Ngoepe 1st African to reach majors

Gift Ngoepe was aware of the significance when he put on his Pirates uniform for the first time in the regular season.

The Pirates recalled the infielder fromTriple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday, making him the first player from Africa to reach the major leagues, according to the team. RelieverDovydas Neverauskas was optioned to Indianapolis to make room for Ngoepe.

“It’s a dream come true for me because it’s beenmy dream since Iwas a 10-year-old boy, but it also means so much to the people of South Africa and baseball in Africa,” said Ngoepe, who was not in the starting lineup against the Cubs.

“Baseball is still very much in the development stages (in Africa) and hopefully this gets more people interested.”

The 27-year-old Ngoepe was born in Pietersburg, South Africa, and attended high school in the suburbs of Johannesburg. He signed with the Pirates in 2008 and was batting .241 in Triple A when hewas promoted.

“I’m sure a lot of people — professional scouts, people in uniform, people out of uniform— have told him over the years that he would never make the major leagues, but he didn’t listen,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “He persevered until he got here.”

Ngoepe is considered the best defensive prospect in the organization and should help a team that is struggling in the field this season. The Pirates’ 19 errors entering Wednesday were tied for most in the majors.

“It shows that you don’t have to be from a big country like the United States to reach your dream of making it to the major leagues,” Ngoepe said. “If you work hard enough and dream a little bit, anything is possible.”