Yankees’ Chasen Shreve chats with Long Island kids
Yankees reliever Chasen Shreve with Kidsday reporters, from left, Ryan Cummings, Kate McGuire and Brendan Most. Credit: Newsday / Pat Mullooly
Yankee relief pitcher Chasen Shreve is a long way from home. We spoke with the Nevada native last week in the New York Yankees dugout. This is his second season pitching with the Yankees, and we wanted to know how he liked living in New York, and of course, what it was like to be a major league lefty pitcher wearing pinstripes.
Chasen said he doesn’t feel nervous once he’s called out to pitch, but he does get nervous while he’s waiting in the bullpen. He comedically told us that one of the most surprising things about playing in the major leagues was the fans. When you strike someone out or someone hits a home run off of you, the place goes nuts! Chasen told us that’s the only time he’s aware of the fans. One time his mom asked him if he could hear her cheering for him, but he said he can’t. Once he’s on the mound, he is totally focused.
As a kid though, Chasen didn’t just focus on baseball. He played a whole bunch of other sports like soccer, basketball and golf. In fact, from the age of 9 to 12 years old, he didn’t play baseball at all.
Since Nevada doesn’t have a major league baseball team, Chasen told us that growing up he rooted mostly for players, not teams. Although he said he did like the Detroit Tigers because he had family from that area. As a kid, he played on a team called the Mudcats, for which he designed the logo on the hat they wore.
Chasen attended college in Nevada also. He and Bryce Harper were teammates at the College of Southern Nevada. Chasen pitched, and Bryce caught. In fact, they’ve known each other since they were teenagers so we wanted to know what it was like when the two of them finally faced off against one another in a major league ballgame. Chasen laughed and said he was expecting his first appearance against his good friend to be a lot of fun. But when Harper got to the plate, there were runners on first and second with two outs, and Bryce was one of the hottest hitters in the league. So it was a big relief to Chasen when he struck him out.
New York is a big change from Nevada. We hope that he continues to play well this season, and has a long career with the Yankees.
Chasen was a cool guy to talk to. He told us that one of the most unexpected things about living in New York City was riding the subway. He said there’s always a “show” to watch as you’re traveling. Since he’s been living in New York, he’s been to many of the most famous New York City landmarks, but he hasn’t made it to the Statue of Liberty yet. So if he needs some tour guides, we’re available for that or just a game of catch.
