The Ricky Karcher Game
Plus: Perhaps you’ve heard of the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz?
One of the reasons I love The Riverfront is that I am free to indulge my (near-pathological, at this point) obsession with the history of the Cincinnati Reds. Sure, sometimes my benevolent overlords at The Mother Ship will permit me to do a brief deep dive into the annals of Redleg history. I remembered Joe Morgan fondly after his passing, and I also did a deep dive into the best Reds team to not win it all. On a more somber note, I wrote about the sad tale of Willard Hershberger over there too.
But most of my historical writing is here, in the comfort of my own space at The Riverfront World Headquarters. I’m going to write about history this week too. But I’m also going to write about a current event. Because what we witnessed on Monday night, my friends, is a moment that we are all going to want to remember for a long time. And I just had to chronicle it here.
Two words: Ricky. Karcher.
If you were able to stay up late for the end of Monday night’s extra-inning victory over the Kansas City Royals — Cincinnati’s 21st come-from-behind victory of the season — you witnessed a spectacle unlike anything you’ve seen before. The big league debut of right-handed pitcher Ricky Karcher.
I’ve been reliably informed by Wikipedia that Karcher grew up in Ponte Vedra, Florida, but his family relocated to Saline, Michigan, where Karcher had a 9–0 win-loss record with 0.41 ERA as a senior. He committed to Michigan, but transferred after one season to Walters State Community College, where he was 7–3 with a 4.27 ERA in one season. Whatever.
The Reds drafted him in the 13th round in 2017 and he’s 25 years old and he’s probably the second-most accomplished player from Walters State (after Rangers reliever Brett Martin).* Whatever.
*For what it’s worth, my daughter played travel and high school softball with the daughter of a Walters State legend and Montreal Expos draftee. And my son ended up playing varsity baseball for him. Literally one of the nicest guys I know. But he’s a Cardinals fan, so screw him.
All of that was just a prelude to a special evening. The Ricky Karcher Game. On June 12, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri, Karcher made his debut and instantly became a Reds legend.
Karcher had just been promoted, despite posting a less-than-spectacular 9.27 ERA in Triple-A this season.* If you watched Monday night’s game, you know the reason for that ERA: command issues. At Louisville, Karcher issued 34 walks in just 22 1/3 innings. He has a difficult time finding the strike zone.
*How many teams promote relievers with a 9.27 ERA at Triple-A? #GetKralled
It would have been nice for Karcher’s debut to have been in a run of the mill game, with the Reds leading 8-2 or something. But no, with Cincinnati’s bullpen depleted, Karcher was called on in an extra-innings save situation, with the Reds leading leading Kansas City 5-4. As he took his warmup pitches, the Royals’ Nick Eaton trotted to second base to serve as the dumb extra innings ghost runner.
What happened next was the most amazing and hilarious and fun and improbable half-inning of the entire season. First of all, take a look at this chart of Karcher’s pitches.
This was just a wild ride from beginning to end. In all, Karcher threw 21 pitches, nine of which were strikes. But he didn’t just miss the zone on the pitches that were called balls, he missed the strike zone badly. Catcher Curt Casali nearly had to leap to catch a couple. Karcher’s slider — his best pitch — was mostly great. But his fastball, which dialed up to 98 mph last night, was all over the place. He simply could not control it.
He walked the first batter. He nearly hit the next batter in the head before collecting a fly out to center. The following batter jumped out to a 3-0 count, but Karcher worked it back to full (thanks in part to a clock violation), then induced a pop out.
With two out, Karcher somehow worked the count to full, then got Maikel Garcia to fly out to left field. A win for the Reds, and a save for Karcher in his first big league appearance. Memorable, right?
Well, the best was yet to come. After the game, broadcaster Jim Day interviewed Karcher on the field. The entire Reds team watched from the dugout, laughing and loving the moment. And that’s when Karcher gave an interview for the ages.
You have to watch this. It’s simply mesmerizing.
“It’s like a movie, bro,” Karcher said. “It doesn’t even feel real, man. It’s incredible. Holy s***.”
If you didn’t fall in love with Ricky Karcher after that debut and that interview, I don’t know what to tell you. In a season filled with fun moments for this young Reds team, that was the craziest. And I’m here for it.
Alas, the Reds sent Karcher back to Triple-A yesterday. Hopefully, he improves his command and returns to the Reds in short order. He certainly has a live arm, and that slider is big league-quality.
But if that was the only game he pitches for the Reds, Ricky Karcher has already cemented himself as a Reds legend. Give him a plaque in the Reds Hall of Fame, right next to Ryan Lavarnway.
This week at Cincinnati Magazine: Perhaps you’ve heard of the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz?
How do you write about Elly De La Cruz’s magical first week in the big leagues without resorting to hyperbole and embellishment? What Reds fans just witnessed over the last seven days—the power, the speed, the strength—was something we’ve never seen before and likely won’t see again. As shortstop Kevin Newman told reporters in the wake of Elly’s debut: “I’m not sure in what capacity, but I truly believe we just witnessed history.”
In a week full of superlatives, there were a couple of moments over the weekend that illustrate just how much De La Cruz has altered the DNA of this team. On Sunday, while leading the Reds to a series victory over St. Louis, he had two hits and two walks (one of the hits was an infield single on a grounder to first base), but it was his game-winning run that left everyone astonished.
After walking to lead off the eighth inning, De La Cruz advanced to third on a groundout and a passed ball. With one out in a tie game, the Cardinals pulled their infield in so as to potentially cut down the runner advancing home. They got their wish, as Tyler Stephenson grounded the ball directly to the shortstop. Running on contact, Elly still somehow beat the throw home. Stephenson couldn’t believe it. “I was just as shocked when I turned around and saw safe,” he said. “He’s an incredible talent.” Read the rest of this week’s Reds column over at Cincinnati Magazine.
What’s Chad Watching?
Nothing, actually. I mean, my lovely wife and I are finishing up the last season of “Barry,” and it’s pretty good. My brother is after me to start “Succession,” which we probably will dive into soon. Everyone seems to love it. That Netflix documentary series about tennis is pretty fun. And yeah, I’ve been watching the Reds every night, and that’s been a different kind of fun.
But no movies this week. I thought briefly about going to see the new “Transformers” movie, but couldn’t talk myself into it. Our family is actually in the middle of a huge move, so I’ve been a little preoccupied. The house we raised our children in has been sold, and if any of you have experienced that particular life moment — going through everything you’ve accumulated as a family, deciding what to keep, what to discard, what to donate — you know how stressful and emotional it can be. After we’re moved in two weeks, I’m betting that I’ll be able to sit and watch a movie again.
In the meantime, enjoy this photo taken in the aftermath of The Great Garage Cleanout of 2023. Sure, both of my kids have played a lot of hoops over the years, but how is it possible that we’ve accumulated so many basketballs?
All the balls that were salvageable have now found a good home. Especially that Final Four basketball. (Still in my home.)