By now in 1978 the announcers would be figuring out a nickname for him — like they did with Ron Guidry back then — “Gator”, “Louisiana Lightning”.
The Kid, Yankee fan John Snyder kept referring to him as The Kid. Luis Severino. 21 years old. After allowing a few hits in the first two innings, he effortlessly mowed down Tampa Bay last night. Didn’t strike out a ton. Just easy out after easy out, with a strike out here and there.
At the game with a group of guys I’ve known since the 3rd grade, we were apt to talk about old times and the girls in 7th grade with just a little bit of concentration on the game. No need to concentrate much at all — a 2-run Alex Rodriguez bomb in the 3rd gave the Yanks a 2-0 lead and The Kid was in total command. Like the stock market — you don’t spend too much time fussing on your investments if things are going well but spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about your stocks if the market is falling — with The Kid on the mound and the Yanks with a 2-0 lead, you can talk about the girls in 7th grade and the food fights in the cafeteria. The game takes care of itself.
In the 4th, Brian McCann can and did — a 432-foot homerun to right center. 3 nothing NY. In the sixth, Evan Longoria homered to left — no biggie. You didn’t feel Severino was in trouble. Just a blip. Severino kept getting easy outs. Greg Bird hit a two-run upper-deck Yankee Stadium homerun to right in the 7th and it was 5-1 NY. The Yanks had 3 hits — all homers — for that 5-1 lead. So for his part, Tampa pitcher Jake Odorizzi pitched — well — as far as hits allowed, but not so well as far as homeruns allowed.
Brett Gardner got an infield single in the bottom of the 8th with two out — for the only non-homerun hit the Yankees got for the evening. Toronto got a run in the 9th off Adam Warren, but Andrew Miller came in for the final two outs of the easy, very easy win.
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ed Weisberger, professional scout covering the Yankees, said on twitter that he saw Tom Seaver — “Tom Terrific” — in his rookie year, and Severino is ‘right there’. Others compare him to Dwight Gooden. On tv, his pitches scintillate. At the Stadium, sitting in section 105, talking with friends from the 3rd grade about girls we knew in 7th grade, you don’t even notice any of that — you look up and it’s the fifth or sixth inning and Severino gets easy out after easy out in the easiest win of the season. Toronto lost to Baltimore so the Yankees are now .5 games back, in 2nd place. Their record is 75-58.
What Should Luis Severino’s Nickname Be?
If you have a suggestion for a nickname for Luis Severino — please post below.
Editor’s Note: It has come to our attention on Luis’s baseball-reference page that he has a nickname: Sevvy. This may be a childhood nickname we still think he needs a baseball nickname. So please post if you have an idea.
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