TAMPA — Devin Williams is used to it by now.
“It’s usually the first question people ask me — or the only one,” he said with a chuckle.
So in a clubhouse full of new teammates and coaches, Williams has already fielded his fair share of questions about the pitch that is so unique and nasty that it has its own name: The Airbender.
“It’s honestly really simple, in my mind at least,” the Yankees’ new closer said Saturday at Steinbrenner Field. “It’s a four-seam changeup grip and I pronate it. I know what I want to do with it. It’s a little more difficult to put into words.
“Other people can’t really replicate what I do, based on their arm slot or how their body works. It works for me. It’s just kind of one of those things. Max Fried probably can’t really teach somebody else his curveball, he just does it. It’s second nature to him.”
Most are just curious how Williams throws the pitch.
Opposing hitters are equally curious about how they are supposed to hit it.
“Getting to be back there is a lot more fun than having to try to face him,” said Austin Wells, who caught Williams’ first live batting practice on Friday.
Since Williams broke into the league as the NL Rookie of the Year in 2020 with the Brewers, his changeup has been one of the best pitches in the majors.
Opposing batters have hit just .134 (69-for-515) against it with 245 strikeouts.
The Yankees have seen plenty of the pitch through a screen, but now have gotten a front-row seat this week to watch its devastating movement on the way to the plate.
“I told him today, it was my first time standing behind that thing — it’s impressive,” manager Aaron Boone said.
It’s all part of Williams’ orientation to his new organization, after the Yankees acquired him in December for Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin.
They expect him to anchor a bullpen that should be strong and deep, not only in numbers but in the different looks it can throw at opponents — with Luke Weaver recently describing the group as having “splitters and changeups galore going on.”
Williams will be at the forefront of that group entering his third season as a full-time closer.
The Brewers moved him into that role at the 2022 trade deadline, after dealing Josh Hader.
Since then, Williams has converted 59 of 66 save opportunities in the regular season.
Of course, Williams’ most recent save opportunity came in the do-or-die Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series last October against the Mets.
He entered in the ninth inning to protect a 2-0 lead, three outs away from advancing to the NLDS, and instead gave up a three-run home run to Pete Alonso on a changeup that effectively ended the Brewers’ season.
Williams on Saturday said that he has “always let failure fuel me to try to make me better,” and spoke about the closer’s mentality of quickly moving on to the next day’s game after rough outings.
Except there was no next game for Williams last October, and instead he has had an entire offseason to sit on that blown save.
“We didn’t have a game the next day, so it’s tougher to move on,” Williams said. “In that case, you kind of replay that moment, what could I have done differently? Which, I don’t know if I really would have changed too many things in that outing. At the end of the day, it’s baseball.
“I got two ground balls that inning that found a hole (one of which came before Alonso’s home run), which if those are two feet to the left or two feet to the right, we’re not having this conversation. Just something you got to deal with and move on.”
