Week 4: Gift Ngoepe

"Whatever you do... just don't cry." 

Gift Ngoepe made history on Wednesday, April 26th, when he became the first ever African-born player in Major League Baseball. To make my new MLBoyfriend's debut even better, Ngoepe got a hit on his first at bat.



Pittsburgh called up Ngoepe hoping his fielding prowess to help their struggling defense. The Pirates got a bonus of some decent offense from Gift in his two games. In addition to his hit in his first game, he drew a walk. Then in his first start on Friday, April 28th, Ngoepe went 3 for 3 with a triple, two walks and two runs in the Pirates 12-2 win over the Miami Marlins.

Even though Ngoepe literally grew up in a baseball park--his mother worked for a recreation-league team in Randburg, South Africa, and his family lived in a room attached to the clubhouse--it's amazing that he set his sites on playing in the Major Leagues at a young age. He told the Pittburgh Gazette:

It’s a dream come true for me. It’s something I always wanted as a little kid. I told someone when I was 10 or 12 years old I was going to make it to the big leagues. That day has come.

Baseball is more popular in South Africa than most of the rest of Africa, but it's a pretty minor sport there. Still, it's amazing that the MLB which draws players from around the world has never had a player from a continent of 1.216 billion people.

No matter where you're from, debuting in the Major Leagues is an overwhelming experience. Ngoepe told Deadspin this great story about how his teammates bonded with him in his first game:

Basically in the dugout they told me that I was going into the game and I was like, okay Gift, the time as come. I went out to the [field] and [Francisco] Cervelli was like, “Come here.” And I’m like, “Okay.” I’m like, “I just got on the field.” And he just put his hand on my chest and listened to my heartbeat and I felt my heartbeat beating against his hand. And I’m like, oh this is not good. I’ve had this feeling before and it’s not good when I do this. I’ve got to calm down. And Cervelli told Jay Hay, “Hey you gotta listen to this. This is what we live for.” And then Jay Hay felt my heartbeat too and was like, “Hey, we’ve all been there. Just relax and do your thing.” And that kind of calmed me down.

Turns out, there's a great video of that moment.



Gift Ngoepe has described his game and how he got there much better than I ever could. Go read his story in his own words here. I tried to figure out a quote to pull from it, but it's just all great--so, seriously, you should read the whole thing.

Welcome to Major League Baseball, Gift Ngoepe, and CONGRATULATIONS on becoming my MLBoyfriend of the week!