Padres News: Blake Snell Doesn’t Care About Going Deep Into Games
One of the lone bright spots in a dark Padres season, starter Blake Snell has had about as good of a contract year as a pitcher could have.
Fully entrenched in Cy Young consideration for his work in 2023, Snell's naysayers may doubt his efficiency, but cannot argue with his results for San Diego this season.
“I’m pitching,” Snell said. “And if I run out of pitches, I run out of pitches. I’m here to pitch. I’m not here to, ‘Oh, let me navigate and get to seven, eight, nine.’ That’s not me. It’s so hard to go seven, eight, nine, because I will have an inning of 25 or 26 pitches ... it’s gonna happen. I don’t care about that. What is seven compared to six? As long as I outlast their starter, that’s all I care about.”
High pitch counts have been characteristic for the entirety of Snell's Padres' tenure, but his NL leading ERA mark this year has boosted him to the top of Cy Young lists every fifth day he appears for the team.
Undeterred by free passes or high pitch counts, Snell has grinded out his best season since his Cy Young victory in 2018 when he was in the American League with Tampa Bay.
The former Ray's work for Bob Melvin's rotation has been nothing short of breathtaking in 2023 as the lefty continues to shove no matter where the team's been in the divisional standings.
In one of the closest award races in recent memory, should Snell capture another Cy Young, this time in the NL, a lot of bargaining power would suddenly come the Seattle native's way.
Already expressing interest in a return to Petco this winter, Padres fans can appreciate the work that Snell is doing for their club now.
