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Chris Gittens Earns Big-League Opportunity As Yankees Look For 'Spark'
NEW YORK — Late on Friday night, Chris Gittens was laying in bed when his phone rang.
It was a call from Kevin Reese, the Yankees Senior Director of Player Development. After some small talk, Gittens was presented with the sentence that he's been waiting to hear for almost a decade.
You're playing first base was the New York Yankees tomorrow.
New York called up Gittens from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday morning, filling out the bench with a hard-hitting slugger poised to provide a spark to an offense that's been struggling for quite some time.
This isn't a typical promotion, though. Gittens isn't a top prospect, he's a 27-year-old and former 12th-round pick that's finally getting his shot at the next level after seven seasons in the minor leagues.
"This is what I've dreamed of my whole life," Gittens said hours before his MLB debut. "Whatever I can do to help the team out, not trying to do too much, just try to be me and help the team get a win."
If it wasn't for last year's lost season due to the pandemic, Gittens would have yet another campaign under his belt. The slugger recalled the overwhelming highs and lows of that spring, playing against the Nationals on March 12, the final day of big-league camp before COVID-19 brought the sport to a standstill.
From there, Gittens found himself stuck at home, forced to figure out new ways to keep improving at his craft.
"I went to Walmart, bought a little net, got a tee and was on top of my parking garage hitting, running up and down the parking garage because I couldn't go anywhere to hit or work out," he recalled.
Those extra reps, and his experience leading up to this spring, all paid off in a big way. Gittens was tremendous in Grapefruit League play this year, hitting .316 with three home runs over 20 games. He carried that momentum into his first taste of Triple-A, batting .283 (15-for-53) with four homers and an impressive 1.071 OPS across 18 contests.s
It's those numbers that had Gittens feeling like he made enough of an impression to earn a call up to the Bronx. That waiting game came to a close on Friday night.
"I felt like this spring I did pretty well with controlling the strike zone," Gittens said. "That was my big thing going into the season as well. Control the strike zone, whatever the pitchers give me, do damage with that pitch. So then I was just hoping that sooner or later, I get the call. And when I did, it was a joyous occasion. I can't describe it."
His new manager agrees. To Boone, this opportunity for Gittens goes beyond his numbers up to this point.
"Anyone that's been around them, it's a great dude," Boone said. "You're excited for him that he totally earned this opportunity and it was really neat seeing him in here today, watching him walk through the clubhouse and just kind of drink it all in. Everyone has a cool story to tell about their rise to the big leagues and Chris is no different. I'm just really excited that that he's here and getting this chance."
With starting first baseman Luke Voit out for the next few weeks with an oblique injury—and Mike Ford recently optioned down to Triple-A—Gittens could have a bit of a runway here to prove he belongs going forward.
"He's earned this opportunity to be here and he can continue to earn more," Boone said. "I think there is something to the 'hey, let's get a little spark up here,' a guy that can swing the bat that maybe can add a little something to the mix.d"
In the meantime, Gittens will focus on his big-league debut, penciled in to hit sixth against the Red Sox on Saturday night. Before showcasing his power in batting practice, the slugger said he's doing his best to stay calm before the game begins.
For Saturday's game and beyond, Boone's advice to the rookie was simple: be yourself.
"This is a guy that knows the strike zone, has big time power, big time power to all fields, is more athletic than you would think at first glance and plays a good first base," Boone said. "Anytime you get to this point, you've gone through a lot in your baseball life to get to this point and that rings true for Chris. So my message is go out there and be you. Hopefully he can be an important part of us shaking hands tonight."
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