Dodger Stadium, Tiger Stadium...Whatevs

Making your Major League debut as a call-up on September 1st rules. Making your Major League debut as a call-up on September 20th still rules, but not as much.

In late August of 1998, I was not yet just an average MLB player. I was actually among the best players in minor league baseball that season, playing for AA Jacksonville. I was ranked as the number one prospect for the Detroit Tigers, so I had a feeling I'€™d soon play on the same field Ty Cobb once graced. That old Tiger Stadium was a peach (wink).

Heading into September, the Suns were playoff bound. That was good and bad. It was good that I'd get to be with my teammates, but being in the postseason was only bad at that point.

Don't get it twisted, I loved my Jacksonville boys. We were one of the tightest group of dudes I'd ever been around. When Robert Fick and I were struggling in the middle of the season, Dave Anderson showed up at our motel room one evening with some beers. We hung out and bullshitted, learning how to deal with the ups and downs of a long season. Our team was as thick as thieves.

Nevertheless, young boys don'€™t lie in bed at night dreaming of winning a Southern League championship. When I was five, I envisioned playing at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, not Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, home of the Bay Bears.

Ultimately, we lost the Championship Series to the Padres affiliate. I was so happ...I mean, damn, I wish we would have won the thing in 7 (kicks dirt).

After the game, Dave called Robert and I into his office and told us the news. We'€™d be flying to Detroit to play the Twins the following day. I remember feeling anxious, impatient and even annoyed at times leading up to that moment. Those negative emotions dissipated entirely. Pure elation engulfed me. I was cool and calm on the outside. I'm sure I reluctantly cracked a smile. Inside, the aforementioned five year old boy wept.

On September 20th, 1998, I made my major league debut as a call-up. It ruled.