COLUMN: Gift Ngoepe’s Debut – Another Perspective

Last night’s MLB debut of South African Gift Ngoepe for the Pittsburgh Pirates takes the early lead for the feel-good story of the 2017 baseball season.

There are a lot of column inches devoted to Gift Ngoepe today.

And for good reason. His MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates last night was as pure a “baseball” moment as there is. It had all of the key, sure to tug-at-the-heart, boxes checked.

• Spent eight and a half years in the minors for this one moment. Check
• First from the country of South Africa to play in MLB. Check
• First from the CONTINENT of Africa to play in MLB. Check
• Teammates acknowledging his moment with a sweet heartbeat check when he enters the game. Check
• Gets a hit in his first at-bat. Check
• Hug when he reached first base by former minor league coach who also moved on to the bigs. Check
• Teammates giving him a standing ovation from the dugout for that same hit. Check
• Ball rolling across the infield to the dugout to be awarded to him later by Clubhouse Manager Scott Bonnet. Check

These moments make my heart swell like the Grinch’s after hearing all of the Whos down in Whoville singing on Christmas morning – despite having all of their presents and roasted beasts stolen.

Ngoepe told media while standing in front of his locker after arriving at the Pirates Clubhouse that “It doesn’t matter where you come from. No matter where you are, who you are, you can still make it.”

And he’s right.

Every baseball player has a story

Every story includes working hard, ignoring the naysayers, believing in yourself and perfecting God-given athletic skills. It’s not easy for anyone to make it to the top of their profession – especially one as elite as professional athletics. But for some players, the road is rougher than others. For Gift Ngoepe, who grew up literally living in a concession stand in a baseball park, that road wasn’t even paved. And that’s what makes his story all the more touching.

Which brings me to the one box that wasn’t checked last night.

When Trevor Williams made his MLB debut in Pittsburgh last season, his post-game embrace with his tearful father, Richard, brought lumps to the throats of anyone with a pulse. There were no parental embraces for Gift Ngoepe after his game last night. Instead, he stood in front of his locker and told reporters that he knew his mother, Maureen, who died four years ago, was looking down on him and that she was happy.

I don’t pretend to know a lot about baseball statistics. I will never know what it feels like to really make contact with a round bat on a round ball. And I don’t know who hit the longest home run in the history of PNC Park, how far it was and the speed with which it left the bat.

Another Perspective

But I know what it’s like to be a mother. In fact, I have a son who is just two years younger than Ngoepe was when, according the MLB’s Adam Berry, Pittsburgh Pirates European Scout Tom Gillespie first met him. And last night, after having heard this young man’s story of adversity, heartache and triumph, I watched through tears as he realized his dream.

I am proud of Gift Ngoepe.

Not just as a follower of baseball, who lives for stories like this. Not just as a Pirates fan, who knows the kind of defensive skills he can bring to the team. Not even as a writer, who might be interested in getting a new clip and another by-line. But as a mother, who knows what it feels like to watch her child fight for what he wants and to see him succeed.

When we have our babies, we have our secret hopes and dreams for them. But at the end of the day, we just want our kids to grow up healthy and to do what makes them happy. I don’t know Gift Ngoepe and I never met his mother, but I have to believe that last night Maureen Ngoepe saw that happen. And just like her son said, she was happy.