Former Saint Mary's baseball player Patrick Wisdom received a call up to the Major Leagues Saturday
BSB | Wisdom's Wait Ends As Call-Up To MLB Comes
8/11/2018 6:56:00 PM | Baseball
St. Louis Cardinals Press Release
KANSAS CITY — For the second time in just over a month, a former member of the Saint Mary's baseball program received the phone call that every baseball player hopes to receive. And this time, it was six years in the making.
Patrick Wisdom's wait came to an end Saturday when the St. Louis Cardinals purchased his contract from the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds to bring him up to the MLB level for their current series at the Kansas City Royals. Wisdom, a former all-West Coast Conference First Teamer for the Gaels, was drafted by the Cardinals in the supplemental first round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Players' Draft as the 52nd overall pick.
"It's a long time coming, but I'm ready now and I'm just happy to be here," Wisdom said in a St. Louis Cardinals press release. "I'm just so ecstatic. I'm at a loss for words sometimes."
Wisdom joins fellow former Gael Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central Division. Burnes also got The Call to the Majors on July 8 before making his debut on July 10. Wisdom also joins his former teammate in the Major Leagues, Kyle Barraclough. Barraclough played with Wisdom at Saint Mary's until both of them were drafted in 2012 by the St. Louis Cardinals. Barraclough was later traded to the Miami Marlins, with whom he made his debut in 2015. Wisdom's call-up gives the Gaels three active Major League Baseball players.
As of Saturday, Wisdom's Cardinals are just 3 1/2 games behind Burnes' Brewers for the National League's second wild card spot and six games behind the Chicago Cubs for the NL Central lead. St. Louis and Milwaukee will play head-to-head six more times in the regular season, setting up potential for thrilling matchups between two former Gaels at the highest level of the sport.
"I'm so happy for Patrick," said Saint Mary's head coach Eric Valenzuela. "He's been great to our program, coming back and playing in our Alumni Game and staying in touch. I'm very proud of all our former Gaels who are currently playing in the Major Leagues or still working hard to attain that dream at other levels. This highlights the very high quality of Saint Mary's baseball past, present and future."
Wisdom starred for the Gaels from the get-go when he arrived on campus for the 2009-10 school year, earning WCC All-Freshman honors in 2010 before being placed on the all-WCC First Team in 2011. He left the school with a career .303 batting average and was third all-time with 29 career home runs. Wisdom owns a piece of Saint Mary's lore forever, as he recorded the first-ever hit at Louis Guisto Field when it opened in 2012, tripling in the first inning against Southern Utah on Feb. 17, 2012.
He has been crushing it over the past two years at Triple-A Memphis, baseball's highest level before reaching the Majors. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Redbirds' Pacific Coast League Championship Series victory last season while leading the team with 31 home runs and 89 RBIs. He was named a PCL All-Star this year with career bests in batting average (.289), on-base percentage (.363) and OPS (.842). In 103 games this season he has 24 doubles and 14 home runs to go with 58 RBIs.
KANSAS CITY — For the second time in just over a month, a former member of the Saint Mary's baseball program received the phone call that every baseball player hopes to receive. And this time, it was six years in the making.
Patrick Wisdom's wait came to an end Saturday when the St. Louis Cardinals purchased his contract from the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds to bring him up to the MLB level for their current series at the Kansas City Royals. Wisdom, a former all-West Coast Conference First Teamer for the Gaels, was drafted by the Cardinals in the supplemental first round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Players' Draft as the 52nd overall pick.
"It's a long time coming, but I'm ready now and I'm just happy to be here," Wisdom said in a St. Louis Cardinals press release. "I'm just so ecstatic. I'm at a loss for words sometimes."
Wisdom joins fellow former Gael Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central Division. Burnes also got The Call to the Majors on July 8 before making his debut on July 10. Wisdom also joins his former teammate in the Major Leagues, Kyle Barraclough. Barraclough played with Wisdom at Saint Mary's until both of them were drafted in 2012 by the St. Louis Cardinals. Barraclough was later traded to the Miami Marlins, with whom he made his debut in 2015. Wisdom's call-up gives the Gaels three active Major League Baseball players.
As of Saturday, Wisdom's Cardinals are just 3 1/2 games behind Burnes' Brewers for the National League's second wild card spot and six games behind the Chicago Cubs for the NL Central lead. St. Louis and Milwaukee will play head-to-head six more times in the regular season, setting up potential for thrilling matchups between two former Gaels at the highest level of the sport.
"I'm so happy for Patrick," said Saint Mary's head coach Eric Valenzuela. "He's been great to our program, coming back and playing in our Alumni Game and staying in touch. I'm very proud of all our former Gaels who are currently playing in the Major Leagues or still working hard to attain that dream at other levels. This highlights the very high quality of Saint Mary's baseball past, present and future."
Wisdom starred for the Gaels from the get-go when he arrived on campus for the 2009-10 school year, earning WCC All-Freshman honors in 2010 before being placed on the all-WCC First Team in 2011. He left the school with a career .303 batting average and was third all-time with 29 career home runs. Wisdom owns a piece of Saint Mary's lore forever, as he recorded the first-ever hit at Louis Guisto Field when it opened in 2012, tripling in the first inning against Southern Utah on Feb. 17, 2012.
He has been crushing it over the past two years at Triple-A Memphis, baseball's highest level before reaching the Majors. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Redbirds' Pacific Coast League Championship Series victory last season while leading the team with 31 home runs and 89 RBIs. He was named a PCL All-Star this year with career bests in batting average (.289), on-base percentage (.363) and OPS (.842). In 103 games this season he has 24 doubles and 14 home runs to go with 58 RBIs.
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