I’m always a sucker for a good major league debut! It’s a combination of dreams coming true after years of hard work, fans getting to play with a new toy like it’s Christmas morning, and families celebrating the success of a loved one – All nestled against a game with real stakes and consequences. It never gets old.
Tonight was extra special though because everything about Connelly Early’s major league debut was totally unexpected. He never expected to make his first big league start in a minor league stadium 3,000 miles away from Fenway Park. The Red Sox probably never thought they’d have to call him up this Early, and nobody thought he’d tie the Red Sox record for most strike outs in a debut with eleven. It was just one of those crazy nights where baseball was baseballing and all the stars were aligning.
And that’s just on the surface. When you add in the fact Early’s vim and vigor came against the backdrop of the Red Sox desperately needing a bottom of the rotation starter to save their skidding car from spinning off course before reaching the finish line in this tightening divisional race, it only gets better. Over the last month, this particular slot in the rotation was steadily becoming about as pleasant as a root canal thanks to the spoonful of suck being delivered by a slew of subpar pitching every fifth day.
And then out of nowhere, Dustin May goes on the IL and this delightful ball of energy comes crashing onto the scene to seize his opportunity. Great for him! Great for the Red Sox!
It wasn’t just that Early struck out eleven and didn’t allow any runs over five innings of work, it’s how aggressively he attacked the zone, how prepared he was to use every pitch in his arsenal, and the sheer moxie he had out there every time he went toe to toe with a hitter. It was just one game, but damn did he look like he belongs in this league.
And then if all that wasn’t enough, Early was also a joy to watch in the dugout. During his outing, he couldn’t sit still when it was time for Boston to bat in the top of each inning. He was constantly moving around in the dugout, always eager for it to be his turn to get back out on the mound and attack again.
Once he was done? He spent the rest of the game next to Garrett Crochet chatting it up and clearly soaking it all in. Again, it’s just one game, and I’m sure the baseball gods will smack him in the face next week, but it’s hard not be excited about everything you saw from Early tonight.
Here he was in the postgame interview:
Connelly Early: I mean, duh!
Rob Refsnyder: One of the reasons it felt like Early was never in trouble in this game is because he was handed a 4-0 lead before he ever took the mound. Three of those four runs came on this moonshot off the bat of Rob Refsnyder, which at 463 feet was the longest home run by a Red Sox player this year.
(However, Roman Anthony had a much longer home run in Worcester this year right before he was called up. That 497 foot blast may have also been the biggest home run of the Statcast era, and also came in a minor league ballpark like Refsnyder’s did tonight, so we’ve still got some ironing out to do there.)
Romy Gonzalez: Earlier in that first inning, he got the scoring started with this solo shot.
That bomb also extended his hitting streak to 12 games and makes him a red hot 19 for his last 32. But unfortunately, Romy Gonzalez didn’t make it to the end of the game, which brings us to …
The Injury Bug: This bastard will not leave the Red Sox alone! After getting another hit in the second inning (this time a double down the right field line), Gonzalez left the game with left knee soreness. For now, the hope is he can return Friday.
Ceddanne Rafaela: He wasn’t needed much tonight as all of his at bats came in low leverage moments, but he did go 0-4 with three strikeouts to continue an ice cold second half.
MLB Owners: There’s a long, long list of people to blame for the A’s current stadium situation, but when you have a group of billionaires who have known the A’s were in need of a new stadium for years (if not decades) and they end up playing in a minor league ballpark, it’s just beyond inexcusable. It takes a special level of greed, incompetency, and all around gall to end up here. One owner is mostly responsible, but as a sport, they should all be embarrassed (they’re not).
If there’s one moment that personified Early in this game, it was this job he did at the end of the fourth inning. It was the only time the A’s might have been able to get something cooking all night, and instead of cracking as the pressure ramped up, Early stayed aggressive, didn’t give in, and racked up a pair of strike outs to keep the A’s off the board. Tremendous stuff here!
(He was pretty freaking pumped about it as well. Imagine what this guy’s going to be like on the mound in Boston when he gets a taste of the Fenway atmosphere next week?)
