Jorbit Vivas made Yankees history Sunday night with an epic 11-pitch at-bat that broke a tie against the Mets in the eighth inning.
The run-scoring fielder’s choice might seem ordinary on the surface – just a grounder to first base that Pete Alonso threw away – but it gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Cody Bellinger’s grand slam later in the inning provided the exclamation point in the Subway Series finale.
What makes Vivas’ at-bat special is the persistence it took to get there. He took strike one, fouled off three pitches, worked three consecutive balls, fouled off three more, and finally put the ball in play. That 11-pitch battle marks the longest at-bat by a Yankee that resulted in a go-ahead RBI in the eighth inning or later since pitch tracking began in 1988, according to Katie Sharp of Sports Reference.
Think about that for a second. Derek Jeter, Aaron Judge, Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill – none of them accomplished what Vivas just did in a crucial moment against the crosstown rivals.
The 24-year-old Venezuelan isn’t exactly a household name. He’s a journeyman who earned his call-up when Jazz Chisholm went down with an injury. This is Vivas’ first taste of the majors after spending six seasons in the Dodgers organization before joining the Yankees system this year.
His path to the Bronx wasn’t straightforward. Vivas struggled at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for much of his time there, hitting just .225 across 93 games. But he’s caught fire lately, posting a .343 average that forced the Yankees’ hand when they needed infield help.
Now he’s got a piece of Yankees history that even the franchise’s biggest stars can’t claim. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even on the roster a few weeks ago.
