I know you’re excited. You ran to SeatGeek and StubHub and bought nearly every available ticket for Tuesday.
@barstoolWSD these were all green this morning. pic.twitter.com/DzWwObFocQ
— Michael Dendor (@MichaelDendor) August 19, 2018
The jersey hit shelves the moment the White Sox fired out the tweet that Michael Kopech was coming to Chicago. Just please…please don’t break him.
The Kopech No. 34 jerseys are ready, #WhiteSox fans pic.twitter.com/0sE0jRC8y1
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) August 19, 2018
Don’t expect him to fire no-nos in every start. Don’t ask him to dazzle you with superhuman radar-gun readings. And for the love of God, don’t ask him to be Nolan Ryan in his debut.
He’s 22 years old with an arm chiseled from Mt. Olympus and a city in a frenzy for dominance. Despite what you may think about professional athletes, they are humans. Indeed, Kopech pays attention to social media and although I’m sure he’s extremely excited about heading to the big leagues, when he sits back and takes a moment to collect himself he’s going to realize what’s at stake.
Just like Yoan Moncada, Kopech is in for one hell of a rollercoaster ride. Rarely do players shoot out of the gates and reach the apex of success. Lucas Giolito is dealing with a 6.15 earned run average this season and Reynaldo Lopez has been suspiciously average. Tim Anderson was in the rookie-of-the-year conversation, earned a contract extension and is still trying to regain the magic he had in his first season.
And don’t forget Avisail Garcia. He was supposed to be the answer in 2012 and beyond, but adding up the disappointments far outweighs the success he had last season and most of the reason he can’t be flipped in a trade. But the good news is that all of those players (Garcia included) are still very young and early in their careers. They have time to yield returns on their investments and carve out lengthy careers.
It’s unfair to place your hopes and dreams on the broad shoulders of Kopech on Tuesday. Go to the ballpark, wear his jersey and welcome him to Chicago in a proper way. But please, in the belief of all things holy, don’t let your emotions overrun your rational thought if he lays an egg.
He might walk six batters. He might not get out of the first inning. He might even lose. He is certain to throw at least one fastball 104 miles per hour.
…Just let him ease into the bigs. It was wholly unfair to rail on Moncada this season. He’s young and he’s learning how to be a big league hitter. He deserves criticism — there’s no doubt about that — but, as they say, development isn’t linear. All of the young players that will introduce themselves to Chicago in the next few seasons will need your cheers, not your jeers.
Enjoy Tuesday’s game. Give the kid a standing ovation and let him know that you’re behind him. Just please don’t break him.
