PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – "Anybody else get emotional? Cause it was emotional in our dugout, man. That was cool. That was really cool."
Pirates manager Derek Shelton's reaction after he had Drew Maggi pinch-hit for Andrew McCutchen in the eighth inning. It was the near 34-year-old Maggi's Major League Baseball debut. After 1,155 games and 13 seasons in the minors, he finally made it.
He had a feeling after the Bucs scored five runs in the seventh inning to make it 8-0 against the Dodgers. He started to think it was his night. Maggi said he was waiting, his head going back and forth watching. He said he probably cleaned his glasses 45 times and started to get loose, you know, just in case.
Shelton said he started feeling the eyes on him in the seventh to get Maggi in the game.
"Donnie (Kelly) looked at me in the seventh and I was like, don't even look at me," Shelton said. "Then (Andy) Haines and (Mike) Rabelo started talking about it. And I was like you guys do not talk about this until we get through (the top of) the eighth. When Jason Delay got this hit, I was like, alright. We're gonna be in a situation we can do this."
Shelton smiled as he said he went to tell McCutchen he was pulled him for Maggi and said if he wouldn't have told McCutchen, the former Bucs All-Star probably would have told him.
"So, I mean I've had multiple guys over the course of the last few days, they were like, hey, when are you getting him in?" Shelton said. "I mean, hell my wife texted me and was like, when's the Italian kid gonna play? And she's Italian, so. But yeah, I think everybody in that dugout felt it."
"He just looked at me and said, 'You ready?'" Maggi explained of Shelton coming to him in the dugout. "I said, 'Yeah.' He said, you're hitting. It was kind of like, It's your time, so let's go. I liked the way he did it."
As he stepped up to the plate the crowd got out of their seats.
"It was way more than I expected," Maggi said. "I didn't even know to do when (the fans) started chanting my name. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to take off my helmet. I was waiting to get on the end of the (batter's) box. It looked like there was a lot of people there. It felt like a packed house when I came up. It was crazy. I didn't know what to do, man. It was just great."
"It was overwhelming for me. I was trying to focus on the (at-bat) but also like trying to really enjoy the moment, too. 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."
Maggi swung at the first pitch and lined it foul down the left-field line. There was a brief moment where you thought, just maybe. Maggi said he knew the whole time it was foul. Then he was called for a clock violation for strike two. He smiled and said no comment on that call. He fouled off a pitch before taking a ball and then struck out swinging. But it really didn't matter. He said it's the happiest he's ever been for a strikeout.
His teammates have been with him, and his dream, since Spring Training began in February.
"Everyone's really embraced me," Maggi said. "It was kinda like, you know, we were on this win streak and 'Who's Drew Maggi?' But this group really just embraced me and it was it was really cool for me because I'm new to the big leagues. I don't know what it's like up here. Everyone's been great and really supportive and really happy for me."
Then after the game the emotions ramped up as he walked over to the railing along the third base line at PNC Park.
"My mom was crying," Maggi said. "Brothers were all laughing. My uncle is here. My dad was … I haven't seen my dad cry ever. So it was emotional."
"I met them over on the line, we took a bunch of pictures. A lot of 'I love you's' and "We're proud of you.' It's awesome."
"Over the years, I've thought about what I would say to my parents. I really wanted this for them because they'd been right there with. They've seen some hard times as well. So just hearing those words made it all worth it. And not that I would replace the last 13 years, but it just feels like it's justified and I'm grateful it happened. I got to share that moment."
"I was grinding for 13 years, but I was doing what I loved. Getting here, my name's in history. I put on a big league uniform. I shared the field with the world's greatest."
"I can finally sleep at night, hopefully."
