Redmond: PJ Conlon’s dream debut revives Irish role in baseball history
From Patrick Redmond at BBC.com on May 13, 2018:
It should have been another mundane baseball night in Cincinnati on Monday, as the New York Mets rolled into town to play the Reds. And the debut of a 24-year-old leftie pitcher wouldn’t normally make this fixture any more noteworthy.
Except this rookie, Belfast native Patrick Joshua “PJ” Conlon, was making history: The first Irish-born 21st Century Major League Baseball player; the first for 73 years; and only the second such debutant in over a century.
Conlon, who follows the last Irish-born major-leaguer, Joe Cleary, was ecstatic, hailing his supporters in the Cincinnati’s half-full Great American Ball Park.
“It means a lot,” he told MLB.com after just over three innings of game play.
“You could see them in the stands, waving the Irish flags. They’re proud of it, and I’m proud of it.”
Read the full article here: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44072049
- Related link: Read all published SABR biographies of major-league players born in Ireland at the SABR BioProject
Originally published: May 14, 2018. Last Updated: May 14, 2018.