Whatever happens tonight, it will be hard for Blake Snell to make a more memorable start than he did in his last World Series. That was Game 6 in 2020, Snell’s unfinished masterpiece that brought an end to his time with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Facing elimination, Snell embarked on what seemed to be the game of his life. With one out in the sixth inning, he was working on a two-hit shutout with no walks and nine strikeouts. But with one on and Mookie Betts coming up for the third time, Rays manager Kevin Cash went to his bullpen, pulling a frustrated Snell after just 73 pitches.
The Rays were adhering to a philosophy that has helped them sustain success over many years, despite a low payroll. But, in the cauldron of the World Series, that decision still stands as the foremost example of failing to read the moment. Snell (who had never pitched more than 7 ⅓ innings in his career at that point) had done what the Rays hoped for, and they had no plans to ask for more – no matter how dominant he looked.
At Snell’s press conference on Thursday, I asked him how long it took to process that night, and how much he still thinks about it. Here’s his full, thoughtful answer:
💬 “I don’t think about it really at all anymore. When it happened, I would say probably for, like, a week I was thinking about it, what could have been different, what I could have done. The ups and downs of just feelings.
“But then ultimately it led to, if I would have done more early on in my career to gain his trust, it would have been a different outcome, I think. So learn from it and ultimately it made me a better pitcher, just because I understand the game more than just myself, just the pieces, the parts and how it all works.
“So, yeah, for about a week the ups and downs of could have been a World Series champ and all this, but there’s still Game 7 and who knows if we win Game 6, and just so much in the air that, yeah – I finally just let it go.”