Caleb Gindl makes MLB debut with Milwaukee
After three years of being on the brink, former Pace High standout Caleb Gindl made his Major League Baseball debut Saturday.
The 5-foot-7, 203-pound right fielder was called up by the Milwaukee Brewers prior to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds’ game against the New Orleans Zephyrs on Friday night.
The move is to replace injured All-Star outfielder Ryan Braun, who has missed four straight games due to an injured right hand and was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday.
Gindl arrived in Milwaukee in time for Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. The former Patriots star entered the game in the seventh inning as a pinch-hitter and struck out in his only plate appearance.
“I think in his case, it’s about time,” Pace coach Charlie Warner said of his former player. “He’s been putting some pretty good numbers up and has been very close. He’s been pretty consistent offensively and defensively.
“Last year, he was going to go up and got hurt the last game he played in Triple-A. He was set to go up after that game, and he hurt his back. I’m happy for him. He’s living the dream right now. I know he pinch hit today and struck out, but I’m sure he was probably unconscious.”
While in Nashville, Gindl was third on the team in batting average (.274), second in homers (8) and led the Sounds in RBIs with 38 heading into Friday’s action.
He took batting practice prior to the Sounds’ home game against New Orleans, but was not in the lineup.
“He actually texted me saying he got the call,” Warner said. “He did call me this morning, but I was fishing and missed the call. By the time I got back, he was probably already at the ballpark.”
Gindl has been a fixture at the Brewers’ spring training camps each of the last three years, as he has risen up the organization’s ladder since the team selected him in the fifth round of the 2007 MLB draft.
He has hit .291 with 79 homers, 402 RBIs and 409 runs scored in his seven seasons in the minor leagues.
“He’s been to big league camp, so he’s kind of used to being there and what’s going on,” Warner said. “Just being around the guys, I think he felt real comfortable with the players. That’s part of the fear you have to get over, not knowing how you will be received by the other players. I think that part was an easy transition.”
Following Pace’s 2006 Class 5A state championship season, Gindl was named the News Journal’s hitter of the year after batting .453 with seven homers and an area-best 43 RBIs as a junior.
He followed that with another strong performance as a senior, this time on the mound. He went 9-1 with a 0.72 ERA to be named the News Journal’s Pitcher of the Year.
He still managed to be one of the top hitters in the area that year, with a .508 batting average with four homers and 25 RBIs. The Brewers selected him in the fifth round of that draft and it took him four seasons to go from rookie ball to Triple-A Nashville.