With Opening Day for Major League Baseball on Thursday, teams are finalizing their rosters for the start of the regular season and making some boyhood dreams come true in the process.
The call up announcement is always a special moment for young players getting their first crack at the big leagues, and nowadays we often get to see those moments on social media from the teams. On Tuesday, the Houston Astros announced top prospect Cam Smith, who they acquired as the centerpiece of the Kyle Tucker trade with the Chicago Cubs in December, had made their Opening Day roster.
Later in the day, the Astros posted video of Smith learning he was headed to the big leagues, as Houston manager Joe Espada had Smith’s family make a surprise appearance to the clubhouse to inform him of the news, which had Smith in tears.
It’s a very cool moment and well done by the Astros to have his family on hand for such a big occasion in his life. As Espada opened the video, usually the first phone call after getting called up is to mom and dad, but the Astros wanted to make sure they could share the experience face-to-face.
Smith, who was drafted 14th overall by the Cubs last year, raked in spring training for the Astros, hitting .342/.419/.711 with four home runs in 15 appearances. That performance made it a pretty easy decision to put him on the Opening Day roster, and he’ll be in Houston on Thursday as the Astros get their season started against the New York Mets.
Read the full article here
