Mets rookie Yan has viral celebration after 1st K
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- Jefry Yan, a 29-year-old left-handed Mets rookie, made his MLB debut Wednesday night in Cleveland and struck out pinch hitter Angel Martinez on an 88.7 mph called-third-strike slider to open the Guardians' sixth inning.
- Yan's celebration — a leap with feet spread apart, a left-handed grass slap, and both arms raised overhead — was the same routine he performed after a spring training strikeout earlier this year, and he told reporters he'd planned it in advance ("if I freeze him, which is exactly what I did, I celebrated accordingly").
- After the punchout, the Guardians loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, but Yan escaped the inning unscathed with a second strikeout and an inning-ending grounder.
- Cleveland fans booed Yan as he bounded off the mound and toward the dugout with the Mets ahead 4-3; Yan fired back: "If they want to boo me, they can do whatever they want... I'm in my zone."
- Mets interim manager Andy Green praised his composure: "To get out of a bases-loaded jam, get your first punchout, just excited for him. He deserves that."
- The Mets won 6-5 over the Guardians on Wednesday night, giving Yan a winning debut.
Why it matters: Yan delivered substance alongside spectacle in his MLB debut — two strikeouts and zero runs in a bases-loaded jam that preserved a 4-3 lead in the Mets' 6-5 win over Cleveland. At 29, he's an older rookie whose pre-planned celebration reveals a confident personality to match the on-field results.
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