PITSBURGH — Throughout the season, the Pirates were plagued with injuries forcing the club to look to the Minor Leagues for reinforcements. For 10 players, the callups to Pittsburgh were more special then normal. This season the Pirates had 10 rookies make their Major League debuts.
Pitchers Mike Crotta, Jared Hughes, Jeff Locke, Daniel Moskos, Aaron Thompson, Tony Watson, Infielders Chase d’Arnaud, Josh Harrison, Josh Rodriguez and Catcher Eric Fryer all saw their dreams come true with Pittsburgh.
That moment of taking the mound or stepping into the batters box for the first time was by far the highlight of the season for the rookies.
“Definitely my debut,“ Watson said of his favorite moment this season. “I mean, that’s something I’ll never forget, just the opportunity to be up here. That night I’ll never forget. With my family here, just breaking into the Major Leagues is something I’ll never forget.”
“That’s probably as excited as I’ve ever been to make a start, or do anything like that,“ Locke said. “All my family was able to come in. Favorite moment of the year has definitely been being able to finish it up here.”
Added d’Arnaud, “Definitely my first game. Every win that we’ve had has been special, a good feeling. All the walkoffs that we’ve had. It’s been a fun year. It’s a good group of guys, great team chemistry. I look forward to coming back next year.”
For Harrison and Hughes, however, their favorite moment of the season was just being able to be in the big leagues.
“I’d just have to say just being up here,“ Harrison said. “You can always say first hit, first home run, this or that, but I’m just enjoying the moment as a whole.”
“I feel like this month has been great,“ said Hughes, who was a September callup. “I feel like every time I go out there, it’s my new favorite moment.”
They say the hardest part isn’t just getting to the Majors, it’s staying there. With the taste of the big leagues, the players are using what they learned to help them this off-season and into spring training.
Hughes, who went from a starter to a reliever this season, didn’t allow a run in his first eight Major League appearances.
“I think that every year has been an experience as to what keeps me healthy, keeps me in shape in the off-season,” Hughes said. “I just need to stick with whatever keeps me healthy. I kind of have a game plan…I have a pretty good clue on what I need to do to come back healthy, throwing.”
For 23-year-old lefty Jeff Locke, the season was a world wind. The Pirates No. 8 best prospect (ranked by Baseball America prior to the 2011 season) made 23 starts in Double-A this year, five starts in Triple-A before getting a September call up. Locke made four starts with the Pirates, learning every pitch along the way.
“I was able to make [four] starts up here and I feel like they’ve progressively gotten a little bit better each time,“ Locke said. “All my work between the weeks have been really strong and really good. Just the experience, the lessons that I’ve learned from some of the older guys. It’s been one heck of a year.”
d’Arnaud, who some refer to as the shortstop of the Pirates future, hit just .217 in 48 games this season. But in his last two starts of the season, d’Arnaud went 4-for-8 with a triple and three RBI. He swiped 12 bases this season (out of 14 attempts).
“I’m looking forward to working on some things, coming back next year even better,” said d’Arnaud, who will play this off-season in Winter Ball. “Just practice on things I need to work on, get a lot of reps in, work smart. Just be more consistent with my swing and be more balanced. Work on my mechanics and stuff like that so when I come back, I don’t even think about it, just confident about it.”
Harrison, came up big in his rookie debut, collecting two-hits and a RBI, which tied the game up at 1 against the Chicago Cubs, the team that drafted him. Harrison fell a homer shy of the cycle on August 24th and finished the season batting .272 with 13 doubles.
“Everything I’ve learned from being up here, the adjustments, being ready to play, the progress that I’ve made over the past two months, I’ll just take that into the off-season with me,” Harrison said.
Watson was used from the ‘pen in many different ways, left-on-left, high-leverage, long relief, and he excelled in his first season in the Majors. The 26-year-old lefty posted a 3.95 ERA in 43 relief appearances and was scored upon just once in his last 12 outings this season.
“I think just seeing how these guys go about their routine,“ Locke said on what he learned most. “The veteran guys in here, learning how they go about their business out in the bullpen, being prepared everyday, every inning, so no matter when the phone rings out there you’re always ready to go.”
If you want to relive the moments, here are the postgame video interviews of the players after making their Major League debuts.
Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports
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