A hitter who spent 13 years in the minor leagues of the American professional baseball league received a hot congratulations for his thrilling first at-bat in the major leagues (MLB).
Drew Maggie (33) of the Pittsburgh Pirates, to which Bae Ji-hwan (23) belongs, took a pinch hit in the bottom of the 8th inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on the 27th (Korean time).
When the announcer called Maggie as a pinch hitter, the fans in the arena stood up and chanted his name and gave him a standing ovation.
It was in 2010, 13 years ago, that Maggie signed her first contract with the Pittsburgh club.
Maggie, who was drafted in the 15th round of the draft, traveled with his parents to PNC Park to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, envisioning himself on the pitch soon.
However, it took a lot of time for him to debut in the major leagues.
Maggie made her debut in the big leagues only after digesting 1,154 games and 4,494 at-bats in 13 seasons in the minor leagues alone.
Maggie, who played several teams in the minor leagues, was called up for the first time in her life in September 2021, when she belonged to a team affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, and accompanied the Toronto Blue Jays visiting game.
However, he sat on the bench, never played, and went back down to the minor leagues, putting his name on the ‘Phantom Ballplayer’ list.
After that, Maggie, who had been quietly living in the minor leagues, was called by the Pittsburgh team on the 25th when Choi Ji-man (31) was placed on the 60-day injured list (IL) due to an Achilles tendon injury.
And after watching two games from the bench, I finally got my chance to bat in the game against the Dodgers today.
At the end of the 8th inning, when Pittsburgh was ahead 8-1, Maggie, who went to bat while receiving applause from the fans after one out, hit Dodgers reliever Alex Becia’s first pitch, but it was fouled.메이저놀이터
Then Maggie, who got out of the batter’s box to catch her breath, unexpectedly received ‘one more strike’ for violating the ‘pitch clock’.
When Maggie was declared a ‘pitch clock’ violation, home fans booed the referee.
Maggie, who also fouled on the second pitch, watched the ball on the third pitch, but struck out after swinging at the slider falling on the fourth pitch.
Maggie, who made her debut in the major leagues at an age when others might consider retirement, unfortunately headed to the dugout, but the fans did not stop applauding.