PHILADELPHIA — In a season in which the Mets seem to be receiving contributions from every corner, their newest arm to come through arrived from the bench.
Nate Fisher was a commercial lending analyst at First National Bank of Omaha, Neb., as recently as May 2021. He had been out of work beginning in May 2020, when the Mariners released him during the COVID-19 shutdown that canceled the 2020 minor league season.
So he took steps away from the game and settled into his new life — “Evaluating loans, a lot of fun stuff,” he said — until the Mariners called him back. They re-signed him in June 2021.
“I didn’t know if the opportunity would arise,” Fisher said after the Mets’ 10-9 win Sunday at Citizens Bank Park, where he dazzled in his major league debut. “When it came, I just obviously ran with it. This is my dream — just trying to make the most of it.”
The lefty pitched well enough in the Seattle system to catch the Mets’ attention. In November, the Mets signed him as another depth option who would begin the season at Double-A Binghamton.
By June, Fisher was up to Triple-A Syracuse, where he pitched to a 3.12 ERA in 43 ¹/₃ innings in outings that spanned from two to five innings. The Mets, churning through every available option in a desperate search for bullpen help — particularly from the left side — called up the 26-year-old Sunday morning, following a doubleheader in which two other Mets made their club debuts.
When the moment arrived, the banker was money. Fisher pitched three scoreless innings against the Phillies, holding down one of the better offenses in baseball on both sides of a 46-minute rain delay, to become one of the better stories of the Mets season.
“It’s been a crazy journey,” said Fisher, who was happiest that his mother, father, sister and two close friends were in the crowd. “I just always believed in myself. Never got down on myself. I just kept believing in my family and my support system.”
After Jose Butto’s major league debut, in which the starter allowed seven runs in four innings, Fisher came out for the fifth, only allowing a walk to Nick Maton.
“I had no idea who this guy was when he came into the game today,” said Mark Canha, whose two homers won the Mets the game. “He did a hell of a job for us.”
Fisher walked Kyle Schwarber in the sixth before the lengthy rain delay, in which he sat for about 15 minutes then started warming up in the bullpen again. Manager Buck Showalter said he only had four pitchers truly available — the four he used — and needed to try to squeeze everything out of Fisher.
After the break, Fisher completed two more scoreless innings before passing off to Trevor May and Edwin Diaz, who were far more shaky in the eighth and ninth, respectively.
Fisher said handling the Phillies was more difficult than his previous job, “But those days can get long at the bank, too,” he added with a smile.
Fisher called the day “indescribable.” Among the many to reach out in this whirlwind was his former boss, who likely will not be getting his former employee back soon.
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