For those that have been following Danny Ray Herrera, here's a nice story from the ABQ Journal on his MLB debut.
Herrera Savors the Moment
By Randy Harrison
Journal Staff Writer
Danny Ray Herrera doesn't have to pinch himself when he awakens today in Louisville, Ky.
No, it wasn't a dream. He really did pitch in the major leagues Tuesday night.
Not just pitch, but the former New Mexico Lobo lefty executed perfectly, striking out Philadelphia Phillies sluggers Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell in an impressively memorable debut for the Cincinnati Reds.
“It's been crazy. My head's been going 100 mph and really didn't slow down until (Wednesday night),” he said by phone Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Herrera was optioned back to Triple-A Louisville to make room for pitcher Homer Bailey. Herrera was hardly upset; he hadn't had a chance to get used to being a big leaguer in the first place.
“It's been a great couple of days,” Herrera said. “The big-time guys like (Ken) Griffey and (Adam) Dunn made sure I didn't feel like the odd guy in the clubhouse. Today, Dusty (Baker, Reds manager) said, `Don't get too comfortable down in Triple-A.' ”
In truth, the 23-year-old Herrera hasn't had a chance to get comfortable anywhere, thanks mainly to his rapid progress, since being selected in the 45th round of the 2006 draft by Texas.
Still, the promotion to the Reds came from left field, as it were. Herrera is in his first year in the Cincinnati organization. His 16 appearances with Louisville (0-1, 1.27 ERA in 21â…“innings) comprised his only experience above Double-A, and he even wasn't on the 40-man roster.
“Totally by surprise,” he said. “I thought maybe I could get a September call-up. I was beyond excited. Beyond words.”
His first call upon hearing the news Monday night went to his father in Odessa, Texas. His cell phone was off, however, and he didn't find out until Herrera's grandfather drove over to deliver the news.
Former Lobo teammates like Matt Foote, Daniel Stovall and Jay Russell, guys who stay in regular touch, called and were as happy as Herrera himself could be.
The nerves finally began to hit on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, when he got the call to warm up in the seventh inning.
“I'm not sure I threw one strike the entire time in the bullpen,” he said.
But he calmed even in the face of the formidable challenge that awaited him in relief of Aaron Harang: A 3-1 deficit, runners on second and third base and none out.
The Phillies broadcasters didn't make much mention of Herrera's size (5-foot-7, 145 pounds) other than to call him “diminutive.” They were fascinated, however, with his slow and slower deliveries and his herky-jerky motion.
“Everything comes at you, and then the ball,” one said.
Meanwhile, Herrera coaxed a groundout from Shane Victorino that froze the runners. Then he got the call to intentionally walk Chase Utley, the majors' home run leader, and load the bases.
“I wasn't sure if that was the right call or not,” Herrera thought. Howard, after all, was on deck.
But Herrera won the lefty-lefty matchup with a diet of curveballs, getting Howard to chase a 2-2 breaker and miss it by a foot.
Burrell followed and was waiting on a first-pitch curve, smashing a deliberate 61 mph breaker “400 feet foul,” Herrera recalls.
But in doing so, the righty hitter was leaning out over the plate, Herrera noticed. So on a 2-2 count, he counted on his 80 mph looking like 90-plus. He froze Burrell with a paint job on the inside corner, getting a called strike three.
“All my stuff was moving,” said Herrera. “I just went in and out, doing what I always do.”
After that inning, Griffey pinch-hit for Herrera in the eighth. Had Griffey homered for No. 600 in his career, Herrera would have had a trivial tie for perpetuity to the slugger.
Instead, “I'm pretty sure he wants to set that record in Cincinnati,” said Herrera.
Nonetheless, the former Lobo has made his own name in Cincy. “He's fearless,” Baker said.
Although he isn't happy to be listed merely as Danny Herrera.
“I'm still fighting to get `Ray' in there,” he said. “This spring they had me as `Dan Herrera' on the roster, and I told them that wasn't gonna fly.”
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