This rookie's MLB debut was worth the wait

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There have been seven Pirates to make their Major League debuts this season. Diego Castillo, Beau Sulser, Cam Alldred, Jack Suwinski, Cal Mitchell, Yerry De Los Santos and, on Tuesday, Travis Swaggerty. Of that septet, Swaggerty’s first hours as a Major Leaguer may have been the most eventful of them all.

When Swaggerty -- the Pirates' No. 13 prospect -- arrived at Werner Park, the home of the Omaha Storm Chasers, on Saturday, he was expecting to play, as normal. He was penciled into the lineup. But suiting up that evening for Triple-A Indianapolis wouldn’t be necessary. He had bigger games to play. He had been called up.

Swaggerty, as one might imagine, was excited, so much so that he only slept for about an hour that evening. Who could blame him? You only get your first call-up, and all the emotions that come with it, one time. Swaggerty caught an early morning flight that got him to PNC Park an hour prior to game time on Sunday.

By the time he threw on his uniform, he was running on fumes and adrenaline. With that in mind, Swaggerty played the role of spectator for the series finale on Sunday -- probably for his own good.

The off-day on Monday not only gave Swaggerty an opportunity to recharge, both emotionally, mentally and physically, but gave his family and friends the opportunity to settle in. Everything appeared to be working out.

Then, the rain.

About an hour prior to Swaggerty gracing a Major League field for the first time Tuesday, the skies opened up. The game would be delayed approximately two hours, and for good reason.

It was pouring. There was thunder. There was lightning. There were some fans who decided to, for some reason, sit in the rain and get soaked. And there was Swaggerty trying to maintain some semblance of sanity.

"I was a little rattled,” Swaggerty said. “I was one of the first people out there getting ready to stretch just to knock the nerves off a little bit. [Bench coach Donnie Kelly] taps me on the shoulder and is like, 'Rain delay.' No way.

“I had to just sit in here and just wait, not sure of when we're going to play. That part was tough to deal with. I just wanted to get out there, so I'm glad we got to play.”

When the Pirates took the field at around 9 o’clock, the anxiousness, the nerves were non-existent. For Swaggerty, it was the same ol’ game that he’s played his entire life. Swaggerty went hitless in three at-bats, but the results came secondary to the experience. Two days later, he recorded hit No. 1, an infield single against Max Fried.

"It's really hard to put into words,” Swaggerty said. “It was amazing to get here after all the hard work and all of the setbacks. It felt really good."

A quick aside: I was wondering what Swaggerty was going to use for his walk-up song. Given his last name, there were so many great choices. “Turn My Swag On” by Soulja Boy. “Unlock the Swag” by Rae Sremmurd. “Swagga Like Us” by T.I. Swaggerty didn’t go with any of those three, but went with a track that I hadn’t even considered: “Otis” by Jay-Z and Kanye West, specifically the beginning where Jay-Z raps, “I invented swag.” An 80-grade choice for an 80-grade song.