On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers named Jack Flaherty as the starter for Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees with Yoshinobu Yamamoto following him as the Game 2 starter.
Flaherty has had an inconsistent postseason so far, but he’s also had the best performance of any Dodgers’ stater in October. After his seven inning gem in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, he followed that up with eight earned runs allowed in three innings in Game 5.
Perhaps things could have gone differently if not for Pete Alonso’s first inning home run on a great pitch from Flaherty, but it was clear that the Dodgers’ starter didn’t have his best stuff that game.
After being traded to his hometown team midseason, Flaherty has already made two postseason starts at Dodger Stadium, but he is now faced with the opportunity to do it on baseball’s biggest stage.
“It means I get to pitch first. It’ll be fun, be exciting, and I’m looking forward to it,” Flaherty said. “I’m looking forward to Friday. There’s no bigger stage than this.
“This is what we’ve all wanted as kids, and the position we want to be in. I don’t really have any words for it. I’m just looking forward to Friday.”
The Dodgers clearly showed that they were the superior team during the NLCS and it all started with a decisive Game 1 victory with Flaherty on the mound that set the tone for the rest of the series. The Dodgers have largely been able to lean on their bullpen throughout the playoffs, even in an extended series like the NLCS, but still need quality outings from their starters.
“It’s an opportunity to go out and set a tone, make some adjustments after the last game that I had and be able to set us up for the rest of the series,” Flaherty said.
“It’s going to be a grind, it’s going to be hard-fought from both sides. At the end of the day we’re going to give it everything I’ve got.”
Ahead of the biggest start of his life, Flaherty counts himself lucky to have a great support system around him that helps him stay grounded in the moment.
“You have to have good people around you, and I’ve been very lucky to have that,” Flaherty said. “My family, my mom, my brother, my close friends, that group has been my rock and my foundation for a very, very long time. I’m really lucky to have them in my life and be able to call some people family, pick up the phone and talk to them whenever.
“But they always remind me at the end of the day that it’s never as big of a situation as everybody else is going to make it seem. It’s awesome, it’s great, this opportunity is phenomenal. It’s what we’ve all wanted. But when you sit down with your close group and it just feels like a regular day, it feels like you’re 15 years old again and sitting and talking, things haven’t changed. It just kind of puts things into perspective.”
Jack Flaherty rebounded after down years
A former first round pick in 2014, Flaherty’s career was full of promise early on. In 2018, he was No. 2 prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals’ system and the No. 38 overall prospect in MLB. After two great seasons in 2018 and 2019, he was one of the game’s best young starters.
Fast-forward to the 2023 season and he was traded from the team that drafted him after struggling to replicate that success over the last four seasons. Fortunately for Flaherty, he landed on a playoff-bound Baltimore Orioles squad. Unfortunately for him and the Orioles, they were bounced in the AL Division Series.
After hitting free agency for the first time in his career, he signed a 1-year, $14 million prove-it deal with the Detroit Tigers head of the 2024 season. He revitalized his career with the Tigers and is now competing in the World Series for the first time in his career after a disappointing playoff exit last season.
“Yeah. I had somebody text me that the other day, saying, ‘What a difference a year makes.’ Thinking about how last year went, being at home and watching the World Series versus being in this situation now,” Flaherty said.
“The year I was able to have, turned into a bounce-back, was able to execute better and just do a lot of things better. It just comes down to hard work. The more you work and the more you stay disciplined, things seem to come your way.”
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