Matt Chapman has seen a lot since he was called up to the majors on Thursday to face the Yankees with the Oakland Athletics. Batting seventh in the lineup and playing third base in the field, his first major league at bat was a walk which led to his first major league run when Adam Rosales brought him home. His first strikeout came in the bottom of the 4th, first popfly in the 6th, and his second walk in the 8th. Then, because there is no such thing as easing into the majors, the 9th inning had Chapman at the plate in a tie game with the bases loaded and two outs. It was the stuff of movies or at least it would have been if he’d had his first major league hit instead of his second K.
For any player, that’s quite the first day in the majors. Manager Bob Melvin could have pulled Matt Chapman out in favor of a more experienced major league hitter and if the A’s had lost in extra innings fans would probably have bemoaned him for not doing so but Chapman is different. Matt Chapman is mentally ready for the majors.
Fast forward to his second day as a major league hitter. Now batting in the 8 spot, still against the Yankees, Chapman seemingly hits his first hit in the bottom of the 2nd inning only to have it taken away from him by those monsters in New York who just hate a good story or favoring the Athletics in a replay review. The young man did drive in a run, though, so his first RBI ball was headed to the dugout for authentication. Then, in the 8th inning, Chapman found himself in a familiar situation.
The A’s trailed the Yankees 5-6 and had the bases loaded with one out when Chapman stepped into the box. On an 0-2 pitch from Jonathan Holder, Chapman singled to left and brought in the go ahead run for his second and third RBI of the evening. Speaking to Susan Slusser, A’s beat writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, after the game Chapman said of his first hit being taken away by review, “…it was just waiting for something sweeter.”
[the_ad id=”11148″]Well, if that wasn’t sweet enough, on his third official day in the majors, Matt Chapman is having his first baseball card printed. As part of the Topps Now series, which prints only as many cards as are ordered in a 24 hour period, Chapman’s game winning hit will forever be remembered on 2.5″x3.5″ cardboard. There are several links on this page to purchase the card (and help out Hero Habit along the way) and it will only be available until 9am (PST) on Sunday morning.Other cards released in today’s release commemorate the Chicago Cubs’ six run 9th inning, Max Scherzer‘s fifth straight start with 10 Ks, and a 10th inning walk-off home run off the bat of Eric Thames. Obviously, this is Chapman’s first Topps Now card as well as his first rookie card. A full checklist of Topps Now cards is available under the button at the top of this page.
