After a long and difficult road to the major leagues, Travis Swaggerty's big-league debut had to wait just a bit longer.
Finally, after a two-hour rain delay, Swaggerty got to step on the field at PNC Park. It wasn't the scene most dream about when they make their major-league debut. It was rainy. There weren't a lot of paying customers in the stands. The Pirates lost 5-3, and the game didn't end until a few ticks after midnight.
But all of that didn't matter.
"It's really hard to put into words," Swaggerty said. "It was amazing to get here after all the hard work and all of the setbacks. It felt really good."
Seriously, just watch him talk about his first night in Major League Baseball:
That's not the demeanor of a player that went 0 for 3 in his big-league debut. That's just genuine excitement of a player happy to be wearing a major-league uniform.
But that display of excitement also shows the maturity he possesses, seeing the bigger picture. In fact, Swaggerty said he wasn't even nervous.
"I kept telling myself it's just baseball," Swaggerty said. "At the end of the day, I've been playing this game my whole life. I'm just going to do that."
When Swaggerty stepped on the field, he was one of three rookie outfielders -- and five rookies total -- the Pirates trotted out on Tuesday night. That is a lot of inexperience on the field, which can be rather intimidating. Cal Mitchell, who homered for the second straight game Tuesday night, showed some vulnerability with a misplay in right field that gave Detroit an insurance run late in the game.
But the trio of Swaggerty, Mitchell and Jack Suwinski that manned PNC Park's daunting outfield represented a necessary step forward for this club.
"I'm very, very happy for Travis and this opportunity," Mitchell said. "He's one of my best friends as well as Jack, who's doing well. It's very cool to share the outfield with those guys at this point in our careers."
Swaggerty may have gone hitless in his debut, but he avoided the nerves and immersed himself in the game, which may have been a more important step than recording a base hit. He began studying the outfield, taking note of each unique aspect of it. And when Spencer Torkelson smashed a 109.1-mph line drive that nearly left the yard, Swaggerty made a read that made it look like he's been patrolling this outfield for 10 years:
"A lot of guys would chase that to the wall and end up getting caught at the wall," Derek Shelton said. "He he played it off the wall, made a strong throw. It’s nice to get him out there and get his feet wet."
Then Shelton said five words that any player wants to hear: "He look like he belongs."
That's the takeaway from Tuesday night. Sure, it would have been nice for the Pirates to pull off another win or for Swaggerty to record his first big-league hit. But this wave of young talent making its way to Pittsburgh is the beginning of the new era of trying put a contending team on the North Shore once again. They need as many of these young players to "belong." That's the only way this club can sniff the postseason once again.
Swaggerty will inevitably take his lumps. All rookies do. It's just something this Pirates team has to go through. And that means we likely haven't witnessed the last of all-rookie outfields this season.
"I think you're probably gonna see that a little bit. You're gonna continue to see rookies," Shelton said. "It's where we're at, it’s where we're going. And it's fun. They're going to do some really good things."