If you follow my blog, and if you do thank you, I wrote some time back about a potential historical event for Rhode Island baseball. A matchup of a former Rhode Island High School Pitcher vs a former Rhode Island High School Hitter in a Major League Baseball game. Two players came to mind, The New York Yankees’ Michael King (Bishop Hendricken High School) and the Houston Astro’s Jeremy Peña (Classical High School). After some research on http://www.baseballreference.com and other stat sites, I could not find any match up that pitted one RI HS player pitching against a RI HS hitter. If two players from Rhode Island high schools faced each other in a Major League game, that would be epically historical, in my eyes. Here is the blog I wrote – RI HS Baseball History. And here is what happened last night…

The first matchup of the season between the NYY (King) and the Astros (Peña) happened to be August 3rd. Rather late in the season, but with this new MLB schedule of every team playing every team, it is understandable. So, I couldn’t see the game live (I was in NY all week on business) and the MLB app would have to do. On the train ride home from NY, I turned my MLB app on around the 5th inning or so. I figured King wasn’t the starter and if the game was close, perhaps he would come in. I knew from the lineup card that Peña was in the lineup batting 2nd and playing SS. And then it happened.

Michael King entered the game in the 6th inning and got 2 quick outs. The Yankees scored a run in the bottom of the 6th inning to take a 4-3 lead. With a slim lead, I was almost sure King would return for the 7th. I was right – King went back to the mound with 4 hitters to face before reaching Peña. I figured, as long as he doesn’t implode, walk everyone, hit every batter, give up 4 straight homers, he will likely face Peña in this inning. And I was right.

After a somewhat shaky start to the inning, with 1 out and 2 runners on base, BHHS’s Michael King threw a pitch to Classical High School’s Jeremy Peña in a Major League game. And it was a pressure cooker at bat. The Astros were getting to King and Peña could really turn the tides and put the Astros in front with a hit or a home run. I watched, there on the train, with a ton of pride for Rhode Island baseball, as two players who had recently played on a Rhode Island high school baseball diamond were now facing off in Yankee Stadium as professionals. Wow.

The count got to 2-1. Two runners on. 1 out. Lot of drama here. Two professionals with a job to do. Never mind the Rhode Island connection. This is business. And King delivered the pitch he needed…

A Pitcher’s best friend? The double play. Rally over, inning over, pressure over. Peña grounds into a double play and King has one up on his fellow Rhode Island High School alum. In the end, King got the win for his inning plus of pressure packed pitching. Yankees win the series opener 4-3. One thing is for sure, Rhode Island baseball history was made in the Bronx on August 3, 2023.