At the beginning of the last season, right-hander Landon Knack had a pretty good idea that he was going to make his MLB debut. He was obviously super excited to get the season started, but little did he know what was ahead.
Of course, everyone knew the Dodgers had a very good chance to win the World Series, but, it’s one thing to have that thought or idea. And as plausible as that may have sounded, it’s a totally different thing for it to actually happen. Especially when you find yourself sitting in a bullpen in the middle of New York City when you realize what is getting ready to happen.
Success is Nothing New
Knack grew up in Johnson City Tennessee, went to one of the most powerful Jucos in College Baseball at Walters State, then finished his college career at East Tennessee State. Then, after an incredibly successful Collegiate career, where he set one strike-out record after the other, he was drafted in the 2nd Round of the 2020 draft.
He immediately entered the system as a top prospect, and, after fighting through some injuries and a long stay at the AA level, he finally arrived last year.
And, it was all he ever dreamed about.
Yeah, obviously the expectation was that I assumed I would debut sometime during the year, so the expectation was to come out and compete for a job. With what the year ended up becoming it obviously exceeded my expectations, and I basically split the year up there.
I was able to make the Post-Season roster, win a World Series, and, obviously when you do that, it surpasses all your expectations you have for your Rookie Season.
Be In The Moment
One of the things the Dodgers teach their prospects is to be in and stay in the moment. With as much shuffling as they do with their roster, prospects like Knack have to know where their feet are at for any one given day, and be there, in that moment, not wishing they were somewhere else.
That’s something that’s sounds great, but is much harder to do when you’re stuck in AA, or back in AAA after experiencing the thrill of a Major League environment. But, it’s a process that Knack mastered, so when he finally got his shot, he made sure and took it all in.
When asked if he ever had the chance to take a step back and take a moment to appreciate what was happening, here’s what he said.
I think I had that moment in my debut. I kind of just looked up at the top deck before we got going, and was like, alright, we actually made it. I let the moment sink in a little bit, so it started to hit a little bit then.
Then, as the season went on we definitely thought about how far we had come in a short time in the last couple of years.
World Series Championship
From the first time any young kid picks up a ball or a bat, it’s a dream to play in the Major Leagues, it’s a dream to play in the World Series, especially in Yankee Stadium, and it’s a dream to play for such an iconic brand like the Dodgers.
For Knack, when he took the mound and saw Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton, it actually gave him a sense of calmness. In fact, the way he described it was that it just kind of felt normal to him, and especially after some of the Veterans game him some good advice.
Blake and a bunch of the guys had done a really good job of talking to me about the moment and just embracing it, and understanding that you don’t have to do anything extra. They made me realize all I had to be was myself.
Once that final pitch was thrown, it was just a wave of emotions that I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around. It was pure craziness, and I just kind of looked around to take it in, and it was just surreal.
Bullpen Game
Knack was thought to be the logical starter in game 4 of the NLDS when the Dodgers were down to the Padres 2 games to 1. Although the organization eventually chose a bullpen game, Knack still got to close the game doing a great job getting the last 3 outs to send the series back to L.A.
Knack is one of the most competitive people on the planet, so, of course, he wanted the ball to start the game, and here’s what he had to say about that situation.
I didn’t really know how to prepare for that day, to be honest. Throughout the entire week, I thought I was going to start that game, but the way the series went they decided to opt with the bullpen game. Which, of course, as good as our bullpen had been I still don’t blame them one bit to this day. Obviously I wanted the ball, but we saw how that worked out when the “Dawgs” shut that game down.
So, I was kind of sitting there not really knowing what to expect, because once the game actually started I didn’t really know when I was coming in. So I was just trying to stay ready, and then once we started to build a lead I started moving around a little to get going.
As the game went on our bullpen coach told me that if we scored 1 more I was in, and because of how late it was I didn’t have time to think about it much, so we just got the body moving, got out there and went.
World Series
One of Knack’s biggest contributions came in the only game the Dodgers lost in the World Series. Knack came in Game 4, in a 1-run game stabilized the game, and gave the Dodgers a chance to win that game. But, even in not doing so, he kept the entire rest of the bullpen fresh for Game 5, the game that clinched the World Series title for the Dodgers.
I took a lot of pride in that. I was just trying to hold it down to give us a chance to win that game, which was the main thought. But, of course, also at the same time I’m trying to eat as many innings as possible because I knew we weren’t going as deep into our bullpen that game. We were trying to save the bullpen to make sure the next day we were 100% ready to go and have all of our high-leverage guys ready, so to be able to save the “Dawgs”, I take a lot of pride in that.
Past Experience
As mentioned earlier in the article, Knack had a lot of great experiences to draw upon, dating all the way back to his days in Johnson City. Here’s what he had to say about how those experiences prepared him the most.
I think the way we went at it at Juco at Walters State, being such a winning program, I learned to make of it what you want to make of it. So you really learn that grinder mentality, so I leaned on that, plus the “win no matter what” mentality that is created there.
Knack is coming off of a great season that surpasses his expectations, that’s for sure. So, there’s a lot of excitement moving forward to continue that momentum to keep living the dream as a Major League pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. And, a World Champion, hopefully several times over.
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