Chris Gittens was laying in his bed, winding down after a 1-for-4 night with Triple-A Scranton, when his phone rang.
It was Kevin Reese, the head of the Yankees’ Senior Director of Player Development.
“They need you,” Reese said.
Gittens had no idea who “they” was, but it turned out to be the major league club in desperate need of an offensive spark.
“You’re playing first base for the New York Yankees tomorrow,” Reese said, completing a seven-year journey in the minor leagues that has led to Gittens’ big-league debut on Saturday night.
“I was shocked,” Gittens said. “Absolutely shocked. When he said ‘they need you,’ of course I didn’t know what he was talking about. Then when he said ‘you’re playing first base, will you be ready?’ Of course I’ll be ready. This is what I’ve dreamed of my whole life.”
Gittens hopes to bring his eye-opening power stroke to the Bronx this weekend, and show why he was dubbed the “Hard Hittin’” nickname. He’s showed why so far in the minors, posting a 1.071 OPS with four home runs in Triple-A so far this season. He showed it in spring training this past year with a 1.248 OPS and three home runs in 19 at-bats, and now will have a chance to show it on the stage he has been hoping to reach since being drafted in the 12th round in 2014.
“I felt like this spring, I did pretty well with controlling the strike zone,” Gittens said. “That was my big thing going into the season…I was just hoping sooner or later I would get the call.”
Cutting down on the strikeouts has been a focal point for Gittens in recent years, but after striking out 17 times in 24 at-bats during spring training in 2020, Gittens’ opportunities to improve upon his plate discipline suddenly disappeared due to COVID-19.
Suddenly, after playing with the Yanks against the Nationals on March 12, his season was over.
“Just from having spring training in 2020…then all of a sudden it’s over with, it was really like a downer and an upper,” Gittens said. “I just knew to stay to what I do, get my work in and do everything right, and when the season comes, just be ready. That was my biggest thing. Be ready to go whenever I do get the shot, and now, being here, it’s unbelievable.”
Gittens, like many other athletes at the height of the pandemic, had to get creative to stay sharp during the lost minor league season. He went to WalMart and bought a tee and a net, and took swing after swing atop a parking garage at his home in Texas, and by the time he returned the following spring training, his strikeout total was nearly cut in half. Now he’ll be asked to aid a lineup that is trying to find its way after slumping the first two months of the season, though Gittens knows if he tries to put it on himself to give the lineup a jolt, the strikeout wave will return.
“These guys know how to hit,” Gittens said. “They’ve been here before. With me just coming up, I’m not trying to just hit a home run and just do everything by myself…just do my part. Whatever the pitcher gives me, that’s what I’m going to do…Whatever I can do to help the team out. Not try to do too much, just try to be me and help the team get a win.”
With Luke Voit still on the IL and Mike Ford back in Triple-A after slumping badly all season, the door is open for Gittens to earn regular playing time in the short term. But Saturday night will be about that night alone, the one he has hoped for since 2014, and those closest to him will be in the Bronx to enjoy it with him, including his father, who will be seeing him play as a member of the Yankees organization in person for the very first time.
“Mom and dad are both coming,” Gittens said. “My dad told me in 2014, right when I got drafted, he said I’m not coming to see you play until you make it to the big leagues. Just to be here today is incredible. Every time I just think back to that. It’s a blessing he’ll be able to see me play tonight.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
