Emmanuel Clase was the quintessential stopper in MLB for the better part
of four consecutive seasons. His role as an elite closer was once
recognized as a “fireman,” called upon to extinguish the embers of any
possible rally from the opposition. Armed with an arsenal of triple-digit heat,
a sinker, and a slider that, figuratively speaking, fell off the table, the
Guardians’ ninth-inning specialist routinely made hitters look foolish. At
times, the game may have simply become too easy for the Dominican star.
This question is valid, as during those seasons of dominance, Clase’s
behaviour revealed severely impaired judgment. Not through drugs,
alcohol, or any visibly tangible source of addiction, but rather through the
quick dopamine hit of becoming a human slot machine. All the while, even
as Clase was mowing down hitters in succession during ninth-inning
appearances, he was allegedly playing with a handicap.
The Case
Evidence is still emerging, but it appears the first rule broken by Clase may
have been possessing a cell phone or electronic communication device
either in the dugout or, more likely, in the bullpen. Both situations violate
MLB rules regarding game policy and player conduct.
“With limited exceptions for personal use … MLB rules also prohibited MLB
players from utilizing cellular telephones during MLB games,” prosecutors
wrote.
Like a teenager determined to play Rainbow Six Siege in the back of a
classroom during a lecture, it is possible to work around the rules. The
bullpen is rarely monitored closely, and teammates who may have seen the
man they looked up to reveal a flip phone midgame to check messages would likely never report it. Once that barrier is removed, and the call comes in for a poorly placed pitch that results in a walk to begin an inning,
the gambler’s mentality can become an unstoppable freight train.
Like Biff receiving the Farmer’s Almanac in Back to the Future, Clase
allegedly learned quickly that he, and those in his orbit, could cash in after
just one pitch. Morality aside, the opportunity to become your own ATM
simply by throwing a baseball into the dirt can be difficult to resist, and
Clase proved fallible. The combination of quick money and the dopamine
rush that accompanied it, layered on top of the adrenaline from being the
best closer in the game, became too powerful to ignore.
Clase’s Tainted Legacy
What might have been is now what baseball fans are left to consider.
Clase, along with Cleveland Guardians teammate and fellow pitcher Luis
Ortiz, faces a possible lifetime ban from the sport. For Clase, that path
could have led to becoming the greatest relief pitcher of all time.
For much of two or three seasons, Clase was effectively offering hitters a
handicap by frequently starting at bats with a 1–0 count. Despite this, he
maintained a WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) below one
throughout his six-year MLB career. His 182 saves through six seasons,
achieved by age 27, are surpassed only by Francisco “K Rod” Rodriguez,
who opened his career with a sensational run before compiling a strong 16
year tenure.
By comparison, two relievers often discussed among the greatest of the
modern era, Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, had recorded just 48 and
61 saves respectively at the same point in their Hall of Fame careers.
Final Thoughts
The case involving Clase and Ortiz now moves through the courts. As for
public opinion, the sports world can be unforgiving, and guilty or not, it may
prove impossible for the Guardians or any other MLB franchise to risk
signing a once exceptional pitcher who ultimately succumbed to temptation.
