"It’s been a long time coming," Westbrook said. "It’s a beautiful day. It really is."
By Hayden Bird
Jamie Westbrook’s reaction to his MLB debut: In rare instances, baseball draft picks jump straight to the Major League level. In most cases, players take a few years to progress through the minor leagues.
For Holyoke native Jamie Westbrook, it took a little longer. Westbrook, 28, was originally drafted in the fifth round by the Diamondbacks in 2013. Flashing forward 11 years and six professional teams later, Westbrook was still waiting for his moment.
Finally, on Saturday, Red Sox Triple-A Worcester manager Chad Tracy made the call Westbrook had been waiting on for his entire career.
“[Tracy] called me and said, ‘Hey, I’m sure there’s been a lot of managers throughout your career who wanted to give you this call and I’m happy it’s me, and you’re going to the big leagues,’” Westbrook told reporters, via MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “I don’t really know what he said after that. That was all I needed to hear.”
Advertisem*nt:
On Sunday, a scenario emerged in the bottom of the ninth where Westbrook would be needed. Boston manager Alex Cora sent the rookie in to pinch hit for Wilyer Abreu due to a pitching matchup.
Managing his anxiety and excitement well, Westbrook stayed disciplined and drew a walk to keep inning going.
“It was nuts,” Westbrook explained. “If you’re going to get in there, I guess that’s the best time. Get thrown right into the fire. We obviously had a chance to win the game there, so I was thinking, ‘Let’s have a good at-bat.’ The crowd was loud. When it got to 3-1, I kind of had to refocus. But it was everything I dreamed of.”
Though the effort to find a winning run fell short in the end (and the Orioles scored four in the top of the 10th to win 8-4), it was still an unforgettable moment for Westbrook.
Persevering through years of uncertainty at the minor league level, he is — as Cora tells rookies after their debuts — “a big leaguer now.”
“It’s so much sweeter now,” said Westbrook, per Sarah Barber of The Boston Globe. “It’s been a long time coming, for sure, but yeah, it’s just, it’s a beautiful day. It really is.”
Advertisem*nt:
Scores and schedules:
The Red Sox lost 8-4 to the Tigers in 10 innings on Sunday, as Boston once again fell back to .500 at 30-30. The Braves arrive in town on Tuesday to begin a two-game series at Fenway Park.
Also on Sunday, the Free Jacks defeated the Dallas Jackals 26-24 in Major League Rugby at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy.
The NBA Finals begin on Thursday at TD Garden, with the Celtics and Mavericks tipping off at 8:30 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
- Javier Báez’s 2-run single in 10th helps Tigers beat Red Sox 8-4
- ESPN’s latest projections tab Patriots as favorites for No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft
- Charles Barkley shares story of Tom Brady giving him a $250,000 watch
- ‘Hundreds’ of Tom Brady’s former teammates expected at his Patriots Hall of Fame Ceremony (report)
- Should the Bruins target Jakob Chychrun in a potential Linus Ullmark trade?
- Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett explain Kristaps Porzingis’ greatest impact with Celtics
- 5 factors that could determine the outcome of the Celtics-Mavericks NBA Finals
- Al Horford has been indispensable to the Celtics. It’s time he gets rewarded with his first NBA title.
- All systems go for Kristaps Porzingis at Celtics practice
- Jayson Tatum still holds ‘a lot of great memories’ of being teammates with Kyrie Irving
- Who should the Celtics have guard Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving in NBA Finals? Here’s what the numbers say
Devers defense: The Red Sox third baseman made an incredible play, getting the out at first after making the throw from one knee.
RAFFY 🎯 pic.twitter.com/N623xxEZOI
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 2, 2024
Clemson ran a hidden ball trick: The Tigers utilized the unorthodox strategy successfully in a 12-5 win over Coastal Carolina.
🚨 Hidden Ball Trick 🚨 pic.twitter.com/du9tGacze1
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 2, 2024
On this day: In 2001, Manny Ramirez hit the longest home run in the history of Toronto’s Rogers Centre in a 5-4 Red Sox win. The 491-foot moonshot drew applause even from a few Blue Jays fans, and was in a run of six games in which Ramirez homered five times.
Daily highlight: Connor McDavid scored one of the best goals of the season to open the scoring in the Oilers’ eventual Game 6 win, sending Edmonton into the Stanley Cup Final against the Panthers.
Sign up for Red Sox updates⚾
Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during baseball season.
Be civil. Be kind.
Read our full community guidelines.
