Yankees' Airbender Devin Williams has a new fan in ‘Avatar' co-creator
When the Yankees acquired Devin Williams from the Brewers in December, he began what has been a rocky relationship with a new fanbase.
The two-time National League Reliever of the Year didn't make a strong first impression, recording an 11.25 ERA over his first 10 games. The performance led to unprecedented boos for Williams, questions over his comfort in New York, and his removal as the Yankees' closer.
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But with Luke Weaver hurt, Williams is back in the role. The return comes with Williams better resembling his best self lately, as he's held opponents scoreless in 16 of his last 19 outings. On Thursday, he picked up his second save in as many days, recording a 1-2-3 ninth in a 1-0 win over the Royals, giving the Bronx faithful more reason to get behind him.
One of Williams' new fans isn't all that interested in his highs and lows, though. Instead, Michael DiMartino has taken note of Williams because of his signature pitch, 'The Airbender.'
'He's definitely on my radar now,' DiMartino told the Daily News. 'I'll have to check out a game.'
DiMartino, not much of a baseball fan, had no idea Williams existed until recently. However, he and Bryan Konietzko co-created 'Avatar: The Last Airbender,' the show that inspired the nickname bestowed upon Williams' go-to changeup.
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The animated series, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in February, aired on Nickelodeon from 2005-2008. Popular among kids and critics – the cartoon won a Primetime Emmy and a Peabody Award — 'Avatar' tackled complex themes such as war, genocide, colonialism, discrimination, sexism, classism, animal cruelty, corruption, death and the afterlife despite being geared toward younger viewers.
'I've seen a little bit,' the 30-year-old Williams told The News, noting that he's watched Season 1 multiple times. 'I haven't seen all of it. I used to watch it as a kid, though.'
'Avatar' is set in an anime-influenced universe that's full of martial artists who can telekinetically manipulate, or 'bend,' one of four elements: water, earth, fire or air. Nations are divided based on which element its people can bend, and the Fire Nation is on an imperialistic warpath throughout the show.
Only the Avatar, a 12-year-old boy named Aang, can bend all four elements. He's responsible for maintaining harmony between nations.
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There's way more lore to it all, but the thing to know is that Airbenders can make things move like crazy, just like Williams.
'I had never thought about it before,' DiMartino said, 'but someone who can actually air-bend would make a great pitcher.'
According to Baseball Savant, Williams' Airbender entered the 2025 season as the most valuable pitch thrown by a reliever since 2020. While the Mets' Pete Alonso got a hold of one last October and the pitch lacked effectiveness when Williams struggled earlier this season, it's back to being a deadly weapon, yielding a 39.6% whiff rate in May and a 40% rate so far in June.
Williams doesn't use telekinesis to make his Airbender dart, though, even if it may seem that way at times.
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'It kind of defies physics,' said Yankees Triple-A catcher Alex Jackson, who caught Williams in Milwaukee and this spring.
Added Ben Rice: 'It looks like a cue ball coming in.'
Williams' wrist pronation and flexion are responsible for his Airbender's movement. So is former Brewers and current Yankees teammate Trent Grisham, who recommended that Williams alter the grip of his changeup when the two were with Milwaukee in 2019.
'He does a really good job of getting his hand to the top, inside corner of the ball,' said Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake. 'Most guys side-spin the ball or cut it, and he does a good job of top-spinning the inside of the ball at a really high rate. So it ends up being essentially a left-handed slider with how hard he spins it from that position. Most guys can't do that.'
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Others referred to The Airbender as a screwball when Williams first started chucking it.
The debate left Rob Friedman, a.k.a. the Pitching Ninja, searching for an alternative. Then he remembered the show about a kid who can bend air.
'I was definitely familiar with the name of the cartoon, but never watched it,' Friedman said. 'I just liked the name and thought it was a great way to categorize something that's so nasty while stopping the argument of whether it was a changeup or screwball.'
Weaver, who throws his own filthy changeup, said Williams' is 'in a different category' and a 'unicorn-type pitch.'
