Tommy Kahnle made his debut in the “MLB The Show” players league on Monday night and it probably could have gone better.
Tommy Kahnle may need to get some extra reps on the sticks before his next outing in the “MLB The Show” players league.
The New York Yankees reliever played his first four games of the online season. He still has yet to record his first win. Kahnle jumped ahead early in his first matchup with Dwight Smith Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles.
Gamer Tommy does not disappoint ?
?: https://t.co/ffg3hG032Z pic.twitter.com/8k0fHbaW5i— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 14, 2020
Unfortunately, this was the highlight of the night for Kahnle.
His early four-run lead quickly dissipated in the second inning, however. Smith Jr. hung an ugly number on the scoreboard during Gerrit Cole‘s second inning of work. Kahnle managed to cut the lead to one run in the third but failed to finish the comeback.
Facing off against Blake Snell in game two, Kahnle’s defensive shortcomings continued to haunt him. A misplayed fly ball to Aaron Judge and not knowing what button to press to rob a homer to center gave Snell a comfortable lead.
https://twitter.com/MaxWildstein/status/1249876816107536384?s=20
Kahnle managed to scrape across one run but stood no chance against the powerhouse of Snell.
The Yankees reliever struggled again against Brett Phillips. A Judge double set the table for Kahnle’s first and only run of the game.
https://twitter.com/MaxWildstein/status/1249880959576616960?s=20
Despite switching to analog pitching, Kahnle still struggled to locate his pitches. Phillips took a 2-1 lead into the third inning and closed it out with submarine throwing Tim Hill.
In his last chance to come away with a victory, Kahnle faced off against Ian Happ. Kahnle failed to throw strikes for the fourth consecutive game. When he finally did throw strikes, Happ put four runs on the board. Kahnle scored one run, but this game was over before his first at-bat.
Even though Kahnle didn’t win any games, he put on an absolute show. Viewers even got to hear some unintelligible Tommy noises.
Sure, it’s not real baseball. But it’s the closest we have right now. And even if Kahnle loses every single game in this league, Yankees fans are just happy to see their (virtual) players on the field.
