African Ngoepe takes long road to Pirates
Gift Ngoepe walked into the Pirates clubhouse at PNC Park Wednesday wearing a smile and a green polo shirt from his days playing for South Africa in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He found his locker, his No. 61 jersey and reunited with old teammates from these past nine years.
With his promotion to Pittsburgh, Ngoepe, 27, became the first African-born player to reach the major leagues. His arrived Wednesday and replaced righthander Dovydas Neverauskas, who on Monday made history as the first Lithuanian in the majors.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from,” Ngoepe said. “No matter where you are, who you are, you can still make it.”
Ngoepe and his Class AAA Indianapolis teammates were stretching in the batting cages during a rain delay in Pawtucket, R.I., Tuesday when manager Andy Barkett entered. His next words, Ngoepe recalled, were: “Well we sent the European. Now they’re looking for the African.”
After 704 games in the minors, Ngoepe was bound for Pittsburgh.
Manager Clint Hurdle applauded the trailblazer Ngoepe, a 5-foot-8 slick-fielding shortstop and utility infielder, and said, “I would love for him to have $1 for everybody who has looked at him and said he’ll never make it.”
“It was a long road,” Ngoepe admitted. “There were a few times I wanted to stop. … I cannot describe the feeling right now. It hasn’t hit me yet, I guess. When Clint calls me onto the field, I think that’s when everything will come together. I’ll probably burst into tears.”
To simply say Ngoepe grew up around baseball is insufficient. His mother, Maureen, raised Ngoepe and his little brother, Victor, in a tiny room attached to the clubhouse at a ballpark in Randburg, South Africa. Maureen worked for the team, the recreation-league Randburg Mets.
One day, a coach saw Ngoepe throwing a ball against the wall and invited him to play with the team. After years and years of development, he showed promise local coaches had not seen. It was during an under-17 tournament in Mexico in 2005 when Tom Randolph, then a coach for the Czech Republic team, saw Ngoepe play.
Randolph saw Ngoepe again in 2008 at a three-week Major League Baseball academy in Italy. By then, Randolph was an international scout for the Pirates. Ngoepe recalled crossing paths with Randolph in the batting cages.
“Did you come here to get signed or to learn more?” Randolph asked.
“I came here to learn more about baseball,” Ngoepe replied. “but if I get signed it would be a bonus.”
After a conference call with the Pirates, the 18-yearold Ngoepe agreed to a $15,000 signing bonus and became the first black South African to sign a professional baseball contract.
Held back by his offense — a .232 average and .322 onbase percentage in the minors — Ngoepe is here because of his elite defense abilities. For those, he credits Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin. At the league’s academy in Italy, Larkin coached Ngoepe.
“How do you field a ground ball?” Larkin asked one day.
“You get to the ball, catch it and throw,” Ngoepe said.
“No,” Larkin said. “You catch the ball with your feet. If you move your feet towards the ball, work through the ball, you’re able to make a good throw every single time.”
In recent years, Ngoepe has worked double duty as a Pirates prospect and an agent for his brother, Victor, a 19-year-old now playing for the Gulf Coast League Pirates. Ngoepe called Victor late Tuesday night and told him the news of his promotion. Victor “ran around the whole Pirate City telling everybody,” Ngoepe said.
On Sunday, Ngoepe found himself thinking about his mother, who died in 2013. He sat silently for 20 minutes or so in his Indianapolis apartment, wishing he could communicate.
“I know she’s looking down on me,” Ngoepe said before pulling on his Pirates uniform. “I know she’s happy, because I told her this moment would come since I was a little kid.”