In his fourth game of Major League Baseball, Chris Gimenez made
sure he had a chance to touch all four corners of the diamond.
Standing steady in the box during the seventh inning Thursday,
in his first game starting for the Cleveland Indians since being
called up from Triple-A Columbus on Sunday, Gimenez pounced on a
pitch over the middle of the plate from the Minnesota Twins’ Scott
Baker.
It was high, it was deep, and Gimenez’s first career hit, in his
third career at-bat, was just long enough to tap the top of the
fence in left-center field to be ruled a solo home run.
GILROY
In his fourth game of Major League Baseball, Chris Gimenez made sure he had a chance to touch all four corners of the diamond.
Standing steady in the box during the seventh inning Thursday, in his first game starting for the Cleveland Indians since being called up from Triple-A Columbus on Sunday, Gimenez pounced on a pitch over the middle of the plate from the Minnesota Twins’ Scott Baker.
It was high, it was deep, and Gimenez’s first career hit, in his third career at-bat, was just long enough to tap the top of the fence in left-center field to be ruled a solo home run. The Gilroy native rounded the bases in a steady jog, clapping his hands together after leaving his footprint on home plate.
“It’s kind of what you dream of when you’re a kid for your first hit, and it actually came true,” Gimenez told MLB.com. “It was definitely a blessing and it was a lot of fun. I had a blast.”
Finishing the game 2-for-4 after striking out swinging in his first appearance at the plate, grounding out in the fifth inning and knocking a base hit in the ninth, Gimenez is now just the second person from Gilroy to ever play in an MLB game. Frank LaCorte, a family friend of Gimenez’s who pitched for 10 seasons during the 70s and 80s, was the first from Gilroy. Gimenez, 26, has a unique claim of his own, though. He is the first person from Gilroy to ever hit a home run in the big leagues.
“It’s a great feeling for me to see him get an opportunity,” LaCorte said. “I know when I got my call it was like, ‘Wow.’ It’s unbelievable. You work so hard you feel like it’s never going to happen.”
Starting the season 0-for-22 with Columbus, Gimenez’s climb the past two months has been remarkable. But doubting himself, he said, was never something to consider.
“I kept telling people every day, ‘The storm is coming,'” Gimenez said.
“Every day I just came with the most positive attitude. I’m not a negative guy. If you act negative you’re going to be negative and produce negatively.”
While the end result of Thursday’s contest didn’t go the Indians’ way, as the club dropped to 23-33 with an 11-3 loss, Gimenez’s positive performance didn’t go unnoticed.
“He had a real good first day,” Indians manager Eric Wedge told MLB.com. “We tried to get something out of a tough day.”
Staying patient has been tough to swallow for Gimenez, as he didn’t play in his first two games with the Indians and only took the field at first base for the last inning of Wednesday’s game. Calling himself AGI (Almost-Got-In) after he sat in the dugout the first two games, Gimenez figured it would only be a matter of time before he got his opportunity.
“I’m definitely OK with it,” he said Tuesday morning. “I’m here to help these guys and I’m here to stay. As soon as I get my chance I’m gonna take advantage of it.”
Did he ever.
“I think it’s great, man,” LaCorte said. “We’re a small town here. The odds are so much against you. People don’t even realize how tough the odds are. But he’s beaten the odds.”
The learning curve has been steep the last few years but one that gets easier every day. In just his short time with the Indians, Gimenez said he has learned there isn’t that much difference between himself and the players he’s now taking the field with and competing against.
“You see them on TV and you build them up so much, but I’m on the field with them and I’m equal, so to speak,” he said.
Called up to Cleveland partly due to an injury to outfielder Grady Sizemore, who is currently on the 15-day Disabled List, Gimenez is likely to see his playing time increase after Thursday’s performance. Providing consistent production, whether he is catching or playing the corner infield or outfield spots, will be key in staying with the club. In his first start, he showed that versatility by playing catcher and first base.
But there’s more to staying at the top level of baseball than the physical demands of the job.
“The pressure is always going to be there,” LaCorte said. “That’s your job. That’s what you do for a living. So, there’s always going to be that pressure. But he’s a professional. Some guys come up and they’re cocky. Chris doesn’t fall into that category at all.
“Obviously, you have superstars at that level, but there’s a place for a guy like Chris that is able to play all those positions. He could have a long career that way.”
