Rookie of the Decade: Wynton Bernard’s MLB Debut for the Ages
The Colorado Rockies outfielder’s MLB debut was over a decade in the making.
It’s not about the journey, they say. It’s about the destination.
That’s a nice sentiment and all…but sometimes the destination really is the sweetest thing.
At least that’s what outfielder Wynton Bernard might have said following his MLB debut last Friday night for the Colorado Rockies. It had been a long time coming—a really long time coming. Every player’s path to the Major Leagues is unique and winding, but few have ever been through as much to get there as Bernard.
A decade ago, he was drafted by the Padres. It was a nice story—he had grown up in San Diego—and he had grown up dreaming of playing in Petco Park. But the Padres released him, and his journeyman days began. First a few seasons in the Detroit Tigers system. Then he joined the San Francisco Giants organization. Later the Chicago Cubs and eventually the Rockies. In the middle came stints at leagues in Venezuela, Australia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. According to Baseball Reference, Bernard has played for 24 different teams in the last 11 seasons, including the Toledo Mud Hens, Erie SeaWolves, and Sugar Land Skeeters. Every night before bed, he said a prayer—one day, he wanted to break through to the Big Leagues. But for so long, it felt like nobody was listening.
Last week, Albuquerque Isotopes manager Warren Schaeffer called a team meeting, just like the hundreds that Bernard had sat through before. Bernard assumed that somebody had been injured. But instead, Schaeffer stood in front of the team and announced that at long last, Bernard was getting the call to the Show. The Rockies wanted him to join the team as soon as possible.
Bernard’s not exactly sure what happened next. He told the Denver Post that he blacked out after hearing the news. But as some point, he called his mother. Neither of them could believe what was finally happening.
The Rockies flew Bernard to Denver, and the first thing he did was walk out to batter’s box at the empty field. “I told myself I wanted to go up to home plate and just see how it felt first,” Bernard told the Denver Post. “There’s no way to describe it. I felt like I belong.”
He met his new teammates. Met the manager. Got his uniform. Secured tickets for his mother and brothers who had flown in on short notice. Bernard even addressed the media: “It’s kind of been, ‘Am I dreaming still?’ There’s been a lot of times where I’ve dreamt this, and it didn’t come true. And today’s the day that it really did come true.”
Then it was time to play ball. Bernard was batting eighth, patrolling center field. A rookie at 31 years-old.
In his second at-bat, he slapped a single. Then he stole second. Pretty soon, he was coming around to score. The crowd roared. "I never had anything like that,'' he said. "That was incredible.''
It was worth the wait.
⚽ Sending prayers to the brilliant author Salman Rushdie, who is recovering after a senseless attack. Rushdie is a huge Tottenham Hotspur fan, and in 1999, he wrote an incredible ode to his club in the New Yorker. “This is what it means to be a fan: to wait enduring decades of disillusion and yet to have no choice in the matter of allegiance,” he writes.
🐅 With the help of the Bengals’ receiver corps, Kevin Clark of The Ringer traveled to Cincinnati to break down each of Joe Burrow’s deep touchdown passes last season. The result is a portait of a quarterback who, “is part football genius, part point guard, part chaos agent.”
💣 Part of the magic of the Little League World Series is that one day, those kids become Big Leaguers. But what if the MLB’s stars went back to Little League? Somebody tried to find out how many home runs would be hit if all MLB games were played in Williamsport. The results are…incredible.
🎥 The Athletic investigates an important question: “Is Keanu Reeves Hollywood’s most underrated athlete?”
💸 Show me the money! When Mets manager Buck Showalter called a mound visit, Pete Alonso brought him a special gift.
