Former Major League Baseball pitcher Collin Balester said Mets reliever Jefry Yan’s habit of doing a split after strikeouts could lead to an injury and provoke opponents, Balester told OutKick.
“I mean, there’s guys that teeter down that line, that do a little celebration here and there,” Balester said, noting that big celebrations are common in winter leagues in Mexico and Yan’s native Dominican Republic. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy jump ten feet in the air.”
Balester, who pitched in the majors from 2008 to 2015, said the celebration raises an injury concern. “If I was the team, I would be a little nervous about him blowing out his knee jumping up like that,” he said. “Over time, throwing they say is bad, but I think jumping up and landing on your knee like that and doing the moonwalk up the mound, I would probably try to nip that.”
Balester said he was surprised Yan brought the ritual to the majors. “I said I don’t know when this guy’s getting into the big leagues, but if he gets up there, I guarantee you he’s not going to do it,” Balester told OutKick. “And hey, I mean, to his credit, he’s done it.”
Balester also said the celebration could affect hitters’ approaches. “I think it’s going to play in his favor, to be honest,” he said. “I think people are going to be trying to do too much at first to make sure they can show him up, but at some point that’s going to kind of falter.”
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
