It’s the dream of every kid playing baseball in Little League and every young man in college or the minors: The day he gets called up to Major League Baseball. For Nationals minor leaguer Aaron Barrett, the dream had been derailed. Barrett had suffered through three major injuries and had to retrace his long steps through the minors.
Barrett had gotten his call-up in 2014, even pitched in the playoffs that year for the Nationals, but Tommy John surgery, bone spurs in his ankle and a fractured elbow followed. He lost effectiveness and had to go back to busing from one minor-league town to the next.
That’s all over now. Take a look:
The moment Aaron Barrett found out he was going back to the bigs. Congratulations, Aaron!
cc: @Nationals @masnNationals @MLB @MiLB @aaronbarrett30 pic.twitter.com/RSxQ1b9dMT— Harrisburg Senators (@HbgSenators) September 3, 2019
The height of emotion
Matthew LeCroy, manager of the Double-A Harrisburg Senators, wants to share this moment with the whole team.
“Today, I want to recognize a winner on our team,” LeCroy says in the video. “You’ve been an inspiration to me, brother. An inspiration to the coaches and to these players.”
After a pause to gather himself, LeCroy continues.
“It’s an honor that I got to manage you,” he says. “But it’s more of an honor to tell you that you’re going back to the big leagues!”
Barrett’s Senators teammates pounce on him, screaming in joy. The man they call “Bear” has finished his long road back.
Story from March on how Aaron Barrett wanted one more comeback in a comeback already full of them. He wanted to get back to a major league mound: https://t.co/iYMPHiEW9O
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) September 3, 2019
Not just a courtesy
The Nationals are squarely in the playoff hunt, leading the National League wild-card race and trying to chase down the equally red-hot Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
So calling up Barrett is more than a courtesy for a beloved former teammate. The Nats, whose major weakness is their bullpen, expect Barrett to help.
Barrett had a 2.75 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 52-1/3 innings in Double-A, and he pitched well for Washington in 2014, too.
That was his first call-up. This one was harder to achieve, took more patience and probably means a whole lot more to “Bear.”
An emotional Aaron Barrett on this call-up vs his first one in 2014: “I honestly think this one might be better than the first one. It’s been crazy.”
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 4, 2019
