What a story to put you back in the show.
A lot of minor leaguers have pretty good stories to tell when they get called up to Major League Baseball, but Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Ricardo Pinto may very well have one of the best.
During Monday night’s game in extra innings, Connor Brogdon imploded, resulting in the Phils having to force a move. They decided to designate Brogdon for assignment, and replacing him was Pinto, being called up from the Triple-A Lehigh Valley ball club. Pinto hasn’t played in MLB since 2019 when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays, Sports Illustrated (SI) reported.
To pick up Pinto to bring him to the stadium, the Phillies had a car sent to Allentown in Pennsylvania, which is where the Iron Pigs play. If you’re not aware, Philadelphia is 63 miles south of Allentown, and the Phillies were scheduled to play at 6:40 p.m. ET, according to SI. (RELATED: Woah! Twins’ Byron Buxton Nearly Blasted By Giant Sausage)
The Phils, themselves, were absolutely on point with how they were handling business. The car to pick up Pinto was reportedly sent out at noon, and with it only being a 70-minute drive from Philly to Allentown, both he and the Phils had plenty of time for him to make it to the ballpark.
And then … *clears throat * … that infamous Philadelphia traffic hit, Pinto told SI.
In fact, it was so bad that Pinto said he didn’t get to the game against the Cincinnati Reds until the fourth inning … yikes!
But the day ended up being magical for Pinto, as he landed his first career save in this same contest.
The story of Ricardo Pinto’s day is wild 🤯
He didn’t get to the game until the fourth inning due to traffic from Rochester, New York! Then threw four strong innings for the Phillies. pic.twitter.com/edxdRdbPO2
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 3, 2024
The Phillies sent a car at noon for Ricardo Pinto, who was in Rochester, N.Y. with the IronPigs. He got stuck in traffic and did not arrive until the fourth inning. He said hello to Rob Thomson, then went to the bullpen. He pitched four innings for the save.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) April 3, 2024
Ricardo Pinto’s splitter is ELITE pic.twitter.com/Oonpw5b1Mq
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) April 3, 2024
Yet another romantic baseball story we can add to the list, ladies and gentlemen.