Reborn as reliever, Luke Hochevar became an unsung hero of Royals’ magical run in 2015
Luke Hochevar watched every pitch of the Royals’ 2014 playoff run from the dugout, close enough to feel the exhilaration of a World Series effort that fell just short. An injury had rendered him unavailable to contribute.
The next season followed a different script. Hochevar delivered some of the best innings of his baseball career as part of bullpen that dominated during the Royals’ 2015 championship run.
“There were some nerves going into the playoffs,” said Hochevar, now retired. “I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t some stress involved.”
Whatever tension Hochevar carried, he hid it well or used it as fuel. In the only postseason of his career, Hochevar appeared in nine playoff games and tossed 10 2/3 scoreless innings. He surrendered six hits, struck out four and walked just one, becoming one of the unsung heroes of the Royals’ magical run to a championship.
The Royals won 11 playoff games in 2015 and Hochevar was the pitcher of record in two of those victories, including the World Series Game 5 clincher against the New York Mets.
From a pressure standpoint, his biggest moment came in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Yordano Ventura started the sixth inning with the Royals trailing 1-0. Six batters and two runs later, the Blue Jays had the bases loaded with one out, poised to blow a hole in the game and tie the series.
In came Hochever. He got Kevin Pillar out on an infield pop fly and Ryan Goins grounded out ending the threat. The Royals then staged one of the rallies that marked their playoff run and emerged with 6-3 win.
“Definitely a tough spot,” Hochevar said. “No room for error.”
Hochevar appeared in four of the five World Series games. In Game 5, he threw the 10th and 11th innings. When the Royals broke through with five in the 12th, closer Wade Davis finished, but it made Hochevar the winning pitcher.
The bullpen was a dominant force in the Royals’ two years of playoff bliss. In 2014, the Kelvin Herrera-to-Davis-to-Greg Holland connection closed out games from the seventh inning on.
A year later, Holland was injured, Davis stepped into the closer’s role, Herrera became the eighth-inning specialist and Hochevar severed as a middle man, replacing the starter and handing the ball to the next designated relievers.
“He was huge for us,” Royals outfielder Alex Gordon said. “They always talk about the seventh-, eighth-, ninth-inning guys. But when our starters would pretty much go five, maybe six innings, it was Hochevar that had to bridge that gap.
“So he was always up and down and didn’t know if he was going to go in the fifth or sixth. He had light’s out stuff, too.”
Gordon and Hochevar were the longest-tenured Royals that season, former college stars who made their major-league debuts in 2007. Hochevar, a former overall top draft selection, never found consistency as a starter and was moved to the bullpen in 2013.
His caerer was reborn. As a starter, Hochevar owned a 5.44 career ERA. In three years as a reliever, it dropped to 2.95.
“I didn’t take it as the demotion of a failed starter because if you think that way you’re going to fail in your next role,” Hochevar said. “I saw it as a beginning of something new.”
Hochevar’s final year was 2016. He became one of the first players from the Royals’ World Series team to retire.
He now lives in Knoxville, Tenn., with his family and stays in touch with his former Royals teammates, especially those with whom he passed the time in the bullpen. Davis, Herrera and Holland remain active in the game, Holland back with the Royals.
As a group, they were never better than their Royals’ playoff run, with Hochevar serving as a sturdy bridge in 2015.
Lynn Worthy contributed to this story.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM.