“Samjin has never been this happy.”
The Pittsburgh Pirates moved Choi Ji-man, who suffered a left Achilles tendon injury on the 24th (Korean time), to the 60-day disabled list. Naturally, there was a vacancy on the 40-man roster, and Drew Madge filled it.
Madge was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 15th round of the 2010 draft. However, Madge did not step on the major league stage for the next 13 years. He played five minor league seasons in Pittsburgh, then went around five teams. He was called up to the majors last year from the Minnesota Twins in 2021, but had to watch the game from the dugout for two days.
Madge returned to Pittsburgh from the Philadelphia Phillies through a trade last season. Then came Madge’s first major league at-bat opportunity.
Pittsburgh won 8-1 in a home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2023 Major League Baseball held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Pittsburgh took the lead in the bottom of the 5th with Brian Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen’s 1-time RBI. Then, in the bottom of the 6th, Jason Delay’s timely hit added 1 point. In the 7th inning, Rodolfo Castro’s 2 RBIs, Bae Ji-hwan’s 1 RBI, and Delay’s 2 RBIs, a timely double, widened the score gap to 8 points. Freddie Freeman allowed a one-run home run in the top of the 8th inning, but the atmosphere of the game had already shifted to Pittsburgh.메이저사이트
In the bottom of the 8th inning, after Reynolds, the lead batter, was out with a fly ball, pinch hitter Madge came to bat when McCutchen was at bat. It was the first major league stage for a player who recorded 978 hits in 3846 at-bats in 1154 games in the minor leagues for 13 years.
Madge made a bold swing from the first pitch against Alex Becia. He hit the first pitch, but it was fouled out. After that, it became 0B2S as the batter’s pitch clock. After that, I fouled the 2nd ball and watched the 3rd ball. He then swung a miss on the 4th pitch and finished off his first major league at-bat with a strike-out.
“When (the fans) started chanting my name, I didn’t know what to do,” said Madge after the game. “I wasn’t sure if I should take my helmet off and respond,” Maggie said. I was going to have fun. It was the coolest thing that ever happened to me.”
“I’ve never been this happy with a strikeout in my life,” said Madge with a laugh about walking away with a strikeout.