CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Triston McKenzie has never ducked a tough question.
In 2021, McKenzie’s first full season in the big leagues, he walked too many people. It put him on the shuttle between Cleveland and Class AAA Columbus, but he talked about his struggles openly with reporters and eventually found the strike zone.
This past season Dr. Sticks -- McKenzie’s nickname because of his 6-foot-5, 170-pound frame -- jumped from 120 innings to 191 1/3 innings. He faced 741 batters and they hit just .201 against him.
The one problem was the long ball. McKenzie allowed 25 homers, tied for the ninth most in the American League. But he improved as the season went along, allowing just three homers over his last six starts in the regular season.
In the postseason, McKenzie threw six scoreless innings in the Game 2 clincher against the Rays in the wild card series. In Game 3 of the ALDS against the Yankees, McKenzie allowed two homers, but the Guardians rallied in the ninth for a 6-5 win.
Once again McKenzie was open about his problem with the home run and what he was doing to correct it. It was one of the reasons Cleveland’s chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America elected McKenzie as the winner of the Frank Gibbons-Steve Olin Good Guy Award for the 2022 season. Gibbons was a columnist for the now defunct Cleveland Press. Olin was a promising Cleveland pitcher who died in a spring training boating accident in 1993.
The Good Guy award, which began in 1968, goes to a member of the Guardians’ organization who not only understands the media’s job, but does their part to cooperate. Steven Kwan, Austin Hedges, Cal Quantrill and manager Terry Francona were also nominated for the award.
The Cleveland writers also presented Jose Ramirez with the Man of the Year Award for 2022. It’s the third time Ramirez has won the award and second in as many seasons.
McKenzie ended the regular season at 11-11 with a 2.96 ERA in 31 appearances, including 30 starts. His 2.96 ERA was second lowest among Cleveland starters to Shane Bieber’s 2.88. McKenzie’s 190 strikeouts were second to Bieber’s 198 as well.
After the Guardians were eliminated from the postseason, McKenzie was named MLB’s social media correspondent for the World Series between Houston and the Phillies. He contributed to MLB’s social media accounts, interviewed players and appeared on MLB Network.
McKenzie was also Cleveland’s nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award for his work with the True2U mentorship program.
Guardians AL Central championship merchandise for sale: Here’s where you can get Cleveland Guardians gear commemorating their AL Central Division title, including T-shirts, hats, hoodies, and much more.
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