Cade Smith Shares Secret To Sustaining His Elite Performance

Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith allowed one run on Wednesday against the New York Yankees in his team’s 5-4 win. The run wasn’t enough to spoil a save opportunity, which the reliever successfully converted.

Smith, after conceding five runs in his first six appearances this season, has finally returned to form, and he has done it in impressive fashion. He allowed just two earned runs in the entire month of May, in 13.2 innings. That’s good for a 1.32 ERA.

Some people panicked over his rough start, but Smith’s velocity, peripherals, and health were all as good as ever. Nothing indicated that those struggles were going to last. And they didn’t.

In a chat with Cleveland.com, the right-hander indicated the secret to pitching as well as he usually does.

“I liked the rhythm I had in May, and I look forward to continuing that. One of the beauties of baseball is having a game every day and being able to keep in that rhythm,” Smith said. “That’s something I appreciate coming out of the bullpen. It’s a fast-paced, short-memory kind of rhythm. It’s something I really enjoy.”

Smith covers two important points. The first one involves keeping his arm on a nice rhythm, pitching every day or every other day to keep himself sharp and focused. Relievers can’t go several days without hopping on the mound because they get cold and tend to lose focus and effectiveness.

The second key aspect of a relief pitcher’s life, as Smith says, is having a short memory. If you, as a closer, allow three runs and blow a save, you just can’t have that on your mind the next time you pitch. That’s now in the past, because the mind is a crucial aspect of ninth-inning hurlers.

The Guardians always believed in Smith despite his early-season slump, because they knew that the ingredients were there for the results to be much better. And they are, as he is sporting a cool 2.83 ERA for the season with an even better 1.08 FIP. He has positively impacted a shocking percentage of his team’s wins.

Cleveland knows it has arguably the best reliever in the American League in Smith. Teams definitely don’t want to reach the ninth inning against the Guardians behind in the score.