Albers’ start was dream debut
Saskatchewan native’s pitching gem draws attention from many in baseball world
Andrew Albers’ stunning major league debut Tuesday night caused quite a sensation, both in wider baseball circles and within his own family.
His parents and two sisters, freshly arrived from North Battleford, Sask. took him out for a small celebration in Kansas City with three old baseball friends after he spun 8⅓ innings of scoreless baseball during his first-ever major league game. He allowed four hits and had two strikeouts.
The eight of them sat there into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, rehashing a crazy week and the Minnesota Twins’ 7-0 win over the host Royals, trying to wrap their heads around what was happening.
“I kept telling him ‘Drew, you just pitched in a Major League game! You did it! It’s phenomenal!’ ” Albers’ older sister, Christine Tkachuk, said Wednesday after returning to Saskatchewan. “I must have said that to him three or four times last night: ‘You ... just ... pitched ... in ... a ... Major ... League ... game.’ It’s unreal.”
Albers has been a cool customer throughout the last week, which began with his recall from Triple-A Rochester on the weekend and went into overdrive with his sterling debut.
And after pitching those Tuesday-night innings, he really got down to work.
“Yes, there’s been some media requests,” Albers, 27, said Wednesday morning with a chuckle. “I’ve probably done more interviews the last day and a half than I have my entire career.”
Albers’s masterful debut attracted attention from all corners of the baseball world.
ESPN’s Scoreboard page had him as one of its topthree major league performers that evening, but the customary player head shot was replaced by a shadow.
The unheralded Albers was too new for them to have a photo on file — and, really, who would have expected that astonishing performance?
“Maybe in my wildest dreams, I could have seen that,” said Albers, who allowed four hits, all singles, and just one walk. “But in reality, no. Probably not. I didn’t expect it to go that well. For things to line up like that ... I’m so blessed, and so thankful to God and to the family, and to everyone back home for the support. It’s truly been a blessing; it’s hard to express what it’s meant to me.”
Tkachuk watched Albers check his phone after the Tuesday game, and she says he was “amazed” by the sheer volume of feedback packed into the small device.
Folks from North Battleford and across Saskatchewan sent jubilant feedback in droves and he heard from former University of Kentucky teammates and college friends.
“He was very touched,” she says, and Albers concurred.
“It means so much,” said Albers, who was 11-5 with a 2.86 ERA at Rochester before his recall.
“The number of congratulations, good lucks, best wishes I’ve received the last couple of days has been overwhelming. Hopefully last night, I was able to give a little bit of that back and make it mean something.”
Albers’ second MLB start is expected to be on Sunday in Chicago against the White Sox.