The Boston Red Sox are entrusting Payton Tolle with a massive task on Tuesday night.
He’s going to be their starting pitcher to open the postseason, and he’s going to do it in Yankee Stadium.
It’s the best-of-three Wild Card Series between the heated rivals from Boston and the Bronx, so there’s no margin for error.
And given some different options in front of him, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy chose Tolle as his guy to set the tone.
It’s a special choice on a number of levels, including one fascinating bit of history that ties back to Babe Ruth and Smoky Joe Wood.
How Payton Tolle is Making History
Simply by stepping on the mound to start Tuesday’s game, Tolle is joining a historic club for the Red Sox.
He’ll be the third-youngest pitcher to start the first game of a postseason for Boston, according to MLB Network’s Sarah Langs.
Tolle will be 23 years and 332 days old when he takes the mound.
The second-youngest for the Red Sox in this category was Babe Ruth. He was 23 years and 211 days when he started Game 1 of the World Series in 1918.
And yes, that’s that Babe Ruth, for those who aren’t as up to speed on the fact that he was one of the sports best pitchers, for Boston, before his trade and massive rise into the Sultan of Swat.
The youngest-ever pitcher in Red Sox Game 1 of the playoffs history was Smoky Joe Wood, in 1912 for Game 1 of the World Series when he was 22 years and 349 days old.
Wood’s real name was Howard, but his fastball earned him his nickname that has stuck with him through the years.
It’s certainly two legends of the sport that Tolle is joining with in this history.
Payton Tolle Stats
Tolle earned this call by being consistent for the Red Sox pretty much all season long.
He made 26 starts for Boston and had a 9-6 record with a 3.03 ERA.
In 148.2 innings pitched in the regular season, Tolle struck out 171 batters and walked 40. His 10.4 strikeouts per nine, 2.4 walks per nine and 4.28 strikeout-to-walk ratio are all great marks.
Tolle also faced the Yankees twice during the season and was great both times.
In April, he went 6.0 innings and allowed three hits and one run while striking out 11 in a game Boston lost after a rough bullpen performance.
Then in June, Tolle threw seven one-hit innings against the Yankees with seven strikeouts while not allowing a run in a game the Red Sox won.
There really can’t be any arguing that Tolle deserved the ball for this game. Now it’ll just be up to him to answer the call and try to get the Red Sox off to the best possible start to this postseason.
How Payton Tolle is Joining Babe Ruth, Smoky Joe Wood in Red Sox History