Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
PHILADELPHIA — Perhaps the most exhilarating moment of Sam Selman’s life, the day he’s waited for ostensibly since 2012 but in reality much further back, began with some tear-stained eggs.
The Giants were storing him in Richmond in anticipation they would need him following the trade deadline. They wanted the lefty reliever in Philadelphia for Thursday’s game, and he had some plane issues Wednesday.
“So I rented a car and drove here,” said the 28-year-old, who was not going to be denied his major league debut because of travel issues.
He sped to Pennsylvania and met up with his parents, who flew in from Austin and beat him to the team hotel. They were awaiting word from the Giants on Thursday morning when Selman got the call that hadn’t come with Kansas City, that seemed destined never to come as he struggled with control issues, as he left the Royals for free agency, as he tried a last-ditch attempt at fixing himself by entering the Driveline program this offseason — where the Giants found him.
The waiting ended at 10:30 a.m. on the East Coast at the restaurant at the team hotel.
“Mom started crying when the eggs were served,” Selman said. “The waiter had no clue what was going on.”
Jeremy Shelley, the assistant GM, delivered the news.
“He actually sounded a little tired at 6:30 in the morning from San Francisco when he called,” Selman said. “I said, ‘I’ve been waiting eight years for this phone call. You could sound a little more excited.”
The former second-round pick finally made his last leap, with Citizens Bank Park the site of his dream. He got to the ballpark, warmed up and entered an already decided game in the fifth inning. The Triple-A star, who had struck out 65 in 40 innings, K’d Maikel Franco to officially remove the Lifetime Minor Leaguer label. A pitch later, Roman Quinn took him deep.
It did not ruin Selman’s day, nor did the 10-2 loss.
“I don’t know if it’s set in yet,” said the Austin native and Vanderbilt grad, who played with Mike Yastrzemski and Tyler Beede in college. “I think it’s just jet lag more than anything else. This is gonna be my eighth flight in 72 hours. I think I just went out there today, and it was just such a blur. It was just throw strikes and just try to pound the zone.”
After last season, when he became a minor league free agent, he looked at business school. He looked at commercial real estate. The Giants called, and he kept the only job he’d had because this could be waiting for him.
“I think my mom, when she was crying after the game,” Selman said. “That was kind of when it sunk in a little bit.”