Kris Regas was Kansas City’s most consistent and effective reliever in 2014, adding another impressive chapter to his 13-year professional career. Regas, who was the team’s All-Star representative and the club’s 2014 Most Valuable Player, set the T-Bones single-season record for saves with 22, which was tied for third in the American Association in 2014. He led the T-Bones with a 2.70 ERA and tied for the most wins on the club (7). So, what does it take to be an All-Star closer? In this latest installment of “Covering the Bases,” Matt McMullen from tbonesbaseball.com caught up with Regas and got three keys to saving games. 


1. Warming up
“This is pretty self-explanatory; everybody has their own routine. My particular routine is throwing pitches in the bullpen to our bullpen catcher. There are a few other stretching activities I do in the clubhouse before the game, but the most important thing is throwing pitches to the bullpen catcher.”

2. Throwing strikes that the hitters cannot hit
“This is usually a very successful step. If you throw strikes that the hitters can’t hit, you’re successful 99 out of 100 times. Unfortunately with some of the umpires I’ve encountered, it doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to. Yes, I blame all blown saves on the umpires. [Laughs.]”
 
3. Having a short memory
“For example, let’s say I give up a three-run, game-losing home run one night. I might be called on to come back and save the next game. That means I have to forget about the night before, when I gave up the….what was it I gave up?”