St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery, who was traded from the New York Yankees to the Redbirds in August, went on the R2C2 podcast and explained the difficulties of pitching for the Yankees.
"I was always worried about getting booed off the mound in New York," Montgomery told ex-Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and broadcaster Ryan Ruocco, per Justin Tasch of the New York Post.
"The pinstripes are heavy. Not everyone can handle it. I feel like I handled it OK. I could’ve been better, but there was a lot of things going into that I guess. But here [in St. Louis], I’m just being myself and pitching the way I want to. I guess the fans have kind of embraced me so far."
Montgomery is thriving in St. Louis, going 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA and 0.90 WHIP through seven starts.
His outings include a one-hitter against the Chicago Cubs and five shutout innings in a 1-0 win over his old team. Montgomery has allowed one run or fewer in six of seven starts.
The left-hander, who played at USC, may have turned into a bona fide All-Star in St. Louis. However, he did well in pinstripes, going 22-20 with a 3.94 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in five-plus seasons.