Persistence finally paid off for longtime minor leaguer Drew Maggi, who after 13 seasons in pro baseball finally made his debut in the majors on Wednesday night at the age of 33.
The Pittsburgh Pirates promoted Maggi from their Class AA affiliate on Sunday, but he didn’t play in any of his first two games on the big league roster.
Perhaps that made his debut even sweeter. With his family in the stands and the Pirates leading the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1, Maggi was called on to pinch-hit for designated hitter Andrew McCutchen.
What came next, he’ll remember for a lifetime.
The crowd at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park gave Maggi an extended ovation as he stepped into the batter’s box for the first time as a major leaguer – after 13 seasons and 1,154 games in the minors.
STAY UP-TO-DATE: Subscribe to our Sports newsletter now!
On the first pitch from Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia, Maggi hammered a pitch down the left field line that just went foul. He was a little late stepping back into the box and home plate umpire Jeff Nelson called an automatic strike to put Maggi in an 0-2 hole.
He eventually struck out, but that didn’t dampen his excitement.
“I was trying to focus on the at-bat but also trying to really enjoy the moment, too,” Maggi said afterwards. “There was a lot going on in my mind. It was the coolest thing I could ever imagine. It was the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Drew Maggi, 33, makes MLB debut with Pirates after 13 years in minors