Sonny Gray Says He Views Time With Yankees as a Positive Experience

Sonny Gray's brief stint in New York was a failure in many regards. The Bronx faithful lamented seeing him take the mound every fifth day, and they were sure to let him hear it every time he put up a stinker at home.

But in spite of all the negativity surrounding his Yankees tenure, the Cincinnati Reds All-Star still looks on it as a positive experience.

Sonny Gray on surviving Yankees hell and turning it all around https://t.co/dEXaUGaoIn pic.twitter.com/q7cNHdyPFW
— New York Post (@nypost) July 8, 2019

“I think everyone kind of knows that New York wasn’t a great fit for me, place for me, last year,” said Gray, per the New York Post. "But looking back, I wouldn’t change one thing about it.”

It was a learning experience for Gray. He labored every time he had to pitch in New York, posting a 6.98 home ERA in 2018, but he has taken those struggles and grown from them since he joined the Reds.

He says that he's come out of the stint as a stronger pitcher, and he couldn't be more on the money. Gray has posted a 3.59 ERA in Cincinnati and is on pace to finish with 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings, the highest rate of his career.

Sonny Gray was removed from the Yankees' rotation and left off the postseason roster in 2018. He says that experience helped him become an All-Star. https://t.co/zRE5brP9qE
— Enquirer (@Enquirer) July 9, 2019

Sometimes it takes a little bit of adversity for a player to round back into form. Gray's time in New York might not be remembered fondly by the Yankees or their fans, but to him, it was just what he needed to become a better version of himself.