Not all 22-year-olds wake up before their alarm clock and just decide to go to work early. But not all 22-year-olds are Colt Keith.
The Tigers youngster, fresh off signing a six-year, $28.6 million extension this offseason despite never playing in the Big Leagues, said he was up bright and early Thursday morning and couldn’t wait to get to work on the first day of his new job.
Even if it meant commuting alone in Chicago.
“I woke up before my alarm and decided I’m not just gonna sit and stare at a hotel wall, I’m just gonna get to the field and start getting to work,” Keith told Bally Sports Detroit’s Johnny Kane. “I was the only one on that bus — it’s the staff bus — but I just wanted to get here and get to the field and kinda get used to the nerves and kinda settle in.”
The early wake-up call for the Tigers’ new starting second baseman paid off as he earned his first career hit in his first career game.
After lining out to left field in the 2nd inning, Keith reached base on an infield single in the 4th inning, topping out at 29.2 feet per second as he flew down the line.
“I was imagining a bomb to right center, but that’ll work too,” Keith said.
With his parents and his fiancee in attendance at Guaranteed Rate Field Thursday, Keith admitted he got “a little choked up” several times throughout the day, but was just happy the team was able to get off to a 1-0 start.
His father, Troy, told Bally Sports Detroit it was a “surreal” day.
“It’s gonna take a while to sink in, to understand where I’m at. It happened very fast. And yes, we’re very proud, but it’s kinda like we’re in fantasy land right now, trying to make it seem real,” he said.
The Tigers beat the White Sox 1-0 behind a dominant pitching performance from ace Tarik Skubal, who struck out six and allowed three hits in six innings. Javy Baez scored the game's only run after slapping a 3rd-inning single, stealing a base and tagging up on an Andy Ibanez sac fly.