Nathan Eovaldi probably never saw himself as a World Series hero after having to undergo a second Tommy John surgery in 2016 when he was a member of the New York Yankees.
But things always have a way of working out, and Eovaldi pitched a tear-jerking performance in Game 3 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a big risk for the Boston Red Sox right-hander, but he did what he had to do in order to give his team the best chance to win.
Eovaldi’s career wasn’t always this good, though. After being non-tendered by the New York Yankees, he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays on a two-year contract and returned from his rehab in May 2018. He ultimately was traded to Boston in July and became an instant fan favorite, tossing 15 consecutive scoreless innings, including eight against the Yankees.
It was the easiest road to get to where Eovaldi is now, but he said he just “trusted the process.”
“I wanted to prepare for the worst: that the Yankees weren’t going to re-sign me and I’d be a free agent looking for a job on top of being hurt for probably over a year and a half,” Eovaldi said, via MassLive. “I just trusted the process. Be positive throughout. Same thing with recovering from the Tommy John. You don’t want to think, ‘Is this going to work?’ You put in all that hard work and time and effort to recover from the surgery. You want to trust in the process.”
All that hard work has certainly paid off. Eovaldi will be Boston’s Game 2 starter against the Seattle Mariners on Friday night at T-Mobile Park.
