Mark Saccomanno Makes a Big Splash
Sep 9th, 2008 by Scott Hebert
I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that we, along with three other families, are season ticket holders for the Round Rock Express. As such, we went to 17 ball games this year. Our seats are just a few rows back from third base. Anyway, I’ve mentioned this before.
Last night, Express third baseman Mark Saccomanno homered off the first pitch he saw in the Major Leagues!
How incredible is that? I saw this guy bat more than 50 times this year in AAA. Yelled, “Atta boy, Mark!” and passed him cash every time he hit a dinger at the Dell Diamond. Now he’s batting 1.000 in the big leagues!
There are so many feel-good parts to this story:
- Mark is a Houston native. He lives in Austin at the moment, but he grew up in Houston and went to Klein Forest High School before moving on to Baylor.
- Mark was originally passed over by the Astros as a call-up this September. In fact, until yesterday, he wasn’t even on the 40-man roster. Wiggy’s groin strain led to his call-up.
- Mark, 28, has been toiling in the Astros farm system for 6 years, including 2 at Round Rock.
- Mark’s travel itinerary got him to the ballpark too late for batting practice. As JD said, “proof that BP is overrated.”
- Express manager Dave Clark is also with the ballclub. He went down to the cages with Mark to help him loosen up. He told him to jump on the first fastball he saw. Boom!
Mark is the fourth Astro to homer in his first Major League plate appearance.
Way to go, Mark!