Parmley makes ‘ dream’ debut with Blue Jays

Injuries pave way for 27-year-old’s shot at majors

KANSAS CITY• Asa seven th-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays back in 2012, Ian Parmley had to figure it wouldn’t be a short road to the big leagues.

So when it finally arrived, you couldn’t wipe the smile from the face of the 27-yearold native of Snohomish, Wash.

“It’s a dream come true,” Parmley said in the visiting dugout at Kauffman Stadium prior to making his majorleague debut in right field for Friday’s game against the Royals. “I’ve been waiting for this moment since I was five years old. This is what I wanted to do and here I am.”

The move was made as much out of necessity as anything — given the injuries to Steve Pearce, Ezequiel Carrera and Chris Coghlan. But none of that mattered when Parmley got the word from Buffalo Bisons manager Bobby Meacham in the middle of a game Thursday night in Syracuse.

At first, Parmley was ticked that he was being taken out of the game, but the disappointment didn’t last long.

“(Meacham) took me down the tunnel and I kind of lost it a little bit,” Parmley said of hearing the news.

There wasn’t much time to get overly emotional, however. Parmley had to make his way to K.C. in time for Friday’s series-opener, plus alert his parents John and Joanne so that they could make the flight from Seattle in time to see their son’s debut.

It’s been quite a journey for the veteran minor- leaguer. Parmley has made the tour of most of the Blue Jays minorleague stops from Dunedin, to Vancouver, to Lansing, to New Hampshire and, most recently, in Buffalo, where he is hitting .289 for the Triple-A Bisons this season.

Desperate for a warm and quick body to patrol the vast outfield here, manager John Gibbons shared some excitement with Parmley, the latest Jays prospect to get the chance to make his MLB debut.

“I congratulate t hem whenever a new guy comes up and tell them to have fun with it,” Gibbons said. “There will only be one first. You never know how they’re going to react to it but this is their goal to get here.

“It’s pretty cool and good for the organization too, to get some home-ground guys get their opportunity.”

Given the injury situation this season, the Jays have had a number of call- ups, but it would have been difficult to predict such a fate for Parmley given how it began for him.

Though he joined the team for the two pre-season games in Montreal, the outfielder wasn’t even part of the main training camp in Dunedin and didn’t play in any Grapefruit League games.

Over the past two seasons, Parmley has alternated between right field and centre, benefiting under Meacham’s coaching. “I’ve just been refining my approach at the plate and getting consistent at bats has helped a lot,” Parmley said. “My parents flew in on short notice and there will be a little bit of butterflies, but it’s going to be a great time.”