Longtime minor leaguer Drew Maggi experienced a wide range of emotions since he found out last week he’d be joining the Pittsburgh Pirates — after 1,155 games and 13 seasons in the minors.
He didn’t get to play in his first two games on the Pirates roster, but then saw all his hard work and persistence pay off when he finally stepped into the batter’s box as a big leaguer on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
And then, on Saturday night with the division-leading Pirates up 12-0 in the second game of their doubleheader against the Washington Nationals, the 33-year-old infielder collected his first major league hit.
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“I saw it go right through the middle,” Maggi told reporters after the game. “It’s so vivid in my mind right now. I was just happy that I got it done and got that weight lifted off my shoulders.”
But the cruel business of baseball reality reared its head once again.
On Sunday morning, one week after receiving the long-awaited call-up, the Pirates sent Maggi back to Class-AA Altoona.
He had a good idea the move was coming. In fact, the Pirates briefly optioned him to the minors on Friday so they could call up outfielder Miguel Andujar. But when the game was rained out, Maggi was able to stick around for the Saturday doubleheader as the team’s 27th player.
Had it not been for the rainout, Maggi — who didn’t play in the first game vs. Washington — may have never gotten that first major league hit.
“I know, of all people, that this can end very quickly. Then, who knows where it goes from there?” he said. “Maybe I never get back up here, and that was it. That was going through my head the whole day, so I said, ‘I’m swinging. I’m going out hacking.’”
Maggi got one more at-bat in the game, and doubled off Nationals outfielder Lane Thomas as the Pirates won the nightcap 16-1.
“Obviously, I never gave up, and I believed I could do this,” he said. “But now that it’s happened, it solidified that belief. It was just a special week for me, and I’ll never forget it.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pirates send Drew Maggi back to minors, but not before first MLB hit