Team Italy pitcher Tommy Layne attempts MLB Comeback with St. Louis Cardinals
Lefty-pitching specialist Tommy Layne will always be remembered as a hero when he played for Team Italy the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC). After pitching a scoreless eighth inning against Mexico, Tommy Layne kept Team Italy in the game as the Azzurri scored five runs in the top of the ninth to win the contest 10-9 on March 9, 2017. He later kept an explosive Venezuela offense quiet when he pitched another scoreless inning in the heartbreaking 4-3 tiebreaker game loss on March 13, 2017.
Tommy Layne returned from the 2017 WBC to make 19 appearances out of the New York Yankees bullpen before being released from pinstripes duty. Then the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Tommy Layne to a minor league contract on July 19, 2017. He subsequently signed a similar deals with the Boston Red Sox on February 24, 2018 and the St. Louis Cardinals on June 15, 2018. The 34-year-old pitcher spent one week at Double-A Springfield in the Texas League, where he retired seven of eight batters he faced with two strikeouts before being sent to Triple-A Memphis. Quickly becoming a mentor and a leader in the Memphis Redbirds bullpen, Tommy Layne proved himself worthy of a September call-up to the St. Louis Cardinals. In his 27 Pacific Coast League appearances, he pitched 26.2 innings and put together an impressive 1.35 ERA with 34 strikeouts and just four walks. In fact, he had thrown 11.2 innings of scoreless baseball before allowing his first run.
Despite his outstanding command and third-strike slider, Tommy Layne remained off the 40-man roster and did not get called-up to the Big Leagues in 2018. After named Tommy Layne the 2018 Memphis Redbirds Relief Pitcher of the Year, the St. Louis Cardinals re-signed the proud Italian American to a minor league contract on November 19, 2018 with an invite to 2019 Spring Training Camp in Jupiter, Florida. Tommy Layne has a good shot of making the 2019 Opening Day roster based on his success in MLB playing for the San Diego Padres, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. In his Big League career, he is 8-5 with a 3.61 ERA in 216 games. He posted a career-best 0.95 ERA in 30 appearances when pitching 19 innings for Boston in 2014 before setting a career-high record 64 appearances out of the Red Sox bullpen in 2015. Let’s wish Tommy Layne all the best in his MLB comeback with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019. Forza #Italia! #LetsMakeItHappen
by Roberto Angotti
