This just stays sad.
Guardians' Triston McKenzie's downfall gets sad reminder from astounding stat by Orioles originally appeared on The Sporting News
Triston McKenzie was once one of the most promising pitchers in baseball.
The Cleveland Guardians' right-handed pitcher's name popped up in a remarkable statistic on Friday night which reminded just how far his fall has been.
The reminder came because Brandon Young took a perfect game 7.2 innings before it was broken up on Friday night, with the rookie pitching for the Baltimore Orioles.
The last time a rookie took a perfect game that far into a game? McKenzie in 2021.
That tidbit from OptaStats just makes McKenzie's downfall that much more painful.
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McKenzie is currently pitching in the Arizona Complex League with a 6.91 ERA in eight games in the rookie ball league.
The right-handed pitcher's fall included some injuries but also just the inexplicable vagaries of sport.
Once upon a time, he was meant to be an ace in Cleveland for a decade to come.
But four years after that flirtation with perfection, McKenzie is at the lowest rung of the minor leagues and doesn't look like moving back up anytime soon.
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He's still just 28 years old. It isn't supposed to work like this.
But baseball is a weird game, with bad luck and yips and mental challenges along the way.
There's no exact telling what has sent McKenzie to the basement of affiliated baseball. And there's no predicting if there's a miracle that may someday bring him back.
But for now, Cleveland fans long for the days when McKenzie was bound to be one of their heroes.
Instead, he just became a sad tale that seems unlikely to bounce back to what once was the mightiest of potentials.
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