Gift driving on pure adrenaline
SA STAR: I WON’T LET ALL THIS PUBLICITY CHANGE ME
Ngoepe within inches of smashing his first home run.
Having climbed to the highest levels of international baseball, South Africa’s Gift Ngoepe admits he is having to juggle his new place in the limelight with his performances on the field, as he tries to focus on the fledgling stages of his Major League career.
After spending nearly a decade in the minor leagues, Ngoepe’s professional career exploded last week when he was flooded with praise for an historic breakthrough.
The 27-year-old second-baseman, who was raised by his mother at the Randburg Mets clubhouse, made his Major League debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates when he turned out against World Series champions the Chicago Cubs. In doing so, he become the first African player to compete in the top-flight North American campaign.
Two nights later, on Friday, he broke further ground by making his first start for the Pirates in their 12-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.
Before the game against Miami, Ngoepe told the Pirates website he was trying to prevent himself from getting caught up in the hype, with a job at hand on the field.
“I’m driving on adrenaline right now,” he said.
“I just have to calm myself as much as possible and breathe, make sure my heart is not beating a thousand beats per minute, and just go out there and do my thing.
“I knew when I signed my contract and getting to the big leagues, and being the first one from the whole continent and country, that all this publicity was going to happen, but it must not change me.”
In his first start, Ngoepe had two singles, a walk and a triple, and though he just missed a homer at the base of the wall, he remained patient in search of his first Major League home run.
“That will come. I will just focus on what I’m doing right now and keep it going.”