Brandon Williamson had arguably the best start of his major league baseball career Saturday in Cincinnati. And then he made a bold fashion statement in the interview room at Great American Ball Park.
The Martin County West graduate debuted his celebratory “dub robe,” for the media and all to see after leading Cincinnati to a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The “dub robe” is a Snuggie-style robe custom made by his wife Eivey’s grandmother, Rene Kuehl.
The robe, which was a Christmas present, has a Reds patch on the front and his No. 55 on the back. He completed the ensemble with a Reds floppy bucket hat.
“I was like, ‘Why am I leaving this at home? This has got to be my Dub Robe,’“ Williamson told The Enquirer. “When we get a Dub, I’m going to wear it,” he said. “It’s good juju.”
“She made one for my wife and all her siblings, and I was like, ‘I want one,’ and I was like, ‘Let’s make it a Reds one,’“ said Williamson, who took it to the ballpark and wore it around the clubhouse Saturday for the first time.
“I was going to change (for the media), and (teammate Ben) Lively was like, ‘You’ve got to wear that.’ So I was like, ‘OK, I’ll do it.’
“I’ve honestly just been taking naps in it at home on the couch. And I was like, ‘You know what? This is pretty good. I better bring it and give Grandma Rene some love.’ “
Reds Manager David Bell wasn’t sure what to think when he saw his pitcher strolling through the clubhouse in the new garb.
“Then I heard the story,” Bell said. “It made a lot more sense after that. And I appreciated it a lot more after I heard where it came from.”
Are there more where that came from? The robe will be used for team, not personal wins. “Just team (wins). Not me,” he said. “I want to use it a lot this year.”
For the day, he went six innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking one and striking out five. He threw 80 pitches, 55 for strikes.
Williamson has a 2.25 earned run average in four July starts, bringing his season ERA down to 4.60 from its high of 5.82 at the end of June.
His next start is scheduled for Friday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.