Erick Fedde was on the mound throwing live batting practice to the Washington Nationals’ new DH, Nelson Cruz, last week, when the 41-year-old, 17-year veteran spotted something the righty was doing that he thought he should let his new teammate know about.
Fedde was tipping his pitches, or a pitch, Cruz said, so he told the 29-year-old, 2014 1st Round pick what he saw.
“I was trying to help him out,” Cruz explained when he spoke to reporters from D.C. for the first time after signing a 1-year/$15M free agent deal with the Nationals. “I saw something — before he threw me the last pitch — that I realized right away what was the pitch that was coming, even before he pitched, so I was just telling him make sure you do this the right way, don’t change your — I guess, your pattern, the way you grab the ball and all this stuff.