Remember Sonny Gray? The once-electric hurler who, let’s be honest, struck out more than just batters during his stint with the New York Yankees in 2017 and 2018? The New York Mets’ fans might still shudder at the memory. Well, folks, dust off your metaphorical cobwebs, because that narrative is about to get a major rewrite.

As Gray carved through the Queens’ lineup this Saturday, striking out nine and waltzing to his fourth win in as many starts for the St. Louis Cardinals, a truth emerged brighter than a Missouri sunrise: Gray needed to get out of the Bronx. And his comeback story proved to be pure fire.

The Sonny Gray Story: From being lost in the lights to finding himself in a data deluge

According to the ever-reliable MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, Gray’s struggles in pinstripes weren’t about the New York spotlight. Nope, this was a battle within. “Gray at that time wasn’t lost,” reveals Rosenthal, dispelling the myth of the overwhelmed rookie.

“He wasn’t being intimidated by New York… He was struggling to find out who he was, what made him good as a pitcher.” Imagine this, if you will: a young gunslinger known for overpowering hitters suddenly finds his every pitch dissected by a sea of analytics. Talk about an identity crisis! It’s enough to make any pitcher lose their mojo.

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Fast forward to 2024, and Sonny Gray’s back with a vengeance, a completely different animal on the mound. Since ditching the Bronx in 2019, he’s thrived, even finishing a hair’s breadth from the coveted AL Cy Young Award last year with the Minnesota Twins. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol puts his dynamic with teammate Paul Goldschmidt beautifully: “It’s starting to come together… They’re throwing together and stringing together some really quality at-bats.”

This newfound confidence is music to every Cardinals fan’s ears, translating into results that would make a choir sing. Gray’s current ERA with St. Louis? A sparkling 1.16—a far cry from the days of Yankee pinstripes. 4 games into the season, and the dude has already bagged 32 strikeouts, averaging 8.00 SO/BB. Can you imagine?

More Than Redemption: A Cardinal takes flight

But here’s the real mic drop moment: Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, post-game, could only describe Gray’s pitches as “disappearing.” Disappearing! This isn’t just a hot streak—this is a full-blown resurrection. Sonny Gray isn’t just back; he’s back with a vengeance, a blazing fastball, and a curveball that seems to vanish into thin air.

Gray’s dominance isn’t a recent phenomenon. He now holds the record for most strikeouts by a Cardinals pitcher through their first four starts with the team. That’s some serious company to keep; no wonder the Cardinals brass opened their wallets with a hefty three-year, $75 million contract in the offseason. This is proving not to be a gamble anymore. Rather, a shrewd investment in a proven winner.

And Gray is delivering on that investment in spades. His performance against the Mets wasn’t a fluke. Remember, he’s now a perfect 4-0 in his career against New York. Some pitchers just have a team’s number, and the Mets seem to be Gray’s kryptonite, in reverse. One burning question lingers: could a different approach from the Yankees have unlocked this potential?

We’ll never know for sure. What we do know now is that Sonny Gray has found his groove, a rhythm that perfectly complements St. Louis’ pitching staff. The Bombers might be left wondering what could have been, but St. Louis is celebrating a bona fide ace. And who knows, maybe this is just the first chapter in a beautiful new story for Gray—a story written not in the pinstripes of New York but in the heart of baseball at Busch Stadium.