Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees’ Star Hurler Credits Ex-Teammate For Helping Develop His Best Pitch

Luis Gil opened up about his former teammate's positive impact on Tuesday.

Grant Young

Jul 2, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil (81) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 2, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil (81) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
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Luis Gil’s performance on the mound this season has been a nice surprise for the New York Yankees. 

The 26-year-old holds a 10-5 record with a 3.10 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 107.1 innings pitched (20 starts) in 2024. And although Gil has struggled of late (5.57 ERA in his last 7 starts), he has been one of the Yankees' most consistent pitchers all season long.

While Gil’s glazing fastball has been extremely impressive, his slider has been his best pitch in 2024. This is proven by the .138 batting average against (BAA) hitters have had against that pitch this year. 

And the secret to Gil’s excellent slider is New York Mets pitcher, and his former Yankee teammate Luis Severino. 

MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reported on July 23 that Severino, who spent the first eight seasons of his MLB career with the Yankees, “gave Luis Gil some tips after Gil's rough June 26 start vs. the Mets, particularly how to better grip his slider.” 

"He went to the bullpen, he tried and after that he said it's been unbelievable. I'm really happy for him," Severino told Hoch.

Gil supported this and more when asked about Severino's comment after the Yankees’ 3-2 loss to the Mets on Tuesday. 

"Severino's someone that I've always looked up to,” Gil said through his interpreter, per SNY Yankees. 

“[Severino is] an example of a player… that we look up to,” Gil continued. “Ever since he was here, he came up through this organization. He's a pitcher with more experience than me. He has some knowledge to offer to me. I took [his advice] into consideration and put it in practice here with our pitching coach, and I’m getting really good results with [the slider].”

Gil started six games for the Yankees in 2021 and one game in 2022. Although that doesn’t include all of the time Gil and Severino may have spent together during spring training or elsewhere off the field. 

So while Severino may now be pitching for New York’s other team, his impact is still being felt in the Bronx.

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Grant Young

GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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