A locker room pep talk turned into a life-changing moment for one minor league baseball player over the weekend. (See the clip below.)
Sam Haggerty, a 25-year-old infielder with the New York Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, New York, listened to Syracuse Mets manager Tony DeFrancesco ask more experienced fellow players if they were ready to return to the major leagues. Then he changed course.
“But the most excitement for me is when a guy goes up for the first time,” DeFrancesco said in Twitter video posted Sunday by the organization.
The skipper turned his attention to Haggerty, playfully asking him if he knows who Mets manager Mickey Callaway is. “Well, he’s excited to have you,” DeFrancesco said, making it clear to everyone in the room that Haggerty had been promoted.
A handshake and a hug from his minor league manager sent Haggerty off on his dream come true.