Enter laughing
Imagine this: You are a professional baseball player, on a second-tier (AA) minor league team. They move you up to the next level (AAA). But you're there only eight days when suddenly the call comes in that you're needed in the Major Leagues.
You get there, joining your team on the road. They put you right into the lineup, starting at your defensive position. The first time you step up to the plate, you hit the second pitch.
It goes 377 feet for a two-run homer. Your team wins the game, against an important rival, by two runs.
Not bad, eh?
His name is Brett Baty, and he is a third baseman for the New York Mets.
It's been a tough go since. He's gone 3 for 26, and lately 1 for 17. But he's tasted something, and he'll be trying to hold onto it. About that there can be no doubt.
BRETT BATY HAS HOMERED IN HIS FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE AT-BAT!!!!! pic.twitter.com/EPwfc0BDzK
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 17, 2022
Walter Mitty.
ReplyDeleteHe's the 133rd to do it, and the fourth this year(!). A lot of the guys that do fade quickly into obscurity, but some, like pitcher and Hall-of-Famer Hoyt Wilhelm, go on to have notable careers. Aaron Judge and Willson Contreras seem like they'll stick around for a while.
ReplyDeleteI saw Hoyt up close outside Yankee Stadium once.
DeleteThat must have been a thrill. He was an amazing cat. He hit that home run in his first at bat, then never hit another one in the 21 seasons he played. Less than 500 PAs, though. Even more incredible is that he didn't make MLB until he was 29, pitched into his 49th year, and put up a 2.52 career ERA. He was mostly a reliever, granted, but he threw over 100 innings in something like 15 or 16 of those seasons, and nobody pitches to that age anymore. Adam Wainright, who also hit a HR his first time up is still looking pretty strong at 40 though. I think there are a lot of pitchers out there right now that could extend or manufacture an MLB career by learning to throw the knuck.
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