From all the evidence we have to date, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a one-of-a-kind baseball player. And when he takes the field for the…
From all the evidence we have to date, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a one-of-a-kind baseball player. And when he takes the field for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, he’ll experience something special: His first game in the big leagues.
USA TODAY Sports spoke with several players about memories of being promoted to the majors and playing in their first game.
1B Yonder Alonso (Cincinnati Reds, Sept. 1,2010)
Alonso was taken seventh overall in the 2008 draft, and his potent bat helped him work his way quickly through the Reds’ farm system. As the 2010 season was winding down, he was inexplicably taken out in the middle of the game against Class AAA Toledo, but no one told him why.
“I remember my parents texting me and saying, ‘Hey, is everything OK? Did you get hurt? What’s going on?’»
He got word after the game the Reds wanted him as a September call-up. So he drove from Toledo to Cincinnati that day while his parents caught the next flight.
“They were ecstatic. My dad and my mom, they started crying,” he said. “It was a special moment, and I think it was even more special when I got to see them the next day with a big-league uniform on and the anthem and all that stuff. It was very emotional.”
He made his debut that day as a pinch-hitter.
