The Yankees are a staid organization that features a laid-back and easygoing closer.
They have added some theatrics to the closer’s entrance that seem to suit both the club and the pitcher.
For the first time during his two-plus years as the team’s closer, Clay Holmes now jogs onto the field to elements that attempt to energize the home crowd.
When Holmes has entered games during this homestand, the lights around the Stadium flash while a hype video, his name and some psychedelic effects take over the video board.
It does not quite match the verve that overtook the Stadium when “Enter Sandman” was heard for Mariano Rivera appearances. It is far more subdued than Edwin Diaz’s trumpets-blaring introduction in Queens.
But it fits Holmes, who is an Alabama native and runs out from the bullpen to Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse,” a guitar-heavy country song.
“There’s a little bit of energy to [the new entrance],” Holmes said before opening a series against the Mariners on Monday. “I guess it’s a little more subtle.”
Around the league, closer entrances have become fashionable again since Diaz began sparking dance parties at Citi Field with “Narco.”
Twins closer Jhoan Duran runs to the mound in darkness, with fire crackling along the video boards that line Target Field. The Giants turn off the lights and place a spotlight on Camilo Doval. Last year’s Orioles closer, Felix Bautista, would emerge after a whistle inspired by the TV show “The Wire.”
Holmes noticed the trend but was not pushing to join it.
He said several of his teammates, though, were lobbying the Yankees to add some drama to his introduction.
He was not part of the discussions that led to the flashing lights and video-board additions, but he heard enough “rumblings” that he was not surprised when he jogged out Friday and saw the show for the first time.
“It was fun,” Holmes said. “Obviously after the game, all the players seemed really excited. They were pumped up. It was fun to see, just to feel the energy and see the reaction. A lot of people had fun.”
Holmes gave the green-light to the Yankees, whose video operations folk then got to work.
“You have a closer like we do, you better have something special for him,” Aaron Judge said after that Holmes save. “That gave all of us goose bumps. We were pretty juiced running out there in the ninth.”
Holmes is a dominant pitcher enjoying his best season, entering play Monday having pitched 20 innings in which he had not surrendered an earned run plus 13 saves, which was tied for the most in baseball.
But he does not show off a 100 mph fastball or stuff that is impossible to hit.
Instead, he relies on excellent movement and sinking pitches that repeatedly get battered into the ground, his style of pitching matching his personality: He is not flashy.
It follows that his entrance, at least compared with plenty of his peers around baseball, is a bit muted.
“I’m pretty easy, just go-with-the-flow type of guy,” Holmes said. “It’s always a great moment, just running out at Yankee Stadium.”
If it gets 40,000 fans on their feet and a bit more energetic, Holmes is all for it.
“It’s a good way to get fans engaged and make the end of the game a little more exciting,” Holmes said.