Star professional athletes almost always find a way to make it to the top. They're like cream in that regard. One such athlete who managed to break out in 2022 was Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie. McKenzie, in just his third season, pitched to the tune of a 2.96 ERA in 191.1 innings, effectively forming a solid 1-2 punch atop the Guardians rotation with Shane Bieber. The motivation behind McKenzie's star turn, however, seems to be much simpler than one may think.

On January 10, 2022, McKenzie, on a whim, tweeted out that he wanted a Rolex. Fair enough – Rolex watches look elegant and luxurious. But out of nowhere there Marcus Stroman was. Stroman replied to McKenzie's tweet, saying that if McKenzie pitches a season with a 3.7 ERA or lower on over 160 innings pitched, Stroman himself would gift him the watch he wants.

Evidently, Triston McKenzie took that challenge to heart. McKenzie was able to hit those benchmarks and pass Stroman's challenge with flying colors. But one of the most heartfelt aspects of this whole interaction is that McKenzie and Stroman weren't particularly close; Stroman just wanted to help out a pitcher six years younger than him find his way in the big leagues with an expensive incentive.

Thus, it's no surprise that the young Guardians starter had doubts on whether Marcus Stroman would follow through on his promise, as he revealed in an interview with MLB Players Media. It was only in September 2022 when McKenzie realized that Stroman's challenge was the real deal.

“It was like ‘send me the shipping info. You earned it. You got everything done,'” McKenzie shared.

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Triston McKenzie clearly got more than what he bargained for when he tweeted out that he wanted a Rolex. Not only did he get the watch he wanted, he also received kindness from an out-of-nowhere source in Marcus Stroman.

“I think it goes as to who he is as a person, and it's inspired me. I think at a certain point in my career, I'm gonna have to give back just because being on the receiving end felt so nice; I can only imagine what it feels like to be on the giving end,” McKenzie added.

So to all the young pitchers looking to cement themselves in the MLB, tweet out your heart's desires; Triston McKenzie could be lurking, ready to pay forward Marcus Stroman's act of kindness.