ST. PETERSBURG — Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said the pitching staff should treat Kevin Kiermaier for all the hits and runs he saved them over the course of the season in the same fashion NFL quarterbacks take care of their offensive linemen for keeping them upright during the season — with an expensive gift or dinner.
Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi said it would be a crime if Kiermaier doesn’t win a gold glove for his work this past year in center field.
But perhaps the best compliment paid to Kiermaier came in mid-September from New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who said when his players drive balls into the gap or deep center field during batting practice, someone around the cage will say, “Kiermaier would have caught that.