Brett Callahan Triples on the First Pitch of His MLB Debut for the Tigers

What a moment for us and for a kid who told his mom at five years old he wanted to be a Major League ballplayer! Brett Callahan, a 24-year-old former 13th-round pick out of St. Joseph's who hadn't played above High-A until this season because of injuries, got the call Saturday and flew in from Louisville, with his family arranged to fly up from Delaware. Then Sean Burke threw him a first-pitch curveball, and Callahan sent a line drive into the right-field corner, plating Colt Keith and Zach McKinstry on a two-run triple in his very first big-league at-bat. Some folks in the stands were wearing his old High-A West Michigan jerseys, and Callahan became the first Tiger to triple in his first plate appearance in 114 years — the last was Ed Irwin, way back on May 18, 1912. With lefty bats Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows and James Outman all on the injured list, this left-handed hitter earned his shot. A righty-heavy Pirates rotation waits in Pittsburgh.