MLB world reacts to player’s terribly timed bobblehead night

When the New York Yankees promotional team was scheduling its giveaways, Luis Severino’s bobblehead night on Friday, July 7 probably seemed like a surefire winner. Things look a lot different now.

While Severino had his share of injury issues in his career, he’d always been an effective pitcher when healthy. He entered 2023 with a career 3.39 ERA, 1.121 WHIP and a 10.0 K/9 rate. He even pleased the old-school fans, with a solid 50-29 record. This season, though, has been a dramatic departure from that. Heading into Thursday night’s start against the Baltimore Orioles, Severino was 1-3 with a 6.30 ERA, 1.650 WHIP and 7.7 K/9 rate.

And any hopes that Severino could at least give the fans a good memory on Thursday — his final start before Friday’s bobblehead night — were quickly dashed. Severino was shelled by the Orioles, surrendering seven runs (all earned) on 10 hits with one walk in only 2.2 innings.

Baseball fans had a lot to say about New York’s poorly-timed promotional giveaway.

Luis Severino bobblehead night tomorrow, game starts at 7:38. Oh wait sorry, that’s his ERA.

— Nick (@NYYNick_) July 7, 2023

In Severino’s defense, the Baltimore lineup just seemed locked in on Thursday. Albert Abreu replaced Severino on the mound and fared no better. In only two-thirds of an inning, Abreu allowed six earned runs on four hits with three walks.

Still, not making it out of the third inning and making your already poor ERA a full point higher is a rough outing for any pitcher, especially one a day away from a bobblehead night.