Clay Buchholz hopes to be Derek Jeter's last pitcher
Boston Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz is scheduled to start next Sunday's season finale against the New York Yankees in the Bronx, and hopes to be the last pitcher future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter faces in his illustrious career.
“It’s a game you try and go as deep as you can to be that last pitcher that he faces. I've definitely thought about that,” Buchholz told WEEI. “You have to take care of everybody else before you get to that point. There is going to be a lot of stuff going on. It’s something that’s pretty neat to think about.”
Buchholz idolized Jeter during his formative years pitching in Texas, and has enjoyed some success against the 14-time All-Star throughout his major-league career. Buchholz has held Jeter to a .276/.364/.310 line in 33 plate appearances, limiting the 40-year-old to one double and no home runs.
“It’s a game to me that’s a little bit different in a couple of different ways. But at the same time, it’s still baseball," Buchholz said. "I have to go out and execute pitches and try to get outs."