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Austin Wells agreed, claiming Williams has an 'anomaly' in his arsenal.
'It's just different than what guys are used to seeing,' Williams said.
While the Yankees have become familiar with Williams' Airbender, the group didn't know much about DiMartino's. Like Friedman, few had seen the series. Some didn't even know about it.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. proved to be an exception.
'I watched it growing up,' said the Yankees' resident cartoon expert, who wears anime-inspired gear. 'My mom bought me the discs that had all the seasons and all the episodes on it.
'I watched it a lot.'
Williams, meanwhile, has leaned into being baseball's first Airbender.
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The image used for this story is the same one that Williams uses for his profile pic on Instagram. It was created by Francis Lee, a big fan of the Yankees and 'Avatar: The Last Airbender.'
The glowing eyes and arrow in the center of Williams' forehead are a nod to Aang's character design. The same arrow appears on Yankee Stadium's jumbotron when he enters a game.
'It's cute!' said DiMartino, who majored in animation at the Rhode Island School of Design. 'He makes a good-looking Avatar.'
Could Williams make a good-sounding 'Avatar' character, though?
Maybe he'll get the opportunity to find out.
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In 2021, Nickelodeon founded Avatar Studios with the intention of an expanded universe through new shows and movies. One film, 'The Legend of Aang,' has already been announced.
If Williams were to ever lend his voice to the Avatar universe, he wouldn't be the first athlete to do so. Tennis icon Serena Williams is 'obsessed' with the show and made cameos in 'The Last Airbender' and a spinoff, 'The Legend of Korra.'
'You never know,' DiMartino said of the Yankees' Williams playing a part.
Williams has never done any voice acting, but he's open to the idea.
'Sure,' he said. 'Tell him to contact my agent.'
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Chisholm, meanwhile, sounded ready to represent Williams should Nickelodeon come calling.
'He should be doing that!' the third baseman said. 'That's why you have that great nickname, bro. Use it to your advantage. It's sick!'
Williams said he'd like to finish the original 'Avatar' series, as he's a fan of anime. For now, however, he will focus on closing. DiMartino plans on checking in, though the Vermont native's newfound support comes with a plot twist.
'Growing up in New England, Boston teams were my dad's favorites, so the Red Sox hold a special place in my heart,' said DiMartino, who watched Bill Buckner's infamous error in the 1986 World Series in horror before shifting his interests away from baseball. 'I'll still be rooting for the Red Sox if the Yankees play them. Sorry, Devin!'
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With the Bombers starting a new series against the Red Sox on Friday, Williams, who already has one save against Boston this season, would rather make Yankees fans happy than DiMartino.
'Hopefully,' he said, 'I don't give him anything to cheer about.'
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New York Times
40 minutes ago
- New York Times
Enraged Aaron Boone throws gum, Yankees seethe over replay review in extra-innings loss to Red Sox
BOSTON — Amid a historic season that could go down as the single greatest in MLB history, Boston Red Sox starter Garrett Crochet had somehow found a way to make Aaron Judge look human. Through six at-bats against Judge this season, Crochet had struck out the reigning American League MVP each time. Crochet jumped ahead 1-2 in the count in at-bat No. 7 against Judge. Much like a slot machine at a casino, the lucky 7s flashed briefly, appearing as if this would be the time the jackpot hits. Of course, it never does. Advertisement Judge gained count leverage, fouling off two fastballs and taking two heaters out of the zone to get to 3-2. On pitch No. 7 of the at-bat in the ninth inning, with the New York Yankees down 1-0, Judge turned on a four-seamer down and in that cleared the Green Monster for a 443-foot blast. It's damn near impossible to have success seven times against Judge. Not when he has a 245 wRC+, which would be the highest in MLB history. It also didn't matter that Crochet uncorked a 99.6 mph fastball, which now holds the title for the fastest pitch Judge has homered off of in his career, according to Statcast. 'It's not even up for debate that's the best hitter in the league right now, and it's going to take a little bit extra to get him, especially the fourth time in one game,' Crochet said. 'That's just the nature of the beast.' The Judge bangs his gavel. #ALLRISE — New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 14, 2025 The Yankees managed just five base runners off Crochet before Judge finally unloaded on a pitch, launching a towering shot that seemed bound to clank off the Citgo sign somewhere 5,000 feet beyond Fenway Park's dimensions. That seemed like it would be the most dramatic moment of the night, but we were just getting started. Would it really be a Yankees-Red Sox game without absurdity? All hell broke loose in the 10th inning. It started with Anthony Volpe, the automatic runner at second base, attempting to steal third base with no outs. Volpe was initially called safe by third-base umpire Brennan Miller. Third baseman Marcelo Mayer was dismayed. He threw his arms up immediately and signaled that the Red Sox needed to challenge the call. Replay showed it was a close call, and it did not look like there would be conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the field. But, the replay center did overturn the call, and Volpe was out. Advertisement The decision to have Volpe steal there is questionable. Firstly, Jasson Domínguez, a left-handed hitter, is in the batter's box. That gives Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez a clear angle to throw down to third base. Secondly, there are few reasons a visiting team would need to advance a runner to third base with no outs in extra innings. Thirdly, the Yankees have the best offense in baseball; it's perfectly acceptable to believe one of the hitters will come through. The risk of stealing seems too great in that moment, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone was all in on the decision. 'Oh, hell, yeah. You're not?' Boone said. 'You've seen Anthony steal third. The only reason he's out is because he kind of gets caught on the slide where he doesn't extend. Absolutely.' After review, Carlos Narváez nabs Anthony Volpe with a perfect throw 😮💨 — MLB (@MLB) June 14, 2025 With one out, Domínguez struck out looking, bringing DJ LeMahieu to the plate with two outs and no one on base. LeMahieu ripped a ball down the right-field line that seemed fair but was called foul by first-base umpire Jeremie Rehak. The Yankees challenged the call, but replay ruled there wasn't enough evidence to overturn the call. This is when Boone went ballistic and charged out of the dugout. He took the Dubble Bubble gum out of his mouth and threw a fastball in the direction of home plate umpire John Tumpane, who immediately tossed the manager. Boone yelled a few obscenities and mocked Rehak making the call before heading into the clubhouse for the rest of the game. 'I want the courage to overturn the call,' Boone said. 'A quarter of the ball is on the line. It takes a lot of — something — a lot of imagination to say that's fair. Whatever. It's over with. I'm not saying we score there. In the end, they outlasted us.' When pressed further on the umpires needing 'courage' to change calls, Boone said it might be a poor choice of words and that he was 'heated.' DJ LeMahieu hit a ball down the first base line in extra innings and it was ruled a foul ball even after replay review. Aaron Boone tossed his gum and was ejected. LeMahieu would also get ejected after his at bat. The Yankees lost this game in extra innings 👀 — js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) June 14, 2025 LeMahieu then grounded out to end the inning, and he, too, was ejected after saying a few words to Rehak. This was LeMahieu's 1,652nd career game and first ejection. LeMahieu was 'surprised' to get ejected because he didn't curse or say any of the 'magic' words to get tossed. 'I just said that was a brutal call,' LeMahieu said. '(Rehak) said, 'What did you say?' I said, 'That was brutal.' That was it. Obviously, it's a high-intensity moment in the game and high pressure and emotions were running high.' Advertisement Adding to the silliness, the Yankees only sent two batters to the plate in the 10th inning because Volpe was thrown out at third. The Yankees then had to hold the Red Sox to no runs in the bottom of the inning, which is extremely challenging as the visiting team in extra innings. The Yankees intentionally walked Rafael Devers, brought in Cody Bellinger from the outfield to play first baseman and have a five-man infield with Mayer in the batter's box. Tim Hill struck Mayer out, and it looked possible the Yankees were going to somehow get to an 11th inning. But Narváez, whom the Yankees traded to the Red Sox this offseason for pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, drilled a ball off the Monster for a game-winning single. The Yankees are 12-26 in extra innings road games since 2020. It's the worst winning percentage in MLB over that span. Hill could have walked Narváez to bring rookie phenom Roman Anthony, a lefty, to the plate. It's a more favorable matchup for Hill, but the Yankees chose to go after the righty in Narváez. The Yankees did ponder walking him but decided against it. 'Some consideration there,' Boone said. 'We talked about it before the inning a little bit, but then you're bringing the walk into play off a guy that does have that kind of patience. Once we're ahead in the count there, we're going to take our shot.' In the clubhouse after the game, Trent Grisham, who did not play in Friday's game, was posted up in the back right corner eating an ice cream cone. So, not every Yankee went home with a poor taste in their mouth after dropping their third game to the Red Sox in the past week.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Red Sox walk-off Yankees as Garrett Crochet battles Aaron Judge in a classic
BOSTON — A low rumble turned into a roar as a sellout crowd at Fenway Park stood and watched Garrett Crochet jog out of the dugout and toward the mound for the top of the ninth inning. The 36,622 fans in attendance — just the fourth sellout crowd since the home opener — recognized what it meant. The 25-year-old ace left-hander was going for his first career complete game shutout, against the New York Yankees, no less, and with a fourth matchup against Aaron Judge looming in the second at-bat. Advertisement 'It was a special feeling, just jogging back out there and having a standing O,' Crochet said. 'I could tell the fans wanted me out there. I already wanted to be out there pretty bad, but it made it a little bit more special. I was able to grab a little bit of extra stuff in that inning.' It didn't go as planned for Crochet or the Red Sox. At least initially. Crochet had struck out Judge in his first three at-bats (and in six consecutive at-bats dating to last Saturday). All three times Friday, Crochet used his four-seamer to dominate Judge. His velocity climbed throughout the night as he threw his fastest pitches of the season, eclipsing 100 mph. Sheesh 😮💨 — Red Sox (@RedSox) June 14, 2025 So when Judge stepped to the plate with one out in the ninth as Crochet hit the 100-pitch mark, the starter stuck with his heaters. Judge finally caught up, demolishing a 99.6 mph four-seamer left, down and in, 443 feet over the Green Monster to tie the score and stun the crowd. An agonizing and eventful 42 minutes later, elation erupted throughout the century-old ballpark as rookie catcher Carlos Narváez clocked a single off the wall for a 2-1 walk-off win for the Red Sox in the 10th inning. It marked Boston's first walk-off win over the Yankees since Aug. 12, 2022. The defining victory of the season to this point featured a dramatic swing of emotions in the ninth and 10th innings. 'That wasn't fun,' manager Alex Cora quipped of the stressful 2-hour, 57-minute game. It's the first time the Red Sox have won three in a row since April 26-29. They've now won five of six games, including three of their last four against the American League East-leading Yankees. For 106 of his 107 pitches, Crochet dazzled. He held a vaunted Yankees lineup — one he'd surrendered five runs to just last week — to three singles and a walk, striking out seven, before Judge stepped to the plate with one out in the ninth. Advertisement 'Ideally, just trying to go up, letter-high, but also just trying to throw it as hard as I can,' Crochet said. 'I don't know the number, but he had probably seen 14 fastballs (from me) at that time, and he saw 12 six days ago (in New York). Just lack of execution there.' The shot tied the score and knocked Crochet out with one run allowed over 8 1/3 innings, the longest outing of his career. From there, chaos ensued. In the top of the 10th with automatic runner Anthony Volpe at the plate, Volpe took off for third base. Narváez fired a strike to Marcelo Mayer, who'd entered as a pinch hitter and took over at third base. Volpe was called safe before the Red Sox asked for a review. Several minutes later, the call was overturned, erasing a key runner. 'I trusted Marcelo there with the tag, and that was a close play,' Narváez said. 'Volpe flies, and he's a great base runner. He knows how to steal bases. That was huge for us in that inning.' Two batters later, after Garrett Whitlock struck out Jasson Domínguez, more drama ensued. DJ LeMahieu hit a hard shot down the right-field line that was initially ruled foul. The replay showed the ball just hitting the line, but the call stood. Yankees manager Aaron Boone burst out of the dugout in anger, firing his gum into the dirt, and was immediately ejected, injecting more life in the raucous crowd. In the bottom of the 10th with the bases loaded, Mayer struck out before fellow rookie Narváez got the job done against his old team. Nuh-nights Narvi. — Red Sox (@RedSox) June 14, 2025 The young catcher has more than exceeded expectations and added his first walk-off hit to his resume. 'It's really special,' Crochet said. 'He really calls games like he has been doing it for 10 years in The Show. His at-bats at the plate, late in crunchtime, he just never gives in.' Narváez's heroics capped a massive win for the Red Sox, but Crochet's performance dominated the night. He became just the fourth Red Sox pitcher to reach 115 or more strikeouts in their first 15 starts in a season, joining Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez and Chris Sale. Advertisement The win came on a night when the Red Sox received good news about third baseman Alex Bregman, who said he's running at about 50 percent effort and pushing for a midsummer return to the lineup. Meanwhile, right fielder Wilyer Abreu began swinging a bat for the first time since an oblique injury and could return by next weekend. What the Red Sox will do with their roster logjam, having recalled top prospects Mayer and Roman Anthony, both of whom have given the team a jolt, remains to be seen. On Friday, though, there was no basking in the satisfaction of another win at a time when it feels like the Red Sox finally might be finding their groove. They know they need more than a few wins to get back in contention. 'We've got to turn the page on this one, be ready for tomorrow,' Cora said. 'If we pitch, we can have a chance.' (Photo of Carlos Narváez: David Butler II / Imagn Images)
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Red Sox ace Crochet says he was happy to 'live and die with my best pitch' vs Judge
BOSTON (AP) — The Red Sox have had a chance in games whenever Garrett Crochet has been on the mound this season. And with the exception of one pitch in Friday's 2-1, extra-inning win over the Yankees, he again proved to be the antidote to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. Crochet held New York scoreless over a career-high 8 1/3 innings, striking out the Yankees slugger three times while holding the rest of New York's lineup to four hits with seven total Ks. But with Boston clinging to a 1-0 lead and Crochet back on the hill to try to finish the game in the ninth, his fourth time facing Judge proved costly. Crochet took him to a full count, but let his 99 mph fastball dip down in the strike zone — Judge's sweet spot. He jumped on it, blasting it 443 feet over the Green Monster and out of Fenway Park to tie the game. 'I'm going to live and die with my best pitch,' Crochet said afterward. "Whether it be pitch selection or execution, tough way to end it. But overall, I felt really good tonight.' It helped that Crochet's partner throughout the night — catcher and former Yankee Carlos Narváez — helped put a happy face on the night, when he ended the game with a walk-off single in the 10th. Crochet didn't get the victory, but Narváez said it didn't diminish his masterful night on the mound. For the season, Judge is just 1 for 7 with six strikeouts against Crochet. 'Crochet was awesome,' Narváez said. 'He made a mistake a little bit. But that was a 100 mph fastball. That was impressive. ... Probably the best pitcher now against the best hitter in baseball.' Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he has no regrets leaving Crochet in the game. 'That wasn't fun. But our guy was throwing great," Cora said. "He was efficient toward the end. We gave him a shot. It didn't work out. That's why (Judge) is who he is. One of the best in world, and he got one pitch down and he hit it out of the ballpark. You tip your hat.' Though he acknowledged he'd probably lose sleep over Judge's last at-bat, Crochet was proud of his overall outing. 'It was a special feeling jogging back out there. Standing (ovation). I could tell the fans wanted me out there,' Crochet said. "I already wanted to be out there pretty bad. But it made it mean a little bit more. It made me grab a little bit more in that inning. I wish I could have finished it out. ... If my night had to end there from a home run I'm at least glad that it was on a fastball.' ___
