Ex-ASU star never gave up on his dream

The most important story to come around in a very long time involved a 33-year-old baseball player you’ve never heard of getting his first Major League at-bat ... and striking out.

If that somehow doesn’t seem to you like a significant news event, it is only because those of us in the media have lost our way, foolishly focusing all of our energy on the madness and mayhem of everyday existence instead of the wonderment of dreams.

This is a story about dreams.

In the early 2000s, Drew Maggi was a star multisport athlete at Brophy Prep in Phoenix. He went on to play baseball at Arizona State University, becoming a standout on what was then one of college baseball’s most dominant teams.

He played shortstop and was the leadoff hitter. In 2009, his coach, Pat Murphy, said of him, “Maggi’s been the difference maker on the team. Our offense goes when Maggi goes.”

In 2010, while only a sophomore, Maggi was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and decided to go pro.

That was 4,494 plate appearances, 1,154 games and 13 years ago. All spent in the minor leagues.

In late April, Pirates’ outfielder Brian Reynolds went on bereavement leave and the team called up Maggi from its Double-A affiliate in Altoona, Pennsylvania

Two games were played with Maggi on the bench.

During that time, baseball fans in Pittsburgh became aware of his long, long stay in the minor leagues.

Other athletes would have hung up their spikes long ago. Maggi kept playing.

On April 26, with the Pirates safely ahead, Maggi was inserted as a pinch hitter in a game between Pittsburgh and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It was his first Major League at-bat. As Maggi walked to the plate, fans chanted his name and gave him a standing ovation.

He struck out on four pitches but said afterward, “It’s the best strikeout I ever had.”

(A few days later, he would get his first Major League hit.)

Family from Phoenix was there for his first appearance in the bigs.

Maggi said, “There were a lot of ‘I love you. We’re proud of you. You did it!’

“I saw my dad crying. I don’t think I ever saw him cry before. All those years, I wondered what I would say to my parents if that moment ever were to come. They’ve been right there with me. Hearing those words made it all worthwhile. I know the last 13 years have not been wasted.”

Over the years, Maggi would have

heard rumblings that he should quit.

Individuals who give up on their dreams often try to talk others into not pursuing theirs.

But for some people, like Maggi, dreams do not have an expiration date.

He said, “I love baseball. I was grinding for 13 years but I was doing what I loved. The ultimate goal is the big leagues. Just kind of getting here, my name is in history. I put on a big league uniform, and I shared the field with the world’s greatest players.”

That’s not striking out.

That’s knocking it out of the park.