- Eduardo Nunez was all smiles in the Yankees clubhouse last night, one season removed from a breakout year in Trenton.
Following the Yankees 7-2 win in Game 5 of the ALCS last night, reporters surrounded all the usual suspects in the Yankees clubhouse. Reporters and camera crews were five deep at Derek Jeter’s locker within a minute of the doors being opened, while groups slowly crowded around Nick Swisher and others.
Getting dressed by himself in the corner of the clubhouse, however, was Eduardo Nunez.
Nunez spent his entire 2009 season in Trenton, putting together the best offensive season of his career. He established career highs in batting average (.322) and home runs (9) and drove in 55 runs while stealing 19 bases. Despite leading the Eastern League with 33 errors, Nunez’s offensive prowess did a lot for his progress in the organization, and earned him a 40-man roster spot going into this season.
Having played most of this season at Triple-A Scranton, Nunez was used sparingly at the big league level during the regular season, but finds himself in uniform during the postseason thanks to an unfortunate season-ending injury to Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira.
“(Tuesday) night, they called me up and they told me,” Nunez said. “I was a little bit surprised. I’ve been working in Tampa, I was ready.”
Nunez said he was “practicing everything” down in Tampa and staying in shape in case somebody got hurt. While he was sad to see his teammate get injured, he was happy for the opportunity to experience the playoffs at the big league level.
“It’s different, so different,” he said.
“It’s a new experience for me in my first year, being in the playoffs. It’s good.”
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
