Singer still hoping his dream gig has return engagement
PHILADELPHIA » Jeff Singer seemed to want to soak every moment he could from this unexpected overnight trip to South Philadelphia. He sat in the Phillies clubhouse before their series finale Wednesday against the New York Mets, a small, hardshell suitcase and equipment bag at his feet.
Shortly before, the word came down that Corey Knebel, the Phillies’ $10 million-a-year closer, was going back on the active roster, his flu symptoms subsiding, then his COVID injury list status upgraded via a negative test result. Thus, Singer’s sudden call-up would end after one Tuesday night game, a 2-0 loss to the Mets he spent in part touring the home bullpen.
For the Triple-A reliever and minor league veteran, it likely means a return to his $2,500-or-so per month job with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. But even though Singer didn’t get a chance to pitch in this one-off promotion to the big leagues with the team he had grown up cheering for, it would be a long-day’s journey never to be forgotten.
“Just a really cool moment for me and my family,” said Singer, 28. “I found out yesterday at around 10:15, called my fiancee, called my dad, called my agent and then I talked to the rest of my family. They put me on a plane from Boston to Philly.”
A Northeast Philadelphia native raised across the bridge in Cinnaminson Twp., Singer was an impressive high school player at Holy Cross High School in Delran. He then followed a somewhat typical South Jersey baseball route, becoming a two-time junior college All-American at Division III Gloucester County College (now part of Rowan-South Jersey), pitching at Monmouth University, then back for a final collegiate season at Rutgers-Camden in 2015.
What then followed was not so typical, especially for an undrafted baseball prospect who played small college ball.
Singer left school and hooked on with the Camden Riversharks in that independant team’s final season in 2015. That helped him earn a minor league contract the next year with his hometown Phillies, and that was the start of what is now a seventh-season (COVIDinterrupted) tour of the organization’s minor league system.
Singer reached Class AAA Lehigh Valley last year and had started this season with them when he got a call out of the blue Tuesday morning, with the Pigs on a road trip in Worcester, Mass. for a six-game series there.
“I got here at a little after 4, which honestly I was kind of happy about,” Singer said. “Coming in a little late, it gave me less time to really think. It let me enjoy it and just be ready if they called my name.
“I had 40 to 50 friends and family here (Tuesday), and a couple more people that I didn’t know about until after the game. I was just really happy to be able to enjoy the day. It’s something that I’m never going to forget.”
Now the challenge for Singer is to relive the dream.
“It’s been a long grind and I know it’s a big deal, coming from not being drafted to playing in a men’s (amateur) league, playing in Indy ball and finally getting a chance,” he said. “Just getting a plane ticket to Florida (for spring training), it was a big deal. So not getting in (Tuesday), it is what it is, but it’s a really big deal for me and my family. I’ve come a long way and the journey’s not over for me. I’m just really excited to have it under my belt now and what happens in the next week I couldn’t tell you, whether I’m with the organization or whether I’m back in Lehigh. I’m just going to enjoy it.”
Officially, Singer has been designated for assignment, which means the Phillies have seven days to either trade him or place him on irrevocable outright waivers.
“The big thing is, he got to fulfill a lifetime dream, and I think that was a special day for him yesterday,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “He got to talk to his family after the game on the field. Yeah, it’s tough, but it could be just the start of things to come, right? That’s how you have to look at it.”
Ultimately, Singer is likely to return to Lehigh Valley, where his dream will only continue. As Girardi pointed out, there are more borderline minor league players getting late-career shots at The Show now than there used to be.
“I think it has changed,” Girardi said. “I think teams want those veterans that you know you can call up and they’re not necessarily on your roster. You know they’re not necessarily going to be overwhelmed with the situation.”
Singer can count himself as one of them now, and certainly isn’t counting himself out as a one-day-and-done
study case.
“I was just really happy to be able to be in that bullpen, and I really enjoyed it,” he said. “I got that one day under my belt now. Hopefully there’s more to come.”