mets lost the game 3-8.
Published by Safeer MS